Usagi Drops

[Kusa-San]

After wtaching the last episode, it's true that an ending with Daikishi ending up with Kouki's mom would have been great. The truth is that I didn't read the whole manga (I started with the last chapter and then decreased until chapter 35 ) so I don't know the whole thing but it could have been really great to end the manga like that with Rin still being 6 years old.

But it doesn't change the fact that I like the original ending too.

Still, I hope the anime will choose an original ending with Daikichi ending with Kouki's mother

[wistfulloner]

What the hell? The manga ending is... so FREAKING expected! Damn, I had hopes for some less predictable/generic ending from you, usagi drops! I am disappoint...

[bakAnki]

Asked this question on Usagi Drop's anime thread, anyone know how they make the live action movie end? Any summary or review of it yet?
Or if I ask on wrong thread again, is there live action sub-forum here? I'm practically new here ^^a

[jtstellar]

just watched episode 8..

this isn't about the woman's problems is this.. she needs to stop showing up
disturbing the previous perfect mood of the series

responsible adults and innocent kids learning how to get by

that's all it needs to show.. why am i interested in some dysfunctional individual of the society ie. rin's mother who can't wipe her own butt for what she's done? not. not really interested in why or any of her reason or excuses. can't is can't.

haven't read the manga but the earlier episodes gives off a vibe of this being about someone taking up extra responsibility and trying to cope with a new life of raising a child with the child growing up and coping with a missing parent in the household and finding her own identities and such.. now with the recent shallow character known as her mother showing up 1 minute here two minutes there whining and going non-sensical about a near 30 year old's identity crisis.. this is evolving into some kind of a person giving her child into the care of another with some kind of unspoken mutual consent.. the constant focus of daikichi trying to reestablish the link with the child-abandoning woman is just nonsensical.. series should at least try to explain deeper daikichi's reasons for doing it.. like he isn't totally confident about taking care of her or even think about returning her sometimes because the responsibility is too heavy.. to put up a scene like daikichi telling rin he wants to be come an official guardian then constantly trying to relink her mother is just nonsensical

[User68604]

While Masako has her "own" set of problems, there are people like that out in the world. It would be rather irresponsible to believe that all parents in their world truly care about their children.

In terms of Daikichi re-establishing the connection between Rin and Masako, I believe he is doing it because Rin is so important to him. He respects her not simply as a "a kid." (This is most notable with the basis of how they call each other and speak with each other). And because of that, he understands that it is essential for Masako to at least be somewhat within "vicinity of Rin's life." Does he want to see her? Absolutely not. I dislike her more than Daikichi does, but he knows what is right and what is wrong (which would be permanently sheltering Rin away from her mother).

PS - Just realized that you posted in the MANGA thread, I suggest you gtfo here and to the "Usagi Drop" (sans the "s") thread! ASAP! lol...

[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Sigh.... such a crime to short this to one cour - I suppose I'll have to seek out the source if it doesn't get a second season.

Not really the first half is the BEST part of the story.

But who knows they might adapt the 2nd half some day. I won't be watching though.

[Sol Falling]

Not having read the manga myself, but I have to say that I think it's very funny that people can profess their love for the first half of it, yet want to completely overlook the second half. From my perspective, they are the same story, and instruments of the same authorial intention. It only makes sense to me that you have to take the context of the second half in hand with the first half to ever be able to say you understand what the point of this manga was.

Spoiler for thoughts on the two parts of the manga:

To be honest, it's only because I know what happens in Usagi Drop's second half that I have become so engaged in this show in the latter half of its running. I think that the juxtaposition of these two parts of the story seems to ask a very purposeful and challenging question. Whether or not I agree with the answer to that question, the question itself is at the heart of Usagi Drop's narrative/literary value to me. The fact that people can find the first half of the series so agreeable, and yet the second half so completely not, makes me want to ask those people to seriously think about the question "why?". Why was the series constructed this way, and how does that fit with your reaction to it? Otherwise, if one does not consciously address these things, I think that you are only superficially appreciating the story such that all the praise given to it can only be undeserved or insincere.

Here's something to keep in mind: Usagi Drop is a Josei series, not a Seinen one. I wonder if this distinction might possibly help some people sort out and think deeper about their reactions to the story.

[Kirarakim]

Here's something to keep in mind: Usagi Drop is a Josei series, not a Seinen one. I wonder if this distinction might possibly help some people sort out and think deeper about their reactions to the story.

I don't really see how that has anything to do with it. As for the series being Josei, it actually is geared directly towards me (even though I care little about target demographics) and I still think the series jumps the shark.

