First Impressions / Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai

OP3 Sequence

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OP3: 「irony」 by ClariS
[Download]

More changes to the opening sequence, with the most noticeable one being Ayase taking Manami’s spot in the beginning. I wonder if this is going to be a weekly thing.

Kyousuke is forced to bail out Kirino again, while Saori and Kuroneko are treated as strangers.

It’s at this point that Kirino should be thinking what a bad friend she is.

「俺の妹の親友がこんなに××なわけがない」
(Ore no Imouto no Shinyuu ga Konnani Batsu Batsu na Wake ga Nai)
“There’s No Way My Sister’s Close Friend is That **”

With the beautiful and respectful Ayase showing a drastically different side of her and Kyousuke worrying about her friendship with Kirino ending more than she was, I would’ve thought that receiving a swift kick to the groin was a good sign for Kyousuke to start rethinking why he’s going to such lengths for his little sister. However, it looks like his new-found opportunity to finally act like an older brother knows no bounds, as he not only goes out of his way to get them to make up, but takes another bullet for Kirino by degrading his image further. First his father, and now the one girl who seemed to have an actual interest in him. At some point, Kyousuke’s really got to start asking him why he keeps covering for Kirino and won’t let her learn from her own mistakes. If it’s to get her to show some appreciation towards him as an older brother again, I’m not so sure the “return in investment” is worth it with our violent closet otaku.

Seeing as Kirino hasn’t given Kyousuke any further indication that she’s grateful for everything he’s doing for her, I get the feeling that the story’s saving that up for a much bigger moment in a later episode. I can just picture it now. Kirino will be all teary-eyed in Kyousuke’s arms and thanking him for everything he’s done for her and finally start respecting him as an older brother. Okay maybe not quite, but at least to the point that Kyousuke feels like he hasn’t completely wasted his time by trying to improve his sibling relationship. As for Ayase, she’s probably a prime example of what happens when someone gets too absorbed into everything the mass media feeds them and allows it to dictate her lifestyle more than she realizes. It’s kind of ironic how she was scrutinizing Kirino’s games as the cause of a lot of heinous crimes, when she looked pretty psychotic herself based on what she heard on the news about them being a bad influence.

Granted, Ayase looks like she has a more fundamental problem with her mindset that caused her to lose it upon discovering Kirino’s secret hobby, possibly some level of insecurity over losing her friend to the “evil” world of eroge. The park scene at the end where she admitted that she wanted to make up with Kirino yet couldn’t overlook her love for cute little girls seemed to suggest as much, which I probably would’ve been more understanding towards if she had some sort of traumatic experience where another friend or a family member degenerated before her very eyes. Of course, the other possibility is that she’s more upset about how Kirino lied and kept it a secret from her all this time, which works for me since it’s a page right out of Densha Otoko, albeit the yuri version.

Whatever the case, it was interesting hearing how Hayama Saori voiced that other side to Ayase, as well as seeing Kirino weep a few tears of frustration when Kyousuke wouldn’t let his “little sister personality improvement project” go to waste. I gather that was supposed to be a moment where viewers were supposed to feel the urge to reach out and help Kirino, but I was still on the fence about it when the kick to the groin was followed up by a lot of pillow whacks over Kyousuke’s head. Aside from that, the humor was less prominent, but came through pretty nicely when Kyousuke went to his father for advice and pulled out another last resort to salvage the situation when Kirino gave him the evil eye to do something. The rational side of me says that Kyousuke really needs to get some more friends and stop hanging out with his sister, but the anime viewer side of me feels he should keep going out on a limb for her to self-degrading results. In the latter case, the next “Thanks Bro” is still long overdue.

 

I didn’t quite get yandere vibes, though it’s always unsettling to see the nice and respectful girl have a few screws loose.

The secret is out and the weather isn’t helping.

Saori is quick to explain that Kirino didn’t want to treat them as strangers, but Kuroneko still has every right to feel snubbed.

It’s like troubled individuals and shower scenes go hand in hand.

Damn… jailbait… Must look away.

Thanks to some in-game tips, Kyousuke finally realizes that button mashing is not the way to go.

I’m not complaining or anything, but Kirino sure seems to be in this pose a lot. *Rawr*
I love the sporty outfit though.

Kyousuke probably wouldn’t have to be this nosy if Kirino would just be a bit more honest about wanting his help.

This isn’t exactly the sign I had in mind. Oh that’s gotta hurt!

Good thing Kyousuke handed her a pillow at the very beginning before talks broke down.

Ayase’s phone number came in handy, but not under the circumstances that Kyousuke was hoping.

Japanese people do commit some pretty heinous crimes in this day and age, so I’d have to agree that the country’s media is partially responsible.

Kyousuke probably figures that his father thinks very little of him already, so what’s another porn-related consultation going to do? I still think he needs to find more friends.

Kyousuke brings new facts to the picture to break Ayase’s illusion.

In Kirino’s case, it’s technically flattering to be told that she loves you just as much as she does her porn collection.

The two of them finally start to see eye to eye again. Or eye to face I should say.

With just one look, Kyousuke gets the message. “Hurry up and do something about this!”

It always helps to have no shame when whipping out the siscon porn.

