[roriconfan]

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