Also someone can understand the intent of the manga-ka, dislike that intent but still enjoy other aspects of the story. These aspects were completely missing from the 2nd half. But to each their own as they say!

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Sol Falling

Not having read the manga myself, but I have to say that I think it's very funny that people can profess their love for the first half of it, yet want to completely overlook the second half. From my perspective, they are the same story, and instruments of the same authorial intention. It only makes sense to me that you have to take the context of the second half in hand with the first half to ever be able to say you understand what the point of this manga was.

Spoiler for thoughts on the two parts of the manga:

To be honest, it's only because I know what happens in Usagi Drop's second half that I have become so engaged in this show in the latter half of its running. I think that the juxtaposition of these two parts of the story seems to ask a very purposeful and challenging question. Whether or not I agree with the answer to that question, the question itself is at the heart of Usagi Drop's narrative/literary value to me. The fact that people can find the first half of the series so agreeable, and yet the second half so completely not, makes me want to ask those people to seriously think about the question "why?". Why was the series constructed this way, and how does that fit with your reaction to it? Otherwise, if one does not consciously address these things, I think that you are only superficially appreciating the story such that all the praise given to it can only be undeserved or insincere.

Here's something to keep in mind: Usagi Drop is a Josei series, not a Seinen one. I wonder if this distinction might possibly help some people sort out and think deeper about their reactions to the story.

I'm a firm believer that an anime can, and should, be able to stand on its own two feet. I think that viewers should be able to evaluate it all on its lonesome, without any reference to source material. If you can't understand/follow the narrative, and/or character motivations, from the anime alone, then the adaptation has failed, at least to some degree.

If I was to evaluate the Usagi Drop manga, then my take on the ending would absolutely have to factor into that. It would be ridiculous for it to not, as the ending is arguably the most important part of a story.

However, in evaluating the Usagi Drop anime, I'm only going to evaluate what is actually given to us in the anime. Indeed, this may even be necessary in the event of anime original endings (the original Full Metal Alchemist anime, Shakugan no Shana's first and second seasons, etc...).

Should the entire Usagi Drop manga be faithfully adapted into an anime then I will evaluate the Usagi Drop anime as I would its manga. But the two will not necessarily have one and the same narrative, with same identical endings.

[Sol Falling]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

I'm a firm believer that an anime can, and should, be able to stand on its own two feet. I think that viewers should be able to evaluate it all on its lonesome, without any reference to source material. If you can't understand/follow the narrative, and/or character motivations, from the anime alone, then the adaptation has failed, at least to some degree.

If I was to evaluate the Usagi Drop manga, then my take on the ending would absolutely have to factor into that. It would be ridiculous for it to not, as the ending is arguably the most important part of a story.

However, in evaluating the Usagi Drop anime, I'm only going to evaluate what is actually given to us in the anime. Indeed, this may even be necessary in the event of anime original endings (the original Full Metal Alchemist anime, Shakugan no Shana's first and second seasons, etc...).

Should the entire Usagi Drop manga be faithfully adapted into an anime then I will evaluate the Usagi Drop anime as I would its manga. But the two will not necessarily have one and the same narrative, with same identical endings.

Haha. I guess the perspective which I am coming from is that I was initially very sceptical and/or cynical of the praise for the manga. As I watched the anime, I remained sceptical, but I began to see the potential for a rather challenging or meaningful message to the manga as a whole. However, that potential would be by nature very controversial. I have some desire to see the whole work adapted into anime, so I can evaluate that intention for myself. If the anime decides not to faithfully follow the manga while respecting its authorial intention, I feel that on that account it could be reasonably assessed as having failed as an adaptation.

On the other hand, not following the manga into controversy (or, as Kirarakim and it seems many other readers feel, "jumping the shark") might well be the smarter option. There's no guarantee that what the mangaka intended has any real objectively-grounded merit, after all. In which case the crowd-pleasing portion of the manga would have been successfully adapted, and it would garner high praise, and everyone would be happy. Maybe that'd be the ideal outcome, and all's well that ends well. I can't help feeling it would be rather superficial though.

I think it's fine to evaluate the anime as an individual entity. I think that, if the anime is unwilling to make it clear, it is important that viewers be aware that there's more to the story and that they should check it out, however. Basically, I don't think people should be discouraged from checking out, or avert their eyes from, the second half of the manga (and/or possible eventual anime). Whether the anime is a faithful adaptation or not, such knowledge would definitely help them inform their opinion of this first half.

