Kiyohiko Azuma (東清彦 or あずまきよひこ Azuma Kiyohiko) is a Japanese manga author and artist. His most well-known work is Azumanga Daioh. His current series is Yotsuba&!, which is serialized monthly in Dengeki Daioh magazine.
There are 7 vignettes in this volume. It started a little slow, but most pages held my interest for one reason or another, perhaps because I'm confused! Although the stories basically focus on 5-year old Yotsuba, the author uses other characters, like the neighbor children, to explore concerns and perspectives of older people too. If the text already explained where Yotsuba's mother is, I missed it. Yotsuba's father is interestingly lax. Yotsuba cries here a few times, which I don't remember happening before. I don't think I'm picking up on all the character nuance. At least I'm picking up on the fact that there's nuance there, I think.
5 years later
An earlier volume I re-read mentioned that Yotsuba was adopted, I think. Something like that. Rather than focus on what I didn't understand, which is somewhat infrequent, let's celebrate the fact that I don't believe I'm missing nuance anymore, though details do go over my head sometimes still. The only other thing I will mention is that Yotsuba's father's friend, Jyanbo, is usually a lovable giant. However, his obsession with Yotsuba's neighbor, the oldest daughter Asagi, is a bit embarrassing and ick.
This time our little Yotsuba goes on some crazy trips with her friends, including somehow getting on a bus and almost getting lost. Also really funny moments with a elderly couple in the park that made me lolz hard, a cute firework moment, and hitting a animal...it is funny...I know it sounds not funny but it is, because it is a goat, and it's out of left field, and made me lol.
El volumen anterior flojeaba un pelín respecto al primero, pero este tercer tomo es impresionante. La escena en que Yotsuba le arrea un puñetazo a una cabra es uno de los gags más memorables que he leído en mi vida y el final de Fuegos Artificiales, una maravilla de sencillez y de verdad. Me casaría con este tebeo ahora mismo.
Yotsuba&!, Vol. 03 shows just how loving, amazing, and tolerant Yotsuba's father is. He's not afraid to act a fool right alongside his spunky daughter, and he just rolls with her craziness. I love that he allows her to be herself and never discourages her innocent curiosity no matter how much trouble it gets her into.
This volume is full of hysterical moments. My favorite chapter is "Flowers" because it has so many sweet, heartfelt moments that make you go aww! "The Elephant" chapter had me laughing so hard I had tears rolling down my face. I love this series!
I cannot get enough of Yotsuba. I am so enamored with her that I plan on reading the entire series and then restarting it immediately again. Her wackiness and positivity always puts me in the best of moods. Nothing ever gets her down. I just love escaping into this world that is so pure and free of cynicism. It melts my little jaded black heart.
I picked up a second hand copy of this manga years ago and have waited to read it until my Japanese was good enough. I highly recommend this series to those who are looking to improve their Japanese written comprehension. Every kanji has furigana, and I only occasionally had to reference the English translation or ask my teacher for help. A very pleasant story!
Es war einfach wieder so schön, in Yotsubas Welt einzutauchen. Jedes Kapitel hatte sein Highlight und es hat einfach Spaß gemacht. Es gab soviel zu lachen xD Ich liebe diese Reihe einfach! Zudem ging es auch richtig gut zu lesen. Ich hatte jez vielleicht noch zwei bis drei neue Wörter pro Kapitel, was echt fast gar nix is xD xD
This series continues to be adorable and this volume is worth it for the chapter about the zoo alone, which remains one of the absolute funniest scenes I’ve ever read. Years of burning out on manga humor has taken a lot of the shine from this series for me on the reread, though. Fortunately, my kiddo is experiencing it with the same fresh eyes I once did.
Masih dengan daya nalar yang sederhana, Yotsuba selalu menggemaskan. Bagian cerita tentang ‘pemaksaan’ oleh-oleh dan aksi Yotsuba naik bus gratis menunjukkan spontanitas anak-anak. Kelakuan-kelakuan yang seperti ini terkadang memberikan bentuk pemakluman kepada saya saat berhadapan dengan anak sendiri.
Cerita cinta Jumbo kepada Asagi juga menjadi bagian yang kadang bikin ketawa. Lucu kalau ketemu bagian kegagalan rencana Jumbo kencan dengan Asagi, secara dia selalu menggunakan Yotsuba memancing pertemuannya dengan Asagi. Hasilnya, SALAH SASARAN LAGI!. Kejutan di seri ini adalah kemunculan Ayah si tetangga. Lucunya, karena lama tidak pernah bertemu, anak-anaknya sering terkejut melihat penampakan Ayahnya di rumah.
I thought this book was really funny. It was like a bunch of short stories but it still had a plot, which I thought was really cool. Plus, I didn't have to read the two first books to understand what was going on (I started on book three)! It was about this little girl named Yotsuba whose always getting into trouble (sounds like someone I know) and I found myself laughing out loud a lot. Instead of her saying "I want to go to the zoo!", she said "Yotsuba wants to go to the zoo!" like she was talking about someone else, not herself. I remember when I used to talk like that! I think anyone could potentially read it, but I think it mainly stands out toward younger audiences!
The first story in this volume, "Souvenirs" (story #15), has a footnote explaining that Yotsuba's name means four-leaf and might be related to her green, four-leafed hairstyle.
The second story, "Asagi", has a footnote explaining that Torako's name (Asagi's friend) is written with the same characters as "tiger" and "baby".
In "Flowers" we see Jumba (Takashi) at work in his family's flowershop, where the inevitable skeeviness between him and Fuka and Asagi resurfaces.
In "Obon" (which maybe should've been called Flower Cupid?) Yotsuba befriends a policewoman while handing out flowers throughout the city. This 6-year-old has an unimaginable freedom. We also see Azuma's vision of old age.
In "Elephant" Yotsuba has another run-in with eyes and birds, both of which seem to scare her beyond the norm.
"Fireworks Show?" spends most of its time in the Ayese house where we meet Mr Ayase, the father. According to Asagi, he "is so average" that she doesn't recognize him. But why doesn Fuuka ask who he is? And did Ena also not know him when she first came to the breakfast table? I gotta believe this is fairly standard Japanese absentee-father jokes.
"Fireworks Show!!" has a heaping helping of tricksterism, including Miura's deft manipulation of Jumba, but it has a colorful ending.
This is officially my comfort manga. Feeling down? Pick it up. Not feeling good? Pick it up. that's literally what I did. I loved it so much. I loved seeing Yotsuba's little adventures and seeing her discover new things. I loved seeing Jumbo, he's really funny and relatable. Mr. Koiwai is relatable and he just doesn't care. Mr Koiwai's attitude, Jumbo's humour, the Ayase's different personalities, and how Yotsuba sees the world is what makes me want to continue with the Yotsuba&! series. I hope to continue this series and read all of its books!
Chapters:15,16,17,18,19,20,21. I finished this vol in less than 1 hour, and it was really funny . Yotsuba got a Gift from Asagi and she love it ! she loved the idea of having a gift and return it back .. she went to the zoo one day and had a real fun , she loved the Fireworks and she had the first hanabi festival !