What's green, has 4 clovers and hates bulls eyes?

The story kicks off with a strange girl named Yotsuba Koiwai, extremely flabbergasted and mouth agape, moving into a new town with her father. But it's just not this new town that shocks Yotsuba, it's nearly every person, object, and phenomenon that she encounters in her mini expeditions. Door bells, air conditioners, global warming, Heelys, washing machines; Yotsuba's curiosity is piqued by just about anything that she hasn't seen in the soap operas and crime shows that she watches. Though not to the same extent, her curious nature reminds me of my own I had as a 6 year-old, too. Questioning everything, from the blue sky to my parents wrestling in bed, and being fascinated by the most mundane things like pencil sharpeners and electric tooth brushes. Yotsuba's curiousity and endless questions always exude adorable precociousness. She quickly accepts any answers anyone tells her, often leading to amusing misunderstandings and situations.

Even as the story progresses and Yotsuba experiences more things, she's still as curious and easily surprised as ever. Thanks to her cheerful personality, Yotsuba easily gains new friends who teach her new things and experiences.

The World of Yotsuba

True to its iyashikei roots, Yostuba&! has no resemblance of conflict or concrete story line. The green-haired protagonist constantly meets and interacts with new people in nearly every chapter, whether it be making new friends or bewildering complete strangers. Another source of comedy in this series is the varying reactions to Yotsuba. Besides the main cast, others also experience soothing healing from this cheekily cute girl, who unknowingly brightens and encourages them. Other characters simply don't know what to do with the lad. But some of them steadily get desensitized and understand how to interact with her. At the end of the day, everything and everyone has some sort of connection with Yotsuba, who's left completely satisfied.

My favorite relationship in the series is Yotsuba and Torako's (Asagi's friend). The cool smoker was initially and literally stunned into silence by Yotsuba, completely unsure how to interact with her. Though her interactions with Yotsuba are much less awkward as time went on, Torako's relatable uncertainty with interacting with children still hangs in the air. Compared to Yotsuba's usual cheery and bright interactions with many other characters, this one full of one-sided awkwardness, one-sided cheerfulness and mutual friendship(?) is extremely fun to read every time.

Parents and Kids

Though the story is heavily centered around Yotsuba's misadventures, it additionally depicts the flip side of the spectrum; parenting. Yotsuba and Yousuke's playful fights and banter make up a good portion of the chapters, but their interactions can be pretty informative and teach a thing or two about parenting. Throughout the frequent accidents caused by Yotsuba, Yousuke takes up a passive-aggressive style of discipline. He gently shows Yotsuba her errors and mistakes, rarely through stern, dragged out lectures, but by silently showing the consequences, gently asking what she did and other similar tactics. And when Yotsuba quickly recognizes and admits her fault, it really illustrates the heartwarming and understanding parent-child bond between them.

A Child's Innocence

My favorite part about this series is Yotsuba's solo adventures. Through her curious nature and free-spirited sense of adventure, anyone will share her excitement when she goes on an errand for the first time, to the zoo and see animals she's only seen in her picture books, firework shows and so many other experiences that have become commonplace for me a long time ago.

Briefly touching on the art, it immensely helps to capture the feelings of discovery and a child's perception of a massive world begging for exploration. The huge stand-alone panels of Yotsuba grinning ear-to-ear in a new place or experiencing something new. Consecutive panels of Yotsuba running rampant and gleeful. All rekindle the feelings of youthful discovery.

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Expanding on the art more, it's extremely fitting for the always relaxing tone and a great benefactor for the nostalgic experience. Character expressions are quite lively, especially in Yotsuba's case and making for another comedic source, but also can be deadpan and blank, yet another comedic add-on. Their designs are just as bubbly, regardless if they're adults or kids. However, in contrast to the simplistic style, there's some surprisingly detailed background art, often eye-candy treat that you can be sure to look forward to in any chapter. These panels and pages, as I've briefly mentioned before, encapsulate the grandness and exciting outlook of a child of the world. The otherwise mundane places and experiences are amplified into fascinating, with their fine details and Yotsuba's shining eyes and sunny grin taking up the entire page at times.

The cover art and pages are also quite an entertaining sight to behold.

Conclusion

If you ever need a break and destress, to temporarily forget about life's worries, this is what Yotsuba&! was created for. Take a step back, immerse yourself in this clover-haired girl's gleeful journeys, and remember what it was like to be a kid. Old, hazy memories of going to the beach to collect rocks or stepping into the grocery store was like stepping foot on the Moon. This series would be alternatively referred to as "The World of Yotsuba", because she pulls you into her own realm of imagination and discovery that'll leave you mesmerized and curious as to just what other bizarre adventure she'll go on next.