It is no secret to many who know me that I harbor an Imouto (Little Sister) complex. This, weirdly enough, is one of my more pure interests and involves almost no sexual overtones (There is only 1 exception and I will not post who it is in a public space.) . I just like the idea of being a cherished protector of something and someone cute and innocent and delicate. It's one of my psychological hang ups, I'd guess.
"Cameron" you may ask, "Don't you have sisters? Isn't that as much as four tens, and isn't that horrible?" and I say to you "Yes, I have two half-sisters, but even though they are, for the most part decent, kind human beings they are not imouto. There is a subtle difference that begins with the phrase 'They aren't fictional.' that I could explain, but if you don't already understand the explanation would be a waste of time for both of us. "
Take it as rote though, that in most cases fictional younger sisters are a source of much joy and adoration for the Cam-Cam. There is a notable exception even to this though. Her name is Kirino, and she is from the series, Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai (Translating out to " My Little Sister Can't be This Cute") She annoys the living hell out of me. I can't point out exactly why this is. I don't particularly mind Tsundere characters (unless it is taken to a stupid extreme) and her character design is cute, but she still annoys the hell out of me. Part of it is how far the show goes to make her appear sexy. I have been made to realize that she has a decently shaped rear-end, and that she wears tiny shorts and waves it in the air like some kind of flag when she's searching under other people's beds. The series has also not failed in it's intention to inform me that she is a fashion model that wears tiny skirts easily accessible to panty shots, all well and good, but at the same time it doesn't sit right with me. I don't mind fan-service at all, and am not particularly opposed to the whole "Sexy Little Sister" thing such as presented by Sakuya in Sister Princess. Kirino however pisses me off. Possibly because her physical attractiveness is used as a justification, possibly because when she isn't being a complete and total angry bitch she is being manipulative and demanding. I don't know. What I do know is she feels persecuted and entitled and that pisses me off.
Even though she and I share having an Imouto-complex I can't relate to her, even though she plays galge and ero games I find no common ground with this character. It isn't because she is female. I know a few female ero-game players and get along with them pretty well. It lies again with her feeling of entitlement. She demands that her brother understands what she's doing. She forces her tastes on her otaku friends and she leaves her brother to clean up the mess when her dad catches her with an Eroge. (True, she is too young to own them, but that isn't the point, for now.) She feels angry and mistreated when others react negatively to her obsessions even though a major part of the show is her hiding her hobby from polite society. She then takes it out on the first person to even attempt to understand how she really is.
This angers me, as an american anime nerd. (Understand this. We are not Otaku. We over on this side of the Pacific are looked down upon by even that group of rejects. According to the Japanese, American anime nerds are not good enough to even have the term Otaku applied to us. The earlier that more of us accept this fact the better it will be for the fandom in general.) Anime fans over the age of 13 no matter where they are have to accept that we will not be treated kindly be the general public. We cannot expect the unwashed masses to understand out love of "Cartoons" no matter where we are. We should expect, and as a matter of fact, we should take pride in the rejection of the outside world. This does not mean we should become a stereotype or a social pariah. We still need to interact with the world and it does us more good to harm to make those interactions pleasant on both sides. What it does mean is that when people do not share a love for our hobbies we should accept that, allow them to think what they think, and move on. This is doubly so if we are enamoured of the more "adult" aspects of the fandom. To their mind, we are in the wrong, and it is very rarely ever worth it to argue the point. It is not up to us to make converts. This doesn't mean that we need bow to bullying or harassment. It does mean that we should walk away from such confrontations with an "agree to disagree" attitude rather than with a chip on our shoulder or bruises all over our faces. Being an anime nerd and eroge fan is a lonely path.
This is perhaps what annoys me about Kirino, she reacts as if she doesn't expect the abuse. If she doesn't expect it she does not deserve to be a part of the fandom. Anger will get you nowhere, sadness will get you nowhere, acceptance of your position and a refusal to let the bastards grind you down is the way to go. You cannot change how they think, but on the other hand, they cannot change how you think either. Love what you love, gather others who love it around you, ignore the haters and score some more of the CG in the game you are playing. You are entitled to nothing but your own enjoyment of our unique and satisfying hobby. Find peace in that enjoyment and let everything else flow off your back as much as you can. Don't be a Kirino.
-C. Emrys Carrington
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