This season confirmed my suspicions; Oreimo is an incest show after all.
Incest is a big squick factor for me, and it's a very rare show that can have it as part of its plot without me getting skeeved out (see: Revolutionary Girl Utena). The only reason I was able to tolerate the undertones of it in the first season of Oreimo was because it was not the focus; there were plenty of other things going on in the show that I could ignore it entirely, from the otaku humor and references to the only reason most people watch this show, Kuroneko. However, so far this season has dumped the plotline that the extra episodes started in favor of mostly episodic storylines that have recently culminated in Kyosuke admitting that he is a siscon.
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| The lolibait friend from America didn't help my opinion of the show either |
Kyosuke hasn't made this easier. He's gone from an older brother who was trying to understand what the heck his sister was going on about (and occasionally growing a spine to call her out on her BS) to a whimpering pile of goo who finally admits to himself that he likes what she dishes out. When I made the mistake of giving this show one last chance, I nearly threw up at his repetitions of "my honey" on his "fake" date with Kirino. And really, that's where I need to draw the line. If an anime is making me queasy when it is meant to be entertaining, then it's time to stop watching.
Images from Crunchyroll.com.
I can definitely sympathize with dropping this. A lot of people found the shift of personalities (e.g. in Kyousuke and Ayase) quite disconcerting, and it seems, although the show looks similar, that it's going about things very differently. While I'm all for (w)incest myself, it's only as a ridiculous fantasy - I need some very clear separation between the show and real life (where that sort of thing is not appealing). For me, the fact that OreImo attempts (debatable) to portray a serious sibling relationship while throwing in incestuous vibes dances close to a sort of "uncanny valley" effect that seems unnatural and repulsive. In S1 it managed to decently hop around it, but in S2 I don't think it's done nearly as good a job.
ReplyDelete"It's too bad that this new focus came at the expense of some of the characters personalities and the more enjoyable insights into otaku culture."
ReplyDeleteI know :/. The show still manages to do some meta-commentaries and the like, but I feel like it's sort of fallen prey to otaku culture rather than trying to rise above it...if that makes sense. Regardless, S2 has turned out to be a bit of a disappointment for me as well. I'm still sticking it out in the hopes that it'll bring back some of S1's charm (and there are some glimmers of hope), but right now I'm much more taken with the way Oregairu's going about things since its coming from a similar vein of LN adaptations.
Right, there are still elements of what I liked about S1, but they're few and far between. It's too bad. Maybe I should give Oregairu a chance, since I've heard some good things.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's "uncanny valley" so much as it is that this franchise triggered a huge influx of light novel adaptations and incest-themed works, so it's in their best interest to play up those parts to get to the lowest common denominator. From what I've read about the novels after dropping this, it all downhill fom here, since it's being adapted faithfully. It's too bad that this new focus came at the expense of some of the characters personalities and the more enjoyable insights into otaku culture.
ReplyDelete"I need some very clear seperation between the show and real life (where that sort of thing is not appealing)"
My feelings exactly. The fact that Kyousuke has basically gone "screw it, I'm a siscon" without anyone calling him out on it in a meaningful way (Kuroneko gave him some grief, but not enough to make him feel ashamed) seems to be the main sign that this show is going to start portraying a kind of fantasy that I'm not remotely interested in. People can like whatever they want to like, but the way S2 is going about this definitely doesn't float my boat.