hontou ni
3Mar/0640

Top 10 Anime Imouto-sans

Aniki Zyl has spoken. So I thought I had better present an imouto list before my Hontou ni license gets revoked.

Imoutos (younger sisters) are a special class of anime characters for me since for some inexplicable reason, many of the anime girls I find endearing are imoutos. It appears that their character charm are often channeled through sibling interactions and sometimes even amplified by elements such as overt sisterly love or the strong need for brotherly protection. However, in order not to turn in some 500 names for this list, 2 criteria are used to streamline selection.

1) She's got to be REALLY someone's younger sister within a family

Not necessarily related by blood but a loosely employed "onii-chan" is no go. Thus this rules out cousin characters such as Elis (Canvas2) and Sakura (Da Capo) or the moe-imoutoseque Primula (SHUFFLE!)

2) The imouto and brother in question must have some kind of 'chemistry'

The 'chemistry" can range from the innocuous sibling love to incestuous sizzling love. Can also be unilateral on part of brother or sister.

Ok now with the criteria out of the way, here's my personal list of favourite anime imouto-sans.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

No.10 Imouto san - Kinomoto Sakura (Cardcaptor Sakura)

Sakura and Touya have such a wonderful relationship that I think all siblings in the world should model their’s after them. Touya’s interaction with the Mirror Card actually made me think how good they looked together.

No.9 Imouto san - Mayu Asuka (Gundam SEED Destiny)

Even the limited screentime did not reduce the intensity of her sisterly charms on the audience or Shinn. Her girlish phone messages still ring in my head. I blame Sakamoto Maaya san for making her soooo kawaii.

No.8 Imouto san - Pacifica Casull (Scrapped Princess)

It was Shannon’s love for Pacifica that enabled him to attempt the impossible and defy the divine will. Another very lovely picture of sibling love rivaled only by Sakura/Touya’s. Will always remember the final scene where Pacifica challenged him to look STRAIGHT at her…. Priceless.

No.7 Imouto san - Cagalli Yula Athha (Gundam SEED)

Star Wars anybody? (“I’m your sister!!”) I was actually rooting for a Cagalli/Kira pairing in GS. My favorite scene had to be Kira’s parents’ gasping when Kira/Cagalli hugged just prior to Arch-angel leaving Orb.

No.6 Imouto san - Kirihara Kiraha (Kagihime)

Now we are officially entering siscon country. Aruto is Kiraha’s sole motivation for the completing the Endless Alice even though she hates it. There is as much basis of her unhealthy love as Maika has for Haruo (Magikano). I suspect it’s in her genes too.

No.5 Imouto san - Kohinata Nanoka (Koi Kaze)

I would have enjoyed Koi Kaze more if Koushirou was not twice Nanoka’s age and Nanoka didn’t look half her’s. Nevertheless given their shocking deed, Nanoka certainly earned her spot on this list.

No.4 Imouto san - Yuki Iku (Boku wa imouto ni koi wo suru)

Iku is soooooo kawaii. Man she’s got the softest hair I’ve seen on an anime girl…. *dreamy look* I was rather disgusted at what Iori did but I understand the temptations he faced. I’m soooo not gonna laugh if my son says he wants to marry his sister even when he's only 3. (Edit: Check out Kawaii's most excellent review of this OVA at Itsumo.)

No.3 Imouto san - Onodera Karen (Onegai Twins)

Karen really shone as The Sister in the OVA after her status was affirmed. But I was actually rooting for her throughout the TV series. Her fainting spells were rather annoying but she makes up for it with ample klutzy kawaii-ness.

No.2 Imouto san - Yoshikawa Maika (Magikano)

Maika chan! Come here… Onii-chan wants to rubba rubba you too…. Sigh… Again I blame Nakahara Mai for doing such a fantastic job of making siscons out of everyone. I believe her role as Iku (Boku wa imouto ni koi wo suru) really honed her siscon voice-persona to supreme levels.

No.1 Imouto san - Asakura Nemu (Da Capo)

Was there any doubt at all who would head this list? While a handful of sisters have bedded their onii-chans, Nemu went on to marry him. Yes, there never was a contest for the top imouto. She also uses the siscon-patented “Nii-san” instead of the milder ‘onii-chan’ which packs the greater siscon punch.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hear there's great sister-characters in Sister Princess too. Maybe I should have checked that out first before plunging into this list. Ah well.....

