(CR) Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Motokano datta (My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex)

[Decel]

I was thinking of dropping this series after the previous episode, but this one renewed the hope that they can find/execute on interesting plots for the setup.

And the ED is one of the ones I watch fully, really cute.

[Frontier]

It seems the real set-up for Yume and Mizuto's relationship was their academic rivalry...with Yume being the top of the class until Mizuto beat her on a test, causing her to focus so much on beating him and become disappointed when it seemed like he didn't care. But then we get the fateful moment in the library when they finally talked and Yume found out her rival was considerate and aware of her the whole time, in his own way, which is enough for our Yume-chan to finally fall in love .

Yume's so focused on being the top of her grade and doing well on mid-terms no matter how many all-nighters she has to pull because she's just that concerned about her appearance and worried that she'll lose everything if she's not the best...meanwhile Mizuto could care less and is so laidback that it irritates her .

Not that Yume needs much excuse to sneak into Mizuto's room, but it makes things worse when she finds out he threw a test to let her win, which comes off to her like he's belittling her intelligence and all the work she put in, as well as what lead to their relationship in the first place. I feel bad for Ai Kayano's mom having to watch her kids fight and running to her husband for help .

So Mizuto takes Yume's accusations to heart and puts the work in to beat her, not only because he wanted to taste victory a little but mainly to show Yume that all that pretense of needing to be the best to keep her friends was unnecessary and none of her high school friends care about it and are still supportive of her. Which makes Yume realize that Mizuto still understands and gets her in a way no one else does, and she runs to him...only to find him with another girl .

How many Kadokawa Light Novel franchises can they advertise in one anime ?

So...Isana Higashira! She and Mizuto are two peas in a pod, both being Light Novel fans and generally laidback, easygoing, people who can be a little withdrawn and antisocial at times, but Isana really feels like a nice, free-spirited, girl who has an interesting perspective on the world. She and Mizuto seem to have some good chemistry together. And she's voiced by Miyu Tomita, which guarantees her cuteness .

Also lucky Mizuto getting to put a girls' socks on for her...and getting so close to Isana's legs .

Of course Yume has to deny she's jealous by acting in the most nicely and uncaring older sister way possible to show she doesn't care (even though she really does), but Mizuto takes that as a denial of them having actually dated and throws it in her face by acting all charming and suave, with a good dash of physical intimacy. Yume just can't win against that! Although it is kind of adorable hearing her call him "Onii-Chan" .

Is Isana a love interest for Mizuto? I mean, most girls probably wouldn't openly talk about their period in front of a boy they like, but at the same time the way she blushes around him and seems considerate...could there be something going on? I feel like Isana's the kind of girl who will keep you guessing, although one thing I can say for certain is I don't expect Yume to wholeheartedly support her romance one way or another .

[FlareKnight]

Well here's the rival. I honestly figured that Mizuto and Yume being combative was enough to create drama. So a rival almost seemed unnecessary to move things along. But she's here now...so that's fine. Honestly, she's fine. I don't like her more than any other character in the show. But she's not a terrible character either. She's just kind of there.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

Well here's the rival. I honestly figured that Mizuto and Yume being combative was enough to create drama. So a rival almost seemed unnecessary to move things along. But she's here now...so that's fine. Honestly, she's fine. I don't like her more than any other character in the show. But she's not a terrible character either. She's just kind of there.

To be honest even the cast don't seem sure about why she's here in their lives .

[FlareKnight]

Originally Posted by Frontier

To be honest even the cast don't seem sure about why she's here in their lives .

I kind of find it funny since she's presumably been there in the background the whole time. But since Yume is the usual point of view character we never actually saw Mizuto hanging out with her. She's just kind of there now since the story deems it worthwhile to acknowledge her existence .

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

I kind of find it funny since she's presumably been there in the background the whole time. But since Yume is the usual point of view character we never actually saw Mizuto hanging out with her. She's just kind of there now since the story deems it worthwhile to acknowledge her existence .

Or just at the right time to halt Yume since it seemed like she realized she was still in love with Mizuto .

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

Well here's the rival. I honestly figured that Mizuto and Yume being combative was enough to create drama. So a rival almost seemed unnecessary to move things along. But she's here now...so that's fine. Honestly, she's fine. I don't like her more than any other character in the show. But she's not a terrible character either. She's just kind of there.

