[MeoTwister5]

Late reply but anyway.

Originally Posted by Saturn Beaver

Looking on the comments, I have a theory on how I perceive Kirino. First, I kinda agree with your theory here, although not as severe. That is, rather than being a model student who happens to be an anime/imoutoge fan as well, she's primarily a fan with a model student cover. The main reason is well, she knows if she admits as an otaku she'll be looked down upon, and what's more the job etc helps her buys the lifestyle and get parents off her back to avoid suspicion. She drops her jerkass behavior because she knows that that's not how a model student should act. Maybe she does like studying/work/athletic stuff too so the cover isn't a complete lie, but it's still hiding something as it's nowhere near the passion she has for her hobbies.



Now that we know that it's mostly a cover, I think it's clear that behind that Kirino is selfish and emotionally blunted. Sure, maybe there's even more dere hidden behind that as well (like how she says bad things toward Kuroneko but still keep her as friend, for example), but like Meo said here there's some other things that makes her plain selfish and emotionally blunted even without the dere coming into play.

And thus, with the emotional bluntness and lack of admonishment, maybe the reason her 'tsun' goes overboard sometimes is because she doesn't realize just how much it'd hurt other people, seeing as she rarely suffers the same thing. She knows it's bad, of course, but she doesn't know how bad it is or that in her mind, the other person deserves it anyway.

Spoiler for Long Reply Incoming:

And this is another part that's important - I too feel that Kirino is already content with the status quo at the beginning of the series. She's not fully happy with it, of course, seeing that she wants to be able to freely admits her hobbies and has someone to share it with (which is why she give those eroge to Kyousuke to play, I think). But the problem is, since Kyousuke wants to reconnect with her, he's not satisfied with that. For him, the way to do that is to make her happy, and grants what she wants and needs even though she can't be honest to admit it. As such, when opportunity comes Kyousuke tries his hardest, even sacrifice himself, to make her parent and best friend understand her hobby, and even try to find otaku friends that she wants as well.

Remember when relentless sees the show as Kyousuke's life turn upside down when he discover his model student little sister is an otaku? I see it differently, Kirino's life also got turned upside down ever since the reveal as Kyousuke breaks her out of her comfort zone for her own good. Think of it as having a bad tooth, you know it hurts and you want the pain to go away but to do that you'll have to pull it out and that'll hurt even more (Novocaine aside), so she just bear with it.

But now, what is it that makes her doesn't want to be saved? Personally, I suspect that it's because of the distance like Meo said. First, it might be difficult for her to rely on her brother all the time, but more than that, I think it's also because she still wants the distance to be there. I believe the full reason for this lies on that mysterious event in the past. Her saying "why do you have to be a good big bro after all this time" makes it seems that she's perhaps disappointed by her Kyousuke in the past, and grown distant. She's afraid of Kyousuke being a good big brother will makes them close again, only to be hurt again.

This may also be why she can't be honest and always be hostile to other people - realize that with her life mostly spent putting up a facade, she never had a relationship where she can truly admits her true feelings toward. Not Ayase, not her parents, not even Kuroneko. Maybe, and I know this may seem cliche, that it's because she doesn't want to bare it all because she instinctively scared of being hurt again so she always seems to keep one shield up (which is why her panic-stricken face when she realizes Kyousuke knows her pretty well scares her so much). Also, that may be another meaning when she says the next life counseling session is the last - she knows the repeated life counseling means she's getting closer with him, and because she's afraid of that, she only plan to have one more as insurance (but not more).

Still, one thing that still boggles my mind (and makes me frustrated with Kirino as well) is that whether Kirino really wants her relationship with Kyousuke restored or not. Yes, there's times when the life counseling happened due to necessity caused by unforeseen events, or other times when it's Kyousuke who took the initiative, but there are other examples as well that shows that she wants to reconnect (most obvious one being the Christmas 'date'). But even then, she still take the antagonistic approach, as if she doesn't want to reconnect with him.

I first assume that it's the only way she knows how to appeal to her brother, but this ep proves it false. We directly see that she prefers a sweet Miyabi approach rather than a 100% tsun Rinko one, so why can't she simply apply the Golden Rule here? As such, it makes it seem like she's just trolling him, which I vehemently dislike. Oh, and the past event catalyst better be damn strong to at least explain why the hell she can't be bothered to be more honest, even for just a little bit.

Lastly, all factors considered, when it comes down to it I still can't find myself to like Kirino, even if I understand her better. Sure, things might have been more understandable, and Kirino is undoubtedly a distinct, much more complex imouto character than your usual ones, but...I still find the tsun and inability to be honest too far gone, really, without enough redeeming traits to counter it. At least, my rage and rants will be lessened but I still prefer other characters like Kuroneko and others.

People think they have it all under control, but when the facade breaks and the masquerade is exposed, then what? That was more or less what the first episode was, and most of everything that followed stems from her relative inability to deal with this fact that you can't hide something people deem undesirable under layers and layers of socially acceptable behavior. It takes years to build up a reputation, but one wrong move to bring it all down.

The fear of intimacy might be a cliched plot device you've seen everywhere, but it's used because it's real, and far more common than people realize. I suspect it's one of the major reasons why she's become who she is. She's afraid of intimacy because she's afraid of what people would think of her if they learn about what her secret hobby is. Every time someone came close to or discovered it she withdrew into a shell which forced Kyousuke to taunt karma and take the bullet. The next irony is that Kyousuke, pretty much the only person who accepted her without making excuses, is the person she treats like crap. Hell she treats Kuroneko and Saori like crap too, in a lesser extent because they share the hobby, while Kyousuke doesn't. In the same way she was likely emotionally blunted, she probably lived her life completely guarded and cautious of people finding out, such that because of this she really doesn't know how to deal with people who don't care what she likes. With Kyousuke deciding to just accept her for what she is, she really doesn't know how to deal with it, and simply deals with it in the usual snarky and distant sort of way.

And she pretty much came buckets when she finally got Rinko's sex scene. Hell she might have actually been sad when she got the bad/normal ending where the pair split. That should be good indicators that she also prefers the ultra Tsun approach.

The above 2 paragraph made me realize something that has been bothering me for a while: Why does she need to get him to play galge and eroge, and generally otaku activity, anyway? Considering that his job description as her life coach has him helping her out with real issues, being her proxy in things she can't be in person and taking the proverbial bullet when she needs a human shield. Add in the fact that he's chosen to accept her hobby in the first place. He really doesn't need to get pulled into the entire otaku culture he himself finds bothersome to really help her, yet she insists. Why? Occam's Razor says, at least by my application, is that she's getting him into it as perhaps her indirect way of bridging the gap. Considering how she immediately made a strong (if somewhat abusive) bond with Kuroneko and Saori, there's a likelihood that she's using it as a vehicle to do something from her end of the Tsun line. Maybe she's not completely conscious of it, but she was completely ecstatic when she actually managed to share this hobby with someone, that someone being her brother. I wouldn't be surprised if that was her motive all along under the pretense of life counseling.