Usagi drop, Vol. 4

うさぎドロップ [Usagi Drop] #4

by Yumi Unita

Daikichi, trent’anni, celibe, non è quello che si può definire un dongiovanni. Non molto a suo agio con le donne e ancor meno con i bambini, quest’uomo, che più ordinario non si può, si troverà invischiato in un’impresa decisamente ardua: diventare il tutore legale della figlia segreta del… suo defunto nonno. Ma come si può allevare una bambina quando è già così difficile prendersi cura di sé? E se il “dare sé stessi” fosse invece la chiave della vera felicità?

Genres: Manga, Josei, Graphic Novels, Comics, Slice Of Life, Fiction, Family

212 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2008

About the author

Japanese Name (宇仁田ゆみ)

Yumi Unita was born in Mie Prefecture on May 10th, 1972. In 1998, she debuted with "VOICE" in Hakusensha's Young Animal. Since then, she has worked in many genres, having her works featured in seinen, josei, and shounen magazines.

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 Volume 4 starts with Daikichi’s cousin Haruko coming to stay with him with her daughter Reina. It was a nice little story but I could have used a little more information about why she ran away from her home and husband for a few days just to go back. It was weird.

After that we had a cultural festival where Daikichi befriends some of the other parents. Then we have Rin getting sick and Daikichi having to deal with that for the first time. Followed by her loosing her 2 front teeth.

All in all another cute breezy volume of Usagi Drop.

Rin running to school on the cover.

Read 8/19/21

[Arminzerella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daikichi is still bumbling through fatherhood. He worries all the time about Rin – and after meeting some other parents, he learns that there’s even more to worry about! Illness, for instance. After a school event, Rin catches a cold and Daikichi is beside himself with fear. Thankfully, Kouki’s mother is able to provide some advice and some tips on how to get both of them through her illness. Although he’s a single parent, Daikichi is finding friendship and support through other parents and learning more about how he can better care for Rin – while not losing his mind. It’s a trip, though, because Daikichi is still such a child himself. He relates really well to Kouki, who reminds him of himself at that age. Rin remains thoughtful and well-adjusted despite what she’s been through.

I’m not sure if our regular manga readers (the teen shoujo girls) would be into this, since it’s about a 30 year old man who’s learning to love his adopted daughter…but I love it. I definitely relate to Daikichi’s young at heart attitude and his 30-year-old woes. I think if I were thrust into a similar situation I would freak out in the same way. He’s lucky he’s got such a cool kid in his care and Rin’s lucky to have such a cool dad.

[L. Rambit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm sure it's just cultural differences talking, but the resolution to Daikichi's cousin being unhappy in her marriage being, "just deal with it!" was a little uncomfortable. As was Daikichi's sister entering a marriage where she feels pressured to have kids when she doesn't want to.

That aside, this was more calming cuteness. This series reads like a hug to the brain... All the little bumps and learning curves that come with childhood and parenting. Missing work due to the flu, losing baby teeth, gaining weight over the holidays... It made me genuinely happy when Daikichi made friends with some other dads.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still a fun read - it keeps getting more true to life and it keeps bringing me in for more - I can't wait to see Rin actually grow up an I'm curious if her caregiver is going to actually be a functioning human by the end of it

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am still having a great time with this series! Rin is a sweetheart! She is so cute! I enjoyed seeing Daikichi make more parent friends especially with some of the dads. This series is such a fun and easy read!

[Aoi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been spoiled to what happens post the time skip in Volume 5 - and just to say, it isn't my cup of tea. So my journey with the manga will be ending here itself

A charming exploration of what it means to be a single parent; in face of the rather draconian work habits of corporate Japan

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some very lovely heartwarming moments where Daikichi finally makes some Dad friends. Rin and Daikichi are really and truly a family in this volume.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume is really good. I love Daikichi's time with the other parents. They're all so cute. And Kouki-kun's such a rascal! I adore him. hahaha

[Tineke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still cute. Finding a lot of differences in Japanese and western culture regarding childraising.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes the story gets a bit saccharine because it's so cute, but I really can't help but enjoy this series. Watching Daikichi learn what parenting really means and entails is pretty heartwarming.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these!! My favorite by far!!

