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View Poll Results: Ore no Imouto - Total Series Rating
Perfect 10 8 11.11%
9 out of 10 : Excellent 16 22.22%
8 out of 10 : Very Good 16 22.22%
7 out of 10 : Good 10 13.89%
6 out of 10 : Average 15 20.83%
5 out of 10 : Below Average 3 4.17%
4 out of 10 : Poor 1 1.39%
3 out of 10 : Bad 1 1.39%
2 out of 10 : Very Bad 0 0%
1 out of 10 : Painful 2 2.78%
Voters: 72. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 2010-12-27, 12:28   Link #1
Pellissier
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Ore no Imouto - Overall Series Impressions & Total Series Rating

This thread is to be used for discussing the entire episodes of Ore no Imouto ... your thoughts about the show, overall impressions, expectations and hopes about the DVD only footage etc.

A few subjects you might want to ramble on about:
  • General impression of the series.
  • Opinions on the overall story, writing & plot devices.
  • Thoughts about the animation quality.
  • Characters/Character Design
  • Voice Acting

  • Which kind of footage (DVD only) you feel you'd really like to see.
  • What the show meant to you.
  • What could the creators/animators/writers have done better.

And so on.

The poll represents your total series rating. In other words, how you would rate all the episodes combined (1-10)? If you'd rather rate the whole series by technical/artistic merits, you can do so. An example:

Animation Quality: 1-10
Voice Actors: 1-10
Script: 1-10
Soundtrack: 1-10
Editing: 1-10
Enjoyment: 1-10
Emotional Involvement: 1-10

Average = Total Series Rating

Or a combination of the two. Or your general gut feeling.

Feel free to discuss and more importantly, have fun


P.S. Please keep in mind that a new thread will be created once the alternate storyline (episodes "12b"-13-14-15) will be out. So just use this thread for what was shown on tv.
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Old 2010-12-27, 12:33   Link #2
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Review of Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai is up at The Nihon Review:

[NHRV] Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai
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Old 2010-12-27, 23:21   Link #3
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At first, I dodged this series, because I was like "lol moar incest this season" and that this seasons' shows didn't look appealing. But don't judge a book by its cover, as they say. Ore no Imouto manages to be entertaining and also deliver comedy with a bit of wit too. It was a series that tackled issues that would be relevant to be minds of anime viewers and dealt with them in a surprisingly mature and tongue and cheek way. But somewhere along the midpoint, the show seemed to have wandered off into tangents that lost me.

Visuals: 7

I've never been a particularly picky person of animation and such, so if the animation is smooth (no choppiness) and the character designs aren't far off, that's good enough for me. The quality does seem to go up in pretty random scenes like the Maschera parts. ;p Let's just say they managed to up the visual budget where it mattered the most. The character designs are quite cutesy and that works well; I'm most biased towards Ayase and Kuroneko, of course. Never did I feel that they went cheap, and the variety of OPs/EDs really shows it, which is a big plus to both the music and visual department. Not the best around, but still very good.

Audio: 9

Why yes, the sound is wonderful. The BGMs do a good job for accompanying the comedic moods; indeed some of it really reminds me of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, especially when Kirino drags Kyousuke to do something stupid. A well placed BGM enhances the effectiveness of a scene and I don't think some of the funnier scenes would have been as great as without them.

The voice acting is great as well; most of the characters' wacky personalities come alive with them. Kyousuke, Kirino, and Kuroneko sound very much like how I'd expect them to act, and has come part of their characters. Everyone else works as well.

I haven't even talked about the OPs/EDs and insert songs yet. But short story short, they're all great and I'm glad they have so much variety. "Irony" is of course the standout one, as the series loves the ironic humor. An anime song with an English title that's actually relevant; pretty shocking! In any case, the mood of the song is perfect for the show.

Story: 5

Oreimo starts out with a pretty good premise. We have a brother who discovers her sister's deviant habit; he hasn't talked to her much if at all in years, wacky hijinks ensure and they meet wacky characters along the way. Perfect for a comedy, really.

But not only that, Kirino must also deal with potential social isolation if she must pursue her habits. First her parents obviously object, and now her best friend is shocked and cannot accept her. And more shockingly, pep talks don't solve the issue!

So how will Kirino ever get close to others and share her habit? Well, and here comes her handyman brother he constantly tosses and humiliates himself just for a potential smile from his sister. Great stuff huh?

Well it would have been, had the show decide to not meander off into all these side paths. While they are interesting in their own, the elements of each episode in the later half is simply a mess. The worst is probably in episode 11, where we go from slapstick comedy to some random confessions and revelations out of nowhere. It's an example of an episode that works good by itself, but not really as a part of the storytelling. The story is too obsessed with starting threads and not expanding on them. The result is a story with a bunch of interesting ideas, but no solution... to anything.

