Anime: Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai

Imagine that you have a younger sister, and you one day discover that she likes playing eroge- quite unusual. Now upon closer investigation you find they're all games about incest with younger sisters- now it's scandalous. In Oreimo, our protagonist finds himself in just this situation with his otherwise flawless, tsundere sister. How should he react and what consequences will they yield.

This series is a teasing yet almost ironically comical piece that explores what I would consider the boundary of brotherly involvement. The basic premise is almost the same as in Haruka no Himitsu with the protagonist working to help protect the socially awkward truth. There are a few places where I really wonder if Kousaka went too far, given his sister's standoffish nature, but then again I haven't been in his shoes. It is a fairly interesting piece that unfortunately doesn't end up going anywhere. There's a 4-episode special/alternate ending, which is a fun addendum though given that there is a second season coming up you can guess how "conclusive" that was.

Animation:
The drawing style is fair with decent details and coloring. The simple and bright lighting fits the overall mood of the series. Expect some interesting references to other anime works spread throughout the series.

There isn't much action in the show so don't expect anything extraordinary here. There is also very little ecchi material, which I guess may a good thing as the sister is the focus of the show... There is a lot of cosplaying involved however.

Sound:
The sound in Oreimo is one of it's stronger categories. Oreimo starts with a fairly catchy, upbeat OP and ends with a lot of different EDs- a result of a public contest. The BGM is Oreimo is very distinguishable; it heavily utilizes guitars and brass instruments. Quite a few of the melodies are memorable.

The VA cast is very experienced and do a great job in their roles. Saori Hayami does a very impressive yandere and hearing Kana Hanazawa in a more confident role was likewise interesting.

Story:
There is pretty much a single plot thread will Kousaka burdened with taking care of his sister. He gets her out of numerous troublesome situations almost always at his expense, either physically, monitarily, or mentally. His only "reward" is in the form of almost nonexistent dere moments out of his sister. The story maintains a good pacing with a pleasant mix of comical and dramatic moments.

While there are some pretty intense arcs, the tension really picks up to a climax in the final episode (or first episode of the 4-episode extra). The conclusion is adequate though it obviously is open enough for a second season. Those who watch the 4-ep OVA will take the story take a different turn as Kousaka focuses his attention temporarily on Kuroneko, with a "reward" for Gokou fans at the end.

Character:
The series focuses on a few key characters and so ends up doing a great job developing them. Many of the characters are dynamic as they learn and grow through their interactions. Some of the supporting characters' backgrounds are still shrouded in mystery, perhaps for explication in the next season. Nonetheless, I found the development and interactions of the characters highly favorable compared to the average offering these days.

Value:
While not an earth-shattering series, Oreimo is definitely one of the more outlandish ones with a unique premise and good execution. An easy watch with some comedic moments, this is a promising series with good fundamentals. We'll see how they pick it up in S2.

"Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai", "OreImo" for short, or "My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute" translated, is a story about brotherly love for a bratty stuck-up sister who has a "dark" secret. Kyosuke Kosaka, a 17 year old high school boy, hasn't even gotten along with his 14 year old sister, Kirino. She often would ignore him and look at him with disgust, despite him showing her courteousy. Deep in the back of his head, he desires a normal brotherly relationship with his sister, but in reality, he has nearly given up all hope for such a relationship, due to how she acts, but it shows subconsciously, as he has dreams about it. Things change when he discovers her "dark" secret, by accident, that she is a closet otaku, a rabid fan of all things anime, manga, ero games, etc. who hides this fact from everyone else. He understands the situation, with their dad being an anti-otaku policeman who is very strict, and, for reasons he doesn't understand, he decides to help her out. With Kyosuke's help, Kirino becomes more free to happily enjoy her secret desires for anime, manga, and ero games. In the process, he discovers a side to Kirino he never knew existed, an open, friendly, and almost cute sister, something he believed could never be, though Kirino's habits from being bratty with disgust-filled eyes don't ever go away.

OreImo is a 12 episode anime series based on a series of light novels which now has 7 volumes released. It is primarily a cute comedy with a good bit of drama. It is not a show about incest, nor does it contain any true romance, though characters do show romantic feelings. There is minimal ecchi fan service--I vaguely recall some bath scenes and panty/underwear shots. Production values of this series are very high. Visuals are very polished, voices and soundtrack are fairly high quality, the story is a bit ridiculous, which lends to the comedy nature, and the characters are very charming. I find this show was very entertaining, though I don't believe it's something I'd personally recommend to a non-anime fan, though I believe anime fans will like it a lot.

