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

No matter what side you’re on, you can’t deny how cute this face is.

「俺が後輩と恋人同士になるわけがない」 (Ore ga Kouhai to Koibito Doushi ni Naru Wake ga Nai)
“I Can’t Become A Couple With My Underclassman”

Alright, so there was another reason why I didn’t want to write things down right away. I had to cool down from all the awesome this episode. Apart from the interesting things we’ll examine in this post, there was also the pure enjoyment factor of seeing everyone over-analyze the situation and overreact. Would you like some Ruri squeezing and squealing, or perhaps a nice dish of Kyousuke spouting out his carnal desires? Maybe some Sena BL fantasizing or Kouki indirect-trolling would would work as well? As for me, every scene caused me to laugh more consistently than any other episode this season, so I apologize that I needed a cooldown period. Well then, let’s begin, shall we?

 

OP7: 「Reunion」 by ClariS

At least they’re on the same level during this moment. Ruri can try to hide it, but what use is dignity in situations like this?

It’s nice to see Kyousuke acting realistically in a situation like this, while still keeping his signature humility.

Two full lengths because of obligations!

Oh, sweet sweet young love. I can’t help but feel happy for those two, to get invested in their characters and root for them to be happy together. While I’ve always been a Kirino fan, I’ve also grown to become fond of Kuroneko, and by extension Kyousuke’s interactions with her. She’s shown some of the cutest developments of the entire show, expanding from her initial bluntness and intellectual vigor into more compassionate territory that makes her seem more human and relatable. She never really let go of her original personality, but instead enhanced that personality by increasing her facets, rather than replacing them. She is a mature person, but that doesn’t mean she can’t fangirl or fantasize like the rest of us. That notebook…one of the most adorable things I’ve seen in awhile.

 

Even Kirino’s switch-over to the tsun was much gentler this episode. I hope this is a permanent development in her character.

Oh dear, that foreshadowing. Even in the face of happiness, we know drama lurks around the corner.

But even as many people bask in happiness from the current situation, it’s not going to be an easy road for them for long. While I’m crossing my fingers and toes that they don’t jump into the drama next episode and give these two a break, a blogger has to prepare for the worst.

The number one culprit of uncomfortable emotions of course has to be Kirino. Kirino and Kyousuke seem to have made up and bicker without all the spite, yet the few words Kirino dropped this episode hint at troubles to come. Last episode, we saw Kyousuke dropping the sis-con bomb, speaking his true feelings and making a huge deal of the situation. This episode wrapped up feelings on his end (after all, protective older brothers are not uncommon in reality), leaving us to instead wonder about Kirino’s feelings. If I had to hanker a guess, the tables have turned on Kirino without her knowledge, though she herself probably suspects at what could be going on between Ruri and Kyousuke. Kirino definitely wants Kyousuke to care about the big choices she makes in life, especially with guys, but I suspect it’s the other way around as well. For the longest time, Kyousuke belonged only to “plain girl”, where he was safe from wandering too far away. With the introduction of Kuroneko though, Kyousuke will inadvertently put a wall between himself and Kirino, whether he likes it or not. Though he publicly plays around with Kirino even with Kuroneko’s confession in his head, Kirino will most likely perceive this as distance, where she is no longer the “one” Kyousuke helps out.

 

I have to applaude Manami here for being so mature about the situation. One could perceive it as bottling up emotions, but I see it as a sign of maturity. She is an adorable grannie in a young body!

 

Even in her humble attire, she still gets the respect every kind and levelheaded ojou-sama deserves!

Embarrassed Kirino is the best Kirino.

Like Kuroneko pointed out–sometimes figuring out what’s going on in Kyousuke’s head is a challenge. It’d be too easy to place the reasoning all on a siscon mentality.

