Isn’t it nice to know a show’s premise just from its title? Based on the light novel series by Kyōsuke Kamashiro,My Stepmom’s Daughter is My Exis about a young couple, Mizuto and Yume, who break up soon after entering high school. Sad as it is, these things happen, especially at such a young age. Then life throws a curveball at them when Yume’s mother Yuni marries Mizuto’s dad Mineaki. The two attempt to live together as brother and sister under the same roof, though the past still lingers in both of them.
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Theanimeadaptation has just started showing on Crunchyroll and should satisfy people who like their romcoms to be a little more complicated than the average meet-cute. Still, are there any other romantic anime shows that put a different spin on things? Well, yes. Here are a few of them.
6Kaguya-sama: Love Is War
The president and vice-president of Shuchiin Academy’s Student Council seem like the perfect couple. The former, Kaguya, was born into wealth, and the latter, Miyuki, is the smartest student in the whole prefecture. However, this has given them a sense of pride neither of them wants to see broken.
Thus, their love becomes war as they plot and scheme to make the other show more affection than the other. Who’ll be the first to hold the other’s hand? Or share an umbrella with them? Each tiny gesture becomes a battle one or the other must win. Given howpopular this show is, chances areStepmomfans might’ve already seen it. Still, if anyone has missed Aka Akasaka’s behemoth, then now’s a good time to check it out. There’s an anime series, OVA, and even a live-action film.
5Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro
Nanashi’s webcomic-turned-anime initially received mixed reviews as it starts off quite harsh. It follows Naoto Hachioji, a quiet boy who just wants to draw manga and attend his school’s art club in peace. Then Hayase Nagatoro comes along and starts bullying him for his interests or teasing him in crude ways. In other words, it’s the ‘cruel-to-be-kind’, ‘hates-you-because-they-love-you’ trope.
However, as Naoto grows more assertive, Nagatoro softens, and the show gets more enjoyable as she and Naoto grow closer. They even work together to save the art club. One’s mileage may vary, especially with its old tropes. But, anyone who sticks with it will find an enjoyableromcom with some edge.
4Classroom Of The Elite
This one is more of a psychological thriller than a romance but should appeal to those who preferredStepmom’s complicated premise. Based on Shōgo Kinugasa’s light novel series, the show takes place at the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing School. On the surface, it’s an ordinary private school for Japan’s high society.
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But within its walls, it’s actually a highly regulated school that divides its students by class, with the elites making it into Class A, the rejects into Class D, and everyone else going between them. Kiyotaka Ayanokōji is one of the smartest students but is put in Class D due to his lack of social skills. He wouldn’t mind this, though once he gets involved with hisclassmates Suzune and Kikyō, things get much more complicated.
3A Couple Of Cuckoos
Created by Miki Yoshihara,A Couple of Cuckoosbrings the com back to the rom. It’s also available on Crunchyroll, soStepmomfans don’t have to go far to track it down. The premise isn’t identical, yet similar enough with its love plot messed up by domestic drama. 17yr old Nagi Umino is shocked to learn his parents aren’t his biological parents and goes to look for his blood parents. Once he learns where they are, he bumps into the famous internet celebrity Erika Amano, who’s trying to escape an arranged marriage.
Unfortunately for both of them, that arranged marriage is to Nagi. Erika’s parents are Nagi’s bio parents, and Nagi’s parents are Erika’s bio parents. They swapped the two at birth to marry them off when they came of age, and they put the two in shared accommodation soon after they meet. This would be bad enough, but Nagi has another woman he’s into, and there are other girls at his school with similar feelings towards him.
2Marmalade Boy
Marmalade Boyis quite old now. It originally started off as a shojo manga by Wataru Yoshimizu in 1992, then it got an anime in 1994. However, Yoshimizu did develop a sequel to his series in the 2010s withMarmalade Boy Little, and it gained a live-action film in 2018. Plus, its premise is very similar to that ofStepmom.
A young girl, Miki Koishikawa, has her life turned upside down when her parents announce they’re getting divorced and are going to swap partners with a couple they met in Hawaii. She meets this couple, and their son Yuu, who acts like a jerk. Nonetheless, the two accept their new family arrangement, and gradually warm to each other. Things only get more complicated from there as old crushes from the past return, friends become enemies and then friends again, and Miki and Yuu’s feelingsget tested over and over again.
1Domestic Girlfriend
IfMarmalade Boyis too lighthearted or tricky to find, Kei Sasuga’sDomestic Girlfriendmight be more up fans’ alleys. The show can be found on Crunchyroll as well, and its plot follows the same lines asMarmalade BoyandStepmom. Only it’s generally regarded as beingmore grounded and mature, and not just in tone. It gets somewhat racy.
Natsuo Fuji is in love with his teacher, Hina, but he has no way to express it. Frustrated, he goes to a mixer and meets a curious young woman called Rui. She sneaks him out back to her house and invites him to stay the night with her. Since he feels he’s never going to get to that stage with Hina, he takes her up on her offer. Then, Natsuo’s single dad Akihito announces he’s going to marry a woman called Tokiko. She just happens to be the mother of both Hina and Rui. So, now Natsuo has to deal with living with his first love, and his first time.
My Stepmom’s Daughter is My Exis available to watch on Crunchyroll.
