Oreimo - Reviews

Notice: This review covers both seasons of this anime.

EVOLUTION

The first anime about otaku culture was a pseudo-documentary back in the 80s called Otaku no Video. It was short, simple, with a rather negative image on anime fans, depicting them as creepy and antisocial, even though the protagonist was inspired to create his own anime studio.

Fast forward to the early 2000s and we get Genshiken. It was presenting anime fans in a much more positive way, yet still didn’t hide the awkward things they were doing, which made them seem like freaks in the eyes of non-anime fans. Otaku culture was beginning to be far more widespread at this point, so it was much easier to be perceived more like a hobby, rather than some weird type of deviance. It was balancing the good and the bad of the fandom, so it was a fine watch for those who were anime fans, and educational for those who weren’t.

Then came the late 2000s, where optimism went out of hand, reaching such levels of autism and naval-gazing that it becomes downright nauseating. Ore no Imouto (Oreimo) became the trademark series of this mentality, by rubbing its buttocks on the crotch of those who already are deep in anime culture, instead of keeping a somewhat neutral stance, like Genshiken did. A rookie who still doesn’t understand the meaning of moe or hasn’t browsed hentai CGs will definitely feel lost with the constant terminology and hardcore fascination. He will most likely also be disgusted, since despite trying to present itself as a parody at first, Oreimo eventually sticks its head so deep in its own ass by taking seriously the perversion going on in it, to the point it stops being funny. In simpler words, it begins as a dramedy about otaku culture and turns into a fantasy empowerment harem, heavy on incest.

THEMES

This though became clear only in the sequel, since the first season was mostly poking fun at the whole thing and was doing a decent job at balancing the comedy with some drama. There was emphasis on accepting people for who they are, and not avoiding them simply for having different tastes and hobbies. Otakus are still people, even if they love to play hentai games about incest. This theme is presented through the lead heroine, Kirino, who loves to play such games, but also can’t reveal it to anyone because they are prejudiced. She wants to stop hiding, meet more people like her, and be more creative with the hobby she likes. This is the positive aspect of the series many liked, and were willing to not take seriously the hints of incest that were constantly flying towards Kyousuke, her brother. Those are just jokes, no such thing will ever happen.

The story was otherwise never realistic or serious. It uses a lot of situations any otaku goes through at some point in his anime life, but the way everything unfolds is definitely NOT realistic. All problems are resolved quite easily, by having people who despise anime as if they are Jews in Nazi Germany, changing their minds because Kirino was sounding very serious about it. What’s that my underage daughter? You want me to let you go to photo-shootings, where you are paid for posing sexy? Sure, why not. Oh, and you also spend all that money to buy porn games for adult males, where you have sex with little sisters? Keep doing it, nothing wrong about it. I won’t even ask how the store manager let you buy them in the first place. What did you said? Your brother, whom I know has the hots for you, wants the keys to your apartment? Sure, he can have them. I am only your father.

And exactly because it was so easy to overcome every conflict imaginable, the writer eventually jumps the shark and thinks he can do the same with any topic. And thus came the incest, which of course is not bad either. Otakus are still people, even if they do in real life what they play in videogames. This is not about acceptance anymore; wish fulfillment is completely self destructive when directly transfers from imagination to reality.

DELUSIONS

There is a huge difference between social critique and pandering. The show is not bad because it has incest, but because it presents it as just another thing people should simply accept with a motivational monologue. Koi Kaze was also dealing with the subject but it took itself seriously. Oreimo doesn’t do that. It doesn’t even end ala School Days, where the characters destroy themselves by losing their touch with reality. Even if you try to see the ending as an incest love story, it still is not satisfactory at all. Kyousuke essentially dumps all the girls who liked him and accepts Kirino as a lover… before dumping her as well. What was the point of all this?

I know that the author was not allowed to end the story with them being lovers, but by compromising, he blew up everything he was trying to accomplish. Though this way he got what he deserved, almost as if it was poetic justice. He was making it seem like you can convince people to let you do any crap you like, as long as you sound like you really-really want it. That is why Kyousuke keeps trying to help Kirino in ways that feel degrading, takes the blame for all her mistakes, goes to places he shouldn’t, and even plays eroge even though he doesn’t like them, just because she wanted to. That is also why Kirino is able to publish her own novel AND adapt it to anime immediately afterwards, before she is even 15 years old. Well dear author, guess what, in the real world, publishers don’t let you write anything you like, nor adapt it before you are an adult, no matter how much you want it. How do you like them apples?