PS: Hontou ni Tahen desu does not encourage siscon activities even if your sister is in every way as lovely as Shirakawa Kotori.
PPS: If your sister is REALLY every bit like Shirakawa Kotori. You have a problem, a big one. But I can help it. Yes ONLY me. Pls get in touch with me soonest.

Related posts:

  1. Attributes of imouto-moe and the Dark Side
  2. KyoAni does imouto right
  3. What does your top 5 anime say about you?

Posted by

Filed under: Fun Lists Leave a comment
Comments (40) Trackbacks (8)
  1. Ender
    March 3rd, 2006 - 12:08

    I was surprised (and a bit relieved, actually) to find that the king of siscons was not a Sister Princess fan. This list might have been a lot longer or unidimensional if you had been!

    ( REPLY )
  2. Zyl
    March 3rd, 2006 - 12:32

    Yakumo? Then again, your first criteria also implicity assumes that her elder sibling is an elder brother and not an elder sister. ;)

    Wah and congratulations on having been officially crowned as King of Siscon! Now the animeblogging word has another King after Matthew’s crowning as King of Kawaii.

    [nag] Formatting-wise, you should avoid ending your posts (or comments) with italics. It screws up everything that follows. I’ve un-italicised your last full-stop in the post to solve the problem. [/nag]

    ( REPLY )
  3. Xellos-_^
    March 3rd, 2006 - 13:10

    Nemu, unlike the rest are not blood related. I would those who actually did it or dream of doing it would top this list over Nemu.

    ( REPLY )
  4. Xellos-_^
    March 3rd, 2006 - 13:13

    Honorable mention should go to Miki and Karou in Utena. The obesssions, the knief and the bath.

    ( REPLY )
  5. Xellos-_^
    March 3rd, 2006 - 13:18

    Actually talking about utena reminds of 2 more set of bro/sis

    The playboy Touga and Connving Nanami

    And number one bro/sis and imo the most twisted:

    Akio/Anthy

    ( REPLY )
  6. jpmeyer
    March 3rd, 2006 - 13:57

    I always laugh at the fact that her name is “Iku”. Seriously, can you get any more blatantly sexualized?

    ( REPLY )
  7. Haesslich
    March 3rd, 2006 - 14:52

    This might be off topic for the post… but I’d personally throw the Aizen siblings from Shakugan no Shana into here, since they’re… well, they’re disturbing in a way that makes most any other ‘pairing’ here look incredibly pure.

    ( REPLY )
  8. Mechamorph
    March 3rd, 2006 - 16:18

    I would say that Full Metal Panic TSR’s Twincest has one of the strongest “chemistries” between siblings although it could be a little hard figuring out who’s the “imouto” or “oneesan” from first glance.

    ( REPLY )
  9. Stripey
    March 3rd, 2006 - 17:52

    Ender: ooo I’m not worthy…. :) I guess I will watch Sister princess eventually. My academic thirst for the subject matter compels me… :)

    Zyl: oh! so that’s wat’s causing the italics :P Thanks brother! Yakumo’s on my “Top 10 anime (non-siscon) imoutos”… Yes, I already have the 10 names :)

    Xello-_^: I believe Nemu/Junichi’s done the deed in Season 1 :P Actually I’m just biased LOL! I just wanted Nemu to head this list :P P Thanks for highlighting Utena… that’s a classic I need to get to watching someday too :)

    jpmeyer: LOL! Honestly is that a common Japanese name? Iori yes but Iku? :) Strange name or not… Yuki Iku sure is cute… :)

    Hasselich: Oh I haven’t started on Shana yet.. but if their sibling relationship pwns Koushirou/Nanoka and Iku/Iori’s.. I’m not sure I can stomach it :P Looking forward to Shana even more now haha! :)

    Mechamorph: Thanks for highlighting the Xia sisters! :) I’m saving them for an entry tentatively titled “Twin sisters special” :) I personally prefer the imouto….