“That’s the proof of our sibling love! I won’t let you deny it!”
Kirino’s reaction: Priceless.

I don’t see how emphatically declaring his new-found sibling love was a good idea, but Kirino did tell him to do something about the situation. She seemed happy about how he’ll act completely irrationally for her sake too.

Ayase on the other hand will probably call the cops on him before long.

Just as planned? Or was it?

ED3 Sequence

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ED3: 「オレンジ」 (Orange) by 竹達彩奈 (Taketatsu Ayana)
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I guess her way of saying thanks is challenging Kyousuke to a Siscalypse battle. That still doesn’t change the fact that he’s getting death threats from Ayase.

Preview & End Card

The childhood friend comes back into the picture next time.

138 Comments

  1. Holy moly, that’s a lot of inverse oreo right there.

    Anyways, what I’m most curious about is Kirino’s and Kyousuke’s past together. There were hints in this episode that there is more to their falling-out than “we’re growing older”. Curse and bless this anime for being so subtle!

    Zanibas
    Reply

  2. It’s to this anime’s credit that it’s really the one show this season that keeps me thinking well after seeing it every week. Part of the reason is that Kyousuke’s motivations aren’t made explicitly clear, which is probably a bad thing.

    starss
    Reply

  6. Man, Kyousuke is being quite the man and seemingly sacrificing quite a lot in the process of getting respect as an older brother. I hoped Ayase would be the friend who would understand Kirino but I guess that’s not happening either. This show is one facepalm episode after another. Right now, I’m watching it more for Kyousuke’s action than anyone else in this. Go Kyousuke!

    Shinjiro
    Reply

  9. Ah…the things people will do to help their little sisters. The over-the-top irrational thinking of Kyousuke is entertaining as always.

    The fight between Kirino and Kyousuke certainly raised some eyebrows, to me at least. It was interesting to actually see Kirino’s view on the neglect that distanced the two siblings albeit very, very short. It makes me wonder what actually happened that caused the neglecting, since it is pretty abnormal for family members to grow apart like that without some form of influence. Hopefully there will be something on that later…hopefully.

    NanoNano
    Reply

    1. Good, then I wasn’t the only one who thought that!

      I half-expected Kyousuke to dive on them like a live grenade to prevent them from getting wet. (Or maybe my expectation was a projection of what I would do)

      zem
      Reply

  12. https://randomc.net/image/Ore%20no%20Imouto%20ga%20Konnani%20Kawaii%20Wake%20ga%20Nai/Ore%20no%20Imouto%20ga%20Konnani%20Kawaii%20Wake%20ga%20Nai%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2018.jpg
    The sub I watched said: “Don’t suddenly become a big brother after you’ve neglected me all this time…” or something to that effect. This seems to be something along the lines of what someone else said before about Kirino buying those doujin things as an outlet for herself. I mean, Kyousuke then said “Wait, what?” and she sorta covered it up with “Well, you gotta keep helping me.”

    Yeah, along with Show Spoiler ▼

    it strongly suggests that we’re pushing for incest here.

    Vsin
    Reply

    1. End of the second light novel.
      Show Spoiler ▼

      will
      Reply

    2. Me too, I really loved the expression of her face in the Visual Novel. Even though that scene is short, it was funny and honestly adorable. I was anticipating it to be animated. I don’t know why they had to switch it with their own anime original scene. I really loved it as it was ):

      kuripuri
      Reply

  15. Also thinking Kyousuke risks being arrested if he keeps covering for her with this particular tactic.

    Loved the tsundere Dad

    Also if Kyousuke can just grab Kirino and shut her up like that why doesn’t he do it more often? -_-

    rufe
    Reply

  16. There goes Kyosuke’s public rep out the window. I loled at the “Just as planned.” part. And now I do want to see more of an actual past arc between the two… and Kaori’s real face.

    Kyzel
    Reply

  19. I could somewhat see this in a slice of life view, Kirino is accepting herself now all she needs to learn is blackmail is bad lol. Can’t wait for the next episode Manami eyecatch please!

    Bluance
    Reply

  20. Ok, I’m confused by Ayase’s last text message. So when she called Kyosuke “Oni-chan, big liar” and said “Thanks to you, Kirino and I were able to make up”, does that mean that she knows Kyosuke was lying about his “love for Kirino” so that they could make up, or does she indeed believe he is a perverted influence on Kirino?

    Lee
    Reply

    1. I believe Ayase still thinks Kyousuke is messed up, judging from how Kirino was talking to her when he came in at the end and was saying how he hadn’t tried anything today. I think the text message was just supposed to be Ayase saying she’s grateful for the opportunity to make up with Kirino, but she still thinks Kyousuke’s a creep.

      Senatorium
      Reply

    2. Nah, she still hates him and his “perverted siscon self that tarnished her beloved Kirino”. Kind of like affirming that she made up with her but she doesn’t accept their hobbies+thinks he’s a creep.

      I found the voice acting to be a bit misleading because I always read that text message in an angry Yandere Ayase voice. But I’m pretty sure its not a thank you (btw I knew you were lying :D) kind of message.

      kuripuri
      Reply

  21. At some point, Kyousuke’s really got to start asking him why he keeps covering for Kirino and won’t let her learn from her own mistakes.