And no, making OVAs where Kyousuke is dating other women does not fix the problem, if they take place in alternative realities. You cannot get away with it, ala Steins;Gate.

CHARACTERS

If you are still wondering how all that flew over the heads of most viewers while they were watching the show, the answer is pretty simple: It looks nice. It has a much higher budget than your typical harem, and that magically makes everything ok. Also, Kirino belongs to the annoying yet lovable loli stereotype, who otakus worldwide love to have as a waifu, and that miraculously makes her silly antiques to get a pass. It’s apparently hot to have a selfish and mean sister who abuses you all the time, but is otherwise dependent on you and loves you deep inside. Tsundere imoutos are kawaii! Or do you honestly believe that the show would appeal as much if the protagonist was an ugly adult male?

Kyousuke is also an easy to like character if you are an otaku, as he acts like a typical harem lead in the role of the deuteragonist. All the girls are essentially otaku cosplayers who like him for no real reason, gets unfairly blamed for everything, and yet still somehow manages to get on top all the time. And since this is based on a light novel, of course and the girl he chooses is his own sister. And no, the cop-out excuse of them finding out they are not blood related does not make it feel any better. Though, unlike conventional harems, he chose a girl instead of remaining indecisive, for the purposes of maintain the status quo and keeping all the shippers happy. Sadly, that is the exact same reason everybody hates him now. Harems are by nature not meant to have closure.

Other characters include Manami, his schoolmate female friend, who keeps giving him constant signs of affection and everybody around them tell him to make the first step but he rejects all signs and just browses at porn sites. Does that make any sense? She is not ugly or anything; hell she is the epitome of the traditional perfect Japanese wife, following the archetype to the fullest. She doesn’t even mind all the creepy stuff that happen around him and his sister. She even caught him watching megane porn and she just went along with it. So why is he such a ding-dong with her? Oh, that’s right, we need to make fun of the dense harem lead, before he decides to choose his own sister. How funny. And let’s not forget Kuroneko, the goth loli tsundere which plays out as a rival of Kirino as well as flavoring Kyosuke’s harem. Some of the funniest scenes are about Kirino and Kuroneko arguing about what counts as quality anime. Did you notice how I only mention cute girls and no other males? Heaven’s forbid if a harem does that, even for laughs. The girls are supposed to be the only ones who stick out. And they all need to blush, be moe, be sexy, and to throw in some fan service.

Then we have Kirino’s parents and friends, who as I said despise otakus yet in less than 20 minutes she and her brother manage to convince them of otherwise. The funny thing is that the only otakus with personality in this show are all girls (pandering to otakus, remember?). Males are just cardboards in Comiket and female otakus exist to flavor other aspects of the fandom with different tastes and views than Kirino’s.

EPILOGUE

Thus, what began as a dramedy, became propaganda for creepy NEETs. Something like “Yeah, society hates you but look how this cute girl deals with it in a pseudo-realistic way. So cheer up and keep piling those eroges. And don’t mind how she is in reality a proxy for fat smelly male otakus, like the ones who watch and love this shit.” The characters are likable and colorful but their motivations in a show that is supposed to be about the “real” otaku culture are off by miles. If you are not in favor of cosplay, eroge and teen idols, this show will not convince you of otherwise. It is biased towards pro; the negativity some characters show in it, is played for laughs and superficial conflict that is resolved quite fast and easily. Makes as much sense as an invisible pink unicorn dancing on the moon.

… and don’t watch it with your underage little sister. Just to be on the safe side.

There is a scene in this anime where some execs are having a boardroom meeting about the possible creation of a series called "My City Anime". The way the Japanese pronounce "city" makes it sound like "My Shitty Anime". Somehow this seems a more appropriate title for Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai. 

OreImo follows the utterly dreadful Kousaka Kirino and her pitiable brother Kyousuke whom she obviously harbours romantic attraction towards and their daily life dealing with her hobbies. And "dealing with" it is, because Kirino is the the kind of otaku that you hear strange stories about on the news. Her fetish is brother x sister incest eroge (which she shouldn't even be touching considering that those have adult stickers on them and she's 14), she enjoys moe series and collects endless amounts of figurines. 

