Kono Naka Ni Hitori Imouto Ga Iru

One day all of a sudden out of the blue, you find that you have a little sister. The kind that is related by blood. Could this be a joke? Could this be a scam? Unless you have little sister fetish, you’re going to have to thread this carefully. Supposedly to add to this ‘drama’, the little sister doesn’t reveal her real identity completely. Teasing and stalking you along the way. Could this be a prank? Could this be a rip-off? Your mind will wander and start asking questions. To make matters worse, there is not one, not two or three, but five potential ‘candidates’ that could be your little sister! I smell harem factor… What about it being a joke or scam? Who cares. As long as I can have my fill of harem setting in Kono Naka Ni Hitori Imouto Ga Iru, I’ll think about that part later on. Yeah, I’m the worst.

Shougo Mikadono is the only son and heir to the giant conglomerate of Mikadono Group. Unfortunately his father, Kumagorou at the prime age of 49 passes away after a year bed-ridden. As part of his father’s will, Shougo is to enrol to Miryuuin Academy where Kumagorou once studied. There, he is supposed to choose a lifelong partner that will support him as he will one day lead the Mikadono Group. Wait a minute. Going to school to find a potential future wife? Let me guess. Lots of girls are going to try and impress him, right? I mean, he is the son of a big company’s top gun. He will one day become president and can you see the woman who will somewhat benefit it all when she becomes his wife? Yeah. So where does this sister part come in? Apparently Shougo finds out that he has a sister he never knew and she is among one of the many students at Miryuuin. The odd part is that she tries to get closer to him without revealing her true identity. So how can this guy trust a girl who doesn’t even have the guts to show her face? I don’t know. Shougo is one of those nice guys. Guess this means he obliges and plays along with the flow, huh? With his increasing popularity with the girls and a mysterious sister to the mix, is his high school life going to be a rosy one or a thorny road. Who cares. I’m in for the cat fight. Yeah, I’m the worst.

Episode 1
Kumagorou’s death becomes public and as Shougo attends his funeral, a mysterious voice outside the window tells him she is his little sister. Thus he will no longer be alone because she will marry him. Hold on! Can siblings marry? Shougo tries to peek out the window but couldn’t see anybody. His mom, Kanoko assumes temporary leadership of the group and tells Shougo about enrolling at Miryuuin and getting a lifelong companion. Like an obedient son, he packs his things and moves into the dorm nearby the academy. While making his way to the dorm, he passes by a cake shop and notices a girl, Konoe Tsuruma coming out. She was engrossed with her handphone that she crossed without looking. Shougo is supposed to dive across and save her, right? Well, he didn’t. I don’t know. It feels like some force pushed Konoe back. Shougo rushes to her aid and thankfully she didn’t suffer any serious injuries. Her handphone is fine. Her cream puffs are okay. Being the new kid in town, Shougo seeks her help in guiding him to the dorm. They stop by the park and Konoe feels somewhat strange. In the blushing way. The kind of feeling that makes her feel she has known him for a long time. Oh. Sister candidate #1, I presume. Shougo is introduced by his homeroom teacher Maiko Kotori. I can forgive you if you think she looks like an elementary school kid – watch your attitude because she’s one aggressive woman despite her petite size. Guess what? Konoe is in this class too. Fate or coincidence? And he gets to sit next to her. Fate or coincidence? Flanking him on the other side is the pouting Miyabi Kannagi. Like as though she has a problem seeing him. I have another word for her attitude: Tsundere. I suppose she is sister candidate #2.

Shougo helps Konoe take out the garbage and he hopes she could call her by his first name because calling him by his surname would remind him of his father’s company. Konoe notices a hideous scar across his forehead. Apparently he hit his head on something hard and thus he can’t remember much about his past. I guess this might explain lots of things. Why he doesn’t remember he has a sister. Things are looking to get steamier with Konoe pressing her forehead against his to ‘soothe the pain’ (what pain?) but is interrupted when grouchy Miyabi climbs down from a tree, annoyed at their ‘show’. She was napping up there. Konoe is taken away by student council president, Mana Tendou (sister candidate #3) and her vice, Rinka Kunitachi (sister candidate #4) for a class rep meeting. This leaves Shougo alone with Miyabi. Oh well. Arguing time. She accuses him of trying to kiss Konoe but he denies and she was just looking at his scar. Anyway Miyabi doesn’t want to be outdone and if he was going to kiss her, she too must also be kissed. He refuses of course. Back in his room, he receives a package containing a birthday cake from that cake shop. Could it be from Konoe? But he didn’t tell her his address or birthday. Beside it is a small box that contains an action figure, Grand Bellion the Cyborg Soldier, his favourite show when he was young. Next to it a picture of a girl pecking his cheek (her face not visible as usual). Then he receives an unknown call. A girl who claims to be her younger sister and that she sent him all these gifts. As much as Shougo tries to ask for her identity, she only teases him and claims she goes to the same school with him. This isn’t a lie since she could tell the things he has done today. Like throwing garbage. She signs off with an I love you. Next day at school, his mind is filled with thoughts on who this sister is. He even freaks out that there is a chance he may pick a companion that turns out to be his sister. Then he notices a girl spying him from the corner and chases her up to the roof. He confronts witch girl, Mei Sagara and she admits she can’t stop thinking about him, her brother.

Episode 2
Apparently you can’t have sister candidate #5 to be the real sister. Yet. Where’s the fun in revealing the truth so fast? What Mei meant was if he wants to meet a sister, come to her sister themed cafe called Lyrical Sisters that she owns. On his way back, he is forcefully brought to the alley by a guy known as Mr X. He is from the Seiryuu Association, a secret agency that covertly deals with problems within the Mikadono Group. Shougo was investigating his father’s past so that’s why Mr X came to him. Shougo wants to know about Kumagorou’s illegitimate child. Mr X claims he heard rumours he did father another girl with another woman. After telling about the mysterious sister, Mr X wishes to avoid anything that will bring a scandal to the group. Asking if there are any girls who suddenly want to become friends, I suppose there is one: Konoe. Because if the sister is trying to marry him, she would want to get as close to him as possible. And did you see this coming? Mr X becomes a transfer student in Shougo’s class to help keep an eye on things. He disguises as Ikusu Mizutani (a name closely sounding to Mr X). I guess he’s got the looks that the girls are swooning all over him. Worse, Ikusu creates a big understanding when he starts walking home with Shougo hand in hand. Well, it’s a good thing that the main girls don’t have yaoi fetish. Back in Shougo’s room, Ikusu takes a shower to eliminate whatever odour. Shougo accidentally steps into the bathroom. Oh. Ikusu is a girl. Why am I not surprised? I know. She looked so feminine from the start that it was hard to believe that she was a man. Apparently Seiryuu only accepts men as tradition, blah, blah, blah. Gender concealing, blah, blah, blah. Why does she like exercising and lie around naked in his room? Clearly she doesn’t know the meaning of shame.