Dat feet doe!

[Frontier]

So Yume was the one to confess! Through a love letter, because she didn't have the confidence to say it out loud, but at least she managed to give it to him at the last-minute on the last day of their Summer break! It was nice to finally see the moment when they got together .

Jeez, Minami really has to go extra with everything? Making poor Isana feel like she was being threatened by shady types when they just wanted to have some girl talk about her feelings for Mizuto .

Isana doesn't think she's in love with Mizuto, but her reactions tell a completely different story, making it clear how attracted to him she is. She's just a girl realizing her first love in high school .

Also, can we just talk about the fact that Yume had a picture and video of Mizuto sleeping? Like, even if she did it just for the sake of Isana, she still probably has those on her phone .

Yume has reservations about helping push Isana together with Mizuto, but she sees her old self in Isana and in her feelings for Mizuto and can't help but want to help her...especially so she can achieve what Yume couldn't. Although ironically the way Yume describes how great them dating would be sounds more like she still yearns for those carefree, innocent, days when she and Mizuto were together .

Time for the Mizuto fall in love plan! It's just not easy when Mizuto is such a cool, blunt, guy who doesn't outwardly express his emotions and seems to do a better job of riling up girls...even makeup doesn't faze him at all. I was with the girls in feeling bad for Isana at that point .

Time to get physical! Because if Isana's got anything going for her, it's her big boobs! Which Minami is happy to fondle! And Isana really threw those things at Mizuto as hard as she possibly could .

What is the difference between friendship and love? For Isana, her friendship with Mizuto is the basis for her feelings for him, while for Yume and Minami, they view their love interests as much more than friends. I guess from a certain standpoint that explains why Isana was able to remain friends with Mizuto after getting rejected while the other girls' relationship with their exes is so thorny .

Look at Minami pushing Isana to confess already! I guess she has a point, but it just goes to show the different relationship experience/personalities of all three girls .

It was nice to see Minami in her PJ's talking with Yume on the phone. She looked really cute .

That was a pretty heartfelt confession coming from Isana! It must be surreal for Yume, though, to see a girl who she saw her old self in to manage to do what she never could and outright confess out loud to her crush .

But, even if Mizuto likes Isana and think they would get along well together as a couple...he can't date her. Why? Because there's still another girl in his heart and he can't let anyone else in...and that girl is, despite everything, Yume. And even if Yume is shocked that he would basically choose her over Isana, she can't help but cry from an an answer that frankly is the one she was probably hoping for .

Isana took her rejection like a champ and is back to just being friends with Mizuto! I love how Minami and Yume can't believe that they're just friends again like nothing ever happened .

[FlareKnight]

I'm not sure about spending an entire episode on setting Isana up to be shot down . I mean sure can stretch it to say that she built up her female friendships during all this so it wasn't a total waste. But honestly status quo is maintained entirely. Isana sticks with him as a friend and Yume gets yet another reminder that she's important to him.

I guess there's something to confirming what we already know. Even with or because of how much of a pain Yume is, Mizuto can't turn away from her. The comparisons are pretty decent. When Isana gets the beauty treatment it doesn't get much of a reaction. While if Yume goes for it the impact is pretty immediate and clear as day. In that sense it was pretty rough to put Isana through the ringer like she was here. It wasn't like she was actually aware of romantic feelings for Mizuto so she wasn't needing the air to be cleared anyways .

This one is honestly all on Minami. A person who bungled her first love so badly that she put someone in the hospital shouldn't be acting like the love master around anyone...She pushed Yume and Isana into this whole spectacle purely to eliminate Mizuto as a rival for Yume. Not that it didn't have some gains in general. But she definitely didn't come out of this episode looking great.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

I'm not sure about spending an entire episode on setting Isana up to be shot down . I mean sure can stretch it to say that she built up her female friendships during all this so it wasn't a total waste. But honestly status quo is maintained entirely. Isana sticks with him as a friend and Yume gets yet another reminder that she's important to him.