If the show would promise to have a second season, instead of trying to give us these endings, it'll probably be more forgivable. This results in a well thought out premise churning out empty results. It's nice to leave stuff up for interpretation, but when you ask too many questions and have no intention of answering them yourself, it just falls flat.

At least the ending was respectable, considering where they were going; a lot better than many other shows I would say.

But this is a comedy, and thus the demands for plot should not be as harsh. I'll say the plot pretty much did what it needed to do, but was kind of a waste.

Characters: 5

Oh man, shall we beat the dead horse once more?

Kirino and Kyouske get their own section
Spoiler for dead horse:


This leads Ore no Imouto into an odd place where the supporting cast is actually more interesting than the leads. Now this can work, because the encountering of wacky characters is central to the comedy. But even these wacky characters have some kind of depth to them. Kuroneko has her sisters which reveals another interesting side to her. Saori isn't what she looks like at all. Ayase seems like just another of Kirno's friends, but she's secretly Kirino's zealous protector lesbian stalker. Manami looks like a pointless moeblob, but she's actually a bit wittier than she appears.

The thing that makes these characters interesting is that they are what the main leads aren't. They are characters that are more than they appear, and further events reveal more about their motivations and backgrounds that helps you explain their behavior. This is an example of good writing; it's just unfortunate that there's just not on time to build them.

A mixed bag really; mostly the supporting cast keeps the show alive.

Enjoyment: 7
Ore no Imouto is definitely a funny show though. While the massive amounts of insular references proved to be a bit too much at times, it didn't stop me from laughing. The script is written quite tongue in cheek sometimes, so even in the weaker episodes, you're guaranteed at least a few laughs.

It's also natural that many of Oreimo's strengths listed above make the show a effective comedy. The show doesn't take itself that seriously, and frequently pokes fun of itself. The soundtrack really aids in conveying that mood of looking at a serious issue but also keeping some humor so we can all have a less stressful outlook at life. The random new scenes placed in OPs is also fun for the interested.

Extra props goes to the "shows within a show" and their respective crazy fans. Not just a one shot joke, these made up shows feel extremely believable. You could totally believe there are games and animes like the ones they thought of. And of course, the clashes of tastes cannot be forgotten as the arguments and conflicts generated feel all too familiar. So there's a lot in store for the anime fan to chuckle at themselves. As they say, good humor frequently has some truth to it... they really took that home to great effect.

And let's not forget about the cosplay outfits, and the outfits in general. Guilty pleasure indeed (Kuroneko)... *cough*. But I'll pretend to be objective here.

Overall: 6 (Decent)
Despite the weaknesses in the leads and the direction of the show, it still performs quite well as a comedy. And that's just what I took it as. I feel that it really could have been something more memorable, and might have been able to actually provide some more insight into the issues it touched if it had more focus. Unfortunately, it just ended up trying everything and not ending with any of them.

But hey, not every show has to be thought provoking, and Ore no Imouto seems aware that trying too hard in that direction would make it pretentious. So in the end, it accomplished what it came here to do and all is well while I anticipate the "true" ending.
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Old 2010-12-28, 00:54   Link #4
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I think I'm going to break this down the way Archon_Wing did, actually.

I haven't done a thorough "technical merits" review in a while, and it might be interesting to take that approach for a change.


Visuals: 8

Just to be clear, for visuals, I'm including art style and animation. Basic character design will be factored under characters.

The art style is solid. I very much like the way facial expressions are handled in this anime, character blushes and moments of rage in particular. I also liked how colorful all the characters appear, with bold bright coloring involved. The brighter color palette served this anime well, in my opinion. If this was a more "serious action-packed" anime, I'd actually give it big kudos for its impressively realistic handling of violent situations. However, it felt a bit off for slapstick comedy. Perhaps this animation team should handle something more along the lines of Death Note or Higurashi, next time up, because they do handle realistic violence very well to their credit.

The animation is decently fluid (particularly in the OPs), and I don't recall any particularly bad flubs here.

Visually, it's an overall very solid performance, probably a notch or two above average for an anime. However, after recently watching The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya movie, I can't really justify giving the visuals any higher than a 8.


Audio: 8

This includes BGM, sound effects, OP/ED music, and voice work.

The various OPs were all excellent, and the music is key here. Overall, I found that the BGM and sound effects complimented what was on screen.

There was one particular piece of BGM that felt a bit overused to me, though. By the later episodes of this anime, I was starting to get a bit annoyed with it (it didn't help that this background music was often accompanied by Kirino doing something that annoyed me ). This is why my score for Audio is a bit lower than Archon_Wing's.

