Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai - Episode 6

It's Halloween!  Well, not quite, you're a week late guys, but kudos for at least managing a somewhat topical episode of Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai.

Having dealt us another instalment full of drama last time out, we're probably due a more soothing episode of this show this week, and thankfully episode six delivers just that, moving almost entirely away from any focus on Kirino to spend time instead analysing Kyousuke's relationship with Manami - a relationship so close that even their classmates seem to be under the assumption that they're dating, which of course isn't the case.

With Manami's family planning to hold a Halloween-themed event at their sweet shop, Kyousuke gets invited along to help out; an invitation which he accepts, allowing us become a little more familiar with Manami's rather lively family, including a granddad who seems quite prepared to go to extreme lengths when it comes to playing dead.  It's also instantly clear that the rest of Manami's family rather like Kyousuke (and who can blame them?  He's a nice guy), and are cheering him on to start dating Manami in some rather predictable but nonetheless fun to watch ways, before a slightly sweet ending to top things off in a pretty satisfactory way - at least, as satisfactory as this series was likely to get at this juncture, as Kyousuke getting a girlfriend would probably have ruined a hefty chunk of the remainder of the show's raison d'être.

So, no offensive or irritating fan service or crazed outbursts this episode, just a simply yet still largely effective episode of this show which gets along just fine on the basis of having some likeable characters to mesh today.  Of course, I could probably spend an age de-constructing why Kirino is so irritated by her brother staying over at Manami's place and so on, but really this series is best enjoyed without being over-thought too much, and as a result I'm enjoying it largely for what it is aside from those occasional exasperating moments, whether that's Kirino being the over-enthusiastic otaku (which reminded me of myself when I get home to find some review DVDs on the doormat - to hell with everything else, what shiny new things have arrived!) or Kyousuke somehow being a decent bloke even if he is slightly unhinged in his proclamations from time to time.