Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai Specials

After watching the first season of OreImo I was mildly surprised. It wasn't completely mediocre as I had suspected, and the show definitely showed potential, although that potential was never really fulfilled. Will the continuation finally break out of it's own shell? Let's look at Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai Specials.

Story (6/10):
The first thing I noticed when watching OreImo's Specials, is that the plot seemed to have calmed down a bit. As you can recall, the first season of OreImo had some pretty bizarre arcs in there, that degraded the shows character focused story. This time around the plot seems ... to have taken some chill pills, and has taken a more slice-of-life approach. Because of that, the story is actually better than the first season, giving the viewer nothing more than a nice little story that isn't too complicated.

That's all I can say about it though. While the story is pleasant to watch, it isn't really trying anything special. There's some decent comedy in there, but it isn't nearly as funny as the first season. The drama, the little there is, doesn't really pack a punch.

Art (7/10):
I've complimented the artstyle in OreImo before for having a very nice looking colour palette with good looking character designs, and that hasn't changed. What I really liked about it though, were the wide variety of outfits that the characters were wearing, and sadly, that isn't the case here.
This isn't really caused by a lack of effort, but more by the setting. High School students in Japan usually wear the same outfits in school, and with that, the variety is thrown out the window. It makes sense of course, but I am sad that such a good aspect of the show isn't shown in these specials.

The animation is average, not really bringing anything unique to the table. But since it's a slice-of-life show, I can't really fault the show for it. It doesn't need to excel at animation.

Sound (6/10):
The soundtrack is pretty much the same as the previous installment. It fits with the scenes, but isn't really memorable.

I have noticed an improvement in the voice acting department, especially on Kuroneko's part. The voice actress seems to be a lot more comfortable with her part this time around, and it is quite noticeable.

Characters (7/10):
It's an interesting turn of events for our characters, isn't it? Kirino is faffing about abroad, Kuroneko goes to the same High School as Kyousuke, and now they seem to be active in the computer club, adding a new character to the cast.

So let's start off with Kyousuke. I've said before that Kyousuke was a good male lead, showing just the right amount of compassion that you would expect, but also having some unique quirks, and twists on his character that make him interesting, and he's no different here. He does have some development in the specials, which is nice to see, but it doesn't really seem like anything major.

Kuroneko seems to be holding up quite well as the female lead this time around. The chemistry with Kyousuke might not be as funny as with Kirino, but she does present some sincere moments with him, that are entertaining to watch. She does shine at the end of the specials however, providing for some really good scenes.

The new character, Sena, isn't really that good though. She seems to be more like a replacement for Kirino, being an otaku herself, although a bit different. Yes people, this is the yaoi fangirl of the show. Run while you still can. Saying that though, the yaoi aspect of her actually provides most of the laughs in the specials, when she starts ranting about her interests. Other than that though, she doesn't really bring anything interesting to the table.

Overall (6/10):
OreImo Specials is kind of an oddball. It seems to have removed a lot of the flaws the original show had, but seems to have negated a lot of it's really good aspects. So would I recommend it? To repeat myself, if you're not into the whole incest-thing, no. Otherwise, it bridges the gap between the previous season, and the next season, so it is essential to the overall plot. Therefore, if you're interested in watching the next season, it's essential you watch this first.

"So anime characters don't automatically disintegrate when they leave Japan?"