Welcome to another general discussion thread! Feel free to use this thread to talk about things you have watched recently, questions you have, or recommendations you want to give!
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Finished Dear Brother. These step-siblings didn’t develop romantic feelings for each other? Unheard of! The whole onii-sama thing is more of a tool to progress the story and help Nanako to process her feelings by writing letters to Henmi. There is something poetic in such kind of storytelling.
Modern viewers will find Dear Brother overly dramatic and ridiculously intense, but it’s a good coming-of-age story that explores such themes as bullying, jealousy, self-harm, social hierarchy, friendship, first love, family ties, and more. I did find myself laughing at the drama at times, but it also had some humorous, more subtle moments that made me giggle.
The main heroine, Nanako, is very sweet and kind, but Mariko remains my favourite.
spoiler
She is so animated, charming and effortlessly funny once she overcomes her obsessive behaviour and finds true friends in Nanako and Tomoko. The always-plotting Miya-sama had such a scary, villainous aura, but at the end of the day she’s still too young and feels too much. She wasn’t irredeemable after all.
I’m glad I was able to appreciate this story to the fullest.