    I’m an older brother myself (haven’t got a cute younger sister unfortunately, it’s a bro), and I find Kyosuke’s actions and sacrifices increasingly hard to stomach. IMHO they are completely ridiculous and beyond the call of duty of what could be expected of the average sibling. Now I love my bro and have covered for him before…but -hypothetically- I certainly wouldn’t completely destroy my own reputation/ruin my relationships with friends/family/the world just to cover the fact he has a slightly bizarre hobby? O_o

    Ninja Penguin
    Reply

      1. We would imply others would allow our nuts to be kicked in by our little sisters throwing a tantrum. I surely won’t and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one.

        Penguin is right, this is way beyond the call of duty for brother/sister. But this is anime so what the hell anything goes.

        Kyuusei
        Reply

  24. and here I thought Divine said he is willing to take a punch from the dad if it gets him the “Arigatou Aniki” look Kirinrin gave Kyousuke yet he thinks taking a kick in the crouch is too much?

    For someone as cute as Kirinrin, TOTALLY!

    TheNewHorde
    Reply

  25. So many times it looked as if Kirino and Ayase were leaning in for a kiss scene. I was totally at the edge of my seat the entire time they had their little dispute thing and nothing happened. Le sigh…

    Zean
    Reply

  27. everytime i watch this show i think to myself two things
    1. this shit is way to funny
    2. wtf am i really watching right now the prelude to an incestuous relationship?!?!
    now i have finally added a third
    3. japanesse shows that are fucked up provide the most entertainment

    sigh
    Reply

    1. I think the same thing… that fanservice last episode made me sad but this show is still funny and entertaining enough for me to keep watching.

      Though #3 is the reason I’m still watching Panty & Stocking. XD

      Yuumei
      Reply

    2. “Wincest” class super-dreadnought is believed to have left enemy port and to be in the area. Extreme caution advised. Firepower estimates it can sink any other ship in existence.
      Your only escorts will be “Childhood friend” , “Dark loligoth” and “Female otaku” destroyers.
      God speed captain Kyosuke!

      ewok40k
      Reply

      1. I’d punch anyone that would annoy me each and every time even if you’re always offering him or her to help with his or her problems. Need not hurt, just hit it hard enough to let them learn that the world doesn’t revolve around them. “Pot calling kettle black” does not apply.

        entropy
        Reply

      2. There was a Korean manga about a hot-tempered protagonist who started beating the crap out of some girls for beating the crap out of his female childhood and best friend. He shouted a lot about not being able to stand weak-minded fools who use their gender as a weapon against others and see it as a way to get off scot-free. I agree with that.

        Punching your sister however is still off 😛 I’d just have ignored her. Perhaps giver her back the laptop (or smash it with a hammer).

        SpacyRicochet
        Reply

      3. “Pot calling kettle black” does not apply eh?

        The fact is, you’re proposing violence to solve things.In the real world,it always leads to a BAD END.And then you call the episode bad when you’re proposing something even worse to solve conflicts.The irony is just too much ,it’s almost laughable.

        SpacyRicochet on the other hand is giving an example in the manga world.Protip,”You shouldn’t mix 2D with 3D” -Kirino.

        GodKnows
        Reply

  31. DDDDD:::: THEY OMMITTED LIKE THE VERY LAST 5 SECONDS OF THE CHAPTER. It was my favourite bit too, and in my mind it totally makes up for everything Kirino made Kyousuke do during the episode, ie making himself out to be a perverted siscon. *sadface forever!* Why would you admit that adorable moment ):

    *will go read entry now* and perhaps post a serious comment after.

    kuripuri
    Reply

    1. *omit*

      Wow, things really do come off differently when animated. Like Ayase doesn’t seem nearly as psycho as I read her to be. The angelic voice acting throws me off. Especially in the text message. Plus the “forbidden love” scene, at first I thought it was kind of meant to be a justification of their hobby from how their relationship has improved and how it brought them closer together but said in an exaggerated way. I can understand now why Ayase thinks Kyousuke’s an actual pervert, from the way its been animated. Muffling Kirino does not help his already bad image.

      Love Kirino’s evil eye. Shall do the same to my big bro C<

      Can't wait till after next weeks ep. It's probably my favourite part of the series.

      kuripuri
      Reply

  32. I wonder if next episode, the will show the ****** in the laptop, and kirino gets ***** to kyosuke. Maybe next episode Manami helping Kyousuke find ******* for Kirino’s *******. I think the guy running/jogging in the Park might be that guy in the Kuroneko Arc. And also the sad climax might occur

    Croosboy ♂
    Reply

    1. I hope so, since they omitted it before. Its probably actually better to throw all the Manami stuff into one episode and kind of get it over and done with.

      What sad climax? I can’t remember anything being sad. Only thing that I might consider sad was Volume 4, though its not something I’d cry for.

      kuripuri
      Reply

    2. LOOL you honestly are confusing me. I honestly don’t remember anything sad in the novels thats worth mentioning but anyway here’s hoping that I will understand waht you are talking about some day in the future ~:O~

      kuripuri
      Reply

  33. The main character of this is starting to make me angry…

    All he ever does is sacrifice his own social status for her when she rarely even treats him acceptably. Eventually, he’ll have nothing.

