Recently, My Sister Is Unusual Episode 3
What They Say:
Yuya and Mitsuki have recently become brother and sister because of their parents remarrying. Mitsuki is having a hard time opening up to her new family, but their parents leave for a foreign country right after getting married before that can get any better. As Mitsuki is troubled by her new life living alone with Yuya, a amnesiac ghost girl, Hiyori, appears before her, and she is forced to help her pass on to the next world…
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The series so far has definitely gone for the outright pervy comedy in a way that’s kind of fun because it’s so blunt about it, even if it plays things in a degrading way for Mitsuki due to the way she has to lose control. That’s made for some fun and awkward moments, and a bit of repetition that hasn’t exactly helped the show, but it’s also focused mostly on Mitsuki and Hiyori, which has been interesting. Yuya has been less of a presence overall but he manages to kick this episode off pretty well as he and Mitsuki are trapped in the bathroom after the events of the previous episode and the two actually have a pretty good talk about their respective parents and situations, which is more from the heart than one might expect. And it does enough to help fill the heart in Mitsuki’s device a bit, much to her surprise.
The pair get saved by an unexpected arrival in the form of Yukina, a childhood friend of Yuya’s that’s also his classmate, though she’s been away from visiting his house for a bit. She adds another potential bit of fun to the mix that will complicate Mitsuki’s life in a lot of ways to be sure, but it’s not pounced on right away. Mitsuki’s wary of her, but Yukina doesn’t outright do anything to raise any alarms, which is nice to see. Of course, Hiyori sees her as a huge challenge as she talks about the kind of tropes that Yukina represents and that means she has to do something to set things right. This is even more important since, as Hiyori points out, jealousy and stress changes the container device she has and can hasten Mitsuki’s demise. Not that Hiyori has the best of ideas in how to secure things, but you have to admit it’s probably something that would send the device through the roof by engaging in actual consensual and desired sex.
Hiyori does get to have some fun in taking control of Mitsuki for a bit and juicing her up some, though it doesn’t hurt that she’s totally into Yuya. The complications continue to arise as we see how Hiyori is just uncertain of her own past to a large degree, thinking she might even know Yukina. We also see that there’s a chance that Yukina may be capable of seeing spirits to some degree, and that will definitely complicate things for all involved. Yuya continues to be the most unaffected by all of this, which is actually kind of fun to see. All he really gets for grief comes from the male friends at school who are frustrated by all the women in his life, which is cute. He does get caught up in things in small ways, but he’s still managed to avoid the really big issues, at least in this episode.
In Summary:
After two fun episodes, the series takes a bit of a slower approach here as it works Mitsuki through her problem a bit more and some of the associated dangers with it. It’s not all outright comedy or sexuality here, though there are moments of it, as it gives us a look at the challenges she faces. The introduction of Yukina is definitely a wrinkle that Mitsuki did not expect and she may be one that will get into Hiyori’s head as well if things pan out in that direction. It’s simple, cute and fun but has a bit more seriousness this time around while also making sure everyone is in on the ground rules and ready to move forward. The series still has plenty of ways to go but this one is surprisingly tame at the moment.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.