The Shiunji Family Children

Having watched 'Shiunji-ke no Kodomotachi' weekly for the past three months, a question has persistently lingered in my mind: 'Is my past experience with Reiji Miyajima's previous work making me unfairly critical of this anime? Perhaps it isn't as bad as I think, and I'm unconsciously nitpicking more than I typically do with other Harem-RomComs?' I believe these are valid questions. In this review, I will outline what I think went wrong with 'Shiunji-ke no Kodomotachi' and what ultimately makes this anime so frustrating to watch. Art and Animation (9/10): I've decided to discuss the positive aspects first. In my opinion, the art is undeniably the strongestelement of this show, a point I don't believe is debatable. I've always appreciated Reiji Miyajima's artistic style; he possesses a flair and creativity that makes his characters visually appealing. This, combined with excellent animation and a well-chosen vibrant color palette, results in the high production quality this show offered. To put it simply, the animation quality was S tier. It remained consistently high from the first to the twelfth episode. Furthermore, I found the visual execution of the opening song particularly impressive for this genre. They could have easily opted for a more grounded approach, like many recent harems which often feature a simple sequence of everyone dancing side by side throughout the entire song. I'm glad they chose a more creative and engaging option. Audio and Soundtracks (8.25/10): The second and third best aspects of 'Shiunji-ke no Kodomotachi' are the voice acting and the opening song. The voice acting and cast selection were pretty straightforward. To my surprise, Umehara Yuuichirou fit into Arata's character quite well, especially considering it's a role that differs significantly from his more familiar work. The female voice actors were also fine, with a special mention for Hana Hishikawa, who voiced Minami. I thought she did exceptionally well. The opening song was good. While I'm not listening to it on repeat, it was enjoyable enough that I didn't skip it on several occasions. The ending song, however, was pretty average for the genre. Plot and Characters(5.5/10): I generally do not mind when common tropes are thrown into a harem or a rom-com anime. Actually, a lot of times they can make the experience better if they are used in a clever way. The same goes for the usual character types. I mean, types like the tsundere childhood friend, the onee-san, or the tomboy have been around in anime, VNs, mangas for like, ages. So for me to get annoyed by tropes and seeing the same character types means one of two things: either they used them badly or they just used them way too much. And in Shiunji-ke no Kodomotachi's case, they kinda did both. The main story idea isn't as complicated as some other "wannabe incest" shows. Right from the start, it tries to be serious but fails pretty hard because it keeps using tropes in the most annoying way possible. Let's just talk about the obvious thing first. This show has 7 siblings, 2 brothers and 5 sisters. But honestly, with how little we see of Shion, they could have just skipped his character completely. None of the sisters have a crush on him, and he barely shows up in each episode for maybe a minute or two. The longest he talked was probably when he tells his brother, just to make it easy for us to understand, how all his sisters are kind of amazing and are all 'Takane no Hana', you know, if I say it in Japanese. That scene was just not good. You don't talk to your brother about your sisters like that. He already knows that stuff. And when I said they used the tropes too much, I wasn't kidding at all, especially when it comes to Banri and Seiha. I know we haven't seen their arc in the anime yet, but at least they could have made how they act around Arata a bit more believable. I really didn't like how everything about their character felt fake. Like they were just there for fanservice. They could have easily cut out some of the fanservice for Seiha and Banri because it kind of distracts you for a bit, and then right away you're back to Ouka or Minami's story where things are actually happening. The main characters, at least for this first season, felt like Ouka, Minami, and Arata. I thought both Minami and Ouka's story parts were okay, not like I didn't cringe when Ouka said that "Can siblings be soulmates?". But still, at least the story moved forward in their parts. Arata was just a perfect example of a harem guy who doesn't stick to his own personality and keeps doing things that don't make sense for his character. He keeps saying "That won't happen because we are family, nothing will change because we have been family for 15 years," Yet, the moment Banri presses her breasts against him or reveals a hint of cleavage, he becomes flustered and bashful. What troubles me most about this show is its attempt to straddle a middle ground. It tries to be both dramatic and realistic about the dilemma of romantic relationships between siblings while simultaneously adhering to the conventions of a typical harem anime with an oblivious male lead and stereotypical female leads. I believe it would have been significantly better without the step-sibling element. That plot point was essentially irrelevant in Kotono and Minami's arcs. As soon as they learned Arata wasn't blood-related, they immediately concluded