Really enjoying these now. Timing & repetition really used well. I enjoyed the new character of Yanda, and how enraged he makes Yotsuba. Very funny. ( )

Originally posted here at Anime Radius.

Tsuku-tsuku boshi! It's the end of summer - and spring is right around the corner! Oh, it's not? It's fall that's up next? Okay! As the fifth volume of Yotsuba&! opens, the summer season is drawing to a close. That can only mean one thing: try to fit in as many sunny summer day activities into one book as possible before autumn! This includes everything from ice cream cones to airing out futons in the sun to even the ubiquitous trip to the beach (one that is surprisingly lacking in fanservice, although that's probably due to the fact that Yotsuba is the focus of the series and not the neighbor girls). In usual Yotsuba fashion, she approaches each event with wide eyes, eager to explore what is new and fascinating. Her energy is infectious, and it's hard not to be drawn time after time into her daily adventures. That is the power of Yotsuba&!: the power to make us look at life with different, younger eyes and enjoy everything.

For the first four volumes, the Yotsuba&! series has maintained a stable core cast of characters. There's Yotsuba and her father, their odd friend Jumbo, and the Ayase family next door. The main action of the series has always centered around Yotsuba's interactions with these people, and it has worked tremendously in its favor, giving the series an intimate oddball family feel. In the fifth volume, a brand new character is introduced - Yanda, Koiwai's understudy - and presents a new element into the series' cast. He had been briefly mentioned in throwaway lines earlier in the series, but with this volume we finally meet the infamous Yanda, and he is just as lazy and slacker-like as Jumbo said he was. Despite being in only one chapter, Yanda's introduction has a sizeable effect on young Yotsuba's life - in short, a challenger approaches! He is arrogant and bratty and the showdown between him and Yotsuba is hilarious. Somehow, manga-ka Azuma has done the impossible: introduced a new character that actually fits into the overall feel of the series and is not intrusive. In fact, I look forward to seeing Yanda show up later on in the series to do battle with Yotsuba once more.

Whether she's at the beach or just out in the rain, Yotsuba never fails to bring a smile to readers' faces - and the fifth book of her youthful tales does not disappoint in doing so again. It continues to be a wickedly funny manga, a ray of sunshine captured in the pages of a graphic novel; this is one series that every manga fan should be reading, full stop. If you love to laugh and if you are a child at heart, Yotsuba&! was made for you.
( )

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Librarything & Bookhype by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Yotsuba&! Vol. 5
Series: Yotsuba&! #5
Author: Kiyohiko Azuma
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 210
Words: 8K

Synopsis:

Chapter List:

Yotsuba & Cardbo

Yotsuba & Helping

Yotsuba & Yanda

Yotsuba & Stars

Yotsuba & Rain

Yotsuba & Sunny Skies

Yotsuba & the Beach

My Thoughts:

Another great volume. Yotsuba meets her nemesis, Yanda for the first time. While he's supposed to be a working man, he reacts to Yotsuba at her level. A grown man acting like a 5 year old is amusing for a chapter. Azuma, the manga-ka, realizes when enough is enough and doesn't try to push it more than that one chapter though. Smart man.

The first chapter deals with Ena and Eimura (neighbor girls) doing a class project where they are creating a robot creature out of cardboard. Yotsuba barges in on them and thinks that Eimura is a real robot. I've included the picture that made me laugh the hardest in the volume.

The rest of the chapters were light hearted and fuzzily warm. Perfect to read on a day when it is snowing outside. I have to admit, I am (almost) surprised at just how well this series is standing up to a re-read. Sometimes something is cute because it is new. This is genuinely cute and continues to be so.

★★★★★ ( )

Super cute! I love this series! Adorable art, delightful adventures. ( )

Hilarious! I read this late one night and had to cover my mouth several times to stifle laugher so as not to disturb the neighbors.