English Dub Season Review: A Sister’s All You Need Season One

I think this show might need a little more than a sister to get by.

Anime is no stranger to unorthodox or bizarre stories; truly, its one of the things that make the medium so special. Through the lens of animation, exaggeration and artistic style, anime can tell stories that just wouldn’t work in any other genre. A Sister’s All You Need is a quality example of this, serving as a poster child for both the good and bad that anime can bring us. At the end of it all, its a mixed bag of a show, but one that surprised me in ways that I didn’t expect, and I can honestly say that I enjoyed it for its humor, its grounded story, and its believable characters.

From the outset, A Sister’s All You Need has me raising a worried eyebrow when learning about its extremely lewd setup. I’ve never really been down with harem anime, there was always something a little creepy to me about the whole concept, and often times a show’s obsession with hot girls and sexual tension gets in the way of an otherwise decent plot. I’m happy to say that this show handles things with a little more grace. Exaggerated sexuality is still present here, and there are many, many scenes that pushed the line between “Harem anime” and “Softcore porn”, but the show does a decent job of making them matter in the context of each episode’s plot.

Speaking of plot, I was actually quite impressed with the level of storytelling presented to me here. Itsuki is a quality protagonist, relatable and empathetic, who embodies the struggle of a start-up artist, even though his art is porn, I thoroughly believed in his passion for what he does, and seeing his small group of friends also involved in that world just served to further develop the story from a pervy harem anime to a quality slice of life. Unfortunately, the show fails to really elevate past that point of quality.

The real failing of A Sister’s All You Need lies in its inability to stay focused. The pacing of each episode and its insistence on doing two separate stories each week gets in the way of developing the cast in meaningful ways. We get glimpses of growth, especially with Haruto and his crush on Miyako, but the show fails to really pull the trigger on any moments that might wow me. Too much time is spent on lukewarm comedy and not enough time spent on things that matter, and many episodes feel somewhat barren as a result. This wouldn’t be a problem if the humor was well, funnier, but the jokes simply don’t match up to a show like “Nichijou” or “Lucky Star.” Combine all that with a bland, cookie-cutter art style, and you get a show that just chugs along, not really going anywhere.

I don’t hate A Sister’s All You Need, but I don’t love it either, and in a world where anime selection is as vast as the deep blue sea, there are better things one could watch out there. It’s a harmless show, bogged down in its needless eccentricities, but if you want something a little different, you might find some joy in this season.