they would try to win him over. I prefer anime that fully commits to either an incestuous narrative with blood-related leads or a standard harem setup with unrelated individuals. I think the latter approach would have worked perfectly with the existing cast of characters in this show. Overall (6.25/10): Now, let's revisit the very reason this anime is frustrating to watch. It's because I think it had the potential to be something memorable. The art, the animation, and the direction were all top-notch. However, the story and characters were so predictable and insignificant that these good aspects are significantly overshadowed by the poor writing. I might have still recommended this if the jokes were consistently funny, allowing it to be enjoyed as a comedy-heavy romance show, but that's not the case. It's neither a good harem nor a good comedy. Only consider watching this if you have absolutely nothing else to watch or if you simply want to admire some exceptionally well-drawn 2D waifus. Thank you for reading ^⁠_⁠^

This series exists for the same reason Rent-a-Girlfirend never ends. Miyajima loves money. Let's break this down. Obviously the children are not blood related, except for the younger brother with one of the girls, but he doesn't appear much and has a girlfriend anyway. They get told what was obviously shocking, but of course nothing changes their 16-year-old relationship, right? Literally 5 minutes later they're all into the main character! All girls are blank stereotypes: Tsundere, Imouto, Tomboy, Nerd, and Onee-san. That's their character, nothing more or less. Well, even the girls in Rent-a-Girlfriend had more character. Their only problem is, oh no, I'm in lovewith my former brother. The story is aweful, really, there are no story lines you didn't see multiple times in other RomComs and their adaptation of them isn't good or even new. Then, and maybe that's something personal. In Rent-a-Girlfriend and this Anime there are always some NPCs who have to do expositional dialogue about how beautiful and sexy the girls are. Why? That's so cringe. Last words to Doga Koba. I really like the studio, Oshi no Ko and Jellyfish look great, but this isn't their best work.

“Let me cut right to the chase…you’re not actual siblings.” Just from this line alone, you should know exactly what type of anime you’re getting into. Pick right here and now if this is worth your time. This entire thing is…comically incoherent. Something about multiple characters with completely different hair and eye colors being shell-shocked at not being blood-related. Something about the siblings’ dynamics completely changing at the mention of 4 words, going from familial and platonic to romantic and intimate in the span of weeks if not days. Something about a character that lived 15 years of their life as siblings saying “We siblings couldget married now, I guess?” or another character remarking how all of her other sisters are now “rivals” in her pursuit of love for the brother. You’ll come to an epiphany very quickly that either every character needs group therapy or the author of this work is a tool. Then you discover that it’s BOTH. Guess who’s truly the one in control? Reiji Miyajima, the author of the infamous Rent-A-Girlfriend. The Shiunji Family Children is a mess you’ll either indulge in the nonsense of or long to pull all your hair out at it. Yes, it’s another incesty show that makes you deeply concerned remembering Japan’s deep history with inbreeding. This time, it’s an incest taboo romance harem series “without the incest”, but I still felt some intrigue brewing. See, the series wants to focus on the subject of a group’s family worldview changing overnight; it actually wants to make conversations happen. How would siblings feel about living 15 years as family only to learn it was all a lie? If you learned your family was adopted, what topics would you expect? “What about my real parents? What happened to my relatives from before? Am we all really family?” Maybe there are identity issues and feelings of detachment. Look, you can do a lot with a premise like this: build heartfelt development, dive into emotions and conflicting perspectives around the family dynamic, get into the character of these different girls, and bring bits of dumb fun along the way as despite the changes, their bonds for each other grows. Hell, maybe even a romance can bloom. Rather than any thoughtful conversation and perspective that may be engaging, there’s one main conclusion: The siblings can now freely fall in love. That’s the entire show’s thesis. It defaults to being another seasonal slop RomCom Harem. There is no difference in identity or reaction. Every unique family conversation is rushed or skipped over. Everyone and everything falls just in place for the “Sibling” Harem to flourish, and it becomes boring, repetitive and unfulfilling fast. Let’s focus on the brothers first. First, there’s Arata, our main character and older brother. Arata is a breath of fresh air from Reiji’s previous cuckold r/incels protagonist. He actually has responsibilities, hobbies, and character outside of getting his willy wonked. However, the audience quickly identifies him as a harem everyman pulling a weird case of “having the most incoherent personality possible by doing things he never signified any interest in before“. Once “not-blood related” gets announced, he’s too busy going “damn my sis really is hot