Usagi Drop - Episode 8

Happy Birthday, Rin!

Episode Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (3/5)

We get a little more on Masako this episode. Although she didn't do much, it's obvious that she is starting to feel some guilt and regret for abandoning Rin. Overall, there was not much happening throughout the episode. Rin's birthday was a nice surprise but, unfortunately, she only had a cake to show for it. As for the theory of Masako's boyfriend (my assumption) being the father of Rin, it's less convincing now since he seemed to know nothing about Rin. But there could also be the possibility that Masako didn't tell him that it's his child. So many questions but no answers yet. Next episode looks to be about a festival, which almost always focuses a bit on the yutakas that the female characters wear. Daikichi fantasizing about Kouki's mother shows that he is absolutely prepared for it. It'll be fun to see what happens next.

From the look on Daikichi's face right at the start of the episode, it's obvious that summer is here in the world of Usagi Drop. But unlike Daikichi who is suffering from the heat, Rin continues her daily routine which involves many chores. Meanwhile, Masako-san and the orange-haired guy (whom I'll call her boyfriend for now until more information is known about him) are seen working on a manga. But due to fatigue, the two decide to step outside for some fresh air. On top of the "fresh air" they wanted to get, the two end up at the diner where Masako-san and Daikichi had met where she eats orders and eats an assortment of sweets. The topic of conversation ends up being about the job offer that Masako-san is offered. With her current job right now, she's making enough to survive. If she does accept this job it would mean more money but, in return, more energy used. Despite her boyfriend's caring words, she gets angry when he calls her a "girl" and storms out of the diner, leaving the poor guy to apologize to all the customers around him for the disturbance. Back at Daikichi's place, the unbearable heat causes him to lie on the floor in an attempt to cool down. But when he gets up to help make Rin's lunch, she does the same thing in order to see if it's actually true. Her face when she was lying down is screenshot-worthy but I felt the scene with the cake was much better. Anyways, Daikichi then explains to the viewers his and Rin's summer routine, consisting of making lunch in the morning before she goes off to daycare. And today, during breakfast, Daikichi brings up the suggestion of going to visit his grandfather's grave on Saturday. Despite Rin not wanting to go at first because the bellflowers she had been growing haven't bloomed yet (those flowers are Daikichi's grandfather's favorites), Daikichi convinces her otherwise and she ends up agreeing to go. Soon after, just like when school was in session, Kouki shows up at the door. Daikichi then takes the two kids to daycare. Along the way, Kouki runs off somewhere and returns with a cicada shell. He then shows off his collection, freaking out both Daikichi and Rin. To wrap up his antics, he places one on Daikichi's back before running off.

When Saturday finally came, Rin and Daikichi head towards the grave. Along the way, Daikichi accidentally lets slip the fact that his mother is his grandfather's daughter. Rin, being the smart girl that she is, uses this fact and concludes that she is his mother's sister. Fortunately, she doesn't think about it any further when the two reach the Kaga family grave. Upon taking a closer look at the grave, Rin notices a vase holding bellflowers that she knew Masako-san had resting on it. Seeing this confuses Daikichi since Masako-san didn't go to the funeral and yet came to the grave. Acting on impulse, he tries to search for her, knowing that she can't have gotten far. But when he does reach her, he also sees her boyfriend, causing him to hesitate in calling out to her. Eventually, after a bit of stalking, Daikichi makes some lame barking sound and catches her attention. He then offers her the opportunity to secretly see Rin since he and Rin were going to be at the grave the whole day. And with that, he runs back to the grave after reminding her that deciding what to do with the opportunity is totally up to her. Back at the grave, Daikichi sees Rin and, for some reason, thinks back to when he first met her. He then starts acting like an overprotective parent, pestering her with random questions. After this brief period of weirdness, the two then get to work and start planting the bellflowers that they had bought earlier. Meanwhile, Masako-san surprisingly took Daikichi's offer and hid inside a bush in order to see Rin. While watching her own daughter, whose all grown up now, a trouble look surfaces on her face. My guess is that it's one of regret or guilt. When she finally leaves with her boyfriend, he voices his surprise at finding out about her daughter and, amusingly, admitted that he thought Daikichi was her ex-boyfriend. Masako-san's first reaction to this is pure rage, essentially calling Daikichi an idiot, but when she thought back to Daikichi's grandfather, realized that, in about half a century, her opinion may change. This is enough for one to claim that Masako-san prefers elderly men. As for Daikichi, his mind is filled with questions regarding the orange-haired guy, also thinking that he may be Masako-san's boyfriend. Shortly after, Rin brings him back to reality and asks if they can go to his grandfather's house, her pleading eyes not giving him a chance to refuse. And back to Masako-san, she decides to take the job offer after all, with today's "meeting" (don't think you can really call it that) with Rin influencing her decision.

At sunset, Rin and Daikichi arrive at what used to be his grandfather's house. Before opening the gate to the garden, Rin's beaming smile could have lit up any dark cave. But when she goes in and looks at where the bellflowers used to be, there was only a ground full of rocks. After recovering from the shock, Rin surprises be by looking at the situation in a optimistic way, remembering that they still had bellflowers that are currently growing back at home, instead of shedding tears like I expected. It was obvious that even Daikichi was surprised at this as he has to force a smile in an attempt to match hers while dealing with the surprise. And while Rin celebrates her seventh birthday with Daikichi, Masako-san is working hard on her current project as a manga artist. Post-ED is once again, enjoyable. This time, it doubles as a preview, indicating that the next episode will most likely be about the upcoming festival. During this scene, Daikichi fantasizes about Kouki's mother wearing a kimono and quickly hurries both Rin and Kouki whereas, before hearing about the whole kimono thing from Kouki, he barely wanted to get out of the house. Anyways, looking forward to the next episode.