    Ayase, too. She believes ever little thing she hears on the television, apparently (“Why would a journalist lie?”), and says things that are a little… self-important. Like “do you value your hobby more than me? Then forget your hobby!” more like “Do you value your incorrect view of Kirino’s hobby more than Kirino? Then forget about it.”

    hmmm…

    secret
    Reply

    1. The main flaw with your argument is that Ayase’s views on Kirino’s hobby is not incorrect. I mean we’re still talking about underage incest porn here, how can that ever be justified as the hobby of a mid-schooler? Being open to differences is one thing but I think Ayase is trying pretty hard seeing how she lowers her status (as best friend) to the level of pedo porn.

      bluenote
      Reply

      1. It’s not that part I’m saying is wrong. It’s the part where she believes that anime and eroge lead to sexual and/or dispicable crimes and otaku are bad/creepy people, just because the media said so.

        As for the part where she believe Kirino should stop liking anime and eroge just because she finds it disgusting, well… Isn’t that just self-importance? Why should Kirino stop doing what she likes just because of Ayase’s (partially wrong) opinion on her hobby, just because she wants her to?

        If she was just going to condemn her and her hobby like that in the first place, why did she pry and pry until she saw what Kirino had in her bag (destroying the contents, no less)? Kirino OBVIOUSLY didn’t want her to see the contents at all and tried to leave multiple times.

        Because of all of this, Ayase turned out to be a pretty unlikeable character. I understand she’s worried, but there are better ways to go about this.

        secret
        Reply

  34. Now I have a feeling, in her childhood days Kirino wanted to be around Kyousuke more, but Manami aka the Plain Girl had been always there, and Kirino couldn’t beat her. That’s what I suppose happened between them.

    This week’s ending eye candy stuff was drawn by Mitsumi Misato, one of the artists of Leaf/Aquaplus(besides, she is also one of the most famous female artists in Eroge industry). So it’s natural if it looks somewhat like Oreimo meets To Heart 2.

    U Doh
    Reply

  35. As a little sister’s older brother, I’m not certain if I would throw away my own self-respect as Kyousuke did. I more likely would let my sister receive the punishment for her own mistake instead of trying to take the bullet in her place.

    I hope the novel have an arc in which Kyousuke gets really fubar after one of his acts of bravery/foolishness (like getting turned down by the meganekko because of a mistake), and Kirino takes the turn to defend her aniki as a reward for all he went through to support her. It won’t be fair if only Kyousuke keeps getting all the punishment in Kirino’s place. She should learn too to be less selfish and sacrifice herself as her brother did for her. There’s lots of potential for good development in their relationship (as siblings, of course) if things go that way.

    Jun-01
    Reply

    1. Agreed, if my little sister threw a tantrum like that at me she’d be sitting in her room without access to TV or computer.

      Kyousuke really needs a fregging gigantic medal though, he’s suffered nothing but abuse thus far and its nutbreaking -literally in Kyousuke’s case.

      Kyuusei
      Reply

    2. Agreed as well. As the older brother of a girl somewhat similar to Kirino – as in that she is arrogant, self-centered, and ungratefull – it pains me to see Kyousuke taking bullets to the ass repeatedly like this. I mean, where is his sense of self-preservation?

      Chance
      Reply

  36. It was really shocking to see Ayase like that! But yes, there wasn’t that strong yandere vibes coming from her, though it kinda scared me when she started shouting and saying “uso, uso, uso, uso—” and how she grabbed tightly on Kirino’s wrist enough to make her wince. Though I liked the fact that Kyousuke was helping them to be back as friends, even though he got “that” and some smacking on the head with a pillow from Kirino, but what makes me wonder is what Kirino said, what she just blurted out, makes me wonder what happened between her and Kyousuke in their childhood days to cause such reaction from Kirino, its like she really took that and had hold a grudge on Kyousuke for that. Makes me want to say that Kirino is like that because of him…

    Kohaku
    Reply

  37. Guys, I think you’re completely misreading Ayase 😉

    She isn’t batshit insane at all, in fact, she is the opposite: She is a perfectly normal, middle-of-the-road genuinely kind-hearted girl. What is warping her in the current circumstances is that she is PRINCIPLED, and preconditioned against Otakudom (which, by the way, is perfectly normal in Japan).

    1) She has a idol-crush on Kirino. Yuri is the wrong word to it, she never tried to get physically close to her, and in fact, her blushing reaction to a doujinshi indicates that she’s rather very pure at heart. Also, read the ED. For her, the overachieving independent strong Kirino is her pinnacle, her object of worship, and she wants Kirino to reciprocate these feelings.

    2) She is preconditioned against Otakudom. The anime doesn’t mention it, but her mother is in the PTA, and her father is a congressman. Remember how prim and proper she’s always been before. She has been taught how dangerous/perverted/filthy this whole otaku business was, so she treats it as a danger to avoid.

    3) She is principled. Her conditioning (2) forces her to reject and stay away from Kirino, even though doing so hurts her even more than Kirino herself. That’s why even though she wanted so much to take Kirino’s attempt of reconciliation, she felt that she couldn’t. It was only when Kyousuke reorganized the facts by turning Kirino into the victim of his own harmful influence that Ayase’s priorities allowed her to reconcile, because now Kirino was the victim of dangerous outward influence (Kyousuke), and trying to protect her against this took precedence over Ayase’s rejection of otakudom.