Shougo attends the academy’s dance party with Konoe as his date. Mana starts partying but is reprimanded by Rinka about behaving properly. Konoe explains to Shougo about Rinka being from a noble family and thus her princess-like personality. Shougo dances with Konoe and they both hog the spotlight on the dance floor. While Mana wants to dance with Konoe, Rinka would like to have hers with Shougo. Rinka finds she needs to keep up with his elegant dance. Though the dance ends nicely, Mana now wants her turn and bumps into Shougo, causing him to accidentally fall over Rinka and his hand over her breast. Explanations are not needed. One roundhouse kick coming his way. While cooling himself outside, he sees Miyabi sitting alone. The tsundere wants him to stay away but he insists on dancing with her. She relents. Somehow her top dress comes undone. To avoid him seeing her precious assets, she hugs him. There are many other ways to cover up but she chose this… Konoe is looking for Shougo when she sees this. Thankfully no roundhouse kick because this girl at least listens to his explanations. She fixes Miyabi’s dress but soon after she runs away. Back home, Shougo receives another call from mystery sister. She’s still not giving things away except the fact that she was with him at the dance. Shougo puts his foot down he won’t marry his sister. She cuts him off. Miyabi wonders what she can do with these little boobs of hers. She even thinks Shougo may like them small and is adamant that he wanted to peek on them when she was hugging him. What’s her problem? I guess only something that tsundere would know.

Episode 3
Ikusu has a pretty good idea on how to prevent his mysterious sister from marrying him. They should get married and have kids! Because Ikusu doesn’t know the process of making babies, Shougo shows him a book on sex education. Basically all she needs is to let him shoot his sperm into her eggs. Can she be a little more reserved on that? Apparently not because she wants to get down and dirty now! So what happens when Konoe and Miyabi come in and see a couple of ‘guys’ too close for comfort? Thank goodness it didn’t awake their yaoi fetish. Later Shougo receives another call from the sister asking if he would like to see her naked body. Otherwise, would a naked man’s body suffice? If he tells her he loves her ten times, maybe she’d consider telling her identity. Shougo did just that and it sends the sister into ecstasy. That’s about it. No identity revealed. More woes for Shougo because the next morning, Konoe and Miyabi are going to help him realize that women are more attractive. They’re going to guide him back to the right path. I can see where this is heading. Yeah, it’s better than being gay, right? Since the girls are acting like sickos (Konoe trying to undress him and Miyabi wore his boxers to sleep!), he kicks them out. Right thing to do. Even in school, the duo won’t let go of him and even give him food that is virility good. How can he sleep when they also start sleeping next to him? I can’t blame him if he loses it but he can’t help think that one of them might be his sister. What if he f*cks her? Big time scandal. He hopes the mysterious sister would call in the midst of this to prove the neither is blood related to him. She better because the duo are stripping themselves naked! The only time when he really wanted her to call and she didn’t.

I think Shougo may have developed a phobia on them and runs away the slightest chance he’s got. Of course the duo go search for him and at the same time traded insults about slowing each other down. Shougo is ringed in by Rinka who reprimands him for being chased around by girls. She thinks he should just date one of them to solve the problem but his case isn’t that easy. Yeah. The sister thingy. If he can’t date them, then at least be their friend. How would they feel if the person they want to get close with runs away? So now Shougo goes look for them. And he can’t find them. Fortunately he meets Miyabi who gave up looking for him and is on her way to buy a swimsuit since she is in the swimming club. He accompanies her and learns that the company Kyouasu who once made handphones and cameras have also ventured into swimsuits. He needs to take notes of this because this company will be a strong rival for Mikadono Group in the future. It starts raining on the way back. Shougo shields Miyabi from a splash of water (why is the truck speeding in the rain?). She brings him back to her place to shower. In her bathroom, he sees Grand Bellion merchandise and panics if she is that mysterious sister. He confronts her and asks who she want to marry. Her choice is obvious: Shougo. But he apologizes and turns her down. Miyabi’s heart breaks and tells him to get out.

Episode 4
Ikusu calls Shougo and her investigations show that the mysterious sister has been using a modified voice changer. She will tell him the results once she is done. In class, Miyabi reverts to her gloomy self. Konoe feels something is wrong so Shougo had no choice but to tell her that Miyabi is his sister and wants her to keep this a secret. Later Konoe is nowhere around to help him take out the garbage. He receives a call from the sister wishing him goodbye. Then, Ikusu calls about the results. Kyouasu did launch a sophisticated voice changer that allows you to mimic a celebrity or anime character voice. However it was deemed dangerous as it would result in serious criminal activities and thus the launch was cancelled and samples recalled. She sends him a sample of how the handphone looks like. Say, isn’t this the model the one Konoe has? He races to find her and even ropes in Rinka, Mana, Mei and even Miyabi to help look. Finally after running almost everywhere, he realizes she may be at the park. True enough there she is. He heard cuckoo clocks go off in the background during the call. Konoe demonstrates a call and proves that she is the mystery sister. She explains that the picture was one that Kumagorou took. Their parents were best friends and often played with each other. The scar he got on his forehead was when he pushed her away from a speeding car. You could say he was trying to be a hero like Grand Bellion. To her, he will always be her hero. After that, their parents’ relationship drifted apart. That’s why when he transferred in, she was surprised. She accidentally saw his address and birthday on Kotori’s desk and thus sent him the cake and action figure. As for the handphone, her father’s company is the developer. She felt bad that it got cancelled and used it secretly. The voice she used came from a character from Grand Bellion: Perin-chan. She always referred to Grand Bellion as her brother despite not being actual siblings. At first Konoe wanted to use this as a prank but she got too caught up in it and she apologizes it ended up this way.

When she was young, she wanted to be his sister but instead caused Miyabi problems. She feels bad she tricked her because they promised to play fair when it comes to him (oh really? Since when is love rivalry fair game?). So when Shougo told her the ‘truth’, she felt hurt and guilty for lying. Shougo isn’t mad at her but says if she ever feels down again, he would like to come rescue her. He is a hero in her eyes after all. Miyabi happens to come by and is not amused the duo are frolicking when she is looking all over. Yeah, that fair play thingy, blah, blah, blah. So start explaining yourself. Once the misunderstanding is cleared, Miyabi states he can marry her without worries. What? Why? I guess he forgot about that too. When they were young childhood friends, they had a make believe wedding. Surprise? They should be. After Shougo explains everything to Rinka, Mana and Mei, Shougo remembers that after his head scar incident, he was hospitalized and Miyabi’s dad treated him. That’s when they met the first time and they often play in the yard. It wasn’t long before Miyabi figured he was her first love. But when her dad stopped going to the hospital, she couldn’t see him anymore and cried every day. She kept praying that she will see him again and was happy when he transferred in. Since it felt weird to approach him after all these years and that he didn’t seem to remember her, that’s why she acted like a tsundere, hoping he would remember. She thought he finally remembered when he asked who she wanted to marry and the reason she gave that answer. Since Miyabi is serious in wanting to marry him, Konoe is also serious she wants to marry Shougo. Is there a way he can he have both? No time for jokes. How would Shougo feel now that he’s caught in between. I don’t know, but I think I’ll enjoy watching it :-). However both girls deny she is that sister at the funeral. Konoe had an entrance exam so she couldn’t go while Miyabi didn’t even know the date of the funeral. So this means he still has a mysterious sister somewhere out there. But now it’s not the time to think about this problem because Konoe and Miyabi are back to their seducing ways. No, you’re not dreaming, Shougo.