OIJSIOFWJIOEFIJOWE WHY AM I THINKING ABOUT MY SISTER LIKE THAT?!” to have any sort of identity or character growth. His sister will appear and the camera will focus on their bodies while he thinks about how they're attractive, something he never did or even entertained before. He'll then say a cool line to make his sisters blush. Arata doesn’t exist as a character. He exists as a device for the viewer to insert themselves into and admire the girls’ bodies every single episode. And it happens. Every. Single. Episode. Then there’s the younger brother, Shion. You’ll be surprised to see he actually doesn’t look or act like a walking caricature. However, be warned. His role solely exists to mask the series’ harem premise. You may think that there’s a potentially complex situation that could occur in which both brothers confront relationships of the family, each having their different personal ideals and stories with the sisters. TOO BAD! That would actually make the story interesting! Shion is barely involved in the story dilemma and is immediately established to be the “push Arata toward his sisters” character. Also don’t worry! For whatever reason, NONE of the sisters are into him. They’re ONLY into the older brother. Hell, give Shion a girlfriend that never appears in the story! Just for safety measure! We can’t have another instance of fan cucking in a Reiji Miyajima work! Then, there are the tropes, love interests, or sisters. They do have good-looking designs, but every single girl boils down to a one-word romcom harem archetype. Look, dumb harem tropes can be fun and work for some dudes, but the tropes are so poorly handled once you see the following background: they’ve lived as siblings for 15 years. They then immediately go against any behavior that was set up before to fall for the brother’s bone. All of their identities revolve around Arata. Banri, the caring onee-san starts with the “a brother and a sister together…hmm♡♡” teasing gimmick shortly after “not blood-related” gets announced, and Arata’s shocked and flustered reactions hint as if she didn’t pull bits like this before in the 15 years they lived as siblings. Ouka, the tsundere and “twin that’s on a similar wavelength as Arata” *EXTREMELY_LOUD_INCORRECT_BUZZER.mp3* immediately has a cumbersome and awkward dynamic with Arata once “not-blood-related” gets announced, becoming increasingly irrational and agitating as the story progresses. What a twin, am I right? The tomboy Minami…exists. Any solid sibling dynamic or character story is malleable to further the harem premise. I could rant about Kodomo’s character role all day. The shy girl Kodomo actually has potential. She's the “baby sibling” nobody takes seriously. Everyone tells her “you’re still young” as if she isn’t a measly 3-4 years younger than the oldest sister (18) and the same age (15) as 2 other characters. You may be thinking "wait, a wide family subject around not being taken seriously in arbitrary familial structures? This could be great character writing!" The series will completely bomb it because it only exists for MORE INCEST!!!!! Kodomo’s a different beast than the other girls; she already confessed her love for Arata before even knowing they weren’t blood-related and paved the path of incest. The series will have scenes hint at diving into another topic of confusing familial attraction with romantic love…and the characters do nothing with it afterward. They, instead, let her feelings fester and explode to the point she views her own sisters as rivals. Nobody talks or communicates in this show like an actual sibling, let alone an actual person. However, the most confusing girl of this series has to be Seiha. Seiha’s the typical “smart girl” trope. Rather than any character growth or development, her little screentime is dedicated to 2 things: 1) fanservice and 2) confronting the subject of incest in a serious manner. Rather than any focus on family and psychology, she focuses on incest. With REAL LIFE ARGUMENTS. She pulls up Japanese Civil Codes, Biological theory, aversion to familial scents, heart-rate experiments, and even the fact that marriage between cousins isn’t unheard of (completely ignoring how its prevalence is decreasing). So because they’re not biologically related, by her own words, “it’s certainly possible for us to have sexual relations.” Seiha is less a character and more a cute girl to communicate the writer’s confirmation bias around the taboo of incest to explain why people who’ve grown up as siblings could reasonably start seeing each other as bed partners once by Seiha’s words “the word Incest is removed”. I’m not even kidding, this is the series’ crutch. Its magnum opus. If we’re going to actually apply REAL LIFE ARGUMENTS to this dumb fictional fantasy and make people turn on their brains, then we’ll use REAL LIFE ARGUMENTS to ruin this dumb fictional fantasy: the Westermarck Effect. Just search up the Westermarck Effect and you’ll figure out how “aversion to familial scents” was independent of genetic relatedness. Therefore, the life you lived and these behaviors noted are hardwired in biology, psychology, and social learning as “incest”. Removing the blood wouldn’t immediately make people start seeing their “brother” or “sister” as a subject for love and sex. The entire setup of 5 different sisters falling in love with one brother is so statistically impossible it’s not even worth arguing for, but hey, it's