Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai

Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai
The cover for the first light novel volume, featuring the main characters; Kirino Kosaka (left) and Kyosuke Kosaka (right)
俺の妹がこんなに可愛いわけがない
Genre	Drama, Romantic comedy
Light novel
Written by	Tsukasa Fushimi
Illustrated by	Hiro Kanzaki
Published by	ASCII Media Works
Demographic	Male
Imprint	Dengeki Bunko
Original run	August 10, 2008 – ongoing
Volumes	9
Manga
Written by	Tsukasa Fushimi
Illustrated by	Sakura Ikeda
Published by	ASCII Media Works
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Dengeki G's Magazine
Original run	March 2009 – May 2011
Volumes	4
TV anime
Directed by	Hiroyuki Kanbe
Studio	AIC Build
Licensed by	Aniplex USA
Network	Tokyo MX, TV Saitama, Chiba TV, MBS
Original run	October 3, 2010 – December 19, 2010
Episodes	12 (List of episodes)
Game
Developer	Bandai Namco Games
Publisher	Bandai Namco Games
Genre	Visual novel
Platform	PlayStation Portable
Released	January 27, 2011
Original net animation
Directed by	Hiroyuki Kanbe
Studio	AIC Build
Released	February 22, 2011 – May 31, 2011
Runtime	24 minutes each
Episodes	4
Manga
Ore no Kōhai ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai
Written by	Tsukasa Fushimi
Illustrated by	Sakura Ikeda
Published by	ASCII Media Works
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Dengeki G's Magazine
Original run	July 2011 – ongoing
Game
Ore no Imōto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai Portable ga Tsuzuku Wake ga Nai
Developer	Bandai Namco Games
Publisher	Bandai Namco Games
Genre	Visual novel
Platform	PlayStation Portable
Anime and Manga Portal

Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai (俺の妹がこんなに可愛いわけがない^?, lit. My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute), also known as Ore no Imōto (俺の妹^?) or Oreimo (俺妹^?)^[1][2] for short, is a Japanese light novel series written by Tsukasa Fushimi, with illustrations provided by Hiro Kanzaki. Nine volumes have been published since August 2008. A manga adaptation drawn by Sakura Ikeda was serialized in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Magazine. A 12-episode anime adaptation produced by AIC aired in Japan between October and December 2010. Four additional episodes, which offer a different ending to the broadcast series, were streamed monthly via the official website and other video streaming sites between February and May 2011, before being released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD in June and July 2011.

Plot

Kyosuke Kosaka, a normal 17-year-old high school student living in Chiba,^[3] has not gotten along with his younger sister Kirino in years. For longer than he can remember, Kirino has ignored his comings and goings and looked at him with spurning eyes. It seemed as if the relationship between Kyōsuke and his sister, now fourteen, would continue this way forever. One day however, Kyosuke finds a DVD case of a magical girl anime which had fallen in his house's entrance way. To Kyosuke's surprise, he finds a hidden eroge (an adult game) inside the case and he soon learns that both the DVD and the game belong to Kirino. That night, Kirino brings Kyosuke to her room and reveals herself to be an otaku with an extensive collection of moe anime and younger sister-themed eroge she has been collecting in secret. Kyosuke quickly becomes Kirino's confidant for her secret hobby.

Characters

Kyosuke Kosaka (高坂 京介, Kōsaka Kyōsuke^?)

Voiced by: Yuichi Nakamura

Kyosuke is the 17-year-old main character of Oreimo. He has a distant relationship with his sister, feeling that this will never change. However, this suddenly changes when he finds one of her eroge and after confronting her learns that she is an otaku. Through this, he tries to be a supportive older brother while realizing he himself knew very little about his sister, such as being almost flawless at school to working as a model. After which he promises to take up more of his role as an older brother to her, and appears to be able to tell what she is thinking or really meaning to say despite her tsundere personality. Despite this, she is generally the dominant person in their relationship, with Kyosuke being shown to be openly intimidated by her, only standing up to her in truly serious situations. Kyosuke initially claims to prefer to have a relatively peaceful and simple life but grows to love spending time with his sister and enjoy the drama she causes to the point where he becomes lonely when she is not around. In volume 7, Kyosuke confesses his love to Kuroneko and they start dating, but they break up in volume 8.

