Ore no Imouto (Season Two) - Episode 3 Discussion / Poll
 

Welcome to the discussion thread for Ore no Imouto (Season Two), Episode 3.

Thread Guidelines

• Raw requests and offers are not permitted anywhere on this forum.
• Spoilers or hints about future events must not be posted in this thread.
  If you need to reference something that would spoil a future event, reply directly with a private message, or seek out a more appropriate thread.
• Discuss your expectations of the episode if it has not aired yet.
• Be polite to your fellow forum members.
• Please try to keep the discussion on-topic.
• Do not post multiple times in a row. Please edit your existing post if you wish to add additional thoughts.

Episode Thread Spoiler Policy

• Any comment that discloses events, characters, plot or other information before it is revealed in the anime is expressly forbidden whether or not it is behind spoiler tags.
  Spoiler tags should still be used where appropriate.
  Please consult the AnimeSuki Spoiler Policy for more information.
• Adding a Spoiler tag:
  

  Just highlight your spoiler and click the button found on the "Quick Reply" and "Reply to Thread" forms. Make sure that you include a useful title!

• Please use the Report button if you see any inappropriate spoilers:
  

  Click the button found to the left of the post, just under the poster's avatar. Using the Report button is anonymous and helps the Moderators locate and deal with problems quickly.

• Posting inappropriate spoilers may result in a ban.
  Note: Reporting a post does not mean the poster will be banned instantly.
  The Moderators will use bans if warnings are repeatedly ignored.

So after the last episode that was full of craziness and humour, this episode is more subdued and focuses on telling us Saori's backstory. While I think the show is most memorable when it relies more on its humour or on the core of Kirino and Kuroneko, I thought this episode was still pretty well done. The distance between Kaori and Saori was presented pretty well, and you start to understand why Saori is the way she is and where she got it from. Of course, everything wraps up pretty cleanly, so it has a bit of a "one-off" episode feel, but I think that's okay in terms of fleshing out the cast that were a bit less developed last season. Even though Saori always seemed like the sort of person who was organized and had it all together, you see why she still dons the glasses to give her the courage she might not otherwise have.

As expected, the Saori episode this week...

1. Like the intro to this story in LN better. Just doesn't feel as "one-off" as this version.
2. くぎゅううううううううううううううううううううううううううううううううううううううううううううううう うううう
3. Shinya's role in Pretty Garden do reminds me of Kyousuke's role right now. But then, Kyousuke cosplaying Yami-no-Oji = ehh...don't know how to put it
4. Now, Kuroneko on the other hand...
5. And of course, Kiririn's "Kuroneko" cosplay.
6. Back to Kanata, if only Kanako is half of what her onee-chan is...
7. Last note, appearance of a certain maid if anyone even notice that...

Feels kind of random. I didn't really like it that much, but it's not terrible. It's just, awkward.

I'm glad they got this out of the way early in the season. It was nice seeing Saori's back story, but I feel it's something that could of been done last season really. Next episode sounds like it should be great. I'm guessing on a blond blue eyed cocky American.

Did seem slightly odd to suddenly go into Saori's back-story after the Ayase/Kirino episode last time out - but I will admit that I've wanted to see Saori without those funky glasses. She is cute.

That is all. :heh:

Not reading the LN's, that was a nice backstory to Saorin. Kyousuke's reaction to her in the beginning was pretty funny. Finally, the gang seeing Saori in her ojou-sama glory.

Dynamic tag cannot be rendered. (PrintableThread)
The right girl: The world is a village. As you all might remember, she was the waitress in the restaurant, who waited Kousaka back on the first offline meeting(and showed Kousaka some neat doushinji on the comiket :D).

Kanata: If one coincidence happens, another one is very near. I wonder, if she is the bigger sister of Kanako. They look alike, somehow.

This episode's content kind of caught me off guard, but definitely glad we got to see her without her megane on. Interesting back story, really enjoyed it! Even if it kind of felt out of place!

She was also the announcer at the Meruru cosplay contest.

Saori without glasses, finally. How long have I waited for this? Way too long. :heh:
I didn't really think this episode was awkward or out of place, in fact it was pretty nice. But maybe that's just my inner fanboy coming through and neglecting all the negatives.

And yeah I didn't realize we've already seen her a lot, haha. I was wondering why she said oni-chan... I guess she does a lot of oddjobs around the otaku culture and lives off of that.

nice episode, even without the kanako/brigdet thing. Hope next ep is also from LN.

