There's something so perfect in Yamada Tarou's formula. With effortlessly charming, somehow always winsome main character Tarou and his clueless parents, we have a naturally compelling ironic story. That coupled with stoically amusing best friend Takuya and the clueless-about-his-circumstances parade of girls who fall for him make the character dynamics a meeting of old school princely allure and idiotic but lovable fluff.

What especially sets apart the series is how genuine a lot of the stories are. Tarou never looks down on any of the girls that fall for him and even if he uses them for free food, he thanks them in homemade treats or attentiveness. Even the crack ship with Sugiura is kind of endearing when it's treated as a real love triangle possibility in contrast with Mika as a rival. While so many of the situations escalate in ridiculousness and serendipitous debt calculations, Tarou is still always his hard-working eldest son trying to make it work.

It's truly a loss that Morinaga Ai-sensei passed away so young and we'll never see the evolution of her signature blend of troll comedy and shojo norms. Yamada Tarou Monogatari still gets me to smile, even 10 years after reading it for the first time.

... Last updated on February 9th, 2022, 7:54pm

Yes, it is. Even though this is neither a gender bender nor about martial arts, the basic premise and the brand of humor is very similar. Which is to say, this might as well be a shounen manga. There's even a reference to Ranma 1/2.

funny as hell.... you thought you were poor!!! wait till you see the yamadas lol. it's great that even though they are so poor they are just positive thinkers especially Tarou. Heartwarming manga and really makes readers want to help this dirt poor family out... only thing that pisses me off is the mother and father... they just keep popping out kids and does nothing to support them.

One of the funniest mangas ever. The main character and his entire family are just so completely hilarious you can't help but laugh and cheer them on. Mimura, Tarou's best friend, was hilarious as well; and so evil (in a good way!) <3 I really recommend it. The only thing I didn't quite like would be the mother, who was a bit annoying; she doesn't have any real good points to love that aren't overshadowed.

Edit: After watching the live-action series, I have to say that the manga is really way better. Several of the characters whom I liked in the manga were honestly dislikable in the live action - namely Tarou's mother and Ikegami, because they were both awfully shallow characters (Tarou's mother is a terrible airhead; the bad kind of dumb; and Ikegami's just awfully selfish.) There is no hint of the hilarious "do anything to survive" mentality in the children, and they never do a thing to help Tarou out. Neither, for that matter, does Mimura. No one seems to actually do anything other than depend on Tarou. It quite spoils the whole thing.

... Last updated on June 13th, 2010, 8:00pm

Fascinating from beginning to the very end. The plot is quite unique in its own way with many distinguished characters. I love Tarou (sure), his dad, his friend (what's his name? Gyomura?) and the liltle sister =) I wish there could be a sequel for this cute couple <3

Ai Morinaga never failed me. though this story is a bit 'subtle' compared to My Barbaric Girlfriend, it's still enjoyable. i wish a group will actually finish this series...

... Last updated on October 12th, 2008, 9:32pm

i wonder how MORINAGA Ai gets such wacky ideas. her drawings are awesome and all of her manga are so damn hillarious...i luv yamada n his family..but i hate his mum! s0_0ry ...

although the whole family and weird parents thing is a bit unneeded in my opinion
and I really hate the part where he actually considered marrying his sister into a rich family... I really like the cast and the setting...

yamada is so admirable - every now and then someone who is from a really poor and troubled background shines like that in the newspaper but this one brings yamada character to life. The comical situations are really funny as well.

I know I can't say it very well but this manga beats most of the cliche-ridden manga out there a must read

It's absolutely the BEST manga ever by MORINAGA Ai and sure to be a must-read comedy. There are not many manga that can make you laugh from the beginning till the very ending, with such imaginative and unique jokes, and this one is one of them. The plot gets a bit more serious in later volumes (As usual), but overall it's still hilarious and sometimes you will be touched to see their family's love

this manga has been made to two live action drama

the first is taiwan version starring vic zhou

the second is the japanese version starring Ninomiya Kazunari and Sakurai Sho from ARASHI