An Okay but Cute Family Romance Story: "Mikakunin de Shinkoukei"

Synopsis

Kobeni Yonomori was just an ordinary teenager until her 16th birthday that is as she is informed that she will be receiving a fiancé and a sister-in-law she never even knew she had. The arrangement was made by her late grandfather made and Kobeni is immediately against it. Still, Hakuya Mitsumine and his younger sister Mashiro have moved from their countryside home to the Yonomori household in order to deepen their relationship with their new family members. As Kobeni adjusts to the sudden changes in her life, she soon comes to learn that there is a connection between her and the siblings that she is unaware of.
The Good

As the title states, there is a good family story to be found with the series. The dynamics that are formed with the different characters make for fun moments and some good comedy here and there. What’s more, when there are more emotional moments that occur with the family members, you can feel their bond with the scene. Other than this, it’s interesting to see how the characters develop with one another.

Storywise, there was a good flow to the plot and a good amount of mystery mixed in. There were some moments that felt more like filler but for the most part, it did give enough room for the characters to develop with one another.

The Bad

The most glaring issue with the series is in how it dealt with the sister characters. While there were times they did well for the comedy and had their moments as supporting characters, they were mostly loud and exaggerated characters that would have made the series better if toned down just a tad. Another issue with the series is that it seems to give much care to the romance even though in the end it focused on Kobeni and Hakuya in the end, it felt their development was more of an afterthought of the series given how there weren’t a lot of moments between them and there didn’t feel like there was enough chemistry or tension between the two.

Conclusion

There is a good story to be found here, it’s just not with the engagement of the characters. Their dynamics are nice and it has its moments but overall, it felt like it could have developed more on certain parts and the characters can be a bit much at certain points. Again, it’s a good series, but not exactly a great one.

Rating: 7/10