Ranked #7

Yotsuba&! (Manga)

Yotsuba&! is the story about Yotsuba Koiwai, a five-year-old girl who stays at home with her dad. She has no mom and is too young to go to school yet. Yotsuba is a cute girl with green (yes green) hair that’s done in four pigtails, giving her the appearance of a four-leaf clover (“yotsuba no kurōbā” in Japanese), and thus her name. 4channers may recognize her as the website’s unofficial mascot.

The manga is by Kiyohiko Azuma who also created Azumanga Daioh. The similarities between these two are very apparent, and the style of humor is the same, so if you liked Azumanga Daioh, then you don’t want to miss reading Yotsuba&!.

Similar to Azumanga Daioh, you’ll meet lots of new characters as the series progresses, mostly Yotsuba’s friends and neighbors, and they are all almost as odd as she is. XD My two favorite characters are Mr. Koiwai and Fuka Ayase. Mr. Koiwai is Yotsuba’s father. I aspire to be like him when I have my own daughter. He’s kind and is always there to take care of Yotsuba, but at the same time he makes sure she behaves properly (not so easy for a five-year-old). Fuka Ayase is 16-years-old and the middle sister of the Ayase family, who lives next-door to Yotsuba. Fuka is creative and smart, and she is the vice-president at school, but she also gets flustered really easily.

Yotsuba&! is a slice-of-life series, through and through. When I thought about slice-of-life, I used to think about Azumanga Daioh or Lucky Star, but none of them capture the little joys and perks in life as well as Yotsuba&! does.

In the manga you’ll follow Yotsuba to the bike store, the zoo, and much much more, all while seeing what life is like through the perspective of an eccentric five-year-old. It is funny reading Yotsuba's unusual but completely innocent remarks about things such as global warming and cicadas. Youtsuba will say and do the darndest things, and despite her bratty side which appears from time to time, you can’t help but adore her. read more

Ok, so here we are with little Yotsuba.
If you're looking for an easy-going manga, this is perfect for you.
Not many dialogues, easy to read, and really funny.

And the best thing of it is that shows you that even the sounds of the cicadas is enjoyable(tsuku tsukuboushi x]).
The "motto" of this manga is "Enjoy everything", and that's exactly what Yotsuba does and shares with us.

It's like being as Yotsuba, 5 years old again.
And she's one of a kind. I would like to have a daughter like her xD.
She is always laughing, and when she gets scared she is really cute. She also learns things really fast but misunderstoods them most of the time, and that's what it makes she so funny, that, and that sometimes she says things that you would never believe a child would say.

The other characters are mostly for Yotsuba's support, but they are unique too, and very different from each other.

The art is really simple, but cute and clean. Like Azumanga Daioh, from the same creator.

So, I recommend you this manga if you want to read something happy and lively.

Enjoy life and enjoy Yotsuba& :]
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