「橘美也編 イモウト」 (Tachibana Miya-hen – Imouto)
“Tachibana Miya Chapter – Younger Sister”

The eagerly anticipated extra chapter centered around Junichi’s little sister is finally here, and it starts off strangely similar to Risa’s one that came before. The key difference is that when the progression verged on some dangerous incestuous territory, it held back just enough to remain innocently sweet. It was surprising to say the least, simply because I anticipated this BD/DVD-only episode to tease us with the idea that Miya would start seeing her seemingly hopeless brother as something more. I just can’t help but associate bonus episodes with some element of fan-service these days, so kudos to Amagami for going against that trend and ending on a lighthearted note about what its title means instead (i.e. play-biting).

Most of my amusement came from Risa’s involvement, as she tried to get Miya to get see her as her future sister to no avail. There was something really cute about how disappointed she was when Miya didn’t call her “Nee-ne”, which quickly reminded me of the very sweet moments at the end of her chapter. During the middle portion of the episode, I was probably watching more for Risa than Miya, though the latter did have the funniest moment when she thought that Junichi is gay. A part of me figured Risa would speak up about how she hasn’t really made it easy for Junichi to hook up with any of the girls, but I did like the way Miya learned firsthand that it’s not easy for everyone to just jump into a relationship. I wouldn’t say it was an overly profound discovery on Miya’s part, but it did change my perspective of this brother-sister bonus episode from that moment on.

In comparison to Risa’s single-episode chapter, Miya’s did come off relatively more aimless. The whole stray cat bit at the end was undoubtedly a setup for the eventual play-biting, plus a means to improve Miya’s image of Junichi as a dependable brother. As such, it felt a bit tacked on and segregated from everything else that happened, despite the inclusion of Miya’s teary-eyed look that we got to see for the very first time. Of all the scenes, the one where Junichi patted Miya on the head to console her was my favorite, as it marked the start of Miya seeing Junichi in a better light. Naturally, they had to go back to some awkward bathroom scene to annul most of it, but I’ll wager that Junichi still moved up in her books.

Overall, this episode didn’t quite have the same conclusive impact as Risa’s chapter, but is commendable for not indulging in brotherly complex ideas for the sake of fan-service. What’s more, it is the same ending from the Amagami game. Animation-wise, I did have some minor qualms with the shoddy faces on distant shots in an otherwise good-looking production though. As for Miya’s ending theme, I had listened to the single for a while now so the real treat was how cute it is with the sequence.

 

ED8 Sequence

ED8: 「素敵なある日」 (Suteki na Aru Hi) by 阿澄佳奈 (Asumi Kana)
Watch the 8th ED!: Download, Streaming ▼

Episode 01 Preview

61 Comments

    1. the preview caught me off-guard at first, I thought there would be a 2nd season XD but instead of being disappointed, I actually felt quite impressed at how it seemed cyclic^^ I had a big grin on my face when I thought that if this actually precedes ep1, Miya’s hostilities at her Nii-nii’s relationship progress would make some more sense since I don’t remember her being that angry at any of the other heroines(´・ω・`)

      The17thNoah
  1. I was looking forward to this “bonus” episode for a while now. If not only counting harem members, the Miya is one of my favourite characters. The preview for episode 01 at the end was a nice touch.

    Overall great episode. I totally agree with you the fact that forgoing the fanservice in an extra episode like this is a lot better. I would imagine that a brother-complex fanservice episode would not be very well received among fans.

  2. Love Risa, didn’t know she was a childhood friend of Miya. I guess that’s how she keeps tabs on things about him when she isn’t watching him all day. If Junichi was to date her I can see her face lighting up on the idea of been called Nee-Nee by Miya.

    Silentcid
    1. Divine has blogged a couple other OVA’s during his break aswell.

      Why would he even want to ditch blogging? I mean the invincible Divine would NEVER feel like his hard work is taken for granted by readers who pressure him to perform this obligatory duty. /sarcasm

      tl;dr – Taking a break just means that he reduced his workload to recuperate …I assume

      Hrmmm
    2. The other writers are already taking on more shows than they typically do (with the exception of Takaii), so I figured I could help with the odd OVA that comes along. I really liked Amagami too, so I wanted to say a few words about it again.

      Also, I thought some readers might miss my input… maybe…

      1. You know what? I hoped for that but keep quiet about it.

        Amagami is eternal! it will live somewhere in my memory! *snif*

        Ah yes! there are some additional endings for each arc in the DVD/Blu Ray, right?

