Daikichi finds a surprise at his grandfather’s funeral: The old man had a six-year-old daughter no one knew existed! The rest of the family wants to pack her off and forget her, but Daikichi, out of impulsive, unexpected motivation, since he’s a 30-year-old bachelor, takes his new aunt Rin home to watch over her in Bunny Drop by Yumi Unita. The two form an unusual, heart-warming relationship. There’s humor, of course, as Daikichi realizes how little he knows about children, […]

A new Yotsuba&! book by Kiyohiko Azuma is always a pleasure to be savored. Although sometimes, I don’t have the patience — instead, I dive in and wallow in its portrayal of childlike imagination. The first story in Yotsuba&! volume 7, in which Yotsuba discovers how to make a simple telephone out of paper cups and string, is a perfect example of the appeal of the series. It features her odd mix of knowledge about the world — she knows […]

The beloved series by Kiyohiko Azuma returns from a new publisher (who thankfully has also brought the previous volumes back into print) with all its charm intact. The stories in Yotsuba&! volume 6 fall into the category of “what it’s like to live with a young child” — they see the world differently. Everything’s new to them, yet they also start forming their own conclusions about the way things work. The result is creative comedy that rings adorably true. In […]

As the series about raising an autistic child continues, With the Light volume 4 tackles the question of work. Hikaru’s parents worry about what he will be able to do to be self-sufficient as he ages, plus Dad is facing business problems of his own. There aren’t enough translated manga that give a relatively realistic portrayal of the Japanese businessman’s situation and expectations, so I really enjoyed that part of this book. Hikaru’s parents have a routine of what works […]

Most people, when they think of manga, think of fantasy adventures starring teenagers. With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child is perhaps the most different kind of story possible… which makes it even more powerful. It focuses on the struggles faced by a mother with a special child. As indicated by its subtitle, With the Light is a well-researched portrayal of the challenges faced by a family when their baby boy is determined to be autistic. First, there’s the problem […]

Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro can be a bit clueless. She wears a large hat and black overcoat while carrying her own coffin, filled with bats, on her back. (She resembles a Pilgrim mortician.) Then she wonders why the locals in the village she passes through mistake her for a vampire. She doesn’t bother to explain herself, a trait that extends to the book itself. Everything’s vague — her intent, her motivations, how some situations are resolved — perhaps because of the format. […]