Oreimo Wednesdays: The Final Stretch

[PokeNirvash]

August 10, 2008. Tsukasa Fushimi debuted his light novel Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai (My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute), better known as Oreimo, to many otaku about to get a wake-up call on their imouto fantasies.

 

October 3, 2010. The animated adaptation of Oreimo, directed by Hiroyuki Kanbe at AIC Build, premiered on Japanese television. The now-defunct blog Chocolate Syrupy Waffles disliked it, on the pretense that Kirino was not the little sister any of them wanted.

 

August 21, 2014. I, PokeNirvash, who actually has a little sister unlike those poseurs on CSW, started watching Oreimo, for no other reason than it was about damn time I did so. With it, I also made a thread simply titled "I've Finally Done It", where I commented on all of the episodes to prove to those who clearly don't know me well enough that not even this show can crawl under my skin as much as it did with them.

 

June 1, 2016. After a needlessly long hiatus associated with the fact that I technically watched Oreimo alongside three other anime, and in response to the Hulu expiration that never came to be, I resumed watching Oreimo with the intention of finishing it for good this time. As the first couple episodes I watched as part of this resurgence were done on Wednesdays, a whole new title for this ritual came to pass: Oreimo Wednesdays.

 

November 9, 2016. After the official unprecedented shutdown of the [adult swim] message boards where I talked Oreimo Wednesdays, I have decided to revive the thread in which I did it. Only six episodes remain of the Oreimo animated franchise, and starting next week, those six Wednesdays will be spent seeing where it goes and what it does and why nobody liked them besides the obvious. Today, however, I will post brief descriptions and thoughts on the episodes that came before, not unlike what Blatch did with BAKUON!! in the General Ratings thread.

 

With that, I can finally finish this damn thing. Here's to my health, and the best of luck.

 

[or whatever they say these days]

[PokeNirvash]

And now, the recap.

 

Episode 1: My Little Sister Can't Be My Love

Synopsis: After discovering a stray magical girl anime DVD lying in the middle of his foyer, high school student Kyosuke Kousaka discovers that his bratty younger sister Kirino is actually a closet otaku, particularly towards anime and video games involving little sisters. As repayment for keeping this little secret of hers, Kyosuke now has to help Kirino out with certain tasks that require his assistance; a little something she refers to as "advice".

Content Rating: TV-14DL for intensely suggestive dialogue (multiple mentions of porn stuff, particularly eroge) and strong language ("bitch")

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 2: My Little Sister Can't Bring Me to an IRL Meet

Synopsis: As his first piece of advice to Kirino that doesn't involve playing her eroge, Kyosuke convinces her to attend a meeting between female otaku in Akihabara. The actual meeting doesn't give Kirino much of an opportunity to converse with the others, but an impromptu afterparty held by the meeting's leader gives her (and Kyosuke) two associates she'll keep for the rest of the series.

Content Rating: TV-14DLS for slightly incestuous suggestive dialogue (Kyosuke's review of an eroge Kirino leant him), strong language ("bitch" again), and brief sexuality (a Meruru doujin cover)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 3: My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute

Synopsis: Kyosuke and Kirino's father finds out about the latter's possession of adults-only materials, prompting Kyosuke to come up with a solution that will keep her from having to give it all up. His solution, which involves claiming the little sister eroge CD is his, is the first of many instances where Kyosuke sacrifices his own dignity for Kirino's sake.

Content Rating: TV-14DL for suggestive dialogue (more eroge talk) and profanity ("shit")

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 4: My Little Sister Can't Be Going to Summerket

Synopsis: Kyosuke attempts to keep Kirino from unboxing a collection of doujins in front of her friends, but ends up getting to second base with her (by accident!) instead. Later, he accompanies Kirino and her otaku girl-friends to Comiket, where we get a first glimpse at Kuroneko's superb gaming skills. Oh, and something about a little sister fighting game that Kyosuke can't seem to get past level 6 on. ?.?/10

Content Rating: TV-14DLS for suggestive dialogue (even more eroge talk, plus the word "pervert"), profanity ("shit" again), and sexual situations (the accidental groping)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 5: My Little Sister's Best Friend Can't Be This XX

Synopsis: After running into her post-Comiket and discovering her recent doujin haul, Kirino's best friend Ayase breaks off her friendship with her. Kyosuke fixes it, but ends up making Ayase hate his guts as a result. Point is, Ayase is the true worst girl of this show, and it's nice to see my thoughts back in 2010 before I even watched it were same was when I finally did.

Content Rating: TV-14D for suggestive dialogue (the usual plus an false incestuous declaration of love) and partial nudity (Kirino showering)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 6: My Childhood Friend Can't Be This Cute

Synopsis: Kyosuke finally gets an excuse to be rid of Kirino for an entire episode by hanging out at his childhood friend Manami's place, where everyone in her family wants them to do it. He doesn't bite, since he and Manami are just friends.

Content Rating: TV-14 for notable sensuality (the intense Kyosuke/Manami shipping)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 7: My Little Sister Can't Be a Novelist

Synopsis: Kyosuke finds himself trapped in a fan-fiction flame war between Kirino and Kuroneko as they're livewatching a Meruru DVD. Later, as reparation for watching porn on her laptop, he also finds himself having to assist Kirino in research for her light novel. Foiled attempts to have him play in traffic ensue.

Content Rating: TV-MA for explicit suggestive dialogue (the fates Kirino and Kuroneko picked out for each other in their fanfics and the uncut Meruru home video release being for lolicons)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 8: My Little Sister Can't Be Animated

Synopsis: Kirino's light novel gets an anime adaptation, which she approaches with the exact same enthusiasm I do with my own fictional ideas (READ MOAR NIBAI MUGENDAI), but an assholish scriptwriter demands changes to the adaptation that not even Kirino can accept. Thus, Kyosuke, Kuroneko and Saori are left to settle things themselves.

Content Rating: TV-14 for mild suggestive dialogue ("erotic character designs", Kuroneko calling Kyosuke a masochistic sister lover)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 9: My Little Sister Can't Be This Absorbed Into Eroge

Synopsis: A brief look into the various happenings of our main female characters. Kuroneko has two little sisters of her own, Saori's actually rich and ladylike, and Kirino is so excited about playing her new eroge that the tension between her and Kyosuke actually gets worse than usual.

Content Rating: TV-14DLS for intensely suggestive dialogue (the now-meaningless eroge talk and Kirino getting hot and bothered over her game), simulated off-screen sexuality (also Kirino getting off on her game), and profanity (the return of the S-bomb!)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 10: My Little Sister Can't Be Cosplaying Like This

Synopsis: Ayase wants to make up with Kirino after unintentionally insulting her Meruru figurines, so she has Kyosuke try and pick out the perfect apology gift. Said gift is an extremely rare Meruru figurine that can only be won in a cosplay contest, which Ayase decides to participate in... with Kirino's other friend and near Meruru look-alike Kanako as her proxy.

Content Rating: TV-14DLS for suggestive dialogue ("pervert"-calling), strong language (the return of "bitch"), brief sexuality (more doujin covers), and moderate violence (towards Kyosuke, of course)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 11: My Little Sister Can't Be This Maid

Synopsis: Kirino tries to ruin Kyosuke's chances with Manami by rigging her laptop with eroge footage and embarrassing comments which Kyosuke fails to spoil because he's apparently never heard of closing a laptop manually. Later, she makes up with him over it and a bunch of other harsh sibling moments by thanking him for all the advice he's given him over the past several months.

Content Rating: TV-MA for intensely suggestive dialogue (the usual dialogue junk), profanity (another S-bomb), and sexual content (Kuroneko's incest doujin)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 12: My Little Sister's Advice Can't End Here (GOOD END)

Synopsis: After buying an eroge for her as his last piece of advice for her, Kyosuke learns why that is: she's going to America to improve her skills in track and field. Except not really, because Splitter can't have nice things. The end of the animated franchise in the alternate universe where it was too unpopular to justify a season 2.

Content Rating: TV-14DL for suggestive dialogue (eroge talk and gay panic) and strong language (another "bitch")

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 13: My Little Sister's Advice Can't End Here (TRUE ROUTE)

Synopsis: The alternate canon cut of last episode, where Kyosuke doesn't learn about Kirino's trip to America and she goes without fanfare. The next thing Kyosuke has to worry about in her absence, however? Kuroneko now going to his high school.