        Lectro Volpi
      2. I was hoping you’d do the commentary for this, Divine. Thankfully, this arc didn’t go the Yosuga no Sora route. I know there’s a lot of disappointed Miya fanboys, but it’s better this way. It’s been said time and time again that the main people who fantasize about wincest are those who have no siblings.

        Anyway, great episode and hopefully the Drama CD’s will all get translated soon.

    1. I didn’t really think so, since “chapter” is the only noun that could be the subject in the sentence. If you want to dumb it down without the adjectives, it reads as “The extra chapter centered around Junichi’s little sister is finally here.”

      I can take out an adjective to make it easier to read.

      1. I doubt anyone else but me cares. But anyway, you didnt just take out the adjective, you changed the meaning of the sentence. Originally the construct was such, that it led the reader to believe there was a Miya-centric chapter already, when it is not so. Now it reads fine.

        karry
      2. @Karry, not true. It works both ways but does imply that this is the 2nd Miya Chapter. Its just whether or not you having been following Amagami would you know the real meaning. English is not a perfect language and if there are words with duo meaning there sure as hell are sentences with more than one intepretation

        deafvader
  3. Hehe, this special OVA was really cute. A lighthearted way to send off the series.

    The only thing that disappointed me was the lack of her signature “Nishishi~” laugh. XD

    Kanade
  4. This is alot better than the Risa extra chapter. That one felt like a goofy omake chapter with a rushed development. This felt like watching an episode of Amagami with all the awkwardness that main character has albeit without the romantic tones..

    fragb85
  5. I have to say i didn’t think i would enjoy this episode as much seeing that miya was usually in the background while junichi was doing his thing, but this episode really made me like her a lot more. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that i want junichi to have some incestuous relations with her, but i thought the bonding was cute. Overall i enjoyed amagami so much, Funny thing my favorite characters were all in the same little friendly group: Sae, Ai, and Miya lol. I’m also wondering if anyone else though that Rihoko’s ending could have been better? It was probably my least favorite ending because she didn’t get to express her feeling like everyone else..bah thats not fair.

    InvisibleZombie
  6. I am touched to see Amagami again. Yeah I noticed the sidebars too!

    If I have time I’ll watch the entire thing again. Right now it is my best choice of school romance, I tend to recommend it if the chance arises.

    Lectro Volpi
  7. Ah, how I missed waiting every week to watch each episode of this series and feel all WAFF-y inside… So imagine how happy I was upon hearing that this bonus episode was out. And look, Amagami sidebars! How nostalgic… (Not that I hate the Infinite Stratos sidebars or anything…)

    Anyway, I’m just glad that they didn’t insert any incestuous undertones to this episode, as well as the fact that it seems faithful to the original “route” of the game, especially with this scene.

    And the funny thing is, these two (Maya-sensei and Hibiki-sempai) finally get their own routes in the updated rerelease of the game. (Or so I read.) Major laughs as well for Risa and Miya’s “dual stalking,” not to mention Miya thinking Junichi was gay. XD

    Incognito
  8. Awww. Divine didn’t put up the OP version with Miya on it. I missed Amagami Ss and made me want to rewatch it again.

    Miya’s ED reminds me so much of Rihoko’s one. Love the preview. XD

    underMebius
    1. “It was also kind of this episode to explain what amagami is :>.”

      Yea, finally I know what is “Amagami”.
      Still, the overall series doesn’t feels like “amagami” at all, some are “serious”.

      FlamingYu
  9. i hate this episode >:{

    at first i didn’t want to watch this because i kept thinking ‘wincest again? :/’
    then decided to watch because hey, it’s miya! then they started developing her more and came the big disappointment in the end: no wincest?! whhhyyyyyyyyyy?! </3

    still, i love the lighthearted end ^__^ among all the girls, i feel the title 'amagami' refers to miya the most; possibly because she's the most 'catty' person, i guess? still, i wish there'd be a hibiki route, too

    Dalman
  10. NO WINCEST!!!! YIPEEEEE!!!

    as much as i love miya’s character, i don’t want her to share something like ‘that’ with her brother. =DDD sibling love is nicer. XD

    and WOOT!! for the Haruka Arc preview!! XDD damn, i miss mah haruka and her yuri tendencies. XDD

    hOmeRunDaisuki
    1. I completely feel you. I was just sitting there after the episode stunned and had to go back and check if she really only gave us one ‘nishishi’. The meat buns were also sorely missed. Overall I’d say it was a ok episode.

      Chisel
  11. Junichi is definitely plotting a harem when you consider how “friendly” he is with even all the other girls related to the main girls in the series and even his sensei, lol. (No cap showing him chatting it up with Ruriko and Manaka though.)

    HalfDemonInuyasha

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