After recently picking up the light novel version of Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankeinai yo
ne and reading up to volume three, I am blown away at how much the anime could
have been…if it just followed the light novel’s direct pacing. It is amazing
how different the anime feels in tone and execution compared to the light novel
which in my honest opinion is the choice form of enjoying this brother/sister
love fest. So let’s get down to the facts that separate the mediocre anime from
the amazing light novel.
So first thing I noticed when reading the light novel was
that the conversations really bring out the best in the characters. The first
volume sets up how Akito comes to living with his sister AND how he becomes so
close to the whole student counsel AND how everyone ends up living under one
roof. The anime kind of just throws you into the story where they are already
living together and Akito is already a part of the student counsel. I always
thought that the first episode of Onii-chan
Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankeinai yo ne felt strange as if they were not
explaining how some things came to be. Also the conversations in the light
novel are extremely witty and well written. Each conversation is important to
the plot and helps shed some light on why someone acts the way they do in
public. There are scenes where a back and forth conversations between two
characters can last for an entire chapter. You might find this tedious to read
but I found that the light novel blew the anime out of the water in terms of
how interested I was with the characters. The anime also takes all the
seriousness out of the light novel. I was quite surprised to find out that the
light novel was not a romantic comedy but more of a serious slice of life that
explores two siblings pasts.
So continuing on what I touched on at the end of the
pervious paragraph, the tone of the anime is the second problem when being compared
to the light novel. This might not be a problem if you just want another
generic high school comedy harem but after reading the light novel’s first
three volumes, there is no turning back to the anime. The light novel goes much
deeper into how the student counsel goes about helping Akito cure Akiko’s “problem”.
The way the anime introduces the main focus of curing Akiko is “Hey it’s wrong
to want your brother’s d!#@ so stop that!! Oh we also all love you Akito!!!” So
like I said if you want mindless harem, go with the anime. If you want a more serious
drama, go light novel.
The anime tries very hard to be funny but the only show that can rip off other anime and be funny about it is Gintama |
Now the biggest beef I have with the anime is the omission
of some very important information.
The light novel goes MUCH more in-depth to the back stories of the characters
as well as what happened to Akito and Akiko’s parents. The novel even brings up
why Akito acts the way he does around his sister. The flashback conversation he
has with his parents when he was little is EXTREAMLY IMPORTANT TO THE WHOLE
PLOT. It completely shows why he acts so caring around Akiko AND brings up some
VERY IMPORTANT information that is never brought up in the anime. This
information (that Akiko and Akito are actually not blood relatives and that it
is Akito who is not really a part of the bloodline) is uhhh PRETTY F#@$ING
IMPORTANT. How it didn’t make its way into the anime is beyond my
comprehension.
Ugh I am complaining a lot and I apologize. While I find the
light novel the superior version of the story, the anime is not…all that bad.
It is definitely more laid back and focuses more on the comedy aspects of the
story but it still provides some of the key moments in the light novel. As a
standalone anime it is decent but when compared to the light novel it will
never quite match up. I have not been so engrossed in a story since my first
read of the Sword Art Online light
novel. I have a deeper appreciation of all the characters especially Akito
after reading some of the Onii-chan Dakedo
Ai Sae Areba Kankeinai yo ne light novel. There is much more going on than
the anime is telling you.
Dat face when you stay up late reading something awesome |
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