Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Casey
a) Kirino is, on the whole, a very friendly person. She's nothing but bright and cheerful to anyone whose name isn't Kyosuke or Kuroneko (And Kuroneko's the one who cast the first stone, if I remember correctly, though I'm glad she did since the snarkfest their friendship developed into rules). I think she would need some kind of heavy catalyst to treat Kyosuke with such animosity when it goes against her usual character. That might not change your opinion about whether or not the way she treats him is completely unjustified, of course, but at the least I think she's fueled mostly by hurt rather than just being a total bitch by default.
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I'd argue against her sweet side being the default. The way I see it is she's only sweet to people whom she either wants something from or can't get away with being mean to. She ranges from indifferent to cold towards Saori and she's openly hostile towards Kuroneko and Kyouske. Who else do we really see her interact with? Her parents? Teachers? The only times we ever see her act sweet is when she's dealing with somebody in a position of power or she wants something. I'm inclined to believe her sweet act is just that, an act.
Now, that isn't to say I think the writer isn't allowed to create a character that is 100% tsun and no dere who acts sweet but is secretly completely self-centered. That's a legitimate character type. The issue I have is twofold. First, the idea that such a character should be sympathetic baffles me. If the author wants us to dislike Kirino at this point then mission accomplished but I was under the impression based on the title and premise that we're supposed to want Kyouske and Kirino to grow closer together and I personally have no desire for anything like that. If this was a VN I'd be rushing to the Manami route and never looking back.
Secondly, I question people's characterization of Kirino as tsundere. I feel like we're working under the assumption that any eligible female character is presumed to have a soft spot for the protagonist unless proven otherwise. I don't see any sign of Kirino having a dere side towards Kyouske other than the assumption that a sister should love her brother and the fact that she's neck deep (or i guess based on the first episode over her head) in siscon games. I don't buy it at this point. Maybe I'm biased because I don't like tsunderes and rarely find the payoff worth it. But nothing is worth the level of abuse Kyouske takes from Kirino.