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every volume is a pleasure to read. A heart warming series about what makes a family and the struggles of raising a child. This series shows the charm of how family cares for each other and various forms of support they provide. Sometimes that support comes from the friends around you.

Daikichi has been Rin's Guardian for over a year now. He thinks he's settled in to this whole parenting thing only to have new surprises on what it means to be a parent. He often sees the inequality of care put on the woman, which comes more obvious when his cousin along with her daughter "run away from home". His cousin is struggling with the atmosphere where she is living with her husband and his family. While she doesn't go into details it is obvious she feels unappreciated and disregarded. She refers to feeling like she is surrounded by "the enemy", whcih includes her husband. Will she divorce or does she stick with the marriage?

Through Rin's school Daikichi meets some of the parents of the other kids and forms a "Dad friend" group much to his surprise. He learns all the different ways people parent and care for their children. The Dads and the single mother, Nitani, whose son is Rin's friend work together and support each other. Everything from teaching the kids how to jump rope to assisting each other during illness. Daikichi has become the epitome of a worrying Dad as Rin starts losing her teeth. And it's incredibly sweet to read about him worrying about which tradition is the right one for Rin. Throwing the teeth or getting a keepsake box for them? He still feels at a loss when dealing with females but he isn't afraid to ask others for opinions. And each volume shows his character growth as their little family of 2 become even more closely knit than before.

[osoi · Rating 3 out of 5]

1/3 чужой семейной драмы. Ситуация такая: муж ночами работает (работает ли?), она сидит дома с ребенком. Вокруг ненавистная родня мужа, она их терпит, внутри все копит, и однажды срывается – хватает дочку в охапку и сбегает с чемоданом к родственнику, оставив домашним только записку. Следом идут невнятные диалоги, где родственник выступает чурбаном (который и является), а она в чисто женской манере жалуется и тут же сама себя успокаивает. Примечателен пассаж, где она решает не разводиться с мужем, потому что тогда ей придется работать и обеспечивать себя и дочку. Заканчивается все ничем, т.е. возвратом на свои позиции.

2/3 про проблемы лишних килограммов после новогодних салатиков, разминку со скакалкой, новых друзей из круга «папочек», про выпадающие зубы и больные животики. Дайкичи показывает себя абсолютным паникером, благо что вокруг есть неравнодушные люди, готовые помочь. О том, что быть родителем – не означает поставить крест на себе и своих потребностях (самое главное, подача не смахивает на самоувещевание).

На этом все. Следующий том – таймскип и совсем другая степь. Для меня годная продолжительность этой серии – один-два тома, тогда сохранилось бы ощущение новизны, трогательного умиления и волнения за судьбу героев.

hisashiburi

[Emily✨]

I first started reading Bunny Drop back in 2012 and thought it was really cute, so I bought all the volumes up to 7 (which were all that had been published in English at the time). The story and characters go a bit downhill once Rin reaches her teen years, so I actually only ever read through volume 6, but always kind of meant to go back and continue the series eventually. Cut to years later and I learned about the problematic turn the story takes by the end: after being taken in and raised by Daikichi since the age of 6 Rin suddenly discovers that she loves him, and despite his misgivings he agrees to marry her after she graduates high school. While not ~technically~ incest, it's still pretty disturbing since Daikichi was essentially Rin's father for 10+ years, and there's a 25 year age difference between them.

