(no subject)

[skygiants]

I'M REALLY UPSET.

Okay, so my roommate brought home the first three volumes of Bunny Drop, a reasonably adorable manga about a thirtysomething dude who adopts his grandfather's six-year-old lovechild after said grandfather passes away.

It is not like Yotsuba great or anything (because nothing is Yotsuba great) but it's very charming, and does some pretty interesting stuff with exploring the actual cost in time and money of raising a child and how that's gendered. I'm especially interested in the plotline with Rin's birth mother, a mangaka who is committed to her work and does not feel capable of or interested in raising a child.

So I read the first three, and enjoy them, and I start looking into possibly getting the rest of the volumes out of the library. "Huh!" I think. "The library has up to volume 9, wonder if that's all of them? I'll go check Wikipedia --"

AND THAT'S WHERE EVERYTHING WENT HORRIBLY WRONG.


They get married?!

He adopts a SIX-YEAR-OLD in a REALISTIC SLICE-OF-LIFE MANGA because HE REMINDS HER OF HER DAD and fifteen years later they get MARRIED?!

NO WHY

So that happened. OBVIOUSLY I AM NOT FINISHING THE SERIES. The problem is I still want to know what happens with the thread with Rin's birth mother. Has anyone read this far? Is it worth reading volume 4 before fleeing for the hills?

Comments

[opusculasedfera]

Fleeing for the hills is probably the best option? It only goes really to shit in the last volume, but once you know that all of her reasonably subtle adolescent confusion about how do adopted relationships when I am no longer a child???? is going to end with "nah, it's totes fine to bang the dude who has been your father since you were SIX", it's pretty thoroughly tainted.

(I don't remember the thread with the birth mother going anywhere particularly interesting, except that she reveals she actually lied about the whole lovechild thing so as to make the creepy relationship not actually incestuous, because clearly it's the BLOOD RELATION that was the problem, rather than the OVER A DECADE OF CHILD-REARING. Also she eventually has another baby that she does want to rear, just so we're clear that her lack of interest in Rin was an aberration and we're not to take that seriously as a path for women. (I would give it more credit for saying that women can want different things at different times in their lives, except that the ending ruined everything.:P))

[skygiants]

I am definitely not reading ANYTHING past the timeskip. I was sort of curious how the part with her as a kid ended, but not . . . that curious . . .

(OH WELL GREAT THEN. >.< UGH. What I really wanted to know is if it was going to end the way I wanted it to end, with Our Hero coming to terms with the fact that some people don't want kids and that's okay! TOO MUCH TO HOPE FOR I GUESS.)

[opusculasedfera]

Yeah, it's really upsetting how badly that ending ruined everything.

(Yeah, no, nothing like that. Our Hero barely pays her any further mind. Rin eventually wants to meet her and they develop a relationship, but again, this is about her now having a baby and Rin's developing desire to be super domestic and keep house for her FATHER FIGURE FOREVER, EW EW EW. (Er, nothing wrong with domesticity in general, but this situation in particular is bad news bears, etc.))

[skygiants]

(I keep wondering how HIS FAMILY -- the family that has gotten used to having Rin as a GRANDCHILD for the past ten years -- is going to react!!! But I'm sure that is never dealt with either.)

[opusculasedfera]

NOPE. Father-figure (whose name I've forgotten, it's been a while) is like "WELL, we'll have to wait until you've graduated high school before we can date please, please, forget about this" and then the manga ends with her being like I'VE GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL AND NOW WE ARE IN A RELATIONSHIP and they stare at each other awkwardly and neither seems willing to initiate physical contact. THE END.

[intothespin]

Right?! Obviously, Rin's birth mother didn't handle anything well and neglecting/abusing her kid is not an acceptable reaction to an unplanned pregnancy. But I thought the series was going to this place where it acknowledged yeah, childcare is hard, and not everyone is suited to it, and figuring out whether you are or aren't is important.

[skygiants]

I wasn't exactly clear how much Rin's mother was neglecting/abusing her, and how much she had just agreed with the grandfather not to be involved in her life as a parent. With the information we have so far, I actually ended up way angrier with the grandfather for pressuring her into going through with the pregnancy to begin with, although even before finding out spoilers I didn't even hope that the manga was going to go to a place of putting appropriate responsibility on him for that.

[intothespin]

THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I BOUGHT VOLUME 4 AND THEN DUMPED IN THE TO SELL STACK UNREAD AFTER READING WIKIPEDIA.

WHY?!?! What made anyone think this was a GOOD IDEA?!?!?

[skygiants]

I DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING!!!!!

[gramarye1971]

Pretty much all I know of Usagi Drop is the general OH WTF NO reaction of pretty much anyone who gets beyond Volume 4. (I don't think it's much of a coincidence that the noitaminA anime version ends right before the time skip starts.) And that's what I've seen some people do: consider that the series ends where the anime does and don't go any further. But I don't know that I could watch the anime or read even that far, knowing how the author continues the story.

[skygiants]

I'M REALLY MAD AT THOMAS FOR BRINGING VOLUMES HOME AND NOT WARNING ME

[meganbmoore]

I thankkfully learned about that BEFORE checking it out. One of the few times I've been thankful for spoilers.

[skygiants]

I know, right? BETTER THAN BEING BLINDSIDED.

[dimestore_romeo]

What. WHAT. D:

[skygiants]

IT'S SO DISTRESSING

[dimestore_romeo]

Actually I started off WAY more horrified because I had confused Yotsuba with Usagi Drop, which would definitely be in we are in hell territory.

