At first glance, Bambi to Dhole is an incredibly stereotypical shoujo. You have a two-faced main heroine who acts super sweet on the outside but is actually kind of rude, and a male lead who appears to be a "lone-wolf" on the outside but is actually incredibly sweet and caring. However, it quickly evolved into something much more meaningful and mature than your typical high school romance. The emphasis on family and feeling like you belong is reminiscent of Taiyou no Ie (House of Light) and as a whole works to make the story incredibly moving.

The story on its own is relatively forgettable: you have an outwardly sweet girl, Tobe "Bambi" Yukimi, who disguises her feelings, and a semi-aggressive guy, Nagasawa Tetsu, who turns out to be a huge family-guy. It is revealed early on in the story that Yukimi is adopted and therefore doesn't feel as though she fits in around her family, and Tetsu is actually father to a 3 year-old son, Raichi. These elements could quickly send a story astray if undeveloped, but Bambi to Dhole really develops each aspect of the plot in spite of its brevity. The story moves quickly though realistically, and helps to develop themes of change and belonging while remaining enjoyable and interesting.

However, where Bambi to Dhole really shines is in character development. For a short manga of only 21 chapters, it is incredibly surprising to find characters that grow as much as Yukimi and Tetsu. Yukimi in particular started off as incredibly obnoxious to me, however I was soon surprised with her maturity and determination to change. Her character transcends many shoujo cliches, such as being indecisive or avoidant, and she handles her problems realistically which makes her all the more relatable. Although she undoubtedly does cry a pretty decent amount, it's always believable. She changes to tackle her issues with her friends and Tetsu by talking to them straight-out, so many problems that would have become nothing but sources for drama in other shoujos here only serve to develop her character further. As a result, by the end of the manga, Yukimi has become incredibly relatable and admirable in comparison to her old self. Much of this change is attributed to the presence of Tetsu, who serves as a kind of anchor for Yukimi and serves as a caring presence who encourages her to talk about her feelings more. In the process, Tetsu also develops, moving on from his past love and accepting the changes that come his way.

The relationships between the characters are equally developed, most notably being with Tetsu, Yukimi, their friends, and their families. As the series progresses, Yukimi starts to open up to her friends more, and the friendship they display is really touching and it feels very real. Although they may display jealousy or momentary anger, they always accept one another for each's faults and make up with a hug. Yukimi also starts to open up to her family, allowing them to see parts of her character that she normally would have covered up with a smile. Tetsu shows similar developments: he quickly becomes friends with the class and cherishes Raichi. He also ends up moving on from his past love, learning to accept and live with his feelings while falling in love with Yukimi. THe relationship between Yukimi and Tetsu is incredibly touching because it starts out as so much more than just romance (in fact, I almost wished it had stayed just a friendship sometimes) and they just really helped one another to grow.

One minor complaint would just be the art and the style of the manga. There were a lot of flashbacks, some of which seemed awkwardly placed, and the art was relatively generic. However, these flaws were far overshadowed by the complexity of the characters and the plot.

In conclusion, Bambi to Dhole shows incredible maturity and development when addressing themes of family and acceptance. As Yukimi and Tetsu grow, they learn so much about one another and the people around them, and manage to open up to the important people in their lives and each other. The story was shown in a very realistic way, in spite of the mature ideas of child parenting and being an orphan which have sometimes been abused in other manga. As a whole, Bambi to Dhole really managed to positively develop the relationship between two relatively broken people in a way that helped them to not only to accept themselves but also allow everyone else the same opportunity.