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

For some strange reason, this picture reminds me of School Days.

「俺の妹がこんなに可愛いわけがない！」 (Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai!)
“My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute!”

My my, so many developments are now out in the open, bringing a pleasant end to this arc. It’s definitely a shame that Kuroneko and Kyousuke aren’t going to stay together, but I believe in Kuroneko’s “Best End” route. The idea that Ruri would put her happiness on the line for the sake of pursuing a world where all her friends get together…that is an admirable ideal that is coming close to fruition, believe it or not. Let’s look at how our characters grew this episodes, and how our main trio grew together despite the physical distances imposed.

 

Are you sure we’re not watching episode one again?

I would say this is Kirino’s best moment in the series. She has conflicting emotions in this scene, but her sibling love here is genuine.

As someone who’s been rooting for Kirino’s growth, I was very pleased with this episode. So much so. It was not the excessive amounts of blushing or the gentler character that hooked me, nor was it the fact that Kirino finally held up her end of the siblingship. All of the above was adorable and a pleasant break from Kirino’s normal behavior, yet none of that could beat Kirino’s honesty.

This episode marks the closest we’ve seen Kirino express how she actually feels about her brother–a deep sense of sibling love that can’t be exactly compared to romantic love. In past episodes, we’ve seen Kirino have her affectionate moments, but it only grazed the surface of her deepest feelings. We’d see thanks, we’d see blushing, but most of the affections said were unspoken and left to free interpretation. It is thanks to Kuroneko’s wild plan (which is pretty convoluted I’ll grant) that Kirino was able to finally express her feelings in a way that Kyousuke has taught her–by being reliable in a time of need. She’s still embarrassed at how Kyousuke will see her like this (hence why she makes her face away), but she’s coming closer to finally opening herself up.

Cue the “Kyousuke is a wimp” comments at this point. I, on the other hand, call it being human.

She did admit some pretty hypocritical things that theoretically don’t make sense, but in reality are fairly clear to understand. Our impressions of people are often not clean cut–there are aspects we dislike about even the people we most cherish, and there are redeeming qualities in people we wish to distance ourselves from. We may not like to admit it out of politeness or some other reason, but it’s there–all the world’s people are just different shades of grey. It makes sense that Kirino can both hate Kyousuke for his wimpy attitude (as some commenters have expressed), but also love his brotherly tendencies, no matter how crazy they can get. It makes sense that Kirino treasures Kuroneko as a friend despite being heartbroken at her decisions, because she treasures her brother and friend, along with their happiness. It may seem strange to think of Kirino as a sacrificial type, but that’s what she’s shown this entire episode. Whereas Kyousuke found it easier to break off Kirino and Kouki due to their perceived hollow and false relationship, Kirino just couldn’t bear to break an actual relationship, where the honest feelings between the two was clearly visible.

 

…because two pictures of a heavily blushing Kirino…

…simply is not enough.

This conflict may seem like forced drama, and if you feel that way, you’re in no way wrong. However, the conflicting wishy-washy decisions and hypocritical emotions are easy to denounce in a detached manner–being in the moment is a hard decision to make. I mean sure, we can simplify the situation and claim that Kuroneko and Kyousuke can chase their happiness together without concern for Kirino, and that’d be legitimate route. People have to deal with the flow of change all the time, and I’m sure many people’s impression of Kirino would incline a “suck it up” mentality, in hopes of humbling her character.

I wish this development had only happened sooner! Kirino’s attraction is quite powerful when she’s reliable like that…Kyousuke isn’t the only one to think that :3.

 

For those of you who watched Nichijou, you know exactly what I’m going to reference here. （￣ _ゝ￣）

But Kuroneko doesn’t wish to chase that route. She knows she very well could, but in her mind, she has an optimistic dream that seeks to break away from any perceived awkwardness. She wants a perfect world where all three of them can be happy, to be content with the relationships they all share together. While she does indeed love Kyousuke for his caring nature and imagines him to make a great husband, it is impossible for her to continue such a relationship if it hurts Kirino in the process. What friend is a dick to do that? We can claim that Kirino has to be understanding, but given the context of the society, Japanese society, that we’re talking about here, many would disagree otherwise. The happiness of the group trumps individual happiness, and Kuroneko, in her chuunibyou-like thinking, devises a master plan having considered all of this in advance. It’s silly, but in reality it takes into consideration how her friends would react–after all, how can a group of friends avoid awkwardness if everything isn’t out in the open? Her plan forced that on Kirino, such that the process of finding a proper compromise to happiness can begin.

