If there was ever a series that made a mistake in its premiere, it was the Yuzuki Family’s Four Sons—not because it wasn’t a faithful adaptation of the source material, but because it launched with The subtitles are really bad, making it almost unwatchable. If that makes you want to walk away from this drama then you should watch it a second time, because not only is the filler in the first episode fixed and the rest is fine, but this story is touching in every way .
Based on the manga of the same name by Shizuki Fujisawa, which won the shoujo award of the 66th Shogakukan Manga Award in 2021, the story is a deceptively simple tale of four orphan brothers. Their parents died in an unspecified accident two years before the plot begins, and eldest son Hayato, who is significantly older than his brothers, took on the task of raising the three. remaining. Hayato had just finished college when his parents died, and we get the sense that the loss turned his life upside down: just as he was preparing to strike out on his own, his plans were irrevocably altered. But Hayato wasn’t bitter about it. He really wants to do what’s best for his siblings, and most of his worries come from the fear that he’ll somehow screw things up.
It didn’t help that his brothers themselves had very strong personalities, especially his third brother, Minato. The time between Minato and his second child Mikoto was less than a year because he was born prematurely, implying that his health was somewhat fragile. Despite – or perhaps because of – this, Minato was a whirlwind, constantly moving and the loudest of the brothers. He is also conflicted about his relationship with Mikoto. It’s not easy for him to be in the same class at school as his more stereotypically “perfect” older brother, but there’s also a sense that he feels as if he somehow hurt Mikoto at birth. too early. Minato hides some emotions underneath his rude personality. Yet we can still see that he feels things deeply and when he can’t hold them in anymore, they almost explode within him in emotional storms. Meanwhile, Mikoto keeps most of his emotions close, to the point that to others, he almost resembles a Buddha. Of course, he has emotions like any other 12-year-old boy, and we see in flashbacks that he’s not always good at containing them. But it’s the method he’s developed to deal with his intimate noises.-agemate, which creates a very believable dynamic between them. Meanwhile, Gakuto is one of those children who was born old. Although we see him have a friend his own age and have concerns that make sense for a six-year-old, he also enjoys pursuing goals associated with his elders and most of the time Everyone has a cool head. He resembles a little old man, making you wonder what the story would be like if his and Hayato’s ages were reversed.
The format of the anime is almost identical to the manga: the two brothers trade chapters in which they are point of view characters. It seems like Minato gets more screen time, not only because he has two parts with his best friend Uta, but also because he’s the most prominent older brother. Even without his dramatic bun, Minato is loud and open with everything he thinks and feels; There’s something wonderful about that. Yes, he may be obnoxious, but he always tries and makes an effort to understand the world around him, even when he is not yet mature enough. It’s as if he and Mikoto have chosen opposite approaches to life, which fascinates their classmates and mutual friends. What’s even more interesting is how Mikoto and Hayato seem to define themselves by their brothers. While we see the two as outwardly friends (although Mikoto’s best friend is a mutual friend of Minato’s), they don’t have the same level of relationship with Gakuto and Minato as with Waka and Uta. Hayato’s life focuses mainly on trying his best to raise the other three, while Mikoto focuses mainly on Minato. Partly, this comes from their closeness in age, but more generally, it seems like both Hayato and Mikoto are focused on others due to their parents’ deaths. While all four boys were affected (and Minato was a bit obsessed with Gakuto), the two oldest were trying to express their grief.
In Hayato’s case, this sets him apart from his peers, as we see in episode four when he goes to a class reunion. His colleagues are clearly shocked and confused that he is using his stable job to support his brothers, saying that he now seems too “old” for them to care about. care about him. Besides being a terrible statement and a blow to his ego, it also shows how Hayato is on the outside, socially. He’s not happy with his choices (even though he’s almost always worried about something), but he also knows that he’s not living up to what most people in their twenties would like. want in one life. The idea of what people are “supposed” to do at certain ages runs throughout the series, with Gakuto’s preference for old men being used lightly and the strong two-episode plot about Minato and Uta being examples most clearly. In episodes five and six, the plot opens with Uta being invited out by a boy in another class. Truly shocked and nervous, Uta and Minato began excitedly planning their date…until another friend told Minato that if Uta had a boyfriend, he wouldn’t be able to play with her. anymore or can’t even see her often. This started to eat at Minato, who didn’t understand why this was happening. He doesn’t want to date Uta—romance is not on his radar. Why did it have to destroy their friendship?
This question is examined through Minato and Uta’s experiences and is done very well. There aren’t many stories that involve middle school students who seem to understand that it’s okay to still be a kid building forts at the time, and these two episodes do a great job of presenting the fact that all we all grow up at different speeds and there’s no need to rush to meet specific test scores.. It’s even more effective since Uta looks like a pretty standard manga high school girl -it’s not like she’d rather play around than go on a date. The resolution of this plot isn’t handled as well as in the manga, but it’s still impressive and a standout part of the series as a whole.
Fujisawa’s art also doesn’t translate well as it could have passed for anime, and there are times when the animation seems a bit off-walking is often stiff and bodies don’t always move naturally , although when things go wrong, all the stops are pulled out. There are some nice details, like Gakuto wearing a handheld and the way Uta moves compared to the other girls we see, so while it’s not the best, it’s not the worst either. But this is a series you watch for its emotional honesty and its depiction of a family that has experienced tragedy and is working through it as best they can. It was a rewarding experience; hopefully one day we will have manga in English too.
