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”

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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, I expect the upcoming volumes to get better and better.

EDIT: after completing up to Volume 9.

In simple terms, I can say that the story gets better with each volume (my hats off to the author).

The character development for sekigahara felt a bit short for me but left a profound impact on how you view a few characters now. With a bit, more focus being shown on all the other characters was done very well.

All I complain about is that the volumes are too short!! Hoping for quicker
translations so that I don't spoil myself anymore.

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