Review of Days with My Stepsister

Days with My Stepsister - Don't, and NEVER, judge a book by its cover. If there's one thing that I absolutely loathe about the AniManga industry of the current age, most particularly of new incoming anime fans since the turn of the COVID pandemic, leasing anime to pretty much just about anyone, it's that humanity's brain cells have slowly lost all reasoning to what makes the series stand out, more than just looking at the cover of a book (say manga or novel) and judging by the assumption that it'll end like so and so. Such is the case with novelist Ghost Mikawa's Gimai Seikatsu a.k.aDays With My Stepsister, which, despite showing off a boy and a girl living together as stepsiblings that could potentially cross into "Sweet Home Alabama" land, is the BIGGEST misconception you could ever have to assume what this series is all about. And it winning the 3rd place in Takarajimasha's annual Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! guidebook in the new work category in 2022, this award in and of itself should say a lot about how the domestic audience really loves the series, and how you, the audience, should feel the same.

The story / plot about complete strangers coming to form a family with different given and family names, these cases may or may not be uncommon to whatever you perceive relationships and marriage to be, but circumstances like divorce are realistic enough that the idea of re-marriage to a different person feels surreal, much less having to call someone who isn’t blood-related their own stepsibling. This is exactly the case for the main stepsibling “couple” of Yuta Asamura and Saki Ayase, of whom their respective parents, the former’s father Taichi and the latter’s mother Akiko, once had a divorce for various reasons, and remarried towards one another, seeking a new life after a past disappointment. Their respective children, on the other hand, must get to know each other, but also keep a distance against each other after seeing the toxic relationship that their now single parent had to deal with, and mutually agreeing not to sow anymore discord in the foundation of the new family. It’s quite the story, if you ask me, taken from real-life examples.

And this is quite the ride for novelist Ghost Mikawa, having seen the project through its paces from its humble beginnings not from the LN, but from it being a mixed-media project starting with the YouTube channel of the same name right around the turn of COVID in April 2020. However, it’s important to note that what came out of the LN is quite different (or inspired) from the content on YouTube, and the latter’s start was derived when the author himself learned of the existence of a reader who had a request to "deeply dig into the daily life of the characters", and was interested in seeing what would happen if he tried to write an unusual work, which was when he decided to write a story depicting the relationship between stepsiblings. Ghost Mikawa may be the original author, but the script of the story is handled by multiple writers, and the writing style of each writer is shown in each script of the videos, so it is often taken as it is.

Regarding the story that the novelist decided to pen on the LN since then (taking excerpts from his interview with Anime Corner), Gimai Seikatsu is basically the result of him formulating a work of art and theme, based on observations, guesswork, and sometimes by confronting himself to find out what kind of problems people in society are facing, what kind of issues they are feeling, and what kind of values they are living under. This is ESPECIALLY important looking within the context of Japan, where its society is suffering from late marriages and domestic problems, and that many individuals are suffocating from problems in love and social interaction due to conflicts, whether on-site or online with the rise of social media and infamy for doxxing. The idea was to depict two ideal people who can overcome such relationship problems firmly and powerfully.

What sets both Yuta and Saki apart are the genetic traits taken straight form their parents: the latter is much more subservient on her own life’s duties, considering that her mother Akiko works in a red-light district effortlessly and tirelessly to raise her, Saki has always been left alone (isolated would be a better word for this) most of the time, and that slowly grew to her being an independent state who doesn’t know when to speak up if she needs to be tended to for help. That’s where Yuta steps in as her opposing equivalent, someone who cares not just for his father, but also the friends around him so much that he is an invaluable partner and confidante in the long run, being someone who serves the need whenever he needs or senses to. Something which Ghost Mikawa himself notes on the “relationship” of both characters, most notably on the “rom-com” genre that the series is painted, is that the romanticization of Yuta and Saki is pretty much intentionally done, not just because he’s not the kind of person who feels that the lovey-dovey stuff would be too “fake” for a story that’s all about people dealing with real-life relationship circumstances, but because he wants to portray the merging of the broken families in a realistic manner and get the audience to see and watch its genuineness as if they're real people, as fictionalized as they are to begin with. From the life-sized daily life situations to fanservice (i.e. not in the way that Masachika Kuze and Yuki Suou’s sibling relationship in RoshiDere is handled) that are just fun and cute, there is a limit on the extent of realism vs. fakery enough to keep the series as entertaining and introspective as it is the way it’s being done. To that, I can tell you that most authors just ham-fist what they think they’re good at, but it takes the psychology to tell apart amateur authors from ones like Ghost Mikawa to write their series as plentiful and immersive as can be to deliver an experience that touches the heart of the human soul.

