After watching 8 episodes of Papa no Iukoto o Kikinasai, there was something that really got me thinking. Although many dissed the show as something perverted, the drama in the 8 episodes I watched proved that raising a family is a difficult task and reminding me of Clannad, which had similar themes. Despite the difficulties the fathers faced in both shows, they continued because its worthwhile experience. (Image Source)
Needless to say, raising a family is not an easy task. It takes a lot of discipline, money and time. This is why some couples opt not to have any children. However for most families, they take up the challenge because they want to raise a child. Having one is like rite of passage where the parents become a good role model and helping them succeed. For most Asian families, they tend to push their children to get good grades, participate in clubs and interact with others so they can get a good job while being closely knit. I have seen this in both shows through the interactions between the relatives, parents and daughters to the father/mother.
In Clannad, family obviously plays a big role since it’s the main theme of the show and the visual novel. What interested me are the interactions between Tomoya and the Furukawas. This happens because his mother has died in an accident and he does not get along with his father. Therefore, he views them as a second family. This eventually leads to him falling in love with Nagisa, marrying her and their decision to start a family. The main difference that sets Papa Kiki apart is that they prepared for it. To do that, they worked to earn enough money to support them when the child comes. It’s a drastic difference to Yuuta as he suddenly decides to raise the girls himself without any plan.
In contrast, Papa no Iukoto o Kikinasai takes a different approach. When Yuri and her husband died in a sudden plane accident, the relatives want to separate them from their own interests. It’s understandable since I mentioned earlier that Asian families have the tendency to push their children harder. However, It raises a problem since the girls are tightly knit. Yuuta’s decision to take care of them is reasonable since he faced the same situation during his early childhood. However, his sudden decision poses a lot of challenges for him since he doesn’t have any reliable means of supporting them.
During the turn of events when Yuuta brings the girls into his apartment, it’s remarkable how he handles it on his own while he struggles. He takes many part-time jobs as possible to raise enough money while going to college. The major flaw that he didn’t foresee is the lack of preparation as shown with the lack of a dedicated space for the girls to change and nearly getting evicted for violating the occupancy limit in his apartment. This is a big contrast to Tomoya where he gets used to taking care of Ushio before he took the responsibility back from the Furukawas after getting over his depression. I think this is one of the major weaknesses Yuuta faces since he lacks parental experience or the capabilities to do so. Not only that, he lacks a partner which Tomoya formerly had to help balance things out. Even so, both shows had a group of people to help the father out so he doesn’t have to carry the load.
From Clannad and Papa no Iukoto o Kikinasai, it’s fascinating how they share different approaches of raising a family. Although the premise of having a college student take care of young girls is uncommon, it has happened to some couples in real life. Still, there are some elements that both shares such as relatives and friends helping out along with maintaining a close relationship inside the family. For that reason, I enjoyed both for these reasons.
Let’s take this slowly, Chikorita157. I’m not sure I’m ready for this level of commitment in a relationship yet.
The child of a starfish and a pokemon? …:O
I’m have my eyes on you in my sights and I won’t let you get away with this
Wah, I never expected to see Clannad and Papa no Iukoto o Kikinasai mentioned in the same post. I think that if you were going to compare Clannad to another parenting anime, something like Usagi Drop would be a better fit. Also, I don’t think Clannad ever really covered the parenting angle much.
I only watched like 6-8 episodes of Papa Kiki as well, but yeah, the best thing about it was how Yuuta tried hard to keep them together and make sure they were happy.
I haven’t watched Usagi Drop myself, so I couldn’t talk about it. Even so, I think the themes are similar from my first impressions… but it’s definitely one of those shows I should get around watching in the near future.
But yes, the challenges of keeping them together takes a considerable amount of effort and money. Although he does his best, it’s not perfect. I don’t expect others in real life who get into that situation have an easy time, especially when classes and homework take a lot of time.