A Sister's All You Need Episode 5 Review: All You Need is to Write Novels

This episode of A Sister’s All You Need made me feel really sorry for authors and the publishing industry in general. Putting someone in a cage in order to do his job properly and not miss his deadlines is a little bit over the top…

Japanese Original Episode Title: 小説さえ書けばいい。

Plot

Itsuki bumps into Miyako on his way to a karaoke place where he goes to hide from his editor because apparently there are 2 kinds of deadlines: the tentative one where you have a few more days to exceed in case something serious happens and the true deadline, which if you miss, you are basically screwed. And Itsuki is almost ready to miss his true deadline. Even after all his attempts to flee from his editor, going to the karaoke and going to the hot springs with Setsuna, his editor still manages to put him to work. He caged him up somewhere so he can finish his novel. Poor Itsuki.

Caging him up was actually very beneficial for him since he managed to write down something that he was really pleased with. Thanks to Haruto’s motivating words and competiveness along with Chihiro’s bento boxes and the fans’ chocolates, Itsuki didn’t miss his deadline and everything was all lovely jubbly. Before the episode ended, he received a call from his editor where he announced him that his series is getting a manga adaptation.

Episode Highlights

The old ladies in the hot spring: Wow… I don’t know if it’s because Itsuki is into little sisters and we saw everything from his point of view, but that scene was uneasy as hell. The old ladies looked like zombies thirsty for some young lad’s booty. Jeez.

Itsuki hiding under the crate: That scene reminded me of Metal Gear Solid a little bit, when you are trying to sneak past the guards while moving around in a damn crate.

Themes & Trivia

Mixed bathing: An onsen (温泉) is a Japanese hot spring. As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of onsens scattered throughout all of its major islands. Traditionally, men and women bathed together at onsens, but gender separation has been enforced since the opening of Japan to the West during the Meiji Restoration. Mixed bathing (混浴 kon’yoku) persists at some special onsen in rural areas of Japan, which usually also provide the option of separate women-only baths or different hours for the two sexes. Men may cover their genitals with a small towel while out of the water, while women usually wrap their bodies in full-size towels. Children of either sex may be seen in both the men’s and the women’s baths. In some prefectures of Japan, including Tokyo, where nude mixed bathing is banned, people are required to wear swimsuits or yugi (湯着 yugi), which are specifically designed for bathing.

Manga: I have been into manga and anime for a long time now and I never even thought of searching what that word even means. For some reason, after watching this episode, I really wanted to learn the etymology. The word “manga” comes from the Japanese word 漫画, composed of the two kanji 漫 (man) meaning ‘whimsical or impromptu’ and 画 (ga) meaning ‘pictures’. The Japanese language is so awesome.

Comments

Damn that boy Setuna has some abs! That caught me by surprise to be completely honest and the worst thing is that he is only 16 years old. This show is trying to get the worst out of all of us…

I was a bit sad to see how the publishing world works and how stressfull it can be. I also believe that the actual author of Imouto sae Ireba Ii must have been through some similar experiences, that’s why he made this whole series. I am quite curious to find out if these things actually happen in the publishing world. I mean we are talking about Japan so it wouldn’t be weird if the ‘Stuck Inside’ rooms actually exist in every publishing company in Tokyo. That would make a good thriller plot now that I think about it…

Wanna go look at some girls’ asses?

This show is both sad and fun. It’s a romance and comedy anime with a bit of lewdness but the slice-of-life elements of the publishing world really bring forth the blues. Or it might just be me, I don’t know.

NEXT TIME: Having Your Media Developments Go Well Is All You Need. (メディア展開さえ上手くいけばいい.)