Episode 5
Now the mysterious sister is giving Shougo morning wake up calls. She even gets cheeky telling him to ‘save energy’ when they get married or else she will find it ‘soft’. Like hell he will marry her. She exerts they are destined to marry. Probably not having enough sleep got him fantasizing about Konoe. The wedding day. The wedding night. And suddenly she claims “I’m your sister!”. Woah. Big nightmare. Talking to Ikusu about this problem again, Konoe won’t be so stupid to be the suspect again. Unless there is more than one sample of the handphone released. Because he also explained to the few girls, there is a possibility that one of them may be his sister. Shougo is summoned by the delusional newspaper club president, Araya as she wants to do a long interview with him as he has earned the reputation of being the academy’s number one guy whom they want as their onii-chan. No thanks. The wake up calls continue and it is depriving Shougo of his sleep. Maybe he couldn’t concentrate when Miyabi teases him about wanting to look at her swimsuit underneath, he accidentally pulls down her skirt. And Konoe is watching… Thinking of getting some sleep during recess, he thought the infirmary would be a nice place but Mei has a suggestion for a better place. In exchange, he must come to Lyrical Sisters. The materials room will be their little secret. It is a place where she stores her equipment and research materials. Of course Shougo can’t sleep a wink knowing that he is sleeping next to a girl. Wide awake. Looking around the place, a porn magazine caught his attention. To see or not to see. Looks like Mei is pretending to sleep… Secretly watching his move.

After Miyabi’s swim practice, she accompanies Shougo to Lyrical Sisters. They are greeted by Kurumi Kashinoki, a staff of the cafe. First, he had to say the complicated dish name (it’s just omelette rice for goodness sake) and then it tastes bloody salty. How can he die of moe overload when he’s not even turned on? Mei is surprised he is a hard customer to satisfy. Shougo continues to patron the material room for his afternoon nap. Now he is wide awake when Mei greets him in a cat girl outfit. He asks why she runs the cafe. Mei explains she is an abandoned child. Her current name was given by the orphanage. Her actual birthday is not known and the current one is the day she was found. Despite being Shougo’s senior, there is only a month difference between them. Mei has always been good in maths and when a professor heard about her, he adopted and raised her. When daddy left to lecture in the Massachusetts University, Mei was left in the care of her mom to run the cafe. However she succumbed to her illness and the cafe was sold. She had to move with her father. When she wrote a paper and published it 2 years ago, it made some money and she used it to buy back the cafe since she had lots of memories there. Mei goes look for the paper that she wrote when Shougo spots that handphone on her table. Oh no. Shougo talks to Ikusu about this discovery but because of her abandoned child status, there is a possibility that she may be younger than him. Then they hear rumours that Mei is closing down the cafe and moving back to America.

Episode 6
Shougo confronts Mei about her actions. She went through lots of trouble to get it back and now why sell it? She made a promise with her dad if the cafe business doesn’t hold up, she will have to move back and live the life of a researcher. It might look like the cafe’s doing well but at this rate it will go bust. She may be good in math but not business. Shougo offers to help save her cafe. He has a friend use his drawing skills to come up with a poster and then Araya to help advertise for it in exchange for the interview. Miyabi and Konoe also help out as waitress. They better be careful in their emotions because there is a gadget that moves the tail thus revealing what’s underneath. I think her embarrass-ness can be a very good moe point too. Rinka helps with the cooking and Mana the food taster. I think she’s got the best job. It is a busy day for Lyrical Sisters with the customers streaming non-stop. It gets even hotter when Ikusu comes to help out. Now here are all the fujoshi screaming with delight whenever Shougo and Ikusu get together. At the end of the day, the increased sales means Lyrical Sisters can be saved. Mei is impressed with Shougo and wants his genes. Say what? She wants to do it right now! Strike while the iron is hot. Shougo is saved when Ikusu calls him to look for his lost cap. Turns out to be a lie because he’s got the cap all along. So to say he was watching what’s going on… Anyway Ikusu has stumbled on something interesting in her investigation. Mei is the name of the author of a paper used as a basis for the handphone’s voice changer. Shougo is so used to the morning calls that he got up earlier than the call. Looking out from his balcony. He notices the curtains in the opposite window had the same pattern as the one in the materials room. He realizes Mei could be the sister because she is able to spy on him every morning from that room. But why would she go through all that trouble?

Shougo confronts her and now that he knows she has been calling him, she explains that when he offered to save her cafe, she made advances thinking he liked her. She didn’t expect to be quickly rejected. Asking if she remembers the day of Kumagorou’s funeral, she remembered it clearly. It was a clear day when they first spoke. However Shougo knows that is a lie because it was snowing on that day. Other things that made him doubt she is his sister include the morning calls that occur at the same time and the other various things that fell neatly into place. Like as though they were all planned. Like how she was waiting on that day to lead him to the material room and purposely let him catch a glimpse of her handphone. She was planning to use her cafe failure as a reason to return to America after convincing him she is really his sister. He surprised her because he saved her cafe. So when she no longer had that reason to return, she tried to seduce him for his wealth only to be tragically rejected. While preparing to escape, she would wait for him to realize she is his sister. When he came to question her, she would act as if she was after his money before fleeing to America and thus the sister who had been intimidating him would vanish faraway. Mei wanted to make him realize this himself but in the end did herself in. Shougo knows why she did such an elaborate plan. To act as decoy and draw his attention away from the real sister. Mei reveals she actually met her when she was young at the cafe. However she is an illegitimate child and won’t be welcomed so warmly into the family. Shougo maybe but she doesn’t think the rest of the family would. She didn’t want her to be treated as a nuisance. Shougo vows he will protect her and see her as his sister, his family. However Mei can’t reveal her true identity yet. Once she confirms he has the strength to protect her, she will do so. Shougo has only one favour to ask of her: Continue to be friends with her.

Episode 7
It’s back to the rivalry between Konoe and Miyabi. Ah yes. Familiar ground. Sure, their advances may be annoying but since his memories are still fuzzy, he still has doubts they one of them may be his sister. Ikusu suggests taking a DNA test. But he should do it via someone he fully trusts because if word gets out he is doing so, it could raise unnecessary speculation. Shougo contacts Risa Seri, the company’s secretary and Kanoko’s close aide for the test. The test kits arrive so he wants Konoe and Miyabi to give their sample. Konoe thought of taking it ‘down there’ instead from her mouth, causing her to be very embarrassed. Since Miyabi won’t do it this way (she accuses him of having a pervy face when he took her sample), Shougo suggests her urine sample then. But she slaps him thinking he has urine fetish. It gets worse when everyone in the hall hears how Miyabi accuses him of being a urine maniac. Rinka wants them to tone down and watch their behaviour because the directors are coming and they are interested to see Shougo. Kotori is shaking in her lessons as the directors remain watchful in Shougo’s class. While Shougo is having lunch with Konoe and Miyabi, Mana brings him away as the directors want to see him. Suddenly the mysterious sister activates the PA system. She warns not to find out who she is or else she will expose his secrets. But surprisingly she claims that Shougo has no sister and also warns Shougo to be aware of those around him. Later talking to Ikusu, it seems Konoe still has her handphone but as for Mei, she accidentally threw it away. When she went to retrieve it, it was gone. So it’s back to the question of whom among those girls in that room is his sister.

