Anime 52034 Oshi No Ko Reviews Filter Check 2

*[Oshi no Ko]* is a series caught within a bizarre Catch-22 as an actual piece of entertainment. It wants to follow the comedic and dramatic conventions for storytelling that Akasaka has in mind, and also wants to unravel the disquieting undercurrent of the entertainment industry within its gaze. But to do so would involve having its cast be outsmarted or exploited by the teeth of the very beast that they seek to enterprise in, and by the nature of the show’s framing, it cannot have that. As a result, the show does not actually delve into the darkest contortions and disquieting undercurrents of the entertainment ... industry that Akasaka supposedly wants to discuss. It hints at the phantoms on the wall rather than confronts them. The whole reads more as someone who only just discovered what the entertainment industry is like, is repulsed by what they saw, and has a lot they want to say, but must make a contractual deal with the devil in order to get the story told, a provision of which is to not wholly besmirch his name in the process.

Entertainment is, just as a general note, a strange entity. Stranger still though is the relationship we have with it. Even in the supposed “reality” of reality television, we all know and acknowledge on some level that everything in entertainment is manufactured or a conglomeration of lies to get a desired affect or impression. It’s engineered by hundreds of people we never know beyond the abstract to make something we think is worth the time and financial or emotional investment. We also know that the industry is not run by angels. Yet no matter how many times we get shocked by the reality that we see when the curtain gets pulled back, there’s always the next cultural object or talking point to swallow our attention even as the people within its own industry cry out to let their pleas for mercy be heard. The para-social relationship we have with the media we consume is sometimes not as simple as “I like this thing” with posters or casual merchandise; it can move beyond human ugliness or frailty and into the abyss of pure horror

I emphasize this para-social quality between entertainment and consumer because it is the very lifeblood that *[Oshi no Ko]* uses to get its start, and stubbornly refuses to emphasize or embrace further as it goes along. As two idol-obsessed people watching Hoshino Ai, doctor Amamiya Gorou and hospital patient Tendouji Sarina have formed an obsessive bond with her and her almost-divine performance presence, capitulated further when she discreetly arrives at Gorou’s hospital pregnant with twins. The day of delivery is struck down by Gorou being murdered, and both he and Tendouji are reincarnated as Ai’s children with all their mental faculties in place, now named Aquamarine and Ruby respectively. Two people in the thick of idol fandom, one of whom is killed by someone in the thick of idol fandom, now finding themselves the objects of their idolized idol’s attention. The perverse relationship between entertainment and consumer comes back around again as Ai is killed in her own home by a crazed fan, angry at her for having children, and Aqua suspects they were sent by their real father. It is, after all, against the law for idols to do anything sexual, unless the agency or someone within is facilitating it. With the light of their life extinguished, they’re left to pick up the pieces of what remains.

Ruby channels them into becoming like her mother and an idol herself, a depressing irony in that she naively has no clue what she’s getting into. Aqua channels them into joining the industry behind the scenes and finding their father-murderer that way, a journey of personal doom. The para-social sense of naïve optimism and slip into despair via the industry and their products never leaves the characterization (they’re always being fueled by Ai, even in death), but it does get reprioritized—if not shoved to the side outright—as the show’s scenarios begin manifesting. It chooses to focus its attention instead on how the industry functions and the people within it, functioning as a quasi-exposé.

The result is *[Oshi no Ko]* effectively abandoning its original framing device for something vastly less interesting. The series wants to have its cake and eat it too, to be profoundly crushing on the emotional level while delivering its timeless message that the entertainment industry is a monolithic hydra of lies and politics that the cast nevertheless tries to succeed in. The irony is that, in Akasaka and series composer Tanaka Jin’s bid to do this, they cannot resist flexing their knowledge by having characters just spell out “the truth” of how the industry works, robbing the show of its opportunities to impose such things on the characters, barring some flashbacks. It is so on-the-nose that there is little to be discovered organically through the narrative.