Content Rating: TV-14D for suggestive dialogue (eroge talk and gay panic)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 14: My Junior Can't Be This Rotten

Synopsis: Noticing that his new kouhai Kuroneko is avoiding her peers, Kyosuke gets her to join the school's Gaming Research Club in an attempt to have her socialize more. It's there that we're introduced to Sena Akagi, Kyosuke's friend's little sister who is the biggest teenage fujoshi barring the MC of Kiss Him, Not Me!

Content Rating: TV-14DS for adult content (Sena's homo love), intensely suggestive dialogue (Sena talking about homo love), moderate language (the phrase "piss off"), and mild sexuality (Saori groping herself)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 15: My Junior Can't Be This Cute

Synopsis: The Gaming Research Club has Kuroneko and Sena work together on a video game for an upcoming contest, forcing them into a contest of ideas that Kuroneko wins out on. But even after fixing all the bugs with Sena's help, they still win Worst Game In Show.

Content Rating: TV-MA for adult content (Sena's homo RPG game), explicitly suggestive dialogue (the details of the game's story), and profanity (precision F strike, bitches)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 16: My Little Sister Can't Be in the Last Episode

Synopsis: After getting a mysterious text from Kirino asking him to get rid of all her eroge goods, Kyosuke flies out to America to find out why. As it turns out, her end goal for her time in America is eating her alive, so he uses everything in his power to convince her to come back to Japan. And it works!

Content Rating: TV-14L for profanity (yet another S-bomb) and suggestive dialogue (apparently not enough to get a 14D consideration)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 17: My Little Sister Can't Come Back Home Again

Synopsis: Upon bringing Kirino back to Japan, Kyosuke starts to regret doing so, as she's falling back into her old habits. Turns out that's just her way of settling back in before having Kyosuke accompany her to Akihabara as a one-year-anniversary life advice shopping spree.

Content Rating: TV-14D for intensely suggestive dialogue (Kanako calling Kirino and Ayase lesbians, Sena talking more about homo games) and off-screen sexuality (more Kirino getting off on her eroge)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 18: The Onii-san I Trusted and Sent Off Can't Get This Hooked On Portable Bishoujo Games and Start Sexually Harassing Me

Synopsis: In the best episode of the series yet, Ayase asks Kyosuke to get Kirino to pay more attention to her and not the make-your-own-girlfriend game she got from Akiba last episode. Kyosuke's attempts lead to him getting hooked on the game too, but the sexual harassment towards Ayase that results ends up leading her to fix things herself. At least, until she showed Kirino how yandere she's willing to be.

Content Rating: TV-14D for intensely suggestive dialogue (Kyosuke's sexual harassment of Ayase)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 19: My Friend Can't Take Off Her Glasses

Synopsis: Here we learn the story of how Saori went from being a shy loli to her otaku girl self, all thanks to her older sister's multiple interests and her desire to pick up where she left off with her little otaku collective.

Content Rating: TV-PG for simulated peril (chunibayu prince, meet model AK-47)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 20: My Little Sister's Rival Can't Come to Japan

Synopsis: The arrival of Kirino's elementary-school-age track and field rival from the States to the Kousaka family abode makes Kyosuke's life even more hectic than it already is, especially with Kirino's super-protectiveness prompting her to call Kyosuke any range of names from "pervert" to "lolicon".

Content Rating: TV-14DS for intensely suggestive dialogue (the phrase "little girl lover"), moderate language (5 uses of "pisses me off" in a row), nudity (Kirino and Ria out of the bath), and fanservice (striped panties~)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 21: I Can't Be My Little Sister's Boyfriend, and My Little Sister Can't Have a Boyfriend

Synopsis: Kirino convinces Kyosuke to pose as her boyfriend in order to avoid having to model in Europe, and they go on a fake date to convince themselves further that the insistent talent agent bought it. Later, they go to Comiket again and sell out of a joint doujinshi they, Kuroneko and Saori made.

Content Rating: TV-PGD for suggestive dialogue (the usual stuff and incest panic)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 22: My Little Sister Can't Be Bringing Her Boyfriend Home

Synopsis: Kirino introduces Kyosuke and her otaku friends to Mikagami, a fellow model who also likes anime, but the reveal that he's her boyfriend is too much for Kyosuke to bear. However, after deciding that he'll only accept Mikagami if he can love Kirino more than he does, Kirino admits that the boyfriend thing was a lie. Also, Ayase put Kyosuke in handcuffs and somehow I didn't want to do to her what I want to do to Jman every time he says Toonami should cancel JoJo for no reason.

Content Rating: TV-PGDL for suggestive dialogue (more harassment and perversion), mild language (six uses of "damn"), and partial nudity (a fantasy shot of Kuroneko)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 23: I Can't Become a Couple With My Underclassman

Synopsis: Kuroneko asks Kyosuke out on a date and, after turning to Kirino and Manami for further advice, takes her up on her offer. He also introduces Mikagami to the Gaming Research Club, which somehow avoided having Sena talk about her love of homosexual men.

Content Rating: TV-14D for intensely suggestive dialogue (the standard plus Kyosuke talking second base with Mikagami) and partial nudity (a fantasy hug between Kyosuke and Kuroneko)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 24: I Can't Create a Summer Memory With My Underclassman

Synopsis: In accordance with her Penguindrum Future Diary, Kyosuke and Kuroneko go on the latter's ideal dates, and it manages to make their ship look appealing even to those who don't have a problem with them not being the endgame! Which makes it all the more heartbreaking when it turns out she plans on breaking up with him.

Content Rating: TV-PGDLS for suggestive dialogue (incest accusations and chesticular compliments), strong language (two uses of "bitch"), and mild sexual situations (Kyosuke wondering if Kuroneko wants to re-enact a MASCHERA sex scene with him)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 25: My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute!

Synopsis: Kuroneko's breaking up with Kyosuke, on top of transferring out of their school and moving out of her house, tears Kyosuke up pretty badly, so Kirino decides to help him figure out why she did all that. What results is a surprisingly moving reveal that for as much as she dislikes Kyosuke, Kirino actually cares about him very much. Oh, and Kuroneko's father's work was what made her move and break up with Kyosuke, besides wanting them to get along better.

Content Rating: TV-PGDL for suggestive dialogue (Kirino calling Kuroneko a "horny cat"), moderate language (two uses of "pissed off"), and mild sexuality (an off-screen imouto sex dream)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 26: My Little Sister Can't Wear a Wedding Dress

Synopsis: Ayase thinks she's to blame for Kyosuke and Kuroneko breaking up, and to convince herself that that's not the case after Kyosuke outright said it wasn't, she has him attend a Meruru promotion concert Kanako's performing in as a favor. He misses most of it, though, trying to get Kirino there in time to see it for herself. He mostly succeeds.

Content Rating: TV-14D for intensely suggestive dialogue (Kyosuke: Sexual Harassment Overlord) and brief nudity (Mikagami's censored Meruru bicycle wheel covers)

Rating Screencaps: Act 1 Act 2

 

Episode 27/11 coming next week.

 

[and then it begins]

[PokeNirvash]

Oreim-O! It's showtime!

 

Episode 27: Little Sisters Can't Barge In On Their Brother Who Lives Alone

 

Our official return to everyone's favorite aniki-imouto bonding series on an all-new, all-different ASMB starts out with Kyosuke and Kirino's parents confronting them about their recent "closeness". Having given birth to the both of them and thus have known them her entire life, Yoshino finds it strange that her two kids have been getting along so well recently, much better than she would ever believe. What's more, she also found the date sticker Kyosuke stuck on the fridge to troll Kirino three episodes ago, and takes that as a hint that the two's closeness isn't just them simply setting their sibling rivalry to the side. Basically, she thinks Kyosuke and Kirino may be partaking in forbidden incestuous love. Daisuke, however, does not think so, and even trusts Kyosuke when he insists that he hasn't even done anything strange (on purpose) to Kirino. But, he thinks it would be best if both he and his wife trusted Kyosuke, and not only one of them. So, with his police connections, he rented out an apartment where Kyosuke will live alone and study for an upcoming mock college entrance exam for the next few months, and will only allow Kyosuke back in the house if he gets an A on the mock exam. And while I believe giving Kyosuke the chance to prove his worth of trust to his mother is the real reason Daisuke went to all that trouble, I like to believe that wanting to separate Kyosuke and Kirino for a while to lessen their closeness played a decent part in it all.