Animation: 7.5/10
For a non-action anime, the visuals are stunning. The colors are vibrant, there's excellent light and shadow usage, animation is very fluid, and character designs are very good looking. Everything seems to be polished to high quality standards. There's not too much detail on a consistent basis, but some scenes do have an amazing amount of detail which would make me pause and go back to take it all in--there are comments from viewers that discuss the titles of various DVDs and games in the Kirino's otaku stash that they recognized, which is a detail that surprised them.

Sound: 6.5/10
The audio is decently solid with great voice work. Voice work in a comedy is the heart of what makes comedies work. The reactions from Kyosuke from various things amused me most times and, on a few occasions, got me to roll around in my chair laughing. The rest of the voice cast was great and really gave life and personality to the characters. The intro and ending songs are of decent quality, nothing I'd really want to listen to outside of the show. The sound effects and BGM are also of decent quality, nothing notable enough to look out for a soundtrack for.

Story: 7.5/10
The story is surprisingly touching. This is a fun twist on fantasy-like vision of otaku which seems clean, instead of revolting, though may be a bit too clean for some people's tastes. I know certain people who have trouble accepting such a vision of otaku, but that's not the real part of the story that I like. I really enjoy the story about brotherly love, how Kyosuke never really abandoned his sister no matter how rude she was. He made numerous sacrifices, sometimes giving up his manly pride, to do things unheard of for his sister and never really expected anything in return. He didn't even understand it himself, it was as if it was his duty as his brother. The story touched on the anime business lightly, which gave a little insight about it, though I don't know how accurate it is. The story also lightly explored places in Japan, getting to see some of the scenery of Akihabara (which happens to be an anime mecca), a town which seems to be a big date spot which I forgot the name of (Shibuya?), and some events such as an open contest/concert. I've seen these before, but combined with the stunning visuals, it was a treat to see it again and it did well to set a place to introduce characters and drive character development. The story does get ridiculous at times, showing stuff that would seem would never happen in real life, but I think that's typical in anime and it also makes it interesting in a comedic sense. There are suggestive themes throughout that may indicate some naughty thoughts between brother and sister, but the show simply uses such misunderstandings as a style of comedy and to throw a twist in the show that doesn't go anywhere. There's multiple endings to the story, but I find the original one to be a bright and happy ending while the alternate ("true") one is kind of sad. I think the show started off real well, but it kind of dragged on once the character intros were over; 1 ep before the end, it became great again, but the ending felt kind of hit or miss.

Character: 8/10
The characters are very likable. What stands out is how the character reactions are exaggerated, with facial expressions that tell the story as much as the dialog. I consider Kyosuke the main character, since the story seems to center around his perspective, and Kirino the main subject of the story. Kyosuke is not dumb nor clever, but is an average guy most guys can relate to. Kirino is just... it's very hard to put into words, but I think she is very bold, yet cute, yet also annoying. The story goes far enough to explain her beauty and figure and how she manages to fund her hobby, being a part time model and being on the track team. Their mom is very funny, she seems to enjoy seeing her past in her kids and is very understanding of them, but also has a sense of humor that I love. Their dad is a very traditional man, strict, but seemingly has a soft spot for his wife and daughter, which can be pried to manipulate his strictness and his tendency to prefer traditionalism. The other characters are all girls of different personalities; one girl being Kyosuke's childhood friend, who has developed feelings for him, yet hasn't really confessed them; the other girls are various friends of Kirino's, one being a friendly and strangely outgoing wizened otaku, another being a sophisticated otaku, and others are fellow aspiring models/performers. The characters make the show relatively cute, by showing their sides which they find somewhat embarrassing to show around others normally, often blushing in the process. The blushing does feel slightly overdone in the end, but there's no doubt that it really added some charm to the show. They all have interesting designs and help make the show as interesting as it it, driving the story. I don't have a favorite, but when I see that there are comments where people are relatively split choosing which character they like, I think it shows that a fair amount of love went into each one to give them personality.

