This Show is…Good? The Observation Deck: Days With My Stepsister

7 min readSep 23, 2024

Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

When words fail, it is often we rely on other forms of communication. In the silence, there is body language, perspective, the sight of loved ones. Through corridors and doorframes, we see each other. Strangers? Maybe.

Step-sibling relationships have become something of a strange fetish for many. Be it plastered across literal pornography sites or in really bad romance adaptations, the scenario appears in many places throughout modern media. Anime, itself sharing a bit of a strange relationship with pornography given how many animators get their start making hentai, is no stranger to this either.

One of the most famous examples, at least within the community, is the early 2010s series Oreimo which features a brother and sister duo. Brother Kyousuke hasn’t really gotten along with sister Kirino since their childhood. However, Kyousuke one day finds out about his sister’s…rather interesting hobby. That is, she is a big fan of sibling x sibling relationship “media.” The two then spend the rest of the series growing closer as they bond over Kirino’s hobby. Misunderstandings occur, hilarity ensues, the two have feelings for each other, the end.

Almost nothing about Oreimo’s subject matter is handled with any degree of sincerity or seriousness. It’s a comedy, after all. Our main hero and heroine are the setup and the situation is the punchline. However, Days With My Stepsister is much the opposite. While billed as a romantic comedy, and admittedly does have some pretty funny moments, the step-sibling dynamic between main characters Yuta and Saki is done much more seriously.

Yuta’s dad and Saki’s mom have recently gotten married, and now the four of them are moving into together. Unsure of what this dynamic will be like going forward, the now brother and sister have a conversation, essentially agreeing that they will expect nothing out of this new relationship. After all, they’re related now, but still basically strangers. That changes as time goes on. Little by little, they begin relying on each other until eventually, they find a sort of comfort in one another. Romantic? Who’s to say, really?

Framing the Conversation

Outside the bounds of a shared apartment, the show is very open with its shot composition. Every angle is available, every character can be seen from every direction. The streets of downtown shine from billboards and streetlights. The neighborhood is a resounding mix of flora and various streetways.

The inside of their home, well, that’s a different story. Inside the walls of their new home, there is a level of constriction. Characters, by which I mean primarily Yuta and Saki, are viewed through the main hallway and open doorways. It is through these tiny openings we often see the two of them grow closer. The doorway is open but their relationship is still largely closed off.

Outside the more purposeful angles which the show uses to frame said characters, the art direction is decidedly more minimalist. Rather than throwing colors at a wall to see what sticks, backgrounds and designs remain rather basic, allowing more focus on the characters which serve to drive the main narrative.

The Parents

Mom and dad are not as present in the story as a whole. Not exactly a new deal in anime, but still noteworthy. Their presence is made known in the first episode, explaining there newfound situation while simultaneously introducing our teenage leads. After that, they pretty much fade into the background.

Their primary relevance come in their small but meaningful interactions sprinkled throughout the series, and in their interest in seeing both Yuta and Saki act more like a “family.” In particular, Yuta’s growing relationship with Saki’s mom through his attempts at trying to look out for her at school brings the two of them together, to the point that she even offers to go to their parent-teacher conferences on separate days so that other students won’t find out about them being step-siblings.

Yuta’s dad feels the least developed out of all of them, but even his presence at breakfast in the morning dawdling over Saki helps bring home the point of the series. The two of them lacked a parental figure of the opposite sex, and were themselves alone without any siblings. To find comfort in those things now is new. Not unwelcomed, but still strange.

Love? Maybe.

Most impressively about Days With My Stepsister is how it manages to tackle the budding romantic feelings between Yuta and Saki in a way that is both honest and multidimensional. What could have been a devolution into obvious jokes is instead a genuine look at the psyche and situation of these characters.

As previously mentioned, both Yuta and Saki grew up as only children. Thus their relationships outside of those with immediately family remain distant at best. Both of them have few in the way of close friends (Maaya for Saki and Tomokazu for Yuta) and generally keep to themselves. There relationship starts out as one closer to strangers, not just because they literally are, but because their capacity to invite new people into their lives is severely limited.

The immediate closeness which comes with living together, sharing parents, and seeing each other almost every day brings with it a development in the shared philosophy of self-reliance. Rather than stick it out alone, the two form a mutually beneficially deal: Yuta helps Saki study and look for a job, and Saki in turn helps with making meals. There is a surprising grip the story has in watching these two open up to each other, sharing stories of the past as well as making new memories in the present. Considering just how well this brother and sister combo understand each other, it makes sense why they would develop strong feelings.

Strong feelings doesn’t always necessitate romance, however, and the show does a great job at engaging with that subject matter, as well. By the end, the two leads both understand there is a bit more going on with there emotions than just friendship, the social ramifications of which are much worse than people at school knowing they are step-siblings. Saki deals with this much more heavily, but Yuta is confused all the same. So much so that he ends up confiding in a female classmate from cram school named Kaho, and it is through her that he is able to be honest with himself.

The final scene of the series depicts Yuta admitting to having a crush on Saki, something she never believed would happen. The two go through more or less all the stages of grief, ending with both of them on the floor of Saki’s room, still confused, but ok with the situation. Whether or not the feelings are romantic or just a lack of emotional vulnerability, they’ll figure it out. Together.

Conclusion

Days With My Stepsister isn’t a show that everyone needs to watch. It is, however, a show with a lot of complexity and emotionally insight. Far from a bad porn parody, the series takes the concept of a romantic step-sibling relationship and engages with it wholeheartedly. What started as a joke watch for myself quickly became something impressive and dignified, a wild sentence to sit here and write given the title and marketing. So yeah, watch it or don’t, but for those who choose to do so, feel free to raise your expectations just a tad bit.

87/100

Did anyone else bother to finish this series? Let me know in the comments.

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