    ( REPLY )
  10. Haesslich
    March 3rd, 2006 - 18:21

    Two words for you, Stripey: Graphic Bodily Fluid Exchange onscreen. It makes Shana think that Chigusa’s comments about kissing are completely wrong, and so she’s even dismissed the idea of it from her mind. You get the idea that they’re just like FMP’s twins, which makes things that much worse…

    ( REPLY )
  11. Haesslich
    March 3rd, 2006 - 18:21

    Okay, so that’s five words…

    ( REPLY )
  12. jpmeyer
    March 3rd, 2006 - 22:40

    I’ve totally never seen the name “Iku” anywhere ever outside of that anime. Also, it seemed like most of the blog entries on that show usually included some sort of pun on it, like “Even though she’s his sister, I would’ve done exactly the same thing if I were in Yori’s place. ‘Iku’ indeed…”

    ( REPLY )
  13. jason
    March 4th, 2006 - 00:18

    Just received a telegram for ya… “Your siscon license has been revoked until you watch Sister Princess and Repure. -Regards, The Main Office”

    ( REPLY )
  14. Anonymous
    March 4th, 2006 - 03:08

    Yay for t3h King!

    ( REPLY )
  15. Stripey
    March 4th, 2006 - 06:53

    Hasselich: Now that’s something not on this list… :) REALLY need to catch Shana soon…

    jpmeyer: it’s the pink hair….no one can resist a pink haired anime girl :)

    jason: Nooooooooo!!!! *orz* (Scrambles to get SP and SPR..) Btw from what I read of AoMM, I’m looking forward to seeing Chikage’s siscon power in SP :)

    Anonymous: I’m not worthy….. :) besides my license just revoked. :P

    ( REPLY )
  16. Ender
    March 4th, 2006 - 11:20

    While Shakugan is a great series (and getting even better), the Aizen twins seemed more like a gross-out gimmick rather than anything else. No attempt was made to endear them to viewer, unlike most of your fav imoutos. My guess is that SP (which blatantly caters to the siscon market much in the way HMT is dedicated to maid-wankers…) would be more to your liking, since it’s focused purely on brother-loving fluffiness (which made it a pretty boring, since it didn’t really have much of a plot…).

    On a side note, I wonder who heads the “Main Office”. Someone even more siscon than Stripey? It boggles the mind.

    ( REPLY )
  17. Haesslich
    March 5th, 2006 - 00:46

    The Aizen twins were NOT cute – they were, as far as I could tell, Shana’s response to the twincest in FMP:TSR – except that they hit the loli vibe too, which made it even worse. That, and the… graphic nature of their kissing – well, I suspect that was another plot-device to squick Shana enough that she’d be driven away from the idea of liking Yuuji, much less kissing him.

    If I can bring one of Jason’s manga suggestions to the table, could I suggest Chokotto Sister? Guy gets a new little sister dumped into his lap… and she knows absolutely NOTHING about the world around her, and she’s a horribly innocent and unknowning flirt towards one of the neighborhood boys. :D At the start, she reminds me a LOT of Chii from Chobits, albeit one with an instruction book so she doesn’t panty-flash everyone and everything around her. It’s a cute series, and I’d dare say a lot cleaner than some of the choices brought up in the top ten list… and while it’s not an anime (yet, though this is rumored to be coming), it’ll probably hit Stripey’s tastes perfectly.

    See Jason’s blog about the manga here.

    ( REPLY )
  18. Haesslich
    March 5th, 2006 - 00:46

    Of course, STripey already knows ALL about this one. :D

    ( REPLY )
  19. crimson
    March 5th, 2006 - 02:50

    mamiya ayumi kinda goes “wtf, she’s mad again” whenever she sees maika about to go nuclear bcos she’s too close to her bro.
    Those scenes always make me grin.

