Oreimo 2
by Takashichea
Welcome to the Oreimo 2 OAV review! I'm Taka, your neighborhood wiki editor. For this review, I will doing this more personally because Oreimo rocked my world a bit.
Back in spring of 2012, I asked Daniel, my friend and mod at Anime Vice, whether I should try Oreimo. I find the premise creepy. He delves into details about a little girl named Kirino and how the other girls make putting up with Kirino just fine. Then, his friend Kurt comes in. Pretty much, their conversations got me into trying Oreimo. After finishing Haganai (one of Daniel's recommendations), I had low expectations for Oreimo. I'm not the biggest slice of life fan. Watching the anime for the first time blew my expectations. I thought Oreimo was like those creepy fan service shows like OniAi. No, it was weird and funny. The whole series was about Kyousuke doing everything to help out his little sister to find folks who loved her hobbies. As the series progress, the siblings get closer, and it's revealed how Kirino got to be such a brocon.
The strangest thing about my experiences watching Oreimo is that I do watch anime series with my family. Most of time, it's with my little sister. She got me into anime. When she heard me laughing hard, she got curious. It was awkward watching Oreimo with her since it's about a brother and a sister getting close through playing eroge.
Warning: Spoilers below!
Characters
The main characters and most of the supporting characters are done well. Character growth is excellent except for Saori and Ayase. I can't explain why, but I didn't like Saori's origin story. I never expected her to develop a group from the grudge she develops against her sister. In the end, Saori is not the center of the group but more of a supporting pillar. For Ayase, she is a unique character whose yandere personality comes out once in a while. At the end of the series, her love confession was out of the blue for me. The whole episode felt rushed. It's hard to sympathize with her when Kyousuke shoots her down, not compared to Kuroneko's rejection scene in the OVA. I'll leave Kirino and Kyousuke in the ending evaluation.
Music
Back when Kirino was making plans with the director for her light novel's anime adaptations, she wanted a different theme song every episode. She got shot down because it wasn't a realistic thing to do. I realized Oreimo is doing that as well with its endings. I don't remember the ending songs because you get bombarded with so many. The songs that get stuck in my head are ClariS's Irony and Reunion since it plays every episode. The songs are unforgettable. I'm not a music guy, but I get attached to anime series that have spectacular music and sound tracks. For me, the best anime that does music well isAngel Beats. It draws power from it. Oreimo doesn't rely too much on its music. It's character driven.
Animation
I'm not an expert since I missed animation flaws in Attack on Titan discussion thread. I guess I'm not a person who stresses the importance of animation. I'm just happy with good story and characters. I can't stand really cutesy, Moe doe eyed characters. Oreimo doesn't have that. I like the art style. It's better than the manga. I'm surprised that the light novel's original character designs were alike to the anime. Most of times I see anime adaptations for light novels, the anime series has a better character design that's more appealing than its light novel counterparts. I seen this in Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?. The characters are too young looking. For the girls, they are gorgeous. While for the guys, they are good. Kyousuke wasn't a bishie, but I'm glad he's not. I would rage at him for having all those girls and breaking their hearts.
Ending
I'm comparing the Oreimo 2 OVA to Oreimo 2's ending. I enjoy Oreimo 2 because it had ambiguity. When Kyousuke shot down Ayase, he says he loves someone else. To me, that makes most fans happy. It lets them speculate. I do favor some pairings like Kuroneko or Manami. I didn't like Kirino a lot. With the OVA series, I never expected Kyousuke to go down the incest route. Heh, I must have missed some warning signs. Kyousuke had broke many girls' heart for his sister. I thought he was doing for Kirino's sake and not his. It turns out he really does love his sister more than normal. I know this is fiction, and I have no problem with incest in fiction. It has to be good couple I can root for against society. For Kyousuke and Kirino, I can't support them. I had this notion that Kyousuke and Kirino weren't blood related in the Oreimo discussion because I recalled that most folks remark that Kyousuke and Kirino do not look related. I thought this justify that pairing should it come true. None of that appears in this ending. Besides the incest route, the OVA had some flaws. Kanako's confession was out of the blue like Ayase. It's more like teenage infatuation. Why put it here after Kyosuke had confessed for Kirino? For the wedding, I didn't see parents or any more opposition towards Kirino and Kyousuke. I expected Kyousuke's dad to give Kyousuke a beating. What I enjoyed about the OVA is Manami's fight and Kuroneko's heartache and getting-back-at Kyousuke's scene.
Kyousuke was a laidback guy who was happy with himself. Kirino used to idolize her big brother and strives to beat him. That dream never came true when Manami came in the picture. It was strange to see Manami arriving on scene to clash with Kirino and Kyousuke. Manami never had much spotlight in the series. I never see her as the bad girl. She was the voice of reason. I like Kyousuke, he was sacrificing so much for his sister's sake. To see him become a siscon was creepy. I'm fine with him becoming a pervert. We all have instincts to procreate or to find love. Kyousuke didn't have to do this for Kirino. It's strange that Kirino didn't have a lot of love interests. She was faithful while her brother was not. For Kirino, she grew by warming up to her brother and to others. She did not venture out to seek new love. She was wishy washy with Kyousuke, but she brags it just to spite Manami. I can't describe it this well, but I think Kirino and Kyousuke went backwards in their development.
Overall, the ending to the OVA series felt rushed. Again, it's hard to explain why other than heckling at the couple. This could be another interpretation why Tsukasa Fushimi did this. He wanted to demonstrate that love can between siblings can happen despite taboos and possible genetic defects (if they take it a step further).
I will recommend this series for any fan. I'm not a slice of life fan, but I seen some good ones (Tari Tari and Pet Girl of Sakura), and Oreimo is a part of them. It's a great and funny series that pushes the boundaries. I should have stopped at Oreimo season 2. I was quite satisfied.
Thanks for reading this review. I know it's a train wreck since I didn't practice enough. Feel free to criticize. I would love to improve my reviews.
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