Jitsu wa Imouto deshita.: Saikin Dekita Giri no Otouto no Kyorikan ga Yatara Chikai Wake

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

This may be the greatest piece of media I have ever witnessed. I have not and will never bask my eyes in anything anywhere NEAR as glorious as this manga.
MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD:
Plot and writing:
With a title of Jitsu wa Imouto deshita, you would expect the manga to be generic and boring, like all the other shitty "Stepsis" manga. HOWEVER, the story, characters and overall VIBE of this manga absolutely blew my expectations away. It is a simple story about our very brotherly, kind and caring male protagonist, Ryouta Majima. Ryouta gets a cute new little brother called Akira, who isn't very social, so ... like a good older sibling, he helps Akira get over their anxiety a little and they become really great friends through a series of minor misadventures, hilarious misunderstandings, and fun sibling mayhem. Then, BOOM, the twist happens, cause there's always some sort of twist with these types of shows, and honestly, this one was pretty funny at first, but can get old soon, so luckily, the mangaka decided to move on from it after using it a couple times. Akira is revealed to actually be his Stepsister!!! The title is literally called that, so I don't know how much of a plot twist it is, BUT IT STILL SLAPS. From then on, Akira begins to fall for our reliable MC, eventually reaching the confessing at like chapter 17! They have a variety of shenanigans and tomfoolery from then on, with a overall very wholesome and nice feel-good vibe.
Overall, the story has a pretty basic concept, but with a good execution. The story progression doesn't feel rushed, although being short, and the arcs aren't dragged on either. The manga is surprisingly well crafted and thought out, and funny all the way through. It's nothing spectacular, but the author does do something special here, since only few manga have invoked such dopamine while reading.
I give the Plot and Writing a 7.3/10. (Good)

Characters:
Honestly, currently in the manga, the only relevant and consistently reappearing characters are our mc, his sister, his friend and his friends sister. And they definitely make up for the lack of a wide cast. They each have a distinct and colorful personality, that more than makes up for the dynamics of a smaller core cast.
MC (Ryouta)-
For the first time in what feels like eternity, the MC finally has a working brain. He is still realistic, while having enough brainpower to come to sensible conclusions and stand up for himself. He has flaws and makes mistakes, but tries to improve and help others, making him extremely likable. The authors good sense of humor is also not wasted on him, as his personality is anything but as bland as his appearance would suggest. The arc that best demonstrates his reliable nature is when Ryouta helps Akira overcome her social anxiety, caused by her dad leaving her. He tackles this problem with an optimistic yet mature approach, while dealing with his own trauma from his abusive (former) mother. He is seemingly a very basic character, with a surprising amount of depth that is conveyed through the authors dialogue and storytelling.
Akira-
Initially, Akira is played off as a typical antisocial tsun-type character, but you quickly realise this is not the case, as Ryouta begins to try bond with her as a brother (from when he still thought she was a boy). Akira's real personality is a fun, engaging, assertive teenager who is only shy around new people because of her fear of commitment, stemming from her dad's early departure from her life. After Ryouta helps her start her reconciliation with her father, she begins to trust him more and becomes fiercely loyal. She is portrayed as a very cute and shy character with a gap moe in her constant efforts to obtain Ryouta's affection. Personally, for me, her character is the most interesting and enjoyable in the manga. All her interactions with other people and situations are extremely wholesome and cute, true to the manga's nature.
Kousei and Hinata-
Ryouta's best friend, Kousei, and his little sister, Hinata are pivotal characters to the story. Kousei is the "ikemen/popular friend" trope that is often seen in shows that seem to have some sort of dark backstory. However, since the manga is still relatively new, we haven't gotten to see it yet. Right now, Kousei is more of a tool for the author to inject some witty banter and sit-com scenarios, but I can see him having a lot of story potential in the future. Hinata, his sister, is an important character that helps Akira through a lot of issues that Ryouta is unable to help with, such as getting settled at school, or even romantic interests. Her personality has not been fully revealed yet, but she seems to be a kind, helpful and a complete antithesis to her brother. They are both charismatic and popular, seemingly contrasting the main duo of Ryouta, who is unpopular at school, and Akira, who is extremely shy.
Overall, the characters are probably what elevates this series to the next level, above all the other trashy high school romance manga out there.
I give the characters a 9/10. Amazing.

Art:
To be honest the art was nothing special, it was good, but not enough to stand out too much. I would put it to the same level of Angel next door, maybe a bit worse. Honestly, the character designs, except Akira herself, were pretty bland and I was honestly a bit disappointed. Akira did in fact have an amazing and unique character design that made the manga cover stand out, her tomboyish figure, combined with a adorably short haircut make her a perfect mascot for a wholesome manga like this one.
I give the art a 7/10. Decently good.

The Bad Stuff:
Despite all my praise for this manga, there are definitely a few points that I had issues with. First of all, the plot moves a bit too quickly at times, and makes a few scenes have way less impact then it could have due to the lack of setup, such as Akira's meeting with her father. Next, the characters themselves (outside of the main cast) are often one dimensional and bland, or simply used once and just thrown away, causing the manga to feel more detached and breaking the comforting, familial theme of it. Finally, my biggest gripe with this manga is the unecessary fanservice and ecchi scenes. Don't get me wrong, I love me some minor fanservice here and there, but this manga is just really not suitable for ecchi type fanservice. It feels like its shoehorned in as a contractual obligation and doesn't add anything to the characters or the plot. It breaks immersion and honestly just makes the reader feel uncomfortable, especially since Akira has a smaller build and doesn't fully look mature. However, these aspects aren't to the degree that it majorly impacts the reading experience, so I'll give it a blind eye and only lower my final rating by half a point.

Conclusion and final rating:
Jitsu wa imouto deshita is an overall good manga, that is extremely enjoyable. It was hard to be very critical on it, since it was my first proper online manga so it has some emotional value, but I tried to look at it as objectively as I could. In the end, Akira is one of my favourite slice of life characters of all time (along with Tooru from Horimiya) and the story just has a really chill and wholesome vibe when reading it.
Therefore, I give this manga a rating of 8.5/10 (it's 9/10 on the review cause I rounded it up).

TL;DR
Amazing manga with a cute blue short-haired tomboy. Core themes of family and acceptance lead to a very wholesome vibe. Loved it, 10/10 would recommend if you like slice of life.

Note: Thank you for reading this review, it's my first time writing a review for a manga, so please leave a reaction so I can improve in the future.

Rating system:
1-5 Garbarge
6 Readable
7 Good/Enjoyable
8 Really Good
9 All-time Favourites
10 Perfection

It is fine.

I refuse to believe you tried to read because you wanted a good story even after reading the title. So I would save you from the usual crap.

But I do want to address something even if I said to refrain from telling you all the stuff cause it was just weird. It was absolutely mindboggling to see the drastic change in the change of nature of the sister going from chapter 5 to 6. The personality changed faster than the speed Mc's mom left him. (there goes my chance to be funny (╥_╥) )

That led me to give a point less than ... I initially intended to give.