Kirino Kosaka (高坂 桐乃, Kōsaka Kirino^?)

Voiced by: Ayana Taketatsu

Kirino is Kyosuke's 14-year-old younger sister. She is mature for her age with a cold, tsundere-like personality. She is secretly an otaku with an obsession for "little sister"-themed eroge, as well as the children's anime series, Stardust Witch Meruru. She works as a photoshoot model and later becomes a novelist, the funds from which she uses to support her hobby. Despite her interests, she states she does not know why she started liking it and denies having a brother complex, believing the 2D and 3D worlds should be kept separate. Nevertheless, she is shown to be very frustrated whenever Kyosuke is with or shows interest in other girls, such as Manami, who she accuses as being "all over" Kyosuke. Likewise, she frequently forces Kyosuke to spend time with her, whether it is playing games or taking her out, but denies that she actually enjoys the time they spend together. She goes as far to sabotage his time with another girl but despite this she is genuinely grateful to her brother and even pours cold water over herself in a public street to prove that she is not simply selfish and even bought him a present as thanks. Despite stating she only likes eroge because of their cute characters, she shows a perverted side to herself when playing. She uses the screen name Kiririn when with her otaku friends.

Manami Tamura (田村 麻奈実, Tamura Manami^?)

Voiced by: Satomi Satō

Manami is Kyosuke's childhood friend. She wears glasses and is described as "plain", something she views as a compliment from Kyosuke. She has a crush on Kyosuke and blushes to his compliments. Due to the time they spend together, the people around them assume they are dating; even Manami's family members say that they should get married already, as if they already think of him as part of the family. Kyosuke explains that though he does not have any strong feelings for her beyond close friends, he does not like the idea of Manami having a boyfriend for some reason. Many times, he is unaware of Manami trying to become closer to him by trying to do things that couples do and how she is willingly doing things to please him in any way, such as cooking and cleaning. According to Kyosuke, her speech patterns resemble that of a grandmother or an old lady. Kyosuke's long time friendship with Manami has caused him to spend little time with his sister prior to the series, which explains Kirino's strong animosity towards her, thinking of her as surrogate sister to Kyosuke.

Saori Makishima (槇島 沙織, Makishima Saori^?) / Saori Bajeena (沙織・バジーナ, Saori Bajīna^?)

Voiced by: Hitomi Nabatame

Saori is the leader of the "Anime Girls Unite!" group on the Internet, whom Kirino meets in a meet-up. She wears very thick glasses (shown as swirls) and speaks with an exaggerated tone. She is a fan of Gundam (her alias is named after the character, Quattro Bajeena) and is also a collector of their model kits. Despite her general appearance in public, Saori is actually an aristocrat from a wealthy family, and speaks with a highly formal voice outside of meeting with her friends. She is tall and usually has to get cosplay tailor made. As Kyosuke says, Saori is drastically different from how she communicates through the Internet and through phone or speaking with her in person, to which she seemingly switches to a refined and sophisticated persona. According to Kyosuke in the light novels, she is dressed as a typical otaku from television but has the body of a supermodel. Despite being a middle school girl around Kirino and Kuroneko's ages, she is around the same height as Kyosuke, which surprises him when he first meets her. Despite her cheery attitude, Saori is quite lonely, living by herself, and has always feared that one day her true friends (Kirino, Kyosuke, and Ruri) would leave her in a similar way that her older sister (who got married and moved away) left her.

