Yotsuba&!

Yotsuba&!
File:Yotsuba vol1 cover.jpg The cover for Yotsuba&! vol. 1 English version
Genre	Seinen, Comedy, slice-of-life
Manga
Written by	Kiyohiko Azuma (story & art)
Published by	MediaWorks ADV Manga Kurokawa Norma Editorial Tokyopop Dynit

Yotsuba&! (よつばと! Yotsuba to!) is an ongoing manga series by Kiyohiko Azuma, the creator of Azumanga Daioh. It is published by MediaWorks and serialized monthly in their magazine Dengeki Daioh.

The series was licensed by ADV Manga for English language distribution in 2004 and released in 2005. After three volumes were released in the US, the manga was put on hold by ADV Manga, much to the chagrin of readers. Amazon.ca and Amazon.com has recently added both volume 4 and 5 to their website, stating that Yotsuba&! Volume 4 is shipping June 27, 2007 and Volume 5 is shipping October 10, 2007.

Unlike Azumanga Daioh, Yotsuba&! does away with the vertical 4 panel newspaper strip format, preferring to use the entire page to tell the story. This allows Azuma to display more artistic prowess than before, the aim being to make Yotsuba's world seem new and interesting as only young children can actually see it.

Yotsuba and members of the Ayase family were also featured in a one-shot manga called Try! Try! Try!

"Yotsubato" means "Yotsuba and", which comes from the fact that the title of nearly every chapter/issue of the manga is of the form "Yotsuba & something". The name "Yotsuba" (四葉) can be translated as "four leaves," and is part of the phrase 四葉のクローバー yotsuba no kurōbā ("four-leaf clover"). In reference to this fact (or perhaps because of it), Yotsuba has four ponytails and green hair.

Story

Template:Spoiler The series is centered on the antics of Yotsuba Koiwai, a five year old adopted girl who is energetic, cheerful, curious, strange and quirky—so strange and quirky, in fact, that even her own father calls her a weirdo. She is also completely ignorant about a large number of things one would expect a child of her age to know about, among them doorbells, escalators, air conditioners, and even playground swings. This not only adds to her weirdness, but also allows for humorous stories where she first learns about, and frequently misunderstands, these everyday things. She and her adoptive father, Koiwai, have recently relocated to a new neighborhood with the help of Koiwai's best friend, an impressively tall man nicknamed Jumbo. Yotsuba makes quite an impression on the neighboring Ayase family's three daughters Asagi, Ena, and Fuka, whose interactions with her often lead to hilarious misadventures.

There seems to be no central plot—the main focus of the manga story is purely Yotsuba's voyage of discovery. Within that process, the reading audience is on the same voyage to discover more about the characters, especially Yotsuba. Each chapter has a prevalent theme or object pertaining to its title. This theme is often Yotsuba discovering something for the first time, or other characters dealing with and reacting to her discoveries.

Main Characters

Koiwai Household

Yotsuba Koiwai / "Yotsuba" (小岩井四葉 Koiwai Yotsuba / よつば Yotsuba) is the protagonist of the story. She is a self-styled 6 year old (she's actually 5 years old) who has a child's wonder towards even the most unremarkable of new discoveries. Her ability to find enjoyment in nearly everything is unparalleled, and her constant enthusiasm is infectious. Before coming to live in her present house, she lived with her adoptive grandparents on an island that is, according to her, "to the left." Nothing is known about her parentage other than that Yotsuba was orphaned somewhere outside of Japan and subsequently taken in by Koiwai, and she is sometimes taken for a foreigner by strangers. She herself seems to have no memories of her birth parents, and is confused by the concept of having two sets of grandparents. However, this lack doesn't seem to bother Yotsuba; when asked where she is from, she cheerily answers that she's from "the left." She is an excellent swimmer, but not as good an artist as she thinks she is.

Mr. Koiwai / "Dad" (小岩井 Koiwai / とーちゃん tō-chan), given name unknown, is Yotsuba's adoptive father. The circumstances of Yotsuba's adoption are obscure (in chapter 7, he says it happened somewhere overseas), but she treats him as though he were her biological father. He works as a translator, though what languages and materials he translates is unknown to the audience since it doesn't matter to Yotsuba. He has a loose attitude about things, and always wears a t-shirt and boxer shorts when working at home; he has more than once apologized for being "irresponsible." He seems to frequently become frustrated by impasses in his translations, but when he finishes his work, he is quite happy to spend time having fun with Yotsuba. He is also somewhat cowardly and does not know how to swim. Regardless of his skills as a parent, it seems that Koiwai is a good father at heart.

Ayase household

Fuka (left on bicycle) and Yotsuba (behind)

The Ayases live next door to the Koiwais and play an important role in Yotsuba's activities.

