For all the denial he has for loving Ayase, these episode titles seem to suggest otherwise.

「マジ天使すぎるあやせたんが一人暮らしの俺んちに降臨するわけがない」
(Maji Tenshisugiru Ayase-tan ga Hitorigurashi no Orenchi ni Kourin Suru Wake ga Nai)
“Total Angel Ayase-tan Can’t Descend On My Place Where I Live Alone”

There’s a time and place for everything, including Ayase’s quite fast- Paced arc. Despite her increased presence in the series for the second season, I can’t help but feel that many cuts were made to her story in such a way that…everything feels rushed, convoluted, and poorly timed about this confession. Don’t get me wrong–I enjoy Ayase very much, but such an episode would’ve been better appreciated earlier in the series, or at least more fleshed out in terms of Ayase’s transition from dangerous yandere to affectionate potential. Before that, let’s address something that was very out of place this episode. Very VERY much so.

 

OP12: 「Reunion」 by ClariS

For all the foreshadowing that played into Kirino and Manami clashing, this wasn’t the climax I was looking for.

What…was up…with that party. Normally, such a harem-esque setting wouldn’t bother me as much, but the sheer fact that it involved major leaps in development that were in no way transitioned into–that was what threw me off-guard. Going into the episode, I was very much expecting Kirino and Manami to duke it out, using the party as a means to finally get some direct, yet meaningful confrontation. It would’ve been a great moment to shed some light on why Kirino has this attitude towards the apparently innocent Manami. However, such ideas are dusted under the table quickly as the two declare a truce for the sake of Kyousuke. A fair and mature decision in reality, but in terms of storytelling, we all knew it was just to make way for what was about to come next.

Fashionable and fairly mature as always…

…until the rich ojou-sama comes in, completely comfortable with her beautiful image!

 

WE MUST FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT TO HELP KYOUSUKE! …what?

Mother of mercy, was this party really necessary for anything? If it was an attempt at humor, I suppose if done properly it could’ve been really funny, but for all the sudden developments it introduced, the humor was lost on me. Take for example the random introduction of Kanako into the fray. There was almost no signal whatsoever of Kanako having any interest in Kyousuke until last episode, and now she’s practically fighting to be with him against every other major girl in the series. There’s a limit to how much you can attend to every character in the series, and crossing that line means transitioning from balanced character development to fan pandering, where the production team tries to fit as many characters in a short timeframe so that they can appease as many fans’ tastes as possible.

No seriously, where did this girl ever become a legitimate competitor? Why does she suddenly have this urge to make lunch for Kyousuke?

The same logic applies to Saori, who apparently is completely comfortable now being her beautiful self, which is alright, though maybe a bit sudden. The real problem here is again, the way that she suddenly seems to fall for Kyousuke, joining the battle against everyone else to be the “one” to take care of him. Is it really that great a reward to have to go to his house every day and babysit him? I mean, I get that it’s different when you take care of someone you truly care about, especially a person that you have feelings for, but such mature reasons are lost in all the arguing and rushed development.

Shots have been fired from Manami! It’s an all-out brawl!

If the production team had gone about this scene much more carefully, it would’ve been able to touch on a point that’s really important for closing the show–expressing the feeling of repaying debts. Kyousuke, despite being the softie that he is, has done much for many of the characters in the series, and indeed when you give it some thought, it does make sense that the characters at this party feel indebted towards him. However, instead of the episode highlighting the amount of support Kyousuke has, it instead degenerates into a battle of jealousy and envy, where each character tries to “win” a match rather than express their gratitude. Though Ayase lightly touches upon the genuine idea towards the end of the episode, such a focus should’ve been apparent not during Ayase’s confession lead-up. A-1 Pictures really messed up the pacing of this episode, where they tried packing the material of two separate episode topics into one. Kyousuke’s party seemed more of a gag than anything significant, and Ayase’s confession felt rushed out the door to make room for the focus of next week’s episode.

 

Wait what!? Why does she suddenly enter the ring? Where were the indicators that she had a thing for Kyousuke!?

All I can think of are two words right now. Flat. Kuma.

