YOTSUBA&!
by Kiyohiko Azuma
The deal: The author of the strangely funny Azumanga Daioh brings us Yotsuba&!. Many of you already know about Yotsuba&!, but I’m doing this review on the off-chance I can hook some of you. It’s published in Japan in Dengeki Daioh on a monthly schedule. There are currently 7 Japanese volumes and 6 English volumes.
The summary: Yotsuba&! is about a strange green-haired little girl who seems to be experiencing everything for the first time. Everything is new and exciting, and her energy and enthusiasm infects everybody around her. Volume 1 begins with Yotsuba and her father moving into a new house together. They soon meet their next-door neighbors, and Yotsuba immediately takes to the three sisters living there, going so far as to invite herself over whenever she pleases. All the Yotsuba stories in each book are relatively short, although they sometimes reference each other.
The review: There’s no giant robots, epic storylines, or brooding heroes here - Yotsuba&! is about everyday life, but don’t let that fool you - there’s something really beautiful going on in these books. When I lend these books out to friends, I hand them over on extended loan with the advice, “Save this book until you have a bad day. Reading this will make you feel better.” I’ve gotten through many a bad day myself by picking up a volume. Somehow the author knows just how to get past the jaded parts of any adult’s personality to really make them grin.
Yotsuba has a big imagination, and in her hands mundane things inevitably become something more. Her adventures are interesting, amusing and occasionally - in a lazy summer Sunday sort of way - poignant. My favorite story is in Volume 2 - the gangster noir story, you’ll know it when you see it.
The other unique thing about this manga is that it’s one of the few I can lend to my friends who aren’t so enamored with anime or manga. They’ll read a few pages out of curiousity, and then they just won’t stop.
The recommendation: I can’t speak highly enough about this series. It is just charming, through and through, and if you haven’t picked it up then I hope you will.
From ADV, Manga, 6 Volumes, $9.99
ACE ATTORNEY: APOLLO JUSTICE
by Capcom
The deal: Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice is a game for the Nintendo DS. This is the fourth installment of the Ace Attorney Series, and the first in which the role of protagonist shifts from Phoenix Wright to Apollo Justice. You take on the role of a defense attorney who will go to whatever lengths necessary for the sake of his client, as long as they are within the realm of the law. The gameplay consists of two major scenarios - investigation and court. The evidence and clues you pick up during your investigation help you prove your case in court, where the objections fly fast and furious.
The summary: Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice follows the title character as he stumbles into his first job as an independent defense attorney. He’s joined by Trucy Wright, and together they investigate and Objection! their way through 4 cases.
The review: I am a sucker for these games - I grew up playing games like Monkey Island, Loom, Indiana Jones, and so on, and the Ace Attorney games are a comfortable spiritual successor to those.
This is a turning point in the Ace Attorney series, taking place at least 7 years after the last game. Most of the old cast are nowhere to be found, although a few of them show up in amusing ways. Phoenix Wright is still around, but not in the capacity you’d expect - and he’s adopted a girl named Trucy, who becomes your partner throughout the cases.
As far as features go, a couple of neat new things have been added to the investigations repertoire - this game really makes use of the touchscreen on the DS in some interesting ways.
I’m going to have to clearly state that the following is my opinion: The tone of this game is a little different from the others, and it’s because (even though he doesn’t get a majority of the screen time) Phoenix Wright is still the main character. The new characters are all great, and Trucy was such a great step up from her predecessor Maya (whom I couldn’t dislike more), but in some ways I felt like I was playing out the role of the supporting cast, and I felt like Capcom was setting these new characters up to be main characters the next time around.
Phoenix becomes something of a badass and a mentor in this one, and the switch is really neat to see. Apollo Justice is also a good successor to Phoenix Wright - he’s similar, but clearly his own character, so the cast switch wasn’t too jarring. He also has some tricks up his sleeve that Phoenix didn’t have, but I think I’ll let you guys find that one out for yourselves.
The recommendation: I don’t think fans of the series will be disappointed. The new cast is likable, and Phoenix Wright gets a good deal of interesting but surprising character development.
From Capcom, for the Nintendo DS, $29.99
This entry was posted on Monday, March 17th, 2008 at 1:47 am and is filed under Rant, Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
haha its nice to see comedy at its funniest ..
Azumanga Daioh is a child’s comedy about a couple of school girls having fun. I seen the anime. Its really good. =]
im very suprised you seem YOTSUBA&! cause its jst recently released in Australia here. Read the first volume. Really similiar to daioh. Still has that child simple idea to it. =]
Nice read.
