This story should have been a 9 or 10 overall. However its time skip destroyed everything that made this manga so enduring.
WARNING!! Spoilers ahead.
It isn't possible to discuss why this gets such a bad score without delving into spoilers.
The first 25 chapters were brilliant they were heartwarming and enduring. They brought out all of the good feelings you could possibly want from it and they were golden. A solid 9 even 10.
They were all focused on Rin and Daikichii becoming a family and the struggle of raising a child as a single "parent" and the finding the joy that a child could bring to your
...
life.
For Daikichi, Rin was basically his saving grace as he had nothing in his life. He was 30 years old, working the same job for 9 years, living only for himself and wasting his money on drinking and doing nothing but going through the daily motions of life. Rin saved him from that, she gave him a purpose to start living his life for something other than himself and as much as he needed her, she needed him more.
A 6 year old abandoned in the world with no parents. The family members who gathered around for the grandfather's funeral all rejected her and the "embarrassment" that she represented as an "illegitimate" child to a 79 year old man who is no gone from the world. Daikichi saved her from being thrown into a world of upheaval and gave her a stable life and became her parent to support her on her path to adulthood.
Those first 25 chapters were amazing to read, the bond between Daikichi and Rin, it was so enduring to your heart.
However it all goes downhill starting with chapter 26.
Chapter 26. A time skip of 10 years takes place and we jump forward to Rin's 1st year of high school and right before her 16th birthday.
The inclusion of a time skip baffles me. The story before was great in the direction it was headed. The bond between Daikichi and Rin was ever growing, there was a chance of romance between Daikichi and Yukari (Kouki's mother). It had all the makings of a heartwarming story of a child being saved who had no parents. Of gaining a father and even a mother.
The thing that made it so great was the innocence involved in all of it.
However the author chose to do a time skip and we're left with the jumbled mess that is made.
From there story evolves into a darker coloring, relationships and friends have barely changed. There is hardly any inclusion of any new characters and older characters are almost entirely removed from the story only to have a few thrown back in again right at the very end.
It's understandable that there will be conflicts and a darker tone during ones teenage years however the implementation of this darker tone and route was poorly implemented by the author.
At this point in the story Kouki and Rin are portrayed as love interests, but an item that well never occur due to Kouki's poor decisions.
The author throws Kouki into this new role of a guy who is looking for love from Rin, but well never achieve it. Due to his "bad boy" streak during middle school and is now a reformed good boy who has woken up.
This is poorly implemented and just a mess of story writing as we learn about what happened during little flashback scenes that are spaced throughout the remaining chapters.
The only reason I mention this bit of spoiler is, because it is the catalyst that leads to the true catastrophe of the story.
After giving up on ever letting herself love Kouki again Rin begins to move forward with her feelings. However the author has trapped her in a box. A box that is "self" made as the only boys she's ever been involved with were Kouki and Daikichi. As she begins to explore her feelings she ends up deciding that she is in love with Daikichi. The man who raised from 6 years old.
As it goes it begins questioning the boundary of what is and what isn't allowed. How far can she go with her feelings that is acceptable. In a climatic conclusion to her feelings for Daikichi a very poorly implemented excuse of that they aren't blood related is revealed. That Daikichi knew this ever since reading his grandfather's will that he found in Rin's parental booklet back when he first took her in.
From there it evolves into Daikichi not even having the capability to reject Rin's feelings for him and accepting them instead.
In a final chance to try and change her opinion Daikichi makes the deal to make her wait 2 years so she finishes high school and if she finds another boy to love during that time then she must give up her feelings for him of love.
The story writing throughout this is so bad compared to the first 25 chapters.
Rin went from being a lovable little girl that one could sympathize with. To a teenager that has never tried to get close to other people. She's blocked herself off from ever finding other people as her whole world is just her and Daikichi and on occasion Kouki her childhood best friend and Reina. Who in the story is basically the equivalent of a cousin to Rin.
Rin wasn't part of any school club or activities even though she didn't lack talent. The world created for her was just her and Daikichi. In this environment it is basically forced upon the readers that the only conclusion for her is to be with Daikichi forever.
Rin in this state ignores the feelings of Daikichi completely, forcing him into a position of accepting her feelings through a poorly written explanation that they're aren't blood related even through he raised her.
Any proper figure in Daikichi's position who has raised a child is only looking for the best opportunity for they're child and to provide them with whatever they need in order to succeed. Rin completely ignores these feelings of a loving father only focused on what she wants in the end.
The story almost completely writes out Yukari and Daikichi's cousin Haruko is completely wiped except for being mention.
As a final mention it haphazardly brings back Sayaka and Nobu in the final chapter after writing them completely out since the day back in the park during the jump roping practice.
This story was amazing for 25 chapters. After that is was destroyed due to poor story planning, poor writing, haphazard character development, and the destruction of and haphazard return of old characters.
This story had so much going for it. There was plenty of material to go with, without doing a time skip. It crushed the roots of its story and its very sad to see that.
This is a prime example of how a good story can be destroyed so easily.
Mar 26, 2016
Usagi Drop
(Manga)
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This story should have been a 9 or 10 overall. However its time skip destroyed everything that made this manga so enduring.
WARNING!! Spoilers ahead. It isn't possible to discuss why this gets such a bad score without delving into spoilers. The first 25 chapters were brilliant they were heartwarming and enduring. They brought out all of the good feelings you could possibly want from it and they were golden. A solid 9 even 10. They were all focused on Rin and Daikichii becoming a family and the struggle of raising a child as a single "parent" and the finding the joy that a child could bring to your ... |