    If you look at things from this perspective, her reaction is 100% rational and reasonable. Also, keep in mind that Ayase was still willing to talk and subsequently meet with Kyousuke (no minor thing IMHO), and she was willing to accept the evidence as genuine. She was defending her convictions just like Kirino was willing to defend hers before. People may criticize her for her Otakudom aversion, but then again, if you look at the excesses it can lead to in especially JP (NEET culture etc), I find it hard to condemn her for that alone.

    In fact, I’m a hidden closet Ayase shipper. I can empathize with her, and if anything, I admire that she is NOT whimsical, and that she sticks to her principles even when doing so hurts herself (hell, separating from Kirino is the LAST thing she wants to do), while she’s still willing to listen to those he rejects. Call me warped too, but IMHO this is admirable and rare, in a world where usually people just do what they want and then rearrange their convictions and priorities so that they suit them.

    If anything, IMHO Kyousuke-Ayase would be a good match. Both are reasonable, feet-on-the-ground people. Tagging Ayase a knife-swinging crazy yandere bitch is completely off. It kinda pains me that Kyousuke’s lie in order to allow an Ayase-Kirino reconciliation now utterly destroyed his own standing with her, and I hope that over time, setting the record straight will be possible. Novels are still ongoing after all 😉

    Mentar
    Reply

    1. Believe me, there are plenty of us that jumped at the prospect of KyouskexAyase, but with him jumping on the proverbial grenade for his sister’s sake, he just earned himself a one way ticket to creepsville in Ayase’s eyes.

      This is why I said earlier “the ship is sinking… sinking…” because no matter how much water Kyouske tries to bail out, that ship is sunk.

      TehJawknee
      Reply

    2. Depending on what what type of light the ending puts on this series my opinion may change for better or worse but overall, this was a good episode. You can see the producing team actually put some thought into the matter instead of just naively pretending this type of scenario is common – otaku world is a hot issue and one can’t pretend it’s totally okay in every way.

      I was really rooting for Ayase in the beginning of the episode, she had some sound arguments. Regardless of whether she had been previously influenced by the media or not, seeing that doujinshi was bound to produce a WTF reaction at the very least. In my opinion, her point of view was the correct one. Sure, there are all kinds of people in the otaku community, like in any other, however you cannot help but ask yourself if embracing all aspects of the hobby is the right thing to do, even if there /are/ other normal people already doing the same thing who aren’t homicidal perverted maniacs.

      Though I knew this anime wasn’t going to bury itself with arguments against otakus, Kyousuke’s rebuttal was still unconvincing and appeared to be rather avoiding the obvious moral issue in a way that lawyers would defend the case in court. His way of defending his sister was stupid, he could have just said Kirino isn’t into the ero part of the anime/manga/video game world. Other than that, I don’t see any reason why Kyousuke shouldn’t do everything for his sister, especially because the odds of people accepting her as an otaku are about as slim as they can get. As long as the reason behind it is morally justified (and after all, sane). Hanging out with an interesting sister is fine too, I don’t see why should he distance himself (again, as long as he isn’t a “hentai”).

      I also completely agree with what the above poster said (therefore I won’t repeat the 2nd part of his post) and pretty much disagree with Divine’s outlook on the past two episodes.

      The end of the episode left the idea of this anime turning into a siscon wavering. If after all of this the love between siblings does indeed turn out to be unperverted then OreImo will surely take a place in the history of animes as an excruciating but ingenious title that everyone who dares to really have this as a daily hobby should watch. Though most people in the blogosphere have already dismissed that possibility, I still have my fingers crossed.

      dietwarrior
      Reply

      1. What have I said that’s so disagreeable?

        A lot of my remarks are semi-sarcastic, such as the one about Kyousuke finding some other friends so he doesn’t have to hang out with Kirino. It’s in reference to how he gets mistreated for his efforts.

        Obviously without that we wouldn’t have a show to begin with, so it’s not like I’m hoping that happens.

        Divine
        Reply

    3. I quite like Ayase’s personality and her yandere-ish personality, however there are some people who don’t acknowledge it. I do believe in that statement that she has some policies, like what her mother, a PTA and her father, a congressman, that strengthens her disgust and hate for anime/manga, and how big her admiration is for “the perfect” Kirino she knows, however that said, she is still a yandere at that. The depiction of a yandere is a sweet, kind girl but deep inside is violent, or harsh. It was portrayed, only a little. :3

      KyousukexAyase, I don’t think it can ever happen after what Kyousuke had said, and maybe, just maybe in the following episodes… ^ ^;;

      Kohaku
      Reply

    4. There are several points you made that are truly “unique” in Japan.

      1. About the aversion on “otakudom”: A) most otakus in my own country have their own jobs and have college education. B) “Older” otakus also have a spouse and children. C) some famous local actors are also “otakus”, having a room full of Gundam and other mecha as well as tons of games. D) a local congressman’s daughter is a quite famous otaku and sometimes goes to some anime/manga conventions over here too.

