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Review: ‘The Testament of Sister New Devil’ makes great 1st impression

The first episode of The Testament of Sister New Devil aired in Japan, but you can stream it internationally through Crunchyroll. Episode one starts out casually with Basara Tojo and his father eating oyako-don. It is obvious that Basara’s father, Jin, has ulterior motives. Jin rhetorically asks Basara if he always wanted a little sister, which Basara bluntly answers “no.”

Screengrab from the 1st episode to  The Testament of Sister New Devil.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to “The Testament of Sister New Devil.”
Crunchyroll

You can obviously see where the conversation is going. I would go as far to call Jin a “sh—ty father” because of his insistence of Basara wanting a younger sister, which Jin adamantly denies. Jin shamelessly tells Basara he has a “cute little sister.”

Screengrab from the 1st episode to  The Testament of Sister New Devil.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to “The Testament of Sister New Devil.”
Crunchyroll

If I was in Basara’s shoes, I would assume my dad was an unfaithful philanderer. When I think about it, I kind of am in his shoes. Even though I never met my estranged dad, I did now he was a philanderer.

So, I can sympathize and empathize with Basara right there. I adamantly feel Basara’s dad is a total d—chebag for dropping everything on him like a ton of bricks. If it was my dad, I probably would have cursed him out and smacked him repeatedly with the menu.

Things continue getting awkward when Basara accidentally runs into his new stepsister in the bathroom. It feels like a comically warped version of the ABC sitcom Step By Step.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to  The Testament of Sister New Devil.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to “The Testament of Sister New Devil.”
Crunchyroll

Basara should have manned up, admit he made a mistake and apologize to Mio. He instead complicates the situation by trying to silence her, which makes it look like he’s trying to sexually molest and assault her.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to  The Testament of Sister New Devil.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to “The Testament of Sister New Devil.”
Crunchyroll

Things get weirder for Basara when he wakes up to see Mio, one of his new stepsisters, sitting on his lap for some unknown reason. This is something you would never see in Step By Step.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to  The Testament of Sister New Devil.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to “The Testament of Sister New Devil.”
Crunchyroll

She has a strange way of waking people up. Perhaps Mio got the wrong idea by watching one too many “reality” porn videos. Then again, it would be awesome to have a hot stepsister around your age to wake you up in that fashion.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to  The Testament of Sister New Devil.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to “The Testament of Sister New Devil.”
Crunchyroll

There is the demotivational poster about stepsisters, who you can have sex with and not risk contamination of the gene pool. That doesn’t really count as an incestuous relationship if it is between step-siblings because they are not related by blood.

The awkwardness continues when they discover an adult visual novel game hidden in Basara’s bed.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to  The Testament of Sister New Devil.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to “The Testament of Sister New Devil.”
Crunchyroll

I suspect Basara’s dad put the game in his bed on purpose, but I doubt that would be a valid excuse to tell Mio.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to  The Testament of Sister New Devil.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to “The Testament of Sister New Devil.”
Crunchyroll

Basara reminds me of Toma Kamjio, the protagonist of A Certain Magical Index, who is forever cursed with rotten luck because of his “Imagine Breaker” ability. In the case of this anime, Basara gets into one awkward situation after another.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to  The Testament of Sister New Devil.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to “The Testament of Sister New Devil.”
Crunchyroll

What’s funny is that the episode hasn’t even reached the six-minute mark.

Things get awkward, yet again, when Basara enters the kitchen to see his younger stepsister Maria dressed provocatively when cooking breakfast.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to  The Testament of Sister New Devil.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to “The Testament of Sister New Devil.”
Crunchyroll

I was shocked to learn that Maria was the one that hid the adult game in Basara’s bed. I loved her reason for doing so.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to  The Testament of Sister New Devil.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to “The Testament of Sister New Devil.”
Crunchyroll

I was surprised to see Basara warm up to Mio and Maria as if he was their actual brother. The situation gets more interesting when Jin has to go on another overseas work trip, which leaves Basara alone with his two new stepsisters.

Everything gets serious when the stepsisters force Basara to leave the house. You would think having stepsisters without advance notice is weird enough, but what if they weren’t human? That is a rhetorical question of course.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to  The Testament of Sister New Devil.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to “The Testament of Sister New Devil.”
Crunchyroll

The episode shifts from Step By Step to Lost Girl by the second half. It gets to the point to where Mio reminds me of Bo Dennis, the heroine of Lost Girl. This also reminds me of the anime series Yusibu, where Fino Bloodstone is the daughter of the Demon Lord.

It also made me think of The Devil Is A Part-Timer!, where protagonist Mao Sadao and one of his generals escape their world and end up in modern-day Tokyo.

Basara should be relieved that his dad didn’t get remarried, but that is the least of his worries. I was surprised that Basara turned the tables on the sisters.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to  The Testament of Sister New Devil.

Screengrab from the 1st episode to “The Testament of Sister New Devil.”
Crunchyroll

It was surprising that Jin knew what he was doing and could see through the sisters’ ulterior motives. I thought Jin and Basara were clueless about everything, but that was far from the truth. This was something I didn’t see coming.

Episode one was enjoyable to watch. If you enjoy watching fantasy and supernatural anime series, give The Testament of Sister New Devil a shot. The same thing applies if you like watching shows like Lost Girl, The Originals, Vampire Diaries, or Teen Wolf.

You can catch the first episode on Crunchyroll, but premium members can watch it first. Free members have to wait one week.

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