Bunny Drop Vol. 1
by Yumi Unita
When his grandfather passes away, Daikichi rushes to his hometown to be with his family. When he arrives, a small girl meets him in the front yard. Daikichi is puzzled, because he doesn't recognize the child - but his bewilderment is nothing compared to the shock he feels when he learns that the six-year-old Rin is the illegitimate child of his grandfather! Rin's mother is MIA, and no one in the family wants the responsibility of raising Rin. When his elders propose sending her to a foster home or an orphanage, Daikichi angrily explodes and adopts Rin himself. Thirty years old with no girlfriend and no experience with children, Daikichi has no idea what he's gotten himself into.
Bunny Drop is an incredibly cute series about a bachelor who suddenly finds himself trying to understand a child's perspective after spending years avoiding them. Daikichi is instantly likeable because he's the only one in his family who considers Rin's feelings at his grandfather's funeral, and he's the only one willing to take her in. It's sweet to watch him let Rin boss him around, or ask her for advice about her own upbringing. (At one point, he asks her if you're supposed to buy a size bigger for kids, and I cracked up because I remember my Mom saying that constantly throughout my childhood.) Rin is a mystery both to the reader and Daikichi; she is rarely expressive, either verbally or by gesture, so she is less a personality than a strange little presence nuzzling her way into Daikichi's life.
The art is very simple and clean. It suited the story very well. I mean, the story is so domestic and, well, normal - it would be weird to have CLAMP-style baroque costumes or the elaborate hair and pretty faces of Arina Tanemura and Naoko Takeuchi. Daikichi's just a normal guy in an unusual situation, and the simplicity of the backgrounds and spartan character designs make it easy to focus on the relationships that are the heart of the story.
4.5 out of 5 stars
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