[skygiants]

OH MY GOD

AUGGGGGGGGGGGH

I don't even want to THINK what that would do to me. Like, at least I wasn't actually super invested in Bunny Drop!

[jothra]

I read the first volume of that and thought it was cute. DDDD:

[skygiants]

The first volume was really cute! The first several volumes are cute! BUT THEN EVERYTHING CHANGED WHEN THE WIFE HUSBANDRY ATTACKED

[thewickedlady]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaqh!!!!!!!

i am really thankful you read this because you warned me! my comic book guy recced after reading the first volume. I AM WARNING HIM RIGHT NOW.

i am sorry, why would someone writ this!?!

[skygiants]

I DON'T UNDERSTAND. The thing is, it really is legitimately nuanced and good in a lot of ways at first! THERE AREN'T EVEN WARNING SIGNS.

[umadoshi]

So much ugh. >.< I've read...five volumes or so? One past the timeskip, anyway. I didn't like that last volume I read as much, and then I heard about what happens, and that was just it. No more of that for me. *shudders*

[skygiants]

Yeah, I had vaguely heard that the post-timeskip part wasn't as good, but I hadn't heard about, like, the MAGNITUDE OF TERRIBLE.

[jinian]

You likely heard me bitching that the post-timeskip volume was boring. I HAD NO IDEA OF THE HORROR. I might cry.

WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG

[skygiants]

OH GOD DID YOU NOT KNOW

WERE YOU NOT WARNED

[jinian]

No, apparently I am the most oblivious person ever! rushthatspeaks was all, but there is an ongoing multi-year flamewar, I didn't think anyone didn't KNOW. I didn't know. :(

the truly sick part is that I am ever so slightly relieved that at least Rin doesn't get with her horrible childhood friend

[skygiants]

is it terrible that I'm kind of glad I'm only the second-to-last person to find out?

AHHH he grows up that bad too?!

[jinian]

No, I understand!

he gets WORSE, like womanizing and trying to coerce her worse, though not Hot Gimmick worse or anything

[in_the_blue]

Yeah, that sure is realistic, Woody Allen.

Ugh. Not that I was going to read it anyway, but thanks for the heads up.

[skygiants]

YOU'RE WELCOME. Ughhhhhh.

[sovay]

AND THAT'S WHERE EVERYTHING WENT HORRIBLY WRONG.

I had not read this manga. I had heard of it, strictly in terms of the premise. I had not heard anything about the play-out.

I think I do not need to read it now.

[skygiants]

I had seen it recced a fair amount on the premise and promise of the first few volumes! HOW LITTLE WE ALL KNEW THEN.

[shati]

THOMAS!!!

[skygiants]

I'M STILL SO ANGRY

[aberration]

Look Becca, sometimes, in the course of human events... AUTHORS MAKE INEXPLICABLY AWFUL DECISIONS WHY

Because I'm procrastinating on finishing this application I looked up the manga and found this post defending it saying the character ending with another guy would have been the predictable, "boring" ending. UM. SO ENDING UP WITH HER FATHER WAS THE ONLY OTHER OPTION???

[skygiants]

I WILL NEVER TRUST AN UNFINISHED STORY AGAIN

okay this is an exaggeration. But trusting is becoming very hard for me. I've been burned before.

hahaha man if I haven't written it up before I see you on Wednesday you will probably hear me rant about another YA dystopia I read last week. HEROINE'S GOTTA END UP WITH SOMEONE, it's just a matter of choosing the lesser of two jerkwads!

[aberration]

It's like Chekov's Woman, apparently. If they don't end up with menfolk what's the point of even having them there!

[lacewood]

... Oh dear. I've seen this series around but never got around to checking it out. Clearly... this was very fortunate... for me. Um, at least you found out BEFORE reading all 21 volumes?

[skygiants]

There were only nine, thankfully! And I only got through three, and they were in my house so I didn't even have to go through any effort for them. Thankfully I found out before I put any library requests into the system for them, basically.

[jinian]

Huh. rushthatspeaks points out that it's being the Tale of Genji. I encouraged them to read and review it in that light!

[skygiants]

You know, formative as the Tale of Genji undoubtedly was, I kind of feel that nonetheless modern authors should perhaps avoid taking it as a model . . .

However if rushthatspeaks wishes to jump on that bullet, as always, I FULLY ENCOURAGE IT. The world should know!

[innerbrat]

OH MY GOD YOU HAVE THE WORST ROOMMATE. THE WORST.

[skygiants]

WHY WOULDN'T HE WARN ME *weeps*

[oyceter]

YES I READ THE FIRST FEW VOLS AND IT WAS CUTE AND THEN I FOUND OUT AND OH GOD MUST RUN OFF TO SCRUB MY BRAIN AGAIN GAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!

[skygiants]

The fact that it was cute at first just makes it SO MUCH WORSE when you eventually find out! ;____;

[esmenet]

I did not know this.

I'M NOT SURE I WANTED TO KNOW THIS.

I read the first few volumes! And it was cute! and then she and her childhood friend were in high school and it was not interesting so i stopped. That was probs a good decision, because I might have set my computer ON FIRE, LIKE ACTUALLY ON FIRE if I'd finished it.

[this icon is not accurate; I am not angry I am HORRIFIED]

[skygiants]

I'M SORRY YOU HAVE TO KNOW NOW

I sort of didn't want to know either

but it was better than the alternative ;____;