 

And so Kyosuke became his own man for the first time in his life. And to celebrate his getting his own apartment, Manami plans on throwing him a housewarming party to congratulate him on this milestone of manhood that I have yet to reach (partly because I haven't gotten my first payday yet). But, even as one who's now living the single life, it's not like Kyosuke isn't getting visitors on his first days at the apartment.

 

The first guest is Kirino, who came by to give him a couple housewarming gifts. The main one is a refrigerator, as somewhat of an apology from her for getting him into the mess that led to his new solitary lifestyle, but she also gives him an eroge called "Little Sister Barges In" to play on his laptop during study breaks. She also poses a bet between them both regarding whether or not he gets an A on the mock exam. If Kyosuke fails to get an A (like Kirino's expecting), he'll be her slave for life, but if he pulls through and aces this Japanese equivalent of the PSAT, she won't return the favor (though she records Kyosuke's assumption for blackmail purposes), but she will do any one thing he asks her to. Considering how bossy she is most of the time, the deal is pretty sweet.

 

The second guest is Kanako, who initially calls Kyosuke to get him to act as her manager again, but upon learning that he has a life outside of advice, settles for dropping by his place and having him try out her cooking. She got into a bit of a spat with her parents and ran away to her sister's for a while, but is looking to return and thinks learning how to cook will improve her chances of making up. Problem is, she isn't good at it yet, as Kyosuke hates the dish she made. He still eats it, though, because hey, as long as it's edible... (The self-insertion finds its way to me in oddly specific ways with this show, I guess.) Kanako also confronts him about a couple miscellaneous things, starting with the eroge Kirino gifted him and later about his actually being Kirino's brother. Nobody told her about it, but the fact that she was able to deduce as much in spite of her trouble recognizing faces she's seen once or twice shows that she's smarter than she appears. (That's savant syndrome for ya.) She also manages to conclude that Kirino's an otaku but denies her own deduction, writing it off as OOC and figuring that she came with him to her Meru-Fes concert to cheer her on and not because she's a fan of Meruru. This meeting ends rather nicely, with Kyosuke telling Kanako to keep looking after Kirino like the good friend she is.

 

Kyosuke spends the rest of the day studying, with no more guests to interrupt his fast track to a presumably easy A. During one of his study breaks, he considers playing the eroge Kirino gave him, but instead tries to find nudes of Ayase online. (;D Oh Kyosuke, you sexual harassment overlord.) Instead, he finds a fan blog about her which he proceeds to bookmark, with the assumption that he'd do the same if there was one out there dedicated to Kirino.

 

And so, the next morning, as if ironically, Ayase drops by the apartment (which she has a key to for some reason) to give Kyosuke her own housewarming gift - a kitchen knife with protective sheath - and let him know that Manami invited her to his housewarming party. After discussing Kirino's one-sided hater tendencies - which she first saw around the time of episode 4 - and that they should try and have Kirino and Manami get along during the party, Ayase prepares to leave, but her departure is interrupted by the appearance of the fourth guest: Kuroneko, dressed in the uniform for her new high school. Considering its dark colors, she pulls off the look very well. 8) This marks the first time that Ayase and Kuroneko meet, face to face, and as expected, they don't get along; Kuroneko thinks that Ayase has no right being Kirino's BFF, while Ayase disapproves of Kuroneko's relationship with Kyosuke for reasons that even she can't explain.

 

I gotta say, my favorite part of this episode by far was Kuroneko's little speech about why she's a better friend to Kirino than Ayase; not because she knows and accepts Kirino's interests more than Ayase does or is willing to, but if Kirino and Kyosuke were ever to do the nasty, Kuroneko wouldn't so much as bat an eye. Because any attempt by the show itself to show Ayase in the wrong is a good one by me. 8) I'll also take this time to mention that even though I still think Ayase is the worst girl, I'm tolerating her a lot better now. As far back as Splitter's review of episode 5 of Oreimo for CSW (rot in hell, you dirty sons of bitches), I could barely stand Ayase based on the descriptions of her actions alone. But now, my reaction to her violence against Kyosuke is annoyance at worst, and an amused chuckle at best. It's amazing how much she's improved in this season, even if she remains on the bottom rung.

 

Anyways, the episode ends quietly with a couple of small moments between the two MCs: Kyosuke telling Kuroneko that he won't date anyone else until he "settles things" with Kirino, for whatever that means, and Kirino feeling the loneliness of Kyosuke no longer living in the same house as her but refusing to admit to herself that she does miss him.

 

So yeah, standard episode, liked it as much as I like most things. So far nothing to damn it yet, but hey, there's two episodes and three OVAs left for the crew to screw at least one thing over. Now to wait and see which format does the screwing first.

 

RATED: TV-14DS

 

WHY? Standard suggestive dialogue. Word-wise, "eroge" was used twice, with the similar but very much different phrase "dirty game" used also twice, and "pervert" was used six times. In a more general sense, we had Kyosuke and Kirino's parents interrogate him on whether or not he's done anything strange or dirty to Kirino, Kanako digging under Kyosuke's bed for porn mags and finding the eroge Kirino gave him instead, Kyosuke describing an unseen but probably pornographic screenshot on the back cover as the girl "eating a sausage", Kyosuke accusing Kuroneko of assuming he has a uniform fetish, Kuroneko proclaiming that she wouldn't mind it if Kyosuke and Kirino were to have sex, and Ayase describing her relationship with Kyosuke as being that of "a sexual harasser and his victim". In regards to sexual content, we had a flashback to episode 4, complete with Kyosuke groping Kirino's breast and rubbing his knee against her panty-clad crotch in true contrived anime fashion.

 

SCREENCAPS: For act 1, a shot of Kirino amongst the cherry blossoms in the beginning of this season's OP, and for act 2, the episode's token eroge and the first image of one in this series thus far.

 

And with that, phase 1 of 6 is complete.

 

[icelandic ultrablue]

[PokeNirvash]

Alright, I'm back, let's do this.

 

Episode 28: Total Angel Ayase-tan Can't Descend Upon My Place While I Live Alone

 

The penultimate episode of season 2's televisables begins with the housewarming party Manami planned to throw for Kyosuke and his apartment last episode. Before the party actually starts, though, first comes the prepwork: Manami and Kuroneko preparing the hors d'oeuvres, Saori in her non-otaku getup getting permission from the landlord to use the apartment complex's front yard, and Kirino, unpleased to see Manami there, agreeing to a truce with her until they have the time to talk things over and work past their differences. Or, as Ayase claims, just fight it out like animals. Oh, and Kanako shows up with another lunch for Kyosuke, leading to yet another misunderstanding that gets him a kick to the face from Ayase. Kirino's mad about the implied and falsified relationship between those two too, but not as much. After all that's said and done, the party begins and good times are had.

 

At least, until the exact point where I assume most people realized this series wasn't going to end well. By which I mean, Kanako confronting Kyosuke about eating the food the others made and not the boxed lunch she made for him with her only slightly improved cooking skills. Even though she outright states that his eating all the food but hers is what's bugging her, the fact that she words her concern as "eating food from women other than me" is what makes this whole incident problematic, as it implies that she's starting to have feelings for him that weren't at all implied before. I'll admit, I was a little taken aback by the suddenness of it too, but really, Kanako's sudden attraction to Kyosuke doesn't matter. What matters is the feuding that results from the girls over who's gonna feed Kyosuke while he's living the apartment life. Kanako wants to prove her improving cooking skills to Kyosuke with a daily boxed lunch, Kuroneko claims she should do it instead as his once-girlfriend, Manami uses Kuroneko's distance from Kyosuke's place and Kanako's lacking skills under her tutelage (yeah, Manami is Kanako's cooking instructor; blame Ayase) to justify why she should be the one to do it, and Saori butts in to proclaim that she's the most qualified, all while Kyosuke is trying to calm everyone down. Tired of the harem B.S. going on within earshot, Kirino tells everyone to shut up and leave Kyosuke alone, as there'll be no way he can study for his mock exam with them practically fighting over who gets his dick to take care of him during his study time.

