Bunny Drop

Bunny Drop is a 2011 Slice of Life Drama anime series from the Japanese animation studio, Production I.G., which created many anime series. While this studio has made some of the significant sports anime within the industry, that does not mean that they will strike gold within everything they adapt. Though when a studio creates a series based on the raw emotion of viewers, there is always a cord that it’ll strike. The problem is, how thick is that cord? Will this series be as fantastic as some of the other creations the studio has? Or will it just be a mix of heart and fanservice to make its viewers yearn for more?

Daikichi Kawachi is a 30-year-old bachelor working a respectable job but otherwise wandering through life. Upon his arrival, he meets a mysterious young girl named Rin, who, to Daikichi’s astonishment, is his grandfather’s illegitimate daughter! When he gets a sudden phone call saying that his grandfather suddenly passes away, he promptly returns home to pay his respects.

The shy and unapproachable girl becomes immediately deemed an embarrassment to the family. She finds herself immediately ostracized by her father’s relatives, all of them refusing to take care of her in the wake of his death. Daikichi, angered by their coldness towards Rin, announces that he will take her in – even though he is a young, single man with no prior childcare experience, If a 70-year-old could have a child, then why couldn’t a 30-year-old take care of them in the most difficult of times?

When reading this story on paper, it seems a bit bland and even a tad abysmal, but that’s the beauty in this story. It’s filled with outstanding writing and character development that’ll make any viewer cling to the story long after the last episode ends. The pacing is remarkable for a slice-of-life anime series that targets itself towards the seriousness of this topic. This series is interesting because the writing has made it clear that parenting is no easy task, no matter where the child comes from. The ability to produce this type of quality without overloading the viewer with too many “what ifs” or having them question the story is remarkable, considering that many stories worldwide have this problem.

When it comes to Bunny Drop’s pitfalls in the story, only a few could be mentioned. For instance, this series is targeted towards older women, and if viewers are looking for more hard-hitting, emotional, tear-jerker anime, this will be a slight disappointment. There are some hard-hitting emotional moments, but nothing like those from other anime series; this is heavy on the Slice of Life. The other negative aspect of this story is that there is a lot of repetition; though there are many different story elements within this plot, they seem to follow a common trend. Of course, if one is a parent, they can easily relate to these problems, but if one is not interested in such storylines, they may find this story quite dull.

Bunny Drop has one of the better artistic styles that is very reminiscent of a storybook. With its use of earthy and dull colors, and then being able to use bright and vibrant colors simultaneously is a beautiful experience to see. While the art style is lovely, some viewers may compare it to series such as Sweetness & Lightning, and If It’s for My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord or Wandering Son for its story, even the artwork. But when it comes to this anime series artwork, it doesn’t shine that brightly alone and almost takes a behind-the-camera role, but when paired with the story and the characters, this art style shines like no other. Some series can have similar characteristics, but not all can reach this quality of teamwork within the art style.

Unlike the art style, the animation production of Bunny Drop is a little less spectacular. Sure the series has an incredible opening and closing animation, but for whatever reason, it just didn’t do anything positive or negative for the series. Though what was positive was the opening theme song, the song titled “Sweet Drops,” which Puffy performed, was a lovely catchy pop song to this type of series. The best part of the opening has to be that it showcases nothing about the story, which was a nice change of pace that was unexpected. Overall, the opening and closing sequences were good, but if it lacked that “wow” factor some series need, which somehow made these even better.

The characters of Bunny Drop were somewhat entertaining but somehow still better than one could expect. Daikichi Kawachi is a 30-year-old single man and the adoptive guardian of Rin. With Rin living in his small home, Daikichi quits smoking, cleans his house, and reluctantly cuts back on his work hours. Despite his irresponsible lifestyle, Daikichi is a very hard worker and is considered the best in his department. As any first-time parent, he is insecure about raising Rin and always asks co-workers for guidance.

Rin Kaga is a six-year-old girl and the illegitimate daughter of Daikichi’s grandfather, Souichi Kaga, and Masako Yoshii. She is strongly independent and mature for her age, often dealing with issues on her own. She is a little shy upon first meeting her, but she is quick to warm up to people and let her true personality shine through. She is a caring and respectable student who works hard in school, and even though she messes up sometimes and gets into trouble overall, she is a good kid.

Kouki Nitani is a boy Rin befriended in her daycare. He is considered an immature brat but quickly fonds Rin and Daikichi as a single parent raises him. He often gets into trouble and argues with Daikichi, mainly due to the two being the same. His mother, Yukari, is an attractive 32-year-old divorced woman raising her son alone. She sometimes gives guidance to Daikichi on raising Rin whenever he needs a helping hand. She also works in the same company as Daikichi, though in a separate department, but considers her child more important than the fast track and ultimately took a demotion to raise her son.

While some anime series can have incredible action scenes filled with punching, magic, and even blood, Bunny Drop doesn’t have any of that, but what it does have is something even better. It has a beautiful story about an adoptive father doing his best to raise a young girl who was dealt a horrible hand in life. The series is full of heartfelt moments that can easily be seen a mile away, but that’s what the viewers want to see. This anime is full of real-life problems that parents face when raising children, which makes this a great anime series. Like Wandering Son, Sweetness & Lightning, and all the other parenting and coming-of-age anime, Bunny Drop will forever be an anime that will pass any ones love and adoration, and it’s just that good!