I guess there's something to confirming what we already know. Even with or because of how much of a pain Yume is, Mizuto can't turn away from her. The comparisons are pretty decent. When Isana gets the beauty treatment it doesn't get much of a reaction. While if Yume goes for it the impact is pretty immediate and clear as day. In that sense it was pretty rough to put Isana through the ringer like she was here. It wasn't like she was actually aware of romantic feelings for Mizuto so she wasn't needing the air to be cleared anyways .

If Isana doesn't vanish from the plot I would say that's one major impact and we get to see how Yume responds to the idea of Mizuto with another girl and trying to reconcile her own past regrets, only to see that she still has a piece of Mizuto's heart.

It doesn't seem like Isana minded realizing she was in love with him even if those feelings didn't bear fruit the way she had hoped, though she can still live with it .

This one is honestly all on Minami. A person who bungled her first love so badly that she put someone in the hospital shouldn't be acting like the love master around anyone...She pushed Yume and Isana into this whole spectacle purely to eliminate Mizuto as a rival for Yume. Not that it didn't have some gains in general. But she definitely didn't come out of this episode looking great.

I didn't get the sense Minami was doing this for Yume. She just seems to enjoy meddling that much. Which I guess might provide insight into what she was like as a girlfriend .

[Wandering Soul]

As quickly as she became a competitor, Isana got shot down. At least that's one less thing for Mizuto to worry about.

[Lex79]

Well, the main characters aren't truly honest with their feelings, but the show in itself isn't trying to fool the audience about how it's going to end.

[Frontier]

Isana wants to see Mizuto's light novel collection! Including the raunchy ones he has to hide! And because she's been rejected, she'll be just visiting his house as a friend! Totally platonic! But she does seem to enjoy using her feelings as a means of teasing him more, especially with the lewd jokes .

The perk of having girlfriends is having people who can help you stylize and upgrade your fashion sense, which Isana is desperately in need of, and Minami is more than happy to dress her up...although of course she's got an ulterior motive .

Isana fashion show! Although those G-Cups and her butt make it difficult to find an outfit that looks normal and not super lewd (not that I mind), although Minami really seems to enjoy playing around with those boobs. But then they settle on Isana trying out Yume's style, and we've got a winner .

Of course, if Isana is going to use Yume's style, than Yume will have to try out something different for the sake of world harmony...and Minami needed an excuse to dress Yume up too .

So Yume didn't really focus on fashion as much as she did when she and Mizuto started dating and she tried to look good for their first date, but Mizuto being the awkward and stoic kid he is didn't compliment her until the very end of the date...but not without basically telling her he wants to see her in a miniskirt when they're alone together so others don't get to see her like that. Pretty nice! And with how happy that made her, Yume's been basing her fashion sense after pleasing Mizuto for so long, but maybe it's time for something new. She looked great in that blouse and white skinny jeans, especially with her legs .

Smooth move middle-school Mizuto! Asking Yume out to your place so you can lend her the book she needed! Of course being kids, they both chickened out. Although he did eventually bring her home though .

I love the parents' reaction to Mizuto bringing a girl home, and eventually assuming she's his ex-girlfriend, not knowing his actual ex-girlfriend is their daughter .

I'm not surprised Yume's keeping watch on the pair together in Mizuto's room, although it keeps throwing her off seeing how close they act and how touchy-feely they are despite the fact that they're not dating .

Isana's never read Haruhi before? Well, no time like the present .

Having big boobs seems convenient when you want guys to give your shoulders a massage or help you put your socks on .

Isana still likes Mizuto, and the rejection still hurt, but she prioritizes her friendship with Mizuto above everything else and would never want to jeopardize that or the place she has in his heart. And Yume can relate to wanting to still be important to him, despite everything between them .

Yume not to be outdone makes Mizuto put her (thigh-high!) socks on, and we're gifted with more shots of Yume's amazing legs .

Does Mizuto wish he and Yume could've been more like him and Isana? Two friends who get along through a shared love of books without romance getting in the way? But would he and Yume have been able to settle for "just friends?" I don't think they've even settled on just being siblings .

[FlareKnight]

Darn it show. We're in episode 8. I think we know that Yume and Mizuto were dating in the past! Probably don't need to bring it up in monologue in every episode!

