Aishiteruze Baby★★

This manga was incredibly adorable! I might have given it a higher rating, but after finishing it, I felt let down by the ending. I was expecting a different outcome than what I had anticipated... I suppose I was hoping for a surprise from the author! Oh well, it was still an enjoyable and light-hearted read. The characters were super cute. The male lead was such a sweetheart; he seemed like the perfect guy. I wish there were more people like him in real life :D

This is a fantastic shoujo series that would have been perfect in my opinion if it weren't for its mediocre ending.

Kippei starts off as a carefree playboy whose main activities involve charming others and romancing female students. However, his life changes when he has to take responsibility for Yuzuru. Through this experience, Kippei begins to mature and takes life more seriously. The manga maintains an overall positive tone, so there aren’t many somber moments during his growth. The girl he falls for lacks depth and seems somewhat insignificant to the story since she remains underdeveloped as a character.

I wish the author had explored the characters' depths further. Even after Kippei starts becoming more responsible, it feels like he doesn’t have much to aspire towards. It’s as though the author played it safe and didn’t delve deeper into their personalities. Upon reflection, sometimes the manga can feel a bit hollow.

Despite this, it's still a beautiful story and one of the first manga I ever read many years ago. The artwork follows a traditional shoujo style, which works well and makes Yuzuru incredibly adorable.

If you enjoy shoujo series, you will definitely love this manga.

This story was incredibly heartwarming and sweet! I felt a deep emotional connection with the characters, especially Kippei and Yuzuyu. The ending brought tears to my eyes and reminded me of my affection for the children in my life. If you are a sibling or a parent, this manga/anime is a must-watch for you!

Okay, so here I go.
It wasn't brilliant. It certainly wasn't a masterpiece, but it was better than many of the manga out there.
The story revolves mainly around a flirty playboy, Katakura Kippei, who is one day told by his family to take care of his 5-year-old cousin Yuzuyu, whose mother has "disappeared" (read this as "run off to God knows where"). Other than this... normal family, some other characters are Sakashita Miki, a cousin of Yuzuyu, Tokunaga Kokoro, a classmate, love interest and later even girlfriend of Kippei, and some of their classmates, of which the most relevant are Kokoro's two best friends and the new transfer student, Ooga Akari. Not that they steal the spotlight too much; they are pretty much there to create new tensions to the otherwise lacking story. Don't get me wrong, it was a nice read and I did, on some level, enjoy the manga, but that was all. There are so many things that could have been better, better thought, better written.

First, it's the love story between Kippei and Kokoro. It was sweet, something the manga would seem pretty boring without. But, even though it had the potential to be one of those couples where the two lovers suit and complement each other, I got the feeling that it was just thrown in the middle of the story, without managing to completely fit in. Right from the beginning, it was never really explained why they liked each other. They said they love each other and that they want to be together forever, but it seemed to be more because of the author's wish than for a real reason, like they were together simply because "they should be". Of course, Kokoro said once that she liked Kippei because he's so carefree he seems to have no worries, but I wonder, is that enough? Is it a big enough reason to want to spend the rest of your life with someone? Not to mention that Kippei never said why he loved Kokoro. It could be because she was the cool beauty type, seemingly unapproachable, one of the few girls who didn't fawn all over him, but then again, the same goes for Kokoro's friends. So why did he like Kokoro so much? The best we can do is speculate and hope for the best, as no real reason was given. That being said, the whole relationship seemed kind of superficial, lacking in depth. They said they loved each other, but they didn't really show it. It made me wonder how a relationship like that, where the two parts seemed to have communication issues, could really work out.

