A review by folklaureate
Oreimo Vol. 1 by Sakura Ikeda, Tsukasa Fushimi

3.0

I've been mulling over in my mind how I was going to review this manga for a little bit now. And usually I'm quick on my feet when it comes to if I like the manga or not, but Oreimo has me in a tight knot.

Kyousuke and his sister, Kirino, have never gotten along. She's pretty, popular, a secret fashion model, and she is into adult video games and fantasy manga, which doesn't fit her character at all. When Kyousuke finds out this secret, he promises to keep it safe, but also tried to help his sister find friends to talk to about it and leave him alone. Aaaaand, scene.

The artwork in Oreimo is cute for the most part, some times the characters look a little too over the top when trying to be cute or making a strange, but usual, facial expression. When the artist puts the girls of Oreimo into chibi modes for some pannels it was a much better improvement over the actual artwork, which is a little saddening.

As for the story, it was an interesting idea, but I found some parts to be really boring to where I'd just be skipping dialogue bubbles until something caught my eye. And there were many dialogue bubbles, a little too much on some pages, but it wasn't really a big deal, just a little note I made to myself while reading and skipping through. The ending was definitely a nice little cliffhanger for the next volume, so it does inquire me to want the next volume.

Final Summation:The drama genre definitely does tell the truth for this manga. Oreimo does have an interesting idea going for it, something I haven't seen in a manga yet, and though it has it's dull moments making me skip some long dialogue bubbles and such, I did end up enjoying it and will be reading the second volume when it comes out. I have also heard that the manga was pretty good, so I might have to check it out and see which version, manga or anime, is better.