To start with, Tsunami Channel
is not a webcomic. No, unlike most other webcomic sites, Tsunami Channel actually hosts several webcomics, almost all of which are drawn by the host, Akira. These include Experimental Comic Kotone, Magical Mina, Love Situations. Just to make that clear.
So, firstly, Experimental Comic Kotone, the longest and oldest of the bunch. Essentially a gag-per-day comic centering on the antics of Robot Girl Kotone, her Onii-chan and various other characters. To be fair, a better description would be that it is a parody of various Harem Shows, with a small habit of Lampshading various tropes found in Harem Anime. And, before you ask, no, it has nothing to do with Excel♡Saga.
Secondly, Magical Mina. As the name would suggest, this is a Magical Girl comic starring a girl named Mina. It is also apparently set concurrent to Experimental Comic Kotone. Is apparently very much influenced by both Cardcaptor Sakura and various Shōnen anime.
Love Situations is a series of short stories exploring romantic setups based in some popular stereotypes of the genre. The first one is about extremely forward girl with a Sugar-and-Ice Personality Saki, and her (shy and more discreet) romantic interest. The second story features a setup with a Osananajimi whose relationship with her best male friend verge in the Cannot Spit It Out. The third and current (and still unfinished) one is centered around a Tsundere girl and her tribulations. This is apparently his latest pet project, and probably the reason why Experimental Comic Kotone and Magical Mina both seem like Orphaned Series.
ExCoKo and MaMi also feature an Author Avatar of Akira himself, as well as an Anthropomorphic Personification of his computer, Tsunami.
Tropes:
- A-Cup Angst: Onii-chan points Tsunami's small chest, much to her dismay.
- Arranged Marriage: Haruna's arrival reason is that Professor Hasegawa arranged her to marry with Onii-chan, despite the latter's lack of consent or even approval of the whole setup. Haruna doesn't care and stays there anyway. This is because she was there before: her backstory included a perfectly arranged one with which looked like an Onii-chan doppleganger, and the arrangement only ended because the boy died of illness before they could marry. See that trope article for the details.
- Cat Girl: Anya. The professor also buys cat girl accessories for Kotone to wear, but the rant for that comic says she won't be seen in them often because it makes her look too much like Anya (who hadn't debuted yet at that time).
- Chick Magnet: Like any dating sim protagonist, Onii-chan seems to unwittingly warp the reality around him in such a way that random girls fall for him upon first meeting. It's even lampshaded as a "Love Sim Syndrome."
- Deconstruction: of Harem Anime, Dating Sim games, and its related tropes.
- Elegant Gothic Lolita: Favored by Lisa, apparently, though her normal outfit is not nearly so elegant. Later strips do establish her love of EGL, however.
- Even the Guys Want Him: Onii-chan's ability to make women fall for him even extends to guys in drag, as happened with Alex the first time he was forced to dress up as a girl.
- The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: Laika and her older sister Fuuka. It's revealed that part of this involved a man, Jung (who actually is Fuuka's fiance), but not in the way most people thought...
- Handsome Lech: Konstantin is very good looking, but his lecherous ways keeps him from scoring.
- Ho Yay: Invoked here. Also, Lisa's feelings for Laika.
- I Am Not Left-Handed: Konstantin reverses this by being left-handed, which is actually a much easier ruse to pull off because 90% of the population is right-handed and so someone using their right hand will not stand out.
- Innocent Innuendo: Here (punchline in next comic).
- Instant Fan Club: Shion, the apparent Cute Ghost Girl, gets one this fast.
- Language of Love: Haruna and Onii-chan seem to understand each other perfectly, even when she speaks exclusively in Japanese, a language Onii-chan doesn't knows. This became an important plot point: in the arc where Haruna's past is revealed, their mutual trust is broken, and with it, their supernatural understanding.
- Life Embellished: Konstantin is based in one of the author friends, who only shares personality and hairdo with his comic counterpart. Also, Professor Hasegawa is an obvious Author Avatar with shades of this.
