Kimi wa Pet by Yayoi Ogawa
Published on May 8, 2000 to Oct 25, 2005
Genre: Josei, Romance
14 Volumes, 82 Chapters
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Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (8 out of 10)

Fed-up with a life of being under-appreciated and disrespected, Sumire Iwaya decides to change things when she picks up a young boy off the street and brings him into her house. Despite being total opposites, the two seem to complement one another as they try to carve out an ordinary life for themselves.

Review

WARNING: This review contains some spoilers so read at your own risk.

I first heard of this story when I stumbled upon a jdrama which was based on this manga a few years ago. I really find the idea of a person being someone else’s pet amusing. I know what you’re thinking, wahahaha. This one isn’t kinky at all, it was actually pretty wholesome.

Kimi wa pet is a story of Sumire who stumbled upon a box containing a young Takeshi. She fed him and found out that he had nowhere to go. Takeshi wants to stay, but he can only stay if he becomes her pet. Thinking that saying such preposterous things would discourage Takeshi, Sumire was surprised he agreed. Both of their lives after that encounter changed forever. Was it for good or bad?

This story started with introducing Sumire who I would say is a perfect example of a “strong independent woman”. That would have been a great thing right? Unfortunately because of it, her boyfriend of 5 years cheated on her and made her feel that it was all because of her that it had happened. She is also not that well liked in their office because she looks really stiff and strict. But her life took a turn after taking in Takeshi whom she’d named Momo, which was her dead pet’s name.

Kimi wa pet is quite a lengthy read for a josei so it includes a lot of scenes not only focusing about the relationship between the main characters but also about some of the side characters as well. And speaking of characters, this story has a lot of them so I find it hard to keep track of them sometimes. Just like most manga that I’ve read, Kimi wa pet has a lot of very funny scenes that left me laughing my heart out. Maannn! I still can’t stop myself from laughing just thinking about those scenes, lol.

Aside from the happy ones, Kimi wa pet had a lot of scenes that I really hated. Unfortunately this story contains one of the things I hate in romance, which is the third party. I just keep on hating the other girl that I also ended up hating the other love interest of Sumire as well. He was actually a pretty ideal guy and I love how he reacts to Sumire. You can really see how he adores her, plus they really look good together. He can be pretty funny too lol, just too bad he wasn’t able to keep that image for me until the end. Although I kind of pity him a little in the end.

As for the main character Sumire, I really liked my first impression of her. She’s a really tough chick and she doesn’t accept b*llsh*t. She can be really harsh at times but I guess that’s just how she is. Little by little, I’ve got to really see the real her and why she’s like that. She looks really tough but she can be fragile too. I really like her character, but I just hated how she can’t always voice out her real feelings and how she always delays informing her boyfriend about her pet, that in the end, I don’t think he ever found out.  I also liked Momo’s influence on her, ever since they were living together as master and pet, Sumire was finally able to create connections with other people and express herself. I just find it really interesting getting to know her character in each chapter.

Momo on the other hand is very fun to read. I usually don’t like childish characters, but his childishness is not in an annoying way. He is also very outgoing so it’s hard to imagine those hardships he experienced in the past and in the present too. When he’s with Sumire, he’s very childish and playful which makes him look like a real pet dog, lol. He ran away from home. That’s why he doesn’t have a place of his own, so despite his age you could say that he knows a lot about life. I guess he also has this promiscuous side to him, but I think it was only seen around 2 times while I was reading this story. He’s years younger than Sumire but he taught her a lot of things. I also LOVE how he loves Sumire so much, I just can’t imagine how he’s been feeling all those times while Sumire is still in a relationship with her boyfriend, who is also her first love.

As for the romance, I guess it’s already pretty obvious who’s going to be the main couple right? There were a lot of annoying characters who really irritated me but I guess that just helps Sumire realize whom she really wants to be with. The hint is actually there in its early chapters, but I like how the mangaka transitioned her feelings until she finally realized that she’s in love. Their official relationship started in a long distance romance, but I love how the two of them made it work. I particularly like their virtual date, it was really cute. I also love the fact that the two of them didn’t sacrifice anything in their life just to make their relationship work, even though it could mean that they’ll be in a long distance relationship.

I also love the fact that this manga didn’t just end after the two of them were finally in a relationship but we’ve got to read more! It didn’t just focus on the relationship between the two but also the friendship between Sumire and her best friend. Actually, this manga didn’t just show me romance, but it also gave me life lessons and realizations that we could apply in our daily life. We’ve also got to read about friendships between the characters and work life (especially about relationships between coworkers). Isn’t that nice?

Kimi wa pet is highly recommended for every romance lover. I am certain that this will really entertain you, *wink.

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BOOK SHELF: JOSEI

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