 

But not only does Kirino save Kyosuke the trouble of being caught up in an unreasonable love dodecahedron, but she also solves the problem once and for all by deciding that Ayase should be the one to take care of him. She's diligent, she's a good cook, she's already got a career in mind so she won't have to worry about that either, and she hates Kyosuke's guts so there's no way she'll distract him with any coming-on moves. It's a perfect match! After all, sister knows best, right? That said, Ayase begins taking care of Kyosuke's place while he takes the time to study, and things go over very well for him! Minus the occasional threat, lecture, and that one time it was pouring rain and Ayase's clothes got soaked so she had to take a shower, making Kyosuke distracted enough to take a peek at her through the bathroom door just because. But overall, Ayase's presence was a positive influence on Kyosuke. Once his studies were finished, he took the mock exam and in spite of difficulties on the English portion, he got an A, so he gets to move back into the house, plus the regaining of his mother's trust and the bonus of having Kirino perform one request of his choosing. That, I assume, will be saved for next episode.

 

And as it turns out - if your mind is clear enough to consider it, at least - Ayase's daily presence around Kyosuke had a positive effect on her as well. The morning of his moving out of the apartment procured for him, Ayase drops by to congratulate him on his A grade and, after taking offense at him claiming that she was partly responsible for it as opposed to him being responsible for it all his own, she winds up confessing her love to him. It may seem as out of nowhere to you as Kanako's jealous implication did it at first, sure, but when you think about it, visiting the house of the one person you can't stand but still occasionally come to for advice daily for almost a whole month would lead one to lighten up towards that person. As told by the montage of Ayase's taking care of Kyosuke, she laid witness to both his good qualities and his bad, and even confessed to him that she knew all along that he lied about being a sister lover way back in episode 5 and knew deep down that it was to reconcile her friendship with Kirino. The idea of him doing lewd things with Kirino and all the sexual harassment that followed angered her for real, sure, but she still appreciated all that he did to help her out, even when it was detrimental to his image in her eyes. It just took her until this period of time in her life to realize that she did. And that implication is enough to justify her declaration that many of the things that make Kyosuke who he is, good and bad, are what made her fall in love with him so hard at so late in the game. Not to mention that if she married him, Kirino could become her sister by proxy, which is good by her anytime. :-D

 

So naturally, she's devastated and in denial when Kyosuke reveals that his heart already belongs to someone else and because of that, he can't be her boyfriend like she supposedly wants. While she takes it bad and even non-comedically pounds her hands against his chest in frustration, she ultimately accepts it and parts ways with Kyosuke (for the time being) after promising him one last "usual parting". Kyosuke, assuming it'll be some form of violence, prepares to take whatever she can dish out at him. But much to his surprise, he gets a true shocker: a kiss to the cheek and an affectionate "I hate you". I'll admit, that's as good a way to wrap up their relationship as any.

 

Speaking of their relationship, I think this episode might've gotten me over the negative tension between those two. While Ayase's hostility towards Kyosuke is anger-inducing in the heat of things, in hindsight you have to appreciate the fact that Kyosuke comes out no worse for wear as a result of her violence. Hell, even when she kicked him for supposedly being intimate with Kanako earlier in the episode, by the time the housewarming party started right after, he was back to normal; a sign that he's gotten used to Ayase's violence just enough for it to leave him for the most part unharmed and, after the initial shock, unfazed. Plus episode 2 of season 2 was one of the best episodes, mostly because of that ending but partly because of the interactions between those two being the best of that kind thus far.

 

So yeah, this episode really wasn't that heinous, once you think about it. Kanako could've worded her problems better, but when it comes down to it, there really wasn't much of anything that, without a little brainpower, is worthy of hate unless you're a sucker for realism. If you are such a type, then why are you even watching anime? Then again, I've had issue with the closer-to-real-life-than-others atmosphere of Oreimo occasionally going out of that logical comfort zone (DAT LAPTOP INCIDENT), so I'll give you this one in turn. 8.5/10.

 

RATED: TV-14D

 

WHY? Suggestive dialogue, as per usual. A good chunk of it was actually more PG-level (for season 2, anyways) than it was 14, like Ayase mentioning Kyosuke having sexually harassed her in the past twice and calling him a bevy of unflattering names like "lech", "pervert", and "sister lover", and Kanako assuming that Kyosuke was throwing "some kind of pervy party" based on all the girls who showed up for his housewarming celebration. But some did reach 14-level, like the not-exactly-PG "little girl lover" said by Ayase twice, both to Kyosuke and one of those times in reaction to Kanako joking that she and Kyosuke were lovers. But the big one was another lolicon reference, where Ayase assumed that Kyosuke was taking advantage of her above-mentioned shower by messing around with a young girl, in this case Kuroneko's little sister Hinata, who in actuality came over to check up on Kyosuke in Kuroneko's place. There were also some scantily-clad figurines in a display cabinet in Kyosuke's apartment that were covered enough to not be too explicit, but that's of no huge matter.

 

SCREENCAPS: For act 1, no attractive Saori for you, and for act 2, what Kyosuke and Ayase as husband and wife would look like.

[StarPanda]

This was my favorite episode in S2 all the harem finally gathered together, i remember reading the light novel and totally hoping Kyosuke would say yes when Ayase confessed (best girl) but he said no and we all know who he ended up choosing

[PokeNirvash]

That we do, StarPanda. That we do.

 

Episode 29: Little Sisters Can't Fall in Love With Their Older Brothers!

 

Well now. The thumbnails I've seen across the web should have clued me into this, but I did not expect the televised finale of Oreimo to pull another Whole Episode Flashback on me, let alone pulling one off that put everything in the series thus far into perspective. Being one about the young Kousaka siblings, it's only natural that it would.

 

For starters, we get into a glimpse of Kyosuke and Kirino's relationship before the series even began, back when they were kids. The easiest thing that can be said about it is also the most jarring thing about it. Back then, Kyosuke and Kirino were on very good terms, to the point where Kirino even looked up to Kyosuke as a role model. He was smart, he provided help whenever she needed it, he did amazing things like win elementary school track meets that impressed her greatly, and he even inspired her to follow in his footsteps, but more on that later. And even though he tried to act more mature by trying to get Kirino off his back, Kyosuke more often than not let her tag along whenever he did things. As good as their relationship then is shown to be, it's kind of interesting to wonder when exactly Kirino's present dislike/tolerance of Kyosuke sparked. Believe me, there were a lot of false flags. Kyosuke telling her not to follow him to certain places, them accidentally bumping into one another in the hallway one day, and even one time at Manami's house when Kirino's program finished and she got bored just sitting around while Kyosuke helped Manami out with her studies. Even with all those missteps, they did nothing to change the admiration Kirino had for Kyosuke.

 

However, that all changed one day, when Kyosuke out-of-nowhere challenged Kirino to a race to his preferred location of play for the day. Being a fast kid, Kyosuke managed to get ahead easily, leaving Kirino behind. As a result, she was lost, unable to find Kyosuke, and caught up in the rain. It was only after he found her hours later that her opinions changed. Not into disdain, though, but into determination. Determination to show him how she felt when he inadvertently left her behind and become faster than he was. Thus began her interest and skills in running track. As good as she got there, it eventually proved pointless to impress Kyosuke with it, as his middle school life brought on a period of peace for him. (Clearly the most unrealistic part of the series outside of CLOSE THE FUCKING LAPTOP NEXT TIME.) With his life as perfect as could be, Kyosuke eventually stopped trying and became sluggish and lazy, doing only what he could to retain his peace. This discrepancy between the Kyosuke Kirino admired then and the Kyosuke before Kirino now shook her up with disbelief that this... person was the same amazing brother she idolized, and that the hard work she put into preparing to brag about being better than him was all for naught. Assuming his increasing hanging out with Manami brought this on, Kirino ran over to her place to demand that she bring back the Kyosuke she took from him. And, in quite possibly the first bitch move we've ever seen from Manami (outside of tattling on Kyosuke's dating sim-playing habits to Ayase), she tells Kirino, in that same sweet voice she's always had, that the "amazing" Kyosuke never existed, and that Kirino was acting creepy for obviously having a crush on her older brother. Heartbroken, that point in time finally brought on Kirino's change from Kyosuke's #1 fan to someone who barely even acknowledged his existence.