The voice actors were all very good. Manami's voice actress in particular did a fantastic job, in my opinion. I have no complaints to make as far as the voice work is concerned.


Story: 6

I was a bit more impressed by the story than Archon_Wing was. I felt that the first five episodes were exceptionally tight, with a superb mix of drama, comedy, and suspense. The anime did a good job of introducing us to the central cast members, and of making me truly care about their various conflicts and struggles early on. The plot felt reasonably believable, had good pacing, and gave me the sense that the writers behind this had a good idea of what they wanted to do with this anime. At this juncture, the anime had a real sense of identity to itself, in my view.

Then we were treated to the Manami-centric Episode 6 which was a welcomed breather after the stark intensity of the first five episodes. I think it was important to see Kyousuke have some "down time" after all of those riveting conflicts that he became embroiled in due to his sister. Basically, I think it was good to see what a normal day in the life of Kyousuke, Manami (and to some extent, Kirino) was like prior to the recent drama. Seeing that gave me a deeper appreciation for these characters, and for their overall situations.

However, I feel that the anime's broader story truly meandered a bit in Episodes 7 through 10, with the somewhat infamous anime original Episode 8 being the definite lowpoint of this anime, in my opinion.

Episodes 7, 9, and 10 were not exactly bad, per se, but they (along with the genuinely bad and unrealistic Episode 8, imo) collectively didn't gel well together, in my opinion. Episodes 7 and 8 both would raise interesting plot threads that were kind of just dropped later on, while Episodes 9 and 10 both had a "comedy filler" feel to it (and it doesn't really help to have two such episodes back-to-back, imo).

It was during this four episode stretch (7 through 10) that I felt that Ore no Imouto began to lose its sense of identity, and ceased to do a good job of balancing its drama elements with its comedy elements.

On a personal note, it was also during this four episode stretch that my patience with Kirino's character was finally exhausted, but I'll get to that later in the character section of this review.

Now, I do think that Episodes 11 and 12 basically saved this anime's story from going from a great start to a true trainwreck. Episodes 11 and 12 brought the drama of this anime back into sharp focus, and showed some real, significant character development for the two leads that had been sadly lacking for the middle portions of this anime.

I find that in the world of anime it's better to have a great start and a great end and a crappy middle than the opposite (a crappy start and a crappy end and a great middle), so that's in this anime's favor. On the other hand, though, I felt that even the good episodes near/at the end had a tendency to use characters we barely know (if know at all) in key roles. I didn't like this when Nanoha StrikerS pulled that sort of stuff, and I don't like it here. If you intend to use a character in a central role at some point, then showcase him or her a little bit before that so that the audience can grow a bit familiar with him or her, imo.


Characters: 6

Again, Episodes 11 and 12 were huge here. They finally gave Kyousuke and Kirino some decent character development that both (especially Kirino) had been horribly lacking for awhile.

Kirino, as many here likely know, was a character that I truly started to dislike in the second half of this anime. Episodes 11 and 12 did just enough to make me view her character in a more sympathetic light again, and feel like she's generally not all that bad. She's still far from one of my favorites, but at least she's no longer a sure bet for my most hated anime characters list.

However, as much as Episodes 11 and 12 helped out Kirino and Kyousuke, that doesn't entirely make up for how frustrating I found both of them (in their own ways) for a good chunk of this anime. Kirino's overall attitude truly did lower my enjoyment level for several episodes of this. It's rare for an anime character to have that effect on me, so that's something that factors in heavily to my somewhat low score for "characters".

Still, the main supporting cast for this anime is simply fantastic. Kuroneko, Manami, Saori, and Ayase are all great, intriguing, and fun characters. Kuroneko, Manami, and Saori are also very likable characters to me (Ayase I'm more divided on, but she's still a good character).

Manami is an outstandingly charming character that is so easy to get behind and adore. Kuroneko is a supremely witty character with good charisma and style that is so easy to get behind and be amused by. These two characters were probably the highlights of this anime for me.

I liked all the character designs at a visual level. I really like Kirino and Kuroneko's wardrobe. Great clothing choices for both characters. Kirino often looks stylish, I have to admit. Reminds me of one of the good aspects of Haruhi's Endless Eight.

(Mental note: Must have Haruhi and Kirino exchange fashion tips in my new Ore no Imouto/Haruhi fanfic )


Enjoyment: 6

My enjoyment level for this anime was all over the board, so I guess settling on a middle value is the best approach to take. I largely loved the first six episodes, and the final episode. But episode 8... *shudder*

Some of the comedy moments were good, but at times were undermined by a very realistic portrayal (this made some slapstick comedy moments a real fail for me). The drama moments were great and largely enjoyable in the first half, but were mostly absent later on.

