“Sweet Little Things” – Bunny Drop (anime) – 10/10 Notebooks

'Ohana' means family - no one gets left behind, and no one is ever forgotten. ~Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, Lilo & Stitch

Genre: Slice-of-life/Josei/Drama

Review Status: Complete (11 Episodes/11 Episodes)

Licensed: Yes, this anime is licensed in the US, available for legal viewing on Crunchyroll

Art/Animation: The art style stays true to the manga, with minimal detail and sketch-like art. That doesn’t detract from it at all! With vibrant colors and some beautifully fluid animation, this looks fantastic. The opening minute before the intro song is made to look like it’s done in watercolor, which adds a dream-like quality to it and really is pretty. Unfortunately, it goes back to standard coloring for the rest of the anime, but that’s not a bad thing.

Dub Vs. Sub: There is no dub.

Summary: While attending his grandfather's funeral, thirty-year-old bachelor Daikichi is surprised to discover that his grandfather had an illegitimate child with an unknown mother! The rest of his family, fearing the obligation and embarrassment, want nothing to do with the silent little girl, Rin. Sensing her imminent abandonment and outraged by his complacent family members, Daikichi decides to adopt her himself! ...yet he may have underestimated the difficulty of balancing his work, family, and love life with his role as her guardian.

Review: It’s hard not to compare this to the manga when I’ve read it and loved it. I was very scared when the anime was announced since I had no clue whether they’d be able to properly adapt it, or which parts were going to be adapted. This is the entire pre-timeskip half of the manga, covering volumes 1-3. It didn’t fail to deliver on any level!

The thing about anime is that it’s a completely different media than manga, and allowances have to be made for that. They did adapt everything, but expanded the stories in ways that enriched them. When Daikichi first meets Rin, the whole family is there, and certain rituals must be observed. The things that went on are expanded upon, really bringing you into the family dynamics and getting to know them.

This builds up the details of how Rin and Daikichi get along so well, showing the little things that go on in their everyday lives, the care that they have for another. What’s also nice is that two characters that I wish I saw more of in the manga- Kouki and his mom- get brought in a lot more often, and have a closer relationship than depicted in the manga. Some of the sweetest scenes were when all four were together, enjoying each other’s company like a family.

Not everything is sunshine and rainbows, though. Rin’s mom is alternately sympathetic and obnoxious. Rin and Daikichi do have some hard times explaining their relationship. They see how hard some things are for those around them and how love and family affects that. All these issues are handled well, in very sensitive ways.

To speak on how amazing this anime is, I know a few people who are dead-set about not having kids. This anime is *almost* enough to make them rethink that.

Overall, it’s a sweet story about two people becoming a family, and I hope that they pick up a second season.

Recommended: 10+. There are three swears, two d-word and one a-word. A trickle of blood from both Kouki and Rin’s mouths when they lose their teeth. However, this is very family-friendly, even though somehow I don’t think that kids younger than 10 would appreciate the subject matter.

Other titles you might enjoy:
Bunny Drop (manga)
Yotsuba&! (manga)
Love So Life (manga)