Usagi Drop - Episode 3

As the realities of Daikichi's new "acquisition" continue to bite in his working life as he races between the office and Rin's nursery, so he continues to have quandries about Rin's own happiness.  In other words, it's just another day in the life of parenthood, surrogate or otherwise.

In terms of Daikichi's working life, he soon becomes friendly with a female co-worker who took a demotion to give her more time with her child thanks to a new post that meant not working any overtime - a decision on her part that gives him some food for thought, if nothing else.

Meanwhile, a visit to Daikichi's family gives Rin the fun of a trip away from home, only to be met with the same sullen faces seen at her father's funeral - cue an ear-bashing from Daikichi about how they're not helping and preventing Rin from expressing herself which turns things around and sees her become just another part of the family by the end of her enjoyable visit.  Indeed, Daikichi seems to be doing pretty much everything right, as he even begins to gain an understanding into Rin's bed-wetting while also making some progress in tracking down her mother, even if it looks unlikely to yield him any kind of help in the long term.

It is, of course, the dynamic between the two main characters that steals the show again - Rin is frequently a perfectly positioned demonstration of childhood as she misunderstands situation, acts shyly around strangers and asks difficult, nigh-on unanswerable questions as she tries to come to terms with her situation; Daikichi on the other hand generally seems to "get it" when it comes to what Rin needs, even if he's left floundering at some of the more practical aspects of parenthood despite realising in this episode that he isn't the only one to struggle with the issue of work-life balance.  Once more, this is a near perfect blend of humour, human drama and really, truly touching moments that warms my heart and entertains me no end - and I don't even like kids...