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Title: Yotsuba&! Vol. 7
Series: Yotsuba&! #7
Author: Kiyohiko Azuma
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 208
Words: 8K

Synopsis:

Chapter List:

Yotsuba & Telephones

Yotsuba & Respect for the Aged Day

Yotsuba & Fever

Yotsuba & Patissier

Yotsuba & Errands

Yotsuba & Taking Off

Yotsuba & The Ranch

My Thoughts:

Some of these chapters are longer than others. In Telephones, for example, Yotsuba spends the whole day playing string&cup telephone with the neighbors. It ends with a picture of Fuka (the 16/17 year old daughter) talking to Yotsuba's dad through a window and her older college age sister walking in on her. The facial expressions are priceless and the manga-ka makes it crystal clear, without writing a word, that Asagi (the older sister) thinks shenanigans are going on. It's just too funny.

Then you have chapters like Respect for the Aged Day where Yotsuba talks with her grandma on the phone for about 1 page.

The overarching theme for this book was visiting a farm. Yotsuba loves milk so much so her dad decides to take her to a farm. Jumbo is their transportation and Yotsuba's Nemesis, Yando, invites himself along.

I'd like to talk about Yando for a minute. He doesn't seem to get along with anybody so I've wondered how he's stayed friends with Yotsuba's dad. He and Jumbo definitely don't get along and while Yotsuba's dad is pretty laid back about him, Yando seems to try to push his buttons whenever he can. Maybe he's just “one of those” friends? Whatever the case may be, and despite me not liking him, he does provide the necessary “edge” to this series.

The picture I've included this time was from the chapter where Fuka and her friend are practicing making cakes. They're not happy with how it looks, so they let Yotsuba decorate it so they can tell their family it wasn't them that decorated it. Yotsuba goes all out, hence her decision to include the last egg :-D

★★★★★ ( )

In this volume, Yotsuba is fixated on going to a ranch. However, in the meantime, time has to pass quickly. and then she gets a fever. She finally gets to go to a ranch with Jumbo, her dad, and (Oh, no!) her nemesis Yanda. While at the ranch, she has an "encounter" with a sheep, visits some goats, and learns how to milk a cow. My favorite frame was of everyone applauding after Yotusba successfully milks a cow and she then wants everyone to show appreciation for the cow giving milk. Yotsuba loves milk. So cute!

I'm curious to know if the ranch visit will be continued in volume eight. There's only one way to find out... ( )

Lighthearted and entertaining as usual. ( )