Before creating Fullmetal Alchemist, Hiromu Arakawa spent seven years working on her family’s dairy farm in Hokkaido, Japan. Hyakushō Kizoku is an autobiographical comedy that recounts those years, bridging the gap between what Arakawa calls "farmer's common sense" and "society's common sense". The series follows Arakawa herself as she explains the often brutal, always absurd reality of agricultural life, from milking cows and growing potatoes in freezing temperatures to wrestling with runaway cattle and living in constant fear of bear attacks. Her hard-earned knowledge frequently clashes with the bewildered reactions of her city-bred editor, Ishii, who serves as the audience’s surrogate, regularly retorting that Arakawa’s normal is anything but.

The setting is the Arakawa family farm in rural Hokkaido, a place where work never stops and the boundary between human and animal is often hilariously blurred. The main characters are all based on Arakawa’s real family, depicted as anthropomorphic cattle. There is Arakawa herself, a former farmer turned manga artist who wields agricultural trivia like a weapon. Her father, Oyaji-dono, is a stoic, unflappable patriarch with a casual attitude toward bizarre behavior and a legendary ability to survive horrific farm accidents, often at the mysterious expense of his livestock. Her mother, Okan, handles the farm’s endless administrative and domestic work, even while pregnant, earning the author’s deep admiration. The primary narrative thrust comes from Arakawa’s conversations with her editor, Ishii, as she dismantles Ishii’s normal assumptions with wild stories about using sickles in dark barns and the strange lives of Ezo chipmunks.

The series is structured in short, rapid-fire segments that feel like energetic anecdote sessions. Notable arcs include the chronicles of Oyaji-dono’s miraculous survival against all odds, the logistical nightmares of running a dairy operation in Hokkaido’s harsh winter, and Arakawa’s constant need to remind Ishii that common city logic does not apply on a farm. The narrative balances the harsh economic realities of Japanese dairy farming with a powerful, humorous celebration of hard work and resilience. Across its multiple seasons, the show continues to expand on Arakawa’s childhood memories, the eventual transition away from dairy farming, and the ongoing eccentricities of her family, all while maintaining the core message that farmers perform a difficult, noble, and frequently unbelievable job.