Value: 6/10
Enjoyment: 7.5/10
I enjoyed OreImo a lot. The first episode hooked me. I watched it as it aired on TV and I always anticipated watching the next episode. While I enjoyed it, I find the content may not be all that interesting to those not familiar with anime and its overall quality isn't all that impressive. I would only recommend this to fans of anime, though I wouldn't considerate it a very high recommendation. I didn't enjoy it enough to want to watch it through again either. There's no real moral to learn from the story, nor does it have anything you can "study up" on, which gives it any replay value. It gave me a few laughs, especially the beginning, a couple of scenes when the mom walks in on Kyosuke when he's doing or has something suspicious, and towards the end with what I call the "Kirino traps", set up for when Kyosuke and his childhood friend are in his room together alone. I find these laughs made the show totally worth the watch and the visuals and charming cast of characters helped as well.

To fans of the show and those who enjoyed it, there are rumors that four OVAs are due to be released in June/July 2011.

I hope this review helps some decide whether or not to watch the show or helps give a positive perspective to those who have watched at least some of the show to better appreciate the show for what it is. This is an above average show with great production qualities and it's a shame to be misunderstood by people expecting something else, such as an anime with an "accurate depiction of otaku" or an incest show.

If you vote for my review and tell me what you like/dislike about it, I'll give you a cookie. :thumbup:

I noticed that the averaged rating of this anime was lower than what I believe it should be. So I'm writing a review.
I have a sister myself, so view this anime and review in a stand point of someone with a sister. Tsundere or not.

"Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai" is the story of a typical high school boy named Kyousuke Kousaka and his little sister Kirino. Kyousuke finds out that his sister has a hobby some people might find inappropriate and immoral.

Kirino collects and plays adult video games. Well, to make it short, Kyousuke helps his sister get out of her small world and find people who she can share her hobby with and also help her friends accept her hobby. Through this, Kyousuke and Kirino develop a sibling bond they never had before in their lives.

Art & Animation:
10, yes I gave it a 10. I believe an anime worth watching should have fluid animation and natural transition from different scenes. Ore no Imouto's balances out great quality that never dips throughout the 12 episodes. Having different openings/endings for every episode should speak about the effort put in this anime. Characters are fluid and very likable, with drawn expressions that keep you interested.

Sound:
9/10 Voice acting is great. The voice actors really give their character roles that "I'm serious" feel and show their talents throughout the anime. There are many cute surprises too, like a character singing the OP.

Story:
8/10 You will laugh, a lot. You will get pissed and you will feel bad about yourself at times. You will accept that there are many truths in this anime. Kirino, her dad, her cosplaying friends, they will detail and explain issues going against the manga, animation and Japanese adult game industry these days.

A minor downside to story = "Messy Story Progression". The animators blended anime with some visual novel choice making. They were probably thinking of the theme of the anime/novel. However this makes it hard for viewers to know how the story really progressed or how it really ended. The "True Ending" and the "Normal Ending" will likely conflict with the viewer. I believe the true ending comes with the novel, which currently has enough material for a second season.

Character:
9/10 There are likable characters and characters you absolutely don't like in anime. I believe rating characters is of very personal taste. Majority of the characters in this anime are stereotypes. Tsunderes, Yanderes, childhood friends, high expectations father, etc.
I personally think they were done just right.

Kyousuke is your average protagonist. However, he isn't one of those useless main characters. He represents people who aren't Otaku and what it's like becoming one. I noticed Kirino getting a lot of flak, but her vocal character is what the story is actually about (watch it to know).

Value:
9/10 It was fun to watch. I'll personally put it beside one of those anime that leaves you asking for more.

Enjoyment:
9/10 Again this is personal, but it really was great for me.

Just give it a try and see if it's for you.

Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai

OLD MAN: Dost hesitate then to embrace thy own dear brother?
ELECTRA: No! not any longer, old friend; for my soul is convinced by the tokens thou showest. O my brother, thou art come at last, and I embrace thee, little as I ever thought to.
ORESTES: And thee to my bosom at last I press.
ELECTRA: I never thought that it would happen.
ORESTES: All hope in me was also dead.
ELECTRA: Art thou really he?
ORESTES: Aye, thy one and only champion, if I can but safely draw to shore the cast I mean to throw; and I feel sure I shall; else must we cease to believe in gods, if wrong is to triumph o'er right.
--Euripides, Electra (translated by Edward P. Coleridge)

Abstract: A cute, smart, athletic girl gets a middle-school crush on her brother. Also, she's an otaku. And then the story meanders for 12 episodes, showing a lot of potential but never living up to it. A great example on how to frustrate your audience. Final Grade: C

Genre: Otaku Rom-Com
Content: Some Ecchi

Reasons to Watch: Great voice acting; Strong side characters; Kuroneko
Reasons not to Watch: Incest show without any actual incest; Broken and confused plot; Lack of development of the side characters

Plot: 3
There are three flaws in this story, but each one is so deep as to destroy all hope of rehabilitation. This is a story that is broken from the ground up, and no amount of moe whitewashing can hope to fix it. The greatest problem is the incest theme. The story devotes great effort and a majority of the air time to the incest theme, but it can not make it work. The problem is that the brother, Kyousuke, is complete disinterested in playing the incest game. Early on in the series, he claims that incest is sick and wrong, and he doesn't change his views throughout the series, despite the massive hints his sister drops along the way. And in the final TV episode, the Good End, (this is spoiler, but important to my point) He sees her only as a sister, not a love interest. That's fine. The problem is close to 70% of this show is dedicated to Kirino and Kyousuke's relationship. Since this relationship will never progress anywhere, that's 70% of the show that could have been turned to more relevant pursuits. There are a number of interesting ideas and characters that were created but never explored, only to concentrate on this middle-schooler girl's stupid crush. The second big problem is the treatment of otaku. There are three classic approaches to this idea. There is the Lucky Star route of shameless self-aggrandizement, there is the Welcome to the NHK route of apologetic defiance, and there is the middle way of Nogizaka Haruka's Secret simple acceptance. Ore no Imouto can't settle on any straight path, so it bounces back and forth over the ideas, never delivering a unified narrative. There are impassioned speeches in defense of the otaku, only to have it turn around and completely contradict itself in the end. You can't go stand on soapbox and demand the worlds attention, only to mumble nonsense and shoot yourself in the foot when people start to watch. I would rather this show stayed out of the sticky otaku problems all together, rather than bring them up only to prove the enemies points for them. The final flaw is not as big, but I must remark on it because it took up two episodes of an already short running time. Episodes 7 and 8 are about Kirino getting her own novel published and anime made. We already have a impossibly cute middle-school girl with amazing athletic skills and crush on her brother and is a complete otaku. I think I could win the lottery before a found a girl matching that description in real life. And now you tell me she is a best selling novelist? One, it was already established by Kuroneko that Kirino can't write worth a damn. Secondly, where did she find the time to write a book in the nine months this story covers? Thirdly, what publisher would hire a middle-school author? Fourthly, how can a glorified fan-fic become a bestseller? Fifthly, why would an anime studio make an anime based of said glorified fan-fic. Sixthly, why would the anime studio try to change the main character's gender? The entire storyline here is what I call a “camel up the minaret” plot (name borrowed from an incident in Terry Pratchett's wonderful book Jingo). A camel up the minaret plot is where the writers come up with a plot device that sounds plausible to start, and logically follow this results of this device up the steps of the minaret until they realize their camel is stuck at the top, can't turn around, and there's no way to get the camel back down. We hit this point with the ridiculous showdown Kyousuke has with the anime company over things so stupid it hardly makes any sense whatsoever. There is no narrative point to this showdown, there is no romantic angle, there is no reason for this episode to even exist. It feels like a someone on the staff wrote this storyline just to grind a personal axe with the industry. Instead of this retarded pissing contest, the viewers would be much better treated to greater explorations of the characters of Kuroneko and Saori, who are woefully underrepresented in the plot. In the end, what went wrong was that the story took itself too seriously. It spent most of its time telling a incest story, but was too serious to make it work. It kept climbing up on soapboxes only to have nothing to say. And it kept trying to shoehorn in every minutia of otaku culture rather than concentrating on character development. Grade: D

