English Dub Review: The Shiunji Family Children “For Now”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
The gang heads to an amusement park to celebrate Kotono’s birthday!

Our Take:
There’s nothing like an ordinary fun trip to an amusement park to take our minds off our troubles.  In the siblings’ case, they are celebrating Kotono’s birthday while trying to forget their shocking revelation.  However, it turns out that even their fun times at a whimsical park aren’t safe from the siblings’ doubts and feelings toward each other.  While Kotono seemed to have gone back to normal since the “incident”, that doesn’t mean Arata is safe from his older “sister”, Banri, who takes him out on a “date” while the rest of the siblings enjoy themselves.  Of course, by that, I mean teasing him constantly with her “attractiveness”.  If only I were in Arata’s shoes during that part.
Following the previous episode, I was initially concerned that Banri’s playful “teasing” might become the show’s running gag despite her intention to treat the others like “siblings”.  It’s admittedly a bit humorous, but I was worried that Banri’s “fan service” element would become her main personality.  Fortunately for me, this doesn’t appear to be the case.  Rather than provide us with pointless gags about out-of-context incest for 23 minutes straight, “For Now” continues to examine the siblings’ thoughts about the revelation, with Arata’s concerns being his changed perspective toward his sisters.  As for Banri, she still contains the “big sister” vibe outside of her playful teases toward Arata, showcasing her vow to protect her siblings from harm.  This inspired Arata to do the same by protecting Banri from a spilled drink.
I had doubts about this questionable concept upon watching the first two episodes, mainly due to its incest references.  Thankfully, “For Now” managed to ease some of them by highlighting the show’s focus on the characters’ development rather than relying on constant incest jokes.  There is still some work for the show to accomplish to finish the first season on a respectable note, especially since we have Arata worrying about Ouka’s shocking confession instead of Kotono.  Until then, I’m mostly satisfied that this amusement park trip didn’t take a vastly uncomfortable turn.