Adults' Picture Book: New Edition, Vol. 1

Adults' Picture Book: New Edition #1

by Kei Itoi, Stephen Paul (Translator)

Erotic manga author Kudou's friend Haruki passes away, leaving behind his young daughter Kiki and a note bequeathing her to Kudou. Strange as the situation is, Kudou commits to making a real family for the girl―so when he meets a woman who reminds him of his late friend, he fires off a marriage proposal on the spot! By blood, friendship, love, or circumstance, family is family...

Genres: Manga, LGBT, Graphic Novels, Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published March 19, 2024

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

A man, Souichiro Kudou, finds himself suddenly fostering a dead friend's daughter and doubles down on the situation by trying to make an instant family. (It's sort of like Spy X Family without the adventure and super-powers.) The main character is so mournful, confused, and stuck in a muddle -- mostly about his romantic feelings toward the dead man -- that it drags down the book even when a cute little girl runs around doing cute, Yotsuba-like antics.

I might try one more volume if my local library continues with the series, just to see if the people around him can start pulling Kudou's head out of his butt.


FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Chapter 1. Appreciate It -- Chapter 2. The First and the Last Name -- Chapter 3. Baton -- Chapter 4. Parameters -- Chapter 5. Once Again, Appreciate It --- Preview -- Translation Notes

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s interesting reading reviews of this as most people seem to be complaining about the slow meandering pace paired with the very odd premise and Kudou being a closeted gay man. I’ve only read this volume so this may change, but plot aside it’s a really interesting introspection on sexuality and bonds. Is he gay and just refusing to admit it? Maybe. But i was reading this as a asexual or demi sexual person who doesn’t know that its an option to be neither straight nor gay, who is wrestling with coming to terms with his grief and familial love for a friend who has put him in such an odd situation. Im extremely interested to continue the series, but id encourage other readers to approach the manga as a introspective on queer relationships and not a hijinks filled contemporary version of spy x family with a dash of BL

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for me. This felt frivolous and too lighthearted given the plot.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this first volume of a manga series, Adults' Picture Book, because of the cute title, which pertains to the fact that it is in fact a manga, or kind of "picture book" and also that it pertains to the situation:

Souichiro Kudou is a gay erotica manga author whose friend/love interest dies and leaves him a note: Oh, yeah, I have a 4-year-old daughter, Kiki, and thanks in advance for adopting her! He is grieving his friend's loss, and also clueless how to raise a little girl. So he goes online and finds a mate--a woman--who agrees to marry him. All this happens in about 24 hours.

That's basically the set-up, which because of the adorable Kiki, has all the feels/potential for sentimentality and/or sweetness one might want in a short time. Reminds me of every Dads without Moms book or film or tv series you could name that assumes--maybe rightly--that Single Men cannot raise children, or screw up a lot in the process: Charlie Sheen's Two and a Half Men, Dustin Hoffman's Kramer Vs. Kramer, and so on.

[T.S.C. Lawrence · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was...hmmm...something.
I originally bought this for my mum to read as a Christmas present and was, very, very quickly told that the manga I got her was weird. So when I asked what she meant, she simply told me to read it and see for myself.
She complained about flow issues, the story flipping between past and present really quickly, how the MC gets married to someone he doesn't even know.
Now look, this isn't my first rodeo ok, I KNOW how wild mangas can be. I know how stories can jump from point A to point B real quick with zero explanation, so I just expected something like that to happen.
No, my mum was totally right in her judgement...this book made zero sense to me. The dialogue makes no sense, the flow is very janky and the characters feel wooden and strange? I can't explain it...it's so odd and doesn't feel like the author knows basic human interaction at all?
Don't bother reading, it's not good.
There, I said it.

[Zian B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kudou’s mindset on some things are confusing to me, but overall it makes him pretty relatable. It was very interesting seeing flashbacks of his dynamic with Haruki and I’m really enjoying his rather unusual dynamic with little Kiki. I also really like Fusako as a character and especially how easily she bounces of of Kiki’s energy while also being the (very slightly) more levelheaded one in her dynamic with Kudou.
Overall I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by this first manga volume, and will definitely keep an eye out for volume 2.

[Aurora · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just too weird to me, and boring. Felt like the slow, unfun version of Spy x Family tbh. And I’m sure the child’s birth mother will be revealed to be a horrible person or whatever in the next volume, but I’m just having trouble rooting for the guy who is essentially abducting a child.

[Caitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

the concept is interesting but I am not sure I like the slow burn of a plot based on people not being honest with each other or otherwise failing to communicate. I also don't get the point of the side characters?

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

cute kid isn't enough to get past the fact that not a single adult's decisions make a bit of sense

[Beau Manglass · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

a dangerous title to put into goodreads search, to be sure

[mayday · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mutual relationship? Gay panic? Platonic love? Gimmeeeeeeeeee!

[Isel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. Surprisingly lately I have been making questionable reading material choices 😅 .

[William Hardin · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was sad and honestly I just want the best for the kid.

[Lainy122 · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a cute but odd premise.

[Remna M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess I expected a bit more from this and ended it feel like the storytelling was a bit sloppy. I do think the premise is good.

[crowsden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the first book to be an incredibly strong start, with a complex but intriguing concept. I'm not quite sure what happened, though. Maybe it lost momentum or had some ideas cut?

The second book takes an interesting perspective pivot that I thought was fresh, but by the third, it seems to get lost in the weeds. For a comic about the idea of "what makes a family structure," it seems to hammer that the main character's approach to his new family is "totally okay, you guys!!" with his friends a peers just talking at him about his situation instead of proving how it works.

Maybe this book is more challenging in its home country than here, where divorce, gay marriage, adoption, and unconventional family structures are a lot more ubiquitous. Still a sweet a overall thoughtful story. Kiki is a delight.

[Aubrey Willow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this manga up on a whim because I thought it looked cute, and I was right. I always love a good found/made family type of story, and the characters in this one had me hooked pretty quick.