So here’s the “analysis” and “conclusions” part of the ongoing OreImo showings. Hopefully I’ll be able to churn one of these out each weekend following the movie showings and such. Gee, it sure is hard sticking up for a crappy series trollface;

Anyway, Daniel’s post made me think of this:

What Happened?

First thing to notice right off the bat is that all the scenes basically play out like any other dating sim. This basically puts it in the same place as Clannad, Amagami, True Tears, take your pick. Thing is, this series doesn’t have an accompanying dating sim (well it does now, but it didn’t at the time of airing). Pretend you’re an animator. You’re given a dating sim. You hate your life — and this dating sim — so you just basically animate it the way it looks in the dating sim. Ore Imo looks a bit like that. Kyousuke says a line, Kirino yells something back, shot, reverse-shot, bam. Ore Imo’s made just like that, only on purpose. This sets a huge polar to the last episode in this series, but we can open that pack of fudge when we get to it. Guess what sort of audience they’re going for here? I won’t tell you, but take your best guess.

So what’s the deal?

The point is, there’s a huge culture for dating sims, and if you like them, you’re watching the right show. Look no further than the disgusting amount of references in the pile of anime, Kirino’s general behavior (think “imouto flags,” the scene where she approaches him while he’s sleeping is VERY stereotypical little sister bullcrap in dating sims), and the dating sim that Kirino forces Kyousuke to play. There’s a little lampshading here, because he chose the flag throwing his little sister off the bed, making her cry (which Kirino punishes Kyousuke for).We’re watching a dating sim here people; or are we…?

After that miserable night, we get to get out of the house and make the animators work for their pay.

What Happened?

The second episode was the one where Kirino tries to make friends. She totally sucks at it, for some reason. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be friends with such a likeable individual? It should come as no surprise that we save ourselves a lot of minor characters by totally eliminating them as friends of the main character, which is good. All she needs is the lovely Kuroneko and the classy Saori. Stuff happens, people argue over anime, and Kirino pretends she wasn’t on a date with her brother.

So what’s the deal?

Kuroneko and Kirino come from TOTALLY different walks of life. Polarizing ones, in fact. Kuroneko, DOES in fact look almost exactly like Suigintou from Rozen Maiden. This is no accident. Rozen Maiden wasn’t a “dark” anime, but by God was Suigintou a dark character in what was supposed to be a light series. She obviously just downright didn’t fit in, and mostly just served to troll the characters who were just about to get comfortable in their seemingly slice-of-life anime (it went on to be a cult hit with doll enthusiasts, but that’s not the point). Kuroneko (anyone else notice the excessive “K” names?) trolls Kirino, Kirino in some ways trolls Kuroneko, and we learn a bit about the divided fandom in Japan. We got the “Post-Evangelion fancy-dress teen-complex” crowd, and the “childish men and maniacs and unemployed and NEET” crowd arguing about which is better. What we end up with after shopping around Akihibara is that both crowds have their good things and bad. One being that people watch the childish shows for the impending pornographic doujinshi, and another being that emo people are fat.

So that’s that. If you have any other little things, feel free to add. If not, mention that Kuroneko is the best character. Look forward to this week!