The Elder Sister-Like One, Vol. 1

姉なるもの [Ane Naru Mono] #1

by Iida Pochi.

When an orphan encounters the eldritch demon Shub-Niggurath, the "Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young" offers him one wish. His request: "Become my big sister."

Genres: Manga, Romance, Horror, Fantasy, Supernatural, Comics Manga, Demons

134 pages, Paperback

First published December 17, 2016

About the author

Name (in native language): 飯田ぽち。 (IIDA Pochi.)

Associated Names:
- ぽち小屋。
- 飯田のぎ
- IIDA Nogi
- Pochi-Goya.

Pixiv: http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=22438

Reviews

[Doc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just in case you do not see that this book is rated M there is a Parental Advisory because this book has explicit content. Some examples are limited nudity, tentacle play (not quite hentai but close), at least one instance of a breast being groped so the male protagonist (Yuu) can feel a heart beat, and an instance when Yuu's head is covered by his "elder sister" Chiyo's skirt to protect him from the thunder. Of course for those looking forward to the mature content of the book you should know the mangaka also does some doujinshi which are straight up hentai if you want to look for them.

Anyway Yuu has had a pretty unfortunate life up to this point. At five his parents were killed in a car accident and he has been bounced around to different relatives for a while. His present guardian is an Uncle who has been hospitalized by the beginning of the story and he had only one rule which was to stay out of the storehouse. Not finding his uncle's insurance card Yuu ventures into the forbidden house and his destiny is changed as this house of secrets allows him to accidentally summon Shub-Niggurath (a goddess from Cthulhuian myths) who offers him a wish if he is willing to pay the price. With being lonely most of his life Yuu asked for the one thing he has always wanted and thus did Shub-Niggurath become Chiyo when Yuu asked her to be his big sister.

The rest of the book is basically Chiyo learning how to adjust to human life and how to be a good big sister to Yuu whom she has grown to like in a very short time. Plenty of misunderstandings (placentas are not a delicacy?) and relatively naughty moments (time to clean mud off of Yuu) and before you know it you will be ready for volume 2. :)

My favorite moment might have been Yuu coming home muddy because he fell in a rice field and Chiyo goes demonic to take out whatever inferior creature that would "bully" her little brother. Luckily the misunderstanding gets resolved before blood flows through the fields. :)

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hahaha, holy fuck, so I was reading this earlier, having read the porn before, and we get to the part where Chiyo is cleaning Yuu's ears and I'm like "I remember this from the porn, but I can't remember exactly how it went," so I looked up the first chapter of the porn (with the intent of re-reading everything necessary to find the ear-cleaning) and saw rather soon that the ear-cleaning was mentioned that very chapter, and then I got to page 12 (on the sadpanda version) and his fucking jet of cum. Laughed way too hard. How in the hell did I forget something like that? Jesus Christ, Pochi, you are a goddess at drawing! (This is what I do, I laugh at ero-manga)

So, anyway, Ane Naru Mono began in like 2015 (according to myanimelist) as a porn doujinshi by the circle Pochi-Goya, in particular the artist Pochi. (with a period), who I guess is now going by Iida Pochi for more "official" publications (the non-H manga here, and the milf isekai light novels with the long title I could have just written instead of referring to it this way). The premise is the same as in this version, Yuu summons a Lovecraftian horror whom he tasks with becoming a surrogate older sister. In the porn version, Chiyo seeks Yuu's seed as sustenance. The same is not quite made explicit in the slice-of-life manga, instead only saying the basis of their exchange is to give up what's most important to Yuu (which I guess is his cum? I don't remember if it was clear in the porn, which I have open in the immediate next tab in Firefox, but am too lazy to doublecheck with my pants on).

Like quite a lot of American manga-fans-slash-perverts, I got into Pochi.'s work first through her Dagashi Kashi doujin works. I think it was before the anime came out, when the manga translation was rather slow, that everyone saw Hotaru's fat tits and her freaky Danganronpa-esque pupils (or Rinnegan, but I'm not a Naruto fan), and I guess some people were intrigued by the pantyhose (me!) and there wasn't much Dagashi Kashi porn at the time, but it didn't matter because some of what little available was fucking Pochi.

Oh wait, I did this before. Earlier today I was thinking of namedropping her Dagashi Kashi porn as background info but then I remembered I'd actually become aware of her art through an Idolm@ster doujin with Kotori. I already forgot that in typing the above paragraph, but I just remembered and didn't feel like undoing what I said above. "Aren't cocks the thing that you love and not handshaking?" What an awkward translation.