The ending of the episode was probably the best part of it. A nice bit of reflection and an interesting hypothetical. One that does seem to reflect a wish that there was less distance between himself and Yume. The idea that they might be happier and good friends now if they'd never closed the gap and started dating. Of course even if Yume had never confessed or if Mizuto had turned her down there's no guarantee they would have stayed close. Yume's personality might not have been able to handle a rejection like that without pulling back quite a bit.

Regardless though, there's no changing the past. And certainly there's no question that neither of them are over that relationship. The emotions going through them are on a different level when it comes to something like the "putting on socks" scene.

Originally Posted by Frontier

I don't think they've even settled on just being siblings .

That's basically how I look at it .

[Lex79]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

Darn it show. We're in episode 8. I think we know that Yume and Mizuto were dating in the past! Probably don't need to bring it up in monologue in every episode!

Better become used to it...

What is better? Staying as just friends, close but not the closest you can be and ne er have fights, or becoming someone's most important person and the break up? I don't have an answer, but Mizuto see,s to wish he would have never dated Yume so they could be now good frie ds instead of estranged siblings. Luckily for him, the option of romance is still possible for the two of them with a buit of effort so everything is not lost.

[Frontier]

We've seen so many flashbacks and reflections of Mizuto and Yume's middle school relationships as they've danced around what lead to the breakup, so I guess it was only a matter of time before we finally got an episode dedicated to it in flashback form .

Really, though, Yume and Mizuto looked really adorable together. Like two kids really in love with each other. We get to see their first kiss, and even the first time Mizuto brought Yume to his room! And reading "I want to Eat your Pancreas" is..certainly one novel to read with your girlfriend, when she was really expecting some sex. Too bad Mizuto chickened out .

It sucks they can't be in the same class together, but at least they'll have after school and the usual romantic holidays together! Unfortunately, life had other plans .

The cracks first start forming when Yume starts making friends, which is great, but she gushes about them so much it annoys Mizuto because he doesn't really have any and he enjoyed having Yume all to himself. He realizes how selfish it is, but it caused him to lash out at her. And when he decided to apologize, it came only after Yume caught him with another girl, in her seat, at the library. Which wasn't really anything but to her it came off, however irrationally, as cheating and a part of her never forgave him for it. And that lead to the big fight .

Even their reconciliation didn't seem to really resolve the underlying issues of their relationship, or the resentment that was brewing between the two of them, and as much longing as their was still between the two, neither could work up the courage or motivation to actually put the effort into really being together again. And as such all the time they could've spent as a couple just breezes by .

So it's not altogether unsurprising that they finally break up at graduation, probably expecting never to see each other again (but fate would have a different plan in mind). Just a cold, quick, break up with no fuss or meaningful words spent. Mizuto acts like this was a liberation to free him from the pain of the love and hate that filled his heart, but has he really liberated himself from his feelings for Yume ?

We finally catch up to present-day Yume and Mizuto who both basically admit that they were planning to have sex that time in his room, and bicker about it in their usual fashion (I mean, Yume had her eyes closed two times, she was expecting a kiss at the least). I guess there's still a certain kind of closeness in that, if nothing else .

[FlareKnight]

On the positive side...putting the episode entirely in a flashback just let them focus on the characters a bit. Plus it's tough to cut back to "blah blah, I was dating" when it isn't going to the past from the present.

Plus despite it being a bit of a somber episode, they did at least end it on an entertaining note. Having this be the moment when they finally rip into each other about totally being ready to have sex during that visit to Mizuto's room . I just love how they are both blown away that the other person was actually up for it. Mizuto was full of regret for chickening out and Yume was full of regrets too in feeling like she wasn't desirable enough for something to happen.

I'm curious how things can work out in the future for them. I suppose if they can maintain this level of open bickering then things wouldn't be able to fester in a future relationship. But who knows. They definitely did need to break up when they did and take some steps back. Just lucky break for them that their parents wouldn't let them get too far apart. Even though they of course have no idea about their pasts.

[Lex79]

They weren't mature enough to handle their feelings, luckily for them destiny decided to give them another chance. Better not waste it, I need my happy ending.

[Wandering Soul]

Yeah, they were pretty much just dumb kids that did not know how to handle things changing around them + feelings of jealousy. At least they are getting another chance.

[Tsundere Louise]

So yeah, as I thought. It was all Yume's fault for them to break up. I can't understand her "he's talking to another girl, he must be cheating on me" level of jealousy.