In Tokyo's Setagaya ward, the Shiunji family lives with their seven children¹: Banri, Seiha, Ouka, Arata, Shion, Minami, and Kotono². Arata is constantly being pestered by his siblings for his inability to find a girlfriend.⁽²⁾⁽³⁾ However, one day, their father reveals that they are all adopted and, other than the youngest brother, Shion, and his twin, Minami, none of them are biologically related. In the aftermath of this revelation, Arata's sisters begin to approach him "with intentions that go beyond sibling affection."²
Pseudo-Incest and Seduction
In the paragraph above, I quoted MyAnimeList's description for The Shiunji Family Children, in which they point-blank state that these girls' intentions "go beyond sibling affection."² It seems as if the author of this story wanted to avoid the issue of actual incestuous situations, but continued to push the drama that would come from such. "We're not blood-related, but all adopted, so it's fine to feel this way."
Does God agree? Let's check.
"And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity." (Leviticus 20:17)
One may argue that this verse applies to biological siblings only. If you reread the verse, you'll see that it does not say that; it simply says if a woman is your father or mother's daughter, you are not to even see her naked, much less have a sexual encounter with her.
I bring this up because, clearly, the sisters in this show are attempting to lure Arata into this incestuous sin. They are acting just like the Proverbs 7 woman (though not married like her). Additionally, this show gives off the appearance of evil, trying to be as close to incestuous as possible without "actual incest."
"Abstain from all appearance of evil." (1 Thessalonians 5:22)
Immodesty
A fairly common issue with anime is the inappropriate clothing that is plastered everywhere, and this anime is no exception.¹ For this particular show, short skirts appear, along with immodesty such as gold accessories. Besides this, IMDb states there are many sexual scenes and a scene of a woman bathing.⁴
If one takes the time to look at what the Word of God says about clothing and modesty, they will find that the Bible plainly gives us the information we need. Let us take a quick look at a passage that is pivotal in this discussion:
"In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;" (1 Timothy 2:9)
With such a clear verse to go off of, we can condemn this anime on multiple charges of immodesty. Why would the people of God spend their time consuming media that the LORD directly forbids? In fact, the Bible explicitly tells us this.
"[26] My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways. [27] For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit." (Proverbs 23:26-27)
Reflecting upon what was stated in the previous section, the Shiunji sisters are trying to seduce Arata. These women are acting as if they were promiscuous. This passage from Proverbs states that we are to let our eyes observe the ways of God. Verse 27 starts with "For" or "Because"—we are to let our eyes stay looking at righteous, God-honoring things because the whore is a deep ditch, the strange woman is a narrow pit.
"What need we any further witness?" said the high priest when he condemned Christ to death. If I may, I would like to use this sentence to ask, "Do we really need another witness?" Does not the Word of the Lord explain clearly what we are to observe?
Conclusion
Does an anime about "not real" incest come off as a show that the Lord is pleased with or glorified by? Absolutely not! There is nothing about The Shiunji Family Children that should prompt God's people to watch it! Instead of consuming this show about the Shiunji family's incestuous desires, why don't we instead follow Christ, like proper children of God? I would much rather be invested as God's child than as a spectator to "The Shiunji Family Children"!
Sources:
1. The Shiunji Family Children. Crunchyroll, crunchyroll.com/series/G9VHN9Q84/the-shiunji-family-children. Accessed 9/12/2025.
2. "Shiunji-ke no Kodomotachi." MyAnimeList, myanimelist.net/anime/58131/Shiunji-ke_no_Kodomotachi. Accessed 9/12/2025.
3. "The Shiunji Family Children." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8/21/2025, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shiunji_Family_Children. Accessed 9/12/2025.
4. "The Shiunji Family Children Parents guide." IMDb, imdb.com/title/tt35331428/parentalguide. Accessed 9/12/2025.