Yuta is happy for his father after he tells him that he plans to remarry. But Yuta soon finds out this will change his home life more than he anticipated. His father’s new wife has a beautiful daughter, Saki Ayase, who is the same age as him and goes to the same school. When Yuta first meets her, they seem to get along decently enough, but then Saki suddenly reveals to him that she wants to have an agreement about their step-sibling relationship. She doesn’t expect anything from him, and he shouldn’t expect anything from her. This sounds like a good deal for both of them. But as Saki and her mother start moving in, they inevitably interact with one another, so will they be able to maintain this distance?

The first thing that makes this anime stand out (besides the title) is how many quiet moments there are, with some complemented by a calming piano soundtrack. I’ve seen in the comments that some are calling this episode slow-paced, but that’s not the word I would use, because by the end, I had a clear idea of the story’s setup and the direction it will be going. On top of that, we are properly introduced to the main characters and already know a few things about them to look out for in future episodes. I would say that the pacing of this anime was just right. Personally, I don’t like it when first episodes are filled with back-to-back lines of dialogue and constant exposition; I much prefer it when calm moments are used for us to digest what happened earlier, or to transition us to the next scene. This episode fully went for that approach and included scenes where characters talk without any audible dialogue. Sometimes it’s not needed for the audience to hear exactly what the characters are saying and it’s refreshing to see an anime be comfortable with that. Because of this calm directing style, I didn’t check the time at all, and the episode was over before I knew it.

Just like the other aspects of the production, the animation and art style are on the subtler side of things. The characters’ designs are clean, but they’re not easily distinguishable from one another. Overall I thought the technical side of the anime was solid. In terms of story though, an anime like this can be a little hard to judge. I know a little about it from Twwk’s review of the light novel, but not much more. After the first episode, I found myself pretty interested in how their relationship will develop, but before we get to the real ending of the story, anything could happen. Personally, I really need to see the ending before I can judge if the anime is going in a good direction or not. Saki and Yuta will most likely grow closer either way, whether romantically, or as siblings. I’m in the minority of anime watchers who would prefer to watch an anime like this anime when the ending is already “spoiled” for me because then I can make a good decision about investing my time in it. Although I do think the characters are interesting so far: Yuta acts way more naturally and thoughtfully than most anime protagonists, and I’m curious about what mysterious things Saki is alluding to when speaks about herself. But even though I thought this episode was very solid, I’ll probably wait until the light novels conclude before watching more episodes.

Days with My Stepsister is streaming on Crunchyroll.