Ruri Goko (五更 瑠璃, Gokō Ruri^?) / Kuroneko (黒猫^?, lit. Black Cat)

Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa

Ruri is another otaku girl who lives near Kirino and later enrolls into Kyosuke's school. She often wears gothic lolita clothing based on a character from her favorite anime, even during hot weather, and will sometimes add cat ears and a tail. Due to both of their tsundere-type personalities, she constantly clashes with Kirino when it comes to anything. However, both girls genuinely care for each and value the time she spent together. Kuroneko is very prideful like Kirino but is willing to swallow her pride to achieve a goal. Unlike Kirino who likes little sister-themed games and magical girl anime, Kuroneko enjoys teen-centered fantasy anime. She often mentions "dark magic", claiming that she has it, usually to Kirino or to Kyosuke. She is noted to have a very large vocabulary, to where Kirino commented she needed to use a dictionary to translate her novel. Kuroneko actually wears red contact lenses to make her bluish eyes seem red. Kuroneko also has younger sisters, Hinata (日向) and Tamaki (珠希), whom she dearly cares for, though her sisters and mother both seem to worry about Ruri when she in her otaku mode. At school, Kuroneko wears normal clothes and at home, takes care of her younger sisters. In the anime, she later refers to Kyosuke as "Nii-san" due to her wishing to have an older brother and suggesting to annoy Kirino, while hinting some affection towards him. She later joins the video game club after she enrolls into Kyosuke's school. She is also very good at video games. Kuroneko later kisses Kyosuke on the cheek.

Ayase Aragaki (新垣 あやせ, Aragaki Ayase^?)

Voiced by: Saori Hayami

Ayase is Kirino's friend and classmate who works as a model alongside her and is also her best friend. Ayase is a friendly, nice, and refined lady, but becomes agitated and somewhat violent at the thought that she is being lied to, which she hates above all else. She tends to believe what she sees on the news. Therefore, she disapproves of anime and manga, calling it a disgusting hobby, especially eroge, due to the media portrayal that otaku will eventually become criminals. Originally she had a simple crush on Kyosuke, thinking of him as Kirino's caring brother. That all changed when she finds out of Kirino's otaku hobby and how he was aware of it and helps support it. She later refers to Kyosuke when she needs to talk about Kirino and her hobby, even asking for his help in making up with Kirino. However, she still dislikes him, believing him to be the reason for Kirino being an otaku. She is also friends with Manami and even exchanged number with her.

Kanako Kurusu (来栖 加奈子, Kurusu Kanako^?)

Voiced by: Yukari Tamura

Kanako is Kirino and Ayase's fellow friend, classmate and model, who sometimes swaps between a cute personality to a bratty one. She is a talented singer who dreams of becoming an idol, often going to a lot of auditions. Since she goes to karaoke places frequently, she is capable of remembering any song she has heard at least once perfectly. She is unaware of Kirino's hobby and generally finds anime childish and otaku disgusting, though she is on one occasion tricked into cosplaying as Kirino's favorite anime character, Meruru, for a contest and wins. Despite winning the contest, she is disgusted of what she had gone through, but likes the idea of being praised and the event even helps her career.

Daisuke Kosaka (高坂 大介, Kōsaka Daisuke^?)

Voiced by: Fumihiko Tachiki

He is Kirino and Kyosuke's domineering father. He is a high ranking officer in the police and has a no nonsense policy at home. He does not like the fact that Kirino is a model, but allows her to do so if she does well in school. He is severely against otaku, believing them to be a waste of a life, so when he finds out Kirino is one, he initially orders her to throw away everything otaku-related in her room. After being given a verbal beat-down by his son, he allows her to keep everything except for eroge, although Kyosuke manages to successfully protect even the eroge by claiming they belong to him. It is shown he truly does care for Kirino despite his gruff exterior, as he owns every article and picture of all her accomplishments.

Yoshino Kosaka (高坂 佳乃, Kōsaka Yoshino^?)

