Yozakura Quartet 1

Yozakura Quartet #1

by Suzuhito Yasuda, ヤスダスズヒト, Satsuki Yamashita (Translator)

SUPERTEENS!

Hime is a superheroine. Ao can read minds. Kotoha can conjure up anything with the right word. And Akina . . . well, he’s just a regular guy, surrounded by three supergirls! Together, they protect the town of Sakurashin. But that’s not easy, as the town faces demon dogs and other supernatural threats!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Action, Shonen, Supernatural, Young Adult

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Also listed as ヤスダスズヒト.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I watched the anime for this like a decade ago but even still I didn't think I would forget so much about this. I think this first volume doesn't explain enough and just throws you in head first and I don't remember the anime being like that. I feel like I missed two or three volumes and would actually appreciate some kind of info dump or something.

The author says the next volume is when it gets good ... so we'll see if I'm still confused. Maybe the anime is just better. 🤷‍♀️

[Janneke · Rating 1 out of 5]

This Manga is about 4 teenagers. Hime is a superheroine. AO can read minds. Kotha can conjure up anything with the right words. And Akini he is just a regular guy. They call themself ''superteens''

First thing to say: I loved the art work of this manga!!

The story left me a little bit confused. 3 girls have superpowers and 1 boy does not. Why doesn't he have superpowers? What is wrong with him? For the 3 girls it would be nice to read an introduction about their superpowers.

They protect the town of Sakurashin. Sounds like a cool city. I really wish to read more about the city and why the city need protection from superteens.

I liked the story about the dog and Germany the most, because it was the only story i really understood what was happening.

I think the manga could be very interesting. But the first volume didn't get me excited to read more.

[Silas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had the impression when picking this up that it would be a music manga. The fact that all the series covers show characters with instruments does tend to lend that impression, as does the name. Of course, that was not what I got when I opened this up and started. Instead, I got a rather complicated story about a diverse cast of characters in some random town that doesn't do a very good job of letting me get to know the characters and their capabilities, and instead has extended, difficult to follow action scenes that don't make a ton of sense. For a first volume, there is precious little exposition here, and it really hurts the book.

[AsianMerr · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book very much feels like it starts in the middle or at least not the beginning of the story. We are rushed in the first chapter, the characters are there and then by the end we find out what they do but not who they are. The chapters after slowly introduce backstory of some people but nothing to latch onto. The main character on the cover was unlikable and no one stood out. The bonus stuff even says that this volume isn’t good “but look out for next volume”. Rocky start but we’ll see if volume 2 has promise.

[Leandro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Se acabo uno de mis mangas favoritos!
Casi 11 años leyéndolo mes con mes.
Tengo figuras, las postales de las versiones de lujo del manga, incluso libros de arte del autor.
Es que el Sensei Suzuhito Yasuda dibuja muy cool!
En lo narrativo no se queda atrás, cada arco es presentado al inicio como la película de Babel con narrativas corales. Algo muy inusual en los mangas que leo.

[Vibrii · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Art is pretty bland and the characters aren't interesting in the slightest. The plot is very cookiecutter too. Maybe the second volume introduces something new and intriguing, but I'm not at all interested enough to continue reading :/

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but not entirely sure what to think yet...

[Kiersten Buckner · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall Rating: B-
Synopsis: A supernatural comedy manga created by Suzuhito Yasuda, the series follows the members of the Hiizumi Seikatsu Soudan Jimusho (Hiizumi's Everyday-life Consultation Office), a group of three women with superpowers and one normal guy. As Del Ray (the publisher) puts it, "Hime is a superheroine. Ao can read minds. Kotoha can conjure up anything with the right word. And Akina . . . well, he’s just a regular guy..."

In addition to being a superheroine, Hime is also the mayor of Hiizumi and has been since her grandmother died (apparently being mayor is hereditary here). She and the rest of the team take care of the town from problems, both mundane and supernatural. Akina is the manager of the team, which apparently involves offering moral support for the women, and gets stuck paying for the food.

The first volume consists of a few stories to give us some connection to the characters and the story. The first one gives us an idea of who the team is, and then we get stories focusing on the women. The one for Hime focuses on a lost dog, that Hime seems uncharacteristically harsh to and then turns into a demon. We also have a story dedicated to Ao, and the fact that she has concerns about whether she has the right to read the minds of others. Finally, we have the story focusing on Kotoha, who wants to take a trip to Germany and we find out just how odd she is.

In my opinion, Yozakura Quartet had it's good and bad points, but the good won out. However, let's start with the bad. The plot of the stories leaves a lot to be desired, with long buildups and not-as-exciting-as-I-was-hoping adventures. However, it has a lot of promise, and the creator hints that volume 2 may pick up some. On the good side, I love the art, the characters are really interesting and fun, and the concept is great. I'm hoping volume 2, which comes out May 20th, will pull me in even more.

For more manga and anime reviews, please check out Hobotaku.