Six volumes are out in the US, and if you take a look around the internet you can probably find a scanlated version of 7 - normally I don’t bother with scanlations if I plan on picking up the book, but I like Yotsuba&! so much that I can’t resist reading ahead.
thanks ananth =]
i’ll look it up and see what i can find.
yeah, i enjoyed it myself ^^
Totally agree with your statements, the manga is the best pick-me-up ever :) It always brings a smile to my face when I read it. I only have upto volume 3 though -_-
Agreed, after a bad day I ended up picking up the first two manga of Yotsuba, felt great after. Thanks for the recommendation.
Glad it helped! :D
I LOVE Yotsubato! I haven’t read the newest stuff but I really enjoyed the eye thing and when she punched the goat! ^_^
Also I meant to mention (not sure if anyone did) but when you mentioned Densha Otoko I was going to say that I’d seen the live action version. Soo cute!
HAHAHA I forgot about when she punched the goat! Good times. I think the spread right after that where they’re all running is hilarious.
I really like your reviews. You seem to say just the right things. I picked up Train Man because of your previous review, and I think I’m going to get YOTSUBA&! as well. So thanks for reviewing.
Aw man, thank you! That’s a kind thing to say. Enjoy the book!
Thanks for the reviews, I’m always trying to find more stuff to watch/read! I’ll be sure to give Yotsuba& a shot the next time I see it. I just hope the Barnes and Noble has it… I’m not sure if it’s cool for me to suggest something in return, so if not, just tune me out now. Anyway, I’m currently engrossed in Spice and Wolf, which you may already know about, because I actually heard about it from Fred at Megatokyo. The novels aren’t translated yet, but the anime has been subbed, so go check it out. The power of youtube compels you, at least until the DVDs release in May. It’s not particularly action-filled, but Horo could well be one of the more interesting anime characters I’ve seen. Comment back with your opinion, even if it’s to yell at me for soliciting. ‘Cause that means you read it! Huzzah! Thanks again for the manga recommendation! Continue being awesome!
Actually, I’ve been keeping up with Spice and Wolf and I agree - as an anime series it’s one of the most interesting to come along in years. I think a review may now be on the list, thanks for the suggestion! :D
That’s wonderful. Thanks for the review. Now I know I have to get Yotsuba&!. I can never get enough stuff like that and everyone can use something like it to brighten a day. ^.^
It’s true! And Yotsuba is adorable.
Yotsuba is awesome. Though, I’ll admit she’s famous to me through the memes as the official icon of another site.
The new Ace Attourney for the DS sounds like it will be a great play. Really looking forward to getting it. Have you played the new Smash Brothers yet?
Hahaha, I assume you speak of 4chan … ! I KNOW ALL KINDS OF INTERNET.
I HAVE played the new Smash Brothers, but I don’t think I can bring myself to review it. I haven’t played a lot of the new installments and I’ve only played a little of this one, badly. I love games like Smash, but I’m generally not good at them. The newest one, Brawl, is awesome. Lucas, Meta Knight and Starfox are probably my favorites.
I’ve known yotsuba for a long time know(thanks to 4chan) and my favourite story is the gangster one too “how did it go?” “i died!” “you see, revenge will never get you anywhere” just loveable
Loveable is the right word for sure!
Heheh! Zree! Zree! Zree! I’m a cicada!
Hahaha that was a good one too!
While no one has commented, I figured I’d add to it, because I just finished Apollo Justice last night.
Wow. As far as story goes, it’s my favorite of the series. As far as the gameplay goes, though, I felt it a bit more nitpicky than the usual Ace Attorney games, but it quickly won me over because of the amazing story. It ties most of the loose ends it created up, but didn’t tie all of them together. Things learned in the game for the player, the cast doesn’t necessarily learn, so it leaves plenty of things to touch on in future games. This is EASILY my favorite series on the DS. Such a grabbing story, from what I first saw as, “Oh, that’s kinda cool, you can play as a lawyer and stuff.”
As was mentioned in the review, some of the old cast does show up, unfortunately, we are given no info on the whereabouts of my favorite character, Miles Edgeworth. I honestly felt that if someone NOT Phoenix Wright had to be the main character of the first three games, Miles Edgeworth would be. I feel the first two games were more of Edgeworth’s story, while the third tied up loose ends between the entire cast, ends that were revealed while telling Edgeworth’s story.
After finishing this game, I actually want to go back through the old games and give the series another play-through. Such a good game series, I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone thinking of getting a DS, or looking for a new series to get into.
I really liked it too! And while I was disappointed with who didn’t show up, I was pleasantly surprised at who did … I don’t want to give away who’s who to other people, though!
I shall have to look in Waterstones for a copy…I think my sister has s few books by Yotsuba…. Then again she does beet me if i go neer them. I just have a looksy ( if i survive).
You’ll enjoy ‘em.
