Kana Imouto Review
If I were to tell, how much I heard about, and how long I have been meaning to read "Kana Imouto", you'd probably imagine a huge backlog, and high expectations. That would be "half-correct" because the expectations were indeed lofty, but I don't have that many VN's, I actually (emphasis here) want to read. This is just my way of demonstrating that I had great interest in the title, and for once, my "hype" was indeed real.
I should also mention, that I'm a strong advocate for the "Visual" in VN's. "Technicals" may receive a quick, "objective" mention in many reviews, but I believe they should have significant impact on the score. Writing, story, and characters are still more important at the end of the day, but Kana Imouto's age shows in many mechanical aspects, and this adds up to the inescapable reality: I'm reading this in 2024 (It's still a great VN).
(The review is based on "Kana Okaeri - Welcome home Kana")
Characters/Story/Writing
Lets begin by talking about emotional, and intellectual features in a V.N, and say that in order to read Kana Imouto, what you need is the former (emotion). Basically, subtext (normally associated with intellect) is not present here, at least not in the orthodox fashion, usually found in VN's. What is abundant here however, is undertone (much closer to "feeling").
So, let's say that you realize Kana has a deep seated sense of inadequacy directed towards other women (people in general, even). You will not pick this up through underlying meanings, or a representation of the concept. Most "deductions" are accomplished through sensitivity, experience, and empathy/sympathy. This is important, because what you need to do with this title, is to place yourself in the characters shoes, and any sort of "dissection" could be harmful when reading this. Why is that, you ask? The writing style.
It's colloquial, detailed in bizarre ways, almost always delivered in super short bursts, very simple (minimalist), unfiltered, extemporaneous, (flows like one would normally talk in real life), has almost no devices bar repetition, its descriptions tend to be objective and singular, and the narration style (inner world) is linear. You can take what I just said, in 2 different ways:
The first is saying that the writing in Kana Imouto isn't very good, and an aspect that needs a lot of work. The second is accepting all the simplicity, enjoy how it is easy (and fast) to read, and let yourself get absorbed, in the strong feelings it conveys. With that covered, you should expect a lot of *nods, grabs, shakes...*, depictions of awkward silence, dialogue composed of interjections, and a veritable "play-by-play" of what's going on.
Does this translate to any sort of hollowness? Not really.
Characters and interactions in this VN, tend to be "morally gray". I know I gave the writer a hard time so far, but what we have here is a talent to depict difficult (stressful) situations, that tend to create agitation in the reader: Exemplifying: Separating love from obsession; determining who needs who in a frame of dependency; Revealing your true colors, when the most important person is on the line; No selfless good deed; Exerting callousness now, for a happier, stronger existence later...
It's downright confusing, and so very human. If we take some aspects that are usually measure of a VN, like number of traits, different types of interactions, depth of group dynamics, and standard archetypes, to mean quality, than Kana Imouto would be on the lower spectrum of things. That wouldn't be accurate or fair however, because what is attempted (and achieved), is a true to life portrayal of the "little things", that carry forward human relationships, and the "lies" we pass as absolute to ourselves, even when in pain, with everything on the line, and in the face of the inescapable. You can think of it, as a difficult equation that wasn't solved the "right" way, but where the result is very much correct.
One of the tricks that helps this outcome, is a separation of "life phases": Childhood, early teens, high school, college. This means that you are accompanying the evolution of the characters, during a long of period of time, and the writer uses this to strengthen bonds, or create rifts between characters, instead of more typical means (a particularly interesting take, is how children can be cruel, and how the effects of such actions linger on the individual, even after growing up). It's still shallow, needs more elucidation, uses "plot twists from the 90's", but it was enough to impress me.
