"Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru!" Anime Review

When I decide to give a show a formal review, I try to displace my own opinions when calculating the final grades for each category. I believe that even if I didn't like the show, you (the audience) should learn as much as you can without spoiling the show. I use the same format as AnimePlanet's review system.

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Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru! is an anime that aired this past season and while the initial premise really pulled me in, its inability to provide thought provoking plot twists and just a sheer amount of unnecessary content really dragged it down.

Story: 3/10
So like I stated above this show actually had a pretty interesting concept. The show revolves around Shougo who is to become the head of his deceased father’s company. In order to do so however he must complete a guideline set forth by his father. This guideline demands that Shougo must attend a certain high school, attract a mate, and marry before taking his spot as the head of the company (what an awesome dad). I didn't have a problem with this premise at all; in fact I thought just by hearing that first it could be an interesting harem. The story’s conflict arises early on when someone begins posting as his ill legitimate sister which could affect his position with the company. This is again another great idea to make the story more interesting. Where it goes wrong however is when it accuses every female character of being his sister. It’s also very easy (at least for me) to come up with a reasonable guess on who the real sister is very early on in the series. I guess where the series goes wrong the most is how predicable it is. There are really no interesting twists or misdirection that make me think, “Wow didn’t see that coming”. Another flaw in the overall story is how much pointless content is included in the middle episodes. I kind of feel like there was a struggle to make episodes the required length in episodes five through nine before the final “twist” was introduced. The show leads up to the final episode and in all honesty I felt like it was a letdown. Overall the story had a chance to bring something new to the harem genera but it ended up not hitting its intended marks.

Animation: 8.5/10
One great thing about this show is the stunning animation. Everything appears in very light colors and the use of reflections is done very well. The character models are all pretty detailed for both the main cast and some of the extras in the backgrounds. The scenery is colored much of the same way helping to keep the mood of the current scene. The main settings for the show, the school, Shougo’s room, and the café are all very detailed each time we are present.

 

Sound: 7/10
I am usually very picky on sound since most of my spare time is spent recording music or just listening to different genres. The music of this anime while not amazing is still pretty enjoying and helped set up some interesting scenes. The voice actors also did a pretty good job matching the personalities of their characters.

Characters: 6.3/10
This category is hard to score because while some of the characters did grow on me, every one of them are pretty generic. You have your elitist, airhead, tomboy, and cosplayer. We have all seen these roles countless times in other anime so why should we bother with these empty shells? That’s what I first thought when introduced to each character but to my surprise I actually grew to like some of these characters due to some character development. While some of them where pretty much cast aside without any development (Mana) most of the cast received one to three episode character arcs that pretty much set up why they fall for Shougo. The show should have done a better job fully utilizing the cast but overall they did a good enough job.

Overall: 6.2/10
While it isn’t a masterpiece, if you can look past some boring parts that lead to nowhere, predictable plot twists, and a forgettable anticlimactic ending, this show may offer you something worthwhile. There are some really good, sweet moments and some great animation and sound to be found here.

"Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru!" (Anime) Final Thoughts

Well with episode twelve concluding this season (in all honesty hopefully the series), I can finally let out everything I have been wanting to say about the show. I can tell you right off the bat that I am pretty pissed that it was so easy to see who would be the girl in question and how uneventful the ending would be. I kept hoping for something to completely blindside me and catch me off guard but what I got instead was a generic harem that looks good (hey just like Campione! -___-).

 So I really, really, really wanted to like this show because underneath all the crap it gives, there are some characters that I really liked and wanted to see more of. In case you did not know, the show revolves around Shougo who is to become the head of his deceased father's company. In order to do so however he must complete a guideline set forth by his father. This guideline demands that Shougo must attend a certain high school, attract a mate, and marry before taking his spot as the head of the company (what an awesome dad). I didn't have a problem with this premise at all; in fact I thought just by hearing that first it could be an interesting harem. Where the show goes wrong is when they introduce the issue he must face; someone at his school that he might fall in love with may be his ill legitimate sister. So he is going to school in order to get som-...err I mean find a soul mate and this said sole mate may be his sister...awkward.

So the show does shine in certain areas. For one thing I was really digging the animation style. Everything appeared to be very lightly colored and there were many reflections used on clothing, items, and hair. Each character's model was very detailed and looked stunning. Another great part of the show was the ambient soundtrack used in the backgrounds of the scenes. While it is something usually overlooked, it really started to grow on me throughout the entire season. Both the animation and sound really helped (and tried to pull this mess out of the water) make the show somewhat watchable.

