YOTSUBA&!, Volume 4

The cover of this volume is one of my favourites; it's obvious that Yotsuba's dad truly enjoys spending time with his daughter. He's not one of these parents who is always telling her to go and watch TV, or to do something else NOT with him; when he has to work, he has to work, but otherwise he obviously loves to spend time with Yotsuba, and she with him, and that's what they do.

One aspect of this series that I really enjoy, that was more evident in this volume, is the view of Japanese culture; from the grocery store to the milk deliveries to the respect of the simple cicada, everyday life permeates this story while Yotsuba's living of it takes centre stage.

My favourite parts in this volume were the badminton "war" and Yotsuba's show more attempt to cool the planet and solve "glowball warming" (which she learned about in volume one, when she was five) by turning up the A/C to high and leaving the fridge door open. Well, it makes sense to a six-year-old! show less

This book was a little less amusing than some previous books, but now I feel comfortable with all of the characters. I especially liked Chapter 23 (Yotsuba & Fishing) because I like to fish. It was enjoyable watching jumbo teaching Yotsuba and friends how to fish. Very cute!

I also liked Chapter 24 (Yotsuba and Dinner) in which Yotsuba and her dad go food shopping and then make a hamburger meal. The picture of Yotsuba picking up her hamburger with chopsticks was funny!

I'll be very happy to continue this series. My son and I looked over some scenes from book two tonight and had a good laugh over some Yotsuba humor. I'm glad I'm getting "into" some manga!

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. 4
Series: Yotsuba&! #4
Author: Kiyohiko Azuma
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Manga
Pages: 192
Words: 8K

Synopsis:

Chapter List:

Yotsuba & Challenges

Yotsuba & Fishing

Yotsuba & Dinner

Yotsuba & Bloom of Youth

Yotsuba & Newspapers

Yotsuba & Tsukutsukuboshi

Yotsuba & 4-Panel Manga

My Thoughts:

Last week felt like a cheese grater on my soul kind of week. I went into the weekend with no reserves and not even the ability to process anything show more emotionally. I was tired and hurting. While I can't say that reading this miraculously cured all of that, reading this was like putting balm on a hurting wound. It doesn't heal it, but it makes it feel better and helps with the healing process.

The first chapter is called Yotsuba!& Challenges. In the picture I'll be showing you can see a fan translated it as “Duels”. Both are correct but I have to admit, I think Duels works better. Yotsuba and her dad are playing rock paper scissors and there is a pot and a rolled up newspaper in between them. Whenever they play rock, paper, scissors, whoever wins has to grab the paper and try to hit the other over the head while the loser has to grab the pot and put it on their head as protection. Yotsuba's dad cheats outrageously and she gives up in disgust. Then she duels her dad in badminton and eventually her dad and Jumbo duel each other in badminton (hence the racket and birdie in her pocket). It was fantastic.

★★★★★ show less

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.

Very nice. Is this the one with Tsuku Tsuku Boushi (a type of cicada that comes out at the end of Summer)? That section, with Yotsuba's confusion over what the Tsuku Tsuku Boushi actually, and the subsequent incomprehension of all around her, is very nicely handled.

More laugh-out-loud funny adventures of Japan's weirdest five year-old. In this volume Yotsuba goes fishing, learns about young love, makes her own newspaper, and discovers the truth about cicadas. Can't recommend this series highly enough!

I think I must have already read, like, 90% of this volume before but I didn't even care because it was so funny and the good parts were even better the second time around!