Usagi Drop/うさぎドロップ Manga Volume 03
Bunny Drop Manga Volume 03 Review

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SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Daikichi decides to plan a tree for Rin to commemorate her starting school, so she decides she wants a loquat tree. Daikichi reveals that he had a golden osmanthus planted when he was born and his sister had a silver osmanthus planted when she was born. After planting the tree, Rin suddenly asks about whether she’d had a tree planted for her when she was born, so Daikichi arranged a meeting with Masako to ask that very question.  Masako confirms it and shows Daikichi where it was planted at his grandfather’s place, so he arranges to come dig it up for Rin while she stays at his mother’s house.  To his surprise, he learns that Rin’s tree is also  golden osmanthus, which when he brings to his mother’s house, pleases Rin greatly.

While shopping at the supermarket, Rin decides to try cereal, thinking it is a snack and is surprised to learn it is a breakfast food.  The following morning, she samples the cereal dry, comparing it to dry dog food, which leads Daikichi to instruct to tell her cereal is different and people shouldn’t eat dog food.  Rin puts milk on the cereal and enjoys it, but decides she prefers onigiri best for breakfast. Kouki’s mother calls, informing them that Kouki took off early and he arrives all dirty at their house.  Kouki’s playing with his emergency whistle forces Daikichi to instruct him on its proper use. However, when Kouki and Rin start to go to school, a strange man to Kouki emerges and Kouki grabs Rin and begins blowing the whistle. Daikichi scrambles out and discovers it is just their older neighbor, but he thanks Kouki for looking out for Rin.

At work, Oda is tasked with training some new hires and discovers a young woman named Oda starts coming onto him, making excuses to come and see him.  She presses forward with her advancements, asking how young of a woman he’d date since he’s now in his early 30’s.  Daikichi finds her advancements make him uncomfortable but she continues.  Daikichi decides to put her off of him by using Rin as an excuse to not go out with her.  She is shocked to hear he has a daughter since he’s unmarried but his ploy works and Oda leaves him alone. Eventually, she quits and Daikichi feels guilty and informs his former boss that Oda may have left because of him.  Daikichi learns that Oda had set her sights on numerous guys to get them to buy her things and management just considers her departure to be the normal ebb and flow of employes coming in and out of the company.

It’s another work day and Daikichi gets his bonus, which is much smaller now that he’s in another department. While picking up Rin at daycare, Kouki asks if he can come over. Daikichi says Kouki has to get permission from his mother, but he can’t come over on this day.  Rin reminds Daikichi that her teacher will be stopping by for a home visit on the following day, which causes Daikichi to become nervous but thankful he remembered to take a half-day for the visit.

When the visit happens, it goes smooth and when it is over, Daikichi goes to the daycare to get Rin where he finds Kouki’s mother, Nitani.  Kouki embarrasses Nitani by speaking of coming over to Daikichi’s home and eating. However, Rin invites them to do just that and Daikichi agrees, so Nitani decides to accept. Rin is excited about this and when Nitani and Kouki arrive, Nitani is happy seeing hour Kouki acts around Rin. Rin and Nitani prepare dinner while Kouki and Daikichi play video games.

At Rin’s art class, she is praised by a teacher for her attention to detail when it came to drawing and coloring pictures of flowers they’d planted. Kouki keeps cutting up with two other boys, ignoring the teachers and irritating Rin.  Rin decides to put a stop to it and gets up and loudly scolds Kouki.  To everyone’s surprise, Kouki obeys Rin without question.  Rin’s female classmates express their amazement to her since they find Kouki scary. Rin disagrees, having known Kouki longer than them.

Elsewhere, Rin’s mother Masako is depressed and is taken out by one of her male assistants to get something to eat. She reflects on how even though she’s a popular manga-ka now, she could be replaced in a year.  When her assistant tries to compliment her as a woman, she gets angry and shouts that she’s not a woman but a manga-ka.

Rin waters her loquat tree and over breakfast, Daikichi says they should pay a visit to Grandpa’s grave. Rin wants to wait until the rindou flowers have bloomed.  Daikichi says that Grandpa would appreciate that but he’d appreciate a visit from Rin even more and so Rin agrees to go that weekend. That Saturday, Rin says she knows her way around as they come to the graveyard since she’d been here before. At Grandpa’s grave, they discover an ink bottle filled with water and rindou flowers as well as some pen tips, which Rin says looks like what Masako-san had.

Daikichi leaves Rin at the grave and races off where he finds Masako and her assistant walking away down the street. He makes a noise to attract her attention and informs her that if she wants to peek in on Rin, now’s the time. Daikichi returns and seeing Rin, he’s reminded of the first time they met and worries that she might have felt alone.  She laughs at his weird reaction, showing that she has grown a lot since that time. As they do their thing at the grave, Masako and her assistant observe from the bushes where he is amazed at how much Rin looks like Masako.  When they go home, Masako announces that she’s going to take on a second job and work until she forgets.

Meanwhile, Rin wants to pay a visit to Grandpa’s place since it is close by. Daikichi reminds her that the place belongs to his uncle now but arranges to have her look at the yard. When they arrive, Rin is excited, but entering the gate, she is shocked to see the yard and flowers have been replaced by gravel. Daikichi tries to explain, but Rin accepts it, stating that since they have some rindou flowers growing at Daikichi’s house, its OK.  Daikichi is glad that he saved Rin’s tree.  Back home, Daikichi does Rin’s hair and since Rin’s birthday is coming in a month, Daikichi asks what kind of cake she wants. Rin says she’d like a chocolate one.

Review/Thoughts:

While the main thrust of the story between the manga and anime is the same, I was surprised at how much the anime veered off from the manga.  For starters, the whole story with Oda was dropped, though I suppose it could be picked up before the first anime series ends.  Regardless, I found the story interesting in that for me, it enhanced the notion that Daikichi has eyes for Nitani, but at the same time, Daikichi realizes that single girls will likely be put off by the fact that he’s raising Rin as his daughter.  So basically, his real option for romance is Nitani.

Next was the visit from Nitani and Kouki to Daikichi’s home.  In the anime, they took the art story, which took place after the visit in the manga, and moved it forward.  Then they placed the art story and the visit in the context of a typhoon’s approach.  I didn’t say so when I reviewed that anime story, but I did wonder why school was in session during an approaching typhoon.  I remember a hurricane coming in when I was in kindergarten and school was canceled for the day and my parents wouldn’t allow me to get near windows (which didn’t make sense to me as a kid) but I remember them keeping the TV on, which had non-stop coverage of the hurricane.

Anyway, other than the oddness of having school in session during a typhoon, the anime version worked quite well.  The manga’s version is fine too, but I do like how the anime version expanded on the visit to further advance the idea of Daikichi, Nitani, Kouki, and Rin being like a family unit.

Still, it is really nice reading the manga and getting more Rin goodness.  ^_^  Its so nice seeing how well Rin has adjusted to her life with Daikichi.  I do wonder how the Masako storyline will pan out.  I’d guess that eventually, she and Rin will meet.  It would be weird if somehow, Daikichi ended up marrying her.  *_*  Well, I won’t speculate further though I have seen some of you guys hint at some sort of change in the manga when it gets half-way though, so my mind starts wondering what that could be.  ^_^;;;

On the Yen Press side, honorifics are used (sans the sister honorific) and we get translator notes, which are always a win with me.

So, another good volume of manga that I’m glad I picked up.  ^_^