Oreimo Season 2 Ending
So I finally watched the last 3 OVAs, and thus finished the second season of Oreimo, and here are my thoughts about it.
Although I don't directly say what happens, it is clearly implied as to what happens at the end of the series. You have been warned... stop reading here if you don't want any more spoilers!
Now I don't normally write on my thoughts on anime unless the series was really, really good, or if the series aggravated me in general. Since the former is a rare case, this situation unfortunately falls within the latter.
Let's start by saying that I don't mind a Kirino pairing. I am a fan of imouto moe after all; I enjoyed the latter half of the Sword Art Online anime starring Sugu, and I have played and enjoyed Kana ~Imouto~. I also did like both Kuroneko and Ayase, so I wouldn't have minded a pairing with those 2 either. That being said, I am however biased more towards supporting Kirino.
So shouldn't I be happy about the way things turned out for the series? Not really. First off, let me start by saying that for the most part, I enjoyed the series through to the Kuroneko break up/make up. For the most part I thought Kirino was a brat, but I guess personalities don't change over night and she did show some signs of maturity as the series progressed. After the whole Kuroneko incident, I felt things took a turn south. Introducing Ayase as a potential lover felt way too late at this stage. I also felt that the series had already established her as a friend up until that point, so where did all the ren ai feelings come from so suddenly? I also felt the same way at the party, with Kanako and Saori suddenly jumping up as potential candidates as well. There was no development for these characters and a suddenly jump is just way out of context and felt crammed.
Next, the episode regarding Kirino's past. I thought it was cute, and have watched the episode multiple times, but as a reasoning for her love/hate relation with Kyousuke, it felt too weak. I thought they would have something a bit stronger/more surprising. It left me hoping that the only reason they left it weak was to not overshadow the last 3 OVA episodes.
Finally, the last episodes. A few points about these last few episodes:
First, I guess they must have felt that there was a need to resolve Kyousuke's relationship with all the other girls, because that aspect completely dominated any sort of happy feelings about the pairing. And every resolution made for the non-pairings destroyed the mood for any sort of happiness to follow up. Sure, there were some good scenes, like with the MP3 player, but that was eclipsed with all the destruction that occurred.
Second, Kyousuke, who was the last bastion of normalcy in the series, has suddenly and inexplicably fallen out of logic and out of character. I always say him as the cool headed, logical guy the helped his sister despite the strained relationship between them. And sure he got passionate about things during appropriate times. And he does say a few ridiculous things, as in his relationship with Ayase, but it is a given that things he says are all in jest. However, now he adopts some super ridiculous mode, shouting illogical things in a humorous pose, while being completely serious about? I guess they are trying to break the tension with all the destruction occurring, but to me it just felt like another out of the blue character change for Kyousuke that makes the whole series less believable.
Third, Kirino reverted back to the immature brat she was ever since the beginning of the series, at least for a scene. Not that this is out of character as her personality was a major premise of the whole show, but I guess the lapse in her development just annoyed me; I thought she would have matured a little more after the past few years in the series.
Finally, the cop-out at the end. Now I understand that no one wants to mar their image for something as controversial as an ending with an incestual relationship. I've also read some interviews that the author was basically at the whims of the company, regardless of what kind of ending he wanted. However, I did not enjoy the ending they put in. I didn't get a strong sense of clarity or potential for the future of Kyousuke. But the biggest thing about the cop-out was that I felt it put all the work he put into relationships throughout the series as the biggest waste of time ever. It feels like he ends up with pratically nothing at the end. Not a great ending for the given genre, if you ask me.
Anyway, those are my thoughts on the ending of the series. I really did enjoy the series, but did not really care for how it ended, regardless of whether I supported the pairing. Over all I would give the series as a while somewhere between 6, slightly above average, and 7, amusing, on my scale. (To me average is a show you don't care whether you watch or not.)
I was considering getting the DVDs, but after that kind of ending, I'm not sure anymore. Guess if I ever feel the urge to rewatch the series, I'll pick it up.