Now, the audience can buy this. Hell, it's fiction-- if she had wings and green skin, we'd have to buy it. But OreImo grounds itself in our reality and takes itself quite seriously. The result is a show so uneven that when it is not ridiculous, it is frustrating. The biggest problem with this series is its confusion on whether or not it wants to be episodic or follow a main plot. It works episodically, but nearing the end it attempts a straight story-line and finishes by careening off the edge, complete with a "What the hell, where did that come from?" ending. No wait. That's not OreImo's biggest problem; Kirino is. If only she could be as cute as she looks or the title lies and says she is. Too bad she's a controlling abusive ingrate who uses her brother. Hey-- someone told me this show is about a loving brother and sister relationship... I demand a refund. 

Cute she is. One thing this anime has that works for it are the decent character designs. Mind, they are generic, with one of them looking like they stepped right out of a 90s magazine about otaku. Generally, art and animation-wise, there is nothing vividly new or unusual that this series boasts. The girls are all shiny stereotypical examples of animated attractiveness. There are no scenes which demand excessive use of movement either (unless Kirino drop-kicking Kyousuke counts), so it rarely flexes that muscle. A lot of the anime passes with the characters in front of computer screens or perhaps sitting around tables and talking. One good note is that there have been no glaring mistakes such as accidental cross-eye, case of the missing finger or sudden watermelon head for the characters, so while the technicals are nothing that would win accolades, they do keep things neat and ordered which is commendable work in itself. 

However, the show does make great use of its seiyuu cast. It actually does a lot of hat-tipping as well. Tamura Yukari for one has two minor roles in this series and both are a nod to her career. Firstly she plays Meruru, a magical girl who can blast things into smithereens (shout out to Nanoha), and secondly she plays an idol who hates otaku and moe and just panders to them to get attention (irony here, since Tamura is involved with the culture and is pretty "moe" as well). The one bad thing this series does sound-wise is make Azusa sound like a bitch; Taketatsu Ayana does a really great job as Kirino. It's still hard to think of the harmless Azusa being so toxic. Curiously, the series casts Hanazawa Kana in a role quite unlike what anyone would expect. She exhibits the most amount of professionalism in this series, and proves (again) that she can do more than just the girl next door/damsel in distress/cute & helpless act. OreImo boasts multiple theme songs, and some bode better than the rest, though all fall into the category of pop so variety isn't exactly something to expect. The background music is fairly standard for a show of this kind, but it does not contain any tracks that stand out completely and get stuck in your head like say "Fun Fun Fun Dayo" from Lucky Star. 

How this series is constructed is not the main issue. It is how it develops, particularly the characters and that sad excuse for a story. The entire cast is made up of -dere characters who will appeal to weeaboo and otaku audiences. There's the tsundere, kuudere, yandere, blandere (well, this isn't a type, but Manami falls right into this)... and they are just as archetypal and stereotypical as you'd expect them to be. There is only one exception, and it's Kuroneko who surprisingly manages to just be lightly flavoured with her type attributes and have an actual personality beyond the framework. She is the only reason to watch this series. And sadly, the girl only appears in choice episodes, but perhaps this might be a good move by the creators as she doesn't wear thin like Kirino. If only this show was called "My Little Sister's Otaku Goth Loli Friend Can't be this Cute!", then we'd be dealing with something much more enjoyable. 

Kuroneko's quirky, contained (and not bombastic and ridiculous like the rest of them), is actually intelligent and gives her hobby some kind of dignity unlike Kirino who is just a paunch and a bald spot away from being the basement-dweller that you read about on the internet. And funny enough, Kuroneko is actually open and out about being a goth loli into neko-mimi, anime and manga. She's also a damn good sister unlike Kirino. Is it because one is an "imouto" and the other is an "onee-chan"? Funny how they are near the same age yet their maturity levels and worth as human beings and as characters differ so vastly. At home, Kuroneko makes an attempt to be good to her siblings and treat them with respect and kindness out of selflessness. Kirino on the other hand uses Kyousuke and does it without a "thank you". 