      Hence it really is quite hard for foreigners such as myself to truly understand the perception of Japanese on otakus. The “NEETs” over here are those who are uneducated, would have barely any opportunity to even watch anime or afford to eat 3 times a day.

      2. The idol-crush on Kirino: Oh my goodness. This would actually make Ayase WORSE than Kirino (and I already consider Kirino as quite bad). Firstly, she’s stuck with first impressions (well actually, the “apparent” impressions). Secondly, when a facet of Kirino’s is seemingly “poisoning” the image perceived by Ayase, she resorts in trying to detach that “conflicting” face to the “ideal” image she sees. Lastly, Her rigidity in thinking, which is connected to point #3.

      3. She’s principled, or rather “too much”. This is a case of “too much of a good thing is not good anymore.” This condition is one of the worst you can get from a human being. This is only useful when you are facing a situation needing a conflict resolution wherein that situation was not made by you. In this episode’s case the situation was self-made, wherein being “principled” would be a bad choice. Kirino is more “principled” than Ayase in this regard. Kirino “bent” it a little in how she said things regarding her being an “otaku” in connection with the “perfect girl” image she also has. Yet she “stuck” with it all the way, hence being “principled.” In Ayase’s case she’s being a false “principled” person, prioritizing herself, and her self-precognitions about her best friend and essentially discarding the best friend herself, in itself a “principle” that she fails to uphold.

      “If anything, IMHO Kyousuke-Ayase would be a good match. Both are reasonable, feet-on-the-ground people. Tagging Ayase a knife-swinging crazy yandere bitch is completely off.”

      It would be a good match because Kyousuke’s a generous guy while Ayase’s a selfish girl…?

      Ayase being “rational” and “reasonable”? Selfishness is neither “rational” nor “reasonable.”

      This episode just turned for the worse for me. I’m barely tolerating Kirino and mostly rooting for the “underdog” Kyousuke and then Ayase turns into a worse girl…hopefully the “normal” girl can turn things around for me in the next episode.

      entropy
      Reply

      1. 1) Otakudom of this kind does exist in Japan. If you want to judge characters, you need to do it in the proper context, and here, Ayase’s opinion is very much mainstream.

        2) Why would that make her “worse”? Kirino very obviously HAS a “normal-world” social life, where she can be quite charming. The fact is that Ayase HAS an idol-crush on her, and learning that your best friend has hidden such an important side of hers from Ayase is painful for her.

        3) Nonsense. It’s well within Kirino’s right to do as she pleases, just as it’s well within Ayase’s right to reject this kind of hobby. If your best friend is doing something bad [tm] or wrong [tm] (like she does from Ayase’s POV), then it’s definitely okay to SAY SO.

        If I found out that my best friend was dealing with drugs, I’d also tell him to stop this sh*t. And if he wouldn’t, I’d retreat aswell. That’s what Ayase has been doing, until Kyousuke lied in a way which made it appear that it was HIS fault, and Kirino had just come under the bad influence of ain incest molester. This in return turned Kirino into a victim who deserved Ayase’s support.

        Finally, how would Ayase be “selfish” by severing ties? She’s the one who is most hurt of this.

        Feel entitled to your own opinion, of course, but you’re not making sense.

        Mentar
        Reply

      2. Since I can’t directly reply to Mentar’s post already, I’ll reply to my own post.

        1) Need not be addressed, I stated as much that the situations are different.

        2) “Worse” because she wasn’t lied to, which she vehemently insists happened. She just didn’t bother knowing it, and once she (inadvertently) known of it it’s automatically “YOU LIE!!!”

        It’s only painful to her because she considers it a great contrast to the “idol” side of Kirino’s. Ayase fails to reconcile the two, hence her “pain” about Kirino’s hobby.

        “3)3) Nonsense. It’s well within Kirino’s right to do as she pleases, just as it’s well within Ayase’s right to reject this kind of hobby. If your best friend is doing something bad [tm] or wrong [tm] (like she does from Ayase’s POV), then it’s definitely okay to SAY SO. ”

        THAT is nonsense. There is essentially nothing wrong with otaku in the first place. I have already said it indirectly that ANYTHING, even something good, when taken to extremes, becomes bad. What Ayase rejects is an EXTREME form of otaku. Now you mentioned drugs. In some US states MERE POSSESSION of drugs is dependent on a specific amount; less than that, they can’t do anything. More than that, then there would be action, weeks or months of community work perhaps. When it’s DRUG ABUSE however, then there’s imprisonment, rehab, etc.

        Simply put, Ayase’s rejecting the WHOLE simply because of a very small part of it. It’s like saying that marijuana in itself is bad…IT’S A FCUKING PLANT HOW THE FCUK WOULD IT BECOME “BAD” OR “WRONG”? It’s the people that makes it’s bad or wrong, NOT the object itself. Ergo, it’s not being otaku that makes a certain person commit that crime; only that certain person can make himself commit a crime, unless magically being otaku can hypnotize you to commit crimes.

        It’s like saying that girls dancing with boys leads to sex. That may happen, but there are OTHER things that “happened” along the way, it’s not a straight point A to point B process, which is what these anti-otaku people would like to show.

        “Finally, how would Ayase be “selfish” by severing ties? She’s the one who is most hurt of this.”