In regards to the second half of the episode, it wasn’t so bad if we look at it from an isolated standpoint. All the important points of interest are hit and the general messages of betrayal and inevitable disappointment are expressed. Kyousuke takes responsibility for his careless words with calmness and blunt resignation, which of course doesn’t absolve him of his irresponsibility, but it sure is the best way to go at that point. The humor was more controlled and flowed better, whilst above all else not really breaking any major leaps in development we weren’t expecting before.

Oh no, hair clips! Either Ayase is turning into Kirino, or there’s some inherent symbolism going on around here.

So much for keeping that knife sheathed…

As for the bad…some things just didn’t add up well. The stalker that was portrayed for five seconds in a deep yell of, “Hey! I’m foreshadowing!” was never touched upon again. Readers of the original material are understandably pissed that this important point was brushed over, as it served a better transition for Ayase’s affections than how the picture is currently painted. Again, I love me some Ayase-directed episodes, but the sheer fact that it happened one episode before the TV conclusion bothers me so much. It’s like the show is trying to cut out anything not critical in order to fit all these plots into the episode, rather than maintaining consistency by well…cutting out parts altogether. Though it’d be a shame, it probably would’ve been a better path to develop than the quick-and-dirty resolutions we have now.

Once she donned that cute apron, it was obvious where things were going.

…because we need to send an elementary school ambassador to check up on whether a high schooler is fooling around with a middle schooler.

 

Considering how they’ve been living together for a month, they’re practically a couple already.

Stalker appears! Stalker disappears, never to be heard from in the episode again! VN readers are being trolled right now!

Kirino is pensive as always, but Ayase seems to have contracted it from Kirino!

 

Confession montage go~

 

When she said, “Let’s part like we always do,” it was kind of obvious that this was going to follow.

All the feels man, she’s holding them back!

So…where does this leave us? Given that the preview was voiced by Kirino and the title is highly revealing, it looks like we’re finally going to get the last information on Kirino’s connection with her brother, or at least the TV end of it all. Despite all the ruckus this episode created, it did make way for a clean entrance for Kirino’s resolution, which hopefully will make up for the sacrifices all the other characters had to go through development-wise.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to cover the TV finale of Oreimo, due to an important family matter I have to attend to. Therefore, the finale will be covered by Stilts (thanks in advance buddy ^^), though I will be supplying my final impressions of the show to him.

Therefore, in advance, I’d like to thank you, dear reader, for following the journey of Oreimo with me thus far, and thank you those of you who go the extra mile to comment and give witty/thoughtful commentary! Despite its highs and lows, it’s been a pleasure blogging this show, and I hope you guys enjoyed following along as much as I have writing!

ED11: 「思うコト」 (Omou Koto) by 早見 沙織 (Hayami Saori)

Preview

Welp. It’s coming.

82 Comments

    1. Absolutely glorious. I always love these MADs with character quotes strewn togther over zany music. I found one from when OreShura was airing with Ai and it was friggin glorious.

      I especially liked the yandere part of the Nyaruko-san parody. As for the second one, loops make everything better.

      Kuntzy
      1. Ah, and before I forget. Thanks for in advance for taking the time to give us your final impressions for next week. It just wouldn’t feel the same without you *sniff*.

        Kuntzy
    2. My heart is still torn from this ep. I don’t think I can go on…*dies*

      Didn’t Kyosuke say he wasn’t dating anybody for now? Why let the girl go on a confession, deny her and then not clear up the confusion!?!?

      ctscloud
    3. About the lack of development for the girls, I think it is ment to imply when he meets the diffrent girls that it happens more then the one time we are shown. For instance, for every time we see him talk to Ayase about Kirino, so are there several more times they meet and do the same. So he have spent more times with all the girls then what may be obvious.

      znail
      1. Although that may be true, meaningful development doesn’t happen unless those encounters are referenced in some way. A character can know another character for several years, but without some sort of way to reveal what happened in those years, it doesn’t help when we say, “these characters have been meeting each other daily for years.”

