The Spring 2026 season is almost over, and preparations for the new season, Summer, have already begun, including within the anime industry. Dozens of anime are set to premiere in the coming season, featuring the return of older series with new installments, including the final part of Bleach, alongside many brand-new titles. With such an abundance of releases, it can be difficult to curate a list that offers a wide variety of interesting shows. While it is impossible to create a lineup with universal appeal, there are some anime that have particularly stood out.
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One of those includes an amusing twist on one of the oldest stories popularized in animation by one of the leading entertainment companies, Disney. The multimedia giant is known for creating many fantasy stories, but one of the most recognizable tales that almost everyone knows by heart is Cinderella. This story, adapted into many different forms over the years, has established the notion that an illegitimate girl child will inevitably face hardships from their stepmother and stepsisters. It is precisely this notion that the anime My Stepmother and Stepsisters Aren’t Wicked is set to challenge.
Summer 2026’s New Anime Asks: What If Cinderella’s Family Actually Loved Her?
The upcoming My Stepmother and Stepsisters Aren’t Wicked anime is based on the manga of the same name and will be produced by Newon, a relatively new anime studio that was established only last year. The series is actually one of the studio’s initial projects. The trailer makes the anime look decent and well worth looking forward to in terms of animation. However, the main reason why the series is shaping up to be an intriguing watch is clearly its premise. As the title suggests, it follows a girl named Miya Nakamura, who is surprised by the treatment she receives from her stepmother and stepsisters following the death of her mother.
While Miya expects, given her stepmother and stepsisters’ intimidating demeanor, to be pushed into slavery and treated with disrespect, the women are instead extremely caring toward her. They genuinely want to look after her following the tragedy of her mother’s death and help her live a better life. They teach her how to bathe properly and dress better. This is essentially the complete opposite of what Disney’s Cinderella trope is known for. The legendary fantasy story has created the image that girls in such situations are destined to suffer and require a miracle to help them thrive.
However, My Stepmother and Stepsisters Aren’t Wicked offers an amusing take on the trope, subverting the familiar evil stepfamily dynamic and exploring what if Cinderella were actually loved by her stepfamily. That is what makes My Stepmother and Stepsisters Aren’t Wicked one of the more interesting titles among the many anime arriving in the Summer 2026 season, as it dares to flip one of Disney’s most legendary stories, and it will be interesting to see how far it goes with this amusing twist.
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