Stepsister Romance! Should You Watch Gimai Seikatsu?

If you asked me why I prefer shin’ya anime over the testosterone-infused shounen genre, it’s mainly because of the enormous variety late-night anime offers fans. The late-night anime genre is like a magic bag that can bring forth any story imaginable, including stories like Gimai Seikatsu, an enjoyable slow-burn romance about a boy and his new younger stepsister. Let’s check out this gorgeous anime in this post!

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Stepsister Romance with Gimai Seikatsu! Should You Watch It?

Yuuta is a boy whose father has recently remarried, giving him a stepsister named Saki. When Yuuta and Saki meet for the first time, they’re both nervous about setting the proper boundaries. To keep things from getting too messy, they stick to using formal language with each other.

Yuuta and Saki are both emotionally “broken” because of past traumas. Yuuta’s mother cheated on his father, breaking up their happy home. Saki’s father was also unfaithful, failing to support the family emotionally or financially. Eventually, Saki’s mother filed for divorce and started working nights at bars to make ends meet. Because of this, Yuuta and Saki both view the idea of love and marriage with suspicion.

The marketing for the Days With My Stepsister light novel series was genius. Wanting to bring his stories to a younger audience, writer Ghost Mikawa worked with a voice acting agency to create regular short videos on YouTube featuring static art from the light novels and proper voice performances. The short videos made it easy for fans to get to know the characters without the expense of animation. Additionally, fans could engage with the writer via YouTube comments. This seems to have brought a lot of attention to the novels.

I’m enjoying the anime for several reasons. First is its realistic approach to storytelling and character building. In a medium where so many characters easily fit into boxes like tsundere, boke/tsukkomi, blonde-haired rich girl with an ohohohoho! laugh, moe side character with glasses and so on, the characters in Days With My Stepsister feel more authentic. I also like how the story takes place over a set time, with each episode having a date stamp. We often experience events twice, once as viewers, then a second time, as Saki records them in her diary, giving us access to her inner dialogue.

A Gorgeous Anime with Interesting Structure, but…

The love triangle that develops between Yuuta, Saki and Shiori Yomiuri, Yuuta’s senpai who works with him at a bookstore, is fun to watch. While the bulk of the story is focused on Saki, I really like the side character of Shiori. Her attraction to the younger Yuuta is clear to us. That they can quote their favorite lines from the same book shows what a good couple they could make.

If you’re thirsty to see rampant sisterfucking as we got in Oreimo or Yosuga no Sora, you’d be better served with a different show. In the current anime season, Tokidoki Bosotto Russia-go de Dereru Tonari no Alya-san or Oshi no Ko might be worth your time. The slow-build romance between Yuuta and Saki are building might have too little payoff for some impatient fans.

There’s another problem. There are eleven light novels in Japanese, with only four released in English. This means there’s a huge amount of potential material for the anime. Anime watchers will either be waiting years to see the story unfold, or will get the standard “thanks for watching! Now go read the novels to find out if they start having sex.”

Gorgeous Visuals and Character Design

The animation by the venerable Studio Deen is gorgeous to watch. The show is so beautiful visually that I try to avoid watching episodes on my phone, instead sitting down in front of a proper TV to watch. One reason the characters are so gorgeous is that the art and character designs for the light novels were done by hentai artist Hiten. This explains why I’m fascinated with the level of detail put into each of the characters, right down to the fashions they wear. It’s great to see one of my favorite artists hit the big time!

Should you watch Gimai Seikatsu? If you like the drama created when a stepsister and stepbrother are attracted to each other, sure. If you love gorgeous visuals and a psychological approach to character construction, then check out the show. Just understand that Days With My Stepsister isn’t going to give you the sexual thrills that some other imouto-focused anime series might offer. It also won’t create a ridiculous self-insert fantasy for you like The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, which was enjoyable but not the least bit realistic.

Thanks for reading this blog post about the Gimai Seikatsu anime series. If you had a stepsister, would you want to romance her? Give us your thoughts on this anime below!