Nakahara. Volume 6 Cover Art, Dame Na Watashi Ni Koishite Kudasai R, Shueisha.
Dame na Watashi ni Koishite Kudasai – Information
Author of Story: Aya Nakahara
Chapter Count: 10 Volumes, 40 chapters + Sequel story of 6 volumes, 24 chapters
Status: Completed
Content Warnings
These content warnings do not reflect the contents of the review below; only the literary work itself.
- Mild mature content
- Partial nudity
- Mild mentioning of SI, dying, death
- Mild elements of misogyny / outdated thinking
- Mild depiction of SA
- Very mild usage of disturbing imagery involving horror, blood
- Stalking
Spoiler Disclaimer
This recommendation post may contain small plot spoilers for review purposes. Any major spoilers are hidden by default and are able to be revealed via click or tap.
I happened to start reading this fun josei recently, and although it has a few cons, it turned out to be pretty good and a bit hilarious at times.
Therefore, I decided to write this review post for Dame Na Watashi Ni Koishite Kudasai. This manga follows a heroine that just simply can’t get her life together—and makes some really stupid choices…more than once. Stay with me here, haha.
The premise of this story was refreshing, as we witness a love story with an adult setting, and a character that’s surprisingly relatable. She isn’t the perfect, starry-eyed heroine who’s always sweet and proper.
The main character struggles often, gets taken advantage of, makes dumb choices, and desperately wants to fall in love. This story was so interesting to read and I enjoyed seeing this character crawl her way out of a bad situation that was created by her own mistakes.
If you can overcome some of the less appealing aspects of this story (a slightly frustrating FL, and some outdated thinking on topics of dating/marriage) then you may come to enjoy this manga. It has a great couple dynamic, an interesting plot, a romantic journey for the heroine, and a great form of humor throughout.
Plot Summary
Dame Na Watashi Ni Koishite Kudasai, or Please Love the Useless Me, follows 29 year old Shibata Michiko, who becomes jobless after the company she worked at went bankrupt. In addition to this unexpected joblessness, she was already low on money due to her only source of happiness—splurging and spoiling a handsome younger man.
While Shibata isn’t the brightest in her choices, she simply wants to be happy and also has a good heart (or in other words, she gets scammed easily).
While desperately searching for a job, she happens to run into her old boss from the company, Kurosawa Ayumi. Shibata has always despised Kurosawa, as he was “the devil” when managing her at the company. However, he takes pity on her, and offers her a job at his newly opened cafe. Desperate for money, Shibata agrees!
Nakahara. Volume 8 Cover Art, Dame Na Watashi Ni Koishite Kudasai, Shueisha.
Why I Enjoyed Dame na Watashi ni Koishite Kudasai
Plot:
I really enjoyed this story more than I expected. Although the story seems to have a lot of focus on achieving the usual things in life (marriage, career, money), the overall focus seems to be on happiness. The characters seem to search for their own methods of finding happiness, even if it doesn’t follow the usual expectations of society or those around them.
The romance in this manga was a delightful slow burn, most of which happens later in the story after we witness the main character grow from her old habits.
Although the main chunk of the romance happens within a later set of the chapters, it still feels very natural in terms of progression. Perhaps it would he accurate to call the romance in Dame Na Watashi Ni Koishite Kudasai an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers trope, haha.
Additionally, this manga has a fantastic form of humor. I had a lot of laughs while reading this manga, as the characters are extremely funny, and there’s a lot of unexpected events or dialogue. The characters are witty, relatable, and expressive. Their reactions are funny, and I loved the bickering and banter between Shibata and her ex-enemy (boss).
This is a trope I usually don’t enjoy, but this manga just did it right. If you like that sort of “bickering love” romance trope in josei, check out Dekinai Futari as well!
I did also want to briefly mention the sequel story, Dame Na Watashi Ni Koishite Kudasai R. The “R” stands for “returns,” as the sequel features more of the main duo’s antics after they are officially a couple. Personally, I’ll say that the sequel story is a 50-50.
