Usagi Drop - Vol. 10 Ch. 62 - Since Then

[justsomeguywhoreadsmanga]

Ehhh, fuck it. I’m okay with that.
Even if I wasn’t, the manga was still pretty entertaining. It’s a 7/10 for me.

 

[Ebbelille]

not only did he raise her - they are related by blood.
This is despicable.

 

[Raikoumaru]

not only did he raise her - they are related by blood.
This is despicable.

Nope. They are not related by blood. Rin was adopted by the grandfather. If you read the story where she met her mother, she explained it

 

[Ebbelille]

Nope. They are not related by blood. Rin was adopted by the grandfather. If you read the story where she met her mother, she explained it

my mistake, sorry

 

[Arcverson]

Tf did I just read😵‍💫 and I kinda like it wtf???

 

[LoliLover852]

@deadrabbits Ah yes, the typical, annoying, and invalid argument "it's just a manga".

I never understood this argument "Its just a manga" Like can we not talk about how bad something is after being betrayed beautifuly? And especially if it's got such a messed up ending as it is, this dude FUCKED his own daughter after raising her for 10 years. If this is a hentai I would be whatever god knows there are far far worse ones out there and I could rationalize it as guilty pleasure, but this is a manga where the story and characters is whats carrying it.

 

[cksn]

men have been taking in wards and marrying them themselves or to their relatives when they come of age literally forever. there's nothing wrong with it. the moral law doesn't get patch updates.

the weird one is daikichi for being basically a eunuch and needing her to spell it out to him

 

[aidenjoon]

Well that was the worst thing I've ever done.

 

[minsam]

lol at daikichi's family being okay with their marriage or relationship smh

 

[minsam]

my mistake, sorry

it's still despicable. imagine your sibling finds out you two aren't related and wants to smash you

 

[nightz8]

it's still despicable. imagine your sibling finds out you two aren't related and wants to smash you

> u just explained half of kiss x sis plot XD

 

[Desuka]

Rin has been playing 5D chess from very beginning of the manga to groom this middle aged man to be her husband.

 

[PR_Han]

Rin you absolute madlad, you really are insane.

 

[Remedil]

I remember when I first read this, years ago. I took a shower right afterwards, laughing like a maniac at how FUCKED this manga ended.

 

[Heika]

People have terrible media literacy. They can't seems to realize that just because something happens in a work of fiction, it doesn't mean that the author intends for that thing to be positively received

 

[cksn]

People have terrible media literacy. They can't seems to realize that just because something happens in a work of fiction, it doesn't mean that the author intends for that thing to be positively received

the problem here is that it's a modern dogma that sexual power imbalance in the man's favor, with age or with position, is so evil that no woman can ever accept it unless she's mentally damaged or evil herself (just like women who accept domestic violence or who reject women's rights etc). this manga shows the girl as happy, not obviously mentally damaged, not evil. to merely depict this is already heretical. there's no way to explain the dogma without making it sound retarded, which is why one side of the issue makes moralistic angry noises but never arguments.

 

[Heika]

the problem here is that it's a modern dogma that sexual power imbalance in the man's favor, with age or with position, is so evil that no woman can ever accept it unless she's mentally damaged or evil herself (just like women who accept domestic violence or who reject women's rights etc). this manga shows the girl as happy, not obviously mentally damaged, not evil. to merely depict this is already heretical. there's no way to explain the dogma without making it sound retarded, which is why one side of the issue makes moralistic angry noises but never arguments.

I think that having moralistic arguments makes a lot of sense when talking about real people, but it is totally asinine when discussing fictional characters. With fictional characters, even if something undesirable happens in the story, that serves the important job of becoming a cautionary tale without hurting anyone.
I do think that there is a biological incentive of some kind for both older men and younger women to be accepting of each other when society doesn't intervene to constantly blare moralistic warnings. It is something that became traditional independently in many cultures throughout history because it's something that makes biological sense. Now when someone says something 'makes biological sense', everyone just assumes they are a weirdo who is arguing that it is a good thing, but 'biological sense' just means that it makes more babies when it happens, which is basically the only factor that matters when it comes to effecting long-term biological trends. I say it makes more babies because without modern science, women can only healthily give birth for about a 15 year window, where each baby take sup at least 9 months of their time, but men can continue to creat children until just shy of their deathbed, so the numbers would force younger women and older men to be together in that setting, which would then effect biology.