The sentiment is real, and I definitely feel it myself. After all Kyousuke has said and done to dedicate himself to her, it’ll be hard for her to accept her brother’s recent activities. Betrayal will probably be somewhere on Kirino’s mind, since it all happened so quickly and under her nose as well. Kyousuke is right in worrying about his sister, no matter how beta that might come off as, because Kirino cannot be ignored, especially in a situation like this. The question now is whether Kirino will find out by accident or by a direct confession, and how she’ll proceed with that knowledge in mind.

 

While they may display angry faces towards each other, you can somehow feel the affection flowing between the two.

Score one for Kuroneko! *claps*

Aside from Kirino though, there does exist another problem for the two of them. Despite Kyousuke’s dedication to those he loves and Kuroneko’s maturity and thoughtfulness, they are hormone-driven high schoolers, both with zero experience when it comes to intimacy. They are pretty representative of the stereotypes associated with young naive love, with Kuroneko head over heels and willing to make the standard bento and Kyousuke with his raging sex drive. It’s adorable to see them dance around each other, get a little angry, and then use the opportunity to be honest–it’s the purest type of love. However, it is far from the most mature or stable relationship, or the one most grounded in reality.

 

The most appropriate reaction for situations like this. I’ll admit it–I’ve done this tons of times when I get super excited. NO SHAME!

Ah, the face of two lovers who have no idea what to do next. Such bliss~

To be fair, I would think Kuroneko had some thoughts like this running through her head too. Fantasy is fun!

Eternal curses than bind her feelings to him for eternity, casual remarks that can cause public shame, drawings of future encounters and cute incompetence. All of these things, all of them are cute…at least for the first half-year give or take. I don’t hold it against those two for having such lofty words and agreement with each other, but with the first trouble looming above their heads, they’ll need something more than what they have now to make it through. It’s a fragile and blooming love that I hope grows stronger over time, but at the same time experience tells me that there are some rocks ahead that don’t even need Kirino to trigger.

 

Throughout the series, it’s been a pleasure to see Kyousuke truly overreact to everything. The energy it brings to the show is a pleasant breeze through green hills.

My friend pointed out to me that they didn’t spend much time with Kyousuke reflecting on this “important decision”. From a logistical and pacing standpoint I can say that they couldn’t spend too much time on his internal monologues, lest they rush the rest of the story, but let’s assume that he didn’t spend enough time thinking it out. After all, he was told by Kuroneko to decide in one day. The brash decision, the hurried choice to make the relationship happen…it’s so fitting for a blissfully ignorant couple that act on their emotions. While it is far from a perfect get-together in terms of stability, it is a good portrayal of the youthful situation they are in, but also the foreshadow for the troubles that may come. They may love each other, but as soon as one thing goes wrong, where they may have to choose between friendship, siblingship, and/or relationship, who knows what those two will do.

 

And now, for a montage of club activities and perhaps the funniest moment of the episode.

 

While a bit childish and immature, the honesty of the notebook is something to be admired, to be jealous of, to be SQUEE’d at.

=3

I’ve been too negative though, so let’s end on a cheerful note. After 22 or so episodes, it’s finally come to this, where a beautiful relationship in the making has finally come to bear fruit. Today’s episode, aside from any ships come true, has been an enjoyable one to watch. Lots of subtle comedic timings made this episode entertaining for all. That moment where Kuroneko’s theme started playing as soon as she gained her composure or the sudden music halt when Kyousuke misunderstood the doorbell, all of those moments were sheer comedic gold. For the most part everyone is on good ties with each other, and those who were on thin ice quickly made up and cleared the air. This paves the way for another wonderful episode next week, where no apparently negative cliffhanger is in sight–a refreshing change from these past few episodes. I’ve enjoyed covering this series so far, and I look forward to covering the rest to the end. I won’t be here next week to cover the material, so enjoy whoever will be covering for me and their fresh perspective!

Full-length images: 5, 6, 22, Snapshot 02, Snapshot 07.

ED6: 「きょうもしあわせ」 (Kyou mo Shiawase) by 小倉唯　(Ogura Yui)

Preview

Kyousuke and Ruri, will you two find the happiness you seek next week? Let’s hope your happiness goes undisturbed a bit longer, before the elephant in the room begins to make noise.

