Usagi Drop - Episode 7

She's watching you...

Episode Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (4/5)

Actually, I would say that this episode deserved a 4.5/5. Anyways, I enjoyed the nice balance of comedy and drama, with many of the characters having roles. The interactions between the characters was also nice to see, especially the one involving Daikichi and Haruko. How Usagi Drop uses elements that are so realistic and easy to relate to, in order to create such an interesting story is beyond me. I'm actually disappointed that there's only four more episodes left. The story is still wide open and I feel that it will be a bit rushed if a conclusion is compressed into the last few episodes. Character-wise, I found Reina much less annoying and Kouki more entertaining. To me, the post-ED scene hints what I want to happen: Daikichi marries Kouki's mother and they form a family of four. Not sure if it's just a tease or my overly wishful thinking, but I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the story unfold.

While eating snacks on an ordinary day, Daikichi and Rin are in for a surprise as Haruko and Reina suddenly show up at the front door. And for the shocking truth: the two have run away from home. This fact gives Daikichi a great deal of shock as it is something so large and unexpected. Although Haruko doesn't give the exact reason for her eloping, she hints that it has something to do with her husband and his parents. Despite not knowing the full situation, Daikichi allows her and Reina to stay at his house for the time being, until the mess is solved. To repay him for his kindness, Haruko offers to cook dinner for the night as the two of them, along with Reina and Rin, go to the grocery store together. Coincidentally, they run into Kouki and his mother there, causing Daikichi to panic and act rashly, in order to clear up any misunderstandings. Luckily, it works but, while on the way home, Haruko starts to tease him about his obvious love for Kouki's mother. That night, with two more people now living there, things have gotten a bit more lively in the house. Eventually, Reina and Rin go to bed, allowing Daikichi and Haruko to sit down and chat over some beer. Their conversation soon becomes one between a raging Haruko and a overly calm Daikichi, caused by Daikichi revealing to his cousin that he called her house earlier to tell everyone there about the current situation. Meanwhile, it turns out that the children are both still awake. As the two of them hide under a blanket, Reina tells Rin about how her parents fight all the time and that she pretends to be asleep in order to not get involved, showing that, sometimes, children are smarter than you think. On the other side of the door, a raging Haruko has just starts crying because not having anyone to talk to about her feelings ever since she got married has taken its toll on her emotional state. Surprisingly, the tears stop fairly quickly and Haruko then decides to go to sleep. But before that, she shares with Daikichi the beautiful scene of Rin and Reina holding hands while asleep that she sees upon entering her room, ending the first day of her elopement on a high note.

It's the morning of Haruko's second day of elopement and the first thing she sees when she enters the kitchen is Rin cooking breakfast. This obviously took her by surprise judging by the look on her face. And when Daikichi stumbles in, he causes Haruko to think that Rin is the one cooking breakfast every morning. The two then get into a minor argument before Rin scolds them for their quarreling. A short while into breakfast, Kouki shows up like he always does on a weekday, but this time, when he sees Haruko, he assumes that Daikichi had just got married. Once again, Daikichi has to clear up the misunderstanding. Unfortunately, Kouki and his sharp tongue gave Daikichi a painful insult. The talk of marriage also stimulates some thought in the girls as Reina and Rin conclude that Daikichi and Haruko are the total opposites when it comes to current and desired marital status; Daikichi is single and wants to be married while Haruko is married and wants to be single. To end off the talk, the two girls agree that adults are, indeed, weird. A while later, while Daikichi washes the dishes, Haruko begins to tease Daikichi about him liking Kouki's mother once again, but after hearing Daikichi explain that he just wanted to help the lady about because she is a single mother, Haruko walks away, after commenting on how being a single mother must be tough, a comment which puzzles Daikichi.

With school about to start, Haruko prepares to drop off Reina. But before doing that, she reminds Reina to not tell anyone about them running away. Unfortunately, that becomes the first thing Reina talks about with her friends. For the rest of the day, Haruko just wanders around town, ironically seeing single mothers with their children at times. At the end of the day, the two adults sit down for a talk after the children have fallen asleep, just like the day before. For tonight, Daikich brings up the topic of divorce, something Haruko admits to have thought about countless times. But, being the caring mother that she is, she believes that sticking with the way things are now would cause Reina the least amount of suffering. And because she has already put up with her husband's personality for so many years, the affect he has on her has dwindled. After hearing her story, Daikichi is surprised to see how much stronger she has gotten. But, for Haruko, she didn't want this strength. In fact, through tears, she admits she would rather stay a child forever, filled with vulnerability and innocence. In the end, thanks to Daikichi's support and convincing words, Haruko declares that she and Reina will return home tomorrow, leaving Daikichi to think about what marriage and being a parent really is.

The next day, while the four persons in the household immerse themselves in a card game, a familiar sound reaches Reina's ears; the sound of her father's car engine. Although Haruko didn't believe that it was her husband since he's always late because of work, Reina runs towards the front door, opens and it, and runs towards her father who stood there, embracing him. A supposedly happy moment causes some annoyance for Haruko as she realizes that, if her husband really wanted to get off early, he could. Surprisingly, the first words that come out of Hideyuki's (Haruko's husband) mouth is an apology to Daikichi for all the trouble his wife may have caused. Upon hearing this, Daikichi's surprise leaves him at a loss for words. As Haruko and Reina leave, Daikichi reflects on how Haruko, who used to cry all the time as a child, had wished to stay a child forever, yesterday night. As for the post-ED scene, it's a treat for those who are supporting a Daikichi marrying Kouki's mother. While she and Rin shop for clothes, Daikichi and Kouki head outside for a drink, showing the chemistry between both adults and the other's child. I'm really hoping it ends up this way: a happy, family of four. Really enjoying Usagi Drop so far so I'm looking forward to the next episode.