Real Imouto ga Iru Ooizumi-kun no Baai review

…This wasn’t what I expected. Kind of. At the very least I’m sure that many people felt trolled.

Premise stolen from Vndb:

Ryou has played lots of eroge and loved lots of (2D) imoutos. However, one imouto has stolen his heart. Voiced by his favourite seiyuu and drawn by his favourite illustrator, Mai is not like his real imouto, Shiori, who treats him like garbage and sees him as nothing more than a disgusting eroge-playing maniac. No, Mai would take a bath with him, hold hands with him on the way to school… it’s totally different from reality. One night, Ryou had a strange dream. When he woke up in the morning, he found Mai straddling him… “Good morning, onii-chan!”

The actual story isn’t really like this though. Seriously. I put that synopsis there just so that I can say it’s not really like that. This premise is like a trap, you won’t realize it’s different than what you thought it was until you really get into it. Wait, that sounds wrong.

Characters:

Ooizumi Ryou seems like a very sterotypical sis-con otaku, but he’s really more of a harem lead. Smart, kind, good at sports, hot with glasses on, says the right things at the important moments, loves with all his heart, etc etc etc. He’s a bit on the perverted side but overall quite a likable protagonist.

Ooizumi Mai is the 2D imouto. She’s somewhat clumsy, but not when it comes to housework. She’s very innocent, but doesn’t shy away from ecchi stuff. In other words, a caring and supportive 100% perfect kind of character. She’s not too familiar with the “outside” world, and would often say something outrageous without really understanding its effects.

In reality, she actually holds a dark secret. And I actually don’t mean that in a cheesy way. Her secret was actually a well written plot twist and a pleasant surprise.

Ooizumi Shiori is the 3D imouto (well, she’s still 2D though) and acts very coldly towards her older brother. Add to that their parent’s relationship (which is unstable at best) and you have a perfectly dysfunctional family. Loves basketball.

At first, I thought that she was just a typical tsun/kuudere, but her ending (which must be unlocked after Mai’s is completed) was actually good. More on that later.

Senoo Miki is the imouto of Ryou’s best friend. She’s over the top and flirty, but should have stayed as just a side character. Really, her route is trash.There’s a reason that all the promotional material ignores her, okay?

Senoo Akira (right) and Koga Tsuyoshi (left). Akira plays the stupid best friend/obsessive otaku/overall unlucky dude with a good heart. Also, a serious sis-con, especially for eroge. He says that he doesn’t care about his 3D sister, but while there’s no romance going on he’s protecting her in his own way as an older brother. Akira is a bit of an antagonist and a major prick at first, but he turns hilarious so it’s all good.

Story:

This isn’t what I expected. I thought that it would be some ridiculous over-the-top 2d vs 3d battle, knowing about Osananajimi wa Daitouryou (speaking of which, you must see this). But, while there was random fanservice and 4th wall breaking jokes (with various shout outs to other games under the Alcot brand), the main characters didn’t feel that shallow. They have their own reasons, their own emotions, and their own dreams. And there are also various plot twists that sheds new light on a character’s actions later on in the story.

Don’t get me wrong though, this isn’t a deep story. There’s still stuff like walking into the washroom when another girl was inside and whatnot and penis jokes. Also, there are some delicate and emotional scenes, but a lot of potential was wasted.

First of all, there was Miki’s path, which was, by the way, little more than an excuse for more h-scenes. The only thing that I liked from it, surprisingly, was some interesting insights into Akira’s personality and why he spends all his free time playing the imouto routes in eroges. Shiori and Ryou’s past was very interesting, but there could have been more development in scenes such as the one above. I especially lament over 1 very interesting h-scene, where Shiori pretended to be Mai. Afterwards, however, there was only 1 little scene about how Mai didn’t mind that Ryou had sex with someone else. There was nothing, absolutely NOTHING about Shiori, when it was an emotional landmine just waiting to be stepped on. The same applies to Mai’s secrect. After it’s revealed, the writers pretty much went “well, there you go. Now you know” and didn’t really exploit it further. This is really unfortunate, because the various scenes from Mai and Shiori’s point of views (or points of view?) were my favorite parts of the story.

I think that someone who’s familiar with Alcot and that type of humor would definitely enjoy it though. I know I cracked up more than once, especially over Mai’s dark side and Tsuyoshi. It’s also on the short side, so anyone who wants a little distraction might appreciate that. And, I almost forgot, I like that the writers had the balls to do the bittersweet (and somewhat ambiguous) ending. Not that I loved the ending itself, but it felt better in hindsight and I know I would have hated a  magical happy end. I know all the Mai fans are weeping on the inside though.

Art:

There are 2 artists working on this game, and while I appreciate Takoyaki a bit more for Mai and another character, neither artists are extremely outstanding or even very consistent.

The school uniform isn’t extremely bad, but it’s unflattering, and that pose of Shiori’s…

Shiori’s outfit is just gross. I have mentioned before that those kinds of feather brushes should only be used by people who can decently airbrush. Whoever colored this definitely isn’t one of those qualified people. I’m not even going to mention her pigtails, Miki’s CGs, and the guys (although I do admit that they’re better than certain other eroges…)

The backgrounds are definitely nice though, especially the outside scenery. The various shots of the sky aren’t bad either.

Music:

There it goes again. The op promotes the more stereotypical sides of the story and seems to be from Shiori’s perspective. However, once you see the true end you’ll realize that those lyrics aren’t really something that would be in her heart. The BGM is really nice, especially the sadder piano pieces (they tug at your heart strings, oh so much). The vocal songs are catchy, and I have to say that all the seiyuu did a good job as well.

Programming:

There’s a lot of subtle things in the game, and a lot of transitions feel very natural. The eye catches are also skippable this time (I’m thinking Haruhi here). The menus are cute, but pretty basic. There’s a lot of little effects placed in the game which I appreciated. But overall, nothing outstanding.

Story:7×5=35/50

Art: 7×3=21/30

Music: 9/10

Programming: 8/10

Total: 73/100 C+

A decently enjoyable title. It’s on the short side and doesn’t have an outrageous title, but it’s definitely entertaining and not as stereotypical as it seems at the core. Recommended for sis-cons and people who are feeling too depressed about heavier titles.