Anime Summer 2024: DAYS WITH MY STEPSISTER, Relax, Calm Down, Get to Know One Another

Sometimes, we all have to slow down.

Days with My Stepsister
The first two episodes are now streaming on Crunchyroll. Subsequent episodes will debut every Thursday.

As much as I enjoy fast-paced, action-packed thrillers, I also prize gentle movies and television shows that are exquisitely crafted and flesh out their characters in recognizable settings and relatable situations.

Adapted from a mixed-media project created by Ghost Mikawa, per Wikipedia, Days with My Stepsister delicately sets up its premise, which could go in any number of "wacky" directions, by introducing Yuta, 17 years old, who is told by his father that he will be marrying a woman who will be moving in with her own daughter.

What Yuta doesn't realize until his new stepmother and stepsister Saki arrive is that Saki is also 17 years old. In fact, she attends the same school as Yuta, where she is known as a cool, stylish beauty who is stand-offish to everyone.

Through the first two episodes, what I enjoyed most is the development of the characters. It's easy to see why Yuta's father and Saki's mother were attracted to one another, since they are of a similar, easy-going disposition, and are always putting the interests of others ahead of their own. Yuta and Saki are clearly children who have been raised by kind and polite parents, so there is no instant drama when they move in together and get to know one another, at school and at home.

Yet, Saki continually undervalues herself, which is the root of her reputation at school, and something that she manifests in her developing relationship with Yuta. In other words, don't really try to get to know me; I'm not worth your time or attention.

It's a delicate, sad layer that is folded into the series' beautiful, highly-detailed, precise animation, through which the characters walk and interact, sometimes with surprisingly deliberate movements; they don't want to disturb anyone else by their actions, which is reflected in their taking pains to quiet themselves and restrain their emotions.

I'm tempted to describe Days with My Stepsister as an arthouse anime, due to its quiet nature, but it's more broadly appealing than many adult dramas tend to be. It's almost as though the show was built by the gentle caress of butterfly wings, flapping gently in a cool summer breeze.