I think the only good part of this episode is young Saori and Saori sans glasses.

The story itself feels rather rushed. The lead in feels poorly done (just the three seeing Saori in her real form) which takes away the immersion into the story.



6/10. Below expectation but cute Saori scored some points. Would love to hear opinion of more non-LN readers.

Saori's backstory was not exactly what I expected. She really was a (shy) oujo-sama before she got introduced to otakudom. Well, she still is when she isn't using her Bajeena persona. She was adorable as a kid and looks very pretty without the glasses. I hope the day she doesn't need them anymore comes very soon. It's a crime to hide these beautiful eyes.

I'm dreading the next episode, since it looks like it will focus on Kirino. If even that one managed to be good however, then maybe I'll be able to enjoy this season fully.

As a non-LN reader, I thought this episode managed to convey that just fine. It's obvious the group is extremely important to Saori and that she would never want it to fall apart like her sister's circle did.

Saori without glasses! *Jumps for joy*

I would also agree that, considering the anime on its own, this point is sufficiently conveyed. You have to connect-the-dots a bit (the flashbacks helped fill those gaps), but I think it's not beyond reason to see the connection. It's obvious that her friends are very important to her, and she wants to do a better job than her sister did (although I do think she was a bit surprised at how easily her sister could "get the band back together").

Good episode, Saori really needed this characterization episode.
Always felt she was the most mature and nurturing of the group, and that her and Kyosuke would make a good grown up pair, compared to the other two 'kids' in the group.

wow, Saori grew up hugely tall FAST.

Towering over her older sister even.

Who's the loli of the older sister's group and what book does she write?

The redhead? Given her character design and the fact she mentioned she had a little sister, plus her calling herself Kanakana-chan, my bet is that she's Kanako's older sister. As for the book she writes... well, judging by the character designs and recognition of Ruri's outfit... my guess is that she wrote Maschera. That'd prove hilarious if Ruri found out.

Kugimiya Rie as the older sister of Tamura Yukari :eek:?! I don't know how to feel :eyespin:

Well at least she's not a tsundere, right? Given how Rie's tsunderes turn out...

I think it's safe to say that Kirino will become a very different person this season; the second season is bringing the entire story to a close, so it's a given that her character development is going to accelerate in the weeks to come. I wouldn't count on enjoying the very next episode if Kirino is a dealbreaker for you, though; she's still her same old Season 1 self for the moment. :p

It seems like the Neko family is the only one where all the siblings are pleasant. Kyosuke is a good guy, Kirino's a bitch (though I still love her). Saori's big sister is a bipolar part-time bitch, Saori is a full-time sweet girl. Kanako's older sister is awesome, Kanako herself is the One *** to Rule Them All. The Nekos, on the other hand... Kuroneko is very endearing, and Lolineko is a perfectly cute and innocent little sister. Just another fact to support my thesis that Kuroneko is the best.

... Ruri has her bitch moments too, you know. Mainly against Kirino. She's not the little-miss-sunshine you're painting her to be.

Oh, she's definitely a bitch. She's just a bitch in the good way, wheras Kanako (and Saori's older sister during the scene where Saori hunts her down) is just unlikable.

"Bitch in a good way" is entirely contradictory on itself. ._. Being a bitch isn't good no matter how you spin it.

So far the one with the fully pleasant family is Manami's.

Sena's family is fairly decent, if you can handle a hardcore fujoshi.:heh:

Edit: Well, Saori's storyline is well deserved, but feels really disjointed in comparison to the other episodes.

Finally Saori without her glasses. And to think that she has 180 degrees of personality between her non glasses and glasses character.

A nice background story, but not to deep enough. And I feel that the feeling of insecurity of Saori can be brought up more.

And who is that Kanata girl?

Man, that was one dreadfully boring backstory episode. Saori is fine and all, but the pacing just felt really really slow. It doesn't help that this is the second episode in a row where it feels like they're trying to avoid the main storylines left over from season 1. Kyousuke was worrying about Kuroneko in episode 1 and now he isn't anymore?

It's just a 1-off I suppose, but yeah it just didn't work for me. The sister wasn't very interesting either.

EDIT:

To be more clear... Probably the biggest issue I found with it is it hardly felt relevant to anything ongoing in the story. It was pretty much "lets toss a side character backstory here in the middle of everything" and then after this we won't really touch on it again.