How sad it is that the one honest, decent, likeable character in the whole show ends up being a supporting character and the audience is left to endure Kirino's mood swings, hypocrisy, selfishness and abuse. Oh wait, people actually like this kind of thing. The only things Kirino treats with love and respect are pieces of plastic and paper. The kind of affection she shows her toys, manga and games is denied to anyone else. While Kirino's worth can be weighed in garbage, she actually seems saintly compared to her supposed best friend, the psychopath Ayase. If you ever meet anyone who says either of these two are good characters, shoot them in the mouth so they can never be able to speak again. 

Although in some ways, Ayase ends up turning out nicer than Kirino; she still makes an effort to call Kirino and wonder what her friend is doing. Whereas after all the fuss Kirino makes about saving their friendship, she hasn't a single other thought about Ayase. It's almost as if she's made sure she's secured the one "leak" in school and can go back to her animated incest porn. As the series wears on, you might actually have to pity Ayase. While she refuses to accept otaku culture and hobbies, she at least tries to make sense of it for Kirino's sake, and what does the little ingrate do? She gets offended and haughty when she can't explain why she needs about seven of the same figurines whose differences are so minuscule that an average person cannot notice them. 

It's even more frustrating when every episode, nearly everyone goes out of their way to make Kirino happy. Kyousuke does it the most, then we have Kuroneko and Saori arranging get-togethers or hell, even going along to buy crap for her at the behest of Kyousuke. Even Ayase, who'd rather Kirino just be "normal", actually puts aside her disgust to try to get her friend a gift she knows she will love. And what does Kirino do for ANYONE? Please, anybody, name one truly selfless thing she does. Her brother has a sort-of-not-really-girlfriend girl friend, Manami. Kirino gets jealous, is rude to her, treats her poorly as a guest in their home, and then tries to sabotage her brother's relationship with this girl. What the hell is her problem? All Kirino needs to do is steal presents from under the tree and she's the goddamn Grinch. Wait, I shouldn't compare her to him. He actually grows a heart in the end. Kirino remains the same selfish brat from start to finish. It's also sad that if Kyousuke did half the things to her that she did to him, he'd be in juvie. But it's hilarious when she slaps him in the face and kicks his legs and punches him in the gut!

Kyousuke himself is the dog of this series. Or horse. Who knows. He is a beast of burden, made to run errands for his sister and clean up her messes. Always. He's not a bad fellow at all. He ends up making more of an attempt to be friends with Kirino's pals than she does. In fact, more times throughout the anime he calls them, texts them, is nice and polite with them. Hell, he even learns about Maschera just so that he can understand Kuroneko better. As opposed to his lovely sister of course, who will die before attempting to be nice and reveal that she enjoys being around her friends. It makes anyone wonder how he can put up that wretch of a sister. What makes him likeable too is the fact that he seems to be extremely aware of Kirino's inappropriateness and her crush on him. The fact that he's grossed out by it is enough to make him redeemable as a person. But his messianic forgiveness of every.single.thing she does is unbelievable. Maybe he's bros with Jesus? 

OreImo does find ways to redeem itself after the travesty that is Kirino. Something of worth anyone can take out of this series has nothing to do with overriding themes or the characters either. OreImo takes some time to debunk the fantasy most people have about the anime industry. Butchery happens in any medium really, when rights are passed from one creator to the next. A lot of people ask "Why didn't they do this? Why don't they do that? How could they!?" when their favourite manga or visual novel or light novel gets the adaptation from hell. The fact of the matter is that between the creator, editor, producer and director, things more often than not are incapable of retaining their original integrity. 

Not to mention, in a following scene, the jerkass producer mentions the whole concept behind profitability and the fans projecting themselves into the anime themselves. How funny, since this is actually the method OreImo uses to attract certain members of its audience. It panders entirely to the otaku culture in more ways than one without even the slightest hint of proper self-awareness. A cute middle-schooler who is a closet otaku, successful doujin light novelist and potential anime creator who is ALSO (hope you weren't holding your breath) an intelligent honours student who is good at athletics and is extremely popular because she's (wait for it, wait for it) a fashion model for a prominent teen magazine? And NONE of this is done tongue-in-cheek? It's so serious about this that it is almost woeful. 

