Imouto sae Ireba Ii.

Jun 4, 2020

KanekiTale

Recommended

Preliminary (130/206 chp)

If you have come here after watching the anime, then I'll tell you that the first 4 volumes which covered the main content in anime have some extra content that helps in establishing the characters and scenarios better. The story is a bit jumbled in the anime compared to the light novel but not many changes in what is shown in the anime.

And for the 5th and 6th volumes. To tell In simple words, it was fantastic.

The relationships between the characters developed a lot and got pretty exciting throughout the 2 volumes. With new characters coming in the 6th volume and some great foreshadowing present, ...

Open

Gift

Mar 14, 2023

rapidragon12

Recommended

The first time I heard of this novel, I thought “oh, just another one of those sis-con harem light novels that make you bleed your eyes out at the end that I got to watch.” After some blind trust in Yomi Hirasaka’s writing ability after reading Haganai, and some other people saying it was a good novel, I went and bought it thinking “fuck it, the worst I will get out of it is a haha funny novel I can rant about.” However, over time, my impression of it went from “sis-con novel” to “parody sis-con novel” to “deconstructed sis-con novel” to, by the last ... few novels, realizing this series really isn’t about sisters at all.

As in all the other works from Yomi Hirasaka, the beginning tosses in your face the most eccentric, seemingly unrealistic characters possible that serve as the 5 main characters: the sister-obsessed freak of a light novelist Itsuki Hashima; his perfect younger brother (?) Chihiro Hashima; a sex-obsessed, genius light novelist Nayuta Kani (who is obsessed with Itsuki); by the books light novel and board game enthusiast Haruto Fuwa, and your average college student Miyako Shirakawa. As the novel goes on, while these characters tend to do absurd and sometimes obscene things (that end up with the female character naked), and continue to meet even more eccentrics like the panty-obsessed manga artist Kaiko and the tax accountant Ashley, they grow together and slowly address the flaws and problems that they have as they figure out why on earth they are doing what they do. While sometimes their activities get out of hand, most of the time when they are just playing a game like Mafia, Life (or something like those 2), or even their tabletop RPG adventure, you can see yourself right alongside them. Over time, you watch their relationships intersect, collide, break, then recoup to return to normalcy. You see them fail and mess up, then learn and return from their mistakes, growing and maturing as they do. In essence, you watch them go through everyday life as a light novelist, an editor, a college student, a tax accountant, or whatever else they decide to do at the time. You watch them grow. And while most of this series is not completely serious, in fact, most of it is a slice-of-life comedy placed in the young adult years full of making fun of the light novel industry, the not serious part lets you become attached the characters as you watch them have fun, even if it does make things more complicated down the line.
I will never say this is the light novel for everyone, as it has many things, especially in the beginning that might turn off people, it never really steps away from ecchi comedy, and even I missed most of the jokes about the LNs. However, for those that don’t mind those aspects, and can get themselves hooked on the series even in the slightest, the latter half brings the best climaxes and endings of any series I have read. As you watch the characters finally learn, grow, and mature, see how they see their own futures past the novel and wonder if not a sister, what is it that is all you need? Finally, as the story comes to an end you realize what it is really about: finding the answer to that question, and to quote the novel, find yourself something that makes you go “This, yes this, is all you need”

Open

Gift

Feb 16, 2018

maelstrom16

Recommended

Preliminary (1/206 chp)

When they put this Light Novel in the local bookstore's shelves, I know I had to buy it (and I am). Originally, I only interest with the art since it's drawn by Kantoku but the anime is quite decent. Since I can't read Japanese and the book IS in Japanese, I only able to skim-through the book and imagine based on the anime and picture in the become, but I indeed able to feel and enjoy. Surely I'll read the book once I able to read Japanese.

I'm sure that the Novel and the Anime don't have much different except some part is about when is ...