Like Archon_Wing, though, I liked the "anime shows within the anime show" aspect to this anime. Magical Girl Meru basically makes the difference between a 5 and a 6 for me here. Truly a great spoof of Nanoha.


Overall: 7

The visuals, the audio, the character designs, Manami, Kuroneko, and Magical Girl Meru... are what pushes this anime above average for me. Those are the reasons why it gets a 7 from me instead of a 6 or lower.
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Old 2010-12-28, 00:55   Link #5
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Its hard for me to rate because (like Bakemonogatari) it isn't finished... I thought the broadcast "last ep" was not much different than a Monty Python screech-stop "and now for something completely different".
That said, the premise and a fair amount of the execution was full of interesting issues that we don't see nearly enough of in anime depictions of Japanese society.
My main complaint was that they seem to be starting story thread after story thread without actually carrying any thread very far... the bane of a rich source being forced into a "12 ep format". Way too many balls juggled and left in the air, so to speak.

Wavering between an 7 and a 8... mostly because I think its worth an anime fan's time anyway.

Warrants a re-review after the other episodes are released.
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Old 2010-12-28, 01:41   Link #6
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6/10... I guess? I guess the main problems I had were the main characters and a good part of the story.
Eh? Isn't that a lot? Yeah.

Kirino........................ No need to explain. Damn, I remember a person saying there was nothing to hate about her. REALLY?!

Kyousuke... Oh goh... Ugh... I first thought he was a sandbag like that guy from Nogizaka Haruka, but better at least... But he was worse. At least Yuuto was in a dangerous position if he denied her requests, but this guy on the other hand... His sister! Just his sister! And the irritating self-sacrifice. This is a good brother? HAH! Not even funny. He's just spoiling her... Or probably, even going further than that. Maybe if she was his savior or something, it would be reasonable.
To be honest, worse than Kirino, because it feels like he was written to be a likeable character and went waaaaaaaay off.


The problem with the story... was well, mainly because every problem Kirino caused was fixed by Kyousuke. Damn...! I thought that once or twice was, while not good, understandable, but to think every single time... That's our Kyousuke! That's our Saint! Go and jump over that bridge!
Though the last few episodes had less of that and was okay.

Also, the ED........... kept changing, but unlike Sora no Otoshimono, Hanamaru, etc. the animation was incredibly lazy and songs a pain to listen.
The OP was a bit more creative and better though. Still don't know why Nico comments appeared in Manami's OP, when out of all of the characters, she is the most unrelated to all of that stuff...


But it wasn't that bad.
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Old 2010-12-28, 02:16   Link #7
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8/10

Blotched the Fate episode, but otherwise, it did do a nice alternative view of what's happening in the novels. I particularly liked Ruri's family scenes.
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Old 2010-12-28, 03:10   Link #8
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Alright. Seeing as this series isn't the worst piece of trash I've seen, I couldn't justify rating it any lower than a 4/10, so a 4/10 it gets. It's poor, it's flawed enough to be brought down to the level of another despicable show to me, K-ON!.

This show is everything that is wrong with the current anime industry. Rather than trying to make an engaging story, it is clearly trying to sell itself to the fringe otakus with all sorts of stupid gimicks. "Hey guys, we have an anime about a 14 year old otaku who is a cute girl! Better yet, we're going to glorify all of her habits and try to make them out to be innocent hobbies! Hooray!"

Yeah, make the same show, but instead change Kirino to a boy, and I am positive this show's popularity would have dropped down CONSIDERABLY.

What pisses me off about this is that clearly they try to hide this under the cover of a story that is supposedly meaningful or emotional at all. We have a brother and sister who have a "broken" sibling relationship at the start, but through the discovery of the sister's awkward hobbies and the brother's accepting stance of them, they managed to find a connection, so ever small, that they managed to begin a journey to healing their relationship as siblings.

Well that's nice and all, but the show clearly did not want to focus on any such details past episode 5 (And mind you, the first 5 episodes weren't fantastic, but at least it was a story that could be enjoyed on some level). Episodes 6-11 were spent either backpedaling any character development or ground made in their relationship, or packing in side stories for characters that were not very exhilarating by any stretch of the imagination and took up too much time of an already short anime.

Furthermore, while the show supposedly presented "interesting" issues in the first 5 episodes in particular, I found it pretty much a joke how they were treated in the anime. Take the situation with the father not accepting Kirino's habits. Sure this is just a show, but I find it unsatisfactory to treat such a realistic issue with a fairy tale like ending. I would say that most of the time in this situation, the person in said position would have been screwed over, good game, the end! But Kyousuke makes some sappy appeal to his father who is supposedly very strict about the issue and he buckles? Give me a break!