On the same note, Kana Imouto has some good insights and themes. Addressing the certainty and fear of death, is pretty much universal (resonates with everyone), but other topics are fascinating as well, like: The less you have, the harder it is to be YOU; Familial bonds and barriers; Conscious hindrance (forbidden love) in the way of desire; Anger at the world (unfairness); Right, wrong, good, bad, normal, abnormal, clean, dirty (lots of it); The true "bottom of the well"; Tragedy puts more than 1 life on hold; Feelings of possessiveness, betrayal, regret, hopelessness, and much more
The last topic in this section is: Incest (As you might expect the following is pertinent to incest in fiction, I never had the curiosity to read about how IT may work in real life). Many VN's make use of "pseudo-incest" to generate "taboo appeal", with a particular target audience, that has been growing over the years, I believe. When I say "pseudo-incest", I don't mean step-siblings, or second cousins, or any sort of "babyplaying".
The way I'm using the term refers to 2 characters (normally), that don't feel connected by the traditional bonds of a family, even if they are related by blood, and have lived their entire lives together. To put it simply, they are family, because the VN states that they are family (kind like the everyone is 18 trope), even if the reader already perceives a romantic (inappropriate, exaggerated, outlandish...) connection right form the start. All you really need is a blood relation, I accept that, but what we seem to get all the time, is a couple on the verge of becoming lovers. Hence "pseudo-Incest".
Kana Imouto is a story of what happened before the "boiling point", where sister and brother, became man and woman. Personally the tag is fine, even if it's delivered in incomplete ways, as I described in the above paragraph, but what's done in Kana Imouto is so much better, and the writer nails the most important thing: "I cannot cross this line, it is wrong, and I must suppress my feelings".
This is the true appeal of the incest tag. The cute little sister fawning over the protagonist (or the other way around) is a fine trope, but hardly worthy of the same classification. As if that wasn't enough, Kana Imouto also adds the fear of losing the most important person in the world, and places it on a scale when accounting for the decision making process of one character. It's great, especially when comparisons are drawn. You can't have incest portrayed in "black and white" is my point.
"Technicals"
I'm gonna keep this section brief: Art style is within acceptable levels, if we account for release date, (I'm a fan of more conventional art styles, actually) there is enough background diversity, for the VN duration, and more than enough CG's. The OST is mostly comprised of sad, nostalgic, contemplative tracks, but there's a few upbeat songs too. It's adequate, for the most part. The voice acting is not that great (It's bad...), the protagonist is silent, and every now and then a sound effect pops up.
Pacing has no problems, other than having to skip previously read story, to access new content. Regarding structure, I would suggest following a walkthrough, to see everything Kana Imouto has to offer, unless you are dead set on discovering everything yourself (the "happy ending" picks felt arbitrary to me, and I'm not a fan of trial and error, combined with endless skipping). Kana Imouto is presented in NVL, very easy to read, and highly engaging. As you might expect there aren't a lot of options, or convenience, but everything works.
H-scenes are a difficult point, and if I'm being truthful, I was upset with the title forcing Yumi "down my throat" (I like Yumi, and how she contrasts with Kana, but she was second route material), when I wanted more Kana. It's a terrible idea to have player choices that say "no thank you", and then the protagonist just has sex with her anyway.
With that established the H-scenes, are usually very emotional, and have the characters "introspecting", before giving in to lust. The obvious main tag is incest (even if Kana is not involved, it's still there in some way) and the scenes have one simple (layman says...) animation, and enormous build-up. Definitely watch them, even if you are averse to "vanilla" like me.
"What's Important in a VN?"
This one is easy: You need an interesting premise, likable characters, passable writing, and enough imagination to deliver a compelling story. How is that any different from a book? It's not... And that's why "technicals", matter so much to me in a VN. Kana Imouto is living proof that not being great in that department, is no obstacle to the creation of a good VN, but... And what really counts is what comes after the but... It's not enough. Great visuals, awesome sound, absorbing h-scenes, solid structure, lots of quality of life and options, are what pushes this particular entertainment medium to be unique. Can you just focus on the text and its quality? Yes, it's your time and money, do as you will. For me, higher scores need to be more than just good books, and this is the reason for what's next.
"Score"
Kana Imouto is an 8/10 and a very good VN. If it were possible to have the technical side of things receive an upgrade, the score would increase. As it stands, and considering that this VN consists mostly of emotional payout, going beyond is not feasible. With that said, Kana Imouto is highly recommended to all kinds of readers, and I wish I had experienced it sooner.
