Ore no Imouto - Light Novel & Manga Discussion Thread

[larethian]

Originally Posted by Vexx

But thanks for mentioning that Kinokuniya had it on the shelf. I'll check the next time I go grocery shopping.

This is country dependent. My base is in SG. Even in SG's kino, Vol 8 is sold out, fyi.


I may be jumping the gun, but I need to share this:

Spoiler for v8 c4 spoilers:

before that, regarding Kuroneko's parting words, even Kyousuke was initially confused as to what they meant, but after 5 to 10 pages, he had concluded that Kuroneko had dumped him.


This is the scene where Kirino hugs Kyousuke's head from behind to comfort him when he went to her for "life counseling".

PG 246 snippet:
--- You did well (Kyousuke's recollection)
Kirino: "I'm on your side." (As in I'm your ally)
Right now, our positions have reversed.
Little sister consoling her big brother.
Kirino: "No matter how much of a helpless guy you are, even if you are forsaken by everyone else, I'll be here for you. Until the end, I'll be the one worrying about you, I'll be the one scolding you."
An awkward moment. An embarrassing, but yet extremely, extremely heartening reassurance.
Kirino: "--- so cheer up, Aniki."
Family bonds. Blood ties. Sibling love. Whichever words I chose would be fine, anything was good. Anyhow, the tongue-tied me would not be able to send my feelings accurately.
But... but...
Kyousuke "... thank you, Kirino."
I was saved by my little sister.

[Maugomale]

Originally Posted by larethian

Spoiler for v8 c4 spoilers:

--- You did well (Kyousuke's recollection)
Kirino: "I'm on your side." (As in I'm your ally)
Right now, our positions have reversed.
Little sister consoling her big brother.
Kirino: "No matter how much of a helpless guy you are, even if you are forsaken by everyone else, I'll be here for you. Until the end, I'll be the one worrying about you, I'll be the one scolding you."
An awkward moment. An embarrassing, but yet extremely, extremely heartening reassurance.
Kirino: "--- so cheer up, Aniki."
Family bonds. Blood ties. Sibling love. Whichever words I chose would be fine, anything was good. Anyhow, the tongue-tied me would not be able to send my feelings accurately.
But... but...
Kyousuke "... thank you, Kirino."
I was saved by my little sister.

Tears... My eyes are tearing up. Why are my eyes tearing up?!

[Flere821]

I've finally got my hands on Vol8 Ch1 Chinese translations...

Spoiler for question:

And did larethian mentioned earlier Kyousuke finally admitted he's a sis-con in Ch1, or did I just forget he mentioned that? Since I was having a good laugh when Kyousuke finally admitted that and started teasing Kirino with their two-shot on their 'date' and have a screensaver on his cellphone with a picture of Kirino in a swimsuit.

[larethian]

Originally Posted by Flere821

I've finally got my hands on Vol8 Ch1 Chinese translations...

Spoiler for question:

And did larethian mentioned earlier Kyousuke finally admitted he's a sis-con in Ch1, or did I just forget he mentioned that? Since I was having a good laugh when Kyousuke finally admitted that and started teasing Kirino with their two-shot on their 'date' and have a screensaver on his cellphone with a picture of Kirino in a swimsuit.

finally someone who has the full content, yippee

regarding that

Spoiler for v8:

wait till you see Kirino's mobile in chapter 3

and I can't mention every single thing . though chapter 3 has many important details, that I feel that a summary won't do it justice, especially

Spoiler for v8:

Kuroneko's proclamation to her siblings that she intends to marry Kyousuke, with her cryptic sentences. That's why I find it hard to believe her parting words in chapter 3 indicates a break off. Though after more than halfway through chapter 4, I finally understand. Ayase's rants in the beginning of chapter 3 about Kyousuke lying to her were also interesting.

also, I understood why chapter 4 got done first. it's very much more climatic! as a matter of fact, reading it stirs my translator blood.

[sleepingleo]

And what stirs my blood as illiterate japanese reader wannabe is what my all-mighty 15 or less kanji knowledge allowed my to decypher, is the phrase that prevented me from entering in otaku-rage mode:

Spoiler:

That all through chapter 3 and 4, apparentely Kyousuke within his lamentations and ultimately at the end of the chap 4 he keeps reminiscing a phrase that I dont know where but seems like Kuroneko declared to him, and everytime is written in bold letters:
永遠にあなたのことが好きよ。 = --Eien ni anata no koto suki yo, (aprox). I will love(like) you forever(lit. for eternity).