Anyway, so Pochi. makes the porn series about a kid fucking his older sister who is actually a demon goddess or something. And it's weirdly wholesome, but it's also really good at being... not wholesome. I guess would be a polite way of putting it. You got this thicc ass demon bitch femdom-ing this skinny little boy, would be a crass way of putting it. And then she creates a canonical prequel, before all the fucking, published in Dengeki something or other magazine, alongside things like a Sword Art Online spinoff, and it's just funny to think about.

Not going to pretend like I really followed the characterization in the porn version (I actually did, but I haven't read it all in a while, seems like issues 8, 9, and 10 were translated in the meantime, but I forgot some things) but at least in this manga Yuu has bounced from relative to relative after the deaths of his parents and in his loneliness he seeks some sense of companionship. It comes out much later in the volume that Yuu can see monsters in the world (getting minor Bloodborne vibes), and that's what caused him to alienate himself from the rest of society (if he talks to monsters, he looks crazy, so he just doesn't talk to anyone) which makes much of his family hate him. He is in the care of his mother's cousin (whom he simply calls "uncle") when the man takes ill and Yuu is at risk of being moved again. Gathering items for his uncle's hospital stay, Yuu ends up wandering into the storehouse where he encounters a summoning circle from which emerges The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young.

To kind of blaze through a summary, the demon goddess grants Yuu a wish because he pleased her with calling her an "angel," and because he doesn't fear her, and so he asks her to be his older sister. They live in peace for the next few chapters, with the whole thing being Chiyo (so she names herself) learning how to live as a human, while otherwise playing with sexual tension and something like the dramatic irony that the reader knows these two are going to be fucking a lot.

The existence of this manga, being a prequel to actual porn, offer an interesting twist on the ecchi romance genre: Ms. Iida blueballs us with scenes like Chiyo and Yuu almost kissing when they play with the waterhose, and for other manga we might want to scream that they're moment is interrupted, but here we can just say "Oh wait, I can fuckin' read the third chapter of the porn to see Chiyo clone herself and have one Chiyo suck Yuu's dick while the other licks his asshole!" Which is just not something you can say about many other manga. Or, maybe you can, but for Ane Naru Mono the porn is an extension of the non-porn (or, technically the non-porn is the spinoff), whereas usually the case is that completely unrelated artists make porn "parody" of pre-existing works.

It's also somewhat funny to read this and sympathize with Yuu reacting to his new sister's big fat fuckin' demon tits, but then we see Yuu's fucking ahegao face when Chiyo cleans his ears, and it's maybe a bit more confusing. That is, there isn't proof this manga will go into the playful femdom of its erotic source material, so it's maybe weird to see this kid drool while getting his ears cleaned. And also because one normally doesn't see shota ahegao in so-called /ss/. But whatever.

I kind of hate the translated title, by the way. It's just awkwardly phrased. I feel like there's some stupid idea of retaining the word "elder" to reference Lovecraftian "elder gods"? English doesn't have a simple, singular word for "elder sister" like "ane" or "onee-san" or saying something like "Chiyo-nee." I'm not good at Japanese vocabulary, so I can't think of a clearly superior alternative. "Something Like an Elder Sister"? Still wordy. Should just fuckin' retain the Japanese and include the English as a subtitle, like "Ane Naru Mono: The Elder Sister-Like One." I don't know. I'm more bothered by this than I really need to be. I basically refuse to use the English title because it just feels weird to say. (Hence why I kept saying "Ane Naru Mono" above.)

I also don't really "get" the ratings system Yen Press uses. This volume is rated Mature for language, nudity, sexual content, and violence. There's no nipples or anything, and the only real sexual content is some boob-touching, but I guess we're meant to believe it's vulgar because of the apparent age gap? Obviously Chiyo's thousands of years old, but she's meant to look mid-20s or something while Yuu is 14. Makes sense for a harder rating, I guess. But there's no strong language or violence. Kinda dumb.

I like how Yen Press did the sound effects. I personally have trouble reading kana that are too stylized, but YP have romaji subtitles, with English SFX equivalent in parentheses underneath. The English-friendly subtitles are worthless, I know what "kero" means, and I don't need "ribbit" in parentheses. But my point is the romaji makes it easier to understand Pochi's idiosyncratic writing for sound effects. The circle thing used to turn "h" sounds into "p" sounds is always drawn way too fucking big, and it bothers me, but that has nothing to do with my enjoyment of this manga and my own handwriting is shitty so I can't complain.

