Title: Aishiteruze Baby ★★
Japanese Title: 愛してるぜ ベイベ
Author: Youko Maki
Genre: Manga | Romance
Demographic: Shoujo
Format: E-Book
Length: 7 Volumes | 33 Chapters
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Publication Date: 2006-2007
My Rating: ★★★★ (4 stars)
Goodreads | Storygraph
Synopsis:
Aishiteruze Baby is a shojo series that revolves around the life of Kippei Katakura, a popular high-school playboy who suddenly finds himself the surrogate parent of his 5-year-old cousin, Yuzuyu Sakashita, when her mother disappears.
Kippei has a lot to figure out, like what to make for Yuzuyu’s lunch and how to drop her off at kindergarten while still getting to high school on time. Kippei is enjoying his time with Yuzuyu, but not everyone is happy about it. The girls at school miss their quality time with Kippei, and one decides to play dirty to get him back.
My Review:
Aishiteruze Baby is my nostalgia manga. I read it back when I was a teenager and remembered really enjoying it. As an adult, I can see that it does have some problems, but I did still enjoy it as much as I did many moons ago.
This story centre on Kippei is a high-school boy who’s a little bit of a playboy. He is the main character in this series, and the story begins with him sleeping through class and flirting with every girl he can. That all begins to change when he is entrusted to care for his little 5-year-old cousin, Yuzuyu.
While I find fault in leaving a 5-year-old in the hands of an immature 17-year-old I adored their relationship. We got to see how Kippei went from a reluctant to a loving caregiver and their bond becomes something truly genuine.
It was an enjoyable read, and it was very heart-warming. The story flowed at a steady pace and didn’t feel drawn out. If anything, I wanted more of it. I would’ve loved to see Yuzuyu as she grew up.