…wait, she goes out in public like that?

I truly admire Kuroneko’s character for being so sacrificial and cunning, and she’s climbed up my own chart of favorite characters in general. Though there are some hiccups in her plan, it was done for the sake of others. As one can see from the fainting, it must have taken a serious toll on her to forcefully break up with Kyousuke, but given how she’s explained to herself how she’s destined to be with him, I’m sure she’ll be fine. The compromise that Kirino and Kyousuke found must be the direction that Kuroneko was going for–both siblings acknowledge the sadness they feel when their sibling is taken away, but if it’s done together, it’s not so bad when no one has to be alone. From an outside perspective I’m sure it must feel weird to some, but such a promise between siblings shows just how much they care about each other and the people around them. I must wonder though, if Kyousuke happens to garner the affections of other girls, how will Ruri handle such a situation? Draw more people into her picture Sakurasou style? Challenge them to a duel? I hope she has enough energy to take on someone like Ayase though…

Kirino would like to order one older brother please.

Just what is she trying to reveal?

Okay, so we know she hates her brother, but so wha–

 

Oh.

So Kyousuke has been brought to tears how many times now?

That last ritual took most of her energy! Don’t die on us now! This show still needs to be a comedy!

The friendship is strong between these two.

However, where do we go from here? Now that Kirino and Kyousuke have finally moved that giant step forward to being a symbiotic sibling-ship, where do we go from here? For starters, let’s hope that some light is shed on the history of Kirino and Kyousuke. I’m dying to see what’s in that album, most likely filled with all the pictures of them in their youth, but I want some serious back story here! Why is Manami so despised by Kirino? Why did Kyousuke go from cool brother to plain old generic and back again? Will any of the side-characters be making another appearance? With so many episodes left after this one (which felt like a season finale), I wonder how they’ll be able to pack the emotional closure that this one seemed to bring.

 

All the adorable pictures! All of them! All the adorable maids and imoutos!

 

Preview

…so, when are we going to get that history lesson…

End Card

(✌ﾟ∀ﾟ)☞

103 Comments

    1. Indeed, its amazing how that 1 moment can do so much to redeem Kirino. She hasn’t exactly covered herself in glory for over 20 episodes (including the 1st season). But that hug was truly a really sweet moment from her.

      Euzio
      Reply

    2. “..Kirino, for showing us you really do have a heart”
      I really gotta agree here.. it changed my image of Kirino (before I was kind of annoyed by her tsundere b**ch side etc..) for a better.

      Neko-tail
      Reply

  5. As fucking twisted as the whole BF-GF thing was, it was still easily the best episode of this entire series & there’s no way in hell they’ll ever top it – especially looking at the
    LN from here on out.

    I don’t care how twisted or stupid real kids are, there’s absolutely no way real kids will ever mindlessly torture themselves like this. But that’s what anime is for, giving us situations we’ll never see in real life. This one just did it w/o magic, drugs, or other worlds. It’s not like this situation has never been done before, it’s just that the drama is the focus this time – instead of using it as a catalysis for a time skip event.

    Megas
    Reply

  7. Next episode… so friggin’ excited.

    Well anyways, loved this episode. This episode, coupled with the next, provides a major turning point in the relationship between the two siblings.

    Disappointed they changed the scene where Kyousuke woke Kirino up (Though I would imagine a lot of people here rather liked it). Kirino in the LN actually was pulling Kyousuke in for a kiss while she was asleep and he had to wake her up, in which the resulting scene made it look like he was trying to assault her.

    They also took out the explanation of why Kirino’s treated Kyousuke like crap though I would imagine that might still be covered so I won’t spoil it. All that I will say is it’s definitely something a little girl would come up with.

    Kuntzy
    Reply

    2. If only Kuroneko was in Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride, the Yagyu dojo would be so finacially safe because of all the customers she’d bring in to Meido Kissa.Kuroneko would make it rain lol.

      Magoiichi
      Reply

    1. Absolutely. Vol. 9 is just a bunch of short stories that aren’t really that important outside of the final two, which will be adapted in episode 10. This leaves them with episodes 11-16 to cover volumes 10-12.

      That’s basically 2 episode’s per volume though it might feel a bit awkward to cut the tv broadcast off with only half of vol. 11 done so they might make vol. 10 one episode (T_T) and then have vol. 11 take up the final two tv episodes and then finish vol. 12 in the 3 streaming episodes.

