Baby & I 13

赤ちゃんと僕 [Akachan to Boku] #13

by Marimo Ragawa

R to L (Japanese Style) 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 "salaryman."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. "All work and no play" has Takuya incredibly frustrated and resentful of his little brother. Will Takuya find it in his heart to love the brother who is causing him so much grief?! How did Takuya's family get started? In this special flashback volume, meet Takuya's father, Harumi, in his days as a hardworking college student and womanizing bachelor. Struggling to make it in Tokyo without his parents' help, Harumi doesn't plan to settle down anytime soon...until a troubled girl named Yukako drifts into his life...

Genres: Manga

First published January 1, 1996

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]

This volume is a departure from the usual “formula” of the series. The focus is on Harumi and Yukako (Takuya’s parents) this time. It tells the story of how they first met and fell in love. It wasn’t the most healthy relationship at first and it did have its flaws, but overall it was heartwarming to see it all unfold. It gives me more appreciation for Harumi’s character as a single father. I loved it!

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

All about the parents meeting and how they bonded over being orphans. So sad. The mom was a real sweetie. I wonder what other stories the creator will tell through this family ❤️ I really liked this collection of chapters.

[鯊 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75.

[Jocey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baby and Me is a book about a boy named Takuya. He is asking his father about when he met his mother. the story takes place in Japan. The boys main inter nal sturggle is that he really doesn't know his mother. His main external struggle is that he kind of has to grow up to fast.

During my time reading this book I made a text-to-text connection. Throughout the book Takuya's father is telling him about how he met his mother. This reminded me of the book Special A. In Special A the main character remembers how she met the love of her life. Like in this book. Both people in this book learn something about their true love, or about how someone else found their true love.

I would give this book 5 stars. I liked how the book ws easy to read. I also liked how I had to think back at other books to help make connections. I would recommend this book to someone who likes comic books. Also to people who like reading about true love.

[Grace Zhen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume of the Baby and me saga is completely different than the volumes i read before this one because it concentrates on Takuya's parents not Takuya's generation. It tells the story of how the two met and became husband and wife. I loved the love story for the parents because they were brought together becasue of their similar family status which is that their parents are dead and than they start to live together becasue they needed each other to survive and than they finally found out that they loved each other and became husband and wife but there were some difficulties before they became husband and wife. i found out why Takuya was born and he was the reason they got married but they also really loved each other. This volume is the most romantic volume in the entire saga. You would really enjoy it but you should read the perivous volumes before picking this one up so that you wont be mistaken who the real main character is in the whole series

[cheyenne · Rating 3 out of 5]

the plot in this book is about a man named Takuya. and its just flashbacks of him in his younger days. and how his family started with him, his wife, and his kids. and it starts of with him getting into a agruement with his parents. just like any teen, then he decided its time for him to get his own place...
i can connect to this book becuase if i was in the same place as Takuya's child i too would want to know. who the family started abd how he met his mom. and i think it is cool to be able to know how you parents met. and how they felt and everything that happened.
i gave this book 3 out 0f 5 stars becuase this wasn't that great of a book. and i would recommed this book to someone who like graphic novels. like i do, and if you like the author of this book.

[Ash R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a boy who is basically trying to figure out his life and his pass so he can figure out his future. He asked his father about his mother that he doesnt really know. The problem to him is that he is growing up faster than he would like too and time is slipping away.

I can make text to world connection to this book because some people dont know their parents so well. They want a relationship like everyone else does and they try hard to at least find out how they were like.

I would rate this book a 4 because it was detail and interesting. It really is a touching story how things play out to be. It is easy to read and beautiful book =)

[Vera Maharani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beda sama komik lain dalam seri ini, nomor 13 lebih fokus menceritakan masa lalu Papa Takuya. Bagaimana hubungan Harumi dengan orang tuanya, kehidupan kuliahnya, serta bagaimana dia bisa jatuh cinta dan menikah dengan Yukako. The "adult and serious" issues are surprisingly taken well.

Highlight dari edisi ini adalah bagaimana Harumi melamar Yukako:

Harumi : "Aku ingin selamanya makan nasi buatanmu..."

Aduh mau ketawa banget ngetiknya di sini, tapi dalam komiknya, dipadu dengan artwork Ragawa Marimo plus suasana yang sudah dibangun sebelumnya, ini bikin hati meleleh bangeeeeet aaaaah >,<