Asagi Ayase (綾瀬あさぎ Ayase Asagi) is the eldest of the three Ayase sisters, and the "Pretty One" according to Yotsuba. Her age has not been revealed, though she is a university student and is apparently only home for the summer. Asagi is attractive and physically mature, but enjoys teasing people, especially her mother. If she is aware of the crush Jumbo has on her she hasn't said anything, although she seems to take as much relish in teasing him as she does everyone else. She's the best of her family at managing Yotsuba, and her mother claims she was much like Yotsuba when she was young. Asagi's irreverence may have something to do with her mother's teasing her as a child (for example, when Asagi found a four-leaf clover, her mother asked for a five-leaf clover instead, which of course Asagi couldn't find).

Fuka Ayase (綾瀬風香 Ayase Fūka), is the middle Ayase sister, a 16-year old student at a local high school, and the most responsible of the three. According to Yotsuba, she is "the one that wasn't pretty," or, "the un-pretty one." Nonetheless, she becomes quite fond of Yotsuba. She finds herself frequently helping out at the Koiwai household, even though she doesn't intend to and is more flustered by their eccentricities than anyone else. One running joke is that Fuka is terrible at drawing. She also has a penchant for bad puns, and for wearing shirts with odd or interesting graphics (one being an image of Chiyo's "father" from Azumanga Daioh).

Ena Ayase (綾瀬恵那 Ayase Ena) is the youngest Ayase sister and, though she's a few years older, the closest Yotsuba has to a true peer. Ena is sensible for her age and tries to be responsible by doing things like recycling and limiting her use of air conditioning. She is sometimes flustered by Yotsuba's antics but she also enjoys playing with her younger friend. She likes drawing, something at which she is quite skilled, and playing with her teddy bears, either by herself or with Yotsuba. Despite her "girly habits," Ena is remarkably unsqueamish and even enthusiastic about things that would gross out most ten-year-old girls, such as handling large frogs and gutting live fish.

Mrs. Ayase / "Mom" (綾瀬家の母 Ayase-ke no Haha / かーちゃん Kā-chan) is the mother of the Ayase sisters, and frequently has Yotsuba over as a visitor. Yotsuba's habit of calling her "Mom" is annoying and endearing at the same time to her. She is incessantly frustrated with Asagi and is the butt of many of her pranks. She also seems to have a sweet tooth, often having cravings for ice cream, cake, and other sweet food.

Mr. Ayase (綾瀬家の父 Ayase-ke no Chichi) is almost never at home, at least during the day. While his profession is not revealed in the series, it appears consistent with the life of a salaryman. Asagi teases him mercilessly because of his constant absence (in volume 2, she states that "Oh, yeah, dad isn't around anymore," whereupon Fuka corrects her, saying, "He's not dead, just at work!"), but he seems to have a good relationship with the rest of the family. He has a very laid-back and sentimental personality.

Friends

Takashi Takeda / "Jumbo" (竹田隆 Takeda Takashi / ジャンボ Janbo) is good friends with Yotsuba and Koiwai, in fact having been a friend of Koiwai's since childhood (as indicated in Chapter 31). He helped the two of them move into their new house, and may have had some role in arranging their move to the city, or at least had some influence, since he lives there already. Standing at 210 cm (over 6'10"), he dwarfs the other characters, especially Yotsuba. He is usually known by the nickname "Jumbo" and when Fuka learns of his real name she remarks that it's pretty mundane. Takashi works at his father's flower shop in town, though Yotsuba did not realize this until she went and saw him working there. Though not technically a member of the Koiwai family, he is often at their house, and is more or less treated as a member of the family by Yotsuba.

Jumbo is somewhat impulsive, and develops a deep infatuation for Asagi when he first meets her. As a result, he attempts to use Yotsuba's frequent visits to the Ayase household as a way of getting close to her, though his plans usually backfire on him. All the while, Yotsuba remains completely unaware of his ulterior motive.

Miura Hayasaka (早坂みうら Hayasaka Miura) is Ena's friend. She seems to like teasing people around if she get a chance, and she counters aggressively once she feels mistaken or is made fun of. She is boyish and brusque, both in her appearance and her way of speaking (this is very noticeable in the Japanese version), which can sometimes be too straightforward and insensitive, regardless of whom she is talking to. Because of this she sometimes appears less kind or thoughtful than Ena, but actually she is rather caring and sensitive at the same time; she is keen and very quick to notice others' feelings. For example, she notices Jumbo's infatuation with Asagi at once and uses this to her advantage. Ironically, she is also an extremely squeamish person. When she went fishing with Ena, Yotsuba and Jumbo, she refused to use live bait, using salmon roe instead. She also hid behind Ena while Jumbo cleaned the fish they caught and was visibly shaking.

Torako (虎子) is a friend of Asagi's. She smokes constantly and seems to be obsessed with being cool. Because of this she is often annoyed with Yotsuba's antics, yet she seems to be very gentle and does not anger easily no matter what trouble she is involved in. "Torako" means "tiger child." She seems to be the only member of the younger cast that owns a car as she and Asagi often go driving around or vacationing.

