Anime review: Oreimo
by Glitch
I hope you humans are in good relations with your family, because you’re about to feel ashamed and comfortable at the same time in the sibling loving anime Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai, which translated into English as “My Little Sister Can’t Be this Cute” (sounds better than most of family reunions). At times, it is shortened to Oreimo. That is the name I will use in this review since I am actually that lazy.
In Oreimo, we have the 17 year old Kyosuke Kosaka, who rarely gets along with his sister Kirino. Then one day he discovers that she is secretly a fan of little sister themed eroge (erotic style games). which of course happen to be hidden within a secret sliding door in her room’s wall (in my opinion the best type of door). Throughout the series we see Kirino trying to hide the fact that she is into these type of games. This is done with the help of her brother Kyosuke jumping through hoops to get things done, as well as watching his younger sister mature into a beautiful young woman (because no one wants to see a chick turn ugly).
The heart of this series is the ups and downs and complexity of this borderline incestual relationship. Kirino is usually very harsh toward her brother but silently shows her gratitude. This goes back and forth with everything Kyosuke does to cover things up so people assume he is actually the one who loves little sister eroge. Which of course leads to many gags involving others thinking Kyouke is in love with his own little sister. The only thing more taboo than incest in this show seems to be the otaku lifestyle (some people just need to sit down and enjoy a Vanilla Coke, or possibly a Sprite).
Add on top of that we got some interesting characters caught in this sibling storm. Their father already views eroge games as deviant, so from him alone we get more drama than a Spanish language network. Then there’s the childhood friend of Kyosuke, Manami. Since Manami has a crush on Kyosuke, this at times leads to weird confrontation with Kirino (some more of that good ole implied incest for you).
Implied.
And since Kirino’s usual friends are so called “normal” people, Kirino ventures to make new friends with other girls who are into anime and gaming. Right there we get Kirino trying to fit into a world she belongs to but at the same time is completely alien to her. In particular there are plenty of scuffles when she clashes with the very judgmental gothic Lolita by the name Kuroneko, who, like a pack of wild fanboys at a movie adaptation, picks apart everything Kirino likes. I like to think we all have a little Kuroneko in all of us (no, that’s not supposed to be a dirty joke).
Indeed Oreimo gives us a glimpse into the world inhabited by female otaku in japan. This is of course includes many of the cosplay, anime, and games that are usually aimed at girls. Which in some ways contrast with the little-sister eroge that Kirino likes is mostly enjoyed by young men. This whole series is one giant balancing act made up of smaller balancing acts made up of some circus or something.
This almost incest story could easily have been a one trick pony (I’m looking at you Kiss X Sis) but it manages to give much more and with interest. Like a rare Pokemon, the characters in this show evolve in quite an interesting manner. So Oreimo should be checked out if you’re into a comedy with some family drama where siblings try to survive in this crazy world…while one of them possibly has a boner. You can catch the series for free at animenewsnetwork.com. Or at this link if your just as lazy as me to look things up http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/video/9457/ Go watch now. Your little sister will be grateful.
Glitch is a digital demon from planet Fanboy, and is here to teach us humans a thing or two. You can find more of his reviews(and nonsense) over at http://www.youtube.com/takenoutofcontext.