I had more things in mind to write, but I got distracted by talking about porn so much. Many of my manga reviews are about fanservice, but I think this was my first opportunity to stop pussyfooting and overtly discuss porn. Gonna pat myself on the back I guess.

Oh, wait, I did want to mention how shirtless Yuu and his visible ribs makes him look like a flatter Saya Endou from Pochi's fourth Dagashi Kashi doujin.

I like the part when Chiyo puts Yuu's head under her dress to protect him from the thunder.

I like Chiyo's Raijin cosplay, but mostly because it makes her look like Lum.

I really like the cartoony reaction Chiyo gives to Yuu's fear of dogs on page 121. I've said a lot of vile things relating to porn, but at the end of the day this panel sums up the majority of what I love about this manga.

My soul is not ready for the upcoming Ane Naru Mono OVA.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute! I mean, kinda weird that they're "brother and sister" and they're making out and stuff, but all that aside, I like how weirdly pure and innocent their relationship is.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up during a sale, because I've always rolled my eyes at the sister-complex romantic comedies that Japan seems obsessed with lately. But the idea of the "sister" being a Lovecraftian entity seemed like it could be good fodder for a parody. At best, I was hoping for something along the lines of Today's Cerberus: a sweet, quirky, strangely endearing story about a guy coming face to face with the mythological being who stole part of his soul as a child...who also happens to be a trio of cute girls. Hijinks ensue. At worst, I was expecting Haiyore Nyaruko-san: an insufferable attempt to turn the Cthulhu Mythos into a raunchy harem comedy. What I got was...neither, but closer to Today's Cerberus.

There's comedy to be found here, and there are some scenes of pretty heavy fanservice, but the story is a lot more subdued and unexpectedly touching than funny or titillating. Yuu is a teenage boy whose parents died some years back. He's since been bounced around from family member to family member, none of which really want him, until he ends up with an uncle who's more or less indifferent. But that indifference is the best reaction Yuu has gotten in awhile...until his uncle ends up in the hospital, leaving Yuu's situation up in the air...especially when, in searching for his uncle's insurance card, Yuu ends up somewhere he shouldn't, and discovers his caretaker is into black magic.

He inadvertently crosses a magic circle, which summons what is (in all but name) Shub-Niggurath, who offers to grant Yuu one wish in exchange for what he holds most dear. Backed into a corner, Yuu ends up wishing for the creature (who chooses the name Chiyo afterward), to become his family. What follows is a story of two people from very different worlds trying to learn how to coexist, and what they really mean to one another. It shouldn't work (especially at the times where Chiyo's inexperience with humans leads to her being naked more than once), but it somehow does. They're each coming to realize what their new connection means to them, and against their better judgments, romantic feelings do seem to be blossoming between them. Yet it manages through some weird alchemy, to never feel as trashy as, say Monster Musume, or series of that sort. Yes, they kiss, and yes, they end up in compromising situations, but the art never shows you the full package, so to speak, and the story is more focused on Yuu and Chiyo learning more about each other as people, than on the risque bits.

I'd gone in, expecting more comedy, and dreading more fanservice, and while neither of those things came to pass, I'm happy with the eldritch slice of life story I see before me, so far. Neither of the main characters were happy before they met, and there's a strong sense that their relationship will end in tragedy at some point, but in the here and now, each might just be what the other needs. A story about an elder god depicted as a busty Japanese woman should not be this...bittersweet.

Don't get me wrong, The Elder Sister-Like One isn't high art, and it isn't perfect, but it's much better and much different than I'd expected. So long as the overall premise, and nipple-less fanservice don't put you off, you might enjoy this...fish out of water, (potentially) tragic, slice of life love story.

[Teeny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this because everyone on here seems to like it.

It's cute.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange but cute, and i didn't even mind the tentacles...... ;-)

[Zian B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have vague memories of the original doujinshi so when I saw that this was a manga available in English, I was surprised. After reading it though, I’m glad the story had a sweet yet mysterious undertone despite the fan service moments. I’m definitely going to keep up with this series, although I’m incredibly worried for when this series finally does end. I feel like I’ll get very attached to Yuu-kun and Chiyo.