Voiced by: Akeno Watanabe

She is Kirino and Kyosuke's loving mother. She is aware of her daughter's obsession, as she has referred to her as "my otaku daughter". She is aware and of many things going on in her family and helps keep the peace in the house.

Iwao Tamura (田村 いわお, Tamura Iwao^?)

Voiced by: Hiromi Ohtsuda

Manami's little brother, whose attempts to follow the cool trends often backfire on him. He sports a buzzcut having been convinced he was getting a skinhead look.

Kōhei Akagi (赤城 浩平, Akagi Kōhei^?)

Voiced by: Junji Majima

Kyosuke's classmate who, similar to Kyosuke, often has to support his little sister's hobby for eroge. Though unlike Kyosuke's strained relationship with Kirino, Kōhei's relationship with Sena is much better, but Kyosuke considers him somewhat of a siscon.

Gennosuke Miura (三浦 絃之介, Miura Gennosuke^?)

Voiced by: Go Inoue

The president of the Games Research club at Kyosuke's school, which both Kyosuke and Ruri end up joining. He is also into little sister-themed eroge, as Kyosuke first meets him when trying to borrow a bike to ride home following a midnight eroge launch.

Sena Akagi (赤城 瀬菜, Akagi Sena^?)

Voiced by: Mariya Ise

Kōhei's little sister and a member of the Games Research club, as well as Ruri's classmate. Similar to Kirino, she has an obsession with eroges, albeit she prefers the hardcore yaoi genre to an extent that she will even fantasise about her other clubmates, pairing her brother and Kyosuke as a couple and becoming visibly disappointed when Kyosuke assured he was straight. The relationship she has with her brother is quite strong yet unclear how they feel each other. She joined the Games Research club in order to learn how to become a games designer. She is also very good at games, having the high score before Ruri beat it. This also attributes to her skill in programing being able to debug very easily.

Media

Light novels

Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai began as a light novel series written by Tsukasa Fushimi, with illustrations provided by Hiro Kanzaki. The first volume was published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint on August 10, 2008; as of September 10, 2011, nine volumes have been released.

Manga

A manga adaptation based on the light novels drawn by Sakura Ikeda was serialized in ASCII Media Works' magazine Dengeki G's Magazine between the March 2009 and May 2011 issues. Four tankōbon volumes were released on ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comics imprint between October 27, 2009 and April 10, 2011. A follow-up manga, Ore no Kōhai ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai (俺の後輩がこんなに可愛いわけがない^?, lit. My Junior Can't Be This Cute), began serialization in the July 2011 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine and features Ruri 'Kuroneko' Goko as the main protagonist.^[4]

Drama CD

A drama CD, based on events from the first and third volumes of the novels as well as a newly written scenario by Tsukasa Fushimi, was released by ASCII Media Works on March 31, 2010. The CD stars Ayana Taketatsu as Kirino and Yūichi Nakamura as Kyosuke.^[2]

Internet radio show

An Internet radio show entitled Ore no Imōto ga (Radio de mo) Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai (俺の妹が(ラジオでも)こんなに可愛いわけがない^?) to promote the anime adaptation began streaming on August 13, 2010 via the official website of the anime.^[5][6] The show is hosted by Ayana Taketatsu, who plays Kirino in the anime, and Kana Hanazawa, who plays Kuroneko.^[5] As of November 2010, seven shows have been broadcast, with new episodes being streamed every second and fourth Friday of the month.^[5]

Anime

See also: List of Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai episodes

