Baby & Me (Vol. 7) – by Marimo Ragawa

Volume: #7 of #18 | 208 pages | Viz

Rating: ***** (Good, cute stuff.)

Summary: There are a number of unrelated stories in this volume. On the first, Takuya, Minoru and their father Harumi go on a trip with neighbors Seiichi, Tomoko and their baby boy Taichi. Seiichi and Tomoko quarrel most of the time for the stupidest reasons and drive poor Harumi nuts.

On the second story, Ichika and Ma-bo go to Takuya’s house after an argument with their older brother, Takuya’s schoolmate Fujii, but soon come to miss their own noisy, bustling home.

The third story is all about Harumi (the boys’ father) at work. It gives a nice glimpse in what he has to go through and deal with everyday. He’s a good guy, that poor Harumi. And he looks really hot in the chapter cover, too.

In the next two chapters, Takuya goes on a school trip to Kyoto. Minoru has a hard time as he tries to live without his brother for three whole days, while Takuya learns a thing or two about girls (and Megumi Yarimizo, the “reserve sexual harrasment” girl who is in love with Takuya, appears in the first of these chapters, to my delight.)

The last chapter concerns a struggling manga artist whose son who wants him to give up on his dream for the sake of the family. This story was my least favorite of the book, though it was not a bad one.

Recommended to fans of: Aishiteruze Baby, Yotsuba&!

Favorite chapter: Chapter #33. The quarrel between Seiichi and Tomoko was really funny and cute.

Favorite panel: Minoru’s disarmingly adorable, pouting face in the first panel of page #98 had me squealing silently.

Favorite quote: “People like him don’t do anything to hurt society, but they don’t do anything to help it, either.” Ma-bo, referring to his older brother Fujii after the latter made a really stupid pun.

What I liked best: The whole first chapter, and the dangerous glares Minoru gave to anyone who came to pick him up and wasn’t his brother (including his father!)

What I didn’t like: There wasn’t much to dislike here… The last chapter bored me a little bit but it’s not like I disliked it. It was a good volume.

Verdict: An especially funny, lighthearted volume compared to some earlier ones. Gotta love this series.

See this book on LibraryThing.

-Marina