[Reddazrael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I truly did enjoy this... assuming I ignored all of the sexy bits. I first heard about this manga through name and summary alone -- that there would be an orphan who asked an eldritch goddess to become his big sister as his greatest wish. That sounds frickin' heartwarming as all get out, sign me up for that!

Then I saw the Explicit Content warning. And I said to myself: "Oh, no."

I agree with another reviewer who said that they felt that there were sexy bits because someone said there should be. That really feels like the case. The heartwarming parts are nearly ruined by the "sexy" parts thrown haphazardly into the mix. Absolutely nothing about the events of the story would change if you took them out, and I would argue that the impact of the story would improve massively if it just, you know, told the damn story instead of tossing boobs and panties around.

Anyway. I will be reading further, but I'm still disappointed.

[Tom Ewing · Rating 2 out of 5]

“How would you feel about life if Death was your older sister?” ran an ancient SANDMAN tagline. This manga goes one better: “How would you feel about life if Shub-Niggurath, Black Goat Of The Woods With A Thousand Young, was your older sister?”. Alas, life is far from the only thing getting felt here, as an irresistible sitcom premise gets lost in a haze of stock boob-smothering and panty-sniffing gags. I never imagined I’d finish a smutty manga hoping for MORE tentacles.

[Kelly Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my usual thing but it somehow popped up as a recommendation because I've read some Lovecraft. Not sure how that works, but Ok. Apparently the author started out to do porn but it accidentally acquired a plot which took over from the porn. Still not suitable for children, mind you, but it has amusing moments.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was much sweeter than I expected, although I feel like the sexy bits were thrown in just because someone said there should be sexy bits.

[Ari · Rating 1 out of 5]

aahh this was really uncomfortable to read. I initially started reading because it caught my eye while i was browsing rightstuffanime and the plot seem interesting enough. I like the fact that the story had themes of loneliness and abandonment and it was really sweet seeing Yuu going from being alone to having a big sister. Additionally I really like in stories when there is a non human character that is now being introduced to modern society and having to learn all the usually stuff us humans do. It leads to some funny and sweet moments like Chiyo, the demon, was very cute when learning about the bugs and cooking and reading. Overall this story was very cute and sweet but I would not be continuing with it unfortunately because of the weird sexual scenes between Yuu and Chiyo.

I dont see why the mangaka had to add in those scenes for and its making me think maybe they’re a lolicon cause there’re way too many uncomfortable sexual scenes between 14 year old Yuu and the demon sister. Like if they wanted to add in scenes like that why make Yuu 14 years old ? and why make them brother and sister ?? the whole thing was just uncomfortable and weird and just plain old nasty.

Anyways this is just yet another manga that is ruined by the sexually pedophiliac incestous relationship dynamic that japanese authors seem to like 🥴

[Curious Madra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ladies and gents, Chiyo is a bae….no questions asked….

[78sunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Die Story um den Jungen, Yuki, der sehr ruhig und zurückhaltend ist und von seinen Verwandten regelrecht gemobbt wird, fand ich wirklich interessant. Man erfährt später warum ihn alle so meiden und er wird einem richtig sympathisch, durch seine niedliche und unvoreingenommene Art. Alles war er sich wünscht ist eine Familie und so wünscht er sich, als er aus Versehen eine Dämonin heraufbeschwor, dass diese seine große Schwester wird. Die Dämonin kann man noch nicht so recht durchschauen, außer, dass es ziemlich sicher so ist, dass sie nicht abgrundtief böse ist. Sicher hat sie ihre eigenen vielleicht nicht so positiven/unschuldigen Beweggründe, aber dazu erfährt man noch nichts genaues. Der Manga geht hauptsächlich darum, wie die beiden ihr Leben miteinander gestalten und wie die Dämonin nach und nach lernt, was es heißt ein Mensch zu sein.
Etwas merkwürdig war der Etchi Anteil der Story. Der war relativ hoch und wirkte etwas merkwürdig, da der Yu noch sehr kindlich dargestellt wird. Allerdings geschieht hier auch nicht wirklich etwas. Trotzdem wirkten manche Szenen doch merkwürdig und ich bin mir nicht sicher in welche Richtung die Reihe dann gehen wird.
Der Zeichenstil gefiel mir sehr gut. Er geht eher in Richtung Comic. Auch der Humor lag mir und so freue ich mich total auf die folgenden Bände und muss sie mir bald zulegen.
Ein kleines Manko muss ich aber noch erwähnen. Der Manga ist wirklich sehr kurz. Gerade mal 146 Seiten und dafür dann 7,50 € zu verlangen finde ich schon sehr übertrieben.