    ( REPLY )
  20. Stripey
    March 5th, 2006 - 10:59

    Ender: The ‘Main Office’ should be some Ministry for Anime Related Fetishes where Zyl gets his yuri license, lolitron his lolicon permit and I’m sure they approve Seaslugs mind numbing pun-ting too :) Looking forward to SP although I hope there will be that tension of forbidden love to spice things up. After all it’s that taboo element that makes siscon dramatic to watch :P

    Hasselich: I’m certainly thankful to Jason for highlighting it and you for reminding me about it again :) Although a pantsu-flashing Chii-like, lolicious imouto somehow feels very wrong on several levels… :)

    crimson: yeah it does that to me too. It’s not only Ayumi, even Chiaki and Fuyuno rolls eyes when Maika loses it over Onii-chan… still would have preferred “Nii-san” though…. :)

    ( REPLY )
  21. Haesslich
    March 5th, 2006 - 20:24

    Stripey: the reason it feels so wrong is because she’s human, unlike Chii, and because her Anchoko seems to have some… odd… ideas about what is reasonable behavior for a little sister, such as when she cooked breakfast wearing an apron – and nothing else. It’s like the Da Capo writers managed to sneak into the office when that section was being written. :D Especially since there’s a love triangle on TOP of the whole little sister situation, which makes things even more… ah… interesting. It’s a great series, and I just wish that they’d continued on with Vol 4, since they left things off at a pretty… tense cliffhanger.

    At least we know she won’t turn out like Maika, for better or worse… and as far as ‘imouto-sans’ go, I suspect Illya from Fate/Stay Night will develop into one for at least part of Ep 10, to judge by the previews. :D “Nii-san, nii-san!! let’s play a bit before my Servant rips off your head and stuffs it down Saber’s throat tomorrow night!” is how I’d caption one of the scenes there.

    ( REPLY )
  22. Haesslich
    March 5th, 2006 - 23:43

    Oh… and was it just me, or does Haruma’s mother look an AWFUL lot like the flower shop girl he has a crush on? If this is the case… hoo boy. :D

    ( REPLY )
  23. Stripey
    March 6th, 2006 - 21:45

    LOL!!!! I sure would like your predictions for Ilya to come true in ep 10! Instead of jailbait, should be loli-deathbait and very cute to watch! :) Again I wonder what’s the common thread that binds Berserker and Ilya…. masaka… Hercules is a siscon? :P

    ( REPLY )
  24. Haesslich
    March 6th, 2006 - 22:14

    I thought it was more that they were both into killing things without mercy, or because she’s a strong summoner and he’s a strong Servant. Ilya’s not exactly an innocent child, as her first appearance proved – what kid would say something like that? “If you don’t hurry and summon your servant, you’re going to die, Onii-chan.”

    Of course, who expected a face like this to hide the heart of a playful killer? :D

    ( REPLY )
  25. Stripey
    March 7th, 2006 - 21:55

    Maybe I’m too taken in by cute loli faces but I thot that was a genuine and even kind warning to give Shirou. :) Of course she’s really smug about have Berserker-Hercules but like you said, such an angelic contenance, I find it hard to ascribed her to evil. Yes yes, I’m likely to die 2nd in the Holy War, but only after the simpleton Shirou. :)

    ( REPLY )
  26. Haesslich
    March 9th, 2006 - 01:15

    Well, Ilya’s not exactly EVIL,but she is ruthless… up to a point She did leave Rin and Shirou alive, after all. But it’s still a little frightneing how easily she can order someone’s death while smiling as sweetly as she did in the first episode and in the Ep 10 preview.

    ( REPLY )
  27. Haesslich
    March 9th, 2006 - 01:25

    Incidentally, Chiaki needs to be in the running after seeing a pic like this…

    And since the last Ilya link seems broken…

    Ilya

    ( REPLY )
  28. Haesslich
    March 9th, 2006 - 01:26

    Let’s try this again…

    ( REPLY )
  30. wontaek
    March 9th, 2006 - 18:11

    Uh, You forgot the character who probably started the whole siscon business: Miyuki from Adachi Mitsuru’s ‘Miyuki’

    ( REPLY )
  31. Stripey
    March 9th, 2006 - 22:26

    Hasselich: Thanks for the pics. :) I’m surprised Chiaki gets no love. :P I’ll be taking the poll down pretty soon and… sob.. don’t think Maika can catch up… Will announce poll results in a separate post. :)

    wontaek: wow thanks! I did a quick check and the series is pretty dated so I haven’t seen it. :P At least now I have an idea of the origin of siscon bro-loving imoutos :P

    ( REPLY )
  32. Haesslich
    March 9th, 2006 - 23:38

    The pic needs to be cleaned up.. but that hair alone… and the lack of demonic sis-con… that does it for me. :D

    Even if she seemed awfully happy after Haruou kissed her during the MVP arc…

    ( REPLY )
  33. Stripey
    March 10th, 2006 - 00:00

    I just saw Magikano ep 10… so that’s where the Chiaki’s cap is from…. going for a cold cold shower now…

    NEKO PANTSU!