        Zanibas
      1. THIS IS GOOD?????!!!!!!! Well it did had some romantic taste into it, if you love tragic drama.
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKsJunlsgFk

        BUT THIS CAN’T BE GOOD. THESE ARE THE WORST POSSIBLE ENDINGS THAT CAN END IN ANY ROMANCE STORY.
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci3NHgjBz2M
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-OhC2YiUjo
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4dy0S6xYZ8
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwGOCWzN_3g personally I find this last one to be the worst, due to how it seemed VERY tasteless and undramatic to the point where I so wished it had a harem ending instead of that.

        L002
  1. Well, cutting off the stalker story drops MUCH development for Ayase. Worst thing of the episode, maybe the arc should be given 2 episodes?
    Hinata is picking up Chu2byou language form Kuroneko! “I am a familiar…” I almost fell of the chair hearing that. And Kyosuke has easily translated Kuronek-ish into “I was sent by Kuroneko and Manami to check on you…” BTW the series need extra episode on Kirino visiting Kuroneko asnd interacting with her imoutos…
    You want to hear funny story from my RL? When I went to live alone first time, a girl ended up renting a room in my 2-room flat. My father , who had keys to it, ended up visiting one day and she greeted him fresh from a shower… Before I managed to clear up the misunderstanding , for a short time father was in almost celebratory mood…

    ewok40k
  2. You know, despite this episode being super fast paced and having a lot of out of the blue moments, this episode really made me like Ayase. Before she was just entertaining to have around, but now I really like her.
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Glacialis
  3. It seems like Oreimo started from the unique “Brother rekindles estranged relationship with sister through otaku culture” concept to the “Every generic harem show ever” concept. While the show is still enjoyable, recent developments have been disappointing. But as long as there isn’t a Kirino end, Oreimo can still end strongly for me.

    livevoid
  4. Ayase! T_T

    Even though I knew it was coming (well not really, at least not so soon) it still stabbed me right in the heart like a knife. At least Hayami Saori’s voice, that puts even the sirens to shame was able to soothe my misery.

    *Ahem*

    Now onto the episode.

    Alright A-1, my interest is piqued. The rejection was a vol. 12 event so does that mean you’re going to remove an entire character from the next episode since Ayase effectively stole her role in this episode?

    And Kirino’s bro-con is at an all time high. She’s all depressed at home and she goes off on all the girls when they start fighting over who’s going to take care of Kyousuke because if they distract him and he fails, he won’t be able to come home any more (apparently). Not to mention waiting for him after his exams are done.

    Hnnngh, what a delicious tsundere-filled episode this was.

    Kuntzy
    1. I’ve been wondering though..did the BD versions of Season 1 have a lot of differences with the TV original? Because I noticed the extended average time (about 28 minutes) was more than the usual TV average 23-24 minutes, & I never saw the TV original.

      Maybe the BD versions of Season 2 would put in all the parts that were left out, & make Ayase’s arc feel complete, amongst other characters.

      Techim
      1. Hmmm… I re-watched the series on Blu-ray back in March and I can honestly say I didn’t really notice any differences. Of course that was the first time I’d watched the series since 2011 so I could be mistaken.

        Kuntzy
  5. Being dumped by a girl can be a sad thing,
    but rejecting a girl is just really painful to watch. =/

    The ED sequence was one of the best though, I think. The montage of their past together with the jigsaw sequence was mesmerizing, & Ayase’s voice actress singing made it all the better, making me jump from the KyousukexRuri to KyousukexAyase ship…
    The subbed version makes it sad too, though I’m not too sure how accurate it is.

    ~ED song sequence (Commie sub)~
    I lightly put my hand on my chest & retrace the time,
    The month I spent with you
    The overstretched rabbit-ear iris,
    And the pink hairpins
    You don’t have to tell me your answer
    I already know that it wouldn’t work out
    The lie you crafted was beautiful,
    And I let myself get lost in it
    The feeling I can’t conceal turns to tears
    The lie I told was unfair
    I must’ve hurt you
    Even so, why do you, with a gentle smile,
    still embrace me?
    I wipe away me tears and tell you.
    ~

    Anyway on the technical point of story progression,..if viewed from the perspective of anime only, some parts of this episode is as rushed as you say. I feel like the episode is meant to cater more to the fans of the original Light Novels instead of anime only fans, especially when it comes to the implied scenes like Ayase’s stalker & the figurine cabinet from Mikagami.

