aka Usagi Drop & Listen to Me, Girls. I Am Your Father! (or Papakiki for short)
Number of Episodes: 11 (with 4 mini-OVAs) & 12
What
"Segawa Yuuta is a freshman of a university. He lost his parents when he was small and was raised by his sister Yuri. Yuuta has been living alone since Yuri got married to a middle aged man when Yuta was a junior high student. One day, Yuri visited Yuuta's apartment and asked him to take care of her three daughters while Yuri and her husband were on a trip. He unwillingly accepted the job but the plane Yuri took went missing. In order to prevent the daughters (the elder two of the daughters are children of Yuri's husband from other women [while] the smallest one is his and Yuri's child) from being adopted separately by relatives, Yuuta decided to take in all three girls. A life of a strange family in a tiny apartment begins." (Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai!)
tTPO says: These two series take a somewhat different approach to the same theme. Bunny Drop is based on a manga (which extends significantly further in time than the anime, read at your peril) and is the more 'adult' of the two, given that the main character, unusually, is in his 30s, single and not at school. He soon has family support and sorts out most of the practical issues with respect to work pretty quickly (punctuality notwithstanding), leaving this focused on the very much a slice of life series focussed on the issues he faces (the changes in responsibility and lifestyle when suddenly faced with raising a child) and the relationship between Daikichi and Rin.
Papkiki (a hell of a lot easier than continually typing Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai!) is based on light novels which also extend much further than the anime. Because Yuuta is much younger (18) when he adopts the 3 girls, and does so against the families recommendation there are a lot more practical issues (as well as many of the same emotional issues) that need to be overcome by both Yuta and the girls. While Bunny drop (as an anime) only has hints of romance between Daikichi and another single mum, there is more overt romantic interaction between Sora (14) and Yuuta which is thankfully not reciprocated and Yuuta and clubmate Raika (who gets an entry into the top ten most desirable anime women, mostly because she doesn't talk much, can cook, has a very dry sense of humour, is violent and is easy on the eye). There is also a somewhat disturbing worship of both the precocious Miu (10) and Hina (3) by Yuuta's clubmate Sako. Thankfully also, this whiff of pedophilia is constantly rewarded by protective violence from Raika. And lastly there is a the platonic date between ladies man clubmate Nimura and Miu one episode. Despite all of this potentially very inappropriate romance, accidental fan service notwithstanding, the overwhelming message from the characters inter-relationships is one of strong friendships and mutual support though trying circumstances, and it is this honest emotion that carries the series. Indeed the theme that the notion of family being more about care and love and not just blood relations is common to both series.
How About the Music?: The Bunny drop OP (Sweet Drops by Puffy) is a bouncy bit of innocent 60s sounding pop and is a perfect intro to the series. The ED ("High High High" by kasarinchu) is a bit more downbeat but still optimistic. I got the feeling the OP was about Rin and the ED about Daikichi.
The PapaKiki OP Happy Girl - Eri Kitamura) is also an optimistic bit of catchy pop, more overtly J-pop but perfect for the girls. The ED (Colouring - Yui Horie) is a bit more mid-tempo electro pop and reminded me in feel at least of the lesser of the Ao no Exorcist EDs. Not as good match to the feel of the series I thought.
So how does it end? (Spoiler Free): Both of these series had emotionally satisfying endings, though especially with Bunny Drop, the slice of life nature of the series meant that plot-wise there is hardly a climactic conclusion. Papakiki was endowed with a bit more story which enabled a resolution to some of the immediate plot issues covered by the story. Both are left wide open for second seasons or more OVAs.
Overall Grade: Both these series succeed at the most important things - the emotional weight of the situation the characters find themselves in and how they respond to it. I'm not sure there is much here for the young crowd (maybe I am wrong) but as an old dude with a wife and child these series resonated strongly with both Mrs tTPO and myself. Grade B+ from all of us.
tTPO says: These two series take a somewhat different approach to the same theme. Bunny Drop is based on a manga (which extends significantly further in time than the anime, read at your peril) and is the more 'adult' of the two, given that the main character, unusually, is in his 30s, single and not at school. He soon has family support and sorts out most of the practical issues with respect to work pretty quickly (punctuality notwithstanding), leaving this focused on the very much a slice of life series focussed on the issues he faces (the changes in responsibility and lifestyle when suddenly faced with raising a child) and the relationship between Daikichi and Rin.
Papkiki (a hell of a lot easier than continually typing Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai!) is based on light novels which also extend much further than the anime. Because Yuuta is much younger (18) when he adopts the 3 girls, and does so against the families recommendation there are a lot more practical issues (as well as many of the same emotional issues) that need to be overcome by both Yuta and the girls. While Bunny drop (as an anime) only has hints of romance between Daikichi and another single mum, there is more overt romantic interaction between Sora (14) and Yuuta which is thankfully not reciprocated and Yuuta and clubmate Raika (who gets an entry into the top ten most desirable anime women, mostly because she doesn't talk much, can cook, has a very dry sense of humour, is violent and is easy on the eye). There is also a somewhat disturbing worship of both the precocious Miu (10) and Hina (3) by Yuuta's clubmate Sako. Thankfully also, this whiff of pedophilia is constantly rewarded by protective violence from Raika. And lastly there is a the platonic date between ladies man clubmate Nimura and Miu one episode. Despite all of this potentially very inappropriate romance, accidental fan service notwithstanding, the overwhelming message from the characters inter-relationships is one of strong friendships and mutual support though trying circumstances, and it is this honest emotion that carries the series. Indeed the theme that the notion of family being more about care and love and not just blood relations is common to both series.
How About the Music?: The Bunny drop OP (Sweet Drops by Puffy) is a bouncy bit of innocent 60s sounding pop and is a perfect intro to the series. The ED ("High High High" by kasarinchu) is a bit more downbeat but still optimistic. I got the feeling the OP was about Rin and the ED about Daikichi.
The PapaKiki OP Happy Girl - Eri Kitamura) is also an optimistic bit of catchy pop, more overtly J-pop but perfect for the girls. The ED (Colouring - Yui Horie) is a bit more mid-tempo electro pop and reminded me in feel at least of the lesser of the Ao no Exorcist EDs. Not as good match to the feel of the series I thought.
So how does it end? (Spoiler Free): Both of these series had emotionally satisfying endings, though especially with Bunny Drop, the slice of life nature of the series meant that plot-wise there is hardly a climactic conclusion. Papakiki was endowed with a bit more story which enabled a resolution to some of the immediate plot issues covered by the story. Both are left wide open for second seasons or more OVAs.
Overall Grade: Both these series succeed at the most important things - the emotional weight of the situation the characters find themselves in and how they respond to it. I'm not sure there is much here for the young crowd (maybe I am wrong) but as an old dude with a wife and child these series resonated strongly with both Mrs tTPO and myself. Grade B+ from all of us.
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