fiction. So in the world of fiction in which people turn off their brains for dumb fun fantasy, why have a character go “when you actually turn on your brain and think about it in real life Japan” while drastically failing in the process? For the few times she exists in the story, Seiha sounds like a “150 IQ” redditor trying to figure out an online argument on something inherently wrong. Her experiments only go the direction of “incest” because the author makes them work. The shitty harem setup is actually based in possible reality! The cute smart girl said so! (she’s wrong btw) The Shiunji Family aren’t siblings; not just in a blood-related sense or a loving sense, but in a “the author doesn’t know how to write an actual family dynamic to save his life” sense. The dialogue is painful. The siblings act like they’re in a school friend group rather than a close family. They talk like they’re implanted with memories given to them by the writer rather than actual individuals with a long background. If you took a shot every time a character hit another over the head with “we’ve bonded as siblings for 15 years”, you’d still be less drunk than the producers that greenlit this show. The series constantly has to remind you that they’ve lived their whole lives as siblings because it can’t write actual congruent characters interacting with familial chemistry. It’s like the series wanted to add the taboo to a harem without actually creating the atmosphere needed for such a setup to be believable. It’s just a bunch of different fodder characters that coexist in the same house. This is yet another “pick your waifu” series, but it actually wants to be something more. It hints at wanting to have characters address dilemmas and ideas, but it bombs the topics and never actually commits to anything due to being too harem-focused. It never challenge itself or have characters challenge each other. The story arcs the characters have only serve to further the incest. The story events drive at a snail’s pace and is all over the pace. The comedy is lame and cookie-cutter so it’s not even funny. It toes the lines on the taboo while doing barebones to be different. But the worst part out of ALL of this, is that it’s boring. Other than girls for a waifu-loving audience, production value, and "not being Rent-A-Girlfriend", this series really has nothing going for it. But yeah, shoutout to the production value. Doga Kobo is an enigma to me. Whether the anime’s a big blockbuster or another mere seasonal, this studio's passion shines through and they WILL make it look good. While the animation in this show isn’t as fluent as others before, it still looks really good. The OPs and EDs are accompanied with a well-directed OST, and the voice talent give it their all, especially for the girls. It creates some rather emotional moments that make you forget you’re watching 3/10 story and characters, which is why the anime score is a 4.5. But good production can’t save a shitty story, shitty characters. or sibling dynamics in romance anime. Regardless, they will make that shit look like a 5-star cuisine freshly cooked by Gordon Ramsey as he reminds you you’re nothing more than an idiot sandwich. Second, things actually happen. While scenes do move slow, romance actually develops. I know, the bar is in hell, but Rent-A-Girlfriend had viewers in perpetual hell over 380 chapters of nothing moving forward. Moments are made in Shiunji Family Children. *Sheds tear* it’s breathtaking, and all it took was adding...incest. So as I’m finishing up this review, I’m thinking about why when the “not blood-related” bomb was dropped, the entire thing felt so comical, especially with all the differing character designs. Why did their family dynamics immediately feel so malleable? Why did nobody act like a sibling? Then I remember the scene where the Dad revealed to all the siblings the big reveal: “You’re not actual siblings.” From a parent, you would expect a statement like “you all are adopted but we’re all still one big family” or even “even if you aren't my real children, I still love you as my own”. Why wasn't the focus on the entire family, but instead on not being siblings? Then it began to hit me. Once the word incest was removed, “We siblings could get married now, I guess?” I feel a gun placed at the back of my head. As I look back to this anime’s world, the phrase “We siblings could get married now, I guess?” repeats over and over in my mind like an endless bell toll. This was all my fault, and I should have escaped from the start. “Wait, it’s all trashy incest?” I cry out. “Always has been.” Reiji Miyajima declares, before finally pulling the trigger.

Give me more Banri or I riot That being said, 8/10, better than rent a girlfriend for sure, but I feel this first season lacked something that I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe the 2nd season if it continues gives more focus to each girl and some interpersonal time with Arata, cause right now I feel like there was a lot of falling head over heels without true build-up. The focus was on Minami and Ouka almost the whole season, they need to spread the love. I think if you're a fellow rom-com/harem enjoyer, this is a watch, but I'm sure a lot ofpeople may not care for the whole loving someone who may/may not be your actual sibling. It's a complex subject with a huge taboo, part of the reason these shows are popular in the first place.