2011-07-12, 14:59 | Link #201 |
Moving in circles
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 49
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I was five when my maternal grandfather passed away, too young to understand what death meant. He had been a doting granddad, who loved listening to me recite the alphabet. He lived in Malacca, Malaysia, about three hours' drive from Singapore, in one of the historic long houses of Jonker Street. I remember there were bats in the rafters, or perhaps I imagined them. It doesn't matter now.
The week he died, my family travelled to Malacca to attend the funeral. I am told that I was quite the mischievous kid, swinging happily under the coffin, with both hands gripped firmly around the handles. My older cousin, on the other hand, was too green with fear to even approach our grandfather, let alone admonish me. I don't remember what the adults thought. I know, though, that my mother is still quite amused whenever she recalls the story. Such was childhood, fostered with indulgent love and care. ============ I was 31, and at a company outing. Well, not so much an outing as it was a corporate activity. We, the staff, were to spend the day with a class of children from troubled families at a local theme park. The kids ranged between seven and 12 years of age, and they were divided into several groups, each to be led by a pair of us from the company. The plan was simple: We just had to accompany the children as they played to their hearts' content. We were told not to pry, not even if we were only trying to be friendly. One girl, she was about 10 or 11, never went anywhere without clutching a little rag doll no bigger than her palm. She was bashful at first when I asked for its name, but she later told me after warming up to me. The thing about kids, they have an uncanny ability to sense when they are not wanted. My colleague in the group, she's a nice woman, always cheerful and friendly — just not so much when she's with children who are far too energetic for her to handle. As the day wore on, the sun climbed higher, and her face grew ever darker. Instinctively, the children began avoiding her. A few began jostling to take roller-coaster rides with me instead. It was fun... and ironically amusing; I was supposed to be the scary one. Our company had sponsored snacks and packaged meals for the kids. At tea time, as the kids tucked happily into the food, we noticed one particular boy who had been quiet all day. He was separating the food in his packed meal, keeping the chicken wing and sausage carefully to one side. Some of us thought he was a picky eater. Then, suddenly, one of us realised what was going on. She brought him another packet of food, an extra set to take home. The boy's face brightened, and he carefully packed the meal into his bag. He didn't say a word. He didn't need to. Such is childhood, when kindness and tenderness can't be taken for granted. ============ The above is my roundabout way of saying just how much I loved the first episode, because it mirrors everything I have experienced first-hand with children, from the playful rascals to the quiet, thoughtful ones. The difference between a hack and an artist: The former makes skilful use of the tricks of the trade, from friendly ghosts to cross-dressing boys, to drive the drama and tug at heartstrings. The latter relies more, instead, on reflection and insight to reveal truths that would otherwise have been overlooked. The emotions he elicits go beyond the ephemeral — they hit closer to home; they are visceral. The thing about Rin and Daikichi, they are the victims of the darker side of Japanese family "unity". In a society that makes intricate distinctions between the "outside" and the "inside", Daikichi and Rin are both natural outsiders. Despite his cordial relationship with his family, Daikichi is clearly someone who is out of the loop, perhaps by circumstances, perhaps by choice, as his sister's antagonism seems to imply. Perhaps it's because he's an apparent slacker living alone at age 30 instead of being a "responsible" adult raising a family of his own. Or perhaps it's because he is someone who never really liked keeping up appearances, a vague dissenter wavering constantly between conformity and rebellion. Not surprising then that a fellow outsider like Rin would be drawn to him. She sees in him an image of a father she had lost. But it was more than just the image — the personality as well. And, most importantly, the simple kindness. It resonates, especially with lonely children. ============ In the Victorian language of flowers, a bellflower means "thinking of you". |
2011-07-13, 01:21 | Link #202 |
Nope.
Fansubber
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Elsewhere
Age: 31
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It's a little rare that I like a first episode this much, but I'm pretty sure I'm already in love with this anime. I even rewatched this episode only a few days after seeing it for the first time, and I've never rewatched an episode that soon in the past unless it was with friends. I love the visual style, and I'm looking forward to hearing more of Rin's voice actress. She seemed really good considering how young she is, but we've only heard her a little so far. Hopefully the series can maintain this level of quality throughout all 11 episodes.
