10 best anime to watch if you like The Shiunji Family Children

The Shiunji Family Children has captured the hearts of anime fans with its unconventional take on family, romance, and identity.

Set in a lavish Tokyo mansion, it follows seven siblings who discover they aren’t biologically related on the youngest sister's 15th birthday, leading to unexpected romantic entanglements that challenge societal norms.

If you can’t get enough of this unique romantic comedy that explores complex questions around love and what defines family, here are 10 more great anime series to add to your watchlist. These shows dive into unique bonds and non-traditional romance with humor, drama, and emotion.

10 must-watch anime for fans of The Shiunji Family Children

1) The Quintessential Quintuplets

The Quintessential Quintuplets (Image via Tezuka Productions, Bibury Animation Studios)

This popular harem anime centers around Futaro Uesugi, a studious high schooler hired as a private tutor for a wealthy man’s five identical quintuplet daughters. Initially, the Nakano sisters resist his help, but over time, romantic feelings begin to bloom as he helps them pass their classes.

Like The Shiunji Family Children, The Quintessential Quintuplets explores a household where romantic feelings threaten to disrupt familial bonds. This lighthearted romantic comedy offers plenty of awkward moments, comedic misunderstandings, and sisters slowly vying for the same love interest.

2) Domestic Girlfriend

Domestic Girlfriend (Image via Diomedéa)

Few anime court controversy like Domestic Girlfriend. The romantic drama begins when reserved high schooler Natsuo Fujii loses his virginity to a gorgeous older woman, Hina Tachibana, whom he later discovers is his teacher.

Things only get more complicated when Natsuo’s father remarries, making Hina and her younger sister Rui his new stepsisters. Like The Shiunji Family Children, Domestic Girlfriend explores the collision between family ties and romantic feelings deemed socially unacceptable.

That thread continues when Natsuo becomes entangled with Rui Tachibana, an aspiring chef. If you enjoy watching the siblings in The Shiunji Family Children grapple with shifting relationships and boundaries, this anime offers a similarly messy, addictive dynamic sure to keep you watching despite the questionable choices.

3) Rent A Girlfriend

Rent A Girlfriend (Image via TMS Entertainment)

This popular romantic comedy focuses on Kazuya Kinoshita, a university student reeling from a messy breakup. Through an app, he hires the beautiful, polite Chizuru Mizuhara to play the role of his girlfriend and help rebuild his shattered confidence.

As their “fake” relationship progresses, however, real feelings begin to emerge on both sides. Besides being from the same original manga creator, Reiji Miyajima, as The Shiunji Family Children, Rent A Girlfriend also explores the fine line between romantic relationships of convenience and those rooted in genuine feelings.

With plenty of cringeworthy comedy, relatable struggles with dating, and two endearing leads, Rent A Girlfriend is perfect for The Shiunji Family Children fans who enjoy messy romantic situations that defy expectations.

4) Nisekoi: False Love

When rival gang heirs Raku Ichijo and Chitoge Kirisaki are forced into a fake relationship to maintain peace between their families, this rom-com soon becomes complicated. Raku’s childhood crush, Onodera, and a childhood promise involving a mysterious girl add layers to the story.

With plenty of misunderstandings, fake dating turning real, and a childhood mystery at its core, Nisekoi is a lighthearted harem comedy full of warmth. Like The Shiunji Family Children, the series explores awkward family dynamics, particularly as Chitoge moves into Raku’s home, causing tension with his traditional family.

With humor and heart, this harem comedy explores relationships struggling against external expectations, making it a great pick for The Shiunji Family Children fans.

5) We Never Learn: BOKUBEN

We Never Learn: BOKUBEN (Image via Studio Silver and Arvo Animation)

When talented but disadvantaged student Yuiga Nariyuki receives a full scholarship under one condition–that he tutor three genius girls at his school–this tutoring comedy soon turns romantic.

Each girl is a prodigy in one area but struggles significantly in others: Fumino excels in literature but is terrible at math, Rizu is brilliant at math but struggles with literature, and Uruka is an athletic prodigy but academically challenged.

Like The Shiunji Family Children, BOKUBEN finds humor and heart in unexpected connections despite personality differences. As the relationships shift from tutoring sessions to genuine affection between Nariyuki and each unique heroine, the series overflows with awkward moments and endearing character growth.

