Aishiteruze Baby
A high-school playboy learns to care for his abandoned five-year-old cousin.
Aishiteruze Baby is a Japanese romance manga series written and illustrated by Yoko Maki, serialized in Ribon from 2002 to 2005 and adapted into a 26-episode anime television series in 2004. The story follows a teenage boy who becomes the caretaker of his five-year-old cousin after her mother abandons her. Both the manga and anime have been noted for blending serious themes with a light-hearted tone.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Romance
Facts from the source article.
Plot
The series centers on Kippei, a popular high-school playboy, whose life changes when his aunt abandons his five-year-old cousin Yuzuyu at his house. He is assigned to care for her and must learn to become the mother figure she needs. As he adapts, he also develops feelings for Kokoro, a quiet girl at school who helps him. The title is a casual masculine way of saying 'I love you' in Japanese.
Characters
Kippei Katakura is a 17-year-old promiscuous high school student known for his playboy habits, but his friendly personality makes him popular. When his five-year-old cousin Yuzuyu is placed in his care, he initially struggles but soon drops his promiscuous ways and matures into a responsible parent, waking early to make her lunch and walking her to preschool. He also cares for her psychological well-being. Kippei pursues his love interest Kokoro Tokunaga, and eventually asks his family to let her move in with them. Near the end of the manga, Yuzuyu's mother returns, but Kippei insists Yuzuyu leave with her despite his attachment. Ten years later, Yuzuyu is a happy teen, and Kokoro is still living with Kippei, presumably married. Yuzuyu Sakashita is a bubbly five-year-old abandoned by her mother who grows attached to Kippei. She initially fears Kokoro will take Kippei away but later warms to her. She struggles with her mother's absence and often cries herself to sleep, trying to behave in hopes her mother will return. At the end, she is a happy teenager reunited with her childhood friend Shouta, and she starts most sentences with 'yuzu'.
Media
The manga was serialized in Ribon from April 2002 to January 2005 by Shueisha and collected in seven volumes under the Ribon Mascot Comics imprint. It is licensed in North America by Viz Media, which released all seven volumes in English starting April 2006, and also in France, Italy, Germany, and South Korea. The anime adaptation by TMS and Animax, directed by Masaharu Okuwaki, aired 26 episodes on Animax from April 3 to October 9, 2004. The opening theme is 'Sunny Side Up' and the ending theme is 'Nennensaisai', both by Yo Hitoto.
Reception
A German manga journal praised the manga's clean backgrounds, well-differentiated character designs, and handling of delicate issues like parental abandonment while keeping a comic tone, calling the anime one of the highlights of 2004. It criticized the anime's simpler art style but praised the Japanese voice actors and the opening song. A reviewer at THEM Anime Reviews gave the anime 5 out of 5 stars, calling it a touching drama and noting that Yuzuyu acts like a real child. The reviewer observed that the animation was somewhat low-budget and the character designs only somewhat resemble the original manga.
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