Story 4,4/5
Charaktere 4,6/5
Zeichenstil 4,6/5
Gesamt 4,6/5

[Andre · Rating 2 out of 5]

This manga is an odd mix of ´sibling "drama" and sex. The whole demon deal is already pretty damn odd. I mean, if her thing is to take away what you cherish the most and grant you a wish, there can't be that many people who make that deal.
And someone should have told the author that grabbing a boob doesn't make you feel the heart-beat, touch my left chest and you can't feel my heart and that is much closer to my ribcage than touching her big boobs. In fact, I don't quite get if this is supposed to be comedy or just an excuse to grab boobs and have a sort of incest factor,
In fact, I got the feeling that the whole one-chan thing is just an excuse for sexy time or some sort of jokes that I simply don't get. And apparently, despite what was earlier presented, the protagonist wasn't talking to himself, he saw some supernatural stuff and wanted to talk to them. I guess its an explanation, but did we need that? Why is that important?
And the Elder Sister doesn't come across as a demon to me, more of a fickly goddess but not even that. I wonder whether in japanese the difference was between yokai and kami and not demon and godess. And the way she looks and acts she comes across more like a satyr/Faun or a fairy.

[Terrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's got decent art, but it's a pretty small tale in scope (boy meets demon, demon becomes his family, his happiest days of his life perhaps begin in solitude with her). The end of the story has them making plans to go to other places, like the ocean, but unfortunately they're still stuck in the home because of rain, so we'll see.

There's an ominous feeling hanging over the plot. It's a bit unclear what is going to happen, and that is definitely the enticing point of this work. Obviously the reader wants these two to end up happy, but it doesn't seem like that'll be possible for some unknown reason. I hope this series doesn't drag on too long because I definitely want to know what that something is that might break them up.

[Rereader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know this series is going to be smutty, I know the relationship between Yuu and Chiyo is super questionable, but I don’t care, this series is so damn sweet. I’m aware that the characters have only just met and barely know each other, but seeing how happy they are with each other makes my heart melt. I am imagining, because of the heavy foreshadowing, that things will not turn out happy in the end, but I want these characters to enjoy the time they have together. If you can get past the questionable bits, this is a sweet story of two people longing for companionship and finding contentment with each other.

[Forthright . · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young man, newly alone in the world, encounters a demon who offers (rather suggestively) to grant any wish. He asks her to be his big sister. Lots of homey moments that satisfy his craving for family. Some hints of a dark past that's sure to loom large. And then there's all those titillating moments when she starts doing things siblings shouldn't. Fair warning: tentacle hair.

Not my usual cup of tea, but an interesting blend. Manages to balance the risque with a heartwarming found-family feeling.

[Nikki McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this and am looking forward to more in the series.

I genuinely enjoyed this and was surprised by that. I was anticipating an ok story to pass some time but now I want more in the series.

[Joe Kerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting premise. I hope it leads to good things.

I guess there's trouble on the horizon however, based on the several ominous statements the boy made. Time will tell. I like the story so far. Art, great. Dialogue, decent. Characters, likeable, and in the boy's case, relatable.

[Louie77 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy read

Good read and fun story it's about boy how ask a demon to be his sister and help him out with the daily chores

[Mark Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good heart warming story, looking forward to volume 2

[Qwency · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to read it for free..

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome Book!!!!!!!!

This book is awesome!!! I absolutely love it!! I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading manga!! Peace out!!

[Jesse Garza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read. A bit lite on plot

Rey nice art and style. Was a quick read but you come to enjoy the characters. Looking forward to where it leads.

[Susan Bewley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute slice of life with a bit of horror. Some ecchi but mostly adorable. I was a bit nervous when my husband recommended it to me but now look forward to the cute story!

[Roberto Escobar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buy it!

Amazing! Read it so fast. Love the story and artwork in the book. If you're looking for a new manga buy this!

[Emmanuel Nevers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really good! A nice blend of wholesome and eerie. The art is GORGEOUS! I really am enjoying this story quite a bit.

[Lemon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story CLEARLY feels like it's mostly for the waifu and not the story and because of that it's a 5/5

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Came for the lewd scenes stayed for the more wholesome ones