うさぎドロップ Episode 07
Usagi Drop – 07

Daikichi and Rin are enjoying sweet buns when Haruko and Reina show up. As Reina and Rin enjoy snacks, Haruko says that they’ve run away and that she’s left a note with her husband and his parents, whom they were living with. She wants to stay with Daikichi for a while, so he agrees and the four go out to buy food for dinner. There, they meet Kouki’s mother, where Daikichi panics about being seen with another woman, though he assures Kouki’s mother that Haruko is a cousin. On the way home, Haruko teases Daikichi about Kouki’s mother, leading Daikichi to realize he doesn’t know if she’s divorced or not.

At home, Haruko cooks a meal which is enjoyed by all, explaining that her mother-in-law always had the final say on what foods were to be prepared. After Reina and Rin are put to bed, Haruko and Daikichi have a beer. Daikichi informs Haruko that he called her husband to let her know she and Reina were safe, which irritates Haruko for a bit. As they talk, Rin gets up and listens. Reina calls her over to the futon she’s using and tells Rin that her parents often fight but she pretends to be asleep. This news surprises Rin. They fall asleep and after Haruko and Daikichi finish talking, she shows Daikichi how Rin and Reina are sleeping together. Daikichi takes the sleeping Rin out of the guest room and back to his.

The next morning, Haruko gets up and is surprised to see Rin already up and making breakfast. A sleepy Daikichi comes in and Haruko scolds him for making Rin do this. He protests, leading Rin to interject to stop the fight. As the four eat, Kouki comes by, as he often does, and seeing Haruko, wonders if Daikichi got married. Daikichi protests this but lets Kouki have an onigiri when he asks for one. After breakfast as Daikichi cleans up, Haruko remarks on how kind he is to help Kouki’s mother by letting Kouki come over and teases him a bit more about her. However, as they talk, Haruko realizes that being a single mother might not be such a great thing and takes Reina to school.

Haruko spends the day pondering things while at work, Daikichi has a chat with Gatou. Coming home with Rin, who’s eager to arrive because Reina is staying over, Daikichi finds an unfamiliar feeling at coming home to a place with the lights all on and people waiting inside. That night, Daikichi and Haruko have another long talk where Haruko says she’ll go back and make it work for Reina’s sake. Their talk has Daikichi wondering what marriage and being a parent truly means. The following day while playing cards, Reina hears her father’s car drive up, which surprises Haruko because he got off work early. After he apologizes to Daikichi, Daikichi offers to allow Haruko to come by anytime because Rin is always asking about Reina, which makes her smile and pleases Reina.

This episode was really good, not just because it had a couple of laugh out loud moments, but because it really took a look at family and what it means to be one. Daikichi’s sacrifices to be a single father to Rin have already been established. However, through Haruka, the problem of children still living with their parents and trying to raise their own family raises its head.  Its something not uncommon in Japan where to save costs, a child will raise his own family in his parent’s home. Combine that with the Japanese unwritten work rules about working massive hours of unpaid overtime and it makes for a terrible family situation. However, Haruka has decided that it is preferable to trying to raise Reina alone, and I can understand that. After all, she could see how Daikichi and Kouki’s mother dealt with things.

Rin and Reina’s remarks on marriage, based on Daikichi’s and Haruka’s own comments, were rather funny. However, it did raise an interesting oxymoron regarding marriage.  You have Haruka, who regrets having gotten married and wants to be single (but does not regret having Reina). You have Daikichi who would like to be married.  I think a lot of (young) guys think of marriage as guaranteed sex and someone to help out around the house. In reality, it is a lot more complex than that and since Daikichi is now raising Rin as a single parent, I think he’s just now starting to realize that.  So for Daikichi, marriage appears to be something he still wants, but I think he will be more cautious just as Haruka is staying in her marriage rather than do something rash.

Speaking of romance, the romantic elements between Kouki’s mother and Daikichi were raised again. Daikichi is apparently still attracted to her but I’d say he’s too scared to do anything.  Kouki’s mother did appear to be relieved when Daikichi told her that Haruka was just her cousin when Kouki’s mother saw them together. So maybe they both are scared, but if Daikichi wants to hook up with Kouki’s mother (and both being single parents, they do have something in common), he needs to talk with her more. He’s already being a father figure to Kouki and he’s going shopping with her, Rin, and Kouki (which was a funny moment) so in some ways, they are almost like a family unit.  Almost.

So, another good episode. I’ll probably peek at volume 3 of the manga to just glimpse at when I can start reading that. ^_^