      Kuntzy
      Reply

    2. In terms of LN adaptation, that would be true, yes.
      But in terms of storyline progression, I think the pacing might be a bit rushed or feel a bit forced.
      Because although the anime team included good scenes like
      the Love Touch game moment, & the scene where Ayase calls Kyousuke to her house,
      there were several other scenes skipped from the LNs which were small, but I think were slightly significant for character development.
      Eg where Kyousuke jokingly asked Ayase to marry him,
      or when Ayase called Kyousuke to her house for the second time after hearing about his relationship with Ruri (which led to his injuries at the beginning of the 8th episode),
      or when Manami found out about the breakup & started to comfort Kyousuke, & when asked about who he might end up marrying with, Manami went “err”, blushed & suggested Ayase. Show Spoiler ▼

      Techim
      Reply

      1. where Kyousuke jokingly asked Ayase to marry him

        This… this so much. I hated how they took this out.

        I think they may cover the second visit to Ayase’s house next episode since I imagine they’ll be adapting the Ayase part of vol. 9 along with the wedding dress part. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out if they do since the “marry me” joke was important for that.

        Kuntzy
        Reply

      5. @ NKNKN
        I read them at Baka-Tsuki (http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Ore_no_Imoto_ga_Konna_ni_Kawaii_Wake_ga_Nai)
        I always found the Ayase scenes to be funny, & I had the free time, so here, I found the excerpts for you.

        If you’ve only watched the anime, & don’t want major spoilers from the LN’s, I suggest you don’t click the massive spoiler. =p
        Show Spoiler ▼

        Techim
        Reply

  13. That next episode card…… Wedding Dress????!!!!

    Sibling love is the best love ever!! 🙂 Everything is reversed this episode: Kyosuke waking Kirino up with a slap and asking for life advice, and this:

    https://randomc.net/image/Ore%20no%20Imouto%20ga%20Konnani%20Kawaii%20Wake%20ga%20Nai./Ore%20no%20Imouto%20ga%20Konnani%20Kawaii%20Wake%20ga%20Nai.%20-%2009%20-%20Large%2001.jpg

    Shiro-neko:

    https://randomc.net/image/Ore%20no%20Imouto%20ga%20Konnani%20Kawaii%20Wake%20ga%20Nai./Ore%20no%20Imouto%20ga%20Konnani%20Kawaii%20Wake%20ga%20Nai.%20-%2009%20-%20Large%20Snapshot%2007.jpg

    No OP and ED for today’s episode it seems. Hmm what shall we look forward to next week?

    mianghuei
    Reply

    2. If you were dumb enough to root against the imouto in a series with “imouto” or “Onii-chan” in the title, you can only blame yourself.

      Woohoo! Deredere Kirino is go!

      Onii-Suave
      Reply

      1. Well if the girlfriend you loved suddenly left due to stupid reasons of ourse you’d cry(or get angry.)

        This is why Kuroneko is shit: she left Kyosuke because she can’t love him enough and try to make excuses like this.

        And the worst part is that this isn’t even her original idea.

        TheMoondoggie
        Reply

      2. Okay,so like,I’m officially ready to switch over to the Kirino team.And no,not because she showed her cute side,but because she showed her cool,reliable side for one and because Kuroneko really annoyed me with what she pulled off,it makes me cringe when I think about her & Kyousuke’s dates,and even her confession knowing that she had all this planned out.Did she even stop to think how Kyousuke would be heartbroken due to her actions?Besides that,I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.Be more god damn selfish when it comes to love!It shows humanity which allows us to relate to the characters and Kirino showed that,whereas Kuroneko didn’t.

        Well Kuroneko,I can’t bear to see the way YOU look now.
        I loved Kirino’s attitude when giving Kuroneko a piece of her mind.I was like: “You tell her Kirino!“.

        Overall a damn fine episode(best one of the whole OreImo series so far maybe?).However,I still wish they didn’t go so far to make Kirino appear so bitchy in the previous episodes,S1 included.I would’ve probably been rooting for her much sooner if it would’ve been so.Not to mention it brought her so many haters that will probably never pipe it down and we’ll be hearing “Bitchy Kirino this,bitchy Kirino that…” for a looooooong time.

        MgMaster
        Reply

    4. It’s hypothesized that repression of internal desires leads individuals to openly mock and sometimes violently lash out at people who openly display what they themselves have buried, e.g. in the film American Beauty. Although I don’t think you yourself are a sis con.

      However, what would you find a more deplorable situation? People that enjoy such subject matter in a fictional setting, or people that actually go out and victimize people in reality? You call them an incurable cancer? I call them people who have a different taste than my own, enjoying something they love, who are far less likely to engage in violent criminal conduct.