Shougo is summoned to the student council room whereby Rinka tells him the directors find the prank to be in poor taste. In view of this, they are required to form a special disciplinary committee. Shougo will be part of it since the directors have their eye on him and feel if they uphold order and lead by example, they will see some results. Also on this committee are Rinka, Mana and the very shy Shiga (is it a corruption of ‘shy girl’?). Back in his room, Ikusu reveals that many of the girls had an alibi during the broadcasting incident. The only one whose whereabouts are in question is Rinka. Though she claimed to immediately head to the broadcasting room, it took her some time to get there. Ikusu wants him to accompany Rinka and investigate her in her activities. So the disciplinary officers go round like Gestapos, introducing their brand of iron fist. What do you expect when Rinka is in charge? Shiga’s number of screams will determine the seriousness of their crime. Especially those who brought porn magazines illegally to school. I guess everything almost becomes forbidden. No cat ears (Kurumi). No recruiting (Mei). No being delusional (Araya – WTF?!). No fun… However some girls got this idea of wanting to be a bad girl so that Shougo could ‘punish’ them. And no flirting!!! So Rinka in her bathtub has comments about Shougo being flirty and all that stuff and needs to get his act together, blah, blah, blah. We know you’re falling for him the way you’re acting.

Episode 8
I guess with Shougo being a discipline officer, Miyabi tries to take advantage of this. She purposely wears a skirt shorter than allowed. Then she denies and forces him to measure it. Shougo thinks it’s an attempt to seduce him to get him to quit. Konoe got jealous seeing this and wants her skirt measured too. But hers is obviously within rules. Oh. She’s going to make it shorter by pulling it up. Then the wind blows… What has been seen cannot be unseen. Miyabi was wearing shorts underneath (that’s why she was so confident) but Konoe wasn’t… Poor guy got reprimanded by Rinka. Because he’s too busy in his disciplinary stuff, Ikusu suggests that he take her out to the amusement park. As they’re not in school, she won’t be able to boss him around. So it’s a double date with Shougo, Ikusu, Rinka and Mana. Mana might be acting like she’s intimidating but she gets easily spooked out from the rides and haunted house. Shougo and Rinka are left to go alone into the park’s main attraction. A simulation has them shooting zombies. Rinka shows us she can kick ass. Everything is going well till the power goes out. In the darkness, she gets afraid the zombies may be groping her but when the light turns back on, well, it’s Shougo’s hands. He wanted to calm her down. No explanations needed. Slap! The rest of the day goes well and at the souvenir store, Rinka ponders at a raccoon strap and may have seen it somewhere before. Shougo ends up buying it. Back home when he thinks how much fun he had with Rinka that he didn’t had time to probe her, it dawned to him that the raccoon strap is of the same that was attached to Mei’s handphone. Rinka complains that Shougo was supposed to go patrol with her but is nowhere to be found. In fact he is right back at the student council room and was searching. He found that handphone and claims she was the person who made that broadcast. First, she hooked her own handphone to the microphone in the room. Then she used this handphone’s voice changer to call her own phone so the voice went into the microphone. Rinka dismisses it since the raccoon strap was the one he bought for her. But he points out it may be the same raccoon but the tail’s design was different. What gave her away was that she couldn’t possibly have known about the raccoon’s design that belonged to Mei. To know that, she must have seen it.

Rinka admits she was the one broadcasting as his sister. A while ago, she had a meeting with one of the directors, Genda. He told her about the rumours of the mysterious sister going around but it was the first time she heard. He wants her to investigate this sister for him. Because he will soon be negotiating a deal with Mikado Group, he wants information that will give him advantage. Rinka didn’t want to assist him but had no choice because she is engaged to his son. Something their parents decided. She wanted to give up when she found this handphone in the dumpster. She could impersonate someone else. Someone who is not bound by the pressures of an elite family. Someone who didn’t have to marry for the family’s reputation. So when the directors visit, she came out with a plan. The threats she made over the broadcast was directed towards Genda and the warning was for Shougo to be careful of him. She also made him a disciplinary officer to straighten him up. Shougo realizes she was trying hard to help him. As for her engagement, she can’t really cancel it. Gee, Shougo came out with this idea to be his girlfriend. For real? At least pretend to be his girlfriend so that she could cancel the engagement. Will it be that simple? He asserts he truly wants to help her since she has been having a hard time. She makes him close his eyes and strips down close to naked. What gives? Since she can’t lie to her own family, that’s why if they’re going to be a couple, she wants him to become her boyfriend for real. Take responsibility! Oh lookey. Just what has he gotten himself deeper into? As always, somebody has to come in. I wonder what the violation indication level is with Shiga screaming like that. In the end, Shougo quit the disciplinary committee. If having Konoe and Miyabi fighting over him during lunch is bad, it’s about to get worse now that Rinka is fawning all over him, claiming to be his girlfriend. Sure, the engagement has been cancelled and even her father has taken a liking for him. I guess this is what really taking responsibility is about. Now he has to date under the pretence of marriage. He’s got lot of explaining to do to the rest.

Episode 9
A new girl moves next door to Shougo. She is Yuzurina Houshou and was one of the attendees during the directors’ visit. She admits it straight to him that she is his real sister that the public doesn’t know. In their eyes, they are just second cousins. Kanoko thinks of her as a distant relative and won’t treat her nice if she finds out the truth. Woah. Suddenly the truth just out like that? Yuzurina is sharp. She sees a long hair strand that couldn’t possibly belong to Shougo and then she could smell the scent of a girl on his bed! She lectures him about his debauchery life but knows she has no right to tell him how to live his life. Though she doesn’t oppose him to get a girlfriend, she wants him to date a woman with all his heart under the pretence of getting married. Why is she acting like his mother? Because she is his sister. His family. She cares. Magic word to convince him. Soon he gets a call from Kanoko about the upcoming Mikadono Group’s thank you party. She wants him to bring that lifelong companion along. Still haven’t found one? Remind me what was his purpose at Miryuuin again? He promises to find one by then. Finding one is easy, I bet you. It’s just the perfect one. During the pool lessons (amusing to hear Konoe and Miyabi trade insults on each others’ boobs and butt), Yuzurina who is being shown around the campus by Rinka and Mana lets it known about the party and the sister part. Oh boy. Here comes more explaining to do.