 

[cksn]

I think that having moralistic arguments makes a lot of sense when talking about real people, but it is totally asinine when discussing fictional characters. With fictional characters, even if something undesirable happens in the story, that serves the important job of becoming a cautionary tale without hurting anyone.
I do think that there is a biological incentive of some kind for both older men and younger women to be accepting of each other when society doesn't intervene to constantly blare moralistic warnings. It is something that became traditional independently in many cultures throughout history because it's something that makes biological sense. Now when someone says something 'makes biological sense', everyone just assumes they are a weirdo who is arguing that it is a good thing, but 'biological sense' just means that it makes more babies when it happens, which is basically the only factor that matters when it comes to effecting long-term biological trends. I say it makes more babies because without modern science, women can only healthily give birth for about a 15 year window, where each baby take sup at least 9 months of their time, but men can continue to creat children until just shy of their deathbed, so the numbers would force younger women and older men to be together in that setting, which would then effect biology.

the production code was right about this - when you depict anything, you must choose between depicting it as evil enough to notice (e.g. those who do it receive punishment, or in some other way the audience can see that it's not supposed to be good) or as not evil enough to notice (e.g. shown as ordinary, or good, or exciting). there is no neutral option that takes no moral position at all. the audience is like a child watching his parents to see what they take for granted and what they react to as abnormal; parents also have no third option.

this manga is saying (correctly) that this behavior is not evil enough to notice. people see that and get mad because that really is incompatible with their values.

what you say about "making biological sense" will also not save you, because pre-modern moral thought in the west was aristotelian, for which making biological sense was the same thing as being morally good (natural law), and people steeped in modern moral thought are so defensive about this that they (rightly) see all talk about making biological sense as a threat to their values.

 

[splatsoni]

what the fuck. i am never rereading this again. 💀 this manga should burn in hell

 

[Kamimamimashita]

I still can’t fathom why the author took this route. I feel like Usagi Drop is two stories in one. A child rearing story and a romance one. I can’t relate the beginning to the end just because of how starkly different they were. This story wasn’t as bad as people make it out to be, Daikichi never groomed her or made any advances. Though I agree its weird to see a parent-child
-like relationship thrown out the window, at the end of the day their relationship changed and they couldn’t simply be parent-child. They both wanted to stay together though and both loved each other.

I can’t really throw shit at this manga when it makes some sense. Though I do think Daikichi’s feelings couldve been developed more. I think people need a bit more nuance regarding manga like this. Not every relationship is simple, some change to the point where theres no going back. Sure, maybe Daikichi could’ve gave her more time and space but I don’t think her feelings wouldve changed that easily. Daikichi also wanted her by his side so I guess in his mind this was the best solution. Though I do agree the societal consequences will be there, a 40 yr old marrying a 19 yr old who he raised is weird, I can’t really judge them given how the story went.
Usually we forbade these types of relationships due to blood-ties and power dynamics, but nothing of that sort was involved here. It’s a simple romance that isn’t all that complex. I think this is as perfect as a relationship like this could begin. I have no problems with these two marrying, but that’s different and reality and requires a lot of tools to determine whether a relationship is morally wrong.

All of that to say, yes it is wrong for blood related parent and children to date, yes these sorts of relationships should be discouraged not only because of the societal consequences but also because not everyone is as pure as Daikichi. If anyone wants another story like this, UchiMusume (If It’s For My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat The Demon Lord) is great. Not as large of an age gap and the progression makes sense as well.

7/10, decent read