    In other words, having read the translated LNs through Baka-Tsuki, I think the word-to-anime transition was quite well done, especially the humorous parts (especially Ayase’s confession & Kyousuke’s reaction part). The only thing that made the episode feel wrong in some parts was what they didn’t animate from the LNs especially the stalker part, hence giving a different impression of Ayase’s confession for the viewer..

    Its a pity A1 pictures left out lots of material in adapting Ayase’s story..
    I wanted to see the anime version of this scene. =)
    (warning: a would-have-been-spoiler for Ayase from the last LN)
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Anyway, hope you don’t mind, Zanibas, lemme post a spoiler link for the happier Oreimo PSP Ayase route for the Ayase fans to kick away their sadness from this episode’s end.
    Oreimo1= http://www.figure.fm/en/post/23505/OreImo+Portable+Ayase+Route+Story+Digest.html
    2nd = http://www.figure.fm/en/post/39648/Ayase+Aragaki+Route+Summary+OreImo+Portable+2.html
    The grammar there isn’t perfect, but at least its understandable & not as bad as reviews by b.i.t.w
    I hear a third Oreimo game titled Happy End is coming this September..

    Techim
    1. You jumped on the ship on the episode she got rejected? I can only see sadness in your future good sir. 😛

      I don’t blame you though, Hayami Saori sings like an angel. If God was female and had a voice, it would be Hayami Saori’s. She’s even capable of making Chuck Norr-

      K, I’ll stop.

      And that third OreImo game seems like it’s akin the Idolm@ster games. (I wonder if Ohtomo Takuji’s Oreimo M@ster doujin had something to do with this?)

      Kuntzy
  6. OOOOOOOH! AND SHE MADE THE GOAL! Let’s see that again *rewind* NICE REFLEXES, JOHN. SHE SAW AN OPENING, WENT FOR IT, AND PUT THAT SMACKER ON HIS LIPS! THAT’S WHAT I CALL DEVOTION, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!

    starss
  7. …because we need to send an elementary school ambassador to check up on whether a high schooler is fooling around with a middle schooler.

    omg Zani, I lol’ed. This pretty much made my day \(^_^)/

    calytrix
  8. I was going to say a lot, but I can pretty much sum it up with;

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Harpy12
      1. Fun fact: Usotsuki is a title of one of the ED songs of the anime School Days. Seeing someone roleplaying as Ayase, who is a definite yandere, gives of tons of feels.

        Oh god! It’s started playing in my head!

        TheMoondoggie
  9. The sad part about this episode is that they tried to cram all of volume 10 into 1 episode and ended up omitting the two most important parts of the volume.

    1) The throw back to the earlier volume during the time Kyosuke took the fall for Kirino (Text Message)
    2) Stalker incident

    The stalker incident tied together the entire story of Ayase and really gave context to her confession at the end… It’s really a shame that it wasn’t animated properly.

    As to the rest of the episode it was ok… I’m sad because it was my favorite volume of the light novel but I will give props to the production team that they came out with a decent episode despite the fact that it felt too rushed and left out the most vital parts.

    Juan
  10. Good episode, even though I felt every girl except, Kirino and Ayase, was straight trollen.

    It was already wtf with Kanako all of a sudden wanting some of Kyousuke, but Saori too? Reaaaaally?

    I call bullshit on that. I think this whole episode apart from Ayase’s confession was anime original.

    Also, if I had to guess for why Kirino hates Minami, it most likely had something to do with Kyousuke and Kirino’s relationship getting shattered.

    Magoiichi
  11. This EP cut out a lot of development for Kanako and especially Ayase from the light novels. The entire stalker plot was completely ignored, and contained one of the best/smoothest lines Kyousuke said to Ayase. So sad it was cut out. As others have mentioned, the omission of the stalker incident just makes Ayase’s confession really really weird and unexpected.

    I’m not too sure about Kanako wanting to help Kyousuke, but she does consider him her first fan. I guess that was special to her.

