Onii-chan Migite no Shiyou o Kinshi Shimasu (お兄ちゃん　右手の使用を禁止します) Review

The world is a colorful place. Sure, there’s plenty of darkness and things that don’t go your way, but none of it stops us from singing the praises of human goodness.

Ricky Hsiao has a song called “You Are My Eyes.” It’s about a blind man who, with his lover’s support, sees the whole world through her eyes. He can’t see a thing himself, but as long as she’s beside him, the dazzling world still finds its way into his gaze.

You are my eyes, leading me through the changing seasons.

You are my eyes, leading me through the crowded throngs.

You are my eyes, leading me to read the vast sea of books.

Because you are my eyes, I see the world right here before me.

The lyrics hit you right in the gut, they really do…

Stories like this happen all the time. Today’s is another one that warms the heart.

Onii-chan, Migi Te no Shiyou o Kinshi Shimasu (お兄ちゃん　右手の使用を禁止します) is a visual novel built on a similar premise. The protagonist, Yuuto, is the eldest son and takes it upon himself to look after his four little sisters. The girls are grateful and have a great relationship with their big bro. But one day, while the family is out, a speeding truck barrels toward the sisters. Yuuto throws himself in front of them and shoves them out of the way. The truck brakes hard and nothing too serious happens — except that Yuuto’s dive leaves his right hand injured.

When the sisters learn their brother got hurt saving them, they’re wracked with guilt. They drag him to the doctor right away. The doctor says the injury isn’t serious and just needs rest, but the girls, wanting to repay their brother for saving their lives and to get him back on his feet faster, lay down a demand: rest up properly and don’t go moving that right hand around. They also generously offer:

“Starting today, whenever your right hand’s inconvenient, let us help. We’ll be your right hand.”

And so the story begins.

The ending, of course, is a happy one. Yuuto’s right hand recovers, and the sisters who nursed him build even deeper bonds with him. It’s a visual novel, so naturally you can pick which sister you end up bonding with. There are four selectable heroines, each with a different personality and look: the cold-on-the-outside-warm-on-the-inside type, the innocent one, the hot-blooded energetic one, and the gentle, domestic one. Each day the protagonist can invite one of them to come help him, and after the shared scenes end, the number of times you picked her decides which sister’s route you enter. The individual routes are pretty plain and grounded, mostly sticking to the “big brother gets taken care of every day” theme. Whatever’s inconvenient for the protagonist, the sister does for him. She works tirelessly, doesn’t mind dirt or hardship, and even without any professional nursing training, holds herself to top-tier care standards. From small stuff like fetching things or working the mouse for you, to bigger things like changing your bandages or going out shopping, she looks after Yuuto down to the last detail. Her patience and warmth honestly resonated with me a bit, sitting outside the game. I figure my mood here is the same as when you see one of those TV segments about “family members caring for a disabled person with total devotion.”

Deepening the bond can lead to Yuuto and his sister becoming lovers. This is a visual novel, after all. Love that crosses the line of family — a little bitter, sure, but you could call it a boundless kind of love. Everyone has someone who cares about them, and someone they care about; for these sisters, those two people just happen to be their brother. We shouldn’t be chained down by so-called morals and ethics. Express your feelings boldly. This world is chaotic enough that finding someone you love is already hard — once you’ve got them, don’t let go.

The art is pretty good. It can’t match the big names, but you can call it solid work. The music’s a highlight too, by the way — whether it’s the heavy piano piece when Yuuto learns at the doctor’s that his condition has worsened, or the keyboard tune during the everyday scenes when the sister Yuki does her rabbit dance, it’s all easy on the ears. Good BGM doesn’t call attention to itself, but it quietly pulls you into the rhythm and lets you feel the emotional swings and personality behind the story.

The voice cast isn’t exactly famous, though their performances are decent enough. This is probably the game’s one weak spot. The game isn’t short, mind you — never mind the common route, a single character route runs 8 hours, and with the extra routes on top, not having a single standout VA is hard to swallow. Still, the voices don’t make any major mistakes and at least keep each character’s style and quirks intact. Though I think swapping in some more professional little-sister-type VAs would’ve made it even better.

No matter when or where, the bonds of family are the strongest. Praising the beauty of those bonds never goes out of style, no matter when or where.

Onii-chan, Migi Te no Shiyou o Kinshi Shimasu is that kind of game. It lets us feel the deep love between the protagonist and his sisters, and it’ll remind each of us to pay attention to the sisters quietly watching over us and looking after us.

The game has four EDs, one per heroine. The OP is the title track “お兄ちゃん、右手の使用を禁止します!” written and composed by 薬師るり. The lyrics tie in tightly with the story, which is exactly what an OP should do, and there are some standout lines in there too.

A cat’s paw can’t scratch it, a back scratcher can’t reach it — it’s gotta be your sister’s hand

Right hand, left hand, none of them beat your sister’s hand

If there’s something you can’t do alone, use my hand

Sweets or going out — none of it beats how much I love my big brother

If you ask why my eyes are full of tears, it’s because I love this game that sings the praises of family bonds so deeply.

Oh, and the studio behind Onii-chan, Migi Te no Shiyou o Kinshi Shimasu — Galette’s sister brand GLace — pulled in a lot of the same staff to make a new game, Ten no Sora Retrospect (天ノ空レトロスペクト). The demo looks pretty good so far, and amid October’s wave of new releases, here’s hoping the studio heads down the story-focused path.