Of course I had to continue with Oreimo 2 because the first season was so eccentric! If you haven’t already, check out my anime review of Oreimo (season one) for a better reinstating of the plot. Also, watch the first season before you read this, as a spoiler or two might be present in this review.
Following Kirino’s departure to America in season one (OVAs), the sequel picks back up on the average life of Kyousuke Kousaka. When the older brother demands his sister’s return, even traveling all the way to America himself to do so, things between the two begin to break apart again. After all of the work in season one Kirino still seems just as tsundere as ever. Drama rears its ugly head, however, when Kuroneko, Ayase, Kirino and the rest reveal their mixed feelings for our bumbling brother. The story goes from otaku culture in society to relationships with siblings and others.
This second season crushes the majority of the characters by turning them on their own heads. Specifically speaking, the hot-headed and sophisticated Ayase is no longer that. Do you recall the moments when she detested Kyousuke, eroge, and everything else that he was involved in? How about the episodes of time where she would yell at Kyousuke and even Kirino just to try to cleanse Kirino of her hobbies? That signature kick that she would deal upon him when he was against Ayase – well, that’s still here, but anyway, the series suddenly turns her into an active yandere without even a second thought. She was one of the few serious characters, now diminished to a lover and a dreamer. A shame.
Kirino remains true to her tsundere influenced setup. In fact, she still gets mad at Kyousuke, yells at him, and then kicks his door. I love Kirino as a character; even in this second season, she realizes the bad things she does and tries to take care of it, though this usually fails and then gets cleared up by Kyousuke. She’s just a teenage girl – she makes mistakes but grows through them. The only difference in her mood is that towards the end, she somewhat realizes her love and dependence on Kyousuke. It’s weird and strays away from the original plot, but touching nonetheless. After watching the strange ending, I now understand Kirino and Kyousuke as characters much more than before.
If you liked Kuroneko, Saori, and Manami, you’ll be pleased to know that they have improved. Kuroneko gets her own little arc with Kyousuke, but I found it less right than him and Kirino. Kuroneko and Kyousuke didn’t go well together; I couldn’t feel the connection between them like I did with his sister, and I know it’s “wrong” to say that. Saori receives a nice embellishment with her sister and her past, which many people skip by, but I found those episodes to be more enjoyable than the entire Kuroneko arc – and that’s saying something!
Enough about characters. The soundtrack is pretty much the same quirky OSTs as last season. Some new tracks are added to the romantic moments, though. The opening, which I can’t even remember, is just another J-pop song. Yeah it’s fine, but nothing I can recall.
Animation has improved. And saying that the quality before was fine, this was even more enjoyable. I like the concept art of Kirino and the other girls’ characters. They are soft, yet gorgeous and just overall well presented.
Oreimo 2 is a very good anime; it just fails to deliver as a sequel to an amazing first season. This season drops most of the otaku acts and focuses on forced cliché relationships. I guess if you love drama, then here you go, but I watch this particular anime for the struggles of otaku life and comedy – Oreimo is not a serious show, so why should it start being so now? For people who followed the first season, feel free to watch the sequel, just know that it’ll break your views of the interesting characters we encouraged for the previous twelve lovely episodes.
And with that, I conclude my overall thoughts Oreimo – My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute! Currently, though I do not own a copy of the series, you can watch it for free over at Crunchyroll, but you can also slide on over to my place because “The only one I sexually harass is you!” – Kyousuke
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