Well then, let's get a few important things out of the way. As I go into this in an attempt to lose my review virginity, I'll also add that I see OreImo specials not as standalone, but as a continuation of OreImo2. This should go without saying - They are the final episodes. I'll attempt to write this without using overly complicated words. I believe reviews should be friendly and will do my best to explain my points and try to be concise. And, by the way, there will be spoilers lower down - You can choose not to read them, but it makes understanding
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this review harder. This is because, after all, these are the final episodes.
I'll assume you have either watched OreImo1 and OreImo2 (I'll refer to this bundle of last episodes as OreImo Specials), and you're just wanting to check what's up with all the low ratings and bad ranting over how this is the "Worst Anime ending ever/in recent history/that I can think of" that you've seen tossed around. Because let's be fair, if you're reading the reviews of OreImo Specials, the last few episodes of OreImo2, then you likely have read the reviews of OreImo1 and 2, have already finished the series, or are just reading before tackling it after finishing OreImo2 (Or deciding if it's worth your time.)
Let's change topic. You undoubtedly like watching your pairings get coupled up. However, if there are two love interests B and C for character A, if character A pairs with character C then we'll have B fans sad. Flip your coin - If A pairs with B, then we'll have C fans sad.
Harems are an unforgiving genre. You'll end up with very likely an open ending and lots of people throwing their favorite girls at you. OreImo specials is not in the Harem genre according to MAL, so maybe you think this is a weird comparison - But like I said, you have probably watched or read about OreImo 1 and 2 and should know that our Main Character Kyousuke has a rather uncommon number of girls waiting around him. As such, it is only natural that out of all the girls, there will be people shipping for one pairing, people for others, and so on.
Let's tackle the review in itself now, shall we?
Art, Sound and Character - You don't need to come here to read about them - This is the continuation of OreImo2 and as such all the ratings from there should cross over to here apart from Enjoyment and perhaps Story. Everything else is the same. I'll be the first to say I enjoy the Art and Sound and while not a masterpiece it doesn't leave me wishing for more or cringing when I hear a tune or see a character move. Some Characters feel rushed in OreImo Specials!, and some are tossed aside - but ultimately they are the same characters as before, and their development has already happened (And, in the case where it didn't happen, it tries to happen here and feels very, very rushed.)
Well then, we go into our InceStory that you probably have already followed. I won't lie - it's hard to explain the ending without spoilers. So let's just say - This contradicts your usual harem ending. There's no openness - Girls are turned down repeatedly so that our character gets with the one he loves. It sounds pretty normal - The problem is how it was executed.
In a word, it feels rushed. Some characters that have been developing on screentime since just about the first few episodes of OreImo1 get chewed and tossed aside; as characters that are fan favorites are disregarded, it will leave a bitter taste in your mouth as you see the beloved pairing you have been shipping for a while drop it's chance from whatever you believed it was to 0 in no time flat. On the other hand, characters that barely had screentime all of a sudden decide to confess; they haven't had enough development to leave any meaningful impact, and it ends up feeling like it's trying to toss you as many denials as possible.
That apart, once our beloved protagonist finally finds and enters a relationship with his love, then everything's fine. If not for one problem - how this ultimately ends.
And this is why there is such a downrate in enjoyment. It's hard not to dislike something when you see your favorite characters get tossed aside for development that feels like it "resets" at the end, as if you're suddenly back on square 0. It's not something a lot of people can claim to enjoy. But if you look past the enjoyment, there are things to be learnt, too. Because OreImo tackles the theme of Incest, Love, and Otaku Culture, right? Hasn't this been something said in several reviews and by several people in different places? Though the last one has been left lacking in OreImo Specials (otaku culture) - you should probably pay attention to these and how they're developed. It's as interesting as the characters themselves, and it helps you understand the ending. If it doesn't bring you to like it, then it will be at least "passable".