So with the usual suspects in the store room, Yuzurina introduces herself and how Kumagorou paid her expenses all the while till his demise. Miyabi wants proof that she is his sister but she claims the public must never find that out and that all related documents have been destroyed. The DNA test suggestion comes into play again and Yuzurina would gladly do it to prove she is his real sister. Now the hardest part. Who is he going to take to the party. Everyone is jostling for that post when suddenly Mana for the first time stomps her feet and asserts she will be the one. I guess the rest scoff her off because it doesn’t make sense. Well, she has never been the front runner to take Shougo and suddenly she announces this? The jostling continues till they end up in an ambiguous position. Guess what happens when Kotori sees this orgy? Shougo contacts Seri for another DNA kit and hopes she can keep this a secret from Kanoko. I guess Konoe wants to get ahead of the pack because in addition to cooking for Shougo, naughty girl wants him to eat her as desserts! She won’t leave if he won’t eat her! Desperate case. Shougo starts tickling her feet. Well, it got so noisy that Yuzurina couldn’t help eavesdrop what is happening next door. Sounds so ambiguous. Sounds so stimulating. Sounds so lewd. She’s even nose bleeding! That good, huh? What kind of a secret move is that? She’s interested to know! Finally she can’t take anymore of the horniness and slams the wall. Cue to stop. Shougo accompanies Konoe home. Konoe wants him to eat her ‘strawberry’. Miyabi happen to walk by and see them in a kissing position. However Shougo couldn’t ‘eat’ because he thought he saw somebody. Konoe thought he is avoiding her again. The test results come back and it confirms Yuzurina is really his sister.

Episode 10
Shougo is glad that Yuzurina is his sister. She thinks to be his partner at the party. Not as a lifelong companion but as family. Of course in the eyes of the public they will still be seen as second cousins. So as not to leave out his harem, she is willing to prepare invitations to all 5 of them. Shougo and Yuzurina greet the girls arriving. Happy Mana gives Shougo a friendly hug, Mei wears her usual witch costume to this official ball and Miyabi has been looking gloomy ever since. During the party, Mana lets loose her big appetite (she could starve all the children of Somalia at this rate) while Mei takes down notes on the fine food to add to her cafe’s menu. Mei then tells Shougo that Miyabi is missing and isn’t answering her calls. Naturally Shougo goes to look for her. He spots Seri and just when he thinks of asking her help, Ikusu pulls him away to let him eavesdrop on Seri’s conversation. Seems she has found a letter that will start a scandal regarding Kumagorou. If all goes well, they can invalidate Shougo from becoming the company’s president. Ikusu reveals ever since Seri was acting suspiciously, she went undercover to investigate and she’s part of a plan to stop Shougo from becoming president. They can’t tell Kanoko as they have no proof and she trusts her secretary very well. And if she finds out about the illegitimate child, will Shougo be prepared to protect her? Shougo gets a call from Yuzurina that she has found Miyabi lost in the hotel.

Before they reunite in the ballroom, Shougo talks privately to Yuzurina about the letter that Seri has found. It is the only thing that connects Yuzurina and Kumagorou and she treasures it. But she doesn’t mind if the world finds out the truth about her for the scandal is on Kumagorou. She feels there is nothing to be ashamed of and Shougo must be strong too. In the sense he should give up his harem life and concentrate on one woman and go steady with her since he is going to be the company’s president. Because Yuzurina talked to Miyabi when she found her, she learnt a few things and tells Shougo that she probably has feelings for him and can’t be honest with herself. Back at the party, Miyabi suddenly hugs Shougo. Oh God. She’s drunk. Now she’s going to throw up! Next thing Miyabi knows, she’s in a hotel suite with Shougo by her side. Don’t worry. He didn’t do anything to her. Why does Miyabi look disappointed? She takes a shower while he waits. Then when she’s done, she surprises him by going on top of him clad in only a towel! She asks his opinion about her boobs. I don’t think she’s drunk now. I know I’ve seen in situations like this, girls are the ones who aren’t mentally prepared but this time it’s Shougo who isn’t so! If he isn’t, she’ll help him. She drops the towel! Totally naked!!! However she starts crying. She doesn’t want him to leave her again. She was very sad when he left that day and wants him to promise he’ll always stay by her side. Miyabi is put to bed as Shougo returns to the rest to see them off. Mana has eaten so much that she looks like a pregnant woman! Mei is pretty concerned about Miyabi and hopes Shougo won’t do funny stuffs on her. Or else she’ll curse him with this straw doll. A witch using a straw doll? After that, Kanoko gives her son an earful about Miyabi’s throwing up and his failure to escort the ladies he invited. Initially she opposed it but since Seri said he had social reasons to do so and she reluctantly agreed. Make sure you go thank her for that. And looks like another scheme is brewing. Yuzurina happily soaking in the bathtub notes how all the pieces have fall into place and everything is going just as planned.

Episode 11
Yuzurina teases Shougo by acting like a newlywed. Though she is just joking, Shougo wonders if that sister proclamation at Kumagorou’s funeral was a joke too. She denies she ever said that and thinks that it was a prank that any girl could pull off. During recess in school, Ikusu tells Shougo that she has been staying up late nights doing her investigation and thus the lack of sleep. She borrows his shoulder as a pillow. Then a couple of girls walk by and misinterpret this yaoi situation. Setting their hearts aflutter, doesn’t it? There goes his reputation… Later Shougo and Miyabi patron the cake shop to buy pudding to visit Miyabi who is sick in bed. While Konoe goes to prepare tea, there is an awkward silence between Shougo and Miyabi. Then she breaks her silence. Why doesn’t he kiss her. I suppose she is still bothered about that scene she thought she saw him kissing Konoe. If he won’t, then at least go out on a date with her. He has no say. He better be there. Back home, Shougo is enjoying Yuzurina’s cooking when she mentions she has been thinking about what he said earlier. She was at Kumagorou’s funeral and also saw Konoe there. She had this feeling of seeing her before and after talking about the funeral, she remembers her. But Shougo can’t believe it since Konoe said she was taking an entrance exam. Is Konoe lying then? Yuzurina cautions him not to be easily tricked and make sure he finds someone who truly cares for him and needs his support. Shougo spends the night thinking about the possibility Konoe may be his sister. Or not. Because of that he didn’t get much sleep. Those bags under his eyes… Could give a wrong impression he was up all night busy with something else… Ahem. Araya wants to interview Miyabi and take a few photo shots of her to recognize her swimming efforts. Miyabi reminds Shougo about this Sunday’s date before agreeing to Araya’s interview. Though Shougo is glad Miyabi is back to her happy self, Konoe feels that she is forcing herself to put up a happy facade. Then Shougo realizes something and turns back. Rinka reprimands Mana for using the school internet to search for sweets instead when Shougo suddenly barges in and needs a favour from Rinka. Something that he needs to know. Come Sunday, Shougo meets Miyabi and the date seems pretty normal and fun. Movies, pet shop, sushi conveyor belt, trying out clothes at the store… Miyabi even has Shougo accompany her in her swim practice. They hit Lyrical Sisters as the final stop. Ikusu is watching a video of Grand Bellion. The one that Perin-chan appeared in. Say, doesn’t the actress that played her looks familiar? Bloody familiar indeed. Hint: She is someone’s sister… Oooohhh…

Episode 12
Shougo goes out on a date with Miyabi. At the end of the day, Miyabi suddenly kisses him. Wants to become lovers. He’s happy to hear that but… Oh no. It’s that word. But he can’t. Miyabi got heartbroken and ran away in tears. Shougo sees Yuzurina eavesdropping and goes to have a word together. He knows things aren’t going the way she planned as she was trying to get Miyabi and him together. That night when she told him about the scandal would be Kumagorou’s, if he started dating his real blood sister without knowing it, it will be his scandal. He points out the DNA test may be fake and Seri may have switched it and used someone else’s result under false names. He feels like an idiot for trusting the enemy. When Kanoko told him Seri prepared the invitations, under her impression that it was him that she thought the invitations were needed. Yuzurina breaks down thinking he is accusing her. Ikusu barges in the tell her to stop with the acting. She reveals Yuzurina’s true identity is a child star named Nayuri Danno. She was a phenomenon 10 years ago but soon gave up the celebrity world a couple of years later. Shougo then recognizes she is the actress of Perin-chan. Now that the cat is out of the bag, there is no need for Yuzurina to act. She reveals on the party night, she was the one Seri was talking to at the end of the phone. She is doing this because it’s part of her job as an actress. Shougo is trying hard to control his anger but Yuzurina assures she’ll get out of his life since she has failed in her mission.

