"Is it worth reading?"

That's what I wondered at first. The cover didn't make it look particularly exciting, the summary bored me, and after clicking on a random chapter I decided the art was too plain and the characters all looked like clones. I went off to find a different manga... read several... and somehow found myself back at Dear. This time I skimmed through the forum and found some intriguing spoilers that led me to chapter 21. I fell in love with Ki-chan and Chiruha in that chapter and finally steeled myself to read all 22 chapters.

And, boy, am I grateful I did. Dear is now one of my favorite series of all time. The cover and summary have taken on new depths. The art that used to seem so plain is now unique and expressive. And the characters looking like clones? No way!

In fact, it's the great characters that make this series work. You've got Chiruha, the sweet, sincere, and energetic goofball; then there's Kisara, the stoic pretty boy who's actually got a storm raging inside him. There's the weirdo captain of the punitive squad who prizes beauty above all else. There's Komomo, the obstinate lolita character, and Subaru, who's so aloof and amused all the time it's easy to forget he's a powerful demon lord. Then you've got the demon trio: Purino (the smart and beautiful but clumsy general), Kurenai (a swordsman with a level-head and a short temper), and Carol (a baby-faced boy with powerful magicks). It's not often that I see a mangaka put so much care into each character and their interactions with the rest of the cast.

Plot: All the characters are working towards a similar goal: lifting/helping their companions lift the curses put on them by lycanthropes. Lycanthropes are a mythical race of powerful creatures believed to be extinct at the start of the manga. Later, the characters learn there's one left and the discovery ties all their stories in.

Romance: I'm not going to lie--that's what got my interest at first and I haven't been disappointed. Chiruha and Ki-chan are a very sweet, tragic sort of love. He loves her but he doesn't know it or at least doesn't know how to express it, and Chiruha's too innocent to see him as anything but a friend. I'd compare it to Zero and Yuki from Vampire Knight or Kyo/Yuki and Tohru from Fruits Basket. Then there's Subaru and Komomo. Their relationship consists of Subaru pursuing Komomo and Komomo freaking out and denying her feelings. Their love reminds me a little of Usui and Misaki from Maid-sama!

Similar Manga: The vibe I get from this manga is similar to what I got from Fruits Basket, if you've read/watched that.^^

It's the sequel of Watashi no Ookami-san but it starts out a new story the first two volumes. They reintroduced Komomo and the Demon Lord and you even get to see General Purino under the curse again. But just like the prequel, it takes a while to pick up on the new story they introduced so you need patience. If you only read a few chapters of this author without waiting for it to develop I notice most people gave up on. With the prequel, most did and marked it with a 6 or lower without giving it a chance. @HuhWhat: Yes this manga does have a plot that goes somewhere.

... Last updated on August 4th, 2008, 8:52am

The thing about Dear is that, even while being published in a shounen magazine, it takes all the shoujo cliches, plays them all entirely straight, and, somehow or another, ends up making them better. I don't even understand how Fujiwara Cocoa does it. She just does.

Honestly, more than a romance series, Dear is, at its heart, a really sweet and charming slice-of-life about someone who is the last of her kind trying to make friends and helping these friends the best she can. It's all so unbearably heartwarming that every time I read it I always end up sitting here and wondering why everyone else isn't reading it either.

As others have mentioned, all the characters are really strong and fleshed-out. They're all really likable and interesting to watch, and Fujiwara Cocoa manages to give them so much depth that just awes me. This really is one of those series which is more character-driven than plot-driven, and that's what really sets it apart from others of its kind: its intense focus on characterization.

Really, just give Dear a try. It's fantastic, every single chapter of it.

I highly recommend this manga! It doesn't seem to go anywhere in the first few books but the plot and all the characters get tied together towards. People who've enjoyed Watashi no Ookami-san will greatly enjoy this for all the Subaru and Komomo goodness.

im not excatly sure where the story is going at all, i really have no idea what the plot is supposed to be what so ever... it would be a better story if it was an action adventure, but it is more of a comedy slice of life with a few fantasy elements

the reason i like this is mostly becasue the girls are sooooo cute
purino, komomo and chiruha are all adorable in really diffrent ways

if you are going to read this manga i highly recommend reading the prequil Watashi ni ookami-sama i think its called

this manga is a sequal to watashi no ookami-san. give this manga a chance you may like it i did.

if you're looking for a heavily plot-driven manga, this is not it. the plot does start to move and take form in later volumes, but for a good while it's comedic 4-koma-ish slice-of-life fantasy vignettes about the central characters.

but really, this manga is character-driven. it's easy to fall in love with all the characters and laugh along with them through their happiness and misfortunes. chiruha is SO cute in her innocence, as well as kisara and his quiet protection of her. komomo is a tsundere i can actually stomach and is quite enjoyable alongside the cool but amusing subaru. carol looks like a little kid but acts like a parent to the whole gang and kurenai is well meaning but just ends up as the butt of all the jokes (he's way too easy to tease, lmao). purino is refreshing in her professionality (though i could do without her moe ditziness), and the captain is a riot, as well as many of the other recurring supporting characters (my new favorite is the spy guy hiding in trash cans and behind wallpaper, rofl).

if you just want a peek into the lives of these highly endearing characters, read this.

I began reading this because of Watashi no Ookami-san. Honestly, in the beginning, I didn't like how the summary was written. I didn't like the preview picture looked like either, so I thought the artwork would be bad. But I read it anyway. Now, I HONESTLY think that I misjudged it!! The "grudge" really pissed me off, but as I read on, I actually thought the story got cuter~ (not spoiling it) The comedic aura of this manga (once it enters) always hypes me up! There are even these moments where I can't stop laughing after 10 minutes. Then I stop. Then once I remember the joke, I start chuckling a bit, then my friend/parents/other relatives stare at me and say, "what the hell are you doing?" The storyline is hell of an almost unpredictable one for me! Its stories are so random, and there are so many problems! But I love the romance in it, but I'd like it to be more shoujo-like though... The romance doesn't have that much of a "Doki Doki" and "Fuwa Fuwa" atmosphere to it... But that's just my opinion~ But it's still awesome! The comedy just blew me away, and I looooooove my comedies~ <333

My sister bought Dear vol 1 -7 . So far , i've finished reading vol 5. it's really sweet and ..


this manga hooked me up xD

I have to admit, I didn't like this when I first read it. I was just like... ugh.

But then I got past volume 2, and then - whoaaaaaa, 360 degree change in perspective.

For one, I absolutely love the humour. It's exactly my type of humour. And I can't get enough of it.
I also love how someone like Chiruha can exist (albeit in fictional form). She's so pure and sweet. Other mangas try to replicate this kind of innocence, but no one's pulled it off so successfully like this. Sooner or later I expected myself to start hating her or get annoyed, but no! Nothing like that has happened yet! Instead, I like her more and more. ^^

The only issue I have with this is that the characters all look like they're... 12... which really throws me off. And as I said, I really hated vol 1 and 2. The plot didn't really start flowing until volume 5 or 6, so you kinda have to bear with it for a bit, which sucks. Also, the setting of the manga didn't make sense to me - it's like a mix of contemporary and ancient times... Which is possible, but the mangaka did a poor job of integrating the two.

In general, a very light, gentle, soft, and cute manga. =)