Morever, not only does the father buckle under such a ridiculous emotional appeal, but so does Kirino's friend Ayase. I'm sorry, but how about portraying things actually going "wrong" in real life like how they most often do in such situations. The show could be much more rewarding if done this way.

The reason i bring this large criticism to the show is because the show presents itself as supposedly "realistic." When you warp how the issues turn out in reality, how are we truly supposed to understand?

This leads into another large issue with the show, and that is one aspect of the comedy side... This being Kirino's tsutsun behavior towards Kyousuke which is treated as the usual tsundere gags, but end up turning out VERY sour because again, the show treats itself as fairly realistic. That's why it's sickening to see Kirino continually be belligerent towards her brother who did so much for her.

It's not about disliking her behavior or the fact that she's a tsundere, it's that what I'm watching is a character that acts purely irrationally. There's no motivation presented to the viewer, nor are there are aspects of her character that we can empathize with because we simply don't understand her. She could honestly suddenly slit her wrists in a bathtub and die in a random episode and that would make as much sense to me as all of her actions post episode 5-6, until perhaps 12, which sadly enough was anime originalish and ended up being a piss poor ending for a show.

Again, if Kirino was a boy instead, this would never have flied with most people because like I said, this show is catering to the otaku fringes. It's disgusting to me to see that the anime medium is becoming fixated on these sorts of stories (They are the ones at the forefront of popularity at the very least) when the animated medium has the ability to do SO MUCH more than what its currently doing.

I feel that it is because of animes like this that not only was 2010 the worst anime year perhaps of the last decade, but also what shows a clear disregard for true innovation in story telling. The last truly ground breaking anime was Haruhi, and that is now 4 years ago, and before that, it was Evangelion. Now I'm not expecting shows to be on that level, but when we see ground breaking shows like that, we usually see other shows follow suit.

For example, Evangelion's gritty story sparked shows like Serial Experiments Lain and RahXephon among others. Haruhi sparked... Well nothing that I can really see. The only significant thing it's done (And I love Haruhi, don't get me wrong) is spark a trend of "moe gone wild." I say that because at this point, I find it tiring to see characters like Kirino that are practically glorified sex icons to otakus.

To get back more on topic here though, the story lacks effort and has a lot of lazy storytelling throughout. This is quite evident in I believe episode 11 where they basically use exposition to explain Kyousuke was depressed for awhile after Kirino was bitchier than ever to Manami and him and then she suddenly felt sorry and got him a gift. I mean what? Not only was this rushed, but there was no clear indication of either emotion in the characters.

Ugh. All I can say is that if anime continues this trend of bad pacing, lazy or nonexistent character development, otaku pandering, and lack of inspiration, I'm going to be very, very sad.

I guess I'll add in some sections for this review to make it more complete...

VISUALS - 6/10

This anime doesn't have anything really special about its visuals. The art is averagish. The animation is fine, but the art really isn't all that appealing to me. It doesn't earn a golden star, but then again, most animes don't. It's a 6/10 precisely because it is average.

One thing that did annoy me is the constant drawing of a tooth outside Kirino's mouth that looked like a canine tooth. It's not cute, it just makes her look ugly.

AUDIO - 5/10

Usually not much for the sound tracks in shows of this nature, so its not really its fault. A 10/10 OST for me would be something like the Cowboy Bebop OST to give you an idea of what I consider great. This isn't special and was in fact below average for me.

STORY - 4/10

Bad pacing, bad character development, good idea, poor decision making. Altogether it is just a very poor effort.

CHARACTERS - 3/10

Kyousuke was OK at first, but his mother teresa syndrom at some point gew very tiresome. I liked Kuroneko a lot, and she was a saving grace, but Kirino took down the cast with her. If Kirino was a better character I would've given this section a 6/10. But she was just THAT bad.

ENJOYMENT - 3/10

What can I say. I found the first two episodes amusing, but wasn't amazed. After episode 5 I was kind of bored with the show, and by the end I was raging about how flawed it became. Yes enjoyment was just bad.

OVERALL - 4/10

What can I say? This show is just poorly handled. It had much more potential to do great things, but it was squandered due to the nature of anime companies wanting to squeeze every nickle and dime out of otakus for every cute girl they put in an anime show (Looks wise at least).