Despite that, I've had fond memories of the first few volumes and still owned volumes 1-7 for almost a decade. I needed to decide whether to keep or unhaul the manga, so I finally re-read and completed the unread portions of the manga, since there's only ten volumes. And yeah, it for sure goes downhill after volume 4, and the uncomfortable topic begins in volume 8. I am sort of glad to finally have finished the series and seen for myself how the story devolves. While I do genuinely still like the beginning of this series, I won't be rating any of them because I don't want to encourage anyone to begin reading without knowing the trajectory the story takes, and I don't really want to further support an author who would write this kind of storyline (I read the last three volumes I didn't already own through online scans).

For new readers, I would definitely suggest stopping either after volume 4 or volume 7. Both of those volumes have decent ending points without any of the weirdness of the final volumes. But also this is one of those cases where you should definitely know spoilers before deciding to start reading.

[Joana Bookneeders · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This one is kinda divided in parts. The first part, his cousin runs away from home with her daughter and stays with him for some little days. There’s not much information as to why she left other than feeling unseen and unhappy. But surely that only, can’t make you run away with a child, right? Especially when she literally says she doesn’t want a divorce.
The next part is about Rin being really sick for the first time and Daikichi being a bit at a loss.
And later we get first grade type of activities like jumping rope.
Overall this was really cute and I’m addicted to Rin and Kouki - her friend. They have a beautiful friendships and Dakichi and his mom get along really well.
I love to see him learning new things and helping Rin along the way

[EyrisReadsTheWorld · Rating 4 out of 5]

Après mon petit spoil, je me suis bien remise dans l’histoire avec ce tome. Certains thèmes importants sur la famille, le mariage et autres sont abordés mais pas assez en profondeur à mon gout. On n’en apprend pas assez sur la cousine de Daikichi par exemple alors que cela aurait put être très intéressant et éducatif. De plus, j’ai trouvé que dans ce tome, l’auteure utilisait des stéréotypes du genre (féminin/masculin) et cela m’a dérangé. Malgré tout, j’ai quand même pris du plaisir à lire ce tome mais ce n’est pas le meilleur à mon goût.

4/5

[Child960801 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daikichi thinks more about what it means to be a parent when Rin gets sick and when his cousin and her kid come for a visit. I really enjoy these books. And Japanese culture is very different than North American.

[Nolany · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'aime toujours autant ce manga, Rin est adorable et les autres personnages sont vraiment touchants. C'est aussi le dernier tome sur l'enfance de Rin, j'ai hâte de connaitre la suite.

Lu le 04/03/2018

[Nadina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The relationship between Daikichi and Rin is lovely, and I really like how it's showing this growth both between the two main characters, among other characters, and the progression through their lives. I really enjoy this series.

[The Book Dragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The woes and joys of parenthood continue for Daikichi as he and Rin face down unexpected company, school festivals, jump ropes, winter ills, and loose teeth. The wholesomeness of this story continues to delight.

This series has 10 volumes.

[Devon · Rating 4 out of 5]

First 4 volumes are fine. After that, not so much. It all becomes pretty grossin retrospect. Don't recommend it. I couldn't sleep so I decided to read a series that I had very little context for other than people hated the ending. I see why.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this one. The skipping, poor Rin gets sick and the best part is Daikichi swapping numbers with the other dads and getting dad friends. It's great how quickly he opened up to them as well.

[Daniela Stefania · Rating 5 out of 5]

Estoy enamorada.

[Karrie Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daikichi is starting to see what being a parent is all about.

[Shae · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my complete thoughts on this series, check out this reaction vlog:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caP-l...

[Danicka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liked a lot this one, too.

[Judith Groen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because of spoilers about what happens next, I choose to let my journey with Daikichi and Rin end here. I really enjoyed this series a lot!

[Kurtis Burkhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Realllly loves this manga! Really adorable and cute story and drawings/Characters 😻😁👌❤️

[Melissa]

i love this series wow

[Jordan MacKinnon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again another cute slice of life look into their lives! I love the boundings with the other families as well as the sickness! But could losing your two front teeth be any cuter!!