Eromanga-Sensei: First Impressions

How many times have we heard of a “Sibling Romantic Comedy” series and thought “that looks interesting?” Okay. Rarely ever. There are two series from this genre that really come to mind. One being Oriemo. If you have been watching anime for some time and have been an active member of this community, you would know this name. It doesn’t have a great reputation. I started it and realized early that it wasn’t for me. The other series that came to mind was an anime from Winter 2014 called Recently, My Little Sister is Unusual. I oddly enjoyed this series and waited for the announcement of a season two that never happen. Story of my life. This season we welcome the next new sibling story which was written by the creator of Oriemo, Tsukasa Fushimi.

This story revolves around a light novel author, Masamune Izumi, who is currently taking care of his newly acquired sister, Sagiri Izumi, after an accident that caused him to lose his parents. After this accident, his sister has become a shut-in, the only communication between the siblings are notes left on food trays and the banging coming from the sister to alert her brother that she is starving. As all of this is going on, Masamune is currently working as an illustrator with the pen name “Eromanga” who creates perverted art for his light novel. They work solely online with each other through their editor. Masamune thought nothing of this since he was lead to believe that he is just some perverted otaku but in actuality, Eromanga is actually his shut-in sister, Sagiri.

I would say this synopsis is only scratching the surface but enough to peak the average reader’s interest. The synopsis is more like an actual summary of episode one. When reading through the list of anime for spring 2017, this series caught my eye because it was about a light novel author and illustrator. Light novels are are coming to light as of late. Get it? Light? Light novel?

I always loved reading manga or watching anime pertaining to the process of creating the art they are utilizing to tell the story. For example, one of my favorite manga series is Bakuman. It is actually the first manga series I have completely collected. If you don’t know what Bakuman is, it is a manga about a writer and an artist creating manga together. Throughout this manga you get to see the ups and downs of mangaka and how magazines like Shonen Jump work. It is actually created by the writer and artist duo that created Death Note. My point is, it is great to have light shed on the light novel world. Even if it is a slightly skewed point of view, it is great to get more insight. Especially with the growth of popularity in anime being created from light novels.

Eromanga Sensei is unpredictable, to say the least. You really never know what is going to happen. I remember clearly almost spitting my drink at my television on episode two. I don’t want to spoil it for anyway. I highly suggest checking it out. Here is a small sample of what I am talking about.

This is much more to say about the comedic timing and delivery for the show’s highlights but I feel this would be much better reviewed during the full season review or a mid-season review. As I mentioned before we are only scratching the surface.

One of Eromanga’s most eye-catching qualities is their ability to make you fall more and more for Sagiri. She is absolutely adorable and will win your heart in a matter of seconds. The second ending and the opening alone will cause the angriest person in the world having the shittiest day with no will to live bring a smile to their face. As I mentioned in the beginning of this article, I have not watched Oreimo but I can already tell that this is Oreimo done right. I truly look forward to seeing what series of strange events are in Masamune and Sagiri’s future.

If you have not given Eromanga Sensei your attention, what are you waiting for? Seriously, go watch it. What can you possibly lose out on? I’ll tell you what you can lose out on if you don’t watch it, a good time. Thankfully there are so many ways to watch this series. You can watch through Crunchyroll, Daisuki, and Amazon Anime Strike. Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts about this series. Let me know what you think about Eromanga Sensei down below in the comments and leave a like for every adorable Sagiri gif!