My Stepsister is My Ex-Girlfriend, Tsurekano 継母の連れ子が元カノだった My Stepmom's Daughter Is My Ex
Synopsis
Tsurekano is about Listless geek Mizuto Irido and introverted nerd Yume Ayai seemed like a match made in heaven, connected by their mutual love for literature. Unfortunately, their differences gradually grew, and they separated just after their middle school graduation. But, as if by divine comedy, the two find themselves reunited as step-siblings.
A rivalry begins to brew between the former couple, both unwilling to acknowledge the other as the older sibling. In an attempt to “solve” this issue, Mizuto and Yume agree upon a rule: whoever crosses the boundaries of siblinghood norms loses, and the winner will not only be called the older sibling, but also get to make a request. However, now that they live under the same roof, the lingering memories they share start to influence their actions—possibly rekindling the feelings that may not have been fully extinguished in the first place.
Reviews
“To me, you felt more real than anyone I’d ever met.”
Looking back, I can only describe it as youthful indiscretion, but from summer of 2022, I watched what you may call a beautiful anime, with a simple but engaging plot, realistic characters and interactions, and a touching story. With confidence, I can say that “My Stepmom’s Daughter is My Ex”, also known as Tsurekano, was an anime I enjoyed from start to finish, an anime that never felt like a chore to watch, and most importantly, an anime that connected to me.
Now look, I get why many people dislike Tsurekano. I’m not here to debunk on your reasons to dislike it. Instead, I’m here to tell you why I love Tsurekano.
First of all, the story. Let’s all be real here; the story is nothing special. We’ve seen many anime already about stepsiblings + romance. From the title alone, you could already tell what the anime is about. So, what makes it so great? In my opinion, the simple story makes it very engaging. Complicated stories with constant misunderstandings, mess-ups, and drama are getting old nowadays. It feels really nice to sit down and watch an anime that takes a break from all that. It’s a down-to-earth, captivating, and brilliant.
Now, the plot. What’s the difference between a story and plot, you may say? A story is the setup. It introduces the characters and main storyline, basically reading a MAL synopsis. The plot is how the story develops into a more in-depth show, and Tsurekano does it perfectly. The backstories shown each episode build up overtime and connect like a puzzle. You can see the character interactions develop overtime, and you can see the characters become human.
I found the development of Mizuto and Yume to be very engaging, and Isana’s growth as a character was authentic. The different problems in being stepsiblings show overtime were genuine, and it really made me say, “wow, this is really realistic”. I absolutely loved how true their relationship was portrayed. It definitely shows how fragile relationships are and how it can break up over a single argument. Through their struggles, you can see their perspectives on the situation, and you really can’t blame anyone. Just an authentic and true plot.
The characters are annoying. I said it, they’re annoying and irritating. Does it mean it’s a bad thing? I wouldn’t say so. Mizuto is one of the few non-annoying characters, and he’s a great one. At first, he seems like the average protagonist; a loner, edgy, and is quick to have comebacks. However, he is much more than that. His insecurities get revealed over the course of the show and how awkward he really is. It’s honestly admirable. He is also kindhearted, although he may not seem like it. His efforts to help Yume from behind were touching and didn’t feel out of place at all.
Yume was a bitch, but still an amazing character. She is actually the most real character in the anime. Her struggles to try to be popular were relatable and her insecurities could strike you right down in the heart. She tends to misunderstand very quickly and always acts on them instead of trying to find proof. A perfect example of a flawed person, but truly a legitimate character. Minami was really annoying. She constantly tried to change other people’s ways instead of letting them be themself. She’s like those manipulative popular girls in your classroom, except taken to the extreme. She’s creepy, a stalker, and likes to pop into people’s business. Her obsessions are always acted on to a scale of 1000 and anybody near her would never catch a break. I love her. I might be talking a bit too much about realism here, but I felt like she was meant to represent how creepy and manipulative real people could be.
Kawanami was just there to be honest, he didn’t have much influence and was meant to serve as a potential love interest to Akatsuki. I don’t have much to say about him, but he set the mood for a lot of comedic moments and was enjoyable to watch. Isana is the best character out of all of them. She’s nice and cute, but also super introverted. However, when she meets the right person, she can become the complete opposite. She makes really strange remarks and honestly is really strange. Her character dynamic with Mizuto is some of the best “friends, but more” dynamics I’ve seen. Another thing that makes her so realistic is how easily manipulated she is. Isana constantly believed what Akatsuki said was true and was convinced super-fast. It shines a light on many introverts like most of you and it feels refreshing to have a character like her.
The sound was completely fine, I have no complaints. There were emotional sounds at emotional moments, and comedic sounds at comedic moments. The opening and ending are complete fire though. The opening is my favourite of this season alongside Kana Hanazawa’s Pokerface and ReoNa’s Shall We Dance. The visuals for the opening were nice, and I liked the minor details of who their life was intertwined with. The song was amazing, Dialogue+ never misses. The ending wasn’t as great as the opening but served a nice purpose too. The song had some great harmony, and the visuals were adorable.
The art style is the regular ones you’d see in anime nowadays, but most of my attention was on the character designs. When they released the first visual for the series, I remember seeing comments saying how bland the characters look. I honestly think the bland character designs fit the story super well. It shows how freaky and strange coincidences could happen in such a normal world and normal people. Just imagine this: pink haired and fluffy cute girl used to date prince of the school, until they broke up. All of a sudden, they get reunited as stepsiblings. Doesn’t sound too down-to-earth now, does it? The designs were absolutely great for the side characters, showing how contrasted it was. The animation was flawless, I think Project No.9 did a beautiful job on this.
I enjoyed Tsurekano very much. The comedy was right up my alley, the story and plot connected with me, the characters were authentic, plus a banger opening and ending. For me, this was the anime of the season (with LycoReco and Shadows House). If it’s not up your alley, don’t give it a shot. But if it sounds like something you’ll be interested in, congratulations, you’ve got yourself a new show to watch!
