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NEWS: Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Moto Kano Datta Step-Sibling Romcom Novel Gets Anime




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MFrontier



Joined: 13 Apr 2014
Posts: 10960
PostPosted: Tue Jul 20, 2021 11:37 pm Reply with quote
Well, this is a refreshing take on the romcom premise. Not so much the step-siblings bit but the fact that they actually dated before and broke up, so now it's a story more or less about them being stuck together again and having to rekindle their relationship with the complications of being siblings and probably love rivals.
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Yune Amagiri



Joined: 28 Jul 2016
Posts: 921
Location: France
PostPosted: Tue Jul 20, 2021 11:42 pm Reply with quote
One of the best romcom from recent years i've read , glad to see the anime finally announced.
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BlueAlf



Joined: 02 Jan 2017
Posts: 1493
PostPosted: Tue Jul 20, 2021 11:44 pm Reply with quote
I assume it's good?

Man, romcoms are going through a resurgence nowadays.
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MagicPolly



Joined: 26 Nov 2020
Posts: 1568
PostPosted: Tue Jul 20, 2021 11:48 pm Reply with quote
I was ready to write this off as "ugh, another little sister incest LN" but it actually seems like this one might have some merit. They knew each other and dated before becoming stepsiblings and the "game" dynamic might prove interesting.
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FilthyCasual



Joined: 01 Jun 2015
Posts: 2165
PostPosted: Wed Jul 21, 2021 7:18 am Reply with quote
So it's an LN Domestic Girlfriend?
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battle-arc-fan



Joined: 15 Jun 2021
Posts: 24
PostPosted: Wed Jul 21, 2021 12:30 pm Reply with quote
FilthyCasual wrote:
So it's an LN Domestic Girlfriend?


Nah. With Domestic Girlfriend the hook was the love (if you can actually call it that) triangle between the MC and two sisters. In addition, the MC had never been in a relationship with either sister (one was his teacher and the other ... it's complicated). Also, this work is supposed to be more serious - inasmuch as a high school titillation romcom can be - where Domestic Girlfriend was unapologetically softcore soap opera exploitation trash. That perhaps precisely because of its unapologetic nature somehow managed to be entertaining and even compelling to a lot of people despite content that easily could have been seen as ridiculous and even offensive.

I will give this work credit. Usually the "incest subtext" stuff is actually less about the taboo than it is otaku-pandering. Pursuing relationships with women is difficult because it requires competence (you need to be able to offer something that interests the woman initially and then put in the work required to maintain that interest) and confidence (you need to be able to deal with inevitable rejections and almost-inevitable breakups) particularly in an environment that frowns on the "pick-up artist" thing (where you pursue so many women that individual rejections don't matter and you get desensitized to it, and breakups are no big deal because you are constantly romantically involved with multiple women and aren't truly emotionally invested in any of them). So, the "sister" thing solves this problem by presenting the fantasy of a woman who unconditionally loves you (meaning she is totally invested in the relationship and won't dismiss you if you fail to impress her initially and won't ditch you down the line if you bore her) and who won't reject you (she can't ... you live in the same house so she can't stop answering the phone, get a stalking protection order against you etc. ... the old "if you had to pick a woman to be stranded with on a desert island who would it be" thing).

However, this totally averts this. Instead of being the opposite of a power fantasy - in this instance the power fantasy would be a Casanova ladies man like James Bond or Arsene Lupin who can get ALMOST any woman he wants with his romantic hypercompetence - instead this work is about a guy who is actually capable of and successful at getting a girlfriend (who isn't his cousin or childhood friend, and whom he didn't impress by using his overpowered wizard skills to save a country from ruin) ... you know shonen manga stuff. Nor is he an emotionally/psychologically damaged sort who attracts girls via empathy/pity who want to "mother" and "fix" him. Instead, he is a normal guy capable of getting a girlfriend via normal means (shoujo manga stuff). Which makes it exceedingly rare in the modern anime landscape and worthy of giving a shot.
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kryten2x4p



Joined: 07 Jan 2006
Posts: 32
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Wed Jul 21, 2021 1:15 pm Reply with quote
FilthyCasual wrote:
So it's an LN Domestic Girlfriend?


I thought of that one too! lol
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