Author: Kiyohiko Azuma
Volumes: 8 (60 Chapters)
Released: Q1 2003 – Ongoing
If there is a cuter entity way out there in the universe somewhere you would have to show it to me before I could possibly show a hint of believing you and then proceed to melt with said cuteness. Yotsubato is a Manga about a five-year-old girl (called Koiwai Yotsuba) who moves to a new town with her father and proceeds to have various small adventures with her father, the god-knows-feet tall Jumbo and her next door neighbours, the Ayase family. The Manga consists of Yotsuba wandering around on these adventures infecting everything with various deadly levels of cuteness, her childish naivete and misunderstandings fuelling an even higher level of the word “cute”. To be honest I do think I will be using the word “cute” more than a schoolgirl in a soft toy shop, so you'll have to forgive its abundance in this particular review, otherwise you either haven't read Yotsubato or you don't have a soul. Kiyohiko Azuma's art style really shows in this series, which has a likening to her other series, Azumanga Daioh, and is thus tailored to be cute beyond what the average human being can handle.
One thing that is always apparent is her innocence. She could annoy the shit out of you and you would still forgive her thanks to those watering puppy-dog eyes and quivering lip. She doesn't know that what she's doing would be considered bothersome, and simply follows the advice of whoever is around. The fact that she is easily distracted doesn't really help her situation, either. There was a particular point where she is sent on an errand to get pot noodles for her and her father. She isn't fond of spicy things, but her father is, and so she gets the shiny red spicy pot for him, and a less spicy one for herself. Not really know what to get next, she comes to the conclusion that the next item on the list is candy, and gets a few small snacks. Unfortunately the money her father gave her doesn't cover it all, and so she is told she needs to put an item back. While she is confused about what to put back, the shop assistant offers the solution of “Put back what you like the least.” Completely forgetting the original reason the went to the shop, she proceeds to put back the spicy pot noodle, and the chapter ends with her arriving home happy as a daisy. While the chapter ends there, it's not hard to imagine her father sighing, giving her a bonk on the head and going to the shop to get the pot noodle himself.
Each character adds his or her own element to the series. Jumbo is the guy who everyone finds amazingly huge and stares at like a zoo exhibit. Her father is probably one of the best fathers in the Manga world, teaching her lessons by making her go through the ordeal, always watching her to make sure it doesn't get out of hand. The Ayase family is also filled with some pretty interesting characters. Ena is the friend closer to Yotuba's age who goes to school, does her homework, and enjoys the company of her stuffed bears. Fuuka is the procrastinating high school student, forever putting off her studying for something else, like exercise balls. Asagi is the older of the thee sisters, but this doesn't show in her attitude. She is constantly playing around with Yotsuba, tricking her into some funny situation, making her, oddly enough, the most childish of all three sisters. Between these characters various friends and acquaintances are slotted in and the all make a bunch of happy peas in a happy pod.
One of the nicer things in this Manga is how happy everyone and everything is. Even the torrential rain is made into a cheerful event with Yotsuba running out and yelling “Wheeeee! Raaaaaain!” Typhoons are turned from horrid weather into mesmerising events, and every time Yotsuba trips, falls or screws something up, you can't help but look into her eyes and go “gyaaaaaawwww.” There isn't a single unhappy moment in the entire series (not yet, anyway), and I want it to stay that way. Plenty of Manga and Anime will get a smile out of me, but there are few that actually make me feel happy while reading them, and Yotsuba is one of those few.
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