What the series ultimately sums it all down to is this: “Is it whether the characters have souls or not? No matter how good a plot you have, if the characters are not lovable as human beings, it will not feel like a good story. If you are so preoccupied with technique that you neglect the most important characters, readers will not be pleased with your work.” And I wholeheartedly agree with Ghost Mikawa that his thoughts are right on the log, as the series is basically a daily diary between both Yuta Asamura and Saki Ayase, two complete strangers studying in the same school, with one being an average Joe and the other being like a school Madonna figure of admiration. The young high school adults having to skirt around the realization that the fact of them being stepsiblings will warrant a whole barrage of questions from friends both in school and outside and keeping a mutual agreement on their relationship as nothing more than just the usual family-business-donned brother and sister figure. If both young adults want to keep their relationship as the uncommon status quo, no one is forcing them to become a couple, and this is for the best interests of time, place, and occasion, even if they end up being one in the long run with the approval of both the new-found family and friends around them. And I’ll tell you that I love stories like this that are fictionally unorthodox, but still gives a full hint of realism enough to believe that no stone goes unturned, and every decision has weight that could pay the price in significant ways, if not handled maturely.

Studio Deen has long since been the epitome of bad production cycles, but in the hands of capable people, even 3rd-rate studios can punch out some magnificent animation, as is the case for Gimai Seikatsu. Even though its staff team doesn’t consist of notable people, it’s all under the hands of debut director Souta Ueno to deliver Ghost Mikawa’s expectations to the small screen, and dare I say that he exceeded them. The use of cinematography to tell through the days of the daily diary log, and the always vibrant lights and dark hues that don’t disguise the real-life imitation of realism, this anime is undoubtedly one of the best and most consistently produced shows of the season, and I’m not kidding at all if the beautiful and gorgeous sakuga like this hasn’t gone appreciated by the masses. Props to Souta Ueno and his staff team for their commitment to this passion project of a show.

It’s been a while since we’ve last heard fhána (since Kobayashi-san no Maid Dragon), and while their OP song is definitely a lot on the brighter side, it’s also enticing to a degree that’s just unmistakably fhána. Kitri’s ED is also slow, but smooth-sailing and warmly inviting.

Going back to my main point about Gimai Seikatsu a.k.a Days with My Stepsister, it is a show that you absolutely CANNOT objectify and classify it with other siscon-based works out there (case in point, Ghost Mikawa’s favourite series of all time: OreImo). That said, I will argue that this show does serve a niche target audience that will test the patience and divide the crop into a love-hate affair, aside from the constant complaint of “boringness” of static moments where introspection takes place. It’s a thinking man’s game, yet one that’s intentionally and purposefully bulked with sympathy and empathy enough to put yourself in one’s shoes to see it from their POV, and as I’ve already eluded that this show does so much good to not only respect the adaptation of the LN, but also to restore humanity with its elevation.

Not everything needs to be the abridged version of a fanfic, even at the cusp of pressure, and I just love the anime so much for respecting that basic aim. I respect Ghost Mikawa for not pandering to the masses and knowing his trajectories enough to give us a solid series that’s worth all the immersive enjoyment, and at the end of the day, it's one brillant message: fiction, but with a touch of realism.