よつばと! by あずまきよひこ (VOLUME 2)

My Japanese reading adventure is marching on, I increased the intensity of my study because I felt like I will never get anywhere if I keep taking my time with reading. So I jumped straight into the second volume of よつばと! and I finished it way much faster than the first one. Not just because I pushed myself but mainly thanks to WANIKANI I was gradually getting better at memorising and reading more and more kanjis as time went by. If you are new to learning the Japanese language I highly recommend this website and app, it’s very useful and it has great potential due to the fact that it is easy and comfy to use.

In this second volume, I could definitely tell that よつば started to grow up. Not too much but still she had her little sassy moments when she definitely showed her witty and sarcastic side which I absolutely adored. I always love a sarcastic child let it be manga or anime. Like Naru (琴石 なる) from Barakamon (ばらかもん) which is one of my favourite slice-of-life anime of all time. 

It has 7 chapters starting from chapter 8 (as we are moving on from the first volume). I will not write down the Hepburn version of hiragana and katakana because I think it helps a lot if you are forced to read that without additional help (it definitely did help me), but there is a full chapter list on Wikipedia with the Hepburn version of the titles if you get stuck.

Chapter 8 is called: “Yotsuba and Drawing”  (“よつばとおえかき”) one of the funniest chapters where we try to figure out if Yotsuba is good at drawing or not. While sitting in the park with her friends and practising.

Chapter 9 is called: “Yotsuba and Revenge” (“よつばと復讐”, “よつばとふくしゅう“) this is where her sassy little attitude says hello for the first time. Absolutely loved it. After watching a gangster movie she decides to annihilate the Ayase family with her water gun. It was hilarious.

Chapter 10 is called: “Yotsuba and Cake” (“よつばとケーふくしゆう”) one of the more chilled and heartfelt chapters or a filler chapter if you will. The chapter itself is what the title says; Yotsuba goes to the bakery with her friends to buy some cake.

Chapter 11 is called: “Yotsuba and Don’t Mind” (“よつばとどんまい”) again one of my favourite chapters, where her sassy side shows up. After working overnight, her father gets absolutely knackered and falls asleep so Yotsuba is left alone to take care of the house. As children often do, Yotsuba gets bored and even though she doesn’t want to bother her fast-asleep father she does anyway. Loved it.

Chapter 12 is called: “Yotsuba & Pools” (“よつばとプール”) a nice and upbeat filler chapter where Yotsuba shows the family her swimming skills and eventually becomes the instructor. As it turns out, the adults can’t swim. Loved her confidence and leadership skills.

Chapter 13 is called: “Yotsuba & the Frog” (“よつばとかえる”) one of those chapters where we (the readers) are kindly reminded that Yotsuba is still a child, who gets easily amused by the environment around her and equivalently gets frightened by it. Although I would like to point out that I would have been terrified as well.

Chapter 14 is called: “Asagi’s Souvenirs” (あさぎのおみやげ) This chapter was unusual in the sense that Yotsuba was not actively participating in it, but it became one of my favourite chapters and definitely a perfect volume ending. It tells you a little bit about Okinawa as well which is one of my bucket list dream destinations of all time. (Even though I have lived in Japan for a year I could never make it there and I always wanted to do so.) And we also being introduced to some culinary deliciousness called サーターアンダーギー or andagi for short, which is basically a little spherical-shaped doughnut which is part of the Okinawan cuisine and apparently also famous in Hawaii. A reminiscing closing chapter brings back the memories of the late summer afternoons. 

I definitely highly recommend this series to anyone who is starting their reading journey. Even if you only know hiragana and katakana at this point I think it is still absolutely enjoyable. If you get stuck just look up a few words and it will help you to put the rest in context but try not to spend too much time on every word you don’t know. I’m only mentioning this because probably one of the biggest put-offs of reading in Japanese is the speed. It takes a long time to get to that level when you are actually able to read at a decent speed and it’s probably not going to be near your average reading speed but please don’t give up. Because there is nothing more satisfying than when you realise you understand more, better and faster. It’s like unlocking a new life skill. 

I will keep reading this series and update it as soon as I’m finished with a new volume. I have also started 舞妓さんちのまかないさん (まいこさんちのまかないさん) which you might be familiar with from Netflix, The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House. I don’t think I ever fall in love with a series faster in my life. I just loved everything about it and it felt like real therapy for my soul. So I have decided to try the manga in Japanese and see how it will go for me. Keep hanging on for more manga, light novels and book reviews that I’ve read in Japanese to come. Including my adventures in translating Kitchen by Yoshimoto Banana. Which I do for my own pleasure and because I would like to embark on my life journey where I use my Astronomy degree (in the making) to translate scientific books from Japanese and from Spanish to English. And there is no better way to start than actually starting it from somewhere while trying to survive uni on the side.

And to anyone who needs to hear this: Don’t give up.