ANIME REVIEW | "Alma-chan" and Her Family Are No Small Wonder
As many anime series have shown, the best kind of families are the ones that are built. Whether it’s an office lady housing dragons or a yakuza becoming a father figure to an alien girl, it’s these kinds of family-based stories that tend to deliver strong stories and likable characters. Alma-chan Wants to Be a Family!, a new series airing this Fall 2025 season, continues with that trend, as it gives a couple of oddballs a child they never knew they needed in their lives. The end result is sometimes sweet, but often very entertaining.
Our would-be parents in Alma-chan Wants to Be a Family! are the scientists Enji (Ryota Suzuki) and Suzume (M.A.O), who build a robot to use for military defense and offense. The robot, Alma (Hika Tsukishiro), takes the form of a small girl and begins to act as one. As such, Alma starts looking at her creators as her parents, which leaves Enji and Suzume very perplexed. Knowing that there isn’t much they can do to reverse this mentality, the scientists decide to just go with it and start raising Alma as their daughter.
It would seem like a straightforward decision to make, but there’s a slight problem. Despite there being hints of feelings for one another, Enji and Suzume are nowhere near the couple that they should be. Alma, innocent as can be, somewhat senses this and gives the two a push towards being in a legitimate relationship. From doing family activities like going for ice cream or going to Parent’s Day, the three get to experience what it’s like to be a “normal” family. But as those quotation marks will hint, these three aren’t normal in any sense of the word.
Where else would you see a kid dub a vacuum cleaner as their brother? Or switch bodies whenever their main one is going under maintenance? Alma, Enji, and Suzume aren’t the only weirdos out there, as we see the duo of android Makina (Rika Nagae) and Tokoyo (Sakaya Senbongi) add a little fun and chaos into their lives. There are also the abnormal situations Alma gets herself into, ranging from being kidnapped to having a race to the moon. (Of course, this is anime, and this medium is known to get pretty zany!)
Almost every segment in Alma-chan Wants to Be a Family! is tagged with a lesson, made by the narrator, Jun Fukushima (a far cry away from his KonoSuba! responsibilities). Whether it’s about being helpful after Alma aids a tourist or learning to enjoy some vacation time when the trio needs to help the android with a school project, these morals aren’t exactly the most life-changing things that you’ll hear. Be that as it may, the narrator does do a good job simply reminding the viewers how to be a good person and why it pays to be kind. (Considering how many people online lack manners, maybe having to emphasize these points is necessary.)
The anime definitely leans more in being cute than being funny. However, when it wants to go for a big laugh, it does so with glee. A great example of this is when Alma, Makina, and their rich friend Neon (Hinaki Yano) start a YouTube channel. They become breakout stars with their wild videos, to the point where they’re able to do a live performance. However, it leads to a hilarious punchline at the end, one that takes a moment to realize why it was bad for Makina to reveal that she’s a bot.
All of the humor is set up well thanks to the voice cast. Tsukishiro brings an innocent and endearing charm to her Alma performance, whereas Nagae’s Makina leans more toward the goofy and bratty. As the would-be parents, Suzuki and M.A.O find that their chemistry works surprisingly well, to the point where one could easily envision them as a future couple. Together, these actors work off one another that — while caked in fantasy — makes their family seem more real as the story progresses.
Visually, Studio Flad does an okay job with bringing Alma-chan Wants to Be a Family! to life. Sometimes the animation can be choppy, especially when Alma showcases her weapons skills. However, when the show goes for laughs, the visuals find a way to match well with the comedic timing. Be it when either Alma or Makina’s head pops off or when the family goes on a four-day impromptu vacation around the world, these moments are captured with a bit more care than the more action-y scenes.
Alma-chan Wants to Be a Family! isn’t anything new, but it does deliver with some solid laughs and genuine cuteness. We may have seen our fair share of robot kids in many forms of media, and Alma-chan certainly won’t be the last. With that being said, these tales of an android helping to build her family and world have enough sweetness in them to heal even the saddest of folks. It shouldn’t take an anime to show viewers how to be a good person, but Alma-chan Wants to Be a Family! does so with an earnest heart.
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Alma-chan Wants to Be a Family! can be viewed on Crunchyroll, and has been licensed by Crunchyroll. Episodes 1-10 were observed for review. Promotional consideration provided by Crunchyroll.
