115th G-View: Ore no Imouto; Alternate Route (Warning: spoilers ahead)

Hello and Welcome to the G-Views, where creativity is respected and Dokuro-chan is rejected.  This time we’ll be looking at the bonus OVAs depicting an alternate ending for the Oreimo series. I must confess that I didn’t care much about what these episodes had to offer since I was contempt with the way the original 12 episode anime ended but I gave in and decided to check the episodes out as they premiered one by one.

WARNING! This review will contain some spoilers as to what happens during specific moments on the show, proceed with caution.

Genres: comedy, drama

Themes: imouto, otaku, secrets, siblings, romance

Number of episodes: 4; 12.5-15

G-Rating: 7.5/10

The OVA begins exactly as the final TV episode began…until it reaches the halfway point and things take a different turn and continue on another direction where Kirino DOES leave for America.

For all the Kirino haters here, you all have to admit one thing, Kirino IS Oreimo. The show doesn’t feel the same without her around, though the rightful order is restored in the last episode of this route when Kirino finally makes her return to the screen/monitor. For the majority of the alt. route, Kuroneko, or Ruri Gokou as she’s actually named, is the main female protagonist.

Ruri Gokou is a cliche character that I can’t get myself to get behind at all. While her alter ego, Kuroneko, is pure greatness, Ruri herself is nothing more than fanservice for otakus who wanted a Kyosuke X Kuroneko pairing. The fact that that’s the main reason these bonus episodes exist is the main reason why I care so little for them plot wise. The default ending was perfect and I STILL won’t accept the alternate route’s ending.

Also, where’s Mini-Neko? Why bother introducing Mini-Neko if you’re not going to use her later on? I miss the super adorable bundle of puff. I WANT THAT NENDOROID, so cute.

As for my main point above concerning Kirino, the fact remains that the show’s title loses its purpose without her around. No matter how much haters going to hate her, she’s the reason why the show is called “My Sister Can’t be This Cute”, the 2nd reason being that although Kuroneko and Akagi are entertaining, they’re not enough to bring back the feeling that the show had in its 12 episode anime season.

That’s the only reason this route exists, because of the Kuroneko fans. They’re missing the point. Unlike the other fanboys out there, there’s one more reason I like Kuroneko aside the fact she’s a badass. That reason is that her character is believable, like the others on the show.

I already explained what I liked about the show in my G-View of it so I needn’t repeat myself. Bottom line, I liked what Kuroneko stands for as far as her personal beliefs are concerned. That’s why I get a smile on my face whenever the route focuses less on Ruri being cliche and more on Kuroneko’s views on society, the anime industry, writing, creativity and family. That’s what I liked about her. The Gothic Lolita getup’s a bonus. I guess it comes down to liking the alter ego more than the person, it’s weird but I consider Ruri Gokou and Kuroneko two different people even though they’re one and the same.

The rest of the cast remains the same lovable selves that we remember from the original TV series so I have nothing to say about them…except Sena Akagi.

As you all remember from episode 12, Sena Akagi is Kouhei Akagi’s younger sister who was hinted at being a yaoi fangirl/gamer. The thing is we didn’t know to what extent her fandom would extend…hoo boy. This girl has got it bad. Putting her yaoi fetish aside let’s look at her as a person. Sena’s kind of a proud person at first who doesn’t get along too well with others and only chose to join the Games Research Club in order to improve her skills as a game designer rather than associate with the other club members. All that changes when she finds a rival, later turned friend in Kuroneko. She’s an interesting character to watch, albeit a bit feisty and hilarious when in yaoi fangirl mode.

I said it before and I’ll say it again, I could care less who Kyosuke ends up with as long as it isn’t Kirino. I still don’t care because the “romance” portion of this show is the least relevant of all its themes.

My thoughts on the show that I described above remained unchanged…until the final episode: 15.

After the 13 minute mark I was like…what is this? However, as the episode progressed and reached its conclusion, I understood. I’ll go into detail what I thought about both how Kirino and Kyosuke felt. Let’s begin with Kirino. The reason why I kind of sympathize with how she felt is because it’s not implausible for a girl her age to start feeling lonely, doubtful, homesick and under pressure. Even though she’s a gifted athlete and hard working when it comes to her goals, she’s still an adolescent and it’s perfectly normal for her to feel such emotions. Not every kid her age can be prepared to live independently and achieve the desired independency they’ll gain later on.

We now move on to Kyosuke. My thoughts on his feelings are…also understandable, though I think the show went a bit overboard. I myself have felt the sadness of losing a close friend or brother-like figure (my cousin), even though I didn’t exactly get so worked up as to do what Kyosuke did. Still, it’s commendable how far he’s willing to go to help her sister get better, even going so far as to admitting his own loneliness to her. I still think it’s a little over the top but not implausible.

Overall the alternate route wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Sure it had its annoying moments but so did the original 12 episode anime and that was one of my fav shows of 2010. I recommend it to any fan of the original series that had their doubts about the bonus episodes. Both endings are good in my book but I still favor the default ending over the extra one. What do all you doods and peeps think? I’d like to read your thoughts as well, just don’t make a big deal about any pairings or whatever, that’s what the PSP game’s for: to satisfy all you otaku’s desired fetishes.

P.S.: There is one thing that did make me scratch my head though. What was up with Ruri and Kyosuke’s exchange during the “confession”? I mean, Kyosuke didn’t reject her. All he did was go help out his sister. I dunno, I still don’t care personally but it did bug me a little. Also we STILL don’t get to see a closeup of Saori’s face but it’s all for the best I suppose. It gives her that mysteriously sexy aura that she already has in her Saori Bagina getup.