 

As pissed as she was, though, Kirino still strived to become amazing enough to try and bring back the "amazing" Kyosuke herself, improving in her track skills and taking up a modeling career thanks to a somewhat egocentric illustration Kyosuke did of himself for their elementary school's culture festival programs. Small aside, Kirino actually met Ayase during one of her first modeling shoots, the latter having gotten into it at her mother's behest. But as great as she was at grades and sports and looking good in fashion, it wasn't enough to satisfy Kirino's want for Kyosuke admitting she was the better sibling. And that's where the eroge came in. A magazine advertising the Imouto Maker eroge caught Kirino's eye and, away from the prying eyes of her peers but within range of several regular shoppers disturbed by her poorly disguised enthusiasm (), Kirino bought the magazine, plus a bunch of other otaku goods, to help sate her want for cute things. And then she actually got the Imouto Maker eroge, which she played to her heart's content. Even though she enjoyed the more erotic parts of the game, what did it for her beyond that was the self-projection of being a little sister appreciated by an older brother who think's she's the greatest.

 

Kirino may have accepted the fact that Kyosuke isn't the cool older brother she thought of him as when she was a child, but their increasing closeness following his discovery of her otaku side brought her to face the facts: as average as he may be now, he's still her brother. His quoting his younger self in approval of Kirino's latest request for advice, fresh after his return from moving out of his apartment and turning down Ayase, proves just as much.

 

I don't know exactly what it is that makes me enjoy certain more anime more than average opinion says I should, but never before has it really come as close to home as it has with Oreimo. It could be CSW having told me it sucked in the past, it could be the fact that I have a sister who I see a little bit of in Kirino's attitude, but whatever the case, I've enjoyed myself more often than not in watching this show, and this episode really brought my enjoyment levels to highs unseen since season 2 episode 2 (still my favorite). We learned why Kirino disliked Kyosuke, why she hates Manami, and how she got into eroge, along so many other tidbits of information that neatly fit together to form a picture that not only brings sense to Oreimo, but rewards those who actually liked the show. As a critic, I'd give it a 7 or 8 out of 10 - it had nothing exceptional that is expected out of most masterpieces, and the seemingly permanent blush on all the female characters gets distracting once it's pointed out - but as myself, as one who likes Oreimo, I give "Little Sisters Can't Fall in Love With Their Older Brothers!" a 10/10.

 

Alright, so we have three episodes left, which are by far going to be the toughest. If what I heard about them is right, they are not going to be pretty. But then again, it does have a lot of moments I knew about coming in. The incestuous wedding day kiss, the crying Kirino in the snow "reminder", the gut-punch from Manami of all people... As bad as it may be, I'm sure I'll enjoy it regardless.

 

STRAY OBSERVATION: On the makeshift schedule I use to record the ratings given by me/some S&P board for the anime I watch, plan to watch, or know the ratings of, this episode comes after episode 5 of Kuromukuro on the specific iteration. I thought that was neat because that Kuromukuro episode featured a clip from a fictional anime the U.N. High School history club showed Kennosuke, featuring a giant robot modeled after Nobunaga Oda fighting evil samurai lords in the Sengoku Period, and there was your standard moe anime girl acting as the Johnny Sokko to the giant robot, which is the kind of thing I'm sure Kirino would like.

 

 

For those interested, here's the full schedule of that iteration:

 

12:00 - One Punch Man #10 - Unparalleled Peril - TV-14LV

12:30 - Kuromukuro #5 - The Samurai Goes to School - TV-PGDLV

1:00 - Oreimo 2 #13 - Little Sisters Can't Fall in Love With Their Older Brothers! - TV-14

1:30 - 91 Days #1 - Night of the Murder - TV-14LV

 

 

RATED: TV-14

 

WHY? A discrepancy of content between the two acts. The first act was harmless, save for some innocent childhood nudity. The second brought on a lot, though. The biggest, of course, being the eroge and Kirino's love of it. We also had Kirino dropping some profanities, such as "dammit" and calling Manami a "glasses-wearing bitch", Manami pointing out Kirino's apparent crush on Kyosuke as creepy, and some brief nudity in the eroge mag Kirino picks out. A little much for a PG with subratings, but just wrong-feeling in regards to giving it a 14 with subratings. So, 14 straight it is.

 

SCREENCAPS: For act 1, young Kirino being a crybaby, and for act 2, Kyosuke making sure she's alright.

[PokeNirvash]

Episode 30: I Can't Confess to Her

 

[deep breath] Well, here we are. Oreimo's infamous three-episode home stretch. I can't say I'm enraged by the opening chapter, but I can see why others would be and in some places, I actually feel for them. The greatest feels coming from the first thing Kyosuke does after turning down Ayase: turning down Kuroneko.

 

I'll admit, that whole sequence was inevitable but heartbreaking regardless. Sure, Kuroneko may have ended the relationship between her and Kyosuke first, but it's not like they were gonna stay apart for long. She kept in touch, made a deal of her and Kyosuke still being bound to one another after the breakup more than once, even teased the possibility of getting back with him. So of course she'd be heartbroken when Kyosuke traveled all away to her apartment building just to tell her that his heart belongs to someone else (more on that later) and that they can no longer go out. And let me tell you, that heartbreak was a real roller coaster. At first, I was expecting her to get angry, but was surprised when she brushed it off in her usual otaku personality way. But then she tore up her Destiny Record. And then she started crying. Ohh.    To top it all off, she went back to otaku mode, renamed herself the Angel of Vengeance Yamineko, and replaced the "curse" that bound her and Kyosuke together with an even greater one tied to her immediately recent declaration to deny all love in the world.

 

Yeah, not even I can brush something that heavy off with mere indifference. The new-content flashbacks to more cute moments between the two - a visit to the pool and the requisite one-feeding-the-other scene - didn't really help.

 

AAAAAAnyways, a day or two after that little moment of turmoil, Kyosuke proceeds to ask Kirino if they could go out on another Christmas Eve date. Kirino refuses at first, but manages to come around once Kyosuke mentions the possibility of buying Christmas-themed eroge, plus an event at a store in Akiba where couples can get rare and exclusive goods also relating to the holiday. Eventually, they day comes and the date goes well. They go to their event at the Animart store - where they run into Akagi and Sena, the latter of whom Kirino actually knows because of course she does - and follow it up with a stop at a hotel room Kyosuke rented out so Kirino can play her eroge while the day's still young. After a failed attempt to get a bird's-eye view of Tokyo from the Sky Tree, they settle for watching it snow instead, which would be a nice cap-off to this completely innocuous outing. However, Kyosuke has other plans. Plans that Kirino sees coming from a mile away that prompt her to activate the Joestar Kousaka Secret Technique: run the hell away. Kyosuke fails to catch up with her on foot but, thanks to some help from Kuroneko and Saori - who were successfully spying on the Kousaka's date from a Siscalypse-themed itasha driven by Saori's sister (remember her?) - he manages to catch up to her and do the one thing that effectively ruined the series for many expecting something a little more... mundane and reasonable.

 

He confesses his love for Kirino.

 

I'll admit, there's a lot to this scene worth mentioning beyond the question of "what brought these feelings on?" There's the fact that Kyosuke prepared for Kirino to react negatively to it in all possible (non-violent) manners, but went through with it anyways. There's the fact that he realized he fucked up by turning down Ayase and Kuroneko, but decided Kirino was the one he truly loved. There's Kuroneko taking advantage of the stereo system in Saori's car to play a recording she surreptitiously took of Kyosuke confessing his love to Kirino to her, and Kyosuke deciding to roll with it after the initial shock of hearing his own voice. There's the fact that everyone around to hear it can only stand and watch in awe at the scene as it plays out, either nonchalant towards the incest or too distracted by Kyosuke's passionate exclamations to bring it up. And there's Kirino angrily telling Kyosuke he hates him so much, and in the moment she gives Kyosuke the chance to speak again, the clarity her venting granted her making her realize how much Kyosuke cares, and reminding her of how she used to adore him to the point of borderline affection before his laziness and Manami's bitchery brought on her current viewpoint of him. Which is, at least what I believe, the reason why she says "yes" to Kyosuke's passionate, some would say off-the-wall marriage proposal.

 

(By the way, Kuroneko mentioned spotting "that unmistakable brown hair", implying that Manami's somewhere in the vicinity, so I assume that'll be important later.)

