Review - Yotsuba&! Volume 1

Another day, another new series. This one being basically on the polar opposite end of the spectrum than my last review, which was Jormungand's first volume (I'll be back to that one tomorrow). Don't expect the Yotsuba reviews to fly thick an furious, because, for the time being, I only own volume one. I'll get the rest eventually!

Also, I'm getting materials for my new shelf(s) tomorrow. Woo!

STORY

 Yotsuba and her daddy have moved to a new house.

That's it. That right there is the main plot. It sounds stupidly simplistic, but for a series like this, it doesn't really need to be any more complex than that. Instead of going for an overarching story, we follow Yotsuba on her wonder filled adventures around her new house. Some of her fun includes hunting for cicadas, going to the store, meeting the neighbors, playing in the rain, and learning about the evils of household air conditioning units (no joke).

In a series like Yotsuba&!, the episodic approach works perfectly.

ART & PRESENTATION

The art is great. It actually has very simple character designs, but it's easy to tell who everyone is. The art really works with the backgrounds. Each panel is rich in background detail, which is great, because the art pulls you right into a muggy Japanese summer suburb. I'll put a couple of examples below.

Yen Press presents Yotsuba's world quite well. It's isn't really anything special, but it's just fine.

CHARACTERS

There are a lot of characters in Yotsuba&!. So far, I have identified three leads. I'll go over them here.

Fist up is, of course, Yotsuba. She's an energetic little girl who never seems to get down about anything, even a rainstorm. We learn in this volume that Yotsuba was an orphan who was adopted by her 'daddy' from a foreign country. We never learn what country, exactly. It's unclear whether Yotsuba is actually aware of this, but honestly, that isn't the focus.

Next is Koiwai, Yotsuba's adoptive father. He's shown to be sort of offbeat and sarcastic, but cares for Yotsuba like a real father. He has a job as a translator, but as to what languages he translates... Who knows.

Lastly is Fuuka. She's the middle child in a family of three girls, all of whom are next-door neighbors to Koiwai and Yotsuba. Fuuka is shown to be organized and intelligent. We don't get any character moments with her, really, but hey. It's volume 1 still.

FINAL VERDICT

Don't read Yotsuba&! if you're looking for an investing story, because it's not about that. Yotsuba&! is all about the fun in the simple things in life, the quiet character moments, and peaceful pacing. Reading Yotsuba&! volume 1 is almost a guarantee to have a good mood. We can all learn from Yotsuba, too, and do just as the manga suggests.

"Enjoy everything!"

+ Calm, pleasant read
+ Great art, especially backgrounds and objects
+ Nice subtle character moments

- If slice-of-life does nothing for you, Yotsuba&! doesn't exactly bring anything new to the table

A- - BUY IT

I gotta get more Yotsuba&!. This volume was just great, and I look forward to more adventures with Yotsuba and the gang!

(I don't own Yotsuba&!. All rights go to the author, Kiyohiko Azuma, and the licensing company, Yen Press).