Creative Staff:
Story: Reiji Miyajima
Art: Reiji Yukino
What They Say:
The love between brother and sister. The love between man and woman. That which is most forbidden is most unyielding. The two sons and five daughters of the Shiunji family shine like brilliant gems, each with intelligence and beauty in equal measure. And with the pedigree of their wealthy father behind them, how could they not be the talk of the town? Eldest son Arata has spent his life being tossed around by the whims of his colorful sisters, yet a little teasing won’t stop him from valuing his family over anything and anyone else. But when his youngest sister turns fifteen, their father reveals a long-hidden secret of the Shiunji “siblings” and knocks Arata’s world off its axis…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Let’s cut straight to the chase: this is stupid.
And it’s not just stupid because of the horrendous dialog, contrived “plot twists,” and unlikable characters. No, it’s stupid because it is a story that I have read many times in the past and this is by far the worst version of it. Considering the subject matter I’m surprised Yen Press decided to bring it over to America at all. In a day and age where Americans are taking a harder look at how we sexualize women, kids, and even extended family members, it’s crazy to think that editors thought this would fly.
The story involves the Shiunji family. The family has one son and six daughters. Everyone gets along fine and dandy until one evening their father breaks some news to them: the girl’s brother Shin is not their biological brother, but was adopted before any of them were born. You’d think the next logical step would be to ask why the secret was kept for so long or why Shin was adopted in the first place, but after their father brushes everyone off the next logical step is for the girls to want to bone the person that until a few minutes ago they perceived as their own flesh and blood.
Now, granted, I don’t want to pretend that relationships between adopted siblings can’t get complicated, but there is no nuance or believability in this situation at all. The reality is that most adopted siblings consider each other to be family (ESPECIALLY when they have grown up with each other)! But no more than a few minutes after the announcement one of the sisters decides to surprise Shin in the shower – completely naked – and confess her love to him.
Not ONLY are these characters underage, but this is tantamount to sexual assault! And look, I like “Love Hina” and “Tenchi Muyo” as much as the next guy, but at least those series had well-developed characters and situations that built up to the risqué stuff. Since half of the sisters are confessing their love before the end of the first volume it seems like the series is more interested in putting these young kids in uncomfortable situations than developing a story, characters, or even a decent setup.
In Summary:
I admit that as I get older in my years, the whole “tons of girls fall for the single hot guy” trope isn’t the most exciting in the world anymore, yet recent series like “The Quintessential Quintuplets” show that the concept can still be done correctly and with maturity when handled properly. In contrast, “The Shiunji Family Children” fumbles the concept so spectacularly that there is no way in Hell I’m going to revisit this again! There is one plus though: I have some extra toilet paper lying around the house now.
Content Grade: F
Art Grade: B-
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: Older Teen
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: November 21, 2023
SRP: $13.00
This review was done with a review copy provided by the publisher. We are grateful for their continued support.