Does the new Ace Attorney game has any play value to someone who hasn’t played the series before? I realized what was bothering me about the review last night– you mostly addressed the game in reference to the preexisting fans of the game.
:D I’m so glad you’re doing these. And Yostuba& is a great comic that everyone should read! I’m so glad they’ve started printing them in English again.
The only downside to Ace Attourney games is that the lack of replay value. I’ve beaten all the others, but always looking forward to new installations of the game.
Iz delicious japanese snack, must take it? - Couldn’t help but comment on that. fallencomic rules!
I agree on that point! Once you beat them once, they are just games to loan other people. The games are novel enough that I don’t mind, though.
Yeah, I told you last night that something about the Ace Attorney review was bothering me, and you pretty much nailed it on the head. I’m making a note to remember that I should review sequels without assuming that people know the context. <3
Just reading your review of Yotsuba&! puts a smile on my face =) It really is charming and sweet. The way she takes to life with arms wide open and how her occasional stunts and bouts of weirdness affect the people around her. I reviewed Yotsuba&! for work recently, and I think one of the best things about the series apart from it being hilarious is also the subtle humor in the everyday actions of the people who surround Yotsuba. All in all it’s just heartwarming.
Oooh, where do you work? Sounds like a fun job. ;)
And yeah … reading Yotsuba&! reminds me of my own summers as a kid. The author’s got something special!
I write reviews and articles on Japanese pop-culture like manga and anime for the Science Fiction Bookshop in Stockholm =) It is a fun job, though it doesn’t exactly pay the bills >_<;;
That’s the thing, Azuma really is special. If I want to compare Yotsuba with anything else, the only title that really feels remotely similar is Azumanga by the same author…
Which is really interesting and a little surprising, considering what Azuma used to draw before Azumanga Daioh and Yotsuba&!
I know! I haven’t looked into it though, didn’t seem like it would really interest me. It’s the cosy, down to earth yet completely wacked way of Yotsuba&! that catches me anyways.
And the facial expressions! XD
I mean the first time Yotsuba discovered they had an AC in the house sent me into a fit! It was brilliant, my favorite part in the first volume.
Hahaha, yessss!
Hmm, I’m familiar with Yotsuba&! (through fanart and the like), but have never read/seen it. Sounds like it fills the same sort of category as what I currently put the ARIA series into, ie. “just come home from work, stop me from punching a hole through the Gyprock” type material. Thanks a lot for the review and the pointer.
I don’t know ARIA, but Yotsuba&! is a good relaxer. More reading, less punching! :D Glad the review helped.
If you get a chance look it up, for most I’ve handed it too it’s ellicited one of two responses: they’ve either loved it intensely and found it the ultimate work motivation killer… or been bored out of their skulls. Only one has had the latter response so far.
I must beat Trials and Tribulations still. Apollo is still in his box, sitting on my DS game shelf. Though I did feel kind of jaded when I found out Edgeworth isn’t in Apollo, Phoenix the bum makes up for it. AHEM, anyway, I’m really looking forward to it, but I’ve still got to beat 3 more cases in T&T first.
Trials and Tribulations is really good! And they treat Phoenix’ character very nicely in the latest installment - for me personally, it made up for the lack of the other characters.
Yotsuba& is one of the funniest mangas or even comics I have ever read. And one of the few I can re-read and still get a laugh.
And the Ace Attorney series is just old school bad ass. I’m i the middle of Apollo Justice. I’m a WoW addict and i’ll play Ace Attorney over WoW any time! No matter how long the games are they are just too short.
Too true!
I think what you mean is, you play Ace Attorney when you have free time in WoW. My sister does the same thing. The DS: Because one game isn’t enough.
Hahaha, the reason I like the DS so much is because I can do it while doing my daily life, like cooking or riding the metro.
No I mean I’d rather play ace attorney than WoW. :)
Okay I play Ace Atorney durring Wow Too…but still.
You liked the Monkey Island games? You should try the new Telltale Games Sam and Max Games, they’re in the same vein. Good times.
Oooh, I’ll look into it. I played the original, but I admit I’ve moved away from computer gaming in the past few years.
oh man apollo justice is totally insane in the plot! The music is also insane with klavier’s german accent and guitar solo xD our course we also have the final boss’s godly defeat action xDD and our lovable judge is never going to die is he lol
The judge is immortal.
Loved the review for the new Ace Attorney game! I’ll have to go pick it up as soon as I get a new job… Anyways, we’re looking forward to seeing you guys again at this year’s ConnectiCon, I hope Larom’s talked to both of you by now…
Glad you liked the review! And we’ve been in touch with Larom, I believe everything is square. :D
I wholeheartedly agree with you, Yotsuba&! is the best cure when having a bad day. More than once I’ve turned back to the few volumes I own after dealing with unhappy situations and its improved my mood immensely. It’s an adorable series and I really hope I can find more volumes soon. The bookstores around me only seem to carry the first 3 volumes even though I know there are more out >_<
Amazon generally has all of them in stock, and if there’s a local anime store that stocks manga, these days they will more than likely have all of it. Otherwise, my advice is anime convention. You’ll definitely find ‘em there.