      I don’t have any statistical data to back up my claim, but anecdotally speaking, it seems it’s the morally uptight people that are less happy with their lives and far more likely to engage in “immoral” acts. How many of those “homosexuality is a sin” people have pre-marital sex, get wasted, or lie? Get off your damn high horse, you’re probably a stage iv cancer yourself.

      RickyMack
      Reply

  21. Kuroneko, my god you’re amazing. To me the key scene was when she asked Kyousuke whether he would still date her over his sister’s objections. Watch her hand shaking and holding her pants leg. She wasn’t fooling when she said she truly loved him. She stopped him from answering because she couldn’t take him saying that he would reject her. She’s not giving up but she’s playing the long game.

    Bear
    Reply

    1. I thought Kuroneko was passing out due to the opposite. Excitement from thinking he would choose her. But I guess that makes more sense. Seeing her get cold feet from fear and then passing out as if she saw a ghost..

      .. I’m so happy. They’re so cute.

      Shirt
      Reply

      1. Actually, I think we’re both right. She desperately wants to be picked but she also doesn’t want to endanger her and Kyousuke’s relationship with Kirino. Either answer is terrifying to her at this point. That’s why she backed off and made a joke out of it. That’s my koneko.

        Bear
        Reply

  25. The first half felt like I had a brick on my heart. Kyousuke was hard to watch. I’ve been through that before. Oh the feels…

    THis episode was the most glued I’ve ever been to a screen. D: Drama, man.. dat drama..

    Shirt
    Reply

  26. Love the character development in this episode, but I really hate the return to the status quo. It’s too damn stereotypical. I’ve seen this in enough anime already! This episode feels like it’s been written by angry fans who want the story to continue, not the author himself.

    As far as behaviour goes Kyousuke did behave strangely in this one. Perhaps it’s the shock of the sudden break-up or his sisters’ sudden confession of her true feelings. Either way this isnt like the Kyousuke we all know. His lines and personality seem forced in a way and he resembles your bland, one dimentional random MC from the typical Harem Anime.

    Kuroneko was awesome as always! I feel sorry for her and what she had to sacrifce and endure until now and in the end she couldn’t stand the pressure anymore and fainted d’awwww.

    And Kirino. Well She finally becomes more honest with herself. Feels like a breath of fresh air. It’s the only reason why the whole episode wasnt that horrible.

    I could go at this for hours and not stop. Pretty angry with what the author did in this episode. It feels like he gave in to death threats from Kirino fans or something and had to suddenly change the pacing/story to calm them down. Guess this is another form of Fanservice :(. The story still has potential but without spoiling anything from the books let’s just say that it wont be at the same level as it was until now.

    The Atomic Dwarf
    Reply

    1. What vol. 8 did wasn’t return everything back to a status quo, but finally put Kirino and Kyousuke on even grounds with a mutual understanding.

      This entire debacle was foreshadowed in vol. 7 anyways with Kirino noticing Kuroneko and Kyousuke getting closer and Kuroneko blowing up on Kirino for the whole “dating” Mikagami thing. Not to mention that Kirino’s statement is pretty much the same thing Kyousuke said in vol. 7.

      If you really think this wasn’t the authors plan all along in a story that is essentially about a pair of siblings repairing a bond that was broken then I really don’t know what to say.

      Kuntzy
      Reply

      1. That’s the only thing worth metioning in this episode. As for status quo i meant as far as relationships between Kyousuke and the other girls go.

        Don’t get me wrong I’ve read the books. I know where he is going with this. But the next 2 volumes feel more like fillers than anything well expect some key points in volume 10. That’s why i say this feels forced a bit. Volume 11 is great and the story becomes interesting again. But let’s not spoil this for the people watching the anime shall we?

        The Atomic Dwarf
        Reply

      2. Show Spoiler ▼

        Kuntzy
        Reply

      3. Show Spoiler ▼

        The Atomic Dwarf
        Reply

      4. Mwahaha, your hopes will not be left unfulfilled!!!

        I made a post earlier in the thread responding to someone what I think the outline will be, but yeah, it’s confirmed for 16 episodes with 13 for the tv broadcast and 3 streamed episodes.

        Kuntzy
        Reply

  28. Since the fake boyfriend fiasco, Kirino has more than redeemed herself by her warm hug on a heartbroken Kyousuke. At last her real sisterly-love has awakened – to be simply there when your brother needs it most, rather than being a clingy bitchy annoyance.

