08.19
As if millions of catgirls suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
At last, we’ve come to the end of the road. Throughout these past three years, the show has been quite an interesting journey. And by interesting, I mean a huge slog where I wish Kirino was a real person just so I could have the chance to throw rocks at her. When Oreimo was first introduced, I thought it would be a satire on otaku and how they’re obsession leads them into futility. Unfortunately, this show is not watamote. Instead, I have become witness to a pandering and vapid comedy of errors. Where people who deserve bad things to happen don’t get their due while people who don’t get nothing but crap thrown at them. Admittedly, this is far from the worst of its kind. There are many slice of life shows like Haganai and Henneko that are more banal in their attempts at humor. In fact, Kirino may be a disgusting piece of moe trash, but she and her cast almost had something blossoming into a personality and could have used that for potential to play off one another. But she didn’t, and this show didn’t. And that’s what stings the most.
More than anyone could love eternal love like this love.
So as these three episodes promise, Kyosuke decides to bite the inbred bullet and go out with Kirino. For all the shock that goes into doing that, there’s absolutely no chemistry or romantic flair between the two. Truly, I cannot comprehend why he would reject various offers from girls who actually respect him as a human being in favor of an abusive relationship with his own sister. There are more times where Kirino punches Kyosuke in the face or runs away from him than there are scenes where they’re the slightest bit affectionate to the other. For instance, take the scene in the hotel. Anything between the two that you could interpret as cordial was sterile at best. Hell, even Kirino thinks that Kyosuke is dumb for loving her. What does that say? This is the one moment where I actually think Kirino is the sane one. Kyosuke had so many chances to get together with a girl who wouldn’t beat him or call him an idiot, but he threw them all away for a sister who could out-bitch most New Jersey housewives.
Your cheeks aren't breasts, Kyosuke.
But what’s worse than the concept is the total execution, where Kyosuke decides to talk about eroges while saying that he wants to marry Kirino. Seeing a douche propose to his sister while referencing visual novels defies cringing and becomes truly unnerving. I know fans will say that this is adorably awkward on Kyosuke’s part, but there’s being Michael Cera and then there’s being Christian Chandler. Confessing your love in such an odd and quirky way can only be done in such a way before the line is crossed, and oh how has the line been crossed.
Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cum, and you cum alone.
Which doesn’t just infect Kyosuke but the rest of the cast. Take the scene where Kuroneko rips her own diary apart. It tries to be sad, but it just comes off as artificial. Her dialogue involving lifting curses and being an angel of vengeance come off as less of an emotional mask and more of the writers’ inability to write Kuroneko as an actual human being. Not once do you see Kuroneko say something that an actual person would say in that circumstance. Instead, she decides to change her name to Yamineko. Kuroneko refusing to be acknowledged by her real name or even her former nickname is a bit like how Walter Jr. decided to be Flynn in Breaking Bad. Except Walt Jr. had cerebral palsy.
Truly, a face that screams passion.
That’s what breaks this show apart. Instead of being about people who are into anime, it’s about anime characters with as much depth as the screen they’re on being obsessed with fiction no different than their own. Their actions aren’t based on human nature, but methods seen in the visual novels Kirino idolizes. Characters can’t naturally fall in love or do things together. Oreimo has basically become a visual novel of its own where the player is dead centered on getting a bad end.
Not Oreimo, but much better.
So instead of continuing to run away from like anybody who’s not Cersei Lannister, Kirino cries and agrees to the proposal. This is one of the few times where I’m disgusted not because of how they’re siblings, but how they have the emotional relationship of several Cullens. I can legitimately see more romance between Edward and Bella than these two saps. Hell, they can’t even look at each other after admitting they’re in love. And of course, the eroge Kirino just happens to be playing has to have a brother-sister relationship going on to correspond with theirs. My main beef is how these developments are so artificial. Like what makes Kyosuke want to marry his sister? Why does he love her, and vice-versa? They have more conversations on why their relationship wouldn’t work than how it could function in the first place.
This couple is about as lively as Kyosuke's leisure suit.
Maybe I’m expecting too much from a show where cutaway scenes involving magical girl fights happen out of nowhere. The show’s adapted from a light novel instead of any serious literature. So obviously, this show was not meant for me. Therefore, no one should criticize the work because anybody with a negative opinion is clearly hating and exempt from being a valid voice in the reception. Yes, I’m overreacting. But if you watched what my eyes have just witnessed, you would go borderline insane too.
And after seeing so many girls throughout the show have their hearts broken by this slob, I must ask. What is Kyosuke’s appeal? Kirino may be a horrible person, but at least she has the personality to emit that feeling. Kyosuke has no real drive in any emotion. You could have him do anything, and that wouldn’t break character because there’s no character to even acknowledge. Even the show highlights this by giving focus on all of Kirino’s physical and emotional possessions in the penultimate episode, yet very little of what Kyosuke has of his own. And not even regular possessions like her figmas or games, but an audio diary spanning several years. There’s keeping your real emotions in something where nobody can find, and then there’s just pulling something out your ass just to show a glint of drama.
Finally.
Which only makes it the more satisfying when Manami calls the two out. She explains in full how Kirino and Kyosuke’s relationship won’t work in the long run. While her words are intended to be scornful and out of spite, they have more of a point than what the main characters have to offer. And instead of making a valid argument, Kyosuke admits he doesn’t care because he believes that love transcends common sense. Where the show sees a petty childhood friend who can’t take no for an answer, I see the only sane bastard in this entire series. Kyosuke keeps getting reasons thrown at his face about why his marriage won’t work, and he has no defense but to shrug.
For incest, these kisses have been pretty Mormon.
You might think I’m arguing for the sake of arguing and ignoring Kyosuke’s passion. But guess what? Spoilers! They agree to be lovers for a time until after Kirino graduates, and then they’ll be just platonic siblings ever after. That means all of that bravado from Kyosuke over why his sister means more than all of those other girls meant absolutely nothing. Thus, Oreimo decides to have the cake and eat it by half-assing a incest romance.
Bravo. Bravo, Oreimo.