While it does have a lot of cute couple moments and sweetness, it also contains some unnecessary plot involving love rivals and a strange running joke about gaining weight. However, if you enjoy the first story and want to see more of this goofy, bickering couple, go ahead and enjoy the additional 6 volumes of sequel plot.
Characters:
Typically I find female leads with personalities like Shibata’s annoying, but for some reason I ended up enjoying the story a lot regardless of her character type. The characters around her support her in ways that are appropriate for her personality, so in the end her character didn’t feel that bad to me.
Plus, even though she makes really dumb choices, she does have good intentions in the end, often recognizes when she’s in the wrong, and works hard to right those wrongs. It was nice to see Shibata slowly turn her life around.
I liked the representation of an adult woman character who doesn’t have her life together. Although it can be annoying to witness a character making a lot of dumb choices, Shibata is at least able to recognize her own mistakes and often learns from them.
Next we have the demon boss Kurosawa. His character was very funny, and a little bit mysterious. He was also kind of a tsundere, but that just made his character’s personality and reactions even funnier. I liked the depth to his personality—rather than just being the “kind ML,” we got to learn of his past, aspirations, and struggles, too.
He’s the type of character who gives a unique form of tough love, yet sometimes reveals a softer side. He also surprisingly plays along with the antics of the other characters without too much objection, which was an aspect of his character I really liked.
While I won’t spend too much time on each individual side character, I will say I enjoyed many of them. The supporting characters all play a unique and important role in Dame Na Watashi Ni Koishite Kudasai, and I really liked the variety of character types.
Art:
The art style of this series isn’t absolutely amazing or anything, but I never felt as though it fell short. It follows the usual josei-shoujo style, and is a bit on the simpler side. Because this story was originally published in 2013, the art style feels neither old nor modern.
Although it doesn’t really stand out among other art styles, it still allows the story to be portrayed properly, and I did enjoy the variety in character design. Additionally, this manga artist has a unique skill in illustrating character emotions and expressions. I really enjoyed seeing all the different faces of this fun character cast!
Nakahara. Volume 4 Cover Art, Dame Na Watashi Ni Koishite Kudasai, Shueisha.
Any Cons?
- As I mentioned before, the FL can be a bit of a dunce, very often making avoidable mistakes. Her stupid choices may annoy you, so here’s your warning. If it helps, those bad choices are primarily at the beginning of the story, and she does improve as the story progresses.
- I think some readers may consider the male lead’s niceness too convenient for the story, or that his character is “too perfect.” While his kindness is indeed convenient for the progression of the story, I do think he had plenty of faults that were explored in the story.
- Unfortunately, this manga has huge emphasis on the need for or importance of a relationship, which could also partially be a cultural thing (not that I’m an expert on that or anything). It repeatedly asserts that because Shibata has no marriage prospects nor any real talent for a career, she is “no good” or “useless.” This made me a little sad for her, and I also don’t think that either of those things are necessary for every person to achieve happiness.
Final Thoughts
I really enjoyed this fun josei story. Dame Na Watashi Ni Koishite Kudasai had a lot of unexpected and sort-of unhinged events and characters, which made it really funny and unique. I enjoyed the slow burn romance and bickering between the main couple, which is something rather new for me.
This manga also had an interesting storyline even outside the romance. I enjoyed seeing the heroine grow as a person. Additionally, the character cast was a huge blend of unique and diverse personalities, so there was always something interesting happening. Overall, it was a read I enjoyed!
Disclaimer: Any images used for this blog are for illustrative purposes only, are not owned by me, and are under ownership of the artist or publisher.
Images Credit: Nakahara, Aya. Dame na Watashi ni Koishite Kudasai, Margaret Comics, Shueisha, 2013. Dame na Watashi ni Koishite Kudasai R, Margaret Comics, Shueisha, 2016.
