Out of about 210 anime blogs in my OPML list, thus far only 12 discussed My Sister Cannot Be This Cute (Ore no Imouto ...). Of the 12, Miao said absolutely nothing interesting, and 53RG10 summarized with "A definite keeper", based on his knowledge of the manga. The general consensus is of a somewhat surprisingly inoffensive, middle of the road affair, with good production values.
Of course Aroduc would have nothing with such a positive reaction:
This was surprisingly dull in almost every way. AIC clearly isn’t putting much, if any effort into it. Like Yakumo, it’s little more than a parade of talking heads frm start to finish.
The show is really trying to sell itself on nothing but Kirino looking ‘cute,’ which got old fast. I'm also immune to the eight pounds of makeup that gives her permanently flushed cheeks.
[The episode had] two kids sitting in a room talking. And absolutely nothing more than that.
I knew that Choux was our girl eroge expert (I mean, the blog is basically the second coming of Onii-chan no Ecchi) and it is curous how she takes a "balanced" view but for the reasons entirely different from Aroduc's:
No, I'd say that it reminds me of Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, which is a show that I strongly disliked. I mean, the show feels fun. It’s nicely animated, nicely directed, and got a few chuckles out of me. I find Kyousuke to be easily relate-able and fun to watch. But there's something about Kirino that I just can’t agree with. I mean, first of all, she's ridiculous. There’s no way in hell you can play that many eroge while working, keeping up with school work in Asia, making sure that you parents don't realize it, and still have friends like that. Second of all, her personality's… At the beginning, she ignores Kyousuke and slaps him away when he was just trying to help her. That’s a nasty way to treat someone who, from the look of things, is just an average nice guy. I also have a problem with the way that Kirino treats her hobby. Well, more like how the author decided to treat her hobby. The way that she was portrayed felt like such a gimmick.
Kuro takes a personal perspective tack:
Please try to imagine reading the above from Kyousuke’s point of view. Because I can really empathize with him. In fact, it’s a bit uncanny how much Yuuichi Nakamura’s deadpan portrayal of Kyousuke is almost exactly the same thoughts and feelings I would had, had my younger sister decided to pop that surprise for me too.
I’m quite loving the show so far. In fact, I think this is probably the most level-headed version of the story so far. I think the manga overplayed the fanservice card a bit too much and I didn’t read the novel past chapter one, so the anime is probably going to be the definitive version of the story for me if it keeps this up.
The last paragraph comes to mind a lot when I read how the anime is an exact adaptation of the manga or the novel.
Here's another personal perspective by RP, only more conventional:
One more serious aspect that I think the show pulled off well was the “outsider” view on otakus. The parents reaction to otakus based on what they heard on TV felt pretty realistic to me, at least based on what I know about the Japanese view of otakus. So the consequences of not keeping Kirino’s secret feels much more realistic to me than say in like Nogizaka Himitsu, which was just so over the top that I couldn’t take it seriously.
Aorii adds one curious tidbit:
Postnote: Been reading some light novel synopsis from Seanver’s blog and, the one thing I can say is, all this focus on “Otaku issues” will continue for quite some time to come. I can’t completely rule out ‘fears of eventual sibcon’, but at least it either stays sidelined & out of sight, or played as if a parody joke — I can deal with that from a meta-moe show.
Zyl's enthusasm makes him leak words... and it's all right:
I also enjoyed how she conveyed the rapture of an otaku obsessively discussing, with sublime delight, the joys of her forbidden hobby – that’s the sound of someone who knows and is compelled by the power of moe. I really got the feel from Kirino that she is “one of us” – that mix of a flag (for a genre, a character, a series etc.) triggered without realizing it and then struggling and yet reveling in the grip of an obsession that grows and grows, fed by online fan activity and fanned by the marketing machinations of the production companies.
BTW did anyone else think that it was really strange that Daisuke and Yoshino sleep next to each other but in separate single beds?
That is actually a rather convenient arrangement, because your spouse's twists do not shake the whole bed. The things you learn when you were married for 20+ years...
WAH was entusiastic too, with the appropriate amount surprise:
This one’s a shocker -- I was expecting not to like it, but not because I have some vendetta against moe anime (Hah!) but because I assumed I’d be completely unenthusiastic about the main character, thinking she’d just be sharp-tongued tsun for all the super-M guys out there. And while there is some of that, it’s all very down to the earth, realistic, and pulled off with class. The show also boasts a nice laid back color scheme, very aesthetically pleasing designs, great animation, and a rather note-worthy soundtrack. (also proclaims his liking of Nogizaka).
Finally, a couple of examples from the 3rd string writers of team blogs, or what I managed to salvage after taking one for the team and reading one mind-numbing retelling after another.
Hato of Metanorn:
Kyousuke’s dad scares me so much. Just his presence in the room, well, frame scares the living daylights outta me. He kinda looks like my dad as well, just less Maori.
While the art, I’ll admit, is nothing special, something about it just seems cleaner and more pristine. The lines are sharper and the colors are a lot more vibrant. I’m sick of watching anime where everything is dark and faded and gloomy and blargh. Kind of like games.
He's right, game reviewers were railing against the poo color key for a few years now.
Splitter on Choco Syrupy Waffles:
The episode ends with Kirino explaining why she loves imouto characters in what I can only decode as a mixture of sibling placement jealousy and penis envy. I know everyone said Freud was wrong, but he’d make Kirino his poster child for penis envy if she was real. After getting everything off her chest, she gives the best moment of the series where she chastises her brother for thinking the things she enjoys in 2D is something she wants to experience in 3D. This works on so many levels.
Clicheblogging on so many levels.
P.S. I forgot Lolikit by accident:
DUDE THAT WAS AWESOME
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No, seriously. Great soundtrack, fantastic visuals, interesting characterization, compelling narrative, good jokes. Characters blink; facial expressions change realistically. And the pacing is great. I can’t wait for more.
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Best anime of the season? y/n
ACTUALLY: I missed a few more, mostly for not being quoteworthy... Nova completely gone negligent on us. Peter S found a similarity with Kyon, and I could swear someone above did too, forgot who. PSgels is just frustrating, I completely stopped caring about him even before he won ABT. He also built a Kyon analogy.
UPDATE NEXT DAY: 2DT is late and somewhat tangential but deserves a mention.