 

My prior knowledge of what was going to happen allowed me to suck it up in the face of this sudden reveal, and my tendency to fill plot holes with my own logic that some would (successfully) dispute is nothing more than non-canon allowed me to skip over lapses in logic like Kirino's sudden acceptance, and sudden ass pulls like the speakers blasting Kyosuke's confession in that one poor bystander's ear. I don't hate this episode. I don't even dislike it. But I can see why some would hate or dislike it. And surely, I'll see why they hate or dislike the last two also. To avoid controversy, this episode will not be up for scoring consideration. Besides, there's another rating of greater importance that I must share...

 

RATED: TV-14D

 

WHY? Should be obvious here. The incestuous tone of the whole plot point of Kyosuke confessing that he's love with Kirino pretty much sealed the deal, if Akagi and Sena buying homoge, Kirino mistaking a regular hotel for a love hotel, and the eleven times they said "eroge" weren't enough to justify the D. (There was also Kyosuke worrying that he'd never get to second base with anyone ever, but that came after the fact.) Biggest non-dialogue indicator this episode was some brief nudity on a couple of eroge posters in Akiba - one of which I recognized as Shin Koihime Musou - and Kyosuke saying "dammit" three times in under a minute.

 

SCREENCAPS: For act 1, Kyosuke obtaining the Oreimo blush-face, and for act 2, whoops now he lost it.

 

[check out that foreshadowing]

[PokeNirvash]

No episode today, just a couple addendums to the previous episode.

 

First of all, I forgot to mention that Kirino plans on going back to America after graduating middle school, likely to resume her track & field training. Only this time, she won't purposely keep herself from checking in with the others for the sake of some seemingly unattainable personal goal. That's pretty much that.

 

Second, my current reasoning as to why Kyosuke decided that his own sister was the girl for him. Keep in mind that this may change if anything in the next two episodes pops up to contradict these three points.

 

1. About half of Kyosuke's interactions with Ayase had her being hostile towards him, which he clearly disliked, plus his flirting/sexual harassment of her was mere teasing that he kept up in the hopes that she'd eventually figure out he wasn't serious. Hence why he rejected Ayase.

2. Kuroneko broke up with Kyosuke in a manner that hit him harder than your average breakup - transferring out of his school and moving to another farther part of town - which, if I were Kyosuke, I wouldn't want to put up with a second time were I to get back together with the ex who did it to begin with. Hence why he rejected Kuroneko.

3. Kyosuke's done a lot to help out Kirino after learning of her otaku tendencies, and in turn she did a lot to help him out, the biggest of which was helping him get through his breakup with Kuroneko. And no matter how many times she showed her frustration and sometimes hatred of him, she kept coming back to Kyosuke for advice and started treating him more and more like a human being, if not an outright equal. This level of dedication and slowly improving good relation would be enough to make Kirino much more representative of Kyosuke's ideal female than one with violent and borderline yandere tendencies like Ayase or one who would break off a relationship just as things were going so well like Kuroneko. And since Kyosuke's already given up plenty of his dignity in doing various tasks for and making reputation-saving moves towards Kirino over the past 30 episodes, what harm would there be for him personally to go straight for confessing to his sister instead of searching for someone with her qualities and getting to know them in an amount of time most definitely shorter than he's known Kirino? Hence why Kirino won the Kyosukebowl.

 

[34-28]

[PokeNirvash]

Oh, and Kirino accepting Kyosuke's proposal definitely felt like her making good on the "I'll do any one thing you ask" promise if Kyosuke got an A on that mock exam.

 

Episode 31: My Little Sister is This Cute

 

Then again, she was also planning on confessing before Kyosuke's announcement of "I'm in love with someone" prompted her to run, so maybe she was pulling double duty in saying yes? Ah, whatever. My point is, Kyosuke and Kirino have now ascended to the series' main couple with only two episodes left, and as creepy as it may be in a general sense, they're perfectly okay with their situations and are ready to move ahead now that they've entered the normally off-limits "lovers" stage of their brother-sister relationship. (Of course, that's only after using eroge as a guide for what to do next.) But even with the impromptu engagement ring Kyosuke bought for Kirino as a Christmas gift - a nice shout-out to season 1's Christmas episode - they can't legally marry, so they'll have to put off the actual betrothal until such time that they're both able to wed in someplace where marriage of siblings is legal, and they're both ready to go through with it. Right now, they're starting off slow; dating as siblings, sleeping in the same bed (even if Kyosuke didn't sign up for that), and putting their things in each others' rooms as a "Lover's Ceremony". For that last bit, Kirino gets Kyosuke's school uniform while he gets her Meruru figurines and all-ages little sister eroge to keep in his room while she fills the empty space with more otaku goods she bought.

 

Additionally, as a tie-in to episode 29, Kyosuke finally learns the contents of Kirino's photo album: pictures featuring him from when they were younger, which shows how much Kirino cared for him back then. Kirino also shares with him two recordings from her Zune log as messages to her future self. The first one is from 2007, where she asks herself if she's become the cool younger sister that she aimed to impress Kyosuke by becoming, but the second is from 2009, where she asks herself what she can do to confess her feelings to Kyosuke, in spite of all the odds pitting them from being together. (It's worth noting the second one is quite possibly the last time Kirino thought positively of Kyosuke before the series' plot kicked off.) To that last one, Kyosuke and Kirino together tell the past recording "Leave it to me!" I think it was that moment that made me fully realize Oreimo's purpose: to show the successful repair of a fractured relationship between a brother and sister through not exactly conventional meals, that just so happens to have an incest ending. 8)

 

Oh, and there was also this one scene that didn't really fit in with everything else, outside of tying up a loose end. Remember back in episode 28, when Kanako gave that weirdly worded compliment about him eating food from "women other than me"? Well, turns out the wording was done slightly on purpose, because she has feelings for Kyosuke too. It isn't really important how she came to that revelation - I already wasted enough energy justifying Ayase's confession over a month ago - because what is important is that during a performance for a bunch of Meruru fanboys, she calls Kyosuke down to the concert hall and, once he's there, asks him right then and there to go on a date with her. Kyosuke, naturally taken aback by the suddenness of it all but still calm in the face of it, declines and says he already has a girlfriend. This turned out much better than I expected, primarily because Kanako took his rejection in stride. While Ayase reacted in disbelief, Kuroneko had her breakdown, and Saori - who didn't even ask Kyosuke out on a date - fretted over being shut out of the Kyosukebowl upon learning of his relationship with Kirino, Kanako just accepted it and went on with her show, the worst thing she had to say being that Kyosuke would soon regret declining her offer once she becomes a popular idol. Now that is what I call exceeded expectations. The fact that the crowd of otaku just stood and watched it play out without getting jealous or angry at Kyosuke helped too, but that's probably because Oreimo's smart enough to avoid falling into every harem cliche I hate. (Really, Ayase's violent tendencies are enough.)

 

I'll be honest; at this point in the game, I just can't bring myself to hate this show. I can understand the reasons people would, be it dislike of Kirino winning, hatred of even 2D incest, or the randomness of Kanako's affections for Kyosuke. But none of those really matter. Having accepted all those flaws, that allowed me to see the good and enjoyable in Oreimo, of which there was plenty for my tastes. A while back, ANN had a feature asking users what their favorite "guilty pleasure" anime were. Of those, I have two: IGPX and Oreimo. And the reasons for their being that way are way more solid than most would like to admit.

 

And with that, there's only one episode left. The infamous wedding day kiss and Manami dropping the nice girl act are the only two things I really know about Oreimo's final episode. Whatever lies beyond those, I'm expecting fun times regardless.

 

RATED: TV-14D

 

WHY? Most of the episode's content laid with the themes of incest surrounding Kyosuke and Kirino becoming the series' endgame couple. From talk of confessions and marriage to them slowly settling into their new relationship, it was pretty much everywhere this episode. And as far as I know, incest is far from a PG topic to center an episode around. SAO might've gotten away with giving a TV-PGL to the episode where Suguha outright states she's in love with Kirito (though it also had Asuna getting molested by tentacles, so clearly something was in the water at Turner S&P that week  -_') but at least it was just one fraction of an otherwise okay episode (minus the tentacles). This case with Oreimo is more like the Michiko & Hatchin episode that got a TV-14 straight for being about adultery. A single running theme too suggestive for a PG.