A 12-episode anime adaptation produced by AIC and directed by Hiroyuki Kanbe aired in Japan between October 3 and December 19, 2010. The series is releasing over eight BD/DVD compilation volumes, with two episodes each, between December 22, 2010 and July 27, 2011.^[7][8] Four original net animation episodes were streamed through the official website, as well as several other websites such as Nico Nico Douga, Showtime Japan, and MovieGate, which began on February 22, 2011.^[9][10] The first two were released on June 27, 2011 in the seventh BD/DVD volume and the second two were released on July 27, 2011 in the eighth. These episodes feature a break in the original story arc starting at episode 12^[10] and offer an alternate ending from the TV broadcast.^[11] The anime retains the voice cast from the drama CD.^[12] Aniplex USA began streaming and simulcasting the series in North America through Anime News Network (ANN), but security issues involving the illegal leaking of episode two online resulted in the stream being placed on hold.^[13][14] The stream of Oreimo returned to ANN with the first four episodes on November 8, 2010.^[15] Aniplex USA released the series on an English-subtitled DVD box set in October 2011.^[16] The music of the anime is composed by Satoru Kōsaki and a soundtrack was released on January 12, 2011.^[17]

Video games

A PlayStation Portable visual novel titled Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai Portable was developed by Bandai Namco Games and released on January 27, 2011.^[18] The limited edition bundle included an OAD, a sister-talk bonus CD, and an additional game for the PSP. A fighting game titled Shin Imōto Taisen Siscalypse (真妹大戦シスカリプス, True Little Sister War Siscalypse^?), based on the fictional game in the series, was released by Kadokawa Contents Gate on the Yahoo! MobaGe Service on January 20, 2011.^[19] A second PSP title, Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai Portable ga Tsuzuku Wake ga Nai (俺の妹がこんなに可愛いわけがない ポータブルが続くわけがない, lit. There's No Way "My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute Portable" Could Continue^?), is being developed.^[20] Kirino also makes a cameo appearance in the Toaru Majutsu no Index PSP game.

Reception

The Mainichi Shimbun reported that the fourth volume as the light novel which sold the most copies in August 2009.^[21] Anime News Network reported in April 2010 that the first five light novels have sold collectively 920,000 copies in Japan.^[12]

