Mixed Feelings
So....what would you do when you find out your cute little sister who you haven't seen in years is a closet otaku? A) Be in denial and pretend it's a lie B) Never face your sister again C) Tell her to end her hobby (this could result in some bitch slaps and higher hospital fees) D) Support her and swear on your life to never tell anyone about it Think hard. Well, it doesn't' matter which choice you pick because either way, you will be stuck with your cute little sister with the undeniable fact that she is a closet otaku. In the end, you're just going to have todeal with it and think ahead.
Well, it's back. Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai (My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute) is the direct sequel that aired from the Spring line up of 2013 that directly continues from the True End arc. Yes, it is actually required to watch those four episodes so if you haven't done so yet, do it now. There's nothing stopping you. At any rate, the series is back and with a title this long, it's hard to take it seriously right? Well, no but this sequel does have a lot of entertainment, some rubbed in the right and others in the wrong way. For the purpose of my laziness and ease of reading, I'll just simply refer to this sequel as Oreimo 2.
I'm not going to lie here. This was one of my most anticipated series from the Spring lineup. Going by the MAL statistics, I might not been the only one with the amount of hype surrounding this sequel. At any rate, Oreimo 2 is here! To do a little refreshment, we have the cute little sister Kirino who we know from the beginning is known as a closet otaku. Her tastes in games seems to be related to little sisters and the eroge genre. This seems to rub her brother Kyosuke the wrong way. In fact, the two does not get along at all. Kyousuke tries to be the supportive brother like a good sibling but Kirino sees him as the following: pervert, lolicon, and a brother who may have the sister complex. While not all of these may truly describe Kyousuke for who he is, there's certainly tension between the duo. Their relationship seems to not go along well most of the time. Kirino is the dominant of the duo and often ridicules Kyousuke at many occasions. It seems like Kyousuke has to deal with her tsundere tendencies, outbursts, and rather awkward accusations. At many times, there's the misunderstandings too that further implements problems. Long story short, Kirino and Kyousuke does not get along very well and in this sequel, it doesn't get off to a good start with that either.
However, there are times in this season that does show a supportive side from both sides of the siblings. Although they both seem to deny it, it's quite obvious that both Kirino and Kyousuke are frustrated if either one of them gets a lover. In other words, there's something in their heart that seems to tell their brutal honest selves that they don't want the other side to enjoy a healthy relationship. I guess perhaps their relationship does have a loving side, in that sibling way. And speaking of love, there's more ways than just one.
In Oreimo 2, love is in the air especially with our other characters. Well, it can come into many shapes and sizes such as the yandere Ayase. I'm not a big fan of her's but her screen time was definitely appreciable for the way she seems to talk down Kyousuke but at the same time seems to enjoy their awkward relationship. Otherwise, there's my favorite cosplayer and arch-rival of Kirino from this series....the one and only one.....*drum roll*.....
Ruri “Kuroneko” Goko!
Voiced by the ultra talented voice actress Kana Hanazawa, Kuroneko gets quite the spotlight that she deserves in this sequel. Just like in season one, Kuroneko is like the opposite of Kirino and gets in her face at almost everything. Think of it this way. They are like oil and water, snake and mongoose, colors dyed red and blue. It's hate at first sight defined at its finest. Nonetheless, the two simply does not get along at all. The catch is in this sequel, there's even an new additional factor added in that causes Kyousuke to be part of the equation. And no it doesn't involve eroge. That's part of the 2D world.
Among other things, Oreimo 2 seems to like to push drama forward between various characters. Well, there's more than just our can't-get-along-at all siblings. Rather, it also deals with other characters. For instance, we even have supporting characters who plays various roles in steaming up some awkward moments. This usually results in Kirino lashing out her tsundere tendencies at full force. The receiving side usually seems to be our poor Kyousuke who is accused of being a lolicon, sister-con, etc etc. Well, not everything rides on Kyousuke's bad side though. There are some nice girls such as Manami, Kuroneko's siblings, and even a track rival of Kirino's. Unfortunately, Kyousuke is too damn dense to ever notice anything most of the time. It doesn't help with the various misunderstandings either that often again puts Kyousuke on the wrong side of life such as drama in the club room. Get your popcorn out folks and watch those moments go fly in the air.
As for the fan service goes, this sequel surprisingly doesn't have as much as I had thought. Well, it does have some though. While it omits the typical beach episode, the series has Kyosuke at edge of some awkward camera angles. Then, there's the outfit that Kirino wears that seems to either be for eye candy or even perhaps a foreshadowing. Either way, the fan service of this series is not as much as you may imagine. What Oreimo 2 does offer more though is doses of fun gags. It's not just those catchy end cards that some people might miss at the end of each episode. Rather, it's the dialogues such as the typical “I hate you” from Kirino that seems to have a completely opposite meaning. Then, there's also innocent talks with some dirty words mixed in spoken by kids too young. If “bitch brother” isn't part of that gag, I don't know what it is. Oh and let's not forget the rather indirect references to eroge games like sausage eating.
The story structure of the series seems to be a bit loose although middle part seems to be the main dish of the meal. Some of the other episodes seems to be more as ingredients. By ingredients, I mean the supporting characters. With its blissful cast of side characters, there's a lot of screen time for many of them. Kirino though is still the main girl. Regardless, Kirino can barely stand Kyousuke while the latter has trouble dealing with her own love issues. In fact, Kyousuke becomes the sort of center of attention with the girls as he gets quite a lot of surprises in this sequel. Kirino on the other hand isn't happy by this but being the tsundere that she is, it's obvious how she responds. I found this a bit out of place and way out there. What deserved have been there though should be materials that were intact from the light novels. Perhaps the development of the story requires some cramming but it's something not too consistent enough for my liking.
In technical terms of artwork, the series remains its similar style as the previous season. If artistic value is taken account, one could imply the adorable way some of the designs are drawn in particular the younger cast and Kuroneko. The way she cosplays is also quite catchy whether Kirino likes it or not. That gothic getup with the cat ears is just appealing and something most of us might not be able to take eyes off of. It's not too shabby either with the backgrounds too in terms of animation values. I would say that the overall artwork of season 2 is relatively the same as its prequel.
As for soundtrack, the series continues the pattern of lighthearted pattern. To add to some extra gags, each of the ending episode concludes with a different song with different artwork. You might want to keep your hands on that print screen button because those end cards are something worth of a thousand words. Most of the seiyuu voices portrays their voices as well to fit their characters. Kirino remains a tsundere with her voice. Kyousuke's tone often reflects both supportive and frustration. Kuroneko's soft and touching voice gives off that feeling of adorableness. The OP song "reunion" by ClariS brings back indeed a reunion between many of the characters. There's also a bit of perhaps foreshadowing in the song as there seems to be a famous red string of fate at the finger tips of Kyousuke swining to one side but never reaching its target. Hmm.....
By all means, Oreimo 2 is not a masterpiece. At least it did something right to get more people to watch this series from the first place with its unusual premise. Perhaps the drama can be seen differently from some to others. Then, there's those dialogues. Some of them are catchy while others tries too hard. What it did catch though is a burst of laughter at several occasions for me. With all set and done, this sequel awaits you but only if you finished season 1 and its true end. For fans of Oreimo, this is a continuation. After all, there's no way a series you've finished season one and true end can be just dropped without giving at least the first episode a try.