But OreImo is not an entire waste. Actually, every scene sans Kirino has a lot of merit. Watching Kyousuke and Manami gives a lot of those "are they or aren't they?" type of humour, of course Saori and company provide a lot of otaku in-jokes, and even Ayase the psycho-bitch has some pretty funny scenes too. The anime at least manages not to bore you completely to death. While the content moves from decent to enraging to bad, it always gets some kind of emotion out of the viewer which is a lot more than most other anime can accomplish. And as awful as Kirino is, there ARE moments when you almost forget what a douchebag she is. You can find those when she's genuinely happy and smiling. Why isn't she like this all the time? When she watches her favourite anime or plays a game she loves, she gets into such a good mood that it's almost like a split personality. Does tsundere mean schizo now? In any case, this show is certainly not worth the frustration. Unless this is your first ever otaku anime or you have an incest fetish, then OreImo offers nothing to a viewer who demands more than just moving pictures and music. And it panders so hard that it just ends up being unfunny and if anything, might make you more ashamed to be an otaku if you are one.

There is an interesting moment when the best character berates the worst character about her taste and fetishes; Kuroneko basically lectures Kirino and tells her that she's the "cancer killing anime" today. I find this hilarious since Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai is exactly the type of show that falls into that category. Oh, the irony and the one time it actually works in this series.

Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai, or Oreimo is one of thouse anime that if you can watch it(like you have free time or your bord) then watch it, but if you arent an expirience anime watcher, then this isnt a good place to start. The story in its self is prity simple, it revolves around two sibling and the people they interact with. Kirino Kousaka is the younger sister to Kyouske Kousaka and she is a had full becouse she is a very good example of an Otaku, she is obsessed with "little sister eroge games," buying manga and other thing. Kyouske on the other hand is the tipical run of the mill nice guy charecter whos prity much is the slave to his younger sister.(for the first season) There are allso other charecers that play some big rolles in both seasons of the anime, we have Ruri Goko A.K.A Kuroneko, she is my favorithe characher out of the all the charecters, one becouse she is the complet opposite of kirino, which intern povolkes some very intresting and funny moments during the entire anime, she a very unique and intresting charecter with here own persona. And come on she look and dresses like a Neko(cat) shes just adorable. Theres also Saori Makishima she a, to put it simply a very odd person, one because shes a realy tall girl, she wairs sweilly glasses and she talks funny, which in fact isnt a bad thing, shes a one dimentinal charecter but she plays the role she was given in the anime. these 4 are the main chast of charecters though out the anime, i mean there are some others that are in the anume but they arnt really worth mentioning becouse, one the go off scrine and show up episodes later, or they are so bland and one dimentinal, that you can clasify them/ discride them in a phew words. E.X; Ayase, the best freind of Kirino/ the one that "worries", Manami; the childhood freind.

Now the animation is prity good, its no amazing but it works well with the anime. sound is good, why? becouse the ending song changes with each episod and there ok, opening son is good as well nothig extraordinary.

Know the reason i rewatched the anime is becouse im starting a youtube chanel that i will use for reviewing anime. My first review i will do on my chanal will be on this anime becouse it was the first anime i watch that i knew it was an anime, and belive me after i finished watching it, i was like " so this is what a Japanese TV show is like," "what the heck did i just watch." but it did not discourage me from continueing to watch anime.(thank god)

Over all this anime is ok i wouldnt go out of my way to watch it agen/buy it but know that i rewatched not ony this seson but also seoson 2 i found my seld haveing a desent time watching the anime, it has its moments but thouse are scaresd thought the anime as a hole, but just enough to keep you ingaged throught the anime.

OreImo follows the life of Kyousuke Kousaka; an average highschooler who has average grades, an average life, and lives in his sisters shadow. His sister, Kirino Kousaka, is living every otaku's dream; she's extremelly successful in everything she does, which allows her to be able to collect as many anime related items without having to worry about money. She's grown up hiding her love for anime and's been playing the "perfect highschooler" so people wouldn't suspect her.

One of the issues with this anime is it's poor choice of character development. Granted, you can't expect them to completely analyze each character in a (pretty much) 12 episode series. I'll be reviewing the characters since this was the main issue I had with the anime.

