Manga: Aishiteruze Baby vol.1

 Aishiteruze baby v.01

Story: 8.5
Kippei Katakura is notorious for his playboy behavior around girls. He spends time playing around and takes nothing in life seriously. But when his 5 year old cousin Yuzuyu comes to stay in his house and Kippei is appointed to take care of her, his life changes in a drastic way.

The story is quite serious and endearing. It doesn’t shy away from taboos like bullying or stealing. It is also cute to see how Kippei struggles with his daily things, like how to make bento’s for Yuzuyu and how he has to combine the care for her with his high school life. It is a story that grasps you instantly because it is all done in a very realistic way.

Art: 8.5
The artwork is really gorgeous. Everything is drawn in a cute way but still realistic. I really liked the background panels filled with cute things like strawberries and flowers the enchant Yuzu’s cuteness. They also used darker panels for the lesser moments in the manga, like when Yuzuyu gets bullied. This adds to the whole atmosphere of the story. In short: Cute character designs, realistic and matching background panels, make this manga eye catching.

Character development: 8
The characters are very loveable almost right from the start. Especially the little Yuzuyu is really adorable. She refers to herself as Yuzu which is really cute. Kippei on the other hand comes across as shallow in the beginning, but in the course of the story, Kippei starts to care for Yuzuyu and he tries his best not to disappoint her, even if this is in his own clumsy way. Of course the bond between Kippei and little Yuzu grows stronger over time and in the progress Kippei manages to gain the respect of a classmate Kokoro, who disrespected him at first for his carefree behavior.

There are several side characters that play minor parts in the story, like Kippei’s family. He has an older rowdy sister, who seems to run the family but is actually really kind at heart, and a younger brother who is much more mature then Kippei. There are also some kids from high school or kindergarten who give Kippei and Yuzu a hard time.

Overall: 8.5
This is one of the better shojo manga out there. It actually has a realistic story that differs from the majority of this genre. It really drew my attention and I had to finish it in one go.  The artwork is awesome, it has a realistic story and the characters are very lovable. What more would you want?

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March 25, 2008 :: Drama, Manga, Romance, Shojo ::