So yeah, i started watching this somewhat infamous anime, OreImo, a bunch of days ago. And i'm glad i did, because where i expected to be little more than an anime best-seller with fanservice, i found a sweet story of a teenager trying to work out her feelings and accept her own hobbies despite the environment she lives in, coupled with some mending of broken sibling relationships and some exploration of otaku culture.
It certainly helps that the characters are, both visually and narratively, very appealing. If i didn't feel so self-conscious about post length I'd probably end up gushing on what i like and dislike about every character. It has been a long time (Kill la Kill) since an anime made me feel like that.
Now, certainly the show isn't without it's issues. I'm not even referring to the fact this isn't exactly Nadia or Eva (Anyone expecting/demanding that from this show would be better served elsewhere, really) but even as purely entertainment light-hearted drama it's sweetness can a lot of the time turn into saccharine and the writing can feel rather contrived at times ranging from primary plot points hinging on unlikely turn of events to feeling overly simplistic at times. The animation and line-usage being rather clumsy at times only reinforce "you're watching a cheap melodrama" feeling that sometimes nags at the back of my mind when watching the series.
Kirino's Dad is probably the character that suffers the most of the "overly simplistic" flaws although that's just probably me reading things into his character that weren't intended. Another example is how in the first episode Kirino's modeling job is introduced as a secret yet in the third episode the writing acts as if it was common knowledge for their family. Up so far i think the climax of episode 3 has been the most visible example of all these flaws within the show and the occasionally melodramatic ("I WON'T DROP THEM, THEY'RE PART OF MY SOUL") presentation of the whole otaku lifestyle thing.
But none of that really matters when i see Kirino's face light up the moment she starts talking about some strange otaku eroge or fawning over her collection. Even if it's a bit strange, such love and passion for something is just adorable. Similar things could be said about the tactiturn Kyousuke going throught all sort of things to provide support to her little sister, making the few times he actually smiles all the more meaningful. The story might be simple, but it's very sweet. And i like to think that the sentiments behind it, even if they get a bit off-key at times, are honest (maybe it's even further proof of their honesty). At the very least you can tell they really enjoy all the digs at the otaku lifestyle.
So yeah, starting the show i expected a completely shallow product with little more going for it than cute girls and sexy art/designs, and instead found a set of genuinely likeable characters within an engaging story as well as cute girls and sexy art. Sadly going by some reviews here a while back it seems the show goes progressively downhill before culminating in a trainwreck but at least for now i'm very happy to have watched it.
