No slice-of-life can describe the hardships a single dad can go through and the sweetness of the bond that can generate between a caring father and his lovely daughter better than Amaama to Inazuma, that’s considered one the best anime in its genre.
This is the story of Kyōhei Inuzuka, a teacher who lost his wife too early and that found himself taking care of his cute, little kid Tsumugi alone. Events suddenly took a turn he was unprepared for, so Inuzuka never had the time to learn of to prepare decent meals for his child and has no choice but feeding her with ready-made food bought at the convenient store. One day he decides to take Tsumugi to the restaurant one of his students, Kotori, runs together with her mother. That is when their cooking adventures begin.

Similar to Usagi Drop, Amaama to Inazuma shows the life of a goofy average-looking man leads on his first experience with parenthood and the difficulties he has to face to make his family work, being careful to protect his kid by the suffering for her missing mother. The plot is simple and full of cute scenes involving a very special daddy-daughter bond, so you absolutely can’t miss it, if you are Usagi Drop’s fans.

Set in France in the second half of the 19th century, Ikoku Meiro no Croisée is the story of Yune, a little girl who left Japan to accompany Oscar, a traveler, in his journey back to his home country. Everything is new and foreign to the young Yune, but she decides she’ll do her best to adapt to her new life in Paris and to pay Oscar and his family back, since they were so kind to let her stay in their place. Glad with Yune’s goodwill to be helpful, Oscar entrust her to his nephew Claude, who owns an ironwork shop. Reluctant in the beginning, he finally accepts to take care of the young lady and to let her work for him, so from then on they’ll live together.

Surely, Ikoku Meiro no Croisée is an anime about an unofficial and unconventional kind of family. Just like Usagi Drop, its story develops around the bond that creates between two strangers, who get to know each other by chance and to the point they come to build a sort of peculiar relationship. Despite the fact Claude isn’t much older than Yune, he acts sometimes like a fledgling daddy and has her handsome guardian. Definitely a fine designed slice-of-life you should take a look at, if you liked the sweet atmosphere in Usagi Drop!

Talking about sweetness, the little Naru in Barakamon could really be considered the cutest thing in the whole world, and you can easily fall in love with her by watching this show, that’s filled with the same light feeling you can find throughout Usagi Drop!
Barakamon is the story of Seishū Handa, a full of himself calligrapher from Tōkyō who decided to retire in the Goto Islands, in the countryside, as punishment for having been labelled as “unoriginal” by a well-regarded senpai. Determined to find inspiration to renew himself and his style in a peaceful place, Handa will end up facing wacky and nosy neighbors and the super carefree Naru Kotoishi, who will teach him something more than just how to be a good calligrapher.

Barakamon isn’t exactly about parenthood or taking care of a child, because the role of the kid and the guardian are inverted. It’s Naru who metaphorically adopts Handa, looks after him without even being aware of it, and helps him to grow and find his own way and inspiration, creating a strong bond that will tie them together forever. Full of funny moments and eccentric characters, Barakamon is probably one of the best slice-of-life anime of the last years, so you can’t lose it if you want to revive the cutest moments in Usagi Drop!

Taking care of a child isn’t just a work for parents and, talking about family-like environments a kindergarten is the perfect place for children to grow up, learn about life... and find your first love in your fine-looking caretaker! Hanamaru Yōchien perfectly fits this description, with a story that tells about little pest Anzu and his friends’ desperate attempts to attract teacher Tsuchida’s attention, that’s gentle and caring with them like a good daddy, but that’s unfortunately more interested in the beautiful Yamamoto, the advisor of the next class.

Hanamaru Yōchien is clearly less dramatic and has a lighter atmosphere than Usagi Drop, but share with it the close relationship that comes to life and consolidate between a caretaking man and his kids, who sees him as some sort of parent they need and want to be loved by. With heartbreakingly cute moments, Hanamaru Yōchien is a daily life anime close to Usagi Drop that you really need to try to watch!

A slice-of-life like Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai! is, yes, similar to Usagi Drop, but also particular and funny! One day, a university student, Sagawa Yuta, is asked to take care of his three daughters by his sister Yuri, who is going on a trip with her husband. He doesn’t want to, thinking of them as a bother, but then the plane they were on went mysteriously missing. Based on the fact that the girls will be separated from each other and their family destroyed, he decides to take them in and let them stay together.

Like Usagi Drop, also in Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai! an outsider finds himself playing the role of the father for an offspring that isn’t even his own, because of circumstances who force him to. And maybe Yuta’s situation is even harder than Daikichi, because he has to look after not one, but three pests, who are also pretty close to his age. If you try to watch this anime, the common point with Usagi Drop is clear, and if you are curious to find out how Yuta, differently from Daikichi, will deal with the situation he got in, well, then you absolutely need to give Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai! a try!

Last but not least, Ōkami Kodomo no ame to Yuki deals with parenthood and caretaking in a deeper way than the other anime mentioned before, and that makes it very similar to Usagi Drop, despite the fact it’s a mother, this time, to be her children guardian. The heroine of this story is a hard-working college student, Hana, who falls in love with a young man attending one of her classes. One day, on a full moon night, she finds out he’s a werewolf, the last of his species, but despite his nature Hana decides to accept him and decide to start a family together. Later, Hana gives birth to two children, Ame and Yuki, that has the same ability has their father to turn into human-like wolfs. Hana’s happiness, unfortunately, won’t last long and she will have to raise all by herself because of her lover’s sudden death.

Watching this anime, fans of Usagi Drop will certainly note the points that make these two masterpieces so similar to each other. Hana, like Daikichi, is a sort of guardian of an unconventional family, that she tries to protect from the judgments of a merciless society, and has to fight all by herself to make them live a normal and happy life by playing both the role of the mother and the father. Be sure you don’t miss it, because you won’t regret, it if you like Usagi Drop-like slice-of-life stories!