107 Comments

    2. Good thing that i had the foresight to hook the defibrillator to my chest just before i started on this episode….. Think i lost count of how many times i had to hit the button to save myself….

      Euzio
      Reply

  3. Amidst what will be the great chaos that will eventually come I would like to take a part of it by saying….

    KURONEKO YOUR SO CUTE~
    Baka kyosuke for not accepting her confession immediately you dumb dumb!

    K
    Reply

  4. Do we really want to do this whole “early comments” thing again next week? Because if you know what’s coming then you’d head straight for the nearest bunker.

    Vsin
    Reply

    3. Volume 8 pretty much summed up just what kind of crazy bastard Tsukasa Fushimi is. He took that horrible “playing with people’s feelings” stuff that so many writers love to fondle with, & twisted it to higher disgusting levels.

      Needless to say, I dropped the LN after that. I have no need to pry into the minds of crazy people, since they tend to traverse that particular theme more than sane people – usually with “WTF” results.

      Megas
      Reply

      1. Ehhh, I dunno about that. The transition was definitely…abrupt…to put it lightly, but when you really think about it, he kinda had to do that. If you bothered reading past that point, you’d probably understand exactly how complicated it would get for Kyosuke to date, well, ANY of the girls he knows.

        But yeah, that transition is forced as all hell, which kinda leaves a sour taste in everybody’s mouth.

        Vsin
        Reply

  5. I’m only glad that Kyo didn’t turn down Ruri because of a dumb reason regarding Kirino like, “I can’t return your feelings because I felt like crying when I thought Kirino had a boyfriend.”, because I was semi-expecting it after Kirino’s line about a girl’s sincerity. Wouldn’t have even watched the rest of the episode. I would have dropped the series immediately =02.

    frubam
    Reply

      2. Tip of the iceberg qualifies here. It’s not only a joke of how pathetic he is, it’s a pure troll because he keeps on tooting his own horn about it. It’s even worst in the LN. The only thing that’s as bad as that in the LN is how many time Kirino was called a bitch.

        Megas
        Reply

  6. Wow Zanibas, in terms of timespan between episode release & RandomC post release, you really must be an avid Oreimo fan =) Keep up the good work!

    This episode is among the best for this season in my opinion.
    (Kyousuke’s fear at Ayase’s yandere moments are my favourite scenes)
    It has the feels of the last 3 episodes of the 1st season, especially with the club members.
    Speaking of club members, where have the twins gone to? Its the 7th episode already =p

    In terms of LN adaptation,
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Techim
    Reply

  7. Is the empty post really necessary? Has RandomC become a one-liner blog like rest of the low-quality crap out there? There are some of us who want to read a proper impression you know. I’m not liking where this is going and I expected better from you guys. This is very disappointing.

    AAchie
    Reply

    1. “In an effort to be even more timely and allow commenters to immediately go at it, I’ve posted the post early while I actually write down words for this episode. I will fill this post with actual paragraphs by today!”

      I for one appreciate the faster posts to let people discuss the show faster, and its not like they won’t write later anyway, what’s the big deal?

      Anon
      Reply

    2. Think of it like this. Pretend this post doesn’t exist for two hours tops. When you come back, actual commentary will be here!

      I only did this, again, as a courtesy to commenters as I put actual thought into the post. Normally I wouldn’t consider doing this, but this is an episode a good number of people hold near and dear and want to pour their hearts out on, so I thought it’d be for the best.

      P.S. : I’m writing the post right now.

      P.P.S. : For those of you arriving later to this, I posted this week’s post early without analysis text so that commenters could leave their impressions right away as I finished writing.

      Zanibas
      Reply

    3. I don’t see what the issue seems to be here, as Zanibas has now filled in the blank he’s reserved.

      If anything, at least it serves as a reminder for Zanibas to finish this, a sort of “in tray” for him. I suggest other RC writers follow his example.

