First Impression: My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In For Me!

Akiteru Oboshi has girl problems. Of course he does, this is anime. Every hapless male anime protagonist has girl problems. As it turns out, his problems stem from his best friend Ozuma’s little sister, Iroha. Baby girl seemingly has a penchant for teasing and being a brat to Akiteru, even using the emergency key to get into his house, lounging around with the music blaring, and intentionally trying to ruin a critical opportunity to accomplish his dream of joining his uncle’s entertainment company and making video games on a professional level. So yeah, Iroha is quite a charmer. And, of course, she has a duplicitous nature, putting on the mask of being a sweet, caring underclassman while at school, which causes numerous misunderstandings with her classmates. Oh, and Iroha’s brother? Yeah, he doesn’t bother to try and stop his sister from doing this because…reasons. As though that weren’t enough, Akiteru’s uncle decides to give his nephew a chance at his company, but under one condition. He must protect his daughter, Mashiro, from the lecherous boys attending a co-ed school for the first time and pose as her fake boyfriend until he graduates high school. Of course, these two aren’t exactly thrilled at the idea, and it goes without saying that Iroha won’t be happy when she hears about it. Cue the shenanigans.

You know, it seems fitting that I get the crappiest show to end last season, and I get what looks like the crappiest show to start this season. Much like Solo Camping for Two, My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In For Me seems like it’s leaning on the trope of a pushy female lead who harasses our male lead, who in turn doesn’t know how to say, “Leave me alone.” Good grief, this one was bad from the jump. Watching Iroha barge into Akiteru’s house, blasting music, and harass him in the name of “I love you so much!” is sickening and infuriating by itself. At least when characters like Takagi from Teasing Master Takagi-San or Hana from Uzaki-Chan Wants to Hang Out tease their love interest, there’s a warmth and charm there; you genuinely believe that they love their respective targets, and they don’t try to actively sabotage their lives. They’re both very likable characters who you can’t help but be fond of. Meanwhile, Iroha has all the warmth, charm, and likability of a check engine light on a long road trip. Each time she opened her mouth, I felt myself cringe. This is not the first impression one of your lead characters should evoke. The fact that neither Akiteru nor Iroha’s older brother nips this in the bud is even more infuriating. Seriously, I would question any friendship if said friend allowed their sister to do whatever she wants, knowing how uncomfortable it makes me. That’s not a friend, guys!

And as if that weren’t enough, we also get numerous harem anime tropes thrown in for good measure. The absentee parents, the oblivious best friend, the white-haired new girl/childhood friend/transfer student, the hyper-protective father who won’t let “lecherous boys” near his baby girl…it’s all here. They even threw in the whole “barging in while the female lead is changing/using the restroom” trope, which needs to die a quick and horrible death expeditiously. Seriously, just knock on the freaking door! And I don’t know what’s worse—the blatant nepotism of wanting to work for your uncle’s company or the uncle who uses the promise of nepotism to further his own desires. By the way, the aforementioned hyper-protective father is just as flirtatious as the boys he wants to protect his daughter from! This dope flirts openly with a waitress who is only trying to do her job. Again, it costs nothing to be a decent human being!

The OP, “Uza Kawaikute Nani Ga Warui!” by Karubi Akami, is a hot mess. While I do like some of the video game references and how they tie into Akiteru’s desire to create games on a professional level, the song got on my last nerves. It’s that stereotypical high-pitched, fast-paced style with no flow or re-listen value to it. And the visuals are just…it’s too much. I’m genuinely surprised my laptop didn’t just throw its hands up and give up the goat. Yes, I said goat. This OP is why the “Skip Intro” button exists.

So, where does that leave us with My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In For Me? Uh-uh. Nope. No way. Put this crap in the recycle bin where it belongs. I would rather watch season 3 of Paint Drying: The Animation than watch another show with a female lead who doesn’t know the meaning of the word “no” and who harasses and bullies a guy under the guise of liking him. Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt from the overpriced gift shop. If you like this kind of thing, more power to you, but honestly, I’m dropping this thing like a bad habit.

This is going to be a long anime season.

My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In For Me is available for streaming on Crunchyroll…sadly.

Josh
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