Seem like Kyosuke cant get those words out of his head, so yea, I'm betting a KNxKyo ultimately ending, and that makes me happy =D

[Sumeragi]

You know, I've always hated the word suki: It's just too broad a word, covering from mere like to love. Seriously, "I will suki you forever" does not give me the same heart attack as the words love or sarang.

[HayashiTakara]

Originally Posted by Sumeragi

You know, I've always hated the word suki: It's just too broad a word, covering from mere like to love. Seriously, "I will suki you forever" does not give me the same heart attack as the words love or sarang.

Same here, I wish writers would use aishiteru more often.

[Sumeragi]

Originally Posted by HayashiTakara

Same here, I wish writers would use aishiteru more often.

But that world also doesn't work Aishiteru means a commitment that is almost too deep for it to be used in a regular day basis. The Japanese language lacks a word to connect suki and aishiteru.

[Vexx]

closest attempt might be "daisuki" and that's probably too embarrassing to say directly to someone for most.

[HayashiTakara]

Originally Posted by Sumeragi

But that world also doesn't work Aishiteru means a commitment that is almost too deep for it to be used in a regular day basis. The Japanese language lacks a word to connect suki and aishiteru.

It's the same as "like" and "love" in the english language, you don't tell a girl or boy you love them unless you truly mean it, well people use it to take advantage of others emotions but that's not the topic of discussion. There's no median between like and love, you either just like them or you love them. Well I suppose "really like" aka "dai suki" is as close as you can get before hitting "love" aka "aishiteru".

I mean even in anime's where the persons are married to each other they still use suki rather than aishiteru, which I find rather odd. There's only an extreme few occasions where I've seen aishiteru really used.

I don't remember what series it was but it was like a really emotional reunion, and while embracing the guy she was going "suki! suki! suki! ....aishiteru!" ...god, now I wish I remember what series that was

Edit: Now that I think about it... Shoujo/Josei genres are more willing to use aishiteru than Shonen's are... which is understandable since... you know, girls vs boys and all .

[Sumeragi]

Still, the range for love is broader than in Japanese. If we have a scale from 1 to 10, love would probably be around 7.5~10 while aishiteru around 9~10. The very short range of aishiteru really screws up things by forcing the use of suki to extend into the heights.


As for the Korean word sarang, that ranges from 6~10, which is probably why it's used the most between Oppa and myself (never mind that Oppa normally speaks Korean when talking with me).

[HayashiTakara]

Personally I believe it really is used, in terms of media, based on the target audience. You could say that young boys aren't ready to say actual love just yet, so go with the lighter version. Because it's conceptually believed that girls are more romantic at hearts, stronger words to make the heart flutter would be more prevalent. In adult literature, love isn't as used in reservation, the reasoning is obvious.

[karice67]

Btw, for people who have been wondering about Kyousuke's feelings since last volume (most likely, non-novel readers, I presume)...

Spoiler for vol. 8 chapter 4 spoiler:

When he consults Kirino about the break-up (see also larethian's post above), Kirino asks him whether he likes/loves Kuroneko, and he replies 'yes' pretty much without hesitation. Even after she broke up with him with nary an explanation.

[larethian]

Have finished the volume for more than 24 hours but didn't really have much time to summarize. Moreover, chapters 3 and 4 are hard to summarize properly without leaving important details, especially chapter 4.

but for now, my thoughts on the ending:

Spoiler for v8 end:

After Kuroneko got Kirino to lay bare her feelings for Kyousuke (to me, it's bro-con feelings), Kuroneko asked Kyousuke who would he choose, but all the way till the end, she didn't give him a chance to answer. And since Kyousuke didn't like the idea of Kirino having a boyfriend, he could understand Kirino's feelings of not liking the idea of Kyousuke having a girlfriend. She wants to be number 1 in his heart. To me, it's the kind of feeling you get when a very close sibling get into a relationship, and you somehow feel a little lonely after that. I can relate to that with my godsister, during our adolescent days. And yes, it's called sibling-complex. Anyhow, Kyousuke felt he shouldn't get a girlfriend until Kirino gets a boyfriend. Darn contradictory in a way. In the end, Kuroneko stayed at Kirino's room for the rest of summer vacation, and in the new term (which presumably should start in volume 9), she will be going back to her new place and new school. Her Arcadia pic has changed: Kyousuke and Kirino welcoming Kuroneko, who brought breakfast for them. Even though, Kyou and KN are no longer boyfriend-girlfriend status, KN said that it's part of her plan and her plan is still ongoing and everything is going according to her plan to reach her Arcadia, with the improvement of Kyousuke and Kirino's relationship. *Smiles evilly*

The complaint I have is this: While Kyousuke and Kirino are clearly being depicted to have serious sibling complexes, Kirino calls Kyousuke "Kyousuke". I'd rather her call him "Aniki" or "Onii-chan". I kind of feel that the author did this to intentionally confuse and troll tease people.

