Aishiteruze Baby (愛してるぜ ベイベ★★) is a Japanese romance manga series written and illustrated by Yoko Maki. It was serialized by Shueisha in Ribon from April 2002 and January 2005 and collected in seven bound volumes. It was adapted as a 26-episode anime television series produced by TMS Entertainment and Animax, broadcast in Japan on Animax from April to October 2004. The series is about a teenage boy, Kippei, who becomes the caretaker of his five-year-old cousin, Yuzuyu, after her mother abandons her. Both the manga and anime have been praised for successfully mixing serious issues with a light-hearted tone.
Plot
Aishiteruze Baby is a series that revolves around the life of Kippei, a popular high-school playboy who flirts with any girl he sees, without thinking about their feelings. His life is turned upside down when one day his aunt abandons his five-year-old cousin Yuzuyu at his house. Kippei is assigned the task of taking care of Yuzuyu for the time being, and he must learn how to become the "mother" she needs. As Kippei learns how to care for Yuzuyu, he also learns to care for Kokoro, a quiet girl at his school, who helps him out.
In Japanese, aishiteru ze (愛してるぜ) is a casual, masculine way of saying "I love you" (see Gender differences in spoken Japanese).