Binbou Shimai Monogatari anime review

The Yamada sisters, Kyo (15) and Asu (9), are students studying in secondary and primary schools respectively. Their mother has passed away while their father ran away after incurring debts due to gambling. Despite the difficult circumstances, both of them decide to overcome the unhappiness and welcome their days with enthusiasm and pride. Fortunately, with the change in the law system several years ago, Kyo is able to study and simultaneously, take up temporary jobs (such as distributing newspapers and tutoring) so as to support the family and make ends meet. On the other hand, Asu will take charge of household chores, prepare meals and manage the financials to assist her older sister. Surrounding them are also good and kind neighbours such as the novelist, Saegusa-san, and the aunt at the public bath who will watch over them. Although life is difficult and at times painful, the sisters are happy to have each other.

Binbou Shimai Monogatari is your typical slice-of-life series. Kyou and Asu are two sisters. Their mother died when Asu was born, while their father ran away and left a huge debt. This means that they’ve been living most of their lives together. And that’s basically it. The ten episodes of this anime basically follow these two girls, as they live their daily life.

While it definitely isn’t anything special, I have to give this series credit for being the first slice-of-life show to actually catch my interest. The fact that the girls are alone didn’t only make them independent, it also made them very emotional towards each other. The two girls love each other, but at the same time, they worry about each other way too much, which makes sure for a couple of very cute scenes.

The anime certainly has a few very cute moments. There are some light attempts at comedy which really contribute to these scenes. It’s also one of the few series in which the different eye-catches are very amusing. The character designs look very good, and both sisters look very cute. Still, the fact remains that this is a slice-of-life series. During the majority of the airtime, it’s just boring. It also contains a couple of moments which don’t really make any sense, with the most notable one being an extremely rich girl who insists on buying all kinds of bargains.

Overall, it had its cute moments, but Binbou Shimai Monogatari will never be anything memorable. Only check out this series if you are really, really bored.