    Kuroneko sort of freaked out near the end when Kyousuke was about to decide whether to choose to renew their relationship, as she realized it was still too hasty for Kyousuke to decide when she’s only just started shoving him and his sister closer together.

    Anonymous
    Reply

  29. As a Brother of 2 sisters (I’m the middle brother)

    This episode got me the most when Kirino just expressed her love for her brother for doing everything that he can do JUST for her happiness and she is doing so in return for all the things that he has done for her by helping her do that “Search and Rescue” thing for her.

    To tell you the truth. I just bursted into tears when she said all the things that kyousuke did for her and I’d feel the same as Kyousuke, I’d feel proud and happy that someone was able to acknowledge the things that I’ve done for them and I did them out of love for my siblings.

    After watching this episode. I’ll give it my all to be the best brother that I can be.

    To my Little Sister :)) & Older Sister as well.

    XD!~

    Zentarem
    Reply

    1. What no Hinata this week so you’re just going to post and run. 😛

      Stay, make yourself comfy, have a drink and revel in the glory of fictional incest with us all and mingle with us.

      Kuntzy
      Reply

  33. Awkward sibling hug?

    Okay, this episode turned out much better than I thought it would be, the end of the last episode stung a bit even though we knew it was coming. Kuroneko’s reasons were much better and less wishy washy than I anticipated. The way I see it, even though she could have continued to date Kyousuke she never would have been able to enjoy it if she knew her best friend was unhappy.

    Also nice to see Kirino being more her true self, and no bitchiness that we have come to expect for so long. I’m also happy that the message here seems to be more about sibling love and not the incest that so many are insisting on.

    After becoming close again, the sibling simply don’t want to end up alone, or at least not feel like they’ve been replaced. This was most evident when Kirino brought her fake boyfriend, and sparked Kyousuke’s (and their father’s) jealousy. It’s similar for Kirino, but not quite the same since Kuroneko is her best friend. In fact I believe that if Kirino were to choose a girl for Kyousuke, it would be Kuroneko, espeicaly since at the end, Kuroneko basically said that she wasn’t done with him yet >3.

    Some people might call this episode forced drama, but in a way, that’s what Kuroneko was trying to accomplish. She was forcing the issue, IE: the Drama, to get Kirino to express her true feelings; that she hates her brother XD.

    Were there problems this episode?, yes, we didn’t get to see Kirino go nuts over the Gokou imotos. More Hina, and Tama, is always good.

    Roguespirit
    Reply

  37. I like how the studio censored the slap so no one could make an animated Gif out of it, but if I recall they showed Kirino slap the shit out of Kyousuke in episode 1 of season 1, fucking double standards.

    I have to say that besides a few nitpicking bones that I definitely have with this episode, it was actually good, and is now my favorite episode of the season.Kirino seems to have finally stopped being a bitch and all it took was for Kuroneko to pull a Zero Requiem, the broest of all bro plans and the saddest ;/

    Bitch Oni-san you do not have my symphathy because you didn’t even choose to fight for Kuroneko, you just sat back and cried like a bitch while Kirino does your job for you.

    So where do we go from here? People already spoiled that Manami is like some sort of Final Boss, plain old granny glasses, barely gets any screen time, Manami is actually the real villain.

    I just noticed that the tracksuit Kuroneko wears has cats on them -_-

    Magoiichi
    Reply

  40. And then Ayase swoop in and take the last hit by stealing Kyousuke from Bitch-Onee-san and
    Fallen ShiroNeko like a boss! and that’s how she won this childish war. HueHuehue XD

    pokpok
    Reply

  41. yay i started to like Kirino! i am finally fixed !

    PS: must be cus her bitchines was kept to a minimum , really nice ep. i missed seeing Kirino’s reaction to Ruri’s sisters tho.

    inanis
    Reply

  45. The montage of everything Kyousuke’s done is a very nice touch.

    Finally, Kirino won’t be such a bitch. And Eroneko, just push for the harem end, why don’t ya?

    Beedle
    Reply

  47. First 2 minutes of the show, and I was already pissed / disappointed / damned at the way all things turned out. And as for the last 2 minutes of the show, I was twice as happy / contented / relieved as how I felt earlier from all the amazing turnabouts & twist-events that happened w/in the (almost) 24 minutes… 🙂

    Red HeartGold ZX
    Reply

  49. So yeah final volume spoilers are out now. Zanibas, hopefully you can actually do something to refrain people from spoiling it for people that really don’t want to know.

    Kuntzy
    Reply

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