Yotsuba&! - よつばと!
COMEDY, SLICE OF LIFE
Yotsuba&! by Azuma Kiyohiko
(15 volumes, ongoing)
Available in English
Anime - no, and I don’t understand why studios are sleeping on this series
Links to my other manga posts here
Do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior Koiwai Yotsuba?
I’m a buffoon, a complete idiot. I don’t know what I was thinking. I picked up a bundle of Yotsuba 1-14 from bookoff on a whim, flew through it, enjoyed it a lot, then sold them for some reason???
Now I only own the latest volume, 15, which I picked up after I sold the others, and I almost sold that one too when I realized, wait… I love Yotsuba… like, a lot… it’s a series I want to keep on my shelf to flip through it and reread. I’d even say it’s one of my all-time favorites. Some crazy decluttering energy possessed me and I put 1-14 in my tote bag, hopped on my bike, and zoomed over to my local bookoff. I’ve been agonizing, dying to buy back the series ever since.
But enough about my greatest regret in life, let’s talk Yotsuba.
She’s just like me, for real 😭
Yotsuba and her dad have just moved to a new neighborhood, how exciting! We join them in their daily lives of getting to know their neighbors, Yotsuba’s shenanigans, and finding joy in the mundane. Gosh, I don’t know about you guys, but appreciating the little things is always a win in my book.
From playing with the neighbor’s kids, to baby’s first randoseru backpack. And going rock collecting? Hell yeah! This manga makes me want to enjoy life so much. I mean, me and my friend literally drove from Tokyo all the way to Itoigawa on the Sea of Japan just to go collect some cool rocks. I’d be lying if I said the trip wasn’t at least partially inspired by this series. It’s one of my fondest memories.
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We arrived before sunrise and got started using flashlights lolllll
They even had a rock museum with fossils and Jomon pottery! (Itoigawa is known for having jade wash up on its shores)
The art is charming as hell and reminds me so much of my first neighborhood in Japan. Yotsuba herself is of course, amazing, but the cast of characters are all lovable in their own right.
Me trying to use Keigo Japanese, and failing. I feel so seen… in my and my girl Yotsuba’s defense, Keigo is hard for even native speakers, so hang in there sis
I have fond memories of riding the metro reading Yotsuba during my long commute from western Tokyo to the eastern side for my part time yakiniku job during my student days. I was living alone in a foreign country, going to school, working part time at a restaurant, and started freelancing as a translator.
I always looked forward to this commute since it was my only free time, and this manga was such a joy to de-stress with. It’s a chill, lighthearted read that is totally worth your time.
Everyday I pray to the manga gods for the next volume to get released.
There’s nothing more devastating then getting destroyed by a child, RIP Yanda 😔
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this feels silly, but today i listened to the episode of the tofugu podcast where they talk about the よつばと! manga and i decided to give it a try since it's been on my list for a while and i already had the first few volumes. to my surprise, i understood quite a bit of the first chapter??
there are quite a few parts i didn't fully grasp, and i need to look up, but i think i was able to understand around 50-60% of the chapter!! since it's a manga i feel like its easier to guess the meaning based on the context, even if you haven't encountered that word before. it feels really rewarding to be able to read something in japanese that's not aimed at learners!!! :') (even if i still have to go back and look up the words/phrases i didn't know)
just wanted to share that because reading 50pg in japanese was not on my to-do list today but I'm glad i did it!!! and i didn't think i'd be able to do that anytime soon but im glad i listened to that podcast ep
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