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This review may contain SOME SPOILERS, mostly regarding the general theme of the story(s), avoid if a 100% blind viewing experience is desired.

However, if you're like me and many others, who have stumbled upon this anime based on recommendations, comments from other ecchi/harem anime, or the reputation Yosuga no Sora has garnered...

You would know that this anime is brought up often when it comes to the topic of incest in anime, and usually in a negative light. Like many others before me, having sat through this anime has prompted me to try and dispel some of these views of what turned out to be a ... very underrated piece of work.

Preface: I was led to Yosuga no Sora via comments after being terribly disappointed by OreImo. I was fully aware that incest was expected to happen at some point in the story. However...

Sound: 8
As soon as the opening, "Hiyoku no Hane", hit, the mood was instantly set. The title of this anime is epitomized very well in the OP. It represents the setting very well - a rural town tucked away in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but blue sky and open spaces. The distant and isolated feel I got from listening to the OP led me to believe that anything could indeed happen.

"Tsunagukizuna", the ED, is similar, but with a little bit of a foreboding vibe to it - especially with the images of their past. Personally, it helped build up the last arc for me.

The background music, while not being a very diverse selection, complements the setting appropriately when it is played, particularly that one signature piano piece.

There is also a separate ED for the omake at the end of each episode, which helps lighten the mood a little by providing a bit of contrast - as the anime is meant to have ecchi and harem elements as well.

Art: 7
Yosuga no Sora aired in 2010, which, admittedly, does make it fairly dated. As such, some of its art did suffer. Specifically, the character art. Being used to current standards, especially in terms of romance and harem genres, where the characters are drawn to be as attractive as possible, I found the girls a little underwhelming. Additionally, the combination of most of them being almost too busty, and the nudity involved, almost turned me off finishing this anime during the first arc. In fact, I found Sora and Akira the most visually appealing; the more mature girls like Nao, not so much.

The background art is another story, however. The animators' depiction of rural Japan is exceptional. The beautifully drawn backdrop of the sky, clouds and distant mountains drew me in. It had a particularly bigger impact on me, who wasn't used to such sights. It felt like I was watching events unfold in a 1940s town except with modern fittings like cellphones.

Story: 8
Yosuga no Sora plays out like the visual novel it's based on. The story revolves around 4 girls (5 if you count the omake side story), each getting their separate routes. While the endings vary as expected of the VN style, certain characters share the same backstory sequence, allowing for a little bit of build-up and continuity. Each arc has its own drama and feel-good moments, and of course, the sex scenes, which I felt were tasteful enough as they didn't have an overbearing effect on the overall presentation. In other words, the scenes weren't shamelessly thrown in for the sake of ecchi purposes - they had their place.

Of course, the main attraction is Sora's arc. When it comes to discussing Yosuga no Sora, this is the arc draws the most critique - it receives both praise and heat, stemming from its incestuous theme. Fortunately, it was the manner in which they decided to have the story play out - it won me over with how impressively they handled such a taboo subject. There is no joking around in Yosuga no Sora; the tone to which their sibling relationship was portrayed is to be commended, as what followed was a heartwarming story, though a tad short, that resonated with me as being a well thought out counterpart to the other imouto series I had previously seen. As a result, this was a very memorable anime for me.

Character: 8
In order to create a satisfying harem route, as a rule of thumb of mine, the development of their relationship (aka romance) has be explored adequately. No matter how likeable/unlikeable the characters are, at the very least, as long as their reasons of attraction towards the protagonist are thoroughly answered and within reason, I have no choice but to accept it. Yosuga no Sora scores full marks in this respect - no Zero no Tsukaima vibes here. Each girl had sufficient qualities for me to never feel like the protagonist ever made a wrong decision no matter who he ended up with. As for the protagonist himself, while he usually didn't get much time to showcase it, he had enough personality and development in each of the arcs to warrant him deserving of the endings he got.

The seiyuus also did their jobs well. No complaints here.

Enjoyment: 8
The fact that my thoughts of this anime have been nagging me over the few weeks since I'd watched it to come back to try to write a review for it should be proof enough. The OST is now one of my favourites. The ending left me contemplating in silence for a while. Even the omakes got a fair few laughs out of me.

In spite of the character art bothering me a little, and one of the arcs not being all that interesting in my opinion, there was more than enough of everything else to keep me going.

As implied before, most of my attention was fixated on watching Sora's story unravel - her deep love for her brother spiraling into lust, and the pair finally coming to terms with it. The art, the music, the setting - everything comes together in the end to create an incest story that is believable. Because of what they've endured - the loss of their parents, because of the fact that Haruka is essentially Sora's replacement for them, because they've had to move to such a place, where it's possible for them to dare to explore their relationship past the point of what is morally accepted...

They essentially only have each other (this is where I felt the isolated, rural town played very well into the circumstances) - and while I did not come to conclusions as enlightening as others have described - it did lead me to heavily sympathise with Sora's plight. Her brother obviously cares deeply for her. If her affection for her brother was that strong, even to the point where it is shown to be almost justifiable, was it possible to condemn her for having such feelings? That was where the level of the anime's execution was fully realised for me. That was the true pay-off that I came to enjoy. Had this review only been about Sora's arc, I would've rated Yosuga no Sora a 9 easily.

Overall: 8
As someone that was curious enough to delve into such a topic (face it, fair amount of incest anime/eroge out there), I greatly appreciated Yosuga no Sora's take on what is either considered taboo or disappointingly treated as a subject of ridicule among anime fans. In my mind, this anime definitely stands out among its peers with a story that succeeded where many others have failed.

Not a bad experience by any means.