[aeromono]

It is somewhat amazing we're still talking about this, but I'll humor you.

Originally Posted by Himeji

Her father lectures Kirino about the "evil" anime stuff that is only watched by otaku and has a bad influence. It came on TV, so it must be true! (Pretty simple-minded guy)

Spoiler:

I agree with you that the media has always been conservative and ever so eager to report on the latest imaginary moral panic of the day. However you'll be hard-pressed to find what kind of 'good' influence a game about incest with child porn (and I'll hazard a guess, a totally stereotypical plot, but I digress) might have. I hesitate to call them 'bad' since I am occasionally guilty of playing similar things, but it's understandable people might think of them as such. If it had been some kind of manga/anime like 20th century boys/nodame cantabile it would have been fine.

You can only argue that you're sensible enough to not let the deviant sexual fantasies interfere with your normal life and everyday work, NOT that they actively have any good influence on you (there are so many great anime, manga, etc. out there that offer the same things, without the explicit and 'indecent' content). I'd go to great lengths to prove Kirino is mature (even if she's actually childish) and sensible enough to play those games, NOT that they actively have a good influence on her. Having erotic fantasies is natural and not evil, but it is never good per se.

Originally Posted by Himeji

Kyousuke's efforts of trying to convince his father of accepting Kirino's anime hobby go exactly nowhere. His father does not move the tiniest bit from his opinion, but just brings up the "bad influence" again.

Spoiler:

Actually, if you watch it again, Kyousuke was arguing about something completely irrelevant (a straw man, if you like that word). The father said playing those kinds of games was a worthless hobby and that they couldn't have any good influence. He did not say Kirino and her friends were bad people. He did not say finding real friends was bad. And he definitely did NOT say having something she could get so absorbed in was bad. This is probably not too obvious to people have internalized most of their favorite works, but when someone criticizes those works, they're not criticizing you. So Kyousuke was making an emotional plea, not a rational argument, and the father succinctly said: "I said nothing about her friends."

And the series of irrelevant arguments continues. This one is just my pet peeve however. Kirino having perfect grades and awards (obviously a staple in many anime series, you're either a genius or a total doofus at school) somehow means the father is wrong about those games ? Does this also mean if she had less than perfect grades the father would be justified in his condemnation of her hobby ? Actually that doesn't follow logically at all. Her achievements and the inherent nature of those games simply have nothing to do with each other (the same game, being played by different people with different academic qualifications, is still the same game). All Kyousuke was proving is that she had been able to not let her hobby interfere with her normal life, not that those games aren't 'bad', which is the main point of the father's argument. I find it particularly amusing that a hobby is now worth just as much as the person having it, if you really buy this argument. If the end results are good does it mean your method was ? You can never know, perhaps your method was inefficient and the results could have been much more stellar. This is a trap, don't use it as your argument.

Originally Posted by Himeji

Kyousuke now totally loses it and grabs his dad's collar. His dad is shocked by this and would promise anything just so that Kyousuke lets him off again.

Spoiler:

I can only hope you are half-joking. It is never right to threaten anyone with violence (unless you believe might makes right, which is unfortunately all too common), let alone your own father . But the father would later return the debt in full (and obviously, with great interest) by punching him. A hopeless pair.

Originally Posted by Himeji

He pretends to accept Kirino's hobby

Spoiler:

Perhaps you are still half-joking. He did not pretend. The father knew he had hurt his daughter's feelings by calling her hobby worthless, and he took back those words. And by 'her hobby', I'm sure the father is referring her hobby as an otaku, obviously he thinks there's more about that hobby than just her playing those games about incest with child porn. (Or is that just his optimism and really those games are what all her otaku life is about ? That'd be just sad) And the law is on his side, he's fully justified to prevent his daughter from playing them as a law-abiding citizen and luckily doesn't have to worry about all the drama.

Originally Posted by Himeji

In realising that Kyousuke is the otaku, not Kirino, he realises something else, which makes him even more and more mad.

Spoiler:

The only thing I got out of the episode is that the father just snapped and was fed up with his kids' antics and decided to give up altogether. He had already conceded and let Kirino keep her hobby, he was now just abiding by the law (as Kyousuke put it, this is where he is completely right). You arguing that Kirino is now absolved of all guilt in his father's eyes is quite debatable, as Kyousuke did show the father the image of her with her otaku friends (perhaps in hindsight it was a big mistake). It is much more likely that he now thinks both his children have something to do with that game, perhaps one of them was covering for the other, but he was too frustrated to look further into the matter. He might even think both of them are otaku, for all we know.