Danica Davidson
December 28, 2022 
My Stepsister Who Tells Me to Die Every Day Tries to Hypnotize Me So I would Fall for Her…! is a manga with a long title that tells you the basic setup. Ichigaya Aoto is a high schooler who moonlights as a light novelist, and his stepsister Shizuku treats him like crap. She’ll say things like, “Don’t you dare talk to me at school” and “Even in my grave I refuse to be considered your sister.”
Then one day she straddles him and performs hypnosis, wanting him to kiss her. The hypnosis doesn’t work, but our protagonist, knowing how much trouble he’ll get in if he doesn’t go along with her (she threatens him with a drill) has to pretend he’s hypnotized. Shizuku will even have him act out lines that she thinks are sexy and he thinks are tacky. And when he obeys and says what she wants, she acts scandalized because they’re step-siblings. (While he acknowledges there’s no blood between them, he still feels bad interacting with his sister this way.) And she has his light novel, which coincidentally also has to do with sexy sisters, and she’s not supposed to know he wrote it. But she wants him to read it to her . . .
Making things more complicated, the person Ichigaya actually has feelings for is Rinko, his childhood friend, but he doesn’t believe she feels the same way. This ends up leading into an awkward love triangle with the three characters.
The premise of the manga is purposefully outrageous, and is just meant to be a fun, escapist manga with some fanservice. Fans of tsundere can recognize Shizuku as someone who fits that term (it’s even brought up in the manga). It’s a light, quick read, fun for a break from the real world, and aimed more toward a male audience. There are plenty of moments of humor—and it’s sometimes painful humor as Ichigaya gets himself into more and more ridiculous situations. This series is digital-only and available exclusively on the Mangamo app.
Story & Art: Tanaka Doriru
Publisher: Mangamo
Translator: Felix Li
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
