Try! Try! Try!

Try! Try! Try! is a series of two webcomics and a one-shot manga by Kiyohiko Azuma. The manga is a precursor to Yotsuba&!, and features early versions of many of the main characters – namely, Yotsuba, her dad and the Ayase sisters. Though the girls' parents are never seen, neither are Koiwai's friends Jumbo or Yanda, who later became important characters in Yotsuba&!.

Try! Try! Try! was created by Azuma in 1998, around the same time as he wrote and illustrated Wallaby. However, the one-shot was written and illustrated in 2001.

Like Yotsuba&!, Try! Try! Try! is in the comedy/slice of life genre.

Characters[]

Major characters[]

Yotsuba Koiwai (last name never mentioned), a main character, appears largely similar to that of the start of Yotsuba&!, both in looks and personality. One major difference is that her four pigtails are drawn more realistically.

Ena Ayase, a main character, is the lead of the first chapter, called Episode minus 1. The youngest Ayase sister, she is a 4th year elementary school student and loves animals. Her personality is similar to that of Yotsuba&!, but her hair is very different-looking.

Secondary characters[]

Fuuka Ayase is the middle Ayase sister and a second year high school student. She bought a crocodile for Ena. Fuuka has dark red hair in a ponytail instead of short brown hair like in Yotsuba&!. She also seems to be more mischievous, and is short-tempered. It is implied that she has a crush on Koiwai.

Asagi Ayase is the oldest Ayase sister and a second year university student. Her playful, irresponsible yet sociable behaviour and appearance are very similar to that of Yotsuba&!.

Koiwai (unnamed) is Yotsuba's father. While childish himself, he has little patience with Yotsuba's antics, and is sarcastic. His personality and appearance are nearly identical to that of Yotsuba&!.

Minor characters[]

Plot[]

Webcomics[]

Episode minus 1 (Ena-chan's mishap)[]

Crocodile — Ena finds a crocodile in the hamster's place.

Ena is saying goodbye to a friend when she suddenly finds a hamster in the street. A great lover of animals, Ena is overwhelmed with its cuteness and takes it home. She decides to take a picture of the hamster using the family's new digital camera. She leaves the hamster in the living room to get the camera, only to find a small crocodile where she left the hamster, and no sign of her new pet when she gets back. This confuses Ena greatly, and right in that moment, Fuuka shows up, explaining that she bought the crocodile because Ena had always wanted a pet. Ena suddenly discovers that the crocodile seems to be crunching on something. Believing it to be her hamster (since she can't find it anywhere), Ena starts crying and Fuuka doesn't understand what's going on. Meanwhile, Asagi comes home and discovers a hamster on the doormat in the hallway. This concludes the chapter, and the part where Ena and Fuuka get to know what really happened to the hamster is left out.

Yotsuba with Ena[]

Yotsuba drawings1 — Ena discovers Yotsuba's drawings.

Ena comes to her house and discovers Yotsuba sitting in front of it. As advised, Ena sits down beside her neighbour only to find that Yotsuba has been drawing on the wall outside Ena's house – the motifs being Koiwai (or Ena) and the crocodile.

Yotsuba with Fuuka[]

Fuuka then comes home and upon seeing Yotsuba's drawings, she grows furious and yells at Yotsuba to clean it all off, since it's graffiti. Shamefaced, Yotsuba starts doing so.

Yotsuba with Asagi[]

While crying, Yotsuba scrubs the paint off the wall of the Ayase family's house. Asagi approaches Yotsuba and tries to comfort her, then advises Yotsuba to draw on the wall of her own house instead. Yotsuba nervously asks Asagi if this is alright to do, and Asagi tells her that it is fine and even helps by drawing along with Yotsuba on the wall of her house.

Yotsuba with Daddy[]

Yotsuba with Daddy (1)[]

Yotusba drawings2 — Koiwai's reaction to seeing Yotsuba's graffiti.

Koiwai comes home in the evening and is shocked when he sees the drawings on the wall outside his house, the motifs being Yotsuba, an angry Fuuka, a few other people and the crocodile. Koiwai calls on Yotsuba, nearly panicked.

Yotsuba with Daddy (2)[]

Without a care in the world, Yotsuba comes to greet Koiwai. Koiwai morosely asks her if she was the one who drew on the wall, and he seems to doubt that Yotsuba really worked as hard on the drawings as claimed. This causes Yotsuba to grow unsure of whether she should have done it or not, and tells Koiwai that she thought he liked to have fun as well. This seems to make Koiwai rethink his reaction.

Yotsuba with Daddy (3)[]

To make Yotsuba happier, Koiwai tells her that her drawing is very skillful, but that she shouldn't draw on any other houses. Yotsuba reveals that she has already done this, which makes Koiwai angry. But he keeps calm and says that he will buy her a sketchbook the next day, to patch things up. This makes Yotsuba happy.

One-shot manga[]

Try2 — Fuuka when asked if she likes Koiwai.

Ena is walking down the street when she finds Yotsuba sitting by the railway. The level-crossing barrier is closed. A big train passes by and Yotsuba is impressed, exclaiming "Is today train day!?". Yotsuba and Ena discuss how fun it would be to fly using the level-crossing barrier. Yotsuba does so which makes Ena freak out, while Yotsuba doesn't care at all and is only impressed with the height. Ena tells her not to fall down. Then the barrier closes again and Ena is very relieved to discover that Yotsuba is alright. Ena says to Yotsuba that she should come with Yotsuba when she is playing. Then a train passes by again and Yotsuba is nowhere to be found. Yotsuba later goes on to kick a can on the sidewalk, and is amazed when she manages to kick it into a bin. Fuuka enters and looks for Yotsuba's dad, but he is not there. She blushes while she talks about him, and Yotsuba asks Fuuka if she's fond of Koiwai. Fuuka angrily blurts out that this was not necessarily what she meant by asking about him. However, Yotsuba misinterprets her reaction and tears up because she thinks this means that Fuuka dislikes Koiwai. Fuuka denies this and says that she does like Koiwai. Then Yotsuba says "I understand, it's Daddy's virtue!!" and runs away. This makes Fuuka very embarrassed, and she frustratedly runs after Yotsuba, telling her not to say those things. Next, Asagi is seen sitting with her friend in some kind of ice cream bar or coffeehouse. Asagi has ordered a delicious-looking "white pearl choco-banana sundae", which her friend teasingly says will make Asagi fat. Yotsuba enters the scene and wonders what the sundae is. Asagi tricks Yotsuba into believing that it is a "super-bitter medicine for adults", a lie which Yotsuba buys. She seems impressed with Asagi because she can take it even though it is so bitter. Then Asagi gives Yotsuba some sugar. Yotsuba thanks her and leaves. Koiwai is standing around by the railway waiting for Yotsuba, who has disappeared as always. Then all of a sudden the level-crossing barrier closes and Yotsuba is brought back to earth; she was using it to fly again. Koiwai grows furious and shouts at Yotsuba not to fly. The one-shot ends with Yotsuba giving the sugar she got from Asagi to a bewildered Koiwai.

Trivia[]

Following the end of Azumanga Daioh, Azuma decided that he wanted to return to the characters he had created when he was younger, and this time use them for the long-term series format. This resulted in the manga Yotsuba&!.
In Yotsuba&!, Ena says that she doesn't have a hamster, but wants one. This could be a reference to the Try! Try! Try! episode with Ena and the hamster.
Interestingly, many of the characters had more or less unnatural hair colours in Try! Try! Try!, but when they were redesigned for their Yotsuba&! comeback, Yotsuba was the only one who kept her unnatural hair colour (green).