 

As for where the dialogue subrating came from, besides eight uses of "eroge" and one of "erogamer", the scene where Kyosuke woke up to find Kirino "sleeping" in his bed had him poke her breast to wake her up, which was then followed by her accusing him of getting to legitimate second base with her and calling him a pervert for so much as the thought. There was also Kirino coming across a sex scene in her "Christmas Holy Night" eroge, with brief obscured nudity and the onscreen quote "Wanting sex on the day you confessed?", but that was more of a 14 set than anything else.

 

SCREENCAPS: For act 1, your daily reminder, and for act 2, Kirino reenacting another scene from SAO.

 

You know, if Oreimo was to be dubbed at Bang Zoom like it logically should be, Cassandra Lee Morris would likely be their pick for Kirino. That, or Christine Marie Cabanos, if they want someone cuter. Regardless, Brad Swaile will always be the one true dubbed Kyosuke in my headcanon.

 

[gundam]

[PokeNirvash]

I have an announcement to make.

 

Tonight, I will finish the Oreimo animated franchise with episode 16 of season 2. With that, the series will be behind me, until I feel the need to rewatch it.

 

However, as I have two midterms tomorrow - both of which allow the use of note sheets, but still - the writeup will be postponed until next Wednesday. So expect the screencaps in the Anime Watching thread, but wait for them to show up here, mmkay?

 

[mmkay]

[PokeNirvash]

Welp, one week has passed. It's time to deliver.

 

Episode 32: My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute.

 

The final episode of Oreimo takes place on the day of Kyosuke's high school graduation, where he bids farewell to the rest of the Gaming Research Club. The two big guys aren't there, for whatever reason, but we do get some closure for the members that really matter. Gennosuke's main life goal is to establish a video game company that will produce all different kinds of games, with hopes that the other members apply for jobs there when it opens for business; Makabe and Sena are now a couple, which is nice considering the former's initial fear of her yaoi fantasies and the number of girls who are attracted to Kyosuke already; and Mikagami... well, let's just say that Makabe will never forgive him for that one time he shaved a couple cup sizes off one of his bustier figurines.

 

After the graduation ceremony, Kyosuke bids farewell to his general education alma mater, meets up with Kirino who was waiting outside for him this whole time, and go to the park to tie up one last loose end: Kirino's fight with Manami. Kyosuke, like myself a while back, thinks that by that they mean they'll talk out their differences and try to come to a greater understanding. But, as teenage girls gotta be teenage girls, the "fight" turns out a little more literal than that. Sure, the whole thing does start out vocal, but the moment Manami delivers a surprise sucker-punch to Kirino's gut, it turns out into an all-out catfight. Yep, to the point of hair-pulling, glasses-shattering, and Kyosuke stupidly trying to stop it which gets him two fists to the face. Now that the general characteristics of the fight are out of the way, Kirino and Manami's little argument focuses on one thing squarely: the stealth love triangle between Kyosuke and them both. Kirino loves Kyosuke, Kyosuke loves Kirino, Manami also loves Kyosuke, Manami is disgusted by Kirino's incestuous affections for Kyosuke and vice versa... You get the idea. Being the obligatory vocally anti-incest character, Manami's feelings on the matter are particularly strong. According to her, both at the logical and social level, two siblings related by blood can't possibly get married, let alone be in a relationship with one another. Therefore, she wants them to remain regular siblings, something she's wanted and practically enforced ever since they were young. Not to mention if they'll keep it up as they get older, and how those close to them will react to the relationship. (Note that this is all under the assumption that they're very public about it; which I wouldn't deny, after that little stunt with the recorded confession.) But regardless of her points against the incest ending, Kyosuke proclaims that none of that is gonna change the fact that he loves Kirino, that her obvious but just-now-confirmed feelings for him will be returned all the same; he even begs her to keep their relationship a secret from their folks. Though she still dislikes it - slapping Kyosuke to prove that point - Manami accepts and leaves them be, finally giving Kyosuke and Kirino the chance they need to get things done.

 

And so, days later, they head to the church where Kirino did her modeling shoot in episode 26, that Kyosuke managed to reserve for them using the mass amount of connections he developed over the course of the series. Dressed in the proper wedding attire, they go up to the altar, embrace, and then kiss.

 

 

It's only after the deed is done that the curtain drops and the illusion shatters.

 

Given the scant spoilers I read surrounding this "facade", I was expecting the OVA finale to be some daydream sequence, even a regular dream sequence. But Oreimo did one better and let everything that happened happen, only providing some clarification to make the extremely hopeful feel just a little gypped. As much as they've come to accept their attraction to one another, Kyosuke and Kirino are still only human, and know how socially unacceptable incest is. As such, they came to an agreement that they would be lovers for a limited time period, which would end once he graduated high school and she graduated middle school. And so, after their graduations, her spat with Manami, and a faux-wedding in an empty church for closure purposes, they return to being normal siblings, just with the acknowledgement of where their true affections lie.

 

Though, while on their way to greet a new member of Saori's little "Otaku Girls" gathering circle, Kyosuke finally takes advantage of the "any one request" agreement and kisses Kirino on the cheek affectionately, so there's still hope that they'll get to enjoy the private benefits of incest for those of you into that sort of thing. ::]::

 

So yeah, not gonna lie; enjoyed the finale. Not to the same level as I did episodes 18 and 29, but hey, when you've come to accept a show like Oreimo as deep as I have, it's only expected that you won't find a problem with it. After all, 2D incest always trumps the 3D equivalent, even if you hate the whole concept of incest to begin with.

 

RATED: TV-14D

 

WHY? As with the last episode, the main 14 set for the grand finale of the Oreimo animated franchise was the incestuous themes, from the kiss that riled up 4chan to Kyosuke's exclamation of "Incest for the win!". If not for that and the other dialogue indicator - Makabe complaining about Mikagami ruining his figurine and calling him a "little girl lover", alongside his exclamation of loving big boobs - this would've gotten a TV-PGDLV. The L for Kirino using the phrase "pissing me off", and the V for her fistfight with Manami. Hell, even Kyosuke got a bit of a bloody nose from being punched from both sides at once; if any episode deserved a violence subrating at any level, this was it. Also, there were four "eroge" mentions.

 

SCREENCAPS: For act 1, Kyosuke and Manami taking the long road to school, and for act 2, my personal nickname for the final boss battle: The Love Triangle.

 

Final thoughts to come later this week.

 

[why does the site always crash when i put effort into a writeup?]

[PokeNirvash]

I say "later this week", and it winds up being a month and a half. Ah, whatever, I've got a job to do.

 

When I started Oreimo over two and a half years ago, I did so with one purpose in mind: to prove to those from the ASMB who hated it that I was perfectly capable of enjoying it, just as I was able to enjoy other shows they hated like Eureka seveN AO and Sword Art Online. (And also Fumihiko Tachiki as the dad.) Predictably enough, that part was successful. I liked Oreimo, and I enjoyed it. And online, I'm not afraid to admit that, as much of a guilty pleasure as it may be.

 

Speaking of guilty pleasures, I'll openly admit there were a few things that I wasn't entirely fond of. The biggest thing being one that I disliked long before I even thought to finally start watching Oreimo: AYASE FUCKING ARAGAKI. >( Man, did I hate her. Lucky for her, I didn't hate her as much as, say, Shukuro Tsukishima when he started using Book of the End on Ichigo's friends and family, or Nishiki Nishio in his second episode of screentime, but she was up there. Her bipolarity in regards to her friendship with Kirino was pretty off-putting and ridiculous, and her tsun-tsun attitude towards Kyosuke didn't help matters either. And while her attitude grew on me the more she and Kyosuke interacted, I still disliked the violence. In other respects, there were Kirino's bitchier moments, Kyosuke responding to said bitchier moments with yelling, and who could ever forget the time he tried to keep Manami from knowing he was playing little sister eroge by using the escape key on his laptop instead of just closing the display screen? (Now on TV Tropes!) There's also the more technical down points, like very few sakuga moments and the girls having a near-permanent blush on their faces, and while the latter did get distracting once someone on 4chan pointed it out, I don't really care about that crap. Hell, even QUALITY can be fun, especially in rating screencap format. I didn't even mind the differences made from the original light novel; I barely read them anyways, and the anime leaving out Kyosuke's reasons for quitting trying to be cool when he was younger (something about getting ostracized for accidentally causing a classmate to get hurt on a field trip and Manami making him feel better about it) was a smart move. But for every thing I disliked about Oreimo, there were about two or three things I did like. The voice acting, for one. The content rating variety I thrust upon it, for another. Several things. And at the heart of it all, two things that really made the experience worthwhile for all its flaws.