      Anonymous
      Reply

    2. I’m seeing a lot of rumor and inuendo going around on the ending, some partially correct, but most just mis-leading. Show Spoiler ▼

      I’m looking forward to see how they handle the material.

      SmithCB
      Reply

  10. What the hell is with this show anyway. You get asked out & the only thing you have on your mind is your bitchy sister’s bitchiness. If that’s some kind of flag for later on then the obvious retort would be: Anyone thinking of dropping this show better do it now (for obvious reasons).

    This show is seriously trolling itself so there’s no need for me to do so.

    Megas
    Reply

  21. That entire scene in the clubroom. Holy sh*t, my stomach.

    A shame they didn’t put in the part where Kuroneko shows Kyousuke her ideal future. Maybe next episode because it’s very sweet.

    Kuntzy
    Reply

    1. A perfect laughstorm, including BL girl’s comments and all the commotion about Kyosuke wanting to touch his girlfriend’s b00bs. Comedic gold, no, purest diamond!

      ewok40k
      Reply

    2. You guys do understand what show you’re watching. It’s all about how that ridiculous beta gets tossed around left & right by all the girls in the series. It’s about as interesting as a lost sock in the dryer. Hell, I’m only ‘watching’ (I don’t think I even watched 10 minutes total of this entire series) it to remind me just how terrible betas can get.

      Megas
      Reply

  28. THEY ARE NOW A COUPLE!!!

    THE SHIP TAKES ITS MAIDEN VOYAGE!!! SET SAIL FOR THE LOVE BOAT!

    Okay, now Kyousuke has the sticker that he took with his sister on his phone case, and the same photo as his wallpaper. And he showed it to her and their friends. Kyousuke has now officially derailed into an actual siscon, as opposed to the first season where he was just forced into situations where it looked like he was. Look I’m all for character development, and he’s showing more friendliness to his sister, but said sister is still a manipulative brat, and he should now keep her in line.

    starss
    Reply

  29. after reading the spoiler from ImperialX, I feel depressed. I want Kyousuke to end up with someone permanently, anyone. I wish there were multiple alternative endings for OREIMO like in Clannad. In one ending, Ayase confesses to Kyousuke in an irresistible way, or Ayase goes crazy yandere mode and forces Kyousuke to marry her. In another ending Kirino discovers that she was adopted and falls in love with Kyousuke, or like in Marmalade Boy Kirino and Kyousuke say even if we are blood related we will stay together but then they discover they are not blood related. Manami ending. HomoGirl ending. ojou-sama ending such as Kyousuke saying at their wedding when asked will you marry her: who are you!

    tendo
    Reply

    1. Kyosuke is already asking when is it okay to start groping a females breasts after STARTING to date

      But this is even worse…

      Kuroneko: “I’m the same”

      Kyousuke: “You want to touch my boobs too?”

      The guy is a freaking genius!

      Vaan
      Reply

  31. Am I losing my mind or was there no an entire scene where Kirino almost bluntly told Kyousuke to consider going out with Kurnoneko?

    So why all the talk about “when she finds out it’ll be crazy!” she already knows it was a thing that was going to possibly happen. She told him to consider it seriously! They even talked about how Kirino and Kurnoneko were on the phone all night talking about it (think it was even mentioned last episode).

    Kurisu
    Reply

    2. Hmmm, I didn’t interpret her behavior in that way, though it does seem to fit all the subtle pieces. Oh man, this’ll be interesting to look through the second watch-around, as well as what’ll happen in the upcoming weeks.

      Zanibas
      Reply

  32. “No matter what side you’re on, you can’t deny how cute this face is.”

    Oh how WRONG you are!

    Brace yourselves for the tears/butthurt/and “mad feelz” though.

    The Moondoggie
    Reply

    3. Shhhh!Let us Shironeko-fans have our moments of joy…

      I have no knowledge of the source material but most of the signs that RurixKyousuke ain’t gonna last have been laid out and as we all know,it’s rare for RomComs to stretch too far from the norm,as good & entertaining as they might be.

