Title: As Long as There's Love, It Doesn't Matter If He is My Brother, Right? (Onii-chan dakedo Ai sae Areba Kankeinai yo ne!)
Genre: Romance, Ecchi, Comedy
Publisher: Silver Link
Original Creator: Gekka Uruu
Director: Keiichirou Kawaguchi
Producer: Hayato Kaneko
Script: Kazuyuki Fudeyasu, Mio Inoue, Shogo Yasukawa
Music Composer: Takahiro Ando
Original Release Date: December 31, 2013
Title: As Long as There's Love, It Doesn't Matter If He is My Brother, Right? (Onii-chan dakedo Ai sae Areba Kankeinai yo ne!)So from start to finish, is pretty unremarkable. All you need to know about the show can basically be deduced from the title and a quick synopsis. The animation is nice but nothing special. The characters are flat variations of the ones found in a number of harem shows. The fanservice is what you'd expect from a quick glance at the backside of the box set. Though there are far worse than OniAi out there, the show is still hardly worth the watch.
The story, as I mentioned, is relatively simple. Akiko, a rabid brocon, is reunited with her beloved brother Akito after six years of separation when he transfers to her school and subsequently moves into the dorm she's staying in. Unfortunately for her, the rest of the student council (all female) moves in along with him in order to prevent the siblings from going too far, as well as further their own romantic interests in our male lead. Though a loli fiancée eventually moves in, besides from this basic set up, OniAi doesn't really have much of a plot, with most episodes typically consisting of isolated events revolving around the on-going competition for Akito. As with most harem shows, Akito refrains from showing preference for any one girl though the show wraps up by sending viewers a nice hint that Akiko may eventually, in the grand scheme of things, come out on top after all.
All in all, OniAi, despite its incestuous leanings is quite "tame". Generous amounts of fanservice aside, this is your standard harem show with a few mildly entertaining bits thrown in to make sure you're still paying attention. That said, with the show having practically no drama, its heavy reliance on the comedy that arises from character interactions and reactions often fall a bit flat. Sure I got a couple laughs here and there most episodes, but the jokes aren't particularly original and after a while they start getting a bit old.
As for the incest aspect of this show, OniAi is obviously not trying to be the next Koi Kaze or . Keeping with the peppy tone, none of the serious issues tied to incest are really focused on and the only two characters to have any issues with Akiko's brocon tendencies seem to eventually forget they ever had a problem and just sort of move on. In fact, Akiko's enthusiasm for everything related to her brother becomes more of a running joke, her defining character trait, and is only taken semi-seriously during a handful of moments. Not that I'm saying that's necessarily a bad thing since trying to address the issue seriously wouldn't have worked out too splendidly considering the show's nature. That said, the more shippy moments between Akiko and Akito were still mildly uncomfortable, especially since they reminded us that one of more probable pairings actually is between a brother and sister.
Akito himself has a pretty standard personality. He's nice and tries not to play favorites, all while deftly deflecting the advances of all the girls in his life. The poor sob right? The only aspect of his personality that makes him "special" in any way is his slightly creepy penchant for writing books with incestuous relations between, surprisingly enough, a brother and sister that he and Akiko conveniently share names with. Even factoring that into his personality, though, Akito is still forgettable and bland.
As for Akito's harem, there aren't any surprises there. You have the older, unmarried woman, the loli (also doubles as the standard built-in fiancée), the silent one, the childhood friend (and tomboy), and the go-getter, and, of course, the sister. All of their personalities are pretty one note, and they don't go through much, if any, change over the course of the show. The one thing that probably surprised me the most when it came to any of them was how...enthusiastic Akito turned out to be. I mean, I got from the title that a brother X sister pairing was going to pushed, but boy Akiko really is the definition of a brocon, living and breathing for what she sees as the eventual outcome of her endeavors: making Akito's her's. It's a bit creepy for sure, but I have to hand it to her, at least she doesn't let you forget or have any doubts regarding her feeling for her brother.
Though there isn't anything visually spectacular or particularly noteworthy, I quite liked the majority of the character designs and found them to be pleasantly cute, though, as usual, the boobs on some of them were...sizable. Speaking of boobs, I might as well toss in the obligatory word about the fanservice. Though the show isn't exactly tossing shots of bare breasts at you every ten minutes, there are enough crotch and breast shots to remind you that you're watching a show that likes a healthy dose of fanservice. Again, some of it awkward, some annoying, most of it able to be ignored.
Overall, OniAi is an alright show. Though there's nothing overly offensive in it, I'll never watch it again or really give it much thought beyond this post. As a result, I wouldn't recommend OniAi to anyone. If you want fanservice, you can probably find more interesting stuff. If you really want to watch a show with incest in it (and done seriously at that), watch Koi Kaze. You want comedy? Romance? Harem? There's better. You aren't missing anything by skipping out on this one.
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