30-year-old bachelor businessman Kawachi Daikichi encounters Rin, a girl he's never seen before, at his grandfather's funeral. Surprisingly, the 6-year-old girl turns out to be his grandfather's love child. Daikichi doesn't like children, but the cold attitude of his relatives towards Rin makes him uncomfortable - so when the time comes for the relatives' meeting to decide who will have custody of Daikichi finds himself volunteering... The first of this season's noitaminA shows, Usagi Drop nails it on just about every front: it's miles away from the usual fanboy pandering that so many shows are these days, it's a fairly accurate reflection of the problems that come with raising young children and the impact that having them around can have on your life, and there's a decent other story in there around Rin's mother as well. In short, it's the best show of the summer season so far. That said, a lot of that appeal may come from my being a father to two young children myself - all the things that Daikichi's finding out and nearly forgetting, I've been through as well. Would the series work as well for people who don't have those experiences behind them? I don't know, to be honest. THE GOOD: Strong characters, believable story, realistic depiction of the problems of raising a kid, all done in an entertaining and heartwarming way. THE BAD: Sorry, I've got nothing. Damned near perfect, at least as far as I've seen so far (up to episode 5). Definitely worth watching.
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