Ranked #512

Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai Specials

Nothing is worse for the adaptation of a still-publishing novel than a filler ending, especially if the anime turned out to be rather popular, as is the case with Ore no Imouto. The problem with filler endings of course, is that it's extremely difficult to make a sequel that is still faithful to the original material.

I imagine the producers at Aniplex were quite peeved and banging their heads against the wall about 6 episodes in, when they realized that their anime could be milked for at least another season. But what can they do now? There isn't enough episodes left to change the filler ending. Then one sensible producer, whom I will dub Jim, pointed out that there is this thing called the interwebz, and they could just post new episodes up there, if only for the sake of continuity. And all the studio were happy and had party that night, and Jim got a big promotion.

If you watched the original 12 episodes and liked it, then you'll probably like this, because it's more or less the exact same thing, only a slight different (and longer) ending. This arc DOES feature Kuroneko over Kirino, so if you're a fan of her then go wild. And of course to fans of the novel, this IS a faithful adaptation, so if you didn't like the filler ending then you'd probably like this one. Everything else, art, music, characters, still maintain the high level of quality as the tv series, so it is still the Ore no Imouto that we know and love.

Nothing else to say really, except with this new ending, hopes for a second season are high. *fingers crossed* =3 read more

I'm critiquing this anime based solely on the present story progression without any hindsight pertaining to the light novel. It has been my experience that reading the original material before watching the animation may result in set expectations that might negatively impact one's opinion of the animation.

That being said, no I did not enjoy the specials at all. I understand this was an effort to continue the series with what little ongoing story material not covered in the televised series. However, from what was presented in the specials, I think that the overall series would've benefitted more from original televised ending. I do understand that the stories in light novels often continue even after their animated counterpart's intended ending and because of that we viewers are subjected, at many times, to sudden cliffhangers that leave the stories open ended. If a light novel series proved to be successful, the story may be revisited with a second season of animation. Animated specials, on the other hand, contain materials that were not featured in the televised series for reasons uncontrollable by the producers. They often feature side stories that provides insight into the story but not enough to further the development of the story on their own. For that reason, the animated special of Ore no Imouto failed. It was too short to be a second season on its own and contain too much development to be half-hearted animated special.

The animated special continues the story with what is considered the "true path" in line with the story development from the light novel. Kirino was removed from the main cast while Kuroneko and Kyosuke was pushed to the center stage. There were minor re-introductions of several secondary characters like Saori and the game club's president as well as the introduction of new characters like various members of the game development club and Sena Akagi. This too was another weak point of the animated specials. I never did like Kirino, however, she is the glue that ties this story together; removing her and placing Kyosuke as the story's focus was a stupid idea. Kyosuke, of course, can't function without being a hero coming to the rescue of young maidens and for that Kuroneko replaced Kirino's position. The story hinted at the romantic tension implied as the schoolmate replaced the younger sister's position but with all due intent, the romantic development between Kuroneko and Kyosuke was much anticipated. However, even that was cut short by second cliffhanger ending the animated special provided. And to further comment, nothing is more frustrating than seeing two Japanese teenagers taking such a puritanical approach to dating. Sena Akagi was hilarious and interesting for exactly 30 seconds. The gay joke dies quickly. The rest of the cast received no development. I won't comment much on the music or art as those rarely impact the value of an animation to me unless in the case that they were extraordinary; they weren't but they weren't bad either.

I do no hate animated special or the Ore no Imouto series but am just disappointed at the decision the production staff has taken. They could've just waited a while longer for the author to release more novels and created an eventful second season but instead they opted for a lackluster continuation that dragged on throughout the summer. In short, the animated specials were a story of Kyosuke and Kuroneko NOT doing anything.
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