It’s funny, the little bits of Japanese culture you can pick up from random episodes of anime. I’ve been trying to keep up with the current season (not an easy task as there are many good shows this time around), including Oreimo, aka Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai, aka My Younger Sister Can’t Be This Cute, which has really given fans some satisfying episodes this season. In a recent episode, Kyosuke officially starts dating the enigmatic Ruri, more commonly known by her Gothic Lolita persona of Kuroneko (“black cat”). In one scene, Kyosuke is waiting for Ruri in her house when Ruri’s two younger sisters get home. They immediately know that something isn’t right because they see “a strange pair of shoes” in the genkan, a recessed area by the front door where shoes are always removed in Japanese homes (and some businesses, including J-List). If the story had been part of some other culture, Kyosuke might have hidden from the girls, but thanks to Japan’s tradition of removing shoes there was no way for him to escape. Stories involving shoes — for example, a drama in which a girl stops by her boyfriend’s apartment but knows instantly that he’s entertaining female company the moment she opens the door because she sees unfamiliar shoes — are something that could only come from Japan.
Kuroneko is the ideal otaku girlfriend.