 

The first thing is realism. Now, I know it's ridiculous to refer to anime as "realistic". Hell, the last time I called an anime "somewhat realistic", pre-nu-ASMB stalwart Metatronda claimed that nobody knowing Team Satomi's middle-aged coach was the Rocket made no sense, not even taking the time to think that "Andrei Rublev" might be an alias. (Meta was always short-sighted like that). But Kyosuke's laptop-related lapse in logic aside, Oreimo is pretty damn realistic, by which I mean it feels like it could take place in the real world, our reality. There are no supernatural powers or mystical overtones, anything implied to be is considered metaphorical anyways, not a single character has a chibi/super-deformed moment, Kyosuke doesn't blast off into the sky a la Team Rocket/Taro Sado whenever he's hit by either Kirino or Ayase, a good chunk of character reactions purposely avoid falling into lawlharem territory, the present-day setting, and all that subtle development that pervades real life each and every day. As far as light novel adaptations go, Oreimo is one of the most down-to-earth-while-still-being-unbelievable I've ever seen.

 

Speaking of subtle development, the rebuilding of Kyosuke and Kirino's positive relationship from its negative starting point over the course of the series was a real reward too. At first, it's mutual dislike. Kyosuke hates Kirino's bratty attitude, while Kirino barely acknowledges Kyosuke's existence. But after Kyosuke finds her Meruru DVD, and learns of her closet otaku lifestyle right after, the relationship starts to build up again. It starts out like it does in most light novels between the male and female lead, with tsundere attitudes from the female and the male for the most part complying, but underneath all that is the broken sibling relationship mending itself. For all the bitchiness Kirino delivers to Kyosuke, she still comes to him for advice where necessary, and he more often than not delivers it to her, at the cost of his own dignity. Season 2 really shone through there, with Kirino's attitude coming off as less "tsundere bitch" and more "stubborn sibling", and Kyosuke starting to not mind most of the dirty looks he receives for his bolder acts of help towards Kirino. As the place where I posted it was nuked, here's a recap of what I mean: in episode 26, when Kyosuke shows up at a photo shoot Kirino was partaking in to pick her up and take her to a Meruru event on a bike with loli nudity on it, he's unfazed by the accusations of perversion from the other models and only gets offended when the models' security tries to remove him from the site. Eventually, after several episodes of very sibling-like interaction and a flashback episode putting their positive relationship as kids into perspective, they finally complete the relationship that was fractured and walk away the same as they were then, but with influence from the attitudes they developed over the time they spent apart emotionally. And they also got an incest ending, because what else did you expect from a series with the word "imouto" in the title?

 

Which brings me to the second thing: relatability. Some call Oreimo "wish-fulfillment", and I don't blame them, because in Kyosuke's actions, there's something I wish could happen between me and my own sister. Not the incest ending, naturally, but the work towards a positive relationship. Simply put, my sister is a piece of work. Bossy, picky, prone to peer pressure, annoying, and so liberal that it finally made me realize how much fun the left-wingers suck out of everything. (Well, the ones that do purposeful fun-sucking, anyways.) She's definitely the Kirino to my Kyosuke, if not worse at times, all the way down to the educational age gap. And in seeing Kyosuke and Kirino go from being silently at odds to being friends while still being siblings, all sparked by a singular hobby, it made me want to get on better terms with my own sister. Not to the point that Kyosuke and Kirino have it, but enough such that she'll put up with the inadvertent habits she tells me to stop doing (not "try to", but "just do"). So yeah, I can relate to Kyosuke, in that we both have sisters that we aren't too fond of because of their more negative personality traits. Doesn't mean that I'd humiliate myself in public to get her to like me, though. :

 

So when it comes down to it, my reasons for liking Oreimo come down to the real-world-equivalency of its setting, the familiarity of Kyosuke's sibling situation to my own, and the character development intrinsic to both. Well, that and acceptance of the negativity that infested the show's viewer base like SAO and AgK did with theirs. I would totally watch this again as a marathon, but I think I'll refrain from buying a home version for myself for both personal and financial reasons. Excellent job for something that could've done (and in some eyes, did do) much less. 9/10 on my personal scoring scale, which translates to 8/10 via normal standards. Cannot wait to start Eromanga Sensei and begin my look out for those Oreimo character cameos. ;D The timing couldn't have been more perfect if it had tried.

 

And now, for some final statistics relating to my Imgur album for this show.

 

RATINGS STATISTICS

MOST COMMON RATING: TV-14D (10; eps 1.5, 1.13, 2.1, 2.2, 2.7, 2.10, 2.12, 2.14, 2.15, 2.16)

SECOND MOST COMMON: TV-14DLS (4; eps 1.2, 1.4, 1.9, 1.10)

AND ALL THE REST: TV-14DL (3; eps 1.1, 1.13, 1.12), TV-14 (3; eps 1.6, 1.8, 2.13), TV-MA (3; eps 1.7, 1.11, 1.15), TV-14DS (3; eps 1.14, 2.4, 2.11), TV-PGDL (2; eps 2.6, 2.9), TV-14L (1; ep 1.16), TV-PG (1; ep 2.3), TV-PGD (1; ep 2.5), TV-PGDLS (1; ep 2.8 )

TOTAL RATING VARIETY: 11

BLANKET RATING: TV-14DLS (season 1), TV-14DS (season 2)

 

SCREENCAP APPEARANCE TALLY

Kyosuke: 35 (1.1A, 1.1B, 1.5B, 1.6A, 1.6B, 1.7A, 1.8B, 1.9A, 1.10A, 1.10B, 1.11B [hand], 1.12A, 1.13A, 1.13B, 1.14B, 1.15A, 1.15B, 1.16B, 2.2A, 2.2B, 2.4A, 2.4B, 2.5B, 2.6B [face blocked by rating], 2.7A, 2.8B, 2.10A, 2.12A, 2.12B, 2.13B [young], 2.14A, 2.14B, 2.15B, 2.16A, 2.16B)

Kirino: 21 (1.1B, 1.2A, 1.3A, 1.3B, 1.5A, 1.5B, 1.7B, 1.9A, 1.9B, 1.12B, 2.4B, 2.5A, 2.8A, 2.9B, 2.11A, 2.13A [young], 2.13B [slightly older], 2.14B, 2.15A, 2.15B, 2.16B)

Kuroneko: 10 (1.8B, 1.14A, 1.14B, 1.15A, 1.15B, 2.3A, 2.5B, 2.7A, 2.8B, 2.9B)

Saori: 4 (1.2B, 1.8B, 2.3B [young], 2.12A [face blocked by rating])

Manami: 4 (1.6A, 1.14B, 2.16A, 2.16B)

Ayase: 4 (1.10A, 2.2A, 2.10A, 2.12B)

Gennosuke: 4 (1.15A, 1.15B, 2.1B, 2.10B [from behind])

Sena: 3 (1.15A, 1.15B, 1.16A)

Makabe: 3 (1.15A, 1.15B, 2.1B)

Mikagami: 2 (2.6B, 2.10B [from behind])

Kanako: 1 (1.2A)

Ria: 1 (2.4A [side])

Yoshino: 1 (2.6B [back of the head])

 

BIG LOSER: Daisuke.

 

Miscellaneous: 12 (1.2A [Kirino’s classmates], 1.3A [only one classmate], 1.6A [Kyosuke’s classmates], 1.8B [café patrons], 1.10B [pedestrians], 1.15A [those guys from the gaming club], 1.15B [only one of those guys], 1.16B [plane passengers], 2.3B [Pretty Garden members], 2.4B , 2.6A [Meruru-chan characters], 2.7B [Kuroneko’s imoutos])

Nobody at All: 7 (1.4A [siscalypse gameplay], 1.4B [summerket line], 1.8A [stack of fan mail], 1.11A [eroge gameplay], 2.1A [the Kousaka house], 2.9A [Kuroneko’s Destiny Record], 2.11B [eroge box])