You’re an heir to some super company. You also apparently have a sister you don’t know. And you have to marry someone before graduating high school, and that girl might be your sister. 

Get where this is going?

——

If you want to know why I decided to give this series even a first look, then I’ll tell you how much I love junk anime. It’s like junk food and you can’t exactly stay away from them for too long. I had McDonald’s a few times last week and zero times in the months preceding that. The same applies to anime and I need my share of junk anime. Because it’s so bad, it’s good. 

To be honest, it’s not as bad as I’ll make it sound. I can’t blame Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru!, or NakaImo for short. (Doesn’t that sound naughty or what? Damn abbreviations!) It’s another rehashed formula for the sake of meeting otaku crave, and I’m not going to back away and say this is just total garbage. Casual viewers will hate this but hardcore fans might embrace it. I mean, what’s not to like about having five girls after one male booty? Or maybe his money. Or maybe the brotherly virginity belonging to one Mikadono Shougo (Sakurai Takahiro). Okay, now I’m just heckling. 

I really wish that I could just put up the comments I wrote on the side as I watched this. Really, that was my original draft. (And you don’t think we edit our drafts? It’s not just a title or status, we take it seriously!) But the first related anime that came to mind was Princess Lover! It had that kind of feel, even that kind of upskirt shadows that will utlimately get the striped panty treatment in the DVD/Blu-Ray releases. Heck, it might even be a lace thong but that’s why it’s shadowed, because we can use our imaginations. The art isn’t as pretty in comparison to Princess Lover! but the formula remains the same: young male heir to company and family name, and a choice to win many girls’ hearts. 

The writing is very predictable, as you can expect. Sometimes, you’ll be forced to pause and just laugh in disgust at how lame it all sounds but hey, it’s junk anime — you gotta love it. NakaImo doesn’t really hide anything (except panties) and the ball gets rolling fast. The first girl, Tsuruma Konoe (Ishihara Kaori), is a cream-puff loving gal, and she’s sweeter than the pastries she consumes… or fondles. The speculations start here: is she the forgotten/unknown sister? The photo from the past indicate that the sister has dark hair. In addition to that, in most romance-harem anime, the first girl is usually the girl. And to solidify that numero uno status, Konoe nearly got some action right away, only to be thwarted by the token tsundere of the series. 

That tsundere would be Kannagi Miyabi (Sakura Ayane). As you would expect, she’s not exactly the curviest of girls and she lacks height. Miyabi is spunky and might have the most personality of all the girls, but just as her height indicates, she might come up just short in this run at Shougo’s fortunes. 

And then there are the others, who may stake a claim at one lucky date later in the series because the OP and ED all assume that it’s a two-girl race between Konoe and Miyabi. There is the lovely blonde, Kunitachi Rinka (Taketatsu Ayana); the busty brunette, Tendou Mana (Oogame Asuka); and the bespectacled occult chick, Sagara Mei (Hidaka Rei). And if you’ve seen the episode, one girl already made her efforts to gift him a birthday cake and a present, and go on to call him onii-sama. And it’s safe to assume that she’s not the rightful sister, or else the series is already over. 

Finally, just a bit on Shougo. He’s not exactly a strong male lead but he’s not exactly stupid either. I don’t see him as charismatic as much as he is cool to some extent but his build will get by. After all, he has a scar, and every time he has a hazy flashback of his past, that scar pains him. Maybe he shouldn’t try too hard to remember she-who-should-not-be-named and just make love to every girl who interests him. His mom is okay with that, so why disobey her now? 

NakaImo is probably not for everybody. No, it isn’t for everyone. It’s subpar by any anime standards and viewer’s discretion is advised. Not because of the censoring shadows or because of the expected fan service angles but because it’s just that bad. But don’t let me decide for you whether you should watch it and stick with it to the end or not. Chances are, I’ll continue watching it for the entertainment factor but won’t continue to review it because I highly doubt I can entertain you all with my heckling, and at this length. Although, next time, I should just keep my original comments and use that as my final draft… 

GO Rating: 2/5

Continue to Watch? - Yes.
Continue to Review? - No.  

A cute preview shot. 

As for dancing with a younger sister? I’m game.