Art: 8
The backgrounds can be weak. That is limit of criticism I have for the animation quality. The character designs are very cute. I love the gradient in Kirino's hair and the level of detail Kuroneko's outfits. And all the eroge and doujinshi are carefully crafted and parodied with love. The characters are moe, but not moeblob, and the character animations are smooth. Even when animating crowd scenes, there is still a level of detail on the background characters that is not often present in shows like this. Faces are very wide, which I found to be ascetically pleasing. In fact, while there isn't that much ecchi in this show (Kirino shakes her ass at the camera a few times, and there is one physically impossible underwear shot), there is plenty of eyecandy just in the cute-as-a-button character designs. Grade: B+

Sound: 9
The OP, irony, is a beautiful number that complements the show and gives a spark of energy to the start. There is a separate ED for each episode, all of varying quality, but I appreciated the variety. And the voice acting is fantastic. Taketatsu Ayana is wonderful as Kirino, and she really gives a stellar performance hitting the quicksilver emotions of the character. Ms. Taketatsu is quickly reaching my pantheon of must-listen voice actress. Nakamura Yuuichi does a great job as in the male lead, and manages to inject some cleverness and emotion into what easily could have been another carbon copy rom-com protagonist. Hanazawa Kana gives a delightfully sardonic performance as Kuroneko, although her skilled acting is not surprising, giving her past roles in Angel Beats! (Tenshi) and Chinese Electric Batman Darker Than Black 2 (The Russian chick). And Saori is played by the veteran Nabatame Hitomi, who gives some adult charm to the cunning nerd girl. Whatever ever the flaws in the story, the performances of the voice actors was a joy to hear. Grade: A-

Characters: 4
There is some great character creation going on in Ore no Imouto. Characters like Ayase, Kuroneko, and Saori are well designed and show great potential. However, we never get to see these characters live up to their potential, since the story's spotlight is set firmly on the two weakest characters in the lineup, Kirino and Kyousuke. Kirino is a very weak character, she is vapid and selfish and personifies many of the worst traits of the otaku. In fact, if Kirino was a man instead of a cute loli, the character would be loathed. She is also remarkably simple. All of her intentions are quite obvious, and it would take a moron of the highest level not to see them. Enter Kyousuke, the man with no balls. The male lead of this show is the very posterboy for whipped. He obeys every order, no matter how unreasonable, takes all the blame, no matter how guiltless, and prostrates himself no matter how embarrassing. He is nothing more than a slave monkey for his little sister's amusement, and she has him wrapped around her fingers like twine. And his stupidity doesn't end there. He is completely oblivious to all romantic possibles, despite being surrounded by nubile young ladies who apparently have no taste in men. So basically, when Kyousuke and his sister are together, the story starts rotate around a vortex of suck. But when Kyousuke gets out from under his sister's thumb, things improve dramatically. There were flashes of a really good romantic comedy here, a la Toradora or Mamoru to Venus. Or when Kyousuke is removed from Kirino's scenes, there is a lot of great otaku comedy action, especially in the fights she gets in with Kuroneko. So what we have is a great cast of supporting characters, and great comedy when the two siblings are apart, and unimaginative stereotypic attempts at comedy when the siblings are together. And so the writers do the obvious thing and spend most the show with the siblings together. Sigh. Grade: C-

Value: 5
Watchability: It can be hard to watch at times, when the plot sacrifices reality for the joke of cheap drama. And from the otaku culture side, there is so little in this show that can't be seen in better shows, like Genshiken or Welcome to the NHK. And of course, there is absolutely no romantic closure. Grade: C
Re-watchability: Very weak. Since so much of the plot is pointless incest innuendo, there is little value in returning to this series. I might enjoy returning to handful of scenes to see Kuroneko at her best, but that hardly is worth the effort. Grade: D
Historical Value: For some reason, this show got big. Not as big as the legendary moeblob hits of yore, but big. I can see why, there is a lot of things for a Type B otaku to enjoy. I can see this series remaining a fan favorite. But it is not good enough for hold sway for a long time like truly quality shows. Grade: B+

Enjoyment: 4
Sometimes a show receives an average grade because the show is average. Other times, the show on occasion ascends the highest highs only to turn and plumb the deepest lows. Ore no Imouto is the latter. There is so much great potential that it is heartwrenching to see it wasted on such stupid incest drama. There is so much to love in this anime, but the good parts get so little airtime, just so that all the ronery otaku can fulfill their masturbatory fantasies of having a little sister. Ore no Imouto is not unenjoyable, but it is frustrating that so little of its potential is explored. Grade: C-

