Baby & I 04

赤ちゃんと僕 [Akachan to Boku] #4

by Marimo Ragawa

Young Takuya has it tough. After his mother passed away it has been his job to take care of his baby brother, Minoru while their father, Harumi, works the long hours of a Japanese salary-man.

Takuya must sacrifice the playtime usually associated with childhood for the responsibilities of an adult. Cooking, cleaning, sewing and scolding are all now an integral part of the young boy's life.

Genres: Manga, Comics, Shojo, Humor, Komik

First published January 1, 1993

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

[Noelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! The story about the old man really got me. I loved how Takuya cared so much for him. It’s heartwarming to read about such kind characters!

I won’t deduct a star from my rating for this, but I thought the bonus story didn’t age very well considering how far we’ve come in the field of mental health. The portrayal of multiple personalities could have been done more tastefully, but again, it’s a product of the times and culture.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Minoru grew up comparing to the #1. He could now understand more words, and Takuya got used to do the job as being Minoru’s mother. It is fun to wach how Minoru and Takuya grow without faving a mother. I feel like im in part of the family, and feel like I want to support the family. As Takuya go through each struggles, he starts to realize that much as he work hard, he can’t be a real mother. In this series, it is fun to see two girls trying to stole Minoru’s heart :) I recommend people to read it from 1st series.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seriously cute. One chapter was a little silly filler dream sequence, but the sad one with the grandpa completely makes up for it 😭😭 love the side characters that Ragawa created, as well as our main family, they're literally precious boys.

[Sylvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another one of my favorite manga series I like to read.