Baby & Me


Baby & Me is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Marimo Ragawa. It was published in Hakusensha's magazine Hana to Yume from 1991 to 1997. In North America, it was published by Viz Media. In 1995, Baby & Me received the 40th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōjo category. An anime adaptation by Studio Pierrot aired on TV Tokyo and its affiliates from July 1996 to March 1997.
A South Korean film adaptation of the anime, Baby and I, was released in 2008. As of November 2021, the manga had over 17.7 million copies in circulation.

Plot

Takuya Enoki lost his mother, Yukako, in a car accident. He now lives with his father, Harumi, and two-year-old little brother, Minoru. Although Takuya is only an elementary school student, he not only does all the housework, but takes care of his little brother. When the Kimura family blames him for Minoru's constant crying one day, his stress gradually builds up. A frustrated Takuya cannot help feeling upset over Minoru, who is stressing him and taking up all his time.
Later, Takuya picks Minoru up from preschool and saves him from a brutal dog that blocked Minoru's way. After coming home and seeing Minoru crying, Takuya realizes that Minoru is just lonely and becomes ashamed of himself. From now on, Takuya learns to care for his little brother.

Characters

Enoki family

;Takuya Enoki
;Minoru Enoki
;Harumi Enoki
;Yukako Enoki

Friends

;Tadashi "Gon" Gotō
;Hiroko "Hiro" Gotō
;Tokio Tamadate

Fujii family

;Akemi Fujii
;Tomoya Fujii
;Asako Fujii
;Akihiro Fujii
;Ichika Fujii:
;Masaki "Ma-Bo" Fujii

Other characters

;Shinako Fukaya:
;Megumi Yarimizo:

Media

  1. published in March 1992
  2. published in August 1992
  3. published in December 1992
  4. published in February 1993
  5. published in June 1993
  6. published in November 1993
  7. published in March 1994
  8. published in July 1994
  9. published in November 1994
  10. published in February 1992
  11. published in May 1995
  12. published in September 1995
  13. published in January 1996
  14. published in July 1996
  15. published in November 1996
  16. published in March 1997
  17. published in June 1997
  18. published in September 1997

Reception

Baby & Me won the 40th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōjo category in 1995. As of November 2021, the manga had over 17.7 million copies in circulation.