Daikichi met up with Rin’s mother in this episode, and she seems to be quite the interesting character. I’m guessing that she’s a prostitute? She sneaks out at night for her job, Rin was an unwanted child, and I highly doubt that grandpa was actually Rin’s father. Plus she was with that guy at the end. So an aspiring mangaka / maid by day, and a prostitute by night?
I have to agree with Daikichi’s mother on this one though: she is a terrible mother. I don’t think Daikichi should feel too torn about taking Rin from her. His grandfather definitely made the right decision in entrusting Rin to a random relative over her birth mother. It doesn’t seem to be a temporary thing either due to personal difficulties: she doesn’t ever intend to act like a mother to Rin.
The other major thread of this episode was whether Rin would change her name to share Daikichi’s. It was amusing how Daikichi and Rin’s mothers both agreed so vehemently on this point. I can certainly sympathize with Daikichi here in wanting to leave the decision up to Rin, but let’s face it: she’s six years old. She’s not exactly equipped to realize the enormity of the decision, and Daikichi’s plan backfires. Rin ends up having to hold Daikichi in her lap to comfort him. I doubt the consequences will be as enormous as the two mothers think… but I’m not a mother, so what do I know.
One last thing I’m pleased about: the pace of this anime. Rin has already graduated from nursery school and will soon be starting first grade. I’m not sure exactly when she started, but at least several months must have passed by. You can observe the passage of time from a bunch of the small details: Rin and Daikichi have a well established tooth brushing routine, she apologizes for never hugging him before, her knife present, Daikichi saying his home will always be her home, and more. With such a short timeslot, Usagi Drop needs to make the most of its time. So far it seems like it will be prepared to give a solid conclusion.
I think Rin’s mother said she goes out for editorial meetings at night in addition to writing and drawing manga during the day.
She is a very interesting character though, and this episode gave us so much to consider. Why does she like sweets so much (the parfait early and the pudding containers later)? Why does she continuously stroke her hair? Who is that guy in her apartment? Brother, boyfriend or what? Good stuff.
You’re absolutely right about the anime’s pacing. Turns out we didn’t need to wait at all to see Daikichi and Rin cross the adoption bridge for the first time. We also saw Rin’s childhood friend’s mother and Daikichi interact. Could this possibly mean we get a Brady Bunch happy ending in the future? Doubt it, but one can hope!
Nice pickup on the details marking time points. I never even thought about the toothbrush routine. I like how we saw Rin refuse to join Daikichi in his sleeping bag after she woke from her dream. She reached for her stuffed animal instead. Looks our heroine is slowing becoming older, more mature and independent.
Finally the Daikichi/Rin adoption scene…HHNNNGGG!!
Hm, I missed the part about the editorial meetings somehow. Also him being her brother never occurred to me either. Definitely a less exciting interpretation than prostitution, but probably a more realistic one. 🙁
And good point, the stuffed animal is another sign that I missed. I doubt she wets her bed anymore either. Kids just grow up too fast.
This show is really, really good for a slice of life (at least through Episode 2 that I’ve seen). It has the very light comedy that’s really enjoyable even compared to some dedicated comedies. It has touching moments without annoying characters or supernatural elements. Better than expected!
Definitely, I’m looking forward to seeing where they’ll take it!