And Aqua’s positioning within *[Oshi no Ko]’s* structure drives this point home, especially. He became after Ai’s death a cold, calculating genius when it comes to the industry as a whole, in-part helped by having worked in it. Whether in front of the camera or from the production side, there is seemingly nothing he cannot adapt to. Such a characterization undercuts the looming danger of the industry itself because if anything bad happens, Aqua will always be able to salvage the situation or come up with some solution that makes sure everything and / or everyone is okay. It is difficult to be apprehensive of the shadows on the wall when a character keeps flicking on the lights, never truly getting caught off-guard.

It is a given that not everyone who works in the entertainment industry is a terrible person, that many involved indeed are trying to create the best product possible, and they know that being nice to their actors is one of the ways to do so. But *[Oshi no Ko]* has its depiction of the industry be more abstractly monolithic in its malice as opposed to actually having people in it who are malicious. Because Aqua and Ruby are born into the business through being Ai’s children, they are constantly sheltered from its grimmer possibilities by being in a “good company” and “knowing the right people” who will oblige Aqua’s thirst for vengeance in exchange for a favor, either wittingly or unwittingly. The monologuing by the characters keeps talking about how the industry is rough, unfair, and “that’s how it is,” but any sense of unfairness is barely allowed, if at all, to directly interrupt finding Ai’s killer or pose a sincere obstacle to Ruby’s progress. Thus, there is a shorter draw distance with which *[Oshi no Ko]* can cast its muckraking net, leaving many of the emotional moments to fall strangely limply rather than fuel a brutal collision.

But even so, there are rare times where the para-social relationship I hinted at before does return, and it occurs in the moments where the series shines at its brightest (or is it darkest? You decide). Aqua is hardly out of focus, but when he’s gone, the darker specters are finally allowed the chance to come out of the corner and consume the room. Left to their own devices, characters are forced to fight their way through new torments and problems—which does unfortunately paint just how reliant on Aqua they all are. Especially aided by the show’s aesthetic care and attention, apparent effort is poured into key animations and storyboarding that, when aligned with the material, elevate the punches into a sharp viscerality. Director Hiramaki Daisuke and the sizable number of animation directors understood that, particularly for a story pertaining to the entertainment industry, presentation matters. It’s a sign of just what the series is perfectly capable of doing, but ultimately decides to opt for something markedly less knotted.

*[Oshi no Ko]* insists on the dangers of the entertainment industry and pulling back the curtain, but holds itself back too often by not letting it gets its claws into everyone enough. The actual horrors of the industry it proports to share are kept at a safe and comfortable distance, aiding the narrative that being an idol, and their industry, is glorious, glamorous, and worth it. It is all at once a reincarnation story, a revenge quest story, a story about idols, a story about the relationship between the industry and its fans, and an exposé on how the industry functions. I genuinely admire its ambitiousness, but it’s a case of trying to do too much, and not having the finesse to handle it all effectively.

Maybe Aqua can salvage it.

Oshi no Ko is a story that undermines itself.

[This review contains spoilers for episode 1 and minor spoilers for the rest of the story.]


Let’s start the story, with the only thing that truly mattered, the poster girl, Ai.

For those who are already caught up with the first episode, stick around because this section lays out some important foundations regarding Ai's character, and its also a really short segment.

Ai was 16 year old idol, who like many 16 year old girls, made a dumb mistake and who got knocked up with twins.
...
Ai, chooses to keep the children, and do something she considers “selfish”, choose to have both a professional life and a parental one.

As she continues and tries her best, she realizes that she needs to sacrifice parts of her professional and personal life because she feels like she has a duty to provide the best for her children.

Ai is a very direct individual who always seems to be optimistic.

Eventually she hits big and over the span of multiple years, she becomes a famous.

So, what’s so impressive about Ai?

The fact that she’s self-aware about the issues behind her professional position and the way she treats them. She realizes that being an idol is essentially being a professional liar. You lie to people and get them to form para social relationships with you. She spend hundreds of hours in front of a mirror simply perfecting even the corners of her smiles to make them as perfect as can be She has become a master at putting up a front of a good little cute idol.