    I doubt Saori actually had any actual feelings for Kyousuke. I read it as her going with the flow and for some minor comedy (using the Power of Money!) to help Kyousuke.

    nagi
  12. AFA Saori goes, she’s been the least utilized of what I had considered the main cast. It was pointed out, however, that she and Kyousuke conversed quite often on the internet and phone. She’s also made some suggestive comments and moves on him (in her otaku persona). It appeared to be teasing, but might not have been (remember the maid party).

    Bear
  13. Truth be told, I’ve never liked Kirino from the first season.

    She’s like a total Show Spoiler ▼

    I pretty much can’t be bothered with the show though the irony is that week after week, I continue to watch this.

    Maybe because Kuroneko, her 2nd sister and Ayase are the redeeming factors for me.

    I got no qualms on hating Kirino though

    c2710
    1. I didn’t like S1 Kirino either but and not for a while in S2 as well but I kind of jumped on her ship since a few eps ago.It wasn’t really a bad thing if you ask me though as OreImo needed it’s bitchy little sister for part of it’s entertainment and her recent developments didn’t feel out of place to me or anything.However at the same time,they really BUTCHERED Kuroneko’s character and it felt VERY forced.Also,as this episode showed,she’s not the only one suffering from that.At this point Kirino actually seem’s to be the most level-headed girl of OreImo and while her own development was pretty good,I can’t help but think that all the other girls have taken a step back to make way for her to shine as the all-mighty best girl of the show.

      MgMaster
      1. I’ll acknowledge your views and I truly respect them.

        But among all of the bitchy imoutos I’ve seen thus far (I think), Kirino ranks the top and being in that spot ain’t boding well for her IMO.

        Well, this’s just my opinion =)

        Again if this get’s a third season, I’m watching it for the other girls. Plus Imouto-neko’s so cute and lovely XD

        cruiser2710
  14. I felt that this season in particular has been completely rushed. This first season contained the first 4 light novels, the OVA contained the 5th, and this season is trying to finish off the other 7 novels.

    Going by this, this season should have been a 2-cour. I know that we still have another 3 episodes in an OVA form, but 15-16 episodes to fit in 7 volumes worth of light novels is just crazy. I felt that majority of the episodes felt very choppy and fast paced.

    I know that they probably won’t do this, but how awesome would it be if the final episode was left open in a way that Kyousuke could end up with any of the girls, and the three extra episodes shows him hooking up with a different girl each? It will be like Yosuga Sora or Hani Hani.

    taiakun
  15. I never really liked Ayase to be honest but seeing her get shot down like an old Zeppelin (burned and deflated) I felt bad for her, but at the same time I was proud of Kyousuke for rejecting her right then and there instead of letting it draw out. Especially considering how spineless he was for most of the past 2 episodes.

    Roguespirit
  16. Ah man, I know Ayase can be bitchy sometimes, but I didnt really want her to get such a cruel and frank rejection. I wanted more hijinks with her and Kuroneko/Kanako/Saori for fighting over Kyousuke, but now that she’s been rejected, I guess she will only stay as a supporting character and no longer possible heroine. I always wanted a harem end, but I guess for this series it’s a definite ending with one girl, which I also dont mind, but now question comes to pass if whether or not it goes towards an incest route or a normal route towards the other girls. Really who does Kyousuke love? Now that he even rejected Ayase, the only possible girls are: Kirino, Kuroneko and Manami (kinda hard to imagine seeing as Kyou always insisted that she is just his childhood friend) so I guess it all comes down to Kirino or Kuroneko (which I suppose can also mean a threeway end.) It cant be Kanako or Saori end.

    I agree with everyone here that the confession/rejection was just waaayyy tooooooo rushed! I mean it was unexpected for me, as I didnt read the LN at all, and I was thinking that Ayase would become a good rival for Kuroneko seeing as Manami really just plays a supporting role all throughout the series.

    Ryner
    1. What Kratos said.

      I’m a bit skeptical that they planned to actually cut it though. See that bit in the episode where they presented the stalker? Its weird that they never went through with it but they made that scene.

      Some guessed that they forgot to cut that scene, or they were forced to remove the scene but they’re already lacking time and just left it there, planning to put the rest in the BD releases.