[Kirarakim]

Well you are right people should not be discouraged from reading the 2nd half of the manga if they want to find out what happens (or watching a 2nd season of the anime if that ever happens) but I think people are just giving a fair warning...the 2nd half is not exactly the same and the ending is especially controversial. That doesn't mean everyone will dislike it, some people might even like it more...

And while yes you can see hints of where the manga-ka goes in the 2nd half, I do think the first half of the story (which the anime adapted) can stand on its own. Some stories have points that could be good endings...even if they are not the actual endings (if that makes sense).

I am actually only buying the first 4 volumes of the story because I know that covers the first half which is what I personally enjoy. Normally I wouldn't buy a manga if I am not going to buy the whole thing but in this case, the story does have that false ending point which can act as a real ending even though it's not the actual one.


So anyways I think the anime was smart to only adapt this first half because it is a good stopping point. And there is nothing stopping them from adapting the 2nd half sometime in the future.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Sackett

Wrong thread for this discussion. Take it to the manga thread please.

Normally, I'd agree 100%, but this manga ending controversy just isn't going away. I see it coming up time after time after time on this thread, and from different posters, fans and critics of the manga ending alike.

I think that the last few posts made on that topic on this thread should remain as a sort of vague "reference" to the "big controversy" of the Usagi Drop manga that, frankly, anime-only viewers are just not going to be able to avoid hearing hints of if they talk a lot about the Usagi Drop anime online.

I would humbly ask the moderators to leave alone what Sol, Kirarakim, and I have talked about in recent posts, so that Usagi Drop anime-only watches at least know that there is a Usagi Drop manga ending controversy out there, and that it is impacting how many people perceive the anime.

Anime-only watchers don't need to spoil themselves on what exactly that ending is, and shouldn't be spoiled against their will, but I think they should be aware that there is a 800 lb elephant in the room that many people are paying attention to, even if they choose to ignore it (as is their right).

[Guardian Enzo]

If everyone were as sensible as you, RRR, I'd agree - but as long as you encourage people to refer to that elephant, sooner or later someone is going to describe what it looks like and a bunch of people will be spoiled before the mods find out and kill the post. Manga discussion in the manga thread, I say.

I completely agree that any anime should be judged on its own merits - it's a distinct entity from the manga. If someone can't follow an adaptation with no knowledge of the manga or novels it's based on, it's not a good adaptation.

[Flower]

The "proper enforcement" of general rules and laws is always tricky when "reasonable exceptions" come up, aren't they?

I am afraid on this one I have to agree with Enzo - I think (err ... fwiw and all that) it would prolly be better on the whole to direct specific discussions on manga chapters not dealt with in the anime to the manga thread....

[Kirarakim]

I was purposely being vague so not to spoil anyone, but I won't mention it again. I had my say anyways.

[Sol Falling]

Yup. I don't actually have anything further to say because I haven't actually read the manga, so beyond the vague references already made, there isn't any need to continue the topic.

[Iron Monkey]

Hmm, so I spent the last 2 nights blowing through the whole manga series after watching the first 9 eps of the anime.

Let me first say that despite the slight creepiness of the ending, I wasn't opposed to the actual ending itself. I've read enough manga and watched enough anime to come to not be surprised at all by non-conventional love relationships and subjects that are a bit of taboo.

What I will criticize, however, is the whole execution of how it ended. For a piece of work that started off so brilliantly, the author sure rushed through the second half. She had so much material to work with, yet she just chose to skip through large chunks of it. There was zero character development near the end. It's just everyone just accepted things without much angst.

I'm hoping if the author decides to continue later on with the series, she fills in some more back story. I must say I do enjoy the main characters in the series. It seems like a bit of a waste to leave the manga ended as is.

[amasposu]

The anime inspired me to read the manga. The second half of the manga definitely took me for a surprise. I totally did not expect a 10 year later jump. Although, the ending wasn't unexpected. In fact, I like the ending a lot.

I highly doubt that the anime will get into the second half of the manga. The atmosphere between the anime (so far) and the second half of the manga is just too different. I have no doubt that the anime will end with Rin still as a child without getting into her later years.

[User68604]

I prefer an anime-unique route to the end, but they have iterated quite a few times that "Daikichi is not Rin's father"

The possibility that it goes the manga route is down but not out..

[Utsuro no Hako]

Originally Posted by posutan

I highly doubt that the anime will get into the second half of the manga. The atmosphere between the anime (so far) and the second half of the manga is just too different. I have no doubt that the anime will end with Rin still as a child without getting into her later years.

Isn't next week the finale? There's no way they can get into the second half unless there's another season. But I'd rather they do an original ending with Daikichi and Kouki's mom getting married, thus completely precluding the manga ending.