Yotsuba&! vol. 16

It’s been a while since we last got an installment in the adventures of everyone’s favorite green-haired five-year-old.  That’s not a problem because the series’ formula of “Yotsuba has an adventure with her friends and family” has never relied on long-term plotting, just the solidly dependable and off-kilter sensibilities of its mangaka, Kiyohiko Azuma.  I was still anticipating this volume, however, after a friend informed me that it was going to have a very special guest star – someone from Azuma’s previous series “Azumanga Daioh.”

I won’t spoil the character’s identity here, even though it had been spoiled for me going into this volume.  What I will say is that this knowledge caused me to do something I NEVER, EVER, do when reading something.

I skipped ahead.

That’s right, instead of actually reading the volume to see when this character would show up, I went right to the last chapter to see her in action.  I’ve always been a firm believer in reading books or comics from beginning to end without jumping ahead, because that’s how it’s done.  Not only is the wait always worth it, but the setup always adds to any reveals before they arrive.  This time, however, I couldn’t help myself.  After I thought that we’d never see this character, or any of her friends, again I had to know how things were going for her.

Pretty well as it turns out.  She’s older, working as a teacher, but still very much herself.  As good as it is to know that last part (and that she’s still as funny as she was back then) it’s also more reassuring to know that she’s doing all right in her current role.  She clearly enjoys her job and appears to be liked by her students, if Ena and Miura’s interactions with her are any indication.  It’d be great if we see more of her in future volumes, but I won’t hold my breath for it (or for vol. 17 to arrive before the end of this decade).

After all that, I wasn’t expecting to get a lot out of the earlier parts of this volume.  I mean, how do you top the return of [REDACTED]?  So I was pleasantly surprised to see that we wound up getting another multi-part storyline that took up most of this volume.  While Yotsuba plays restaurant owner at a park, Jumbo talks with her dad about possible trips the girl could go on.  They hit on the idea of hiking one of the easier trails on Mt. Takao, only there’s one issue.  Jumbo’s schedule is booked up for a while and Yotsuba’s Dad wants at least one other adult to accompany them on the trip.  Hmmmm… what other responsible adult does he know that could fit the bill?

This is how Yotsuba and Yanda wind up having to bury the hatchet – for a little bit – as they both have to play nice together in order to make the trip happen.  Seeing the five-year-old try to act mature and the twentysomething doing everything he can to troll her without crossing the line is as funny as you’d think it would be.  They’re both very good at winding each other up and that’s as true here as it’s ever been.  While I don’t think that this will lead to an actual friendship between them, it’s still impressive to see them come to a mutual understanding in order to get what they want.

Which means that while vol. 16 of “Yotsuba&!” delivered on the one thing I was expecting to see, it also managed to surprise me by delivering some of its best and funniest storytelling yet.  That’s really impressive for a comedy series that actively eschews long-term storytelling, and another example as to why this series is so beloved by its fans.  I’d sure like to read another volume of this series soon, as Azuma clearly still has what it takes, but history tells me that I should just be happy with this series delivering one of its best volumes yet after a long wait.