I don't know what's so appealing about watching a strange belligerent bitch mess with her brother for 12 episodes and get away with all her selfish desires throughout it. I guess to each their own.
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Old 2010-12-28, 04:58   Link #9
Akito Kinomoto
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Sometimes, I have to thank the existence of that Aesop of not judging a book by its cover, because it once again comes full force in My little sister can't be this cute. Just as the title suggests, the little sister, Kirino, is in fact very adorable, and is often quite sensual without her even trying. Being this cute, it's inevitable to think that her brother, Kyosuke, would grow some sexual tension towards her, hence the show's namesake. But despite what the title may have others believe, incest is not the main point of the show. Rather, it's the story of a brother and sister's unfamiliar relationship and the emotional distance that's bridged between them as Kyosuke deals advice for her sister's hobby, one which is often shunned by society. But even with that, it's still a light and sweet work showing that otaku are just like any other people, whether it's the crazy-in-public-only somewhat guardian figure-like Saori, or the represents-the-anti-moe'-fanbase-but-has-a-protective-side-of-her-own Kuroneko. Aside from the outlandishness of episode 8, the anime was down-to-earth and sweet, with a subtle touch of sexuality that isn't overbearing, but does make sense considering the games Kirino enjoy playing. The ending was a bit of a let down, though hopefully the OVA's/specials/whatever can deliver better on that. But overall, it was much better than I thought it was going to be, and likely a huge "LOL NO" for anyone expecting "hurr hurr hurr wincest."
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Old 2010-12-28, 05:41   Link #10
ninryu
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Animation Quality: 9.5/10 the animation was amazing.
Voice Actors: 8/10 the voice actors were good. I liked the choice of making Nanoha's seyuu to voice Meruru. the only thing I didn't like was Manami's voice, which I found very annoying.
Script: 7.5/10.
Soundtrack: 8.5/10 very good soundrack. almost every episode there was a different ending and the opening really grown on me.
Editing: ?
Enjoyment: 7.5/10 even the show can be sometimes annoying or disturbing, I quit enjoyed it.
I came to this anime from my brother's recommend having in mind it's gonna be a stupid ecchi, but the show surprised me in good. though the main character, Kirino was a total annoying b*tch, the other characters compensated for it, especially Kuroneko.
Emotional Involvement: 8/10 - 8.5/10
Total: 7.5/10
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Old 2010-12-28, 22:52   Link #11
Guardian Enzo
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Overall, I would say about 8.5/10 for me. A very surprising show that had some glaring faults, but at its best was close to great.
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Old 2010-12-29, 11:27   Link #12
Salt
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10 for everything, I really enjoyed it. Actively looked forward to it every week.

The only downer part was the current ending, which wasn't much of an ending at all.

But that's what the DVDs are for I suppose.

Voting 9/10 for me.
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Old 2010-12-29, 13:17   Link #13
Vexx
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I think its fascinating that the series has generated feelings so "all over the board" and with various posters who normally agree on many things. Not being contentious here... just finding it interesting the series evoked such disparate responses.
I suppose some of it can be attributed to the weights each place on "potentiality" versus "actuality", or "intent" versus "execution"?
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Old 2010-12-29, 15:14   Link #14
Himeji
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I'm giving this an 8.5/10 as an overall rating.
It was pretty well done with good animation, voice acting, chara design etc.
Sometimes only, a little more variation would've been nice, but otherwise, no complaints.
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Old 2010-12-30, 13:39   Link #15
revive4563
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Hmm...I think Kirino was too young in various meanings...
She is junior high student and even looks young for her age.
Maybe this makes me feel that something is missing. she's a kid after all.
What if she was high schooler and looks more sexy, it must be more interesting.
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Old 2010-12-30, 13:39   Link #16
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6/10 - Average

Not the worst show I've ever watched but certainly the most annoyingly difficult to watch. I can't bear to see what stupid action Kyousuke will take next to disgrace himself and the viewer is somehow supposed to find it funny. The whole incestuous sexual tension that the show so focused on was disturbing to say the least with some scenes being illogical as to what purpose they serve other than to mentally disturb the viewer - http://thecartdriver.com/wp-content/...8h04m17s65.jpg
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Old 2010-12-30, 22:55   Link #17
liquidmetal
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Felt that it started off quite well and even towards the end quite enjoyed the self-contained episodes though the main plot seemed to have stagnated. However I was a bit frustrated that there didn't seem to be any character development for the main leads, Kirino in particular.

This was one series where I definately enjoyed the supporting cast more and wished they were given more screen time, especially Kuroneko
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Old 2010-12-31, 15:35   Link #18
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Back in ancient times when I was still young and handsome (5 years ago) I was given to watch my first bunch of obscure anime from the 80’s. Amongst them was Otaku no Video, probably the oldest anime around otaku culture. It was a short and simple tale, half of which was more like a real life news report around the lifestyle of the 80’s so called anime-freaks. It had a rather negative take on them, depicting them as creepy and antisocial, despite being in the other half about such a type of character trying to make his own anime studio. Well, that title never had much follow up and the following otaku culture based titles were also just low budget works with bad screenplay and mostly fan service… Up until Genshiken came up.

