Potato-kun is never going to figure this out on his own, Iroha.
From basically any sensible metric, Chitose-kun wa Ramune Bin no Naka (Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle) is a better anime than Tomodachi no Imouto ga Ore ni dake Uzai (My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me!). Even the “objective” measure of my subjective impressions confirms as much, at least through the first third of the Autumn 2025 anime season. Moreover, I observed a fair amount of interest within the social-type media spaces leading up to the start of the Chiramune anime. Fans of the books weren’t exactly hyping it, but what I observed aligned with what I tend to encounter when it comes to “good” light novels. In contrast, no one seemed excited about Imouza, not even me, and I’ve read the first two volumes.
Reasonably good surprise.
In fact, not only did I read the first two volumes, I bought them (using Amazon’s “No-Rush” delayed delivery credits). Did I like them? Not enough to expend further such credits on volume three, I guess. Despite being written by Mikawa Ghost, who also wrote the Gimai Seikatsu (Days With My Stepsister) books, Tomodachi no Imouto ga Ore ni dake Uzai seemed to mostly conform with the sort of unremarkable characteristics that impair the reputations of light novels as a category of children’s and young adult fiction. Specifically, it reads like an anime, although I can’t claim that’s working in the adaptation’s favor.
I’m pretty sure this flashback was moved up much earlier for the anime.
Unfortunately, Tomodachi no Imouto ga Ore ni dake Uzai is not as visually impressive as Chitose-kun wa Ramune Bin no Naka, despite nearly five years passing since announcing the My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me! anime adaptation. I at least don’t get the feeling people have been working on it non-stop all that time. I will credit the Imouza anime for not doing a straight one-for-one adaptation of the books. I don’t know if that will ultimately prove to be the correct decision or not, but I generally support making changes to accommodate different media. At a minimum, it’s better than refusing to deviate at all, which introduces flaws when conventions that work in print don’t translate into anime well.
I’m disappointed you did not turn out to be a cunt.
So, given the lack of enthusiasm I’ve expressed above regarding Imouza, why do I still like it more than I like Chiramune? It’s because Chiramune bugs me, man. It took me three or four episodes to understand why, too. I initially thought it was because its lead character, Chitose Saku, seemed smug, but I couldn’t identify any specific instances supporting that position. Now, I think it’s because I feel as though the show itself is smug. I suppose that means my initial impression after the first episode, expressed on IRC as, “Anyway, that show seemed maybe a little too much up its own ass,” is the enduring one. I do acknowledge that it’s too early to make a definitive accusation against a series that is super-exaggeratededly air-quoted “objectively” doing everything right. It is also slotted to run for at least two cours. Maybe it will win me over.
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