Open

Gift

Mar 19, 2023

cosme7

Recommended

Hey... Do you want to be the protagonist?
-
Story ★★★★ - The story of a man looking to become the protagonist of his own story, and of course his friends and how that influences each of them, from the maniac MC for Imouto (Little Sister), to the most serious and relaxed writer friend, each character is very believable and nice to follow, his personal fears, his fears as professionals, even his doubts about "what to do?" when they leave school, the novel takes most of these characters (because some are simply script tools, aka serve to move the story and don't need a giant back story, ... just one that makes sense) and gives direction to these characters in an organic way I would say, but you wonder why this in question is not a 10/10 for you? Well... The problem is in the characters.
-
Character ★★★★ - I'm going to leave the review as spoiler free as possible, I'm going to do the same review on novelupdates, and there I'm going to go through that part in detail in the spoilers, but speaking in general.
For me, the main core characters that is, the people who frequent Itsuki's apartment deserved both types of development (professional and personal), which does not happen, in the case in question being Haruto, and I was very annoyed by that, in addition to of other details which I simply thought unnecessary is given by the author in the last two volumes (13 & 14), even the details that didn't have much explanation like Nayuta's background to some reasons of Itsuki's Father you could trace why Itsuki's Father acted that way or why Nayuta got bullied and how she got BROKEN like that.
-
Art ★★★★★ - 10/10 very consistent, and beautiful XD.
-
Enjoyment ★★★★★ - It is very pleasant to read, from the Author's beer reviews, to how the Light Novels market works, it gives perspective from both the Writer and the Publisher, and how this moves the industry and its consequences, the effects that an anime can have, to fans giving hate on the internet and the consequences of letting yourself be carried away by them, you can safely say that this novel is the "Shirobako" or "Bakuman" for Light Novels.
Another point is the influence of the characters on the actions of others and their consequences, from the simplest things to more "energetic" actions I would say XD, of course comedy also comes in and you have a good laugh XD.
Another point that you can easily end up getting confused with is dates, I think the author is too lost on this point XD, and you as a reader have to guess where the event X of character X intertwines with character Y and etc...
-
General ★★★★ - I'm honestly going to give an 8/10, for me the work would have been perfect, but the author was a little unnecessary in some points and weak in others. The author's message in the last volume aka Itsuki's speech is very strong, and for me as a reader his message was crystal clear.
Anyway, you who are reading this review, your life can be shit and etc... You can be the protagonist of your life, take it into your own hands and DO IT, and you can end up becoming the protagonist of someone else and giving meaning to it her XD!

BTW CHIHIRO BEST GIRL AND IMOUTO <3!
-
If you read this review thank you very much and may God bless you!

Open

Gift

Mar 19, 2023

Nepgyaaaa

Recommended

As the saying goes: Don't judge a book by its cover. Or rather in this case: Don't judge a book by its title. This is not another generic siscon novel, it actually isn't really a siscon novel at all.

-STORY-

A Sisters All You Need is a story about a group of eccentric light novel industry friends, their struggles as authors, and their ever-growing web of complex relationships. It perfectly straddles the line between a raunchy laugh out loud comedy, a character drama, a romantic comedy, and a cozy slice of life.

Each volume features many short chapters, usually ranging between 14 and 19 chapters total. The chapters ... tend to be small vignette or episodic style stories ranging from a few paragraphs to 30 pages. A lot of the chapters are about the main group of friends, just having fun playing board games or tabletop games like D&D. The author does an excellent job describing each game they play in detail.

Additionally, because the story is about a group of authors, it also features quite a bit of meta commentary on the actual light novel industry, which is super interesting. The characters discuss trends like over-saturation of samey isekai light novels, and often discuss real authors and popular series.

Volumes 1-4 are what were covered in the anime adaptation. Those first 4 volumes serve as a great introduction to the characters and their relationships, but don't have very much character development. Starting with volume 5 the relationships that were set up in the first 4 volumes really start to develop.

-CHARACTERS-

Early on, the story mainly focuses on comedy, which tends to be driven by the characters, quite a few of which are pretty goofy. Between the foul mouthed Nayuta who somehow finds a way to fit a sex joke into nearly every sentence she says, Ashley, A thirty-something year old loli Tax Accountant who specializes in doing taxes for authors just so she can torment them about purchasing eroge, and Puriketsu, a light novel Illustrator obsessed with drawing the perfect ass. The characters all work off of each other really well, and even with a bunch of the characters being so over the top, the dialog between them always feels natural.

Over time as the characters and their relationships develop, the comedy and gags start to have less of a focus. Quite a few characters who originally seemed to be just one note gag characters become much more complex later on. With the story diving deep into their insecurities, revealing why they have the quirks they do. Some characters do just remain gag characters though.

-ART-

The character design and artwork is just superb! So many small unique details in the characters and they all have fun quirks. The illustrations are very detailed and do an excellent job of depicting each character, no matter how ridiculous the situation. It has very clean digital art.

-OVERALL-

A Sisters All You Need is an incredibly engaging story that mixes crazy humor, heartfelt moments, and compelling drama. It also does an excellent job turning one note archetypal characters into very complex characters with unique relationships.

10/10 Highly recommended for fans of comedy, romance, and slice of life.

Nayuta Best gir!

Open

Gift

Aug 17, 2023

amano2203

Recommended

After watching the anime around 6 years ago, I never got the chance to see the potential developments that got me hooked from the very start of this series. And so I began reading the light novel, hoping to see the conclusions for each character with their own stories and relationships.

Instead, what only started an eccentric sis-con novel only developed into a wonderful story that digs deep into your own soul and plants the seed for you to bloom into someone greater.