Another point in which the plot seems to be lacking is Miki's story. It's said that she had an ordinary, simple life until she saw one of the teachers beating up a boy pretty badly. She told on him, probably to the director of the school, and after that everything started to fall apart. The teachers and classmates begin to bully her, she begins skipping school as a result, her parents start yelling at her and even hitting her, telling her that she is a shame to their family. And while all this happens, nobody seems to care. Not one of the teachers or classmates tries to help her, and even the boy who was being beaten seems to at least ignore her. This would be a pretty sad and serious situation, but there are no real reasons given as to why everybody acts this way. Why would everyone start bullying her because she told on an abusing teacher? She seemed to be doing the right thing, so why was there absolutely no one who thought all that was wrong? Are ALL people really that indifferent? If this would have been brought to the police, they could see it as harassment. And why, for God's sake, didn't she tell her parents about all this? It is not made clear whether or not she told them about the beating she saw, but she should have told them about the bullying she was going through. Why didn't she do it? Because, in her words, "it would make them sad". So she chose to endure it to "protect" her parents, as if they were some fragile, unstable people. This wasn't the case though, and even if it was, she was trying so hard to hold on for the parents she loved, parents who nevertheless didn't seem to notice there was something going on in their daughter's life. Things got so desperate that she tried to kill herself. How can you miss that as parents? Just how wrong can this get?

And after everything was cleared up, things started to fall back to normal. She was once again happy, and she even said "it's no big deal" about getting therapy. Yeah, because apparently wanting to commit suicide is something every normal teenager wants to do.

And while we're talking about family issues, let's take a look at Yuzuyu's situation. Her mother got so lonely and miserable after her husband died that she ran away, leaving her daughter in her (the mother's) sister's care. And, after she managed to earn some money and get back on her feet, through the help of some guy she planned on marrying, she of course wanted to take Yuzuyu back, because, hey, she was her mother after all. And she succeeded in doing so, because Yuzuyu wanted to go with her. Well, even though I totally understand why a 6-year-old would want to be with her own mother, I don't think it's the right choice to leave this serious matter in the hands of a 6-year-old. Even if that's what the little girl wanted, the adults shouldn't have let her go. If this matter had reached Social Service or a judge, I'm not sure the judge would be making the same decision. The mother DID abandon her child after all, and she was pretty unstable to begin with if she ran away like that. Of course you'd be shaken if your husband died, that's no excuse to leave your child behind. Apparently just because she was sorry for what she had done was enough for her to get away with it and take the child back, from the people who so lovingly and carefully took care of her. Apparently child neglect and abandonment is not serious enough to keep a child away from his/her mother.

Aside from this lack of psychological depth, another disappointment for me was the ending. After Yuzuyu went back to her mom, the manga fast-forwarded to some time in the future, where Yuzuyu was now a teenager. And that was all. Yuzuyu was writing Kippei a letter in which she told him how she has always loved him and how she never forgot him. Sweet and everything, but it gave me the impression that Yuzuyu didn't visit him again after she left, only there would be no logical reason to why she wouldn't. He got really attached to her, and she clearly did so as well, so it's safe to say she would have missed him, so she would want to see him again. But if that was the case, then why did she write that letter to him as a teenager? It was probably a way for us to see how much Kippei meant for Yuzuyu (if that wasn't clear by now), but it felt out of place, useless. If you'd see someone you care very much for regularly, why would you write to tell him something that you probably reminded him at each visit about? To me it made no sense. Unless she was talking about a different form of love, a romantic one, but given as she reconnected with Shou-chan again, I doubt that. Not to mention Kippei was probably married to Kokoro by then, which again are only guesses, as the manga never showed what happened to the relationship between Kippei and Kokoro. As far as we know, they could have broken up, or Kokoro died, or whatever else. It's pretty unlikely that something bad happened to them, but I don't think it would have killed the author to say something about the progress of that relationship. Were they still together? Did they marry? Did they have kids? We assume all those happened, but we'll never know for sure. That being said, I was pretty disappointed with the ending, as it let so many things in the air. What about Miki? What about Kippei's siblings, Reiko and Satsuki?

