Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai - Episode 10

Buying a gift for an anime-loving friend is a pretty tall order when you have no interest in it yourself, especially when said friend is as "unique" as Kirino.  Still, it's surprising enough as it is to see this episode begin with Ayase asking Kyousuke for help choosing a birthday present for Kirino given her earlier diatribes against anime and how unhealthy it is.

Of course, Kyousuke isn't exactly an expert in this field either, and an attempt to find out what Kirino might want directly ends rather predictably in disaster, leaving Kyousuke to turn to Kuroneko and Saori for help - it also seems that this isn't the first time he's been hanging out with them recently.. and what's this about "the anime studio incident?"  Even with the help of this pair, finding the perfect gift is anything but easy, with nothing jumping out as an obvious choice until Kuroneko stumbles upon an ideal and unique present that shouts from the rooftops as being perfect for the picky Kirino.

The downside of this gift is that it's so unique (the only figure of its kind in fact), that it can only be one via a cosplay competition.  Normally this wouldn't be too much of a stretch given that Ayase (who wants this gift in the first place) is a talented model, but it's fair to say that she's "lukewarm" on the prospect of cosplaying at the best of times, particularly when the character she most closely resembles is scantily-clad to put it mildly.  Luckily for her, resourceful Ayase has a friend who is perfect for the role - wannabe idol Kanako Kuruso, who is a spitting image for Meruru herself and is just as cute to boot... at least, when she wants to play cute, that is.  So, Kyousuke and Ayase effectively trick Kanako into performing in the hope of winning this perfect present to give to Kirino - something made more difficult by the presence of Kirino herself amongst the spectators for the cosplay competition to judge the winner.

Ignoring that big mis-step a couple of episodes back, this was par for the course for Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai as a whole - another fun and entertaining episode that was neither deep nor taxing while nonetheless proving to be funny and great to watch.  After going off at the deep end a bit the last time she was the focus of the story, Ayase packed a far more believable and watchable character this time around, while Kanako worked as required in her particular role too and the rest of the cast did everything that was required of them.  Add in some amusing observations of otaku behaviour such as why so many grown men are at an event for a kid's anime, and Kirino's inability to explain why she collects Mereru figures, and you have another well-honed little package from this show.