[Anime Review]/Oreimo-The Nii-san, The Bitch and The Wardrobe

Alright, finally got around to watching the first season of Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai aka Oreimo (I mean seriously, that name is out of control). We didn't go into this one with much knowledge beforehand and well, we were a bit surprised by what we got. It is a good series, but I can't really say that it's great compared to some of the others out there.

Why? Well to start out with, our heroine is a complete and utter bitch. Sure she has a few likable moments here and there, but overall she's just a horrible person to her brother and others at times. Compared to her, he's a saint (along with the rest of the cast) for putting up with her. CK and I spent the entire run trying to figure out just why the hell he'd help her at all with the way he's repeatedly treated. Sure you see some growth and appreciation. but it's really not much at all when you put it on the scales. 

Again, I'm not saying it's bad but I definitely don't get all the hype around this one. It has it's moments and does deal with some harder issues socially, mainly accepting Otaku for what they are and friends for who they are and that's quite the issue to go after. Due to that, you can expect some more serious scenes than what many shows have these days, but it never really gets to the other end to find humor when it tries. It's in there, and hits the mark from time to time, but it seems like an after thought and not the focus. It's also classified as a romance in some places and while there is some areas where that shows up, it too is extremely lacking. I'm not sure why but it just misses more often than hits for us.

• Genre: Comedy/Romance/Drama
• Length: 12ep (plus 13-15 from the dvd's which have a different ending)
• Rating: 6.5/10
• Recommendation: It is good and the only reason I'm rating it so low is that there's just so much that misses the mark for how it's described. That said, if you're in the mood for something more serious in nature (at times) and has a bit of humor and lightheartedness sprinkled in, then it's right up your alley.
• Where to watch: Crunchyroll (Season 1 and currently simulcasting Season 2)

Alright, I know what you're thinking, based on that score we must've hated it. Truthfully, we didn't. Is it something we'd recommend to all of our friends? That would depend, but it is something that we consider to be "good", not great or awesome but good. Either way, the rest of the review is below!

The show basically revolves around Kyosuke Kosaka and his younger sister (fashion model, otaku, popular student, amazing athelete, et al) from hell, Kirino. Just so happens that he stumbles across an eroge game hidden inside a dvd case one day, trying to find out who's it is, he stumbles across the fact that it's his sisters'. After a really amusing, cunning and curious little investigation, followed by the reveal of Kirino's hobby to Kyosuke, it seems like we're set up for some off the wall stuff and some interesting sibling rivalry antics, right? (Speaking of walls, she's got her stash "in the wall" so to speak.) Not so fast. From this point on things get pretty heavy and while there are a few amusing moments, things shift drastically in the other direction and we get far more serious for the first few episodes. There's a particularly intense scene between Kyosuke and their father which isn't something you see everyday in an anime, I give them credit for doing it to be honest. (There's another scene later on between Kirino and a good friend that is pretty intense and heartfelt as well.)

That said, there are jokes about eroge, dating sims, otaku in general and the awkwardness of the whole situation sprinkled all over the place and they are fairly funny. The best jokes though seem to come from the fact that Kyosuke, being the kind hearted older brother, is a complete and utter doormat. Kirino treats him like complete shit 90% of the time, despite the fact that he goes out of his way constantly to save her ass. Sure, I get the fact that siblings don't get along, but this really is borderline insanity with their relationship and how horribly she treats him and others.That said, the rest of the cast is really quite enjoyable, and Kirino aside, they provide some pretty hilarious and even heartfelt moments throughout the series. To that end, you've got the apparently outward otaku, the goth loli, the fashion models/idol hopefuls and few other smaller roles. That combination alone makes for things being interesting, to say the least. Toss in the fact that Kyosuke is new to the whole otaku world and trying to fumble his way through it on behalf of his sister and there is a recipe for some comedy gold from time to time.

However, we found ourselves liking the interactions between Kyosuke and Kirino's new friends more than her. I guess you could say that she's the catalyst of the series, all of the other characters seem to grow and react based on her actions or "problems". That's despite that she just seems extremely self centered and annoying (even for a middle school kid with the pressures she has) and while there's glimpses of growth from her, it's gone in an instant like she never learned anything at all. Sure, she probably has but they're not showing it by the writing in the show. Perhaps that will change with season two, but it's a long time to wait for a pay off. I mean don't get me wrong, she has her redeeming qualities here and there, but she seems stuck in bitch mode permanently throughout most of the run.

So yeah, we did find the show interesting and enjoyable, so much so that we'll be watching season two which is airing right now. However, it isn't without it's faults and we're mainly watching due to the other characters to see what they get up to. Yeah, I know that's not the intended point probably, but we're weird and it's too hard to leave without seeing more from them.

All in all, it's a good show and definitely above average. There's some heavy moments here and there and some pretty good humor as well. However, we just can't get past the fact that one of the main characters is such a bitch. We're hoping that she (and the writers) grow out of that some because I think without her being so over the top in that area of things, the show could really be great.