6) Engaged to the Unidentified

Engaged to the Unidentified (Image via Doga Kobo)

When teenage city girl Kobeni Yonomori’s arranged fiancé and his mysterious family move into her home, this slice-of-life comedy explores Kobeni’s adjustments.

She soon develops a crush on her stoic betrothed, Hakuya, whose family harbors some unusual secrets. With a similarly offbeat premise involving surprise family connections like The Shiunji Family Children, Engaged to the Unidentified infuses human relationships with a charm.

As Kobeni’s arranged marriage leads to conflicted feelings for her peculiar fiancé, the tone remains lighthearted and quirky, perfect for The Shiunji Family Children fans seeking another endearingly unconventional romantic tale.

7) Oreimo

Oreimo (Image via AIC Build, A-1 Pictures)

This comedy anime centers around Kyosuke Kosaka, a high school boy who is shocked to discover that his standoffish younger sister, Kirino, has a secret passion for forbidden adult manga and anime.

As Kyosuke gets pulled into covering for Kirino’s taboo hobby, they begin to form new bonds despite their frequent clashes while growing up. While not as overtly romantic at first as The Shiunji Family Children, Oreimo offers a uniquely Japanese take on evolving sibling bonds, blending awkward tension and comedy.

As Kyosuke advises a bashful Kirino on relationships and nurtures her creative ambitions, their sibling dynamic evolves, touching on how complicated family ties can be beyond simple definitions.

8) Fruits Basket

This beloved drama follows orphaned high schooler Tooru Honda, who discovers an extraordinary secret: when certain members of the handsome Sohma family are hugged by someone of the opposite s*x who is not also possessed by a zodiac spirit, they transform into animals from the Chinese Zodiac.

As Tooru grows closer to the Sohma family—from her mysterious classmate Yuki to the fiery Kyo—she helps them break a deeper curse. Full of heart and humor despite dark themes, Fruits Basket explores the meaning of family beyond bloodlines.

From found families to the complex bonds tying the Sohmas together as they bear a supernatural curse, Fruits Basket resonates with The Shiunji Family Children in its celebratory look at the connections we choose—and choose to protect.

9) A Couple of Cuckoos

A Couple of Cuckoos (Image via Shin-Ei Animation and SynergySP)

Unfolding like a classic shoujo romance, this anime follows 16-year-old Nagi Umino, whose life is upended when he learns he was switched at birth. Both his biological and adoptive parents arrange for him to meet and eventually marry his intended fiancée.

Needless to say, sparks fly between Nagi and the proud, rich girl Erika Amano. Beyond another secret parentage reveal that sets romance in motion, much like The Shiunji Family Children, A Couple of Cuckoos embraces awkward family dynamics as Nagi navigates living with his sharp-tongued fiancée until they’re ready for marriage.

With misunderstandings galore and polished comedic timing, this shoujo-inspired rom-com shares The Shiunji Family Children's flair for revelations that upend expectations.

10) Haganai: I Don't Have Many Friends

Haganai: I Don't Have Many Friends (Image via AIC Build)

Outcast anime fan Kodaka Hasegawa struggles to make friends, attracting rumors due to his blonde hair. After fellow loner Yozora Mikazuki starts her own Neighbor Club at school to learn how to socialize, these misfits soon attract other quirky students seeking friendship and connection.

While not overtly focused on taboo romance like The Shiunji Family Children, Haganai similarly explores the meaning of makeshift families as bonds blossom between these endearing misfits.

With plenty of otaku references and awkward hilarity, Kodaka and Yozora’s neighbor club provides heartwarming proof that family extends beyond blood, resonating with The Shiunji Family Children's central themes.

Conclusion

Anime continues to push boundaries on socially acceptable romance with series like The Shiunji Family Children, offering thoughtful, dramatized explorations of human connection. Whether challenging assumptions through sibling bonds or fake relationships turning genuine, unconventional anime romance provides accessibility to nuanced cultural questions.

If you liked The Shiunji Family Children's take on family and romance, these anime are a must-watch. They run the gamut from tender supernatural drama to awkward harem comedy, but all provide insight into the boundaries around love while championing the connections we choose.