Dear Brother

Plot

Nanako Misonoo is a young high school freshman at the exclusive girls' school Seiran Academy. When she begins her first year at this school, she falls into a world of female rivalry, love, chaos, and heartbreak. She narrates the story of the series in a chain of letters to a young man named Takehiko Henmi, who she calls "Oniisama" (Brother). In reality, Takehiko was her teacher at the cram school she went to earlier. She feels such a strong bond with Takehiko that she asks to continue corresponding with him. Takehiko agrees, and soon Nanako begins addressing him as "brother" in her letters. When Nanako starts her new school year at the all-girl Seiran Academy, she is unexpectedly inducted into the school's Sorority despite having none of the looks, talents, or background needed to become a member. As the series progresses, she becomes involved in the lives of the "Magnificent Three", the three most popular girls in the school.

As Nanako interacts with these ladies, she becomes attached to the great but troubled Rei Asaka, whom she wants to help, but cannot get close to due to Rei's obsession with Fukiko Ichinomiya, the Sorority president. Nanako also becomes friends with a beautiful and lonely young girl named Mariko Shinobu, who is determined to get into the Sorority and make Nanako her best friend at all costs. Meanwhile, Nanako has problems of her own; she is constantly being bullied by her peers due to her unlikely membership in the Sorority, especially by one Aya Misaki who feels that she should have been the one chosen for it. Throughout these problems Nanako is supported by her childhood friend Tomoko, the athletic but secretly ailing Kaoru Orihara, the passionate and troubled Mariko Shinobu and the correspondence with her "brother", who just happens to have some secrets of his own. The series chronicles her first year at Seiran Academy as she uncovers the past of some of the most popular girls in school, learning of love, loss, and her own family's secrets, including her true relationship with Takehiko.

Characters

Nanako Misonoo (御苑生 奈々子, Misonoo Nanako)

Voiced by: Hiroko Kasahara (original series), Yūko Mizutani (television pilot)

The main character of the story, Nanako Misonoo is suddenly and unexpectedly chosen to join The Sorority, an elite group at her new high school, eliciting the wrath and jealousy of her classmates. Like many shōjo heroines, Nanako is innocent, caring, sometimes insecure, but always determined to do what is right. She begins the story hoping only to be liked by her peers, but is soon dragged into the lives and secrets of Seiran Academy's most elite students. She falls in love with Rei "Saint-Juste" Asaka, and their relationship is one of the major driving plots of the series.

Tomoko Arikura (有倉 智子, Arikura Tomoko)

Voiced by: Waka Kanda

Tomoko is Nanako's childhood friend and arguably the only "normal-themed" character in the series. In the manga, Mariko manipulates her into ending her friendship with Nanako, which Tomoko later rekindles when she realizes the misunderstanding. In the anime, Mariko attempts to end the friendship too and almost succeeds, but Tomoko ultimately remains by Nanako's side and protects her from Aya Misaki's bullying, and the three of them become best friends for the entire duration of the show, with Tomoko acting as the series' main comedic relief.

Rei Asaka ("Hana no Saint-Juste") (朝霞 れい, Asaka Rei)

Voiced by: Sumi Shimamoto

Rei "Saint-Juste of the Flowers" Asaka is a second year student and one of the "Magnificent Three" known for her social indifference and her many artistic talents, especially artistic (she plays the guitar and sings in the manga, and plays the piano, the flute and violin and acts in the anime). She is also shown playing basketball in the anime, replacing Kaoru in at least one game (Episode 16 "Comeback"). Incredibly loyal and devoted to the ones she loves, Rei's destructive relationship with Fukiko Ichinomiya leads her to be troubled, obsessed with death, and drug-addicted. She is Kaoru's best friend, with them exchanging playful insults at times and loyally helping each other at others, and shows a soft spot for Nanako when they interact, but her relationship with Fukiko prevents her from comfortably maintaining other friendships. The secrets between the two, and Nanako's involvement in them, is one of the major driving plots of the series. She dies late in the series; in the manga she dies by suicide via pill overdose, but in the anime her death is an accident as she falls off of a commuter bridge, into the path of a train (Episode 34 "Ablution"). She does this while trying to catch a bouquet of flowers that she purchased for Nanako, which she accidentally drops. In the anime her death deeply influences the other characters, as Kaoru begins to have suicidal feelings and the Ichinomiya family feel guilty for not doing anything for her, despite their wealth and their relationship to her. Ironically, Rei is the only one allowed, and who has ever seen Fukiko cry (Episode 25 "The Scarlet Lipstick"). Rei's nickname comes from Louis de Saint-Just, a French Revolutionary, known as the "Angel of Death".