At the beginning of ImoSae, the young cast of college-aged characters gave this impression of what the novel's title really is, the dumb, nonsensical ... and loud events that occur as they hang out while figuring out their new lives while forcefully shoving the "little-sister" trope down your throat as you'll chuckle and grin at the interactions between the characters and their lives (with a little fanservice). Itsuki, alongside his group, has well-established backstories that leave you pondering more about their developments and interactions, while also satisfying you as you gulp down their Q and As to learn more about them, not just as characters, but as strong-willed individuals that don't give up despite having major setbacks in their life. At first, I thought these guys seemed too unrealistic, too unreasonable and too innocent to go up against the real reality within our society. But Yomi Hirasaka knew immediately that my naiveness was clearly off.

After the first two volumes, we begin to see the introductions of new characters, new changes and new setbacks as our young cast begin to face off the sluggard pains and mistakes within their occupations, yet the comedy and the strong-willed passion for little sisters are still apparent, and it only gets funnier as Itsuki's craze only leads him into more trouble, perhaps for his good. Itsuki's life is filled with being a light novel writer, and his occupation really lets you take a closer glimpse of the writer world (like Bakuman) and it's wonderful yet comedic seeing the interactions Itsuki has between not only his editor but with others that are branched within the light novel occupations. Meeting these new characters felt off initially, and I assumed I would forget them easily since it had been a common trope to leave these side characters out down in the gutter, but Yomi Hirasaka places such delicate care and love towards his characters, and I loved how they have their own unique stories and personalities that slowly transform the original young cast I had been used to, now into a band that filled even greater memories as their relationships grow.

The complexities of these relationships start to begin within the later volumes as the relationships that formed originally are now being tested to their extreme as the young cast begin down their cheesy descent of love, the foundation and core of how these characters will make the next step forward in their lives. The internal battle between restraint and cowardice only lets us see the real nature of these characters that shape their personality even further as they face off between romances and friendships, and seeing the weaknesses and crumbling anxieties that each character holds within their hearts only made feel deeply connected by the multiplicity of the shortcomings and new developments between the young cast. There may be a happy ending, but for the other two, it was no other than being cut to the side, and the light novel perfectly portrayed this barely uncovered side to the individuals that lose, yet providing the moral of how it's ok to face these setbacks as long as you keep moving forward.

As you keep reading on, you only come to see how each character, even those with barely any appearances, have their own issues within their lives, yet something strikes in all these characters that allow them to deal with the neverending stress, hardworking nights and constant anxieties. A motivation driven by their different experiences, relationships and even age creates this sense of unity that I wished I could partake in, and Hirasaka really, and I mean really, loves his work to decorate and add this type of detail that leaves you wondering what had happened if you had strayed with this strong-willed feeling, or perhaps how it’s never too late to start, and never too late to find motivation. The characters that Hirasaka develops all have something essential for you to learn and take from, whether you find it useful or not is up to you, and I think it plays a heavy impact on how we value ourselves as not just an individual, but for who we are.

A final aspect of ImoSae comes in the form of change as the novel has long seen the young cast now develop into experienced adults as they face their final obstacle to their Game of Life, and it had come as surprising for what once a sis-con novel, was now a beautiful depiction and display into yet another complex piece of reality. Itsuki now faces what is possibly the bottom of the rollercoaster ride in his life as he combats against his patience, maturity and acceptance that fiddle around with his relationships. The tension between the characters only begins to further tighten to the point of snapping, and the novel really begins to reveal the climax of the story while still maintaining its upbuilt comedy as we see downfalls, tragedies and the intricacies of slumps derive into reaching for a solution despite mishaps, misfortunes and mistakes within these relationships, revealing Hirasaka's number one message from the very start of this novel; to never give up, to keep moving forward, to become the protagonist, something Itsuki has held on ever since he met new people, faced setbacks, and now against his slump. It wasn't just about Itsuki's final drive that hit me here, but it was the entirety of all the characters that all go against different changes and uncertainties, yet all of them, one by one, conquer these obstacles as they come to face and accept the new realities of their lives. Hirasaka weaves this unison of stories to hit you with an amazing and incredible recollection of what you've just read for the past volumes of ImoSae, and I couldn't find any better way to finalise this conclusion to a beautiful story.

Perhaps I had overanalysed Hirasaka's piece of work, but for me, I view ImoSae as a symphony where all these characters and their interactions compose the music to resonate with anyone that may or may not share these similar experiences with the characters, these characters give you snippets to your experience to your identity, telling you that whatever piece you compose next will only be for you to hear and sing, and it will be wonderful, even if you can't write music. ImoSae was supposed to be a comedy, ecchi and romance novel, and it still upholds that (don't worry), but the fine threads woven from the original cast up to an entourage really craft a piece that could be reread and enjoyed over and over again.

Open

Gift

Imouto sae Ireba Ii.
A Sister's All You Need.
Edit

What would you like to edit?

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Write a Review
Reviews

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Imouto sae Ireba Ii.A Sister's All You Need. Edit What would you like to edit? SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Write a Review Reviews

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Imouto sae Ireba Ii.
A Sister's All You Need.
Edit

What would you like to edit?

Write a Review
Reviews