      MgMaster
      Reply

      1. Unfortunately, their end is anything but normal. It’s more like trolling/railroading that started way b4 the events of this episode. I’m done b4 I get into spoiler territory.

        Megas
        Reply

  33. Kuroneko!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!wwwwwwwwoooooooohhhhhhhhhhhoooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want more Ayase screen time please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Kyon12
    Reply

  36. Ahhh, finally I’m beginning to see the light. The last few episodes have been so hard to watch that I just couldn’t even care about it anymore, the little focus they give to the Otaku/gaming club of theirs give me more laughs than any of the previous episodes combine. And the RuriXKyousuke pairing is just much better and satisfying to my eyes.

    Jhacks
    Reply

  37. Oh well, I really dont think that was what Kirino wished for when she demanded of Kyosuke to “make sure he gives serious thought to a girl’s confession coming soon”

    ewok40k
    Reply

  38. R.I.P. me – 19.05.2013 10:38 GMT +2

    Cause of death: Kuroneko moe-fever.

    This comment was written only because the great Kuroneko-sama used her dark powers to resurrect me as a sign of my undying devotion towards her.The mighty powers of Masquera are indeed a force to be reckoned with.

    Also,my new desktop.

    MgMaster
    Reply

  39. Subtitle: Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai

    The Kuroneko ship has well and truly sailed. And even if it does ultimately sink, its impact on the fanbase will be so great that it can never be the same again.

    First thing Kyousuke asks a friend concerning romance is when he’ll get to grope his girlfriend’s boobs. Oh god. LOL

    Though he’s only just made his appearance, Mikagami is proving himself to be a capable troll, what with his performance in the clubroom, fanning the flames to Kyousuke’s embarrassment.

    Anonymous
    Reply

  40. I’ve been waiting for this forever. I don’t know the ending to Oreimo but I honestly hope that the sunk ship between Kuroneko and Kyousuke will resail once again.

    RuirNeko
    Reply

  41. Whatever happens in the future, she will come back at the end of the story. Because she believes that, her life is not complete if she cannot be with them, I mean, Kyousuke AND Kirino. Both of them. So she definitely will be back to get the two.

    UDoh
    Reply

  42. Am I the only one who really dislikes Kyousuke? Why is it that every male protagonist of a romance anime has to be either a pathetic pushover or an ultra-talented superstar?

    Bobina
    Reply

  43. Rui’s broken! OMG!

    Notice how Kyousuke isn’t afraid of dealing with guys, but he’s scared to death of what the girls might do to him (Ayase especially).

    Ruri is finally showing through her Kuroneko facade. The girl that I remember from the episode where she was baby sitting. The uncertainty that both she and Kyousuke about how to be a couple really came through. The awkwardness was really quite sweet. Regardless of whether you ship her or one of the other girls, she is the most developed personality in the story.

    Sigh, that end card of her and her sisters….

    Bear
    Reply

  44. I dont read the novel, so I have no idea.

    But it seems that Kirino already has a clue about their relationship with the way she expressed herself? I could be wrong though, and she ends up finding out and going batshit crazy jealous mode.

    AngryKoala
    Reply

  47. Coroner’s report –

    COD for c2710 was by massive blood loss induced by excessive Kuro/Shironeko overload.
    Death has been classified as unnatural death.

    There. The coroner’s report says it all

    c2710
    Reply

  49. Let’s put it this way, folks, after about three more weeks, there will come an episode where we’ll have 200+ posts, probably, with enough episode content in one particular line and/or visual for shippers, haters, LN vs anime-original endings and everything in-between. Factions will line up and hurl barrage after barrage at each other. There will be something for everyone that will be talked about for years… Bring the popcorn, but no alcohol! You’ll need to have your keyboard skills at maximum to be able to be heard above the din.

    SmithCB
    Reply

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