Let's resume before I tackle a spoilered review which I feel is very much needed, although this'll be contradicting of the guideline. If you like shipping, if you like watching your pairing - Who doesn't? - you'll be left slightly disappointed. What really hurts for most is how the single relationship ultimately ends, which, albeit sad, is a necessary ending. If you look past the hate of reaching back to square 0, the scores are the same; sound, art, character; and if you think about it you might even heighten the story score a bit. This is by no means a perfect ending, but this is, by no means, a bad story or a "bad" ending. Surely it's an ending that will leave you bitter and "void" but it's something that, with how the anime was handled and how it tackled the subjects it tackled, was needed. This is the continuation of OreImo2 with a fitting ending that, ultimately, reminds us that OreImo isn't one of the Eroges that Kirino loves to play, or a slice of life where the characters magically have all their problems fixed in the end. OreImo never had super powers and it never tackled anything otherworldly. OreImo ultimately is a tale of love between two siblings; forbidden love between two siblings, just because they're siblings, and how the society views this - and also, how the society views other things such as Otaku Culture (Although this is more related to OreImo1).
*****SPOILERS AHEAD.******
This marks the end of the un-spoilered review. So, let's see who did what that I mentioned in the unspoilered review.
Kuroneko is probably the one that, when rejected, makes a lot of people enter the "dislike" mode. The reasons are clear - In a very dramatic scene, she ends up crying after Kyousuke declares he won't date her and that he truly loves Kirino. On the other hand, "rushed" is what defines Kanaka the best. Someone that barely had screentime or character development with Kyousuke suddenly confessing to him - That's a bit absurd.
And in comes the problem that everyone has with OreImo Specials! The ending.
Kirino finally pairs up with Kyousuke and they start dating for a few weeks. Yeah, surprise - It's not like this had been building up for a while now, eh? (/sarcasm). There's yet another dramatic scene with Manami, where she attempts to tell both Kyousuke and Kirino that what they are doing is immoral and wrong. Siblings can't get married and they'd always be viewed as strange by society; after all it's not normal. However, Kyousuke, in a very anime like fashion, declares that he doesn't mind and that he loves Kirino.
They arrange a "marriage" and share a few moments. And then, Kirino reminds him of a "promess". Now, in the very last moments of the last episode of the last part of the OreImo franchise, you'll be seeing Kirino and Kyousuke agreeing to date for a few weeks, be the happiest they can get for these few weeks, and then break up.
And it doesn't lie and goes through with it.
And this is where everything falls down. It could be acceptable if they actually kept together; this would explain Kyousuke turning down every single girl just to stay with his sister, and could even satisfy some fans as a "good" ending. But...
You never saw any superpowers in OreImo apart from the usual anime delusions. You never saw anything absurd or abnormal, other-worldly happen. Yes, this is an anime; yes, this is a fantasy setting; yes, this is fictional; but it's still a story that passes in the "real" world. No, I'm not mixing fantasy with life or anything. This is the story about humans, just like me and you (I hope.) The anime proceeds to beat us back into the harsh reality that we're NOT going to see some crazy plot twist pulled out of the rear of the pen of the writer where their father goes up to them and says "By the way, you're adopted" or something similar. They're brothers. What I feel like is that this anime brings back and reminds us; "This isn't one of the Eroges that Kirino plays. This is simply the tale of the love between two siblings." Just like in the real world, this wall of morals and society that keeps people from doing a lot of things will set Kirino and Kyousuke apart and impossibilitate their dating, no matter how much they love eachother. Because they're siblings, and that's how it is; no matter how much you struggle for it, the fact that they're both siblings won't change. And OreImo had been tackling society views on many things, such as Otaku Culture and Incest since the beginning. Truly; it has been said that the mangaka had to change the ending because he did plan a full-incest ending but it wasn't accepted due to the implications of it. To be honest? Sure, I'd like a full-incest ending. But as an anime that had been tackling, even if very lightly, social views before, I think this ending is much more "realistic" and fitting of OreImo than any other that could possibly pull. Ultimately, it boils down to "Is it worth it to turn down every other girl just to date your loved one a bit, although it won't last?" For Kyousuke, the answer was yes. And unless some magic breaks them apart and suddenly makes them stop being siblings, they will, ultimately, have to break up; and Manami covers why nicely in her "fight". They were happy for a short time. Was it worth it?
Well.. I enjoyed it.
Jan 9, 2014
Well then, let's get a few important things out of the way. As I go into this in an attempt to lose my review virginity, I'll also add that I see OreImo specials not as standalone, but as a continuation of OreImo2. This should go without saying - They are the final episodes. I'll attempt to write this without using overly complicated words. I believe reviews should be friendly and will do my best to explain my points and try to be concise. And, by the way, there will be spoilers lower down - You can choose not to read them, but it makes understanding
...
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