After her mother’s death, village girl Miya Nakamura is sent to live in her father’s household, the noble Kounokura estate. Being an illegitimate child, she expects the worst from her new stepmother and stepsisters. However, while they look scary, Miya’s new family members immediately endear themselves to Miya and waste no time pampering and spoiling her. Miya definitely feels a bit out of sorts in her new environment, but under the care of her new stepmother Teru and her stepsisters Marika and Arisa, she might be able to adapt to a whole new loving family.

This episode was equal parts heartwarming and hilarious. Many times, the stepsisters and stepmother will say something very stereotypical of an evil villainess, only for the next scene to completely reframe the context and meaning of those words. For example, when they first meet, the sisters say that Miya is too dirty to be a member of their household, but all that means is that they need to give her a bath right away. These kinds of reversals of villainess behaviors continue throughout the episode as the sisters try to get Miya to open up to them. The stepmother Teru is probably the sweetest of them all as she gives Miya the space to remember her birth mother, all while ensuring Miya that she doesn’t have to worry about being a burden to her, as accepting those burdens is what it means to be a family. All of this makes for a fun and adorable twist on the usual “Cinderella” story, and I am definitely interested to see how Miya and her new family grow closer together.

My Stepmother and Stepsisters Aren’t Wicked is streaming on YouTube courtesy of the It’s Anime channel, as well as on Amazon Prime.