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A review by theseventhl
Yotsuba&!, Vol. 5 by Kiyohiko Azuma
5.0
Originally posted here at Anime Radius.
Tsuku-tsuku boshi! It's the end of summer - and spring is right around the corner! Oh, it's not? It's fall that's up next? Okay! As the fifth volume of Yotsuba&! opens, the summer season is drawing to a close. That can only mean one thing: try to fit in as many sunny summer day activities into one book as possible before autumn! This includes everything from ice cream cones to airing out futons in the sun to even the ubiquitous trip to the beach (one that is surprisingly lacking in fanservice, although that's probably due to the fact that Yotsuba is the focus of the series and not the neighbor girls). In usual Yotsuba fashion, she approaches each event with wide eyes, eager to explore what is new and fascinating. Her energy is infectious, and it's hard not to be drawn time after time into her daily adventures. That is the power of Yotsuba&!: the power to make us look at life with different, younger eyes and enjoy everything.
For the first four volumes, the Yotsuba&! series has maintained a stable core cast of characters. There's Yotsuba and her father, their odd friend Jumbo, and the Ayase family next door. The main action of the series has always centered around Yotsuba's interactions with these people, and it has worked tremendously in its favor, giving the series an intimate oddball family feel. In the fifth volume, a brand new character is introduced - Yanda, Koiwai's understudy - and presents a new element into the series' cast. He had been briefly mentioned in throwaway lines earlier in the series, but with this volume we finally meet the infamous Yanda, and he is just as lazy and slacker-like as Jumbo said he was. Despite being in only one chapter, Yanda's introduction has a sizeable effect on young Yotsuba's life - in short, a challenger approaches! He is arrogant and bratty and the showdown between him and Yotsuba is hilarious. Somehow, manga-ka Azuma has done the impossible: introduced a new character that actually fits into the overall feel of the series and is not intrusive. In fact, I look forward to seeing Yanda show up later on in the series to do battle with Yotsuba once more.
Whether she's at the beach or just out in the rain, Yotsuba never fails to bring a smile to readers' faces - and the fifth book of her youthful tales does not disappoint in doing so again. It continues to be a wickedly funny manga, a ray of sunshine captured in the pages of a graphic novel; this is one series that every manga fan should be reading, full stop. If you love to laugh and if you are a child at heart, Yotsuba&! was made for you.
Tsuku-tsuku boshi! It's the end of summer - and spring is right around the corner! Oh, it's not? It's fall that's up next? Okay! As the fifth volume of Yotsuba&! opens, the summer season is drawing to a close. That can only mean one thing: try to fit in as many sunny summer day activities into one book as possible before autumn! This includes everything from ice cream cones to airing out futons in the sun to even the ubiquitous trip to the beach (one that is surprisingly lacking in fanservice, although that's probably due to the fact that Yotsuba is the focus of the series and not the neighbor girls). In usual Yotsuba fashion, she approaches each event with wide eyes, eager to explore what is new and fascinating. Her energy is infectious, and it's hard not to be drawn time after time into her daily adventures. That is the power of Yotsuba&!: the power to make us look at life with different, younger eyes and enjoy everything.
For the first four volumes, the Yotsuba&! series has maintained a stable core cast of characters. There's Yotsuba and her father, their odd friend Jumbo, and the Ayase family next door. The main action of the series has always centered around Yotsuba's interactions with these people, and it has worked tremendously in its favor, giving the series an intimate oddball family feel. In the fifth volume, a brand new character is introduced - Yanda, Koiwai's understudy - and presents a new element into the series' cast. He had been briefly mentioned in throwaway lines earlier in the series, but with this volume we finally meet the infamous Yanda, and he is just as lazy and slacker-like as Jumbo said he was. Despite being in only one chapter, Yanda's introduction has a sizeable effect on young Yotsuba's life - in short, a challenger approaches! He is arrogant and bratty and the showdown between him and Yotsuba is hilarious. Somehow, manga-ka Azuma has done the impossible: introduced a new character that actually fits into the overall feel of the series and is not intrusive. In fact, I look forward to seeing Yanda show up later on in the series to do battle with Yotsuba once more.
Whether she's at the beach or just out in the rain, Yotsuba never fails to bring a smile to readers' faces - and the fifth book of her youthful tales does not disappoint in doing so again. It continues to be a wickedly funny manga, a ray of sunshine captured in the pages of a graphic novel; this is one series that every manga fan should be reading, full stop. If you love to laugh and if you are a child at heart, Yotsuba&! was made for you.