        Superficial “hurt”, it was even self-inflicted. She’d rather reject Kirino’s hobby rather than accept it. And she has the temerity to insinuate that what Kirino like would lead to a “bad life”, inadvertently saying that Kirino’s a good-for-nothing girl after all since Kirino’s choice of hobby would eventually make her have a “bad life”, thus contrasting it with her own view of “idol Kirino” all by herself. Ayase has just contradicted herself! LOL

        entropy
        Reply

      3. 2) Excuse me? Kirino was lying in Ayase’s face, multiple times, right at the scene. Running away from her, pretending not to know the others, pretending not to have been on the Comiket… before the bag ripped pretty much every single sentence of Kirino has been a lie. THAT is what Ayase picked up and what she yelled at her for.

        3) You’re still missing the point completely. From Ayase’s perspective – which happens to be the mainstream opinion of the Japanese population, by the way – Otakudom is unacceptable, a display of fervent immaturity and a corrupting force. That’s what Ayase is acting on, and it’s perfectly valid FROM HER POINT OF VIEW.

        I couldn’t care less about what YOU (or I) think about it. But if you want to judge a character, you need to take the social context OF THE PERSON IN QUESTION in consideration. If you don’t do that, and rather apply your own set of values, you may explain why you like/dislike a character, but it’s no objective judgment of a person anymore.

        And if you fail to realize your non sequitur of your last paragraph, I can’t help you. Naturally Ayase does NOT contradict herself when she worries that her otaku hobby will taint Kirino. That’s her whole point! This is exactly why she’s trying to get Kirino to drop it in the first place. No contradiction, but the logical conclusion.

        Mentar
        Reply

      4. Mainstream opinion doesn’t make it a correct one. Otaku is about overdoing something and losing yourself into that. But it can be anything and Anime or Manga isn’t any more dangerous then live TV, movies, sports, books, computer games, model aircraft etc. It’s not about what you are doing, it’s about rejecting reality.

        But it’s not only a misunderstanding as there is some reality behind Ayase’s fears. It’s her own reaction and others that is likely to create Otaku’s by ostracising people with the ‘wrong’ hobbies. That is obviously a lot more dangerous to people’s social life then any danger Anime might pose over live soap operas.

        Znail
        Reply

    5. @Divine

      Well, the stuff about him needing to find more friends for one. Though now you pointed out your semi-sarcasm about that, which I didn’t get at first, making it one less thing we disagree on. :p

      “As for Ayase, she’s probably a prime example of what happens when someone gets too absorbed into everything the mass media feeds them and allows it to dictate her lifestyle more than she realizes. It’s kind of ironic how she was scrutinizing Kirino’s games as the cause of a lot of heinous crimes, when she looked pretty psychotic herself based on what she heard on the news about them being a bad influence.”
      She just saw her friend drop a dozen fan-made manga whose contents are basically explicit scenes of perverted cartoon character sex/rape, all wrapped up in a cute looking setting which makes it seem even more twisted. For a healthy adolescent teenage girl who hasn’t even heard of the term “doujinshi” before, that sort of reaction was the least you could expect. Nothing wrong with it either IMHO.

      dietwarrior
      Reply

  38. wow nice episode, and yeah I’ve been watching this since the first episode wor…

    kinda bad when another song I like is gonna be named “Orange”, and next episode would be good. since normal to abnormal would be interesting…

    I wonder if the manga author himself (cant be herself, I know) did think about the… emotional arguments or not. I just feel it’s a bit too… straightforward…

    kaineng
    Reply

  41. the last mail on the phone when she said “to the lying onii-san” i wonder if she actually found out that it was all a lie…

    also, aren’t you all glad that we get to hear her sing last episode (ENDING THEME), while she’s not yet a YANDERE…

    also i LOL-ed at his dad pulling the “tsundere” line

    “dont get me wrong… It’s not like I’m doing it for you” LOLOLOLOL

    h3dvix
    Reply

  42. Ayase, I am disappoint.

    Seriously, I thought she was going to be a likeable character, and then we find out that she’s a bitch biased by the media. And I despise people who condemn a whole group because of simple bias…

    HenDarou
    Reply

  43. well… why do many cute girls in this series have problems? we know Kirino is terrible from last episode… and now we have a non-understanding Ayase as well?!
    Kyousuke, your only way out is with your so normal childhood friend or hook up with Saori…

    jrj
    Reply

  47. just re-watched – why do I haave a Higurashi-like vibes with:
    a) “uso!uso!”
    b) the ominous cicada cries in the sound background
    c) the telephone conversation between Kyosuke and Ayase is like those long calls between Higurashi characters…

    ewok40k
    Reply

  48. LOL at poor Kyousuke, just how much more crap does he have to take just to protect his ingrateful sister’s reputation amongst her family and friends?

    Kyousuke should now be a certified masochist to go through all that. I know I wouldn’t go that far as to destroy my own reputation just to save my siblings.

    BTW, yandere Ayase can sure be scary. Kudos to Hayami Saori for the performance.

    Ayase’s prejudice towards otakudom is just a reflection of Japanese society’s own media-influenced prejudice. Especially when one or two otakus end up committing crimes, the media happily laps it up as evidence that otakus are nothing but dangerous deviants. Most recent was the case of the psychotic killer in Akihabara a few years back, the media had a field day with him and his anime interests.

