Potential New Anime - Usagi Drop (episode 1)

We've been bombarded with plenty slice-of-life anime this season. Usagi Drop is another entry, and the first episode shows that this will be a strong contender alongside Ikoku Meiro no Croisee. Based on a manga series of the same title, it tells the story of a 30-year old salaryman Daikichi who acts as a guardian of his grandfather's illegitimate 6 years old daughter, Rin.

Daikichi and Rin, the pair that define this show

The story is fairly simple, and based on the first episode, it will have the same main essence in it's plot as Ikoku, which centers around the dynamic between an eccentric duo. There are a couple of difference that could be noted about the main characters though. For a start, Daikichi is a mature 30 years old man, whilst claude is an immature young man. Secondly, Rin is a very childish and weird girl, while Yune is fairly mature at her age. The 2 pair has a different combination of personality and will surely bring different impact.

Story wise, Usagi Drop is more down to earth, set in modern japan, and strives for realism as much as possible, unlike Ikoku whose settings is more than a century old and has Paris as it's stage. Usagi Drop's story also flow more naturally and does not try to be overly dramatic unlike Ikoku. It tries to move the heart of the viewer with simple daily scenes and gestures, and it achieves just that in the first episode.

The first few minutes has a very unique and beautiful art style

The animation here is beautiful. The first few minutes has a very distinct and unique art style that looks beautiful. After the opening animation, the art style changed back to something a bit more generic, but still retain it's soft colors and shades. The animation style and direction is just amazing and matches the soft  and natural flow of Usagi Drop's story. The opening animation is quite unique and so does the ending animation. All in all, Production I.G. did a fine job animating the first episode, and I hope that doesn't change until the end of the series.

The music here is quite good, soft and soothing that matches the atmosphere of the anime. It's nothing really memorable but is good enough to fleshes out the scenes.

Usagi Drop's first episode shows a lot of potential but I will keep my final verdict until the show ends.