So cons; EXTREMELY PREDICTABLE, long drawn out episodes with no point, some generic characters, and crappy pacing. The show was by far the easiest thing to predict what was going to happen. I kid you not by episode four I could honestly tell you which one the sister was. Next con was the content of each episode. While some were actually interesting and fun to watch, by the middle of the season we start to see some episodes where not a lot is going on and I kind of felt like they were just throwing in long pointless conversations in order to get to that twenty minute mark. This season could of span to ten episodes if not for some of the really pointless scenes. Next was something that honestly didn't bother me too much; some generic characters. You had your typical elitist that thinks everything is entitled to her (Rinka) and the typical airhead that seems stoned out of her freaking mind (Mana) but other than those two, the rest of the cast (no matter how generic) were given enough character development that I actually cared for them even if I had seen them in like twenty other anime. Lastly the pacing was very off towards the end of the show. Like I stated before some episodes felt like just pointless conversations over and over again in the middle episodes. By episode ten however the show makes a mad dash to fit in content so that we could have a suitable ending. I didn't understand why they did not just spread some of the content out a little more so that the ending didn't seem so clusterf***ed.

I know how you feel bro; it's hard understanding why you would lose sleep when you have two girls sleeping w/ you -___-

No matter how many times I try to analyze this show, the negatives just always out weigh the positives. While the show is impressive to look and listen to, the predictable plot, long pointless conversations, and lack of give-a-s***conflicts just made me wish I had directed my attention to some other shows instead. I won't recommend it but if you are out of options you can give it a try. I feel though that it will not stick after a couple weeks as it is a very forgettable show.

"Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru!" thoughts (up to episode 11)

 So when I first started watching this anime I was genuinely enjoying it because although it didn't possess a groundbreaking plot it had very likable characters and I liked the direction the anime was moving. When episode eleven rolled on by however, I really had to think about why I was still bothering to watch this anime. What started out as a somewhat interesting romantic comedy based around a harem setting is quickly unfolding to become one of the most boring, generic, and predictable anime I have seen in recent years.

So starting out with the good points that this anime still has, we have great animation. While it is not mind blowingly great, it's color scheme is very pleasant to look at. All the characters have literally "shining" looks thanks to some reflections on their bodies, clothes, and hair. It's not just the main cast that looks great; even the extras that we see on the side lines are pretty well developed. The voice acting is also pretty good. Normally I get pretty annoyed with a character that plays as the always mad and whines a lot but I haven't found myself hating Miyabi yet. The characters may have their cliche roles but I still like the whole cast. I could honestly be happy with whoever Shougo ends up with.

Unfortunately that is all the positives I have...on to the negatives! The show has become mind numbingly predictable. It started at around episode three and continued all the way until the present release of episode eleven. Being predictable is not always a bad thing in an anime such as this one but when it gets to a point where I can literally plan out the episode in my head...and it comes out to be very similar to what happens, then s*** gets real and s*** gets boring. I mean every time we focus on a new girl or someone is introduced it is so obvious what their intentions are and if they are true to their personality. Also not a lot happens in each episode. Yes each episode is like twenty whatever minutes long but I feel like way too much time is wasted in every scene on non important items.

Ugh I am really hoping this anime makes a huge rebound and has a very awesome ending because at the rate it is going, I find myself giving it average remarks. With such great animation, I just see how this anime could get so boring so quickly.

Anime Currently Watching (September 2012)

Another month rolls on by and all of the summer anime are coming very close to their completion. Here is what I am watching at the moment:

1. Kokoro Connect Ep. 12 of ?
2. Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru! Ep. 12 of ? Finished!
3. Yuru Yuri (season 2) Ep. 7 of ?
4. Tari Tari Ep. 8 of ? 
5. Sword Art Online Ep. 13 of ?
6. Accel World Ep. 15 of ? Stalled
7. Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita Ep. 6 of ? 
8. Campione! Ep. 13 of ? Finished!

I recently started watching Campione! which I have heard many diverse things about. Sword Art Online is finally getting to the good stuff, Yuru Yuri is still funny as hell, Kokoro Connect and Tari Tari are unfortunately starting to lose it's charm with me, Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru! is uhhh interesting kind of still,and Jinrui wa Suitani Shimashita still has that wtf charm.

