Common Name: Eromanga Sensei
Alternative Names: Eromanga-sensei
Score: 5/10, 2/5
Length: 12 Episodes
Genre: Comedy, Ecchi, Harem, Romance
Summary: Izumi Masamune is an aspiring light novelist who lives at home with his step-sister Sagiri. Ever since the death of their parents though, Masamune hasn't seen his Sagiri in person. Traumatized from the loss, Sagiri has become a shut-in that Masamune cares for and provides for with his light novels. During one of his artist's streams, he catches sight of the tray of food he always sets outside Sagiri's door and realizes that his own little sister is none other than Eromanga-sensei, the artist who helped propel his novels reach a moderate level of popularity. What's worse, though, is that Eromanga-sensei is known primarily for drawing ecchi works and Sagiri is only 12 years-old.
Review: Ok, I know that I'm inclined to bitch and moan about how ecchi and hentai are slowly rotting away at any credibility anime has a proper form of media, but can we all just agree that THIS is 100%, unarguably unacceptable? I understand that Oreimo was a big deal when it came out and still dominates the subconscious of fans everywhere. Heck, I never finished Oreimo and am willing to accept that there is some value to the show, on both a sire of countless memes and as critical work. THIS, however, I will not and cannot abide. There are a million and one better ways that this show could have been handled and presented itself, but it just had to take the safer route of being generally ambiguous and half-asses on anything it tried to address.
I am in agreement on all accounts.
Now, before I upset too many people, let me be frank that my complaints about this show do not stem solely from my personal dislike of the "imouto" genre. That is certainly part of my reason why I dislike Eromanga Sensei, but I'm more frustrated with the lack of effort that went into this show. Everything--from the plot to the art and the characters--make little to no sense because this show seems to have been built with the concept of "take the route of least resistance" in mind. Rather than buckling down and trying to tell some kind of incestuous romance story or an emotional tale of a young man trying to help his step-sister overcome her personal traumas, Eromanga Sensei just features arc after arc of girls throwing themselves at the main character, Izumi Masamune, only to be turned away. Now, it'd be one thing if Izumi was meant to be one of those standard, blank slate protagonists who only exists to satisfy the audience's own fantasies, but that isn't his role. He has a personality, drive, and character flaws (albeit weak ones) that define him as a character and dictate his place in the show. Yet he still blunders around and refuses to actually decide on anything in a manner that would indicate that he was planned to be a blank slate. Now, whether or not that was an original design choice, a choice made for the adaptation later on, or just another example of sloppy and half-assed writing, I honestly can't tell.
There are moments throughout the show that indicate that Masamune might lean one way or the other when he's under pressure, but always ends with the safe choice, i.e. not making a choice at all and leaving everything up in the air. Let's take, for example, all the various relationships that are offered to him throughout the show. Yamada Elf, a fellow light novelist and monetary better to Masamune, takes a shot at him multiple times--playing the role of both tsundere and more serious interest at various points. Senju Muramasa, also a light novelist and better to both Elf and Masamune, presents herself as the proper, shy maiden but is also given the added benefit of being one of Masamune's only long-standing fans. Takasago Tomoe, local book store clerk, makes a pass at him as a kind of joke but seems to play the role of a childhood friend. Each and every one of them gets turned away during the show because Izumi provides on one two blanket responses: 1) run away from the problem and 2) confess his love for Sagiri in front of them in an attempt to politely shut them down. Of course, niether of these tactics actually work in staving off the girls' romantic intentions, but what bothers me more is this "love" for Sagiri he claims to have.
I'd be remiss to not mention there is technically one other member of Masamune's tentative harem, but I've elected to remove her from the rankings for...a variety of reasons.
That concept of "love" is where my frustration comes mainly into focus, because there is no clear definition of the kind of "love" Masamune has for his step-sister. As I mentioned previously, Izumi has a tendency to use his "love" for Sagiri as a reason why he can't bring himself to be romantically interested in other girls. This would suggest that Izumi seems to be romantically invested in Sagiri. Yet when Sagiri comes on to him or even suggests their relationship is more than brother and sister, he turns her away as well with exclamations of how he would never harbor romantic feelings for his sister, let alone perverse ones. So, the best compromise between these two, contradictory ideas is that Izumi just isn't willing to pursue romantic interests while his sister is still a shut-in and incapable of living on her own. It'd make sense if he took the same general route of Oreimo in that he feels like it's his personal responsibility to help his sister overcome her hang-ups.
The show even lends this idea some credibility since the show goes so far as to have a cameo with the
Oreimo cast with a scene where the brother seems to acknowledge Masamune as a kindred spirit.
Despite this being the most sensible route though, his actions still contradict this mentality. From start to finish, Masamune enables Sagiri's reclusive behavior just as much as he encourages her to stretch her comfort zone. Back and forth. Forward and backward. This show never goes in any actual direction as far as Masamune is concerned. Sagiri does eventually begin to make progress toward casting off her troubles, but that seems to come about because of her own needs and wants, rather than because of Masamune's efforts. So I'm simply left wondering what this show was actually attempting to convey.
There are moments of tension where some amount of clarity is provided regarding Masamune and Sagiri's situation, but these issues are ultimately cast aside in much the same way any amount of believability is cast aside. Many things about this show just make little sense when even a tiny amount of critical thought is directed at it. The romance, the industry practices presented, the reality of Masamune and Sagiri's living situation, none of it makes any actual sense. It's like this show was built on a shaky premise that got turned into a show before any actual thought or details could be applied to the initial concept. I'm honestly in a position where I can't help but conclude that this was a forced, half-assed product that was only able to get an anime adaptation because of Oreimo's overwhelming success.
Lord knows it doesn't have any actual merit in its own right, aside from being a great way to show off actually light novels like Toradora, Spice and Wolf, Kino's Journey, and (I can't believe I'm saying this) Sword Art Online.
As a whole, however, I suppose I should give it some amount of credit for not being a completely horrible pile of garbage. Rather, it's a fairly well sorted and orderly pile of garbage. There were only a few, minor problems as far as the art and animation quality went. The music was also fine, even if it doesn't stick out as particularly good or bad in my mind. But that's unfortunately as far as my praise for this show can and will go. In every other aspect, Eromanga Sensei takes that orderly pile of garbage and sets it on fire, ruining the entire experience with the smell alone. While I could have certainly condemned this title for its incestuous premise, I won't. It just doesn't commit to the idea enough for me to brand it for that particular taboo. In fact, I much as I hate to say it, I would have honestly preferred if this show had doubled down on the incestuous concept. At least then I would have something to solidly hate on, rather than a flimsy and weak title that didn't have the guts to actually put itself out there. So, alright, I'll leave it at this: Eromanga Sensei is one of those shows that SHOULD be condemned to the garbage heap of forgotten titles, but is in all honesty pretty fun to watch--so long as you're one of those people who can't help laughing at a horrible train wreck.