The Sorority

The Seiran Sorority is an amalgamation of a student government, an extracurricular club, and an elite society, and is a school tradition that is said to date back to at least the 1930s. Similar to western fraternities and sororities, prospective members seem to be nominated by those already in the Sorority, and undergo a pledge period in which they are interviewed for fitness. Family legacy, appropriate extracurricular activities, and attractive appearances are the main considerations for admission. The Sorority appears to have around forty or fifty members, though several of the senior members are given prominence and special nicknames. They are primarily referred to by these nicknames, though later in the series their surnames are revealed. Their given names were never shown.

"Lady Borgia" Ogiwara

Voiced by: Emi Shinohara

Borgia is a senior member of the Sorority, and is commonly seen wearing her hair in a chignon. Her position in the Sorority is never expressly stated. During the Petition Arc, she is presented as the most adamant member of the plot to discredit Fukiko, with intentions of taking over as President, herself. She holds a strong dislike of Fukiko and shows frustration with the other girl's staunch pride.

"Lady Mona Lisa" Komabayashi

Voiced by: Shinobu Adachi

Mona Lisa is a senior member of the Sorority, and resembles her namesake, possessing long black hair and an enigmatic expression. She is stated as being the Sorority's Vice-President and a good friend of Ogiwara. Reserved and mysterious, she is quite invested in the Sorority. She eventually goes along with the other members during the Petition Arc, though contests Borgia when she realizes their machinations have gone too far.

"Lady Medusa" Katsuragi

Voiced by: Kumiko Takizawa

Medusa is a senior member of the Sorority, and briefly serves as Vice-President after Mona Lisa's resignation. She has bushy brown hair. She appears to be Fukiko's only friend within the Sorority; the two are often seen conversing pleasantly, and during the Petition Arc she is the last member to remain on Fukiko's side.

Themes

The show's themes revolve around suicide, incest, lesbianism, drug addiction, violence, divorce, and disease. Rei Asaka has a deep love for Fukiko Ichinomiya which can be seen as incestuous due to later revelations about their actual relationship and early interactions with each other. Lesbianism is mentioned due to heavy overtones of female interaction at an all girls school, as well as Nanako's romantic feelings towards Rei, and Mariko's feelings towards Kaoru.

Media

Manga

Sorority Member Senkou (ソロリティ・メンバー選考, Sorority Member Senkou) August 20, 1978

Saint Juste no Himitsu (サン・ジュストの秘密) September 20, 1978

Sayonara Kaoru no Kimi (さよなら薫の君) October 20, 1978

Anime

The series was dubbed and released in Italy, Spain, Arabia and France, though it was pulled after seven episodes in France, due to strong adult content. A Greek version is also known to have existed, with its broadcast halted between the commercial breaks in the third episode. The anime series is available online to viewers in the United States through Viki.com, Hulu, and YouTube. Anime Sols has successfully crowdfunded the entire the show for North American DVD. Under the title Dear Brother, three DVD box sets were released between July 29, 2014, and April 7, 2015. RetroCrush started streaming in United States and Canada from October, 2020 via streaming app and website under the title Dear Brother. Discotek Media has re-licensed the series.

Reception

Lynzee Loveridge of Anime News Network noted that in the series "everyone's off their rockers and has beautiful clothes" and called the Seiran Academy's Sorority "relentless" and slighting anyone who is not "perfect". Erica Friedman of Okazu described the series as "extraordinarily dark" and centered around one person: Ichinomiya Fukiko. Carlos Ross of THEM Anime Reviews said that the series is not known in the United States, but the subject matter, the "cruel machinations of high-school age girls" is treated frankly in this "character-driven story". Ross did say that some newcomers to the series may not like the enka which "might be a bit slow and plaintive for Western ears", while saying the music is appropriate, and noted that the series has a "reputation...for having lesbian overtones", adding that the anime is a "classic".