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2011-07-13, 20:14 | Link #205 |
One-Eyed Dragon
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: NJ, USA
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Rin is so adorable. Though i hate kids like Reina. Daikichi's response about her being his aunt and his mom's little sister was funny especially how he said it so easily. Glad he choose to take her in. He seemed to be the only one she would pay attention to. Guess he does resemble grandpa, so that's why she was interested.
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2011-07-14, 11:42 | Link #207 |
ショ ン (^^)
IT Support
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Episode 1
I finally decided to watch the first episode. I was very apprehensive about watching the anime adaptation for fear of the anime ruining the emotional aspect. Usagi Drop is one of my favorite on-going manga series as a result i was both scared yet excited.
The first episode was done extremely well in my opinion. The character designs are pretty much straight out of the manga. Rin and Daikichi are done quite well Rin's hair and Daikichi middle aged face was full of detail and reflected their age. Especially Rin's innocence in her face. Her voice was not what i imagined but all the same i had no problems with it. The series is animated beautifully its like watch a water color painting in motion. The still life scenes in the backround work incredible well for the slice of life genre that this series is. The portrayal of the inner workings of Japanese families was portrayed very accurately. As lots of people know the Japanese can be quite apprehensive about adopting a child especially a child in Rin's position. Even though she was a blood relative the nature of her birth was somewhat shady and not the norm so they were going to put in her a facility or orphanage. There are lots of stories in Japanese society where this happens. I loved the scene of Rin trying to wind the clock it will be explained later but its an important memory for her. Plus the initial meeting of Rin and Daikichi was beautifully done especially her following him around its easy to see why she did so. I also loved the scene of her sleeping on his hand while he makes one of the thousands of funny faces he has. Finally scene with the rice ball is really the introduction to their daily life together. The struggles of both of them will be emotionally gratifying to watch i think a lot of anime only watchers will love the story it has a way of drawing you very deep into the lives of these characters and how they grow over time. The OST was beautiful especially the piano that was playing when Rin was keeping watch of the incense while falling asleep and then another beautiful piece when she was picking Bellflowers (su-zuka) for her father. I love instrumental music and the choice of soft piano violin and an oboe was a great choice. Im not a huge fan of the opening but i dont mind the ending. I wish the opening was a little slower not as upbeat. Over all a great start to a lovely story and Im looking forward to more.
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2011-07-14, 14:21 | Link #211 |
ショ ン (^^)
IT Support
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I honestly have no clue why anime would make you physical ill and if it does then there might be a larger problem other than you watching anime that sounds like medical problem to me. Furthermore im having a hard time understanding what you are trying to say. Can you please be a little clearer in what you are trying to say
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2011-07-14, 14:29 | Link #212 | |
Feed me
Join Date: Dec 2007
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Quote:
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2011-07-14, 14:31 | Link #213 |
Bittersweet Distractor
Join Date: Nov 2007
Age: 32
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Episode 2 was really nice.
People can say all they want about how disgusting Daikichi's family was last episode, but really, this episode shows just how hard it is to take care of a child. sooner or later, the stress is going to catch up to Daikichi without additional help. Some hardships I see down the road for him... He'll contemplate whether or not keeping Rin is actually good for him. If he does continue to keep Rin, more stress will be placed on him at his job. Little mistakes like he made in this episode will start to pile up, and his job security my start to look bad. He'll end up at a point where it might be Rin or his job, having to switch to another one, mgiht even get fired (This reminds me a lot of the movie Kramer vs Kramer, cept Daikichi has no wife of course and Rin isn't actually his daughter). Will Rin emotionally be able to continue this life style of being picked up late at night? She has it hard too. This whole situation is just one powder keg of hardship ready to blow. I fear for Daikichi and Rin's near future .
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Tags |
josei, noitamina, romance |
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