Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai! (Anime)
Things get very real for a first-year university student who finds his life invaded by his three nieces in the new anime Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai! ('Listen to me, girls. I am your father!'). The anime is based on a series of popular novels written by Tomohiro Matsu and illustrated by Yuka Nakajima.
This slice-of-life anime starts off as your stereotypical rom-com, where freshman Yuuta Segawa falls for the beautiful yet aloof second-year student Raika Oda.
However, by the second episode things turn tragic. Yuuta finds himself the guardian of his deceased elder sister's three daughters - 14-year-old Sora, 10-year-old Miu and three-year-old Hina. What's more, the two older ones are from his brother-in-law's previous marriages.
The premise is similar to Usagi Drop, but the difference is that the guardian there is a mature adult with a full-time job and only one child to care for.
Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai! ups the ante; and while this might make for good drama, it loses the realism. While Yuuta is to be admired for taking in his three nieces so they're not split up, it's hard to believe in such altruism, and that any older and more mature relatives would allow this.
Hopefully, though, this anime will highlight the difficulties of becoming a parent in unforeseen circumstances and not gloss over the issue with cheap sentimentality and laughs.