References

1. ^ "「俺妹」×「禁書」コラボ広告 掲載 [Oreimo x Kinsho Collaboration Ad is Published]" (in Japanese). Aniplex. September 27, 2010. http://www.oreimo-anime.com/news/index01.html#n100927. Retrieved February 12, 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "高坂さん家の妹の人生相談を聞けッ!! ドラマCD『俺妹』の申し込みは電撃屋から [Listen to the Counseling of the Kōsaka Family's Younger Sister!! Pre-Order the Oreimo Drama CD from Dengekiya]" (in Japanese). ASCII Media Works. January 8, 2010. http://news.dengeki.com/elem/000/000/226/226563/. Retrieved January 9, 2010. 
3. ^ Fushimi, Tsukasa. "3". Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai. 3. p. 150. "「いちいち感想呟かなくていいからね？　黙ってればカッペだってことはバレないんだからさー、もうあんた一人で千葉に帰れば？」" 
4. ^ "Oreimo Novel Inspires New Manga Series in Dengeki G's". Anime News Network. April 27, 2011. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-04-27/oreimo-novel-inspires-new-manga-series-in-dengeki-g. Retrieved April 27, 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} "WEBラジオ | 「俺の妹がこんなに可愛いわけがない」アニメ公式サイト [Web Radio: Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai Anime Official Website]" (in Japanese). Aniplex. http://www.oreimo-anime.com/radio/index.html. Retrieved November 13, 2010. 
6. ^ "10月開始のTVアニメ『俺の妹』放送局を公開! Webラジオも本日より開始! [The October TV Anime Oreimo Opens its Broadcasting Office! The Web Radio Also Starts Today!]" (in Japanese). Dengeki Online. August 13, 2010. http://news.dengeki.com/elem/000/000/291/291034/. Retrieved November 13, 2010. 
7. ^ "Blu-ray&DVD「俺の妹がこんなに可愛いわけがない 1」 [Blu-ray & DVD Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai 1]" (in Japanese). Aniplex. http://www.oreimo-anime.com/package/index.html. Retrieved December 5, 2010. 
8. ^ "Blu-ray&DVD「俺の妹がこんなに可愛いわけがない 8」 [Blu-ray & DVD Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai 8]" (in Japanese). Aniplex. http://www.oreimo-anime.com/package/08.html. Retrieved December 5, 2010. 
9. ^ "『俺の妹がこんなに可愛いわけがない』 分岐ルート配信情報! [Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai Divergent Route Streaming News!]". Aniplex. January 25, 2011. http://www.oreimo-anime.com/news/index.html#n110125. Retrieved January 26, 2011. 
10. ^ ^{a b} "Oreimo #12 'True Route' Stream Scheduled in Japan". Anime News Network. January 25, 2011. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-01-25/oreimo-no.12-true-route-stream-scheduled-in-japan. Retrieved January 26, 2011. 
11. ^ "Oreimo Lists 4 Unaired Episodes". Anime News Network. December 5, 2010. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-12-05/oreimo-lists-4-unaired-episodes. Retrieved December 5, 2010. 
12. ^ ^{a b} "Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai Gets Anime". Anime News Network. April 30, 2010. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-04-30/ore-no-imouto-ga-konnani-kawaii-wake-ga-nai-novels-get-anime. Retrieved May 1, 2010. 
13. ^ "Anime News Network To Launch 1st Simulcast, Oreimo". Anime News Network. October 4, 2010. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-10-04/anime-network-to-launch-1st-simulcast-oreimo. Retrieved October 4, 2010. 
14. ^ "ANN CEO Speaks on Oreimo Episode Leak". Anime News Network. October 13, 2010. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-10-13/ann-ceo-speaks-on-oreimo-episode-leak. Retrieved November 3, 2010. 
15. ^ "ANN to Resume Streaming Oreimo, Togainu no Chi". Anime News Network. November 3, 2010. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-11-03/ann-to-resume-streaming-oreimo-togainu-no-chi. Retrieved November 3, 2010. 
16. ^ "Aniplex USA to Release Oreimo on DVD in October". Anime News Network. July 29, 2011. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-07-29/aniplex-usa-to-release-oreimo-on-dvd-in-october. Retrieved July 29, 2011. 
17. ^ "音楽 | 「俺の妹がこんなに可愛いわけがない」アニメ公式サイト [Music: Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai Anime Official Website]" (in Japanese). Aniplex. http://www.oreimo-anime.com/music/index.html. Retrieved November 14, 2010. 
18. ^ "『俺の妹』がアニメに続いてPSPでゲーム化!! どんな"人生相談"が飛び出す!? [Ore no Imōto Will Get an Anime and a PSP Game!! What Kind of Counseling Will Appear!?]" (in Japanese). ASCII Media Works. July 2, 2010. http://news.dengeki.com/elem/000/000/276/276293/. Retrieved July 4, 2010. 
19. ^ "Oreimo's In-Anime Game Siscalypse Offered in Japan". Anime News Network. January 20, 2011. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2011-01-20/oreimo-in-anime-game-siscalypse-offered-in-japan. Retrieved January 20, 2011. 
20. ^ "Oreimo Portable PSP Game Sequel Being Produced". Anime News Network. September 9, 2011. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2011-09-09/oreimo-portable-psp-game-sequel-being-produced. Retrieved September 10, 2011. 
21. ^ "ラノベランキング：「俺の妹」が１位　「狼と香辛料」など電撃勢上位独占　09年8月 [Light Novel Ranking: Oreimo is First, Spice and Worlf and Others Show Dengeki Superiority]" (in Japanese). Mainichi Shimbun. September 6, 2009. http://mainichi.jp/enta/mantan/archive/news/2009/09/06/20090904mog00m200047000c.html. Retrieved January 9, 2010. 

External links

• Official website (Japanese)
• Anime official website (Japanese)
• Visual novel official website (Japanese)
• Oreimo (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia