Manga Review: Aishiteruze Baby

I had to dig a little to find out what that long word means, but it fits so well. Aishiteruze is a kind of slangy, guy-thing to say. The English title would be "I love ya, baby!" Upfront warning; you WILL fall in love with the little girl in this story and you'll be hard-pressed not to cry several times as it all unfolds.

The story has quite a few characters in it, and they're all done well, but the main ones are Kippei, a high school boy, and his five-year-old cousin, Yuzuyu. We first see Kippei, and learn that he is a high school Casanova. Nearly all of the girls are hot for him and he doesn't mind a bit taking advantage of this. Then we meet Yuzuyu, who has been abandoned by her mother, Kippei's aunt. Her father is dead, sometime before the story begins, so she is taken in by Kippei's family. Living in the family home are Kippei's mother, his older sister and younger brother, and his grandparents; and now, Yuzuyu. The sister is the dominant person in the family and she assigns Kippei the task of looking after Yuzuyu. Looking at the situation, he is the obvious choice. The grandparents are too old, the younger brother is too young, mom has enough to do already and sister has a full-time job.

Suddenly, Kippei finds that his life has been altered in fundamental ways. He no longer has time to spend with his friends or to pursue girls. He must see to the needs of this little girl and he has no idea what he's doing. He has to get her dressed, see that she's fed, gets to kindergarten on time, gets home safely, has someone to care about her when she's ill or just lonely or scared or depressed. This could have easily become a comedy, but it's not, and I'm glad that it's not. The story addresses some serious issues and it takes them head-on. We see child abandonment, child abuse, (mild) hints at child molestation, bullying, teen suicide, latchkey kids, teen romance, teen pregnancy, and much more. All of it is handled with care and sensitivity. It's amazing but, even with all of these issues, there is nothing that you need to be afraid to look at, or to have your children look at.

I won't give away the details of it here, you'll have to read it for yourself. What I will say is that it's the story of how this young boy grew up a lot in the year that he took on this responsibility, and that he grew to love Yuzuyu as if she were his own little girl. The writer and artist is gifted in ways that are beyond compare. You'll be happy when you're supposed to be happy, you'll be sad when you're supposed to be sad, and in the end, you'll be both at the same time. Each character is distinct and believable. Each episode is necessary, in that, the story would not be complete without them.

I even learned a few Japanese words along the way. I learned that 'obento' is a Japanese boxed lunch, usually made by hand. I learned that 'onigiri' is a rice ball wrapped in seaweed. I learned that every little girl should have an oniichan --- look it up.

I look for good manga titles, and I've found only a few that I like. If it doesn't grab me in the first few pages, or at least give me reason to think that it will in the second chapter, I move on to something else. I have no need for blood and guts manga, so there is much of it that is disqualified right at the start. This one grabbed me though, and wouldn't let me go. I read the entire 33 chapters, say about 1200 pages, all at one sitting; I couldn't stop. I've learned that it was turned into an anime for Japanese TV. I hope it makes it to America, because I'd really like to see it come to life.