Errata:
Watched this with Mazui's sub. I hate incest shows, and so I was biased against this show from the start, but I tried to prevent any unfairness by focusing on the overall story arc, not just the squick. As someone with an actual imouto, I can attest to the fact that a real sister does not act that way. By a remarkable coincidence, Doki released the “True End” episode while I was writing this review. After watching it, it did not change anything I said and in fact confirmed most of what I wrote, so I have that going for me. The quote at the beginning is from the Greek drama Electra, and is completely out of context. Freud and Jung coined the phrase “Electra Complex” to describe a woman in love with an older male relative, generally a father, but a older brother can work too. So I guess it's relevant. All reviews are done independent of the original format or other adaptions.

Final Grade: C

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.

*This review contains spoilers*

'Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai!' ('My Little Sister Can't Possibly be this Adorable!') is about an ordinary high school boy (Kyousuke), who one day discovered his usually mean and rebellious little sister (Kirino) is a closet otaku. One thing leads to another, and Kyousuke ends up helping his little sister with many otaku things.

After a quick glance at the title and plot synopsis, I thought this was some kind of incest harem comedy, and had an extremely low expectation. However, as the story progressed, a nagging thought began to dwell in my mind: "This Show Can't Possibly be this Enjoyable!"

Story/Character: 8/10
The story is driven by Kirino's selfish "Life Consultations" about her otaku hobby, getting her brother into all sorts of trouble. I know a lot of people are going to compare this with 'Genshiken' series, but it's quite different. 'Genshiken' focuses on various kinds of otaku, and how the protagonist fit in with fellow otaku around him. On the other hand, 'OreImo' is very much about the otaku culture seen from society's view, and depicts how the heroine's hobby is exposed to ordinary friends and adults around her. Most characters around Kirino represent a social group that she must seek acceptance from.

Her brother Kyousuke is open-minded and willing to learn new things for his little sister. This group is quite rare, but accept others quickly.
The father is an old-fashioned conservative. Fortunately for Kirino, the dad is a reasonable man, and allows her to continue under certain conditions. It can also be said that when society is exposed to something new for a certain time, it eventually becomes a norm and become accepted.
Then comes Ayase, the misinformed. She's the type who believes everything she sees in TV, and forms prejudice in her mind. This type, as demonstrated in the series, can be converted with sufficient counter-evidence.
Finally, we have Kanako, who just despises and disgusted by otaku's creepiness... this type is probably inconvertible, but fortunately she likes to be worshipped, and otaku provide her that.

Then we have the fellow otaku friends, Saori, who tries everything but doesn't become particularly attached to anything, and then Kuroneko, who like Kirino is very passionate about a certain genre, and unwilling to budge. These characters accept her almost instantly, although other girls in IRL meeting shunned her because she didn't look like an otaku. As her friends, they broaden Kirino's otaku life by introducing her to new things and opinions.

Like 'Genshiken' the story here does involve a wide range of otaku activities such as anime, eroge, live commentary, comic fest, cosplay, otagei and additionally production of fan novel and anime. I found it interesting that this show has a lot of self-reference with the anime production episode where a lot of ideas such as use of different ED and real stores as anime location, as well as the difficulty in maintaining original plots for anime adaptations. In the eroge episode, it shows the irony of Kirino's attitude toward her brother through an eroge, in which Kirino found a character very similar to her to be very annoying, and subtly realizes her own emotion. In the novel episode, it also touched on how the recent trend of moe and ecchi was degrading anime, but stated that in the end, all art works are subject of personal preferences, and there's no real "correct" answer.

One nagging question throughout the series was why would Kyousuke go such lengths to help his sister when she's acting like such a bitch all the time, but Kirino eventually became quite adorable because she's such an earnest girl who gives 100% at everything she does. Or maybe I just like tsundere... Kyousuke was a really likable guy who went out and got things done for his little sister, with couple of great quick thinking in critical times. The whole theme of brotherly love was beautifully summarized in the final episode. I have to admit it was sort of corny, but a fitting ending nonetheless. The irony that the one time he wasn't able to make a composed decision was in an argument with his own sister, and the reverse effect actually led to the desired result.

