Shounen Manga Book Club discussion

"From the nutty mind of Kyohiko Azuma, creator of the hit manga Azumanga Daioh comes the story of the new kid in town - little Yotsuba, a green-haired and wide-eyed girl who doesn't have a clue... about anything! With no knowledge of the world around her, and an unnatural fear of air conditioners, Yotsuba has her new neighbors' heads spinning. Join the hilarious exploits of an out-of-this-world schoolgirl as her befuddled friends attempt to uncover the secrets behind this strange child in Yotsuba!"

Discuss Yotsuba&!

Yay! It's Yotsuba! This is a fantastic, lighthearted manga about a child that doesn't quite understand the world around her. Ok, so that's a huge understatement. ;)

Reread volume 1. Can't help but smile at Yotsuba's antics. Her bluntness and mischief should border on the annoying, but there's an innocence and wonder behind everything she does that makes it mostly endearing and amusing. Very light, slice-of-life stories, especially here at the beginning where all the characters are being introduced.

Yotsuba is absolutely adorable. It's really entertaining to see the world through her eyes.

Totally. I love the various ways the rest of the cast reacts too. Her dad has learned to adapt, Fuka gets flustered but manages ok, Asagi takes it all in stride (and usually turns things back on Yotsuba), Ena panics, etc.

Just started rereading volume 2. First chapter is the introduction of Miura and the drawing adventure, and the following is the "assassin" one. Both are highly amusing, and a great reminder of why I love this series.

I'll try reading it by the weekend, but I've got my final exams coming, so don't expect too much from me.

Prarthna wrote: "I'll try reading it by the weekend, but I've got my final exams coming, so don't expect too much from me."

Hope you enjoy it if you get to it. No rush though - we target a couple months for group reads to facilitate discussion, but always feel free to share thoughts even if you end up reading it later.

Reread through volume 5. As amusing as ever. I had forgotten there's a chapter of 4-koma comics in vol 4.

Anyone have any favorite moments and/or chapters?

Hmmm... It's hard for me to pick a favorite...

I suppose my favorite is when she gets the teddy bear. I know I had (have) a strong attachment to my favorite stuffed animal (a bunny, in my case) so it really spoke to me. XD

My second favorite is probably the air conditioning scene. The logic there was too funny.

Those are both really great. Tough for me too, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot, but my favorite moment is likely when Fuka's calmly telling Yotsuba that kids ride free on the bus, then turns around and we see a bus pass by with Yotsuba already on it, looking ecstatic through the window as poor Fuka panics. The spontaneity, layout and facial expressions just crack me up. I also adore every time someone asks her where she's from and she responds "the left."

Favorite chapters are probably when she plays gangster with the water pistol and the camping adventure from a later volume.

Finished rereading the series. The camping adventure is again a favorite of mine. It's not laugh-out-loud funny like a lot of the series, but just perfectly paced and executed in the way it captures the joy and wonder that can be found in a relatively "mundane" activity.

It's amazing that the author is able to keep up the atmosphere and humor through twelve volumes so far with no signs of getting stale.

Mike wrote: "It's amazing that the author is able to keep up the atmosphere and humor through twelve volumes so far with no signs of getting stale."

Agreed, especially since the only other work by this mangaka (that I know if) is so short. Though, there are a lot more things you can do with a pre-schooler than you can in a school setting (just look at Rugrats).

I wish the next volume would come out soon...