Oniichan no Koto Nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara ne!!–First Episode Review

Episode Summary: Nao Takahashi has an unnatural attraction to her older brother Shuusuke that strays far into the perverse; it�s her dream to engage in an illicit love affair with him, and much of her day is spent trying to lure him into perverted situations which might help to facilitate those sorts of activities. She gives him �accidental� glimpses of her panties while they�re playing video games, and climbs into bed with him hoping that something will come of it.

One day she volunteers to clean his room, and amongst the mountains of pornographic magazines beneath his bed and in every other nook and cranny, Nao finds an old photo album. She�s surprised to find that she�s not in any of the old family photos. When she brings it to her parents, they let her in on some news � Nao isn�t their biological child, but the daughter of family friends who died in a tragic accident. While knowledge of this destroys much of the appealing illicit-ness of Nao�s attractions, it does open new doors; now she can attempt to lure her brother into a completely �legitimate� romantic relationship.

Thoughts: When I explained the premise of this series to my husband earlier, he told me that I should just put a moratorium on reviewing any more anime about incest; it would cut my workload down by about half (zing!). I understand where he�s coming from and I appreciate his concern for my mental health, but the truth is that with every new incarnation of this kind of ecchi comedy, I feel less and less emotionally affected by it. Perhaps with each episode of incest anime that I endure, something inside of me dies a little; while I expected to revisit that unmistakable feeling of bile rising up my esophagus (similar to that unforgettable experience of watching the first episode of KissxSis � oh, the memories!), instead I only sighed. Oniichan no Koto�s problem isn�t so much that it�s the purveyor of controversial content, but that it�s catastrophically stupid in the act of doing so.

One of this episode�s (and by extension, probably the series�) major issues is the fact that neither Nao nor her brother Shuusuke are people worth rooting for or caring about. While this show is all about �getting off on a technicality� when it comes to incest (aren�t most incest comedies, after all?) so neither of the characters is really getting into a situation that�s legally problematic, they�ve also been living together as siblings for a number of years; there�s a line there that really shouldn�t be crossed (at least as far as I�m concerned � if this were a step-parent/stepchild situation, even if both of them were adults there�d be some sort of breach of propriety in my mind), yet both characters seem enthusiastic about crossing it. Nao seems all-to-eager to sexually-harass her own brother by crawling into bed with him and �accidentally� getting naked in his presence, and when sexual-harassment is used for comedy, you know you�ve got a real winning formula on your hands (not). It�s implied that Shuusuke was adamant as a child that he would be a good older brother for Nao, but that sentiment seems tainted by his attempt to kiss his �sleeping� sister and his playing an incestuous-themed eroge later in the episode. It begs the question, did Shuusuke have ulterior motives all along? It might be difficult to believe that a young kid would think that way, but the premise of this show is already so unbelievably gross that something which might otherwise seem less inflammatory in another series takes on a different hue. Either way, both of the main characters come across as lusty, shallow, and indifferent to their proper roles as members of the family. This apparent embrace of what would probably constitute sexual abuse in real life leaves me feeling unsettled.

Just setting aside the entire issue of the show�s incestuous themes for a moment, this series also professes to be a comedy. Unfortunately, there�s nothing really funny about it; plenty of ecchi series clich�s are trotted out throughout this episode including accidental nudity, the discovery of a character�s secret stash of nudie mags, a few panty shots (though some of the stronger incidents of nudity are obviously censored), and even a little bit of slapstick violence courtesy of one of the only logical characters in the entire show (one of Nao�s friends from school who punishes Nao for her bro-con ways). What�s problematic is that there�s very little comic timing and no subtlety to speak of, so something which might be funny in the right hands and in the correct situation just seems boring in this one. Part of the problem is the predictability of the jokes � it was absolutely a given that Nao, dressed only in a towel after her bath, would end up somehow flashing her nude body to her brother. That scene was one of those situations where I sat there watching the video, thinking �here it comes,� and seconds later my prediction came true. Worse still, though, were scenes that seemed to bank on their own vulgarity to scare some laughs out of the viewers. One scene in particular was especially gross � Nao waited for her brother to take a bath, and then occupied herself by sniffing his dirty laundry. I�m not implying that crass humor can�t be enjoyable (I devoured Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt, after all) but with the situation already having crossed the line of taste with its core subject matter, adding Nao�s downright stalker-ish behavior to the mix was downright creepy and about as far away from being funny as I can imagine.

There�s already been a lot said regarding the anime�s character designs even in just the couple of days since the first episode aired. I�m not one to bash a show�s character designs for being different than the norm; in fact, that�s often a desirable quality these days when there are a good deal of shows that look almost exactly the same. In this case, though, I�m tempted to agree that the character designs don�t do the show any favors because they tend to make the characters look younger and more awkward than they already are. The characters have very slender, elongated torsos and large hands which make them seem proportioned more like little kids than teenagers. In a show that�s already so sex-focused, that type of effect can be sort of problematic. They might be appropriate for a less ecchi slice-of-life comedy, but in this case I have to agree on �eww.� The quality of the animation isn�t much to speak of, either; I noticed a lot of instances of very choppy frame rates, quite a few obvious short-cuts including many examples of going free and loose on character mouth movements and some off-model work on the faces. There�s no getting around it, this was a cheap production.

If this anime were a more serious look at these characters� problematic relationship, I think that the �forbidden love� angle would be much easier to swallow, but in every case here it�s played for really gross laughs. The characters are unlikeable and not really worthy of sympathy, and the comedy isn�t funny. Generally even otherwise bad shows have some redeeming feature, but I�ve yet to find one here. Definitely skippable.

Pros:

• This is one of those times where I scrape around for something to say here. Hmm, still thinking�

Cons:

• Turning a crime like incest into a comedy reeks of bad taste in the first place, but playing the �they�re not really blood-related� angle is the most clich� approach in the book.
• The character designs are odd and serve to reinforce the creepiness of the situation.
• The main characters are both very unlikeable and unsympathetic.

Recommended? Gosh, no. There�s very little of merit in this first episode, and I can�t imagine the show getting any better. It�s nothing but cheap garbage that tries to use a shocking premise to distinguish itself and it�s not worth the time wasted to watch it.

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