    PS Besides having different character intros, the OP also ends up showing a different desktop on Kirino’s PC screen as well. AIC sure is holding no bars with this adaptation.

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

  49. Divine, in case you’ve completely forgotten, Kyousuke DOES have friends – in the sweet but very “ordinary-looking” Manami. Even the next episode title refers to her – “My Childhood Friend Can’t Be This Cute!”

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

    1. I’m curious how long he’ll be able to hold on to Manami at this rate. He’s pretty much throwing himself under every bus that looks at Kirino funny; I would think Manami would start questioning his motives and the extent he’s going to for Little Sis about now.

      Kobukson
      Reply

  50. The more I watch this the more I fall in love with Saori. Love her :3 face.

    I’m wondering if she’s using those swirly glasses as part of a disguise… or I could just be over thinking it.

    Azuma
    Reply

    1. Looks like it, in the last chapter they purposely avoided her face when she was talking to kyousuke on the phone and was prob not using her glasses.
      She is most likely an older kirino.

      babawaba
      Reply

  53. Having a younger sister I can’t believe that any older brother would go through this much. Covering for the 18+ game was pretty ridiculous in the first place. Is he implying that he loves his sister in a familial sort of way, the way in which you love your family solely because they’re blood related because that’s just the way it should be, or is he implying that he wants to imitate the game? Holding the book I took it as the latter.
    I really, really don’t want it to end with a siscon finisher. I’ll drop it right now if it does.

    stefkov
    Reply

    1. I originally took it in the family/sibling way, but realized it was set up in a way for a huge misunderstanding of the incestuous kind given how Kyousuke proclaimed it.

      He started off explaining that doujinshi and eroge are similar interests he has with Kirino, and are what improved their relationship, before it quickly became a confession that he loves his sister. From the sound of that, it was hard to interpret it as anything but the siscon context.

      Divine
      Reply

      1. So he’s taking a massive blow to his image making it seem like he loves his sister in an incestuous way just to help mend Kirino’s relationship with her best friend…
        What a load of crap. Only in fictitious worlds…

        The message from Ayase at the end is confusing me though. The way I saw it was that Ayase knew it was all a lie and jokingly said that she’ll beat Kyousuke if he does anything indecent. On the phone to Kirino, judging by Kirino’s reply, Ayase is carrying on the lie just so she can carry on chatting to her like they normally do. From a previous episode she seemed like a smart girl not jumping to conclusions when that ridiculous incident happened because of the doujinshi.
        The craziness that popped up when they were outside Comiket and in the park is making me think whether this is actually the case. She seemed waay too worked up for a 14 year old, there has to be some reason as to why. I don’t believe that it’s solely the media that’s got her into that mindset, but she did seem to calm down a little after reading Kyousuke’s findings.
        I’m now reading the light novel to make more sense of it all…
        In the end I just hope Kyousuke forgets all this crap and gets together with that plain girl. <3 Manami. I wish she had more screen time.

        stefkov
        Reply

    2. Trust me, I’m pretty sure this will not end up as a siscon ending unless they end up being step siblings (They don’t actually look alike actually). However, a general theme of this show has been about the struggle between otaku fans and the way society views them. Could they continue to ride that bus until they reach the struggle between siscons and the way society views them? Perhaps, but I’m almost 80% sure that all of this build up is to restore the relationship between them as siblings and all the romantic stuff is for laughs, awkwardness, and fun.

      Odarius
      Reply

  54. Man, they cut out the original ending of the 2nd light novel and replaced it. If the rest of the anime follows the LN, the show should start switching at this point onwards from focussing on closet-otaku to dealing more with the sibling relationship between the two. Kuroneko has a large part to play too.

    Science
    Reply

  56. Ouch, Kousuke just dug himself an even bigger hole with his 2nd confession. I kinda wish they didn’t skip the 2nd light novel ending though. Tsundere dad was hilarious though.

    fall3nbs
    Reply

  57. I like how this ep shows that being an otaku is not really bad enough to go crazy or aply it to the real world

    and I now prefer a ayaseXkirino for a yandereXtsundere couple(too bad it probably wont happen)

    amado
    Reply

  59. People really need to stop saying real world this, my family that stuff here.
    Sure this anime/novel has some kind of realistic feel in it but it’s only a flavor. After all this is a comedy and almost every character here is supposed to appear crazy, insane, outrageous and silly.

    U Doh
    Reply

  60. I really, really wonder how this show will go on… Kirino was showing first signs of jealousy towards Kyosuke, declaring Manami was taking him away from her…
    This is show that makes people argue like Kirino with Kuroneko, love or hate it, but you cant just ignore it!

    ewok40k
    Reply

  61. Don’tturnintoincestdon’tturnintoincestdon’tturnintoincestdon’tturnintoincestdon’tturnintoincestdon’tturnintoincest

    Okay, now that’s over with, I continue laughing my ass off at Kyousuke whipping out the porn and declaring that he’s in love with his sister. XDDD

    Kit Kat
    Reply

  69. It’s true that weird crimes are on the rise in Japan, but the US still has a homicide rate more than ten times that of Japan.

    I find your “Japanese Media” comment unconvincing…

    rufe
    Reply

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