Saori's older sister...confuses me. Namely, those sideways glances she was giving Saori during the "those were happy times" segment. The main issue is that the emotion conveyed by that was really confusing, since on one hand the earlier part suggests that she was trying to be the helpful onee-san, and on the other she's halfway goading Saori in...whatever that European country was. And while she claims to be the leader, she kinda came across as the person who doesn't even interact with her own circle.

I realize how awkward of an impression that seems to be, but that's the whole vibe I got. I was especially confused by the bit where she got cut off by Saori explaining how to make tea, because I'm not sure whether that was supposed to imply a separation from Saori, some form of jealousy, or pride for finally prying the imoto out of her shell.

All in all, the wildly conflicting images and words just confuse the heck out of me. Maybe it'll be less muddled when and if Saori's older sister gets another segment. Or maybe it was a case of "lost in adaptation".

I thought Kyousuke already met Saori withour glasses in the first season, but now they're acting like it's the first time they met this way. My memory must be going bad.

The only times I remember Saori and Kyousuke communicating when she wasn't wearing her glasses were when she was on the phone with him.

... I thought the announcer wasn't actually her, just looked like her. I do distinctly remember the announcer having the same voice as Meruru and Kanako when I was watching the first season.

Think being a bit too hard on Saori's older sister.
While the older sister gives a vibe kind a person that moves to her own tune, and not care about others.
I took it as a bit of tough love.
Saori needed to learn to make her own friends and find her own personality and life, instead of latching on to people by convenience of proximity.
And not sure about the scene right before, but I don't think Saori was that much of an angel to fly all the way abroad just to slap her older sister.

Hoshino's voice actress is Meruru and Kanako's.

EDIT: Actually, little more complicated, but I'll get the post deleted if I elaborate.

(Edit: This is expanding a bit on what HandOfFate said above; just a bit too slow :p )

I think they're just trying to express a subtle thing. What Kaori wants is for Saori to find her own strength. She definitely does love her little sister a lot, but she's also a go-getter by nature and doesn't want to pamper her little sister. Kaori also has her own set of goals for her life, and she isn't the sort of person to dwell on things when it's time to move on -- if Kaori wants to "experience everything" in life, she can't be too emotionally attached to any one thing.

I think Kaori's "goading" of Saori was basically to push her out of the nest, and to force her to find her own way. Kaori and her friends had come to terms with the fact that all things come to an end, and there comes a time to move on, but Saori was trying to cling to past and blame Kaori for ruining what they had. But Kaori didn't invite Saori there so that she could make friends, exactly, but so that she could have the drive and ability to make friends on her own. So she's basically saying "don't blame me that you're upset; do something about it yourself". And that's exactly what she does.

I think it's all tough to read because it's a sort of "tough love". It's certainly a bit blinded by her own perspective in life (since she's basically a self-starter and go-getter, which her little sister was not by nature), but it's not unfeeling either. If anything really bad were to happen, you can bet that Kaori would be there in an instant (which is why she showed up with the old gang on Saori's birthday to check up on her), but she wants Saori to aspire to be a better person than she is. In the end, one of the recurring themes of this show is flawed people who have a hard time expressing their true feelings, and in that sense she's no different.

As an OVA, this episode would have worked very well. But as ep3, the disconnect is far too great.

Great to see saori true form.... I wonder will the OP change a bit everytime or is it they specially did it for saori.

Well, probably better to think of this as Episode 18 of 31. Fleshing out some of the secondary characters is a pretty common thing to do at this point in the story, before heading into the final arc.


I assume they will change the OP a bit every episode, just like last season.

What Vsin's bringing up is that Kaori was making the harsh/negative looks WHEN her sister was opening up and leaving said nest, which is what's causing the confusion for him/her.

But I distinctly remember the Hoshino that was a waitress being voiced by Ayane Sakura.

I'll guess I'll never stop complainig of why just 16 episodes. This one was good but there is so much more material that I wish had been adapted too for us fans to enjoy. At least they should have made their reaction when seeing Saori without glasses funnier. The cosplay party seems like a good candidate to go into the drama CDs, too.

With Kaori: I see her as an example of where Saori may eventually head towards. No matter how hard she try, things *will* eventually split the Kirino/Kyousuke/Saori/Kuroneko circle apart. It is part of life.

Though Saori have one up'ed her sister: as her circle can still function without one of any member.

Kaori show that even if her friends no longer gather on a regular basis, they will still take time to get together: so its not as if the friendship is over as soon as real life tears the circle apart.



I think this season's OP has got less room for modifications. I really like the s1 opening where we had Kirino vs Kuroneko.