    ( REPLY )
  34. Haesslich
    March 10th, 2006 - 11:03

    Yeah. The manga version was a little more raunchy (smaller towel on Chiaki, Maika actually wearing the lingerie), but they looked a lot better here, and Maika was a lot more.. sultry. I love that episode, though – it’s insane, and just what the doctor ordered after the half-serious nature of Ep 9. Now you can see why Chiaki’s in my top 5, even if she’s not actively pursuing Haruo.

    ( REPLY )
  35. Stripey
    March 11th, 2006 - 10:41

    Ep 10 really restored Magikano’s form after the no-so-hilarious ep 8 and 9. (Rika’s ep 7 was a real hoot too.) For me Chiaki shone more in ep 8 when she took the bro’s kiss ON the lips sooo well. I worry for Yoshikawa family…. :)

    Maika was a HUGE reason for my enjoyment of ep 10. I simply love her henshin moments… :)

    ( REPLY )
  36. Haesslich
    March 11th, 2006 - 21:04

    Well, that’s why I was worrying about Chiaki since she accepted it in good grace and even seemed cheerful – but whether that was over the kiss or the fact she was MVP I’m still not sure of. ep 8 was funny, and Ep 9 was dramatic (although it did develop Ayumi’s feeling towards Haruo, which was necessary). In the manga, Chiaki wears what’s effectively a facecloth about her neck and goes about in the altogether, while here… well, the towel covered more, but Chiaki looked… sexier. The only thing it was missing was Maika’s response to Haruo possibly being gay. :D

    Still, you can understand Ayumi’s worries there – being around so many cute girls has desensitized him to her own physical charms… and with his coke-bottle glasses being broken… well, of course he’s not going to respond. But the Ichigo Pantsu made up for that lack of response, as did Maika’s going demonic on Ayumi. I do like that about her, for some reason – but I admit to being more partial towards Ayumi.

    ( REPLY )
  37. Stripey
    March 12th, 2006 - 07:14

    >>The only thing it was missing was Maika

    ( REPLY )
  38. Haesslich
    March 12th, 2006 - 08:28

    Maika probably does – since I wonder what she does in the closet when he’s dressing and not being actively stalked by Ayumi. And how she justifies it to herself…

    Incidentally, to spoil it for you, the only reason he didn’t react was because he couldn’t see anything after Ayumi broke his glasses… which of course, makes Ayumi think he’s gay. Of course, in the manga, Maika kinda freaked out over the possibility when Ayumi voiced it – something sorely missing here. Marin’s yuri reactions, on the other hand, are perfectly normal… at least since because they were caused by magic rather than something caused by an innate psychological disorder.

    ( REPLY )
  39. Ayam
    February 10th, 2011 - 07:41

    Sora Kasugano must be ranked -1 for a good reason…

    ( REPLY )

Leave a comment

(required)

Hontou ni Taihen desu » Blog Archive »
Hontou ni Taihen desu » Blog Archive » 5 recent loli-sisters of note ~ Stripey-hen
Hontou ni Taihen desu » Blog Archive » Siscon Aptitude Test (SAT) Part 1 - Listening comprehension
Stripey Joins PPP at hontou ni sou omou?
Flames of the Animeblogosphere at hontou ni sou omou?
Impulse buy - Sister Princess R3s at Hontou ni Taihen desu
20 imoutos you wished you had (Non-siscon version) at Hontou ni Taihen desu
Twenty imoutos you wished you had (Non-siscon version) | hontou ni
» «

Search Hontou Ni

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Series & Themes

Maki Maki Blogroll

RSS Danny Choo

@ZylZaku

Meta