[Conan Tigard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yozakura Quartet: Volume 1 is an interesting read that left me a little confused the first time through it. Sometimes, in big battle scenes, it is very hard to tell what is going on. And then when the dialog fails to fully explain what is going on, I sometimes feel left out in the dark with no flashlight. But leafing back through it for this review, I was better able to understand what was going on.

The artwork is very good and the concept has a lot of potential.

The main problem I was having through this first book in the series is that I couldn't figure out the powers of the three girls. It would have been nice if there had been a page before the manga explaining the powers of each person.

Since this was the first book in the series, most of the stories were introductions for each of the girls, focusing on their personalities and their powers. What amazed me was how a town would elect a nine-year old girl to be their mayor. Seems highly unlikely to me, even if she does have superpowers. I also wondered why the only boy, Akina, has no powers. Maybe he just hasn't discovered them yet. Let's hope so. Because, darn it, he needs some special powers too! How will he be able to protect himself and keep up with the girls?

Turning a cute little corgi into a demon dog, what's up with that? I have a corgi, and there is no way that my cute little Betsy could be a demon. Could she? Hmmm . . . better keep my eye on her.

Overall, Yozakura Quartet: Volume 1 is a good start to a series that could turn out to be great. I look forward to my next encounter with the group of demon hunters in Yozakura Quartet: Volume 2.

I rated this book a 7½ out of 10.

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw the anime (all of them) when they aired. I already had Volume 2 and 3 for this manga, but I couldn't find Volume 1. So you can imagine how happy I was when I found it.

The manga is really fun, it is all kind of short stories, which make up one big story. There were enough new parts, considering the anime didn't cover everything.

I loved the story about the dog and the Germany trip the most. Poor Kotoha though, wanting to go on a trip to Germany and then that happens. I am sure she will get another chance someday.

My favourite characters would be Kotoha (I love her skill, conjuring up stuff with the right words (walls, bandages, anything!) and she is really the nicest and I am also the most curious about her past.
My second favourite would be Ao, her ears are just so cute and I love her ability of reading minds (not just one, no the whole town if needed).

Hime and Akina, are so-so. Hime is a bit too much at times and a bit too mean about things. Akina, while I know he has awesome powers, I just missed those in this volume and he should speak up more about things (like having to treat his friends every time or other things).

I will be reading Vol.2 and 3 soon, and hoping I can find the rest somewhere. Probably impossible though. :(

Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

The artwork was so much better than the story, which may be because the creator is primarily an artist. The notes in the book explain the difficulties the editor had with various early versions of this story, and I think that the editor needed to keep on top of the problem a little longer. The story is rushed and incoherent, and never lives up to the art.
I THINK the story is about a city in which supernatural things are occurring, including demonic possessions. I THINK that a small group of teens has supernatural powers and uses them to combat this evil. I've actually read the book twice now, and I'm still not sure...
Some of the concepts are very interesting, including a form of spoken word magic. I just wish the series had a better writer.

[kittenpolyps · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having watched both of the anime series and read all five volumes that have been translated and I can easily say that Yozakura Quartet is one of my favorite series.
Combining a creative and original universe with a diverse and well developed cast, I found the series to be unique and extremely entertaining.
The story contains the perfect ratio supernatural/fantasy/action elements and slice-of-life moments and ranges from funny and lighthearted to intense and heart wrenching.
I hope that Kodansha will pick up the series seeing as Del Rey Manga was defunct. I would love to have more than only the first five volumes.

[Tasha Birckhead · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not as good as it described. It was very confusing and had not particular plot. I think the order of the stories would have helped this seeing as the author changed it with this serialization. Being a volume 1, its full of introductory stories but other than that we still do not know how any of characters got these powers and why its okay for a teenager to be running a town. Is the town evening real? Its just so disconnected. What I did like was the artwork that reminded me of soul eater. However, this story makes it hard to pick up volume 2.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was a solid start to a new series (and as always, Del Rey is deliciously lovely in its layout, packaging, and translation notes). I'm not quite sure where it's all going, but I really loved the art style (less cute and detailed, more action oriented and clear lines). I'm hoping the second volume will deepen the story a bit. All in all, though, a nice crossover book that should appeal to both girl and guy manga fans.

[ribbonknight · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm definitely glad that I watched the anime series before reading the first volume of the manga. The manga doesn't do much to set up the world or the characters, and I think that without already having been grounded in the anime, I wouldn't have understood what was going on.

I'm looking forward to reading more of the series, to see what happens after the anime ended.

[Misa Niranon · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far, I'm thinking that it's pretty good.
This book was one of the books that I got for free at some school thing and I was pretty happy to find manga!
I've started to watch the anime, too, and so far, so good.

I've been looking for a scarf just like Hime-chan's! Maybe I'll cosplay as her for an upcoming anime convention.

[Trip · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise is kind of silly, and many of the stories are silly, but some are kind of dark. Also, I want a town with giant magic pillars.

[Lord · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wonder why Del Rey has so many amazing title but also so many amazingly bad titles. Yozakura Quartet belongs to the second category. I couldn't get past half the book.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorites!

[Lady Entropy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is so boring that after having it read a few weeks ago, I completely forgot what it was about and only realized what it was after I read the blurb.