Next morning Shougo gets a call from Konoe that Miyabi is in trouble. He rushes to the infirmary and is told by Mei that she’s recuperating. Though she almost drowned in this morning’s practice, there is nothing serious. But she hasn’t stop crying since and notes it must be something psychological. Mei suspects something must have happened between them but Shougo also smells a rat because Mei is talking as though she and Miyabi are very close. Shougo is going to tell everything he knows otherwise she will be crushed by the weight of her own secret. Mei wonders if she was wrong to hide her identity. Shougo is grateful instead for protecting her all this time. Shougo goes in to talk to Miyabi. He apologizes for not knowing she was the one at Kumagorou’s funeral and the one who whispered those words. Although the entrance exam was on that day, she had a sports recommendation and the exam was on a different day. He found that out from Rinka. Since Kumagorou and Miyabi’s father were close friends, one day she heard them talking. She didn’t understand but Kumagorou wanted him to take the money. After her father transferred, they never see each other again. Then she saw in the drawer an envelope filled with money and a letter stating it was for living expenses. She didn’t know what to do when she found out her first love was her brother. So when Kumagorou died, she wanted to go see Shougo again. Since her parents are divorced and her mom often moves out of the house, she knows what it’s like to lose a family member and thought she could console him. She wanted to tell him she was his sister but was nervous. Still, she really wanted to marry him. She decided to keep it a secret otherwise she couldn’t marry him if the public found out. That’s why she knew Yuzurina was lying when she said she was his sister. At the same time she also thought it would also help in not suspecting her as the real one.

Though Shougo clears up the misunderstanding about that kiss with Konoe, she notes that he still wanted to kiss her. At that time her mind went blank and she went to see Yuzurina without considering the consequences. She told her she knew she was fake because someone received the living expenses. Yuzurina claimed she was acting as part of the family to protect the real sister, giving that same scandal excuse if the public finds out. Yuzurina convinces her to tell the person who is receiving the living expenses and will provide her full support. Miyabi reveals herself and Yuzurina wanted proof. To show her sincerity of support, Yuzurina will invite her to the party but she’ll have to bring the letter. But she also invited the other girls to avoid being suspected as it would be weird if she was the only one who came. In the end, Miyabi changed her mind and didn’t give the letter. Yuzurina was okay with it but Miyabi felt bad for deceiving her. Subsequently the letter went missing and she suspects Yuzurina. Right before Shougo and Konoe visited her, Yuzurina was at her place to tell her there was no such letter and accused her of lying. Yuzurina then suggested to be Shougo’s sister so that she could date him. It’s a win-win situation. She thought it was a good idea since Yuzurina said she would help. Shougo realizes that’s why Yuzurina lied when said she saw Konoe at the funeral. Shougo then reveals Yuzurina’s true identity. Miyabi feels guilty but Shougo forgives her because they are siblings. He wants them to be closer siblings than any lovers could be. In the aftermath, everyone goes to cheer Miyabi in her swimming meet. Later Ikusu reports to Shougo that Yuzurina completely disappeared and hid her tracks pretty good. She also has pulled some strings so that the enemies won’t pull off something similar in the future. That’s the easy part. Now here comes the hard part. The girls are fighting for his attention. Konoe must be the most desperate one because she wants him to eat her ‘cream puffs’. Oh boy. Such a lady killer… This might turn into a scandal…

Episode 13 (OVA)
Now that Miyabi is his sister, she takes full advantage of her new status by waking him up, feeding him breakfast (how unappetizing) and even forces him to strip to change his clothes. Imagine to Konoe’s horror when she sees Miyabi on top of Shougo. And she’s unfazed. Shougo hopes Miyabi could stop calling him her big brother because it brings back memories of that funeral day. Miyabi continues to hog Shougo. So close to him that it is driving Konoe crazy. No Shougo a day makes Konoe a gloomy person. It’s like Shougo is her drugs… Gloomsville… Even in class Miyabi is wrapping herself around him. Don’t they look like lovers? She even gets the right to choose which bento from Konoe or Rinka to feed him! The girls can’t sit back and let this go on and confront Miyabi. However she has the last say because if they get in her wrong books, as his sister she will not let them get close to Shougo. Oh, the authority… That’s when Ikusu and Mei suggest that they hold a competition to see who gets Miyabi’s approval. The one who wins that wins Shougo. Game for it? And so in this only episode whereby Shougo gets to date all the girls like a harem route, the girls will take turn dating him with their own concept while the rest tag along. First up is Mana. What’s she doing here? She thinks marrying the son of a big and rich company will enable her to eat more snacks. That’s all she thinks… And that is what their date is about! Snacks, snacks and more snacks! At the okonomiyaki restaurant, Shougo thinks that if he marries Mana, his life would be more peaceful. After all, snacks are only on her mind, right? Then he had to dream of something lewd. The kind where he is tired of eating her snacks and hints her humongous boobs. I don’t even know why he is flipping it with the spatula! Be careful! It’s fragile!!! Miyabi senses his perverted dream and takes him away.

Next up is Mei and her reason to date him is because it’s the fastest way to get closer to Miyabi and watch her. Her date concept is to patron all the cafes around. The first one seems like an evil cult. Only a certain delusional person could join this. Shougo would have no hand in it… After visiting the other cafes, they end up in Lyrical Sisters. Why her own cafe? If they are to marry, he is going to take over this cafe, right? Once more, Shougo has this perverted dream if he marries Mei. But I don’t know how it ends up with a scrub brush!!! WTF?! Miyabi sense… No good… Shougo, you come with me now… Next in line is Ikusu. Hey! Wait! Is this for real? I mean, to everybody, Ikusu is considered a guy! Imagine the implications if Ikusu is approved by Miyabi! Does she really want her brother to turn gay?! No way! Before they get deep enough in their date, Miyabi won’t allow this and takes Shougo away. Rinka is up next and though her concept is about calmness, why is she bringing Shougo to see her parents?! Then it dawns to Miyabi this looks more like a marriage meeting and cuts short their date! Dangerous… Konoe is the last one but she does hers slightly different. At the amusement park, she not only takes Shougo but Miyabi along as well. I guess this is the best way to win the sister’s heart, eh? Let her tag along for the fun too. Lastly, Konoe brings them to the bridal fair where they can experience in dressing up as a married couple. When Shougo and Konoe are ready to take their photo, they invite Miyabi to stand with them and have their shot. It seems that the rest of the gang have already dressed up in their gowns and are eager to know which of them Shougo will be taking a picture next. Oh boy. Major headache. Who wins the competition? Dunno. I guess everybody is a winner. And Shougo too because he gets to date everybody. Haha. Personally, I think Miyabi should approve Mana because she doesn’t get aggressive like other women on Shougo because her mind is only on food. On the other hand, too much of food means too much neglecting of Shougo. So at the end of the day, I am guessing that Miyabi won’t be approving anybody to get married with Shougo except herself. I mean, she wants to keep him for her own, right?