You might be wondering, “wait. Isn’t that horrible?” Well, you tell me, based on what she considers “love”.

Ai comes from a broken home with no parents. She loved no one and felt no love in return. A sleazy manager convinced her that showing lies is showing love. That lies eventually might turn true, which, in her mind, counter act their immoral aspect. For Ai, putting effort into your lies, is a way of expressing love. She’s never felt love herself and thus, this is one of the ways she interpreted, that she can use to express love.

She often got frustrated when fans pointed out how fake she was acting, because to her, it was obvious. “They’re the ones asking for something that by its nature is a lie”.


Eventually, even after Ai hits it big and is booked too dance at the dome (which is a big milestone for her professional career), she puts the needs and happiness of others, again, in front of her own, and decides to keep pretending that she’s happy. She’s always bottled up her emotions up until this point, and has never once expressed her inner turmoil publicly to others.

One day, she overheard her kids talking about their father and having weird opinions on the matter, so she phoned up the father and asked him to meet up with the kids.

Later that day, she hears a knock on the door and answers it. Soon, before Ai realizes whats happening, the man who knocked on the door, a jealous fan, stabs her. Who the fan is in this story, doesn’t matter. Its irrelevant. The author makes quite the attempt to highlight this. It’s a random infatuated and obsessed fan who got jealous that she dared lie to the world about loving them, and then turn around and “secretly” have kids.

Ai, as shes bleeding to death, does something surprising. She smiles and forgives him. She admits that her philosophy on what love is and what her career built was based on lies. That she honestly thought that if she just tried hard enough, she could love all of her fans. She could turn the lie into a reality. She forgives the individual and states that even now, she appreciates her fans and shows compassion towards their feelings of resentment.

--

The story of Ai, isn’t an uncommon one, but it’s still a heart breaking one. It’s the story of a kid, who messed up and got pregnant, did their absolute best to raise their children, sacrificed so much for them, hid their pain, and even then, life stomps them out.

This isn’t just the story of a mother. This is a story of human perseverance. Way too often does perseverance, compassion, forgiveness and altruism get expressed in the pompous and bombastic stories of fighters like Thorfin. Rarely do we get to see something so attached and grounded towards real life situations.

Before dying, Ai continued to wish and dream of a future she could enjoy with her children. She admitted that even though she throws around the words “I love you”, she hasn’t ever used them on an individual level, especially towards her children, because she is scared. Scared that it will also be a lie and that she will hate herself for it. An all too real fear. Finally, she says it, and cries because she actually meant it.

It’s not Ai’s fault for what happened. Largely, its also not the killer’s. It was bound to happen. The fault, falls on the the lucrative infrastructure and well established status quo behind the idol industry. The first episode makes a good attempt at highlighting that these businesses manipulate and use people. Individuals form parasocial relationships with these idols which are intrinsically unhealthy.


The first episode shows that everything in the idol industry at the end of the day, is just business. As beautiful and as hard working as Ai was, the show points out that she got lucky. Being a successful idol has more to do with how you sell yourself rather than being the best. It shows us all the roadblocks of business that Ai faced throughout her life to get where she was.

Does it matter who the father was? Does it matter how, why and who were involved in the mistake Ai made regarding having children at such a young age? No, it shouldn’t and the story points this out in the beginning.

This is a very common scenario. People (and especially individuals who are heavily involved in the situation) get fixated on trying to find out who the father is or how this happened. It doesn’t matter. It was a mistake made by two dumb 16 year olds. You don’t need to artificially add plot twists and pompous information to it, finding who the father is - who most times is a confused 16 year old kid that fucked up and for one reason or another chose to ignore his duties - isn’t going to give you a cathartic revelation. Thankfully, at least the first episode of the anime realizes this and goes out of its way, to NOT go out of its way and answer these questions.