Yanda (ヤンダ), actual surname Yasuda (安田), given name unknown, is a friend of Koiwai and Jumbo, who has been mentioned from time to time. Though he is mentioned as early as the first chapter, he does not actually appear until Chapter 30. Jumbo keeps calling Yanda "useless" for making lame excuses for not visiting the Koiwai's new home. In Chapter 30, he finally pays a visit to the Koiwai house while Yotsuba is home alone, making her extremely suspicious. He has a somewhat mischievous and childish nature, as shown by the many pranks he plays on Yotsuba, including trying to gain entrance to the Koiwai house by giving her candy, eating her ice cream, and prank calling her. Koiwai refers to him as his "kouhai" (his junior), but why he does so is not yet known. At the moment, it seems as though Yanda is living from paycheck to paycheck, as he is seen eating instant ramen and tells Mr. Koiwai that he doesn't get paid until the 30th of the month.

As a side note, a conversation between Yanda and Mr. Koiwai reveals that the Koiwai house is rented, not bought.

Volumes and Chapters

Main article: List of Yotsuba&! chapters

Though it is published in a serial format, Yotsuba&! is divided into volumes of 7 chapters, each relating to a specific day during a common year starting on Wednesday. The year in question was initially believed to be 2003, co-inciding with the start of the manga serialization. However, when asked, the author refused to specify a year, instead claiming the series is set in the present day. This allows the appearance of products created after 2003, such as the Nintendo DS seen in chapter 42.

The first five volumes span the summer vacation period, with each volume lasting about a week in series time.

Trivia

• In the final chapter of volume 3, as Miura is tossing rings for a prize, one prize is a Neko-koneko doll. "Neko-koneko" (literally "cat and kitten") is a recurring stuffed animal motif in Azumanga Daioh.

• In the first chapter of volume 2, the cat on Fuka's tee-shirt is Chiyo-chan's "Dad" from Azumanga Daioh. In chapter 42, Fuka has a plushie of the same figure in her room.

• In volume 6, chapter 40, when Yotsuba tries to stop a messy teacher's books and papers from falling off of a desk, they instead fall on top of her in a manner similar to the books that fell off of Yukari's desk onto Chiyo-chan in Azumanga Daioh.

• Yotsuba has become the unofficial mascot of the popular English language imageboard 4chan, which is known in Japanese as "Yotsuba Channel".

• In "Maple Story", a Korean MMORPG, Yotsuba's hair style is attainable in a hair salon located in a town called Zipangu. (Zipangu is an archaic name for Japan.)

• In chapter 10, Miura is seen wearing a Lakers 34 jersey, which is worn by Shaquille O'Neal.

• In chapter 42, Mr. Ayase was seen playing with a Nintendo DS.

Related media

Calendars

"Yotsuba&!" calendars have been released every year since 2005. The 2005 editions were drawn in the theme of "Yotsuba and animals", and featured pictures of Yotsuba playing with animals such as lions, zebras, and kangaroos. The 2006 and 2007 editions feature real photographs which had been altered to include illustrations of Yotsuba interacting with the scenery, such as playing with other children or reaching for a balloon[1]. The photographs were taken by Miho Kakuta, a cameraman with whom the Yotsuba studio president Hideki Satomi had previously worked with.

• Planned and worked by Yotsuba studio
• Illustrated by Kiyohiko Azuma
• Photographed by Miho Kakuta
• Sold by Mubikku

In addition to the 'Month to a view' versions of the Yotsuba&! calendars, daily desktop calendars were also released from 2005 onwards[2]. Each page in these calendars often shows artwork from the Yotsuba&! manga, occasionally with a caption or phrase that suits the image. The calendars also include original artwork and other fun items (The 2006 version has an ongoing game of Shiritori throughout the year). The desktop calendars begin in April instead of at the start of January, and continue until the end of March in the following year, following the Japanese school year.

Music

Two Yotsuba&! music CDs have been released. Neither of these includes any vocals; they are purely instrumental. The recordings are referred to as "Image Albums" and are arranged in such a way as to elicit mental images of the events taking place in the tracks within the listener. The music on both albums are performed by the Kuricorder Pops Orchestra.

The first album, Yotsuba&♪, released in April 2005, is arranged in such a way that the listener follows Yotsuba throughout the course of a day[3].

The second album, Yotsuba&♪ Music Suite (General Winter), was released in November 2006, and is arranged to depict the season of Winter, including tracks for Christmas and New Year's celebrations.[4] "General Winter" (冬将軍, Fuyu Shōgun) is a personification of harsh winters, similar to Jack Frost.

Picture books

Yotsuba&! has also recently expanded into a picture book series, with the first volume, Yotsuba & Monochrome Animals, released in December 2006.

Yotsuba & Monochrome Animals depicts a number of scenes in which Yotsuba plays with various black-and-white colored animals. There is no dialogue per se, but name of each animal is presented in Japanese and English, along with the scientific classification of the species depicted.

External links

• Momotato Daioh: English fan site.
• Template:En icon Comic Friendship, A Kiyohiko Azuma fansite with info on Azumanga Daioh & Yotsuba&!.