Yup, that was the title that not only was high budget but was also given attention to storytelling and character portrayal. It was the anime that for the first time showed otakus as normal people with weird hobbies and despite its usually optimistic view of otaku culture was still a good watch for those who did knew and educational for those who didn’t.
Fast forward a few years and now this anime comes out, to take things to the next level… somewhat.

Ore no Imouto (OnI) is definitely rubbing its buttocks on the otakus’ crotch a lot more that Genshiken, which was more subtle and for broader audiences. It is bold and full of stereotypes, aiming for those who already are deep in anime culture. So basically the swift of focus as years went by was Otaku no Video trying to describe otaku culture to non-anime fans, then Genshiken to appeal to both pro and con and now OnI to be almost for the fans. That is not enough to make it special or original as there are many other minor titles doing that, way before it did. The main difference here is that OnI plays out as a self parody of the genre and tries in a light way to show the negative view society has on otakus, while otakus themselves pretty much don’t mind and even manage to excuse themselves with various examples.

What I’m trying to say here is that OnI is original in the sense it is both showing the bad view of the hobby to the fans, while trying to excite them about it in a bold way as well. It stretches the two sides Genshiken had shown, to sizes that feel less realistic and more fun at the same time.

Was it successful? Well, I can only mention how someone like me, who is many years a fan and got all the in-jokes, felt about it. A rookie who still doesn’t understand the meaning of moe or hasn’t even browsed some hentai CGs will definitely feel lost with the constant terminology and hardcore fascination. So it is better to not be seen if you are not deep into the hobby already.

As I said, the overall feeling of the story is not realistic. It uses a lot of real life events any otaku goes through at some point but the way everything unfolds is definitely NOT realistic. All problems are resolved quite easily and people who are cons change their minds too easily and accept a weird hobby their society loathes as much as the Jews in Nazi Germany. As I said, it is a show that aims at established pros and hardcore fans, so anyone not deep into this shit will most likely feel like it’s propaganda or fake enough to render all conflict in the show as stupid. He will be unable to feel the vibe of the show. This is the essential thing that will determine if you like it or not. If you are not in favor of cosplay, eroge and teen idols, chances are this show will not convince you of otherwise. Because 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.

So if I am to start with the story, I will say it is not much to look forward to. Most episodes can be reshuffled ala Suzumiya Haruhi and you won’t even tell the difference. Some of them don’t even feel like they are strictly following the main theme of the series and could very well stick in any other generic harem out there. The scenario is easy going and loose enough, having impossible storylines (like Kirino publishing her own novel and making her own anime in just a few months) plus ending openly; so if you expect a great slice of life story with a powerful ending, you are looking at the wrong place.

The characters are to the most part archetypes, and most of the jokes are basically a parody of them. The main heroine is Kirino, who is the typical annoying yet lovable loli we have seen a million times throughout the years, being selfish and mean to her brother, and always demanding, always edgy, always tsun and kawai at the same time. If it weren’t for her fear of being rejected for her hobby, she wouldn’t even be memorable for any reason. So thanks to the show’s attempt at self mockery, Kirino feels more than the stereotype. She is somewhat excused to be like that as she considers herself a teen idol who doesn’t like being bossed around by anyone, yet at the same time is always in need of her big brother to help her open up with her hobby. Thus it is one of those rare cases where the stereotype is excused in-story. She is as such for a reason and acts all violent and bossy with her brother, again for a reason.

Still, as I already said the justification and motivation of the characters is loose and hardly realistic. Although as an autonomous personality Kirino plays out just fine, all others around her seem to deal with their issues around her way too easily. Her brother for example, Kyousuke, keeps trying to help her in ways that feel degrading in the least. He keeps taking the blame for all her mistakes, goes to places he shouldn’t just because she said so and even plays eroge even though he doesn’t like them. As reward, most of the times he gets hit by girls or get accused for things his sister is the culprit. He is not exactly the usual indecisive lead of harems as he is serious and smart enough, but then again he keeps tolerating all the torment and mockery of others without justifying it somehow. Other than being platonic brotherly love, which is still not excused nicely. In fact, the bait of the series itself is constant self-mockery at how he and his sister may end up in an incestuous relationship; something which of course is never shown but plays as a constant joke (all eroge Kirino favors are incestuous in nature).

Then there is 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? Again not excused. Plus, she is hardly part of the otaku themes of the show; she and her entire family could easily be removed along with the scenes they are in. They are practically filler.

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 otherwise.

The funny thing is that the only otakus with personality in this show are all girls. Males are just stunts in Comiket. The other two major female otakus exist to flavor other aspects of the fandom with different tastes and views than Kirino’s. Some of the funniest scenes are about Kirino and Kuroneko arguing about what counts as quality anime.