      TheMoondoggie
  17. For the people out there like me that would have preferred different endings there is always the PSP Oreimo game. It has a pretty fantastic Ayase arc and a bunch of other pretty decent ones too.

    It’s not region locked. Knowing some Japanese will help lots. Or you can follow the Youtube walkthroughs.

    Here is a link to the first ep of the 34 part Ayase route on Youtube. It’s how I’m dealing with the trauma. Seriously.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py__xkIP5D8&list=PL9974A5FF646B877E

    Samurai Pumpkin
  18. For those of you looking for the argument between Doggie and Anon, the entire comment thread had to be deleted (this placeholder used to be where Doggie’s original post is, hence the -5 votes to start). Whatever had to be redacted made the rest of the thread nonsensical. Sorry for those of you who wanted to make valid points. Continue it on another thread, without spoilers.

    I’m not kidding when I said no LN spoilers. Man am I pissed. Doggie, you should know better than to let your fanboy spirit ruin it for people.

    -Zan

    Zanibas
    1. You don’t mind if I post this in bold letters do you?

      So yeah, I admit I went overboard there. I was also rude to Kinny and for that and the spoilers, please accept my apologies. There ARE ways to DO THE THINGS THAT I WANT TO DO WITHOUT BEING SO RUDE.

      But I’ll probably go all out, guns blazing, with a smile on my damn face at the finale, while Pot Pourri D’Marmalade playing at the back of my mind. Just saying.

      TheMoondoggie
  19. Poor Ayase, her ship was like the Titanic, sailing off swiftly and majestically, only to be brutally sunk just as swiftly by the iceberg provided by none other than Kyousuke himself.

    I wouldn’t mind the harem-like scene, as that was taken straight from the novels, so blame it on author Fushimi Tsukasa for that arrangement, what I do find very annoying is the entire omission of Ayase’s stalker sub-arc, even though there were all those foreshadowing.

    I was already quite peeved with them leaving out quite a lot of scenes this season, most notably ClariS’s cameo, but those I can take as there weren’t much foreshadowing noticeable to the non-anime viewer, and some of the omitted side-chapters have found their way in the BD/DVD bonuses, as seen in volume 1 released recently.

    Anonymous
  20. Zani I kinda disagree/agree with you on the party thing. Yeah it was jumping developments but that only seemed because this anime had butchered the LN so much that many things were left out. Most of which were the slow development between each girl and Kyosuke. Kanako’s case can be argued but having a sudden crush on an older guy/girl isn’t really that strange for kids.

    Also:
    “VN readers are being trolled right now!”

    Don’t you mean “LN?” And yes: no stalker-chan = we mad. >:D

    TheMoondoggie
  21. This is probably my favourite episode of the season, in no small part due to Ayase’s “DARE DA OMAE?” moment when Saori walked in. I thought the party was all about putting pressure on Ayase, as the frequent shots of her failing composure showed. It was originally a party with Manami and Kirino, but ended up including all these people affectionate for Kyousuke.

    About Kirino and Manami, I thought Kirino’s acted properly. This whole season has been about her maturing out of her bratty, selfish… self. The only reason I thought she hated Manami was because she was afraid of losing Kyousuke. She doesn’t have to be afraid of that now, and she doesn’t really have a reason to be angry at Manami. So again, she’s showing maturity.

    I really liked Ayase’s decision to kiss Kyousuke’s cheek, and how it was presented. Except for the second time when I watched the episode, when I’d rather Kyousuke get pummelled (lucky bastard).

    flap
  22. Can’t like much of these characters. Kirino is bratty, we all know that, but I (along with many) don’t find it cute. Anime doesn’t need to be realistic to a T, but I wish the character interactions were believable. At least Ayase’s confusing ass got rejected. I can’t imagine any sane man going out with a girl like that. She needs counseling on the real.

  23. I would have went with Ayase. Much as I like Kuroneko, I did not like the toying with his emotions that went on before. After all, she proved her devotion taking care of him for a month!

    Michael
  24. My interest in this series practically disappeared after watching this episode (Ayase was probably my favorite before Kuroneko). Even more so after stumbling on spoilers how it will end.

    Greg

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