- Little Bit Beastly: Anya is a catgirl, and her sister Lisa is inexplicably a fox girl. Both have the ears to prove it.
- Love Dodecahedron: Mostly everyone X Onii-chan, except Anya who is in love with Konstantin, and Alex who might be in love with Kotone. Lisa is in love with Laika, but possibly also with Onii-chan.
- Loving a Shadow Haruna, towards her dead fiance Mamoru and Onii-chan. It's implied that Junichi has this towards Mamoru, too.
- Magical Girlfriend: every girl in Onii-chan's harem is one of this, in a way of another.
- Medium Awareness: Konstantin frequently references hating this comic.
- Moe Anthropomorphism: Tsunami is actually the author's computer, if the rant to this comic is any indication.
- Moment Killer: Kotone. Quite frequently.
- Not Blood Siblings: Konstantin believes that this is going between Kotone and Onii-chan. This is not the case.
- Although the aforementioned Moment Killer tendencies suggest that Kotone really doesn't want anyone else getting too close to her onii-chan...
- No Name Given: Onii-chan, to the point of perpetual Hey, You!. It's deconstructed in one of the strips who lampshades this: it seems that Onii-chan has a real name, but every time someone tries to say it the universe conspires to forbid it, even if it has to choke the speaker to do so.
- That's because he's the protagonist. Hasegawa even refers to him as "the player".
- Older Than They Look / Younger Than They Look: parodied. Kotone constantly insist she is 18 years old, despite her
being about 12 (in both looks, implanted personality, and apparently real building age), and gradually acting more and more younger than that.- Also, Laika's mother looks like a little kid. Everyone else initially thought it was her younger sister.
- Out-of-Character Alert: How Onii-chan sees through Lisa's transformation.
- Parental Abandonment: Haruna's was left to be raised by her extremely strict grandmother by her quite hippie parents, apparently as the price for their freedom. And in a surpring turn, Onii-chan's dad also left his family.
- Porn Stash: Tsunami's mission on life seems to eliminate Professor Hasegawa's stash, while Hasegawa and Konstantin's one is giving one to a very unwilling Onii-chan.
- Postmodernism: The comic started up again in late August 2010, but rather than picking up the story arc that had been left hanging, the new story has the characters...writing their own endings to LoveSit because Professor Hasegawa is tired of drawing manga.
- Robot Girl: Kotone. Tsunami may be misinterpreted to be a robot, but in fact she's, in the author words, "closer to a computer fairy". It's explained here.
- Running Gag: In this comic, Lisa gets the idea that the one who can see through a kitsune's disguise is destined to be her true love...but it turns out, she can't fool anyone with her disguises.
- She Is All Grown Up: An Alternate Continuity where Kotone gets a new body and actually becomes 18 for real. Not Blood Siblings ensues.
- Supernatural Gold Eyes: When Laika gets these, watch out. Her Superpowered Evil Side is about to come out.
- The Tape Knew You Would Say That: Happens in this strip, and it's funny as hell.
- Unwanted Harem: Onii-chan gets one. Lampshaded here.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: Alex is a boy and usually dress accordingly, but his inherent over-cuteness unfortunately targets him to episodes of forced crossdressing, where he emerges as a convincing girl.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: Haruna. She is presented as the perfect Samurai wife, with naginata handling and all.
- Perpetual Molt: The reason Mina's wings don't have feathers
- Punny Name: Mina's companion is an stuffed fox plushie. His name? Mulder.note
- Roundhouse Kick: Mina actually deflects a punch with one.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Using certain abilities involves shapeshifting, like growing wings or claws.
- Road Cone: toyed in the Omake for the second story, where the Author Avatar explained some alternative endings, incluiding a bad one. The possibility of a Harem ending is played and them shot up.
- Unlucky Osananajimi: the main cliché played in the second story... where all of the characters are childhood friends of the male protagonist in a way or another.
