My Stepmom's Daughter Is My Ex

Episodes 1-2

Reading the title and premise of this series, it's impossible not to immediately think of all the rather offputting taboo tropes that have plagued the internet since forever, and I went into My Stepmom's Daughter Is My Ex thinking that it was going to be nothing more than just awkward teasing between two characters that have to now straddle the line between romance and siblinghood. Basically I was expecting something kinda trashy and admittedly…I was only half right.

My Stepmom's Daughter Is My Ex starts with the parents of our two protagonists newly married and despite the obvious tension in the air, the two do their best to go along with the happy family life their parents want. One thing I do like about these kids is the fact that despite their history, they are doing a lot to put up appearances for their parents sake. Interestingly, this also means that while these two did date, it wasn't at a serious enough point where they introduced the other to their parents – neither parent was aware of their children's previous relationship. So I have to praise the show for subtly hinting at what happened between our two leads without immediately revealing all the details of their past relationship.

There are a lot of vague references to character moments and calling out behaviors that contrast how these characters seem to be acting now. Yume is trying her best to reinvent herself in high school and get away from the more secluded bookworm she used to be, and she also calls out Mizuto for seemingly progressing in the opposite direction to become more distant and apathetic. The interactions between these two come off as a bit petty and passive-aggressive at times, but considering that they are young teenagers who dated in middle school for an apparently all-too-brief period of time, I can't say that it's out of character or poorly-placed. The show's writing isn't bad overall, but I do think it has a bad habit of dragging scenes on a bit longer than it needs to.

That said, none of this is helped by the fact that the show's presentation is really bland and uninteresting. The use of very washed-out colors with slight gradients on the faces means that everything blends together in a boring way, and some of these characters, especially the side ones, have some of the most uninspired designs I think I've ever seen – and this is coming from somebody who watches a lot of slice-of-life and romantic comedies.

With the presentation being as bland as it is, My Stepmom's Daughter Is My Ex is going to need to rely on its writing to sustain its viewers' interest moving forward, and I would say it's got me engaged just enough to be curious. I look forward to learning exactly what kind of dynamic Yume and Mizuto are looking for with each other as well as what kind of unresolved issues they are clearly projecting away from themselves.

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My Stepmom's Daughter Is My Ex is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.