"Kono Naka ni Hitori" (anime) episode 5 thoughts

With episode five finally being released, I felt that the show would somehow start to lose my interest. the first couple episodes showed a little bit of tension because of the whole "I could be your sister" thing between the two main girls. I had thought that this plot device would be over since they found out who was pulling the prank but now it seems to be back...The idea now is that since he revealed the story to the other three girls in the student counsel room, it could be one of them or just some random person that was listening in. Episode five focuses on Mei the witch dressing shop keeper.

The episode opens up with a call from Shougo dear little sister. He is dumbfounded that someone else he knows could be his sister and with that the beginning credits show. At this point I kind of *facepalm* myself because I was hoping that this whole sister thing would pass. But hey the source material apparently has this going on for awhile so I'll get over it. After some time Shougo is countlessly getting tired at school so after running into Mei in the hallway she offers Shougo a bed to sleep in during lunch hour. They fall asleep but Shougo apparently cannot once in his life not get turned on by a sleeping girl. He gets up and finds the same type/model phone that the little sister apparently uses to modulate her voice.

That's the gist of the episode, another person added to the list of possible sisters (beginning to think that they all might be his sisters lol). This episode while somewhat entertaining did not really strike me the same way the previous four. It could possibly be because I do not particularly like Mei's personality or that because we do not see Miyabi or Konoe very much. If I could praise one thing about this episode it would be the animation. I haven't seen a decrease of quality which for some anime becomes a problem the longer it airs. The scene inside the sister cafe was actually quite well done.

Overall a meh episode; hopefully we get to some of the other characters soon because I am looking forward to seeing how Rinka's personality plays out.

Anime Currently Watching (August 2012)

After finishing Kannagi, Fate/Zero, and Fate/Stay Night, I feel pretty drained out but there are still some great airing and completed anime that I am watching which are:

1. Kaze no Stigma Ep. 15 of 24 Stalled
2. Shakugan no Shana Ep. 1 of 24 Dropped
3. Kokoro Connect Ep. 7 of ?
4. Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru! Ep. 7 of ?
5. Yuru Yuri (season 2) Ep. 6 of ?
6. Tari Tari Ep. 7 of ? 
7. Sword Art Online Ep. 8 of ?
8. Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita Ep. 6 of ?

Personally I am close to stalling on Kaze no Stigma due to the fact that I just haven't had the urge to sit down and watch it. I am so ready for the new episode of Kono Naka ni Hitori and also looking forward to watching Shakugan no Shana which I have heard from many people is a pretty well done anime. I also picked up Tari Tari (which is currently airing) because after watching the first episode, the characters and flow of the anime remind me so much of Hana-Saku Iroha (which was a decent anime IMO).

Edit:
Saw a promotion for Sword Art Online while on Crunchyroll and thought about giving it a try. Ended up watching all the available episodes and now I'm hooked :D

Edit 2:
Holy crap watched one episode of Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita and was completely hooked.

Anime Currently Watching

This is actually the first time that I have bothered to watch currently airing anime in a long time so the weekly wait for new episodes is just KILLING ME -___-
Currently on episode:

1. Kannagi Ep. 7 of 13 Done!
2. Kaze no Stigma Ep. 15 of 24
3. Kokoro Connect Ep. 6 of ?
4. Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru! Ep. 5 of ?
5. Yuru Yuri (season 2) Ep. 6 of ?
6. Tari Tari Ep. 1 of ?

Favorites at the moment are Kokoro Connect and Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru! because even though they are simply school life/harem stuff, they both have interesting twists and plot devices that set them apart from other slice of life shows revolving in a high school setting.

"Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru!" initial thoughts

Ahhhh it's Summer and you know what that means? New anime that may or may not live up to what you hoped for. When I first heard Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru! was going to have an anime adaptation, I had no clue what the hell it was in the first place...Apparently it is a very popular novel series that features a harem that may or may not include sister action...-__- I wanted to just come out and say that the first two episodes are just boring, generic, crap but I don't know why...but I am actually liking it...A LOT. Each character's model, voice, and personality are actually very well done. The show does a decent enough job in the first episode defining what is going to happen, why things are going to happen, and what the main character Shougo Mikadono must accomplish. With the whole, "You must find a mate before you graduate high school" and "Oh and you might encounter your sister that no one knows about and may or may not want your ____" actually works and provides comedy and a small amount of tension. I normally stay away from shows that are airing (I get very impatient -__-) but I am going to stick with this one till the end.

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Stay tuned for my thoughts on each episode as they air.