Stepsiblings, or siblings not related by blood, are pretty prevalent in anime and manga mediums. And of course, they would be, as not including them would alienate a lot of viewers that may be a stepbrother or stepsister. But, does this medium use stepsiblings like fairy tales do, in which they’re typically portrayed as cartoonishly evil bullies?
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Or, does it portray them as actual people with motivations, goals, and a whole life ahead of them? Primarily it’s the latter option, but there are still some anime out there that feature stepsiblings who are just plain awful. Whether it’s because they treat their family poorly, are actual villains, or are acting out due to not feeling like part of the ‘family’, here are some examples of the worst anime stepbrothers overall.
7Kazuto “Kirito” Kirigaya: Sword Art Online
Starting things off with a controversial pick, it’s the prodigal MC fromSword Art Online, Kirito. There’s always a controversial debate between anime fans about the quality of theSword Art Onlineseries as a whole, but if they can all agree on one thing, it’s that Kirito is an awful stepsibling to Suguha Kirigaya. Not only did the kid emotionally separate himself from her once he quit Kendo as a kid, but somehow managed to separate himself even more once he found out they weren’t biological siblings (they’re actually cousins).
Despite this, Suguha took up Kendo and became exceptionally good at it to cover for Kirito, she got into the world of VRMMO games to better understand Kirito, and she even (despite how twisted) developed feelings for him after finding out they weren’t actual siblings. It’s a messed up relationship, and this is primarily Kirito’s fault, as he was off galavanting in VRMMOsand adopting AI daughtersinstead of working on his actual familial relationships.
6Langris Vaude: Black Clover
Among the Black Bulls, Finral Roulacase has to have one of the strongest types of magic by default (not includingtime travel magic AKA Chronomancy, of course). The possibilities of spatial magic are, almost quite literally, infinite. Now, imagine that spatial magic, instead of being in the hands of a well-meaningand talented (yet lazy) playboy, was also in the hands of a twisted prodigy with a god complex.
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That’s Langris Vaude, Finral’s stepbrother. Not only did this kid constantly try to one-up his brother and make him miserable when they were younger, but even once they were both Magic Knights he held this unwarranted grudge. And, in their first match against each other in the Royal Knights Selection Exam, Vangris wins and then intentionally attempts to kill Finral after. It wasn’t enough that the guy already had everything, his brother still had some things that he didn’t, and that meant he had to go.
5Stelly: One Piece
Stelly is probably one of the best examples someone could point to if they had to describe a stereotypical pompous and cowardly noble. Not only was he twisted, ignorant, and devious as a child, but as an adult, Stelly has an absurd amount of power at his hands yet still acts like a spoiled brat. Thankfully, luck seems to be against Stelly, as he’s constantly thwarted while acting ‘noble’ by the world around him, and this turns him intoa pretty funny comedic relief character.
In terms of how he was a stepbrother (of sorts) to Sabo, Stelly was awful. He would put on this polite and respectful front towards Sabo in front of their parents, but as soon as they were gone he would say awful things to Sabo, despite getting intimidated by him at the drop of a hat.
4Sesshomaru: Inuyasha
Arguably one of the lesser ‘awful’ stepbrothers on here, Sesshomaru still treated Inuyasha quite horribly for most of their young lives, and even when he learned to care for him he would rarely show it. Granted, this came from a place of jealousy and lack of understanding, as Sesshomaru hated the human part of Inuyasha and couldn’t understand his father’s or Inuyasha’s love of humanity.
Gradually, as time went on in the hunt for the Shikon Jewel Shards (and the hunt for Naraku), Sesshomaru and Inuyasha’s relationship improved and developed into more of a Dante and Vergil type relationship (the demonic brothers fromDevil May Cry), where they would look out for each other in battle. But, overall, Sesshomaru still has a long way to go to be considered a ‘great’ stepbrother.
3Abel Bluefield: Fena Pirate Princess
Now, while this next stepbrother had, at the very least, understandable (but not acceptable) motivations, the things he did to try and get ‘closer’ to his stepsister were horrendous. Abel Bluefield was absolutely head-over-heels in love with Fena Houtman’s mother, Helena. But, due to some serious story spoilers, Helena couldn’t reciprocate his feelings and was eventually executed for witchcraft. Now, Abel is obsessed with Fena due to how similar she looks to her and his trauma from watching Helena’s execution.
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All that said, the guy is still Fena’s stepbrother, so his romantic feelings are horrifying, and the amount of people he’s willing to trick, murder, or cut ties with in order to get even an inch closer to Fena is absurd.
2Kichimura Washuu: Tokyo Ghoul & Tokyo Ghoul: Re
Kichimura Washuu, otherwise known as South or Clown in the Ghoul world and Nimura Furuta amongst the C.C.G., is one of the most twisted individuals out there. And, that’s saying something, given how twisted of a seriesTokyo Ghoulis in the first place with the gratuitous violenceand constant character deaths. Not only is Kichimura the major antagonist and secret ‘big bad’ of bothTokyo Ghoulseries, but he’s also the one who dropped the steel beams on Rize, which leads to her organs being transplanted into Ken Kaneki, turning him into a half-ghoul.
Once Kichimura has revealed himself and his origins, readers are made aware of just how evil he is (as if it was obvious before). Not only did he love Rize Kamishiro, his half-sister, but he ‘killed’ her, captured her, experimented on her, and used her to create multiple One-Eyed Ghouls. As far as stepsiblings go, his motivations are the most heinous and his actions are equally as disgusting.
1Big Mom’s Pirate Crew: One Piece
And finally, let’s end things with one moreOne Pieceentry. One of the most renowned families in this series happens to be a pirate family, and it’s the Big Mom Pirates. This crew, led by one of the New World Emperors, is primarily made up of Big Mom’s children (not ‘clones’, actual children) from many different fathers. There are 85 of Charlotte Linlin’s kids in this pirate crew, across 43 husbands, which makes for a lot of stepbrothers and stepsisters.
Now, there aren’t any specific examples, but the crew as a whole is very ‘survival of the fittest’ and seems to follow a tyrannical system where Big Mom’s word is law. So, often, these stepsiblings will fight, disagree with, or even sometimes attempt to murder each other if they feel it’s necessary or if Big Mom wills it. The most obvious example being many of the stepsibling’s treatment towards Charlotte Chiffon after she worked with Capone Bege to attempt an assassination on Big Mom.