I’ll definitely look around on Amazon. Sadly there are no anime/comic shops anywhere near nor are any conventions held within reasonable driving distance. *shakes an angry fist*
What a perfect review of Yotsuba&! I have been a big fan for so long, and yet I thought that hardly anyone knew about it. Your review was so nice to read, and I agree - the film noir chapter was priceless!
Ahaha, it’s my favorite. Glad the review worked!
I saw you were into Monkey Island in your reviews (which I love - keep them coming!) and thought you’d dig THIS:
http://www.scummvm.org/
Basically, it’ll let you play any of those Lucasarts games (Monkey Island 1-3, Maniac Mansion, Day of the Tentacle, etc) on a Mac! If you still have those PC cds lying around, just take the selected files off them (it lets you know which ones for what games on the site) and you’ll be able to play it on this nifty emulator. I’ve tried it - it WORKS.
If you want, I can just send you the files. Anyway, thought you’d dig that.
Man, my friend Archer actually just told me about this - he actually still has all his old PC CDs lying around, I used to play his copies of a lot of these games.
If I had time I would play the hell out of these! Just for nostalgia’s sake. Oh, where does the time go …
Big fan of Daioh, childhood bliss and joy. Asorted Diaoh and Yotsuba. I enjoy the paradox.
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn233/Anonymous_album_1/1195355967223.jpg
Oh man, that’s pretty adorable.
Apollo Justice…It took me a lot of time to get into it, just because I kept myself 100% spoiler free, so I was upset/discouraged when I first booted it up. And then I realized most of my favourite characters were gone (in the flashback case, the cameo of well, I’m assuming you can guess who ^_^ made me wanna cry). But I kept going through it and it turns out, I really enjoyed it. The end was worthy of a Phoenix Wright twist!
I still think probably the first PW or T&T is my favourite, just because of the pure unadulterated epicness of their final cases (father!von Karma FTW!) and I just found a lot of their smaller characters more enjoyable/well done than the AJ crew.
Plus…Kristoph. … Just… what?
But I really did like AJ too. AA is my favourite!series on the DS. One of my favourite ones in general. Kinda wanted Godot to be an unlockable in Brawl. HE COULD SHOOT LASERS FROM HIS EYES XD Even Lucas can’t do that.
Plus. Umm. I just forgot to add that Apollo’s hair has nothing on Phoenix’s old style. :)
Yeah, Godot was a very cool character. Aido/Yuko totally has a hard-on for him.
I think the last case of the first game was my all-time favorite, although the third game got a lot of points for being a well-orchestrated tragedy, haha.
“What a perfect review of Yotsuba&! I have been a big fan for so long, and yet I thought that hardly anyone knew about it. Your review was so nice to read, and I agree - the film noir chapter was priceless!”
Hi. My name’s Dirk Deppey, and I’m online editor for the most “highbrow” magazine about comics in the States, The Comics Journal. When I wrote my “50(-ish) Best Comics of 2007” a few months back, I made it a point of naming Yotsuba&! in the #18 slot. And traditional U.S. comics fans are slowly coming around to the book — the book gets reviewed online by non-manga comics fans more often than you’d expect.
Very cool! Yotsuba&! is a big favorite of mine. What a book …
[...] Ananth Panagariya pens yet another rave review for Yotsuba&! at AppleGeeks 3.0. (Via Journalista.) Isaac Hale finds plenty to like about vols. 10-11 of The [...]
[...] Ananth Panagariya on Kiyohiko Azuma’s family comedy, Yotsuba&! (Above: Everybody do the Daddy Dance! [...]
Another great review. I -have- heard of Yotsuba (the art is seriously everywhere) and read/seen some of Azumanga, but now I’m definitely going to pick this series up.
I’m currently finishing the first Phoenix Wright game, so I hope I don’t see any spoilers! (Edgy is so misunderstood, man.)I just can’t get over this game. Have you seen any of the videos on YouTube? Hilarious! “Sh–, Edgeworth!”
The last case of the first game is as long as the rest of the game, and I loved it! That’s all - I hate spoilers, so this is a spoiler-free zone.
WOOHOO YOTSUBA&!!!
i read it before azumanga daioh and now those two are my favorite series. i really hope an anime is going to be made out of yotsuba&
Hahaha, I hope so too. It’d be fun.
Ananth, you should check out the anime for “when the cicadas cry”