And again, I must point out all conflicts are superficial and not important to the overall progress. Just imagine that 14 year old Kirino and many other girls dress sexy and go to photo shootings for money, with which she buys a mountain of ero games and figurines normally only adult males are supposed to own, all with the support of her strict father. Makes as much sense as an invisible pink unicorn dancing on the moon. In reality, Kirino is nothing but the stereotypical, fat, smelly male nerd otaku, still living in his parent’s basement, disguised as a cute little girl. It is also part of the self-mockery and most don’t even mind identifying with a cute thing, when in reality it’s themselves. So 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.

The production values are quite good for this type of show. You can see the attention they gave to minor details such as anime shows and doujinshi made by different drawing styles, depicting the basics of what is going on in anime conventions and anime production studios, all accompanied with self parody and even self reference to the show itself. As expected, the girls are all drawn moe, with rather simplistic facial variety and occasional sexy poses to work as fan service. Plus, girls in this show blush. ALL THE TIME. Yes, it is supposed to cater the fans and it works.

Voice acting is quite good, although I felt some dialogues weren’t emotional enough in correspondence with what is going on in the video. The BGM is likable, although I really hated how they just threw a tune playing in the background and had the characters just talk for 15 minutes. Literally, the sudden mood swings were not pointed out by the BGM to make the jokes better, thus a great deal of humor was lost right there. The music score is also likable enough, with the end credits and panels being different on each episode. That shit really works in making me stare even the end sequence.

In all, OnI is a good show IF you are a hardcore fan already and IF you don’t expect realism in a show that is supposed to be about everyday otakus. The humor is ok, although far-fetched most of the times and the characters likable, without being exceptional on their own. I won’t call this a masterpiece because it ain’t. I prefer the more subtle way Genshiken went for and since I am not a fan or eroge or cosplay, I am also part of those who found this show biased and 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 fat smelly male otaku just like you.” Hm, dangerous thought but if you figure out it is not supposed to be seen seriously, it will feel better. Remember not to get too deep and it will be safe and funny to watch it.

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

ART SECTION: 8/10
General Artwork 2/2
Character Figures 2/2
Backgrounds 2/2
Animation 1/2
Visual Effects 1/2

SOUND SECTION: 7/10
Voice Acting 2/3
Music Themes 3/4
Sound Effects 2/3

STORY SECTION: 3/10
General Scenario 1/2
Pacing 1/2
Side Stories 1/2
Believability/Reasoning/Realism 0/2
Conclusion 0/2

CHARACTER SECTION: 5/10
Presence 2/2
Personality 1/2
Backdrop 1/2
Development 1/2
Catharsis 0/2

VALUE SECTION: 5/10
Historical Value 1/3
Rewatchability 2/3
Memorability 2/4

ENJOYMENT SECTION: 5/10

VERDICT: 5.5 / 10

SUGGESTION LIST
Otaku no Video
Genshiken

Last edited by roriconfan; 2011-02-17 at 06:10.
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Old 2011-01-01, 15:23   Link #19
FBZ
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5/10. It was too short and could have been a lot more.
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Old 2011-01-02, 12:46   Link #20
felix
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Heh, Kirino was more of a self serving bitch then even I remember her. I kind of feel sorry for anyone who probably thought this would be some comedy or romance, when it's really a drama. True title: "My little sister can't possibly be fucking everyone else's lives?! OH SHI-" Frankly, when I first read the material long ago, I thought it would be best adapted as a real life drama, not a anime drama; since the pretext makes it into some clever trolling to some extent, even ignoring the anime format. Not to mention the meta elements would bleed out too much as a anime. Honestly, I don't know what I was thinking back then, I must have been unconscious, it's like I forgot this was Japan we're talking about

I'd say 7 / Good. Assuming you knew what you were watching, the show handles it well. The points I detract from the show are personal preference. I hate watching fucked up people like Kirino; and I'm not even talking about her pedophile hobbies here. More so, I hate these characters who get their every spoiled wish granted, as well as having everything go their way at others expense. From start to finish just like in the source, Kirino's midas touch turns everything positive in the show (such as some relationships, hard work, etc) to shit. Lastly I hate the degrading subtext to the plot. If it's suppose to be funny, I'm most certainly not laughing. Ayase is a lesbian. Kanako is a dominatrix. (No surprise there, being Kurino's "BFF"s they probably sold half their souls and their loved ones happiness to Satan for fame, fortune, and talent.) Worst still if I'm reading the authors twisted mind games right (mind you the title is one too ) Kurinos love for little sisters, is actually "love for herself", since she's "the little sister". In other words she's actually in love with herself.

Ahem- Anyway, as much as I would like to call the show a troll, it's actually a well orchestrated drama, which draws it's audience in with caret and stick. Assuming one can find the bittersweet taste, it's enjoyable.
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