Baby & Me, Volume 2

赤ちゃんと僕 [Akachan to Boku] #2

by Marimo Ragawa

Ten-year-old Takuya has a new to look after his baby brother Minoru…looks like it's time to put on the kid gloves!

Young Takuya has it tough. Since his mother passed away, he's had to take care of his baby brother Minoru while their father works the long hours of a Japanese "salaryman."

Takuya's life isn't limited to taking care of Minoru. He's got some problems of his own, like encounters with schoolyard bullies, a girl with a big crush on him, and the jealous classmate who has a crush on her . He weathers these challenges pretty well, but once they pose any kind of threat to Minoru...watch out!

Minoru also has a new admirer named Ichika, and the nursery school is rocked by the bitter rivalry that develops between her and his previous suitor, Hiro. How much will little Minoru put up with?

Genres: Manga, Comics, Shojo, Graphic Novels, Slice Of Life, Komik

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Marimo Ragawa 羅川真里茂 was born on September 21 in Hachinohe, Aomori, but her age is not disclosed.
Marimo Ragawa first started submitting manga to comic magazines when she was only 12 years old, which is when she was in 6th grade of elementary school. She continued to send her manga to the same magazine for four years, but a positive critical reception was yet to come. Ragawa then decided to switch to a different magazine. Surprisingly, her first submission to this magazine, Hana to Yume, won a prize called the Top-prize. She succeeded in achieving her debut with her first manga, Time Limit.

Marimo Ragawa continues to draw other manga such as Aka-chan to Boku (Baby and Me), New York New York, and Itsudemo Otenki Kibun. She received the 1995 Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo for Baby and Me. She continues to draw a tennis themed manga, Shanimuni-Go in Hana to Yume (Flowers and Dreams).

Marimo Ragawa's calm and cute design is one of the traits of her drawings. Her energetic drawing and characters are very attractive, even to non-manga readers. She is widely known for her great ability in describing complicated emotions, especially in New York New York and Baby and Me.
Her manga Mashiro no Oto has been nominated for the 4th Manga Taishō.

Reviews

[haven ⋄ f (hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty cute. It seems like we are going to watch the boys grow up in this series. I don’t know if I want to continue because it’s super cute but it doesn’t seem to have much plot.

The bonus story was super precious even if the telepathy thing is bs. That one is a 4.75 star rating!!!

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still super adorable♡ I bought this via digital copy, but on Google Play Books this time. Got to use some of my Google survey money, which is a nice perk.

[Noelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The characters are so great in this series! Minoru is adorable and I love how much he’s grown already. This is so heartwarming!

[Katt Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate to say that my interest fell off with this volume. While I still love the core story, the side story with the bunny was way too sad, and felt like it had been written just to wring emotion out of the readers. I don't like that kind of story manipulation, especially as the note to end the book on.

While I realize that this series is meant to be bittersweet, but I don't like the focus to be drawn away from the brothers. And honestly, it's a difficult story for younger readers (the targeted audience) to really understand.

I'm hoping the next book goes better.

[Yusnia Sakti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Setelah mama pergi semuanya menjadi serba kakak. Kakak memsak, mencuci, semuanya: waktu habis hanya untuk rumah, adik dan papa yang sibuk. Menjadi kakak yang baik butuh banyak pengorbanan.

Menjadi dewasa karena paksaan waktu bukanlah hal mudah.

[Zelda Vaughan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emiri - 2011