Sister Poser…
Firstly, let me say that I had this dilemma about the revelation of the real sister’s identity. Before the series ended, I had even thought that we might not get to even know who the real sister is and it will end in a way with that usual life-goes-on crap that may see another sequel. On the other hand, if the real sister pops up in the end, one part of me felt that I didn’t want to know so that there would still be the possibility of frolicking around in the harem. Then there’s this other part of me who really wanted to know the sister’s identity because it would leave a bad aftertaste in my mouth if it doesn’t. Now that it does, how come I don’t feel satisfied? Why am I not surprised? It wasn’t like I was expecting Miyabi to be the little sister in the first place. So when Yuzurina popped up and claimed she was Shougo’s sister, there’s this dilemma in me again. It felt too easy. How could the puzzle be solved just after 3/4 of the show? There’s something fishy. Otherwise it would have rendered the theme, especially this anime’s title useless, right? Then true enough, she wasn’t. Before the revelation of Miyabi as Shougo’s sister, it also made me wonder if Yuzurina was really the one because if she was, shouldn’t this have sent alarming bells to the main girls if one of them was his sister? The real sister would have wanted to voice and stand out to clear the misunderstanding. Especially for Mei who knew who the sister was and thus if Yuzurina claimed to be Shougo’s sister, she should have voiced her concern or showed her suspicion. Alas, Mei and Miyabi probably played it cool and didn’t do anything that would seriously spoil everything (and us).

So I suppose almost every main girl here had a chance to play Shougo’s little sister. That’s the main theme of this series, right? So we’ve got Konoe and Rinka to pretend play to be his sister and Mei who runs a sister themed cafe. It feels odd that Mana despite being featured as one of the main girls lack any significant impact. She was the only one among the main girls who didn’t get to really play sister. Otherwise she would have been easily lumped together with the other minor female characters. Speaking of which, I even speculated that it might not be one of those 5 ladies who would be his sister. What are the chances of surprising us viewers that the real sister is someone else? Hey, it could be Kurumi. She’s sweet, cheerful and cute enough, right? That’s how a little sister should be. Kotori may be a petite teacher and it might not make sense that she’s older than Shougo to be his sister but there’s a possibility that she’s lying, right? I mean, she looks the part of a little girl… Maybe not. Araya? Too delusional to be his sister. Shige? Still waters run deep. You never know. Worse… Ikusu?! Suddenly everybody who thinks of them as bromance quickly has their perceptions/fantasies all shattered! I don’t even want to think about this. The worst they could do is introduce a totally new character and shock all viewers she is the real sister. That would really be unfair. Thank goodness it didn’t happen. When Mei’s arc came to a close, it ascertained 2 things. One, she wasn’t his real sister which leads to number two. Shougo has a sister, which is not Mei. So I guess from that deduction, that leaves a higher chance of picking one from the rest, right?

Sometimes I feel that the sister theme is a distraction to the harem and romance. The series does dedicate some of episodes on the main girls and for Shougo to interact or help them out. It’s not like he knew one of them could be his real sister. So while ‘dating’ them, I guess he kept remembering at the back of his mind that one of them could be his real sister. So everybody loves Shougo. Well almost. It was fun in some episodes in seeing the girls vie for his attention. That’s why we watch this series, no? Especially Konoe and Miyabi’s rehabilitation plan to bring Shougo back to the right path of heterosexual. When Yuzurina came into the picture, the plot started moving and with Miyabi’s character giving hints along the way, thus the focus on her, the other girls don’t get to shine as much in the end. Like I have said about Mana, she’s one of the main girls and yet her role felt insignificant. Maybe too airhead for anything. She along with Mei play a more passive role in just watching from the sidelines whereas Konoe, Miyabi and Rinka take the offensive in getting their hands on Shougo. I personally feel that all 5 should be aggressive to add to the carnage fun (for my personal amusement, that is). But I suppose 3 are already tough to handle. Believe me, I think one is already a handful ;p.

So the characters aren’t really much as they are typical of what you would find in harem romance genres. The lead male in this type of series has either got to be a pervert or someone who is goody-two-shoes. Shougo as the sole inheritor of the Mikadono group of companies, he is trying his best to be responsible to himself, his family, the girls and ultimately the public. We know Shougo won’t be such a bad guy but the public doesn’t. That’s why especially when it comes to a relationship (or relationships) with women, he has to tread carefully. Once you’re tainted with a scandal, it’s hard for everything to regain its original reputation that your predecessors have worked so hard to earn. The other main girls seem typical tool. The cute class rep, the tsundere-cum-childhood friend, prideful girl from well respected family, a dreamy airhead and a cosplay intellect. Nothing much more I could say for them except that I feel Mana’s first love are food and sweets instead of Shougo (that may change if the story progresses). I think for a girl who doesn’t make much impact in the storyline, it’s ironic that I mentioned her quite a lot of times in this blogging thoughts. Speaking of sweets, Konoe I feel is a little pervy among the girls because there are a few scenes whereby she tried to seduce Shougo by wanting him to ‘eat’ her as dessert. For Yuzurina, now that we know she is a fake, she did put up a pretty good acting job. After all these years out of the spotlight, she still has what it takes to be a convincing actress. Besides, if Shougo really liked that Grand Bellion anime, shouldn’t he have recognized her as Perin-chan despite it was 10 years ago? Shouldn’t he at least have thought she looked familiar? If you say that Perin-chan doesn’t make as much appearance even as a side character in television, then Shougo wouldn’t have really remembered her face when Ikusu said about it, right? Oh wait, I forgot. His memories are still hazy due to the scar on his forehead. So yeah. Anybody can mess with his mind since he doesn’t really remember well his past.

For the time being, Ikusu seems to be genuinely on Shougo’s side doing all the covert investigations. In a big company like Mikadono, there are bound to be enemies sleeping within like Seri. So it is yet to be seen how Shougo will deal with her once they crossed paths again. Seeing that she is Kanoko’s close aide and holding a considerably powerful position as her secretary, she won’t be going out of the picture yet. I also doubt that Seri would change her allegiance despite Shougo finding out she’s on the enemy side. Besides, if there is this anti-Shougo faction, there must be some mastermind behind pulling the strings who wants to see this kid’s downfall, right? I mean, it doesn’t look like Seri wants to gun for the top position herself. I would be totally surprised if Kanoko turns out to be the real culprit. I doubt it would. Would a mother do this to her own child? So unless there is some hidden mysterious crook wanting to become the next Mikadono Group president (which is highly unlikely since everyone believes only Kumagorou’s sole son would be the one to take over), my next speculation is that there are people within Mikadono Group that wants to see the downfall of the company due to personal reasons like jealousy or Kumagorou have stepped on their feet before. It’s not like the late president was a saint, wasn’t he? Otherwise how would you explain the illegitimate child from the extra marital affair? For Kotori, I thought she always takes out her crazy aggression on her student, Tanaka. Maybe it’s because he always asks stupid questions or tries to joke around with her. It’s like there is this love-hate relationship between them. I guess a little side distraction to our main harem for comic relief.