All in all, this manga was nice and sweet, not too long, not too short, and that's pretty much all. It's not a manga that I'll be re-reading very soon. I did like about it that it was told from the guy's POV. That felt fresh and new. And I also liked the female lead, pretty different than those weak, stupid, crybaby leads we see in a lot of manga. Unfortunately, the manga as a whole didn't manage to reach its full potential. A lot of things remained unfinished, and the serious topics touched by the author could have been much better written, with more care to the psychological aspect. The manga was sweet, I think that's the best way to describe it, but it also could have been much better, and it's a shame that it wasn't.

This was likely the first manga I ever read from beginning to end. After finishing it, it quickly became my favorite (by default at that time), and even after reading a bit more manga since then, it remains my favorite.

Story: The plot revolves around a womanizing fool who has to take care of his 5-year-old cousin. Initially, this concept seems frightening, but it's executed brilliantly. The characters fit seamlessly into the narrative, and the pacing is excellent. There are a few side stories and mini-arcs that can be somewhat annoying; I found myself losing focus occasionally. However, these arcs always concluded nicely. At first, I despised the ending, but after a couple of weeks, my anger subsided.

Art: I'm not particularly fond of the artwork. The faces in particular bothered me. They were so bland and stretchy, which really irked me. Nevertheless, they were easy to get used to. It was a style quite different from what I was accustomed to, but that's generally a positive thing.

Characters: Honestly, I don't recall the characters changing much, except for Kokoro. Kippei is usually useless—he's lovable but utterly oblivious. The manga needs something to tie everything together, and that comes entirely from Kokoro. She truly is the emotional core of this story. Her relationships with Kippei and Yuzuyu are beautifully crafted and provide a compelling reason to read this manga.

As a male reader, I do enjoy blood, guts, swearing, and anything else violent and rowdy. Having said that, give me a nice romance story with a happy ending, and I'll be completely content. This is a very beautiful manga—it's heartwarming without being overly corny or stupid. It's definitely worth reading.

For those of you searching for a shoujo filled with romantic dates and awkward kisses, this series might not be what you're looking for. However, I wouldn't dismiss it so swiftly, as I think you'll discover it to be a cut above the rest.

Unlike many other shoujos, Aishiteruze Baby seems to concentrate on character development rather than relationship growth. While romance plays a significant role in the storyline, it's not the main focus, making this one of the best shoujos I've ever encountered.

It's rare for us readers to come across a male lead in our shoujos. When I started reading Aishiteruze Baby, this fact pleasantly surprised me, and I found myself enjoying it far more than other shoujos I'd read before. A strong female lead is always appreciated, but even if you love shoujo deeply, it's undeniable that the female lead tends to follow a similar pattern. Having a male lead allows Aishiteruze Baby to take a fresh direction. I genuinely believe there's no other series quite like this one.

From the moment Kippei begins caring for his young cousin, the series warmed my heart immensely. Whether it's Yuzuyu's big eyes, Kippei's evolving attitude, or simply the mysterious way the story unfolds, I can almost guarantee you'll find it just as entertaining and uplifting.

It was quite unfortunate that I only recently discovered this fantastic series. Oh well, I'm genuinely glad to have stumbled upon it.
The story revolves around Kippei, a handsome young man who unsurprisingly has a reputation as a womanizer. His carefree lifestyle abruptly ended when his little cousin Yuzuyu moved into their home. He was tasked with taking care of the child. From that moment on, there began a gradual transformation in Kippei's character. He started to understand women better and grew deeply attached to Yuzuyu. It was an incredibly heartwarming manga. I truly admire the development of Kippei’s personality.
You really can't go wrong with this one.

Almost a masterpiece.

This series was incredibly good, but the ending felt so half-hearted. The final chapter was terrible. If you want to enjoy the series, skip the last two chapters and go with the anime's ending. The last chapter wasn't great, and the second-to-last chapter ties in poorly with it.

In truth, it’s only because of the last chapter that I’m not giving this series a perfect score. It was rushed, but overall, this series was amazing, and I'm glad I read it. I wish I had discovered it sooner.