Very nice. Is this the one with Tsuku Tsuku Boushi (a type of cicada that comes out at the end of Summer)? That section, with Yotsuba's confusion over what the Tsuku Tsuku Boushi actually, and the subsequent incomprehension of all around her, is very nicely handled. ( )

Originally posted here at Anime Radius.


There is only one constant thing that runs throughout each release of Yotsuba&! and that is fun. The manga is always fun to read and something odd yet interesting is always going on in the life of the young girl Yotsuba. Volume four is no less fun or funny than the previous volumes, and the fact that it has such a consistent quality running through its releases is by itself something to celebrate. A humor series that is always funny, every time? Sign me up.

The center of the series, the one that makes it, is Yotsuba – naturally. She is the adorable precocious adopted child of her oddball translator father, and it is clear that his oddities continue to rub off on her even as he tries to teach her valuable life lessons for growing up. Her wide-eyed views on life are pretty weird and usually wrong (“spring doesn’t come after summer?”), but that’s okay. The rest of the cast is always around to teach her what’s what. Yotsuba is still learning about the world, and that is what makes what she says so darn interesting – and cute. Did I mention how cute she is? Cute in an oddly adorable clueless way not a terribly saccharine way – and it helps that she has that great green hair with the four clover-like tails.

One of the great things about Yotsuba&! is that there is no real plot, nothing that really connects the chapters together – and this in no way detracts from the quality of the manga. The series is the mundanity of real life brought to life through the images on each page, and the artwork keeps the focus on the simple moments between the characters. It is pretty much the Seinfeld of manga, like Lucky Star without all the blatant pandering to otaku – and that is what makes it so bloody brilliant. Azuma is clearly working from a fountain of inspiration, and from the looks of it, Yotsuba&! shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. If you’ve been hesitant about reading this series, there hasn’t been a better time then now to start, especially since Yen Press rescued the license from ADV Manga last year. Take a walk through Yotsuba’s crazy world and you won’t regret it. Just don’t forget the series’ unofficial motto: enjoy everything. ( )

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Title: Yotsuba&! Vol. 4
Series: Yotsuba&! #4
Author: Kiyohiko Azuma
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 192
Words: 8K

Synopsis:

Chapter List:

Yotsuba & Challenges

Yotsuba & Fishing

Yotsuba & Dinner

Yotsuba & Bloom of Youth

Yotsuba & Newspapers

Yotsuba & Tsukutsukuboshi

Yotsuba & 4-Panel Manga

My Thoughts:

Last week felt like a cheese grater on my soul kind of week. I went into the weekend with no reserves and not even the ability to process anything emotionally. I was tired and hurting. While I can't say that reading this miraculously cured all of that, reading this was like putting balm on a hurting wound. It doesn't heal it, but it makes it feel better and helps with the healing process.

The first chapter is called Yotsuba!& Challenges. In the picture I'll be showing you can see a fan translated it as “Duels”. Both are correct but I have to admit, I think Duels works better. Yotsuba and her dad are playing rock paper scissors and there is a pot and a rolled up newspaper in between them. Whenever they play rock, paper, scissors, whoever wins has to grab the paper and try to hit the other over the head while the loser has to grab the pot and put it on their head as protection. Yotsuba's dad cheats outrageously and she gives up in disgust. Then she duels her dad in badminton and eventually her dad and Jumbo duel each other in badminton (hence the racket and birdie in her pocket). It was fantastic.

★★★★★ ( )

More laugh-out-loud funny adventures of Japan's weirdest five year-old. In this volume Yotsuba goes fishing, learns about young love, makes her own newspaper, and discovers the truth about cicadas. Can't recommend this series highly enough! ( )

I think I must have already read, like, 90% of this volume before but I didn't even care because it was so funny and the good parts were even better the second time around! ( )