Another one may be "why is Kirino so bitchy to her brother when he's doing so much good for her?" Kirino is what they call 「ギャル」 (Gal) in Japan, fashion/trend-conscious girls. One of their major characteristics is that they call their parents and brothers 「きもっ」 (Gross) or 「うざっ」 (Annoying) and avoid them because these girls don't want to be seen as a baby who still clings on to the family, or don't want to be associated with the uncool. Kirino's character is basically stereotypical "Gal" who also happens to be a tsundere, therefore the constant abuse of her brother. It was apparent that her behavior was also her clumsy way of expressing her affection and need for attention from her big brother. There was an instance where she mentioned "stop acting like a big brother after neglecting me for so long", so there may be a back-story to it, but we can only hope for another season for that. There's also a Japanese saying 「喧嘩するほど仲がいい」 "They get along so well that they fight all the time", as in two people are so close that they don't need to hold anything back, and you won't get mad at someone you don't care about. One can say the argument and even physical violence in the end was a milestone in the improvement of their relationship, especially compared to beginning of the series, when Kirino outright ignored and showed hostility to her brother.

Just from Kirino's character setting alone, you can tell this show was never meant to be a realistic portrayal of otaku culture, as gal and otaku have long been depicted in media as arch-enemies of incompatible personalities.
As a fantasy series, it was a really well-structured story designed to be heartwarming, building up for drama and inspiration almost every episode.

Animation: 7/10
Art work was the weakest element of the show. Neither characters nor backgrounds were usually detailed. In fact, it was noticeably cheap, but the lazy 'ordinary life' atmosphere and hectic otaku madness was presented well.
Character designs are a bit heavy on moe, but quite distinguishable. I did not like how their faces were too wide in some scenes.
Animation, like every other element of this show, had its moments. There are few scenes, mostly action or background had so much detail or great camera work that it takes you by surprise.

Sound: 8/10
Voice acting of the siblings are done extremely well. Kirino usually sound annoying and bitchy like she should, and turn cute in dere scenes. You can just feel the emotion of her voice in touching scenes, and the squirmy perv laughs were adorable too. Kyousuke's voice was smooth and easy to listen to. All other seiyuu cast were solid in my opinion, except Satou Satomi (Manami), whose high-pitched voice was overly moe and unnaturally childish for a 17-year old character.

The heavy use of brass instruments in BGM was rather refreshing, but overall the music score did not leave a lasting impression. It did occasionally help set the pace for comedy or drama.

The OP (song quality, suitability, visual presentation) is excellent. 'Irony' by Claris itself is like a random technopop from Japanese idol group Perfume minus the auto-tune, but surprisingly catchy and appropriate in setting the mood for each episode. OP animation is always different, introducing the side characters that will appear for each episode and having same theme as the episode.
ED songs are also different for every episode, ED1-11 are selected from the public contest held in Nico Nico Douga, a Japanese video sharing website and sang by seiyuu cast in this series. ED songs were pretty weak in general with excessive beats, but at least offer refreshment value. ED12 was written by Kousaki Satoru (who also handled BGM), and really shows the difference between pros and amateurs. ED Vocals were insanely good though, especially for episode 4, 7, 8, and 11.

Value/Enjoyment
Despite being a late night UHF (independent station) anime about otaku, 'Oreimo' is very much a mainstream show designed for the general audience. I would think the more immersed in otaku culture you are, the more likely you will prefer 'Genshiken' over this series because it goes far more in-depth on otaku culture.

However, this show is more of a feel-good sweet fairytale story about platonic brotherly and sisterly love. I wouldn't go as far as saying this series is life-changing in any way, but it also sheds light on issues an otaku would face in real life, and attainment of acceptance by the general public.

I can also tell a lot of effort was put into production, such as the revision of story structure which gave subtle character development despite the episodic format, the different "Eye Catch" (Cover/CD between commercials) as reference to other anime series, "End Card" (illustration that shows in end of the show, sometimes displayed in ED as well) drawn by various prominent manga/novel illustrators, different OP animation every episode (and sometimes use of OP in different places), and different EDs.

This series is not perfect as the drama feel a bit too forced and things go too well at times, but it's not about the logic... there's something about it that really touches you. Watching this show naturally puts a smile on my face.

I really like 'Oreimo', I would even say that I love it!