Although I don't directly say what happens, it is clearly implied as to what happens at the end of the series. You have been warned... stop reading here if you don't want any more spoilers!
Now I don't normally write on my thoughts on anime unless the series was really, really good, or if the series aggravated me in general. Since the former is a rare case, this situation unfortunately falls within the latter.
Let's start by saying that I don't mind a Kirino pairing. I am a fan of imouto moe after all; I enjoyed the latter half of the Sword Art Online anime starring Sugu, and I have played and enjoyed Kana ~Imouto~. I also did like both Kuroneko and Ayase, so I wouldn't have minded a pairing with those 2 either. That being said, I am however biased more towards supporting Kirino.
So shouldn't I be happy about the way things turned out for the series? Not really. First off, let me start by saying that for the most part, I enjoyed the series through to the Kuroneko break up/make up. For the most part I thought Kirino was a brat, but I guess personalities don't change over night and she did show some signs of maturity as the series progressed. After the whole Kuroneko incident, I felt things took a turn south. Introducing Ayase as a potential lover felt way too late at this stage. I also felt that the series had already established her as a friend up until that point, so where did all the ren ai feelings come from so suddenly? I also felt the same way at the party, with Kanako and Saori suddenly jumping up as potential candidates as well. There was no development for these characters and a suddenly jump is just way out of context and felt crammed.
Next, the episode regarding Kirino's past. I thought it was cute, and have watched the episode multiple times, but as a reasoning for her love/hate relation with Kyousuke, it felt too weak. I thought they would have something a bit stronger/more surprising. It left me hoping that the only reason they left it weak was to not overshadow the last 3 OVA episodes.
Finally, the last episodes. A few points about these last few episodes:
First, I guess they must have felt that there was a need to resolve Kyousuke's relationship with all the other girls, because that aspect completely dominated any sort of happy feelings about the pairing. And every resolution made for the non-pairings destroyed the mood for any sort of happiness to follow up. Sure, there were some good scenes, like with the MP3 player, but that was eclipsed with all the destruction that occurred.
Second, Kyousuke, who was the last bastion of normalcy in the series, has suddenly and inexplicably fallen out of logic and out of character. I always say him as the cool headed, logical guy the helped his sister despite the strained relationship between them. And sure he got passionate about things during appropriate times. And he does say a few ridiculous things, as in his relationship with Ayase, but it is a given that things he says are all in jest. However, now he adopts some super ridiculous mode, shouting illogical things in a humorous pose, while being completely serious about? I guess they are trying to break the tension with all the destruction occurring, but to me it just felt like another out of the blue character change for Kyousuke that makes the whole series less believable.
Third, Kirino reverted back to the immature brat she was ever since the beginning of the series, at least for a scene. Not that this is out of character as her personality was a major premise of the whole show, but I guess the lapse in her development just annoyed me; I thought she would have matured a little more after the past few years in the series.
Finally, the cop-out at the end. Now I understand that no one wants to mar their image for something as controversial as an ending with an incestual relationship. I've also read some interviews that the author was basically at the whims of the company, regardless of what kind of ending he wanted. However, I did not enjoy the ending they put in. I didn't get a strong sense of clarity or potential for the future of Kyousuke. But the biggest thing about the cop-out was that I felt it put all the work he put into relationships throughout the series as the biggest waste of time ever. It feels like he ends up with pratically nothing at the end. Not a great ending for the given genre, if you ask me.
Anyway, those are my thoughts on the ending of the series. I really did enjoy the series, but did not really care for how it ended, regardless of whether I supported the pairing. Over all I would give the series as a while somewhere between 6, slightly above average, and 7, amusing, on my scale. (To me average is a show you don't care whether you watch or not.)
I was considering getting the DVDs, but after that kind of ending, I'm not sure anymore. Guess if I ever feel the urge to rewatch the series, I'll pick it up.