Please Excuse My Younger Brothers has been a real surprise for me, because I’m not the biggest fan of stepsibling romances. Don’t get me wrong, I think the trope can be a lot of fun, but as soon as a story leans too hard into the whole call-me-onii-san-and-I’ll-blush situation, it leaves a sour taste. Please Excuse My Younger Brothers does that to some extent, too, and yet somehow it works. So if you want to know where to read the manga, you’re in the right place.
Please Excuse My Younger Brothers: What the story is about
Ito is a hardworking 16-year-old who has always supported her mother wholeheartedly while she was busy working. Although she often felt lonely, she never let it show. That’s why she was elated when her mother remarried and they were going to live together as a family in the Narita house. Turns out the Narita household doesn’t just consist of her new stepdad, but also four sons. And her mom didn’t even warn her, because she thought it would be a fun surprise.
- Gen: The oldest brother and the obvious love interest. He is only one day younger than Ito
- Raku: One year younger and refreshingly unbothered (and he is not a love interest, which is great)
- Shu: A reclusive, shy gamer at the beginning, and Ito helps him come out of his shell
- Rui: The youngest brother and extremely fun. He’s only in third grade.
Ito takes her role as the older sister extremely seriously, and the story plays out almost entirely without parents: her stepdad gets transferred to Hokkaido for work, and her mother goes with him. So no sneaking around. They flirt in plain sight.
If you want more Shoujo: Here is a review of Lovesick Ellie, one of my favorite Shoujos of all time.
Ito x Gen
Ito and Gen are the obvious couple from the start. Author Akira Ozaki really emphasizes how both of them had to be strong for their families and how they always put family first. I think Ito is an extremely fun female lead. It’s nothing new that many shoujo heroines have to shoulder way too much at a young age and become mother of the family 2.0, but Ito still manages to be a carefree, fun character. I love her expressions.
And I’m not the only one: Naomi Ozora, who voices Ito in the anime, said in an interview that Ito’s emotions always show on her face, whether comedic, serious or romantic, and that she had a lot of fun performing Ito’s funny-face scenes.
Gen is the standard male lead: tough on the outside, a ball of kindness on the inside. He treats everyone well. The story wants us to believe he’s cold and bad with words, but honestly, I don’t feel that comes across at all. Without spoiling too much: once his feelings start to surface, he really doesn’t know how to deal with them.
If you want to know who confesses first and how their relationship develops, you can read the spoilers:
Show Spoiler
Ito is the first to realize her feelings. Gen drops hints, like saying he doesn’t know whether he likes her because the word “like” doesn’t cut it, but he is much slower than Ito. She confesses on Valentine’s Day or White Day (I’m not 100% sure which), and I love that the story first lets Gen respond with, “Well, I like you too, we’re family,” before they have a full-blown all-nighter in which Ito explains her feelings, so there are no misunderstandings whatsoever. Gen realizes his own feelings a little later, and in volume 10 they even tell their mom and ask for permission to date.
Please Excuse My Younger Brothers: Where to Read the Manga and Alternative Name
I remember the early days when Please Excuse My Younger Brothers (Uchi no Otouto-domo ga Sumimasen) was only available through a scanlation group. I loved it, but updates were rare, even though it’s such a big hit in Japan. For a very long time, there was no official English release. But now we can finally read the manga officially on MangaPlaza. The digital English release started on July 2, 2026, and the manga is rated 13+. It isn’t available in English on any other platform yet. Here is the release schedule on MangaPlaza:
- Volume 9: Release Date September 21, 2026
- Volume 10: Release Date October 5, 2026
- Volume 11: Release Date October 19, 2026
- Volume 12: Release Date November 02, 2026
One volume has four chapters and costs USD 6.99 or 699 points to unlock. MangaPlaza often hands out coupons, but they aren’t valid for new releases, so keep that in mind. If this biweekly schedule keeps up, we can expect Volume 15 on December 14. However, MangaPlaza hasn’t added any placeholders or announcements yet; the last volume listed is Volume 12. My guess is that it will take a bit longer before they translate Volume 15, since it was only released in Japan on June 25, 2026.
Please Excuse My Younger Brothers Manga: Is It Finished?
No. Volume 15 is the latest volume in Japan, but it won’t be the last. The series is still ongoing in Shueisha’s monthly shoujo magazine Bessatsu Margaret, where it started back in January 2020. Patience is key, though: Volume 13 came out in January 2025, Volume 14 in July 2025, and Volume 15 only in June 2026, so the gap was almost a full year.
What happens in Volume 15? It’s Ito and Gen’s last school festival before exam season starts; Ito wants to enjoy some alone time with Gen, a surprise “girlfriend” might show up for Shu, and there’s a bonus story featuring Raku.
We don’t know how many more volumes there will be, but Please Excuse My Younger Brothers is a huge success in Japan: the manga has sold over 3 million copies.
Please Excuse My Younger Brothers Anime: Where to Watch
The anime is currently on episode 14, which covers the story up to Volume 7. The anime will have 24 episodes, so it covers quite a lot of the manga.
The anime is produced by Studio Lay-duce and directed by Hitoshi Nanba. It premiered in July 2026. You can stream it on Crunchyroll, with new episodes every Friday. In Southeast Asia, the series is licensed by Medialink. Ito is voiced by Naomi Ozora and Gen by Toshiki Masuda.
And if you can’t get enough: there is also a live-action movie, which premiered in Japanese theaters on December 6, 2024, starring Mei Hata as Ito and Ryuto Sakuma as Gen.