So, why am I unsatisfied and where is the rest of the story?

Well, these two things are sort of mutually inclusive.

For the most part, the young two twins, Aqua and ruby, ( who are the 30-40 year old doctor in the body of the male twin; aqua, and a 12 year old patient of the doctor and a fan of Ai who died earlier in the series, in the body of the female twin;ruby) are there in the first episode as plot devices in order for us to get to see Ai’s story progress. Most of what they do is fluff. Sure it’s entertaining, but nothing more than that.

Even the weird fake out at the beginning of the story, the weird and obsessively attached rural doctor who’s patient turns out to be his beloved idol part, is only there to serve its purpose as a pivot to the main story.

So, where does the story continue afterwards and why am I so disappointed?

Because it turns into a shallow revenge fetish anime.

Aqua concludes that the person who ) killed their mother, got all the information fed to him by another person, that person being Aqua and ruby’s father.

The previous part of the story and the continuation part of the story clash with each other. Aqua, who is supposed to be a 30-40 year old man, never introspects. He never takes a step back to think about what he should do. Things like "Would seeking for revenge, ultimately reduce my sister's well-being and risks her life?" or "How is my sister handling the situation? What should I do?" or "Would Ai really want me to waste my new given life in order to get revenge?" or finally "How is my previous mother doing?" are never shown to even cross Aqua's mind. Aqua, the 40 year old, jumps straight to revenge and murder. There is no organic introspection. Theres no considering the options or trying to process what the best course of action. Aqua, acts like an unhinged 14 year old and decides to dedicate the rest of his life to revenge, without ever considering if thats the best option.

His sister for the most part, was just stuck there, left to pick up the pieces of a broken family. His sister is 14. He is 40. Why is the 40 year old physician the one acting like a child and the 14 year old child left there to be the adult?

Why does he not try to communicate with his sister? Why doesn't he try to comfort her? Why doesn't he at least consider these options? Why doesn't he at least consider any other option?

Its so inorganic and vapid. Right after the events of Ai's death, we cut to aqua realizing his father is probably the culprit, then him having an edgy "I will kill him if its the last thing I do" moment, and then... a time skip? Thats it. We don't get to see how they processed it. What thoughts went through their heads.

Ai's life lessons, actions and what she stood for get completely swept under the rug. She is now just used as a symbol to justify revenge. Its insane how the anime that talked about how fans ignore that idols are real people and just take them as a symbol or as a lie, completely forgets this, and literally glorifies the main character forgetting the person Ai was and just using her as motive for revenge.


Now, this could be somewhat salvaged, right? Maybe the story is about pointing at and showing what Aqua is doing is wrong. Maybe it’s a journey of self growth?

Sadly not. Not only does Aqua not only get punished or shown to be the villain at all, he is rewarded by having 1-3 UNDER-AGED love interests, to which he uses to get ahead on his plans (which again, no one talks about how disgusting it is that a 40 year old man is in a romantic manipulative relationship with a 14 year old girl). Anytime he disgustingly uses and manipulates one of these 'waifus' , it’s swept under the rag cause he does something else that shows that he “loves them”.

After taking a few minutes to think about this, one may wonder “alright, but where could the story have continued towards?”. Well, multiple directions. It could attempt to show the story of recovering from such a traumatic experience, while also keeping it interesting since its rooted from the perspective of two individuals in a weird power balance and who are in a generally unorthodox situation post grief. It could attempt to continue to show the poignant and harsh consequences of a post parasocial era being strangled and milked by corporations under the guise of entertainment. It’s a tall order, but it could even explore why there’s so much increased demand for parasocial relationships to begin with.

But instead, we get the insipid revenge story of an emotionally immature individual who straddles along his poor sister for his premature and childish journey for revenge.

It undoes everything the first episode set. Ai, knowing the predatory and dangerous nature of what it means to be an idol, says as some of her last words, that she wants ruby to be an idol? Did we not just spend an entire hour observing some of the inherent problems that plague most idols