This article includes spoilers for the “Usagi Drop” manga. Reader discretion is advised.
There are times when the ending of a manga does not satisfy fans and they prefer to pretend that it never existed. Typically, this is because a romantic pairing didn’t come to fruition or because the characters made decisions that are questionable at best. For fans of “Usagi Drop“The problem is not that they didn’t get a romantic partner, but that the partner they did get was between a man and his adopted daughter.
Daikichi Kawachi, 30, goes to the funeral of his grandfather Souichi and discovers that he fathered an illegitimate daughter named Rin, who was only six years old at the time. The family despises her for this, so Daikichi takes it upon himself to adopt her. He befriends another single mother named Yukari Nitani, who helps him try to raise Rin on his own.
Although the anime’s story only spans one year, the manga follows Daikichi and Rin’s relationship as father and daughter until Rin reaches high school. It is then that Rin begins to question her feelings towards Daikichi, and her friend Kouki, Yukari’s son, tries to help her confess her feelings to Daikichi even though he himself has feelings for her. The series ends with Rin confessing her feelings and Daikichi telling her to wait until after she graduates high school. In the end, Rin declares that she wants to have a child with him.
This ending was, to say the least, controversial. Many fans were outraged that Daikichi, who had raised Rin like a daughter, would consider having a romantic relationship with her. Some readers didn’t really hate the ending, while others despised it and claimed that it had ruined the entire series for them. The first half of the story focuses on the father-daughter relationship, although Rin states on numerous occasions that she has never seen Daikichi as her father. This is not unusual among stepchildren, even in the real world. After the timeskip is when many fans say things are going downhill.
- No, they don’t become a couple when Rin is a girl. The following is the last panel of the “Usagi Drop” manga, it shows Daikichi and Rin together.
The anime did not follow this line, but instead concluded with Rin still young and Daikichi reflecting on how far they had come as a family. There is no jump in time or confession of feelings. Many fans consider the anime to be superior in this regard, as they do not want it to end on such a controversial note. For this reason, some fans even despise the manga as a whole and consider the anime to be the true story. Although it is not technically incest, the idea of a man marrying the daughter he has raised makes many fans uncomfortable.
And why are we talking about this again when the manga ended over a decade ago? Well, it turns out that a page on Facebook decided to revive the debate stating that the author had made this development in a controversial and labeling anyone he liked as “degenerate and depraved”:
- «It makes us very disgusted and rejected that there are people trying to justify the end of this manga. They are all potentially degenerate and on top of that they begin to label those of us who do not agree with this relationship in the Usagi Drop manga as pedophiles. Justifying that “the girl grew up” is aberrant because they take out of the equation the type of relationship and bond they had in which he, a guy 24 years older, raised her as if she were his daughter. Saying that there are worse things in “real life” does not mean that this fiction is also wrong. Both things are wrong. It’s not very difficult to understand. Very sad to be sharing the love of manga and anime with so much degenerate and depraved on the loose.».
And of course, whenever people talk about “Usagi Drop” on social networks, comments cannot be missed:
- «Real children: Being abused, mistreated, raped, kidnapped, tortured, etc. These guys: OMG the drawing is traumatic. It terribly disgusts me that they minimize the abuse of minors in such a gigantic way for walking around screaming over cartoons.».
- «But if she is the grandfather’s daughter, it means that she is his aunt (or half-aunt, at least) so they do have blood ties. I say this based on what you mention, that I have not seen the anime, much less the manga.».
- «I can stand the relationship between Rin and Seshomaru, (which will continue to be a topic of controversy but it is justified) but not this one, I don’t understand why the author had to end it that way, maybe they forced her».
- «It is a fairly recurring topic and practically always by female authors, as is also the case of Inuyasha or Hachimitsu to Clover».
- «It’s FICTION. It scares me even more that there are forced weddings in Afghanistan with minors. or that women in Mexico are violated every day, that scares me. I think that instead of being “scared” by something totally fictitious, they should get their act together and better give visibility to other things.».
- «It’s just a manga, in fiction the girl can stay with him but defending what is politically correct in any manga is bad, if I remember correctly Rin didn’t see him as her father but rather her grandfather. but well, it would be bad if it was less when their relationship was in weight more than because of the age difference, that’s my opinion».
- «I learned to understand the manga and the ending, although strange, no longer bothers me, Rin never saw Daikichi as her father, she always said that her father was her grandfather».
- «As long as a relationship is consensual by both parties and no laws are broken, there is no problem. It’s called the rule of law.».
- «It’s amazing how hard that fantasy exists in Japan.».
- «Thanks for the warning. I stick with the story as it appears in the anime».
- «Taking into account that one of the great works of Japanese literature, The Story of Genji, in one of its chapters the protagonist raises a girl to turn her into his ideal woman. Nothing surprising coming from Japan».
- «Many female authors do this, but in their case the guy is usually super handsome and then they don’t find it disgusting anymore.».
- «The problem is in their culture. If you don’t like that type of content, don’t consume it. But it’s something you’re going to see more often than you think.».
- «Do you even have an idea what stupid things you’re saying? Not to mention, a lot of what you said is legally binding and they can practically sue you for defamation and perjury. Not to mention that you are showing your hypocritical face as a pseudo-moralistic otaku who seeks to impose his will on others under the excuse of freedom of expression. It’s amazing how much hypocrisy there can be in a comment, not to mention that colossal bias you have. I think you should see beyond your bias and start analyzing everything in the smallest detail, or also rethink what it means to be an otaku.».
- «Sakura and Inu Yasha (among others) show a similar relationship, and you applauded them a lot. They were?».
- «It makes us laugh how they cry over a manga to the point that they want to pretend it doesn’t exist.».
- «It causes us a lot of disgust and rejection that there are people who try to moralize a manga. They are all potentially degenerate and on top of that they begin to label those of us who agree with this relationship from the Usagi Drop manga as pedophiles. Justifying that “it is not morally correct” is aberrant because they take out of the equation that it is a manga NOT SOMETHING REAL. Saying that this fiction is bad does not mean that it is a good manga. It’s not very difficult to understand. Very sad to be sharing the love of manga and anime with so much degenerate and depraved on the loose.».
- «When you find out that those who criticize this manga are fans of Inu Yasha, your morale falls to the ground.».
Fountain: Facebook
