Book-It 'o11! Book #51
The Fifty Books Challenge, year three! (Years one and two, just in case you're curious.) This was a library request.
Title: Bunny Drop, Vol. 2 by Yumi Unita, translated by Kaori Inoue
Details: Copyright 2007, Shodensha Publishing Company; translation copyright 2010, Hachette Book Group Inc
Synopsis (By Way of Back Cover): "Like a plot out of a soap opera, bachelor Daikichi Kawachi's boringly normal life got a touch of the abnormal when he learned that his late granddad left behind a love child. And further rattling the unexpected skeleton in the closet? The ungainly, unglamorous Daikichi's impulsive decision to take in little Rin! But as the impromptu dad and his charge learn to adapt to both one another and their very new living situation, Daikichi is plagued by thoughts of Rin's mother. Who is she? Why has she been quiet all this time? Hot on the trail after discovering a modem at the old man's computer-less abode, Daikichi plays detective in a search for answers. But elementary school enrollment, extracurricular activities, and other parental obligations wait for no man, so when the day of confrontation with the mysterious Masako arrives, will Daikichi be prepared?!
Don't you think this world is better than you expected?"
Why I Wanted to Read It: In my fevered search for more graphic novels from my local library, I stumbled across this series. I loved the first book and was lucky enough to find the second volume.
How I Liked It: Offering proof of this series's standing as flat-out excellent is the fact the second book takes everything well done about the first even farther. The plotlines are tighter, the character development is stronger, and some of the art is downright frame-able, a quality that reminds me of the frequently staggeringly gorgeous Habibi. The angle of the panels has gotten more sophisticated, particularly in the more affectionate scenes between Rin and Daikichi (teaching her to use the kid-specific cooking knife she begged him for, they're captured from behind at the kitchen counter, his slouching height almost towering over her as he supervises her efforts perched on her stepping stool and comes to the realization that "when Rin grows up and leaves, I'll be really lonely." pg 70).
The more obscure cultural references are more frequent, as are the generational (Daikichi's bratty, spoiled, slightly-younger sister Kazumi laments the dated look of her childhood clothes being passed off to Rin as "Showa era" referring to the reign of Emperor Hirohito from 1926 to 1989).
The "coming-of-age" themes are running deeper as well. Daikichi frets over his age to a distressing degree (checking his hair for recession, complaining about his jacket letting the cold get to a "thirty-year-old body") especially when nagged by various relatives untrustworthy of his ability to take care of himself let alone a child. He ponders to Rin the complexity and the exact nature of their relationship (would she like him to be her father?) along with their own rules for affection (when realizing that Rin is becoming less physically affectionate since she's been told by classmates "only babies sit in laps", Daikichi realizes aloud "Even adults have times when they want to be held.") and this particular volume ends with Rin promising to hug Daikichi whenever he needs to cry (earlier, when discussing their relationship, Rin decides "I like Daikichi as Daikichi," which compels him to tears that, when noticed by Rin, he defends as "I'M SWEATY!"). After Rin's aggressive hugging with a promise "You don't need to worry about a thing," Daikichi's final lines of dialog in this book are the premise by which the reader now well knows: "Am I raising Rin or am I being raised by Rin? Sometimes I'm not entirely sure."
The book manages to be both another exciting chapter in the series and yet a work of art of its own.
Notable: For a series that references so much pop culture (including trademarked pop culture), little Rin's much-talked about school paraphernalia features no famous characters (possibly due to copyright issues?), despite dialog such as
“"A backpack? The brand name and fashionable ones are already sold out!! I can buy a generic one, right...? A plain one's fine.” pg 72
Daikichi is rebuked by his horrified mother: "She's a little girl! That is not fine!!"
It just seems like the author would at least invent a character to be the "must-have" if not use an actual one.
Title: Bunny Drop, Vol. 2 by Yumi Unita, translated by Kaori Inoue
Details: Copyright 2007, Shodensha Publishing Company; translation copyright 2010, Hachette Book Group Inc
Synopsis (By Way of Back Cover): "Like a plot out of a soap opera, bachelor Daikichi Kawachi's boringly normal life got a touch of the abnormal when he learned that his late granddad left behind a love child. And further rattling the unexpected skeleton in the closet? The ungainly, unglamorous Daikichi's impulsive decision to take in little Rin! But as the impromptu dad and his charge learn to adapt to both one another and their very new living situation, Daikichi is plagued by thoughts of Rin's mother. Who is she? Why has she been quiet all this time? Hot on the trail after discovering a modem at the old man's computer-less abode, Daikichi plays detective in a search for answers. But elementary school enrollment, extracurricular activities, and other parental obligations wait for no man, so when the day of confrontation with the mysterious Masako arrives, will Daikichi be prepared?!
Don't you think this world is better than you expected?"
Why I Wanted to Read It: In my fevered search for more graphic novels from my local library, I stumbled across this series. I loved the first book and was lucky enough to find the second volume.
How I Liked It: Offering proof of this series's standing as flat-out excellent is the fact the second book takes everything well done about the first even farther. The plotlines are tighter, the character development is stronger, and some of the art is downright frame-able, a quality that reminds me of the frequently staggeringly gorgeous Habibi. The angle of the panels has gotten more sophisticated, particularly in the more affectionate scenes between Rin and Daikichi (teaching her to use the kid-specific cooking knife she begged him for, they're captured from behind at the kitchen counter, his slouching height almost towering over her as he supervises her efforts perched on her stepping stool and comes to the realization that "when Rin grows up and leaves, I'll be really lonely." pg 70).
The more obscure cultural references are more frequent, as are the generational (Daikichi's bratty, spoiled, slightly-younger sister Kazumi laments the dated look of her childhood clothes being passed off to Rin as "Showa era" referring to the reign of Emperor Hirohito from 1926 to 1989).
The "coming-of-age" themes are running deeper as well. Daikichi frets over his age to a distressing degree (checking his hair for recession, complaining about his jacket letting the cold get to a "thirty-year-old body") especially when nagged by various relatives untrustworthy of his ability to take care of himself let alone a child. He ponders to Rin the complexity and the exact nature of their relationship (would she like him to be her father?) along with their own rules for affection (when realizing that Rin is becoming less physically affectionate since she's been told by classmates "only babies sit in laps", Daikichi realizes aloud "Even adults have times when they want to be held.") and this particular volume ends with Rin promising to hug Daikichi whenever he needs to cry (earlier, when discussing their relationship, Rin decides "I like Daikichi as Daikichi," which compels him to tears that, when noticed by Rin, he defends as "I'M SWEATY!"). After Rin's aggressive hugging with a promise "You don't need to worry about a thing," Daikichi's final lines of dialog in this book are the premise by which the reader now well knows: "Am I raising Rin or am I being raised by Rin? Sometimes I'm not entirely sure."
The book manages to be both another exciting chapter in the series and yet a work of art of its own.
Notable: For a series that references so much pop culture (including trademarked pop culture), little Rin's much-talked about school paraphernalia features no famous characters (possibly due to copyright issues?), despite dialog such as
“"A backpack? The brand name and fashionable ones are already sold out!! I can buy a generic one, right...? A plain one's fine.” pg 72
Daikichi is rebuked by his horrified mother: "She's a little girl! That is not fine!!"
It just seems like the author would at least invent a character to be the "must-have" if not use an actual one.