There are a handful of fanservice scenes but the TV versions that I watched are censored. This means there will be certain a darkness darkening out the girl’s panties. It feels like looking into the black hole. So if you really want to know what colour Konoe’s sexy panties are or get your little thrill in seeing what is underneath Rinka’s skirt, buy the DVDs. Your motivation for uncensored fanservice galore which includes removal of those bath steams to see the girl’s tits. Then there are of course boobs fondling and Miyabi’s butt jokes-cum-insult. Are you turned on yet? Though Ikusu also provides the fanservice stuff by rolling around naked in Shougo’s room, I just find it annoying. No, not because the necessary parts are conveniently blocked out. But rather it is just irritating to see her without any shame bumming around or doing her research without any clothes on. It’s like she is making this her own home. Getting rid of her smell is one thing, but I highly doubt it would work when it comes to the guy and intuition of another woman. See how it didn’t work when Yuzurina worked her womanly intuition?

The art and drawing are quite typical in the sense that the girls are cute and pretty. I suppose this is a must if you are going to do a series on this type of genre. Studio Gokumi animates this series and they are relatively a new studio production house. As I read they were formed by former members of another Japanese animation powerhouse, Gonzo. If the art and drawing of the characters feel familiar, it is because this studio also produced a handful of series like Oda Nobuna No Yabou, A Channel and Saki Episode Of Side A. Also, I kind noticed that all the girls have this very light pink blush on their cheeks. Only the girls. The guys don’t have them (unless they get embarrassed or flustered). The more they fluster, the more visible it becomes. Well, maybe Ikusu is an exception since she is cross-dressing as a boy.

An amusing section is the next episode preview. It isn’t what they say for the next episode (which is sometimes hilarious too) but to see the main harem girls in chibi cat form. They are frolicking around the screen like lost kittens. I’m sure you will be too engrossed in seeing how incredibly cute they are chasing a butterfly, frolicking on the ground or bumming around the box to pay attention to that little tiny screen with scenes from the next episode. Despite their actions are always the same in each episode, unless you are not into cute things, this cute scene will make you want to go “Awww~ So cute!!!” many times over. Don’t you just want to pamper or adopt them? I guess it’s a good deal if you can have both a sister and a cat girl at the same time. If you have such fetish, that is. For more cuteness, the mid-intermission scene is like a gachapon thingy with the girls in chibi format and doing a fixed post. If only they had varied the poses more. If only they had such cute figurines in life. Oh wait. Maybe they do sell…

For the voice acting department, nothing that really stands out or catches my attention. Probably only Ryoko Shintani as the delusional Araya is amusing because you don’t often here the girl who voiced Nami in Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and Sae in Hidamari Sketch to sound this, well, delusional. I’m starting to think Yui Ogura as Yuzurina, her voice is really suited to play loli characters like what she did as Kuroe in Cube x Cursed x Curious, Alice in Kamisama No Memo-chou and Hanbei in Oda Nobuna No Yabou. She definitely sounds the part. The other girls in Shougo’s harem sound very much like their personality. Konoe the sweet girl is done by Kaori Ishihara (Kanna in Ano Natsu De Matteru), Miyabi the tsundere by Ayane Sakura (Marii in Joshiraku), Rinka the proud is voiced by Ayana Taketatsu (Azusa in K-ON!), Mana the airhead by Asuka Oogame (Lizleat from Omamori Himari) and Mei the scheming witch girl by Rina Hidaka (Hideyoshi in Sengoku Otome Momoiro Paradox). Shougo who is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai (Suzaku in Code Geass) too sounds like you typical male lead in a harem anime. The rest of the cast include Ami Koshimizu as Ikusu (Tenma in School Rumble), Arisa Noto as Kotori (Sara Eguchi in Saki Episode Of Side A), Aya Hisakawa as Kanoko (Yoriko in Haiyore! Nyaruko-san), Ayako Kawasumi as Seri (Aoki in Bakuman), Maho Matsunaga as Kurumi (Izumi in Saki Episode Of Side A), Mako as Shiga (Koume in Hanamaru Kindergarten) and Rikiya Koyama as Kumagorou (Kiritsugu in Fate/Zero).

The opening theme is Choose Me Darling by StylipS, your typical anime pop with the opening credits animation that befits the theme of this harem series. Yeah, girls fighting over Shougo. Oops. Maybe I should have worded it as girls trying hard to get Shougo’s attention. The ending theme is sung by the seiyuus of Shougo’s five main harem girls. Heavenly Lover is also another typical anime pop. The ending credits animation is amusing. It starts off with us having a view of chasing some girl’s butt. Then as the credits roll by, we see mini Shougo trying to get away from the chasing harem. They really want a piece of him. So who will end up as his bride? Can we make an exception and have all five of them marrying him at the chapel? Ah, a harem guy’s dream come true.

I guess what the anime is trying to convey despite the ecchi comedy harem romance setup is the importance of family values. We see that Shougo was very concerned and thinking twice about committing incest. He didn’t want to ruin himself and his family in the long run for just a few seconds of carnal desire. Instead, he wants to protect his sister and whether or not the public eventually accepts this fact is up to them to decide. There is only so much you can care about what the public says to you. After all, such private matters are none of their business at all. Also, a woman’s role to support her man through thick and thin. It may initially seem sleazy that Kanoko wanted Shougo to go find a wife in his high school years and thus the stereotype setup for one to think this will turn out into an immoral wife hunting or catfight. But which mother wouldn’t be concerned about their son and wants the best for him and his future? Though each girl may seem to have their own idea of wanting to become Shougo’s lover and eventually his wife, bear in mind that they want to become his perfect girl. Maybe some of the methods employed seem objectionable but at least they had that thought. At least, it’s the thought that counts, right? Looks like they’ve got a long way to go. Shougo shouldn’t rush into picking one. Though I am sure if he picks any one of the girls, that girl would in turn do her best to support him but he needs to be really careful so as not to hurt the rest or the one he chose. But wait too long and he’ll eventually lose everything and hurting them all.

What are the chances of a blood related sibling or relative that you never knew makes his or her appearance in your life? It doesn’t happen that frequent in the real world but it does. I’ve read stories about long lost siblings or children reunited with their family members after many long years. Would that be a touching and heartfelt moment? Well, having somebody new suddenly entering into your life definitely will change the way you do things (if you are a routine person, that is) because you need to take into account the welfare or whatsoever of this new person. Sometimes it becomes a fairytale happy ever after end and sometimes it worsens and becomes an unbearable nightmare. Still, it doesn’t hurt to be careful and a little suspicious at first till things are clarified. Because there is only one other situation when suddenly an unknown relative unexpectedly pops up at your doorstep to claim that he/she is your long lost relative and has finally found you: When you won the first prize of mega million bucks in the lottery.