[sleepingleo]

Spoiler:

So, Kuroneko indeeds moves and tranfers to new school? wtf!? I read somewhere that the otaku rage was subsided cause the moving thing was only a troll from the author and that she only moved to a place closer to Kousaka house.

Something i could decypher on the ending pages was that Kuroneko was teasing Kyosuke and Kirino enters and obviously complains saying: "What are you doing? you are not bf/gf anymore", and KN replies: "We're not, but we still are Kohai/sempai" and she will continue playing with Kyo, how can they still be Kohai thing if she is at a different school?

So, in the end, KN is really moving away and to a new school? <__< bah, author loves troll.

[larethian]

Originally Posted by sleepingleo

Spoiler:

So, Kuroneko indeeds moves and tranfers to new school? wtf!? I read somewhere that the otaku rage was subsided cause the moving thing was only a troll from the author and that she only moved to a place closer to Kousaka house.

Something i could decypher on the ending pages was that Kuroneko was teasing Kyosuke and Kirino enters and obviously complains saying: "What are you doing? you are not bf/gf anymore", and KN replies: "We're not, but we still are Kohai/sempai" and she will continue playing with Kyo, how can they still be Kohai thing if she is at a different school?

So, in the end, KN is really moving away and to a new school? <__< bah, author loves troll.

Spoiler for reply:

KN: Indeed, Kyousuke and I are no longer a couple, and neither are we of a senpai-kouhai relationship anymore."
Kirino: --- and so?
KN: More than that.
Kirino: Huh!? That doesn't explain anything! I'm asking how is it that, despite having broken off, you can seduce him as if nothing had happened!"
KN: Fufufu...... as recorded in the foretellings of the "Destiny Record", the "ceremonies" are still being carried out.

[sleepingleo]

....Damn my legal japanese blindness. -.- Couldnt read the negative wording there. Thanks for correction there.

Spoiler:

So, just for the record, is she moving far, aka. different city, or just same city different place?

[karice67]

Originally Posted by sleepingleo

Spoiler:

So, just for the record, is she moving far, aka. different city, or just same city different place?

Spoiler for response:

not so far. IIRC, she's moved to a town called Matsudo which is still in Chiba prefecture. Too far for KN to have commuted to the school, but not so far that she can't hang out with them on weekends.

@larethian

Spoiler for vol 8 ch 4 spoiler:

I agree about the name thing - it's just weird that Kirino calls him Kyousuke (I'm glad that Kuroneko has started calling him 'Kyousuke' too though). Along with that comment about "If she wasn't my sister, I'd have fallen for her, dammit!", Fushimi-sensei really seems to be teasing Kirino/incest fans...

Can you tell I've been procrastinating? orz

[ClowRead]

Spoiler for vol8:

so... Kuroneko and Kyousuke are still love each other right? but Kirino still don't like her brother to have girlfriend yet, so KN have to break up with Kyou for Kirino because KN is love Kirino so much too and don't want to be Kyousuke's girlfriend until Kirino accept this with her true heart.
and if i don't misunderstand, KN whisper somethings about she still love Kyousuke forever in the end and so he is too.
so from now on KNxKyou lover status are freezing temporary until Kirino get her real boyfriend or she can accept KN as her own sister-in law, is that right?
my Japaneses skill is not good so i'm not sure about what i read full volume myself, but i hope that in the end KNxKyou is still in love each other >.<

[HayashiTakara]

Originally Posted by ClowRead

Spoiler for vol8:

so... Kuroneko and Kyousuke are still love each other right? but Kirino still don't like her brother to have girlfriend yet, so KN have to break up with Kyou for Kirino because KN is love Kirino so much too and don't want to be Kyousuke's girlfriend until Kirino accept this with her true heart.
and if i don't misunderstand, KN whisper somethings about she still love Kyousuke forever in the end and so he is too.
so from now on KNxKyou lover status are freezing temporary until Kirino get her real boyfriend or she can accept KN as her own sister-in law, is that right?
my Japaneses skill is not good so i'm not sure about what i read full volume myself, but i hope that in the end KNxKyou is still in love each other >.<

I think you misinterpreted a lot...