Aishiteruze Baby is one of my secret, guilty pleasures. I read the first chapter in Shojo Beat approximately forever ago and hated it. Then, for no very good reason, I became familiar with the anime and very quickly became sucked in by the story. What at first seems like a very over-the-top cutefest is actually a much richer story of love and family -- both the family you are born with and the family you create.

This final volume can only be described as bittersweet. Just as Kippei manages to bring his relationship with Kokoro to a satisfying place, the rug is ripped out from under him when Yuzuyu's mother returns. The resolution is not reached easily and the sweetness of the ending only serves to mitigate things so much. It's the depth of feeling in these later chapters that make the overall, overbearing sweetness of much of the series palatable for me. ( )