Yu Ayase is the son of Subaru Ayase, a woman gifted with beauty, athleticism and intelligence, but Yu seems to have only inherited her good looks. When Yu is enrolled in a high-class school, he's entrusted to the care of the family of a close friend of his mother's and moves to their house, where he begins rooming with the three Mikadono sisters, who are all exceptionally talented in their own way but each have a weak side to them.

The structural setup of Dealing With Mikadono Sisters is a Breeze isn't anything new by harem romcom standards: Hapless guy winds up rooming with multiple girls, hijinks ensue. But some of the specific details at least help it stand out. In good ways? I don't know yet, but it at least feels distinctive in ways that won't have me confusing this anime for a dozen other structurally similar ones out there when I try to recall it a few seasons from now.

The leads are a bit more distinct compared to what I'd expect from an anime like this, for one thing. The three titular sisters all have styles that are just a little unconventional. There's an angularity to them, sharpened alongside some pretty distinguishing height differences between each other as they tower over the main boy. Naturally I find Niko to be the standout, but that might be because she's done just a little more interaction-wise than the other sisters. The others have their own charming points that are definitely going to target other viewers though, with stage star Kazuki coming off extremely different from other older-girl romantic interest leads.

It's all compounded by focal fellow Yu himself. He is, in the parlance of our times, just a little guy. He's a cute ball of mediocrity. But unlike so many projectable potato protags, Yu is assured and resourceful in his mediocrity. He's gained enough awareness of his alleged betters and learned enough about them that he's got an idea of how to take care of them (or "deal with" them, as the title goes) with a confident understanding you don't see from so many other put-upon dorks these kinds of shows are centered on. He might not be able to perform, fight or win at shogi, but he's the most amazing housekeeper this home has ever seen, and that earns him a spot being subservient to these bigger, more headstrong girls.

At least, that's the obvious train of thought I think Dealing With Mikadono Sisters is trying to lead its target audience to. I spent a not-insignificant chunk of this first episode trying to figure out precisely what his actual deal was. He seems earnestly engaged in the task of forging a family with these girls, their own priorities aside, but his ways of doing so ping-pong between genuine helping out and self-assured psychology. Again, I can't actually say that this is good or bad, but it's at least intriguing. It all looks nice enough, with bold colours and sharp animation on parts like Niko's efforts to kick people's heads in. The show's greatest strength is easily the character designs. Harem though it may be, there's little relying on visual shorthand to express the girls' personalities, which come through in their expressions and actions. The sisters' two-tone hair gives them extra pop in an overall vividly coloured production. It's not just the big picture either, there are small details that show thought and care, like Niko's t-shirt and sweats at home.

In its second episode, Dealing With Mikadono Sisters continues to feel just a bit weird, but that at least means it continues feeling unique. Yu's ostensible status as a simple little guy is regularly underscored by the anime effectively pimping him and his efforts. He's still inherited an actress' looks, after all, and he's even got the caretaking skills to conceive of and prepare meals perfectly suited to the sisters. Really, who wouldn't fall for him as this sort of helpful househusband? Even Niko experiences a dreamy-filtered shot of him, and this episode is overall about Yu's deceptively basic bearings tearing down barriers between him and his new would-be family.

It only feels a little undermining the way the writing keeps slipping in the undercurrent of how Yu has his ways with handling these girls and showing them how strong and independent they aren't. They even throw up imagination spots of him visualizing girls like Niko as cute animals who need to be tamed and manipulated--though at least she does call him out on the inherent creep factor of that fantasy. Nevermind the ultimate reveal of this episode that the rigidly resistant Kazuki is secretly a fussy child who needs an attentive parent to take care of things for her. It's an episode largely concerned with revealing things that these seemingly perfect sisters actually suck at, and it all provides a path for why Yuu would be necessary to helping them achieve their goals in the given fields. But it also comes across, at least a little, like the writing can't wholly abide girls who are actually strong-willed, competent and capable and must concoct situations where they need a self-insert guy playing Princess Maker with their stats and schedules. Granted, there's still a whole lot of a very particular kind of dynamic being fetishized under all this.

It's unclear exactly why Yu is having to act as the live-in caretaker of these extremely wealthy girls. If they fail at their specialties, it'll somehow be his fault. When he thinks of this, he imagines them defeated, humiliated and...stripped of their clothing. Okay, I don't think your clothes fall off if you lose at shogi or a karate match or mess up in a stage performance, buddy.

But there wasn't any other weird, out-of-place fanservice after that, leaving me to enjoy the parts of the show I liked and feel neutral about the rest. To his credit, Yu doesn't win the girls over through trickery or manipulation (so far), but by sincerely attending to their needs. The girls are prickly and suspicious, but accept his help when they see the effort he's put in to address their exact situations. When Kazuki resists his assistance, he tries to learn more about her to resolve the problem.

I have to say, the directing and comedic timing of the show is actually really winning me over the most. There's a lot of good moments of genuine comedy that really take advantage of those pop-up character profiles, with my favourite probably being the profiles following the characters as they're running across the entire school. It's pretty unique and I hope it pushes the boundaries of that type of visual gag as the show goes on. There are also plenty of comedic cuts that genuinely did get a laugh out of me, so at the very least, the show is holding my attention from an entertainment perspective. The problem is the predictability of the whole setup and how the show hasn't quite yet earned those flustered romantic moments yet. The show likes to make it a big point that our main character has the looks and the know-how but doesn't have talent, so everyone keeps getting disappointed in him. With Niko, he's seemingly won her over pretty easily with a single look and a few choice words. It would've been better for the overall story if that affection was actually earned.

Still, maybe the reason I like Yu more than a lot of protagonists who've been in his shoes before is because he interacts with the sisters like an individual character who's just as goofy and weird as his costars, and the interactions he has with them actually make you believe that they'd come to like (and maybe even love) their new tiny butler. That said, we get enough shower scenes and innuendos to keep Dealing With Mikadono Sisters from feeling too wholesome and sterile. You've gotta strike the right balance of being cute and being pervy in a harem anime, learn more from The 100 Girlfriends or Tenchi Muyo and less from, like, Love Hina or Monster Musume, y'know what I mean?

Niko's still my favourite, naturally, but there are some relatable connections Yu makes with Miwa, as their shared lack of athleticism shows they aren't as far apart as they might think--at least before Miwa starts busting out baby memories like she's Ray from The Promised Neverland. There's potential common ground here though, is what I'm getting at, and that's also found in the acting that brings Yu and Kazuki together by the end. His efforts can help to drive her passion for her craft as a motivation, and I find that way more compelling than the ending sequence showing Kazuki dreaming of Yu sweeping her off her feet as she spawns long, womanly hair and dons a feminine dress.

Yeah, seriously, the ending credits roll over a sequence that concludes with Kazuki dreaming of dancing onstage with Yuu in a feminine white dress and long hair. Because I guess every gender-nonconforming girl secretly craves traditional gender roles, right?

Dealing With Mikadono Sisters continues to be amusing in most places anyway. Plus it's still got a strong, vibrant look to it. I dig the variously expressive little bear on Yu's apron too. But I definitely think this series will fare better if it focuses on Yu ingratiating himself into the girls' lives as a caring family and/or equal-footing love interest, rather than showing off how his effective husbandry skills can tame and basically reprogram them or some BS. It all still feels weird, but I hope it can swing closer to "fun weird" than "offputting weird".