Kyousuke

After discovering his sister's love of eroge by finding one of her games which she had dropped; he's subject to obey her commands and help her out when she needs it.(...what?) Kirino calls these "life lessons" but they never did much about teaching her anything. He pretty much solves the problems she made at the expense of his dignity. The choices he makes however could have been avoided and ended with a possibly better outcome. There were moments when I was thinking "okay, he's going to say this" or "if he does this then they might understand". Instead of choosing a logical option, he chooses some off the wall scenario of how much he loves his sister or how he loves erotic games as to shift the problem on himself.

His more redeeming moments was when he was with the side characters instead of Kirino. Although, it was usually because of a Kirino related reason but at least it's something. I also enjoyed his reaction to the handheld realistic dating sim becuase it was refreshing to watch something with a bit of personallity change.

Kirino

The girl I'll always remember who ruined the word "Tsundere" for me. She was probably the best example of being "all tsun and no dere". I tried to like her, I really did, but I just couldn't stand to watch her attitude toward everybody around her. She treated her brother like some slave and practically beat him if she didn't like what he was saying (which is 95% of the time). She prioritized "friends" who couldn't accept her for who she was over friends who could which is not how it should be. In reality it's "accept me for who I am or don't associate yourself with me". Her character did get some development but it never veered far from the tsuntsun type.

The Father

I started the anime not liking him because of his refusal against anything anime. It wasn't until after he discovered Kirino's obsession and said he was fine with it except for the eroge that I began to like him. He wasn't completely unreasonable like he was first shown and did actually care about his kids. He was also pretty funny with his "true tsundere" moments and I wish he got more screen time than he did. Although, being a father figure, he already got much more than usual so I'm happy with that.

The Mom

......Not much to write about since she wasn't shown all that much except for when they were eating together.

Ayase (Aka Kirino 2)

Pretty much looks identical to Kirino except for the hair color and the side her bangs part. I didn't completely hate her character later on since it didn't get all that much development. She was mostly just annoying and kind of popped in every once in a while.

Kuroneko

One of the better characters in the anime. There weren't really any moments where I was like "ugghhh!!! I want to strangle her!" which is a really big accomplishment for this anime. Her character didn't get all that much develpment until the end of the series and season 2.

Saori

Better than most of the characters since she wasn't annoying and was actually enjoyable to watch. Although she did get a spotlight episode, it wasn't all that great fpr some reason which is what I can't figure out. Maybe because it felt like filler or something? I don't really know. Saori's quirky personality was fun to watch but she was forgotten about somewhere towards the end of the series.

Manami

I liked the interactions between Kousaka and Manami because of the childhood friendship they had which allowed them to talk and act more freely. Although being a supporting side character, she got her own episode and was actually one of the most enjoyable episodes in S1 imo. It was fun to watch the interactions between her and her (weird) family and left me wishing the anime focused on her instead of the Kirino.

Overview

An anime like this could have been much better if they had focused more on realistic reactions to a situation. Often times, the characters overreacted to something that wasn't that big of a deal which also didn't effect them in the first place. The bond between brother and sister was more like a bond between troubled lovers which the creator had intended (I'd hate to be his sister... *get's a shiver up spine*) but it took away from the show because it ended up not being relatable the further you got into it.

This show has my opinions so mixed it's not even funny(well maybe a little).

I guess I'll start with saying that the show is enjoyable most of the time and the animation is pretty, not to mention the voice actors are pretty good as well.

Here's my main issue though: Never have I wanted more to jump into an anime and yell "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!"

This guy, the main character, is constantly trying to help his sister with her creepy-ass fetish for little sister eroge games. She claims it's just because the little sister is always "so cute :D"....

But you've got to be shitting me. This brother character is apparently one of the most kind-hearted and loyal people I've ever seen, he rivals Mahatma Gandhi for christ's sake.

But the most irritating part about this show is that the little sister is so unappreciative and stuck-up I think it's safe to say the she's the only character I've ever wanted to straight-up stick in the face more than Haruhi Suzumiya.

To sum it all up in a slightly abrupt(but damn accurate) way, this show is entertaining in both comedy and story elements, but I can say a good 2/5 of the time spent watching this show I was staring at the screen with my jaw dropped thinking "I want to fucking END YOU."