I don't know what I can say about this series that hasn't already been said. The first half of the series was marvelously done, the second half was a dramatic, shoujo manga mess. This would have been fine had the manga artist not teased the readers with such great pacing and development in the first half. This only lead to my disappointment at what "could have been" had the artist not jumped on the romantic love boat so desperately. It wasn't misplaced, it just suffered from a rushed and awkward transition. And it's disappointing because this thing started out as such a gem. Also, I don't care what the manga artist said she intended from the beginning, the signs were not there in the first half. Usagi drop shares some of the same day-to-day developments as Azumanga Daioh, Aishiteruze Baby, Flat (AOGIRI Natsu), Yotsubato!, My Girl (SAHARA Mizu) and so on... So either the manga artist was not being truthful or she just sucks that badly at "transition via build up," because she didn't even come close to successfully portraying or adequately building up to the ending that she'd supposedly always intended--just not at all. The only subtle hint towards anything was Rin's mother's back story, and that was also mentioned as a afterthought, so nice try Ms. Unita, but no. The only thing that made it obvious was how the main POV shifted from Daikichi in the first half to (unfortunately) Rin in the second; only then was it obvious--right when it was in the process of happening. -__- So the problem lies in the manga artist's presentation. Read Hana to Akuma; the signs were THERE, not here. The signs don't have to be obvious, they just have to exist in some form the first place.
My dislike for the second half has nothing to do with my moral values--a general accusation that is quickly becoming annoying and cliched at this point. I just recognize the second half's inferior presentation for what it is. The pacing was BAD, the time skip was implemented VERY POORLY, the teenage drama added NOTHING to the story, and the way Daikichi and Kouki's mom's situation was just GLOSSED OVER (i.e. briefly mentioned) once in a passing conversation after all that build up in the first half felt like a RIP OFF. I know that things don't always work out, but f*ck. The manga artist was the one who made a big deal out of it, so the readers are justified in their feelings of restlessness and "wtf" as a result. And, after all that "alluding to", a brief few words about it in the second half was all we got in the end? Really? sigh Look, I can over look lots of things when it comes to a series that I love (One Piece, I'm looking at you), but lack of quality in presentation is where I draw the line. Also (warning: small, personal rant ahead):
If the thought of a guy ending up in a romantic relationship with a young lady that he has been raising for the last 10+ years, as his own daughter, makes you uncomfortable...then it just does. It's a pretty disorienting development, so it's a normal reaction, for crying out loud. As a matter of fact, it's as normal a reaction as liking it. It would be great if readers would actually review the friggin' manga and leave all of the psych evaluations out of the process. Good grief. What is it with people criticizing other people's opinions on this series? o__O??
Not liking this manga does not make you narrow minded; you can be open-minded and still think that the last 5 volumes suck--like I think they suck. However, accusing people of being narrow minded just because this makes them uncomfortable is (ironically) actually quite the testament to narrow mindedness. It's also quite hypocritical, so... :/
Rating for vols. 1-5: 9
Rating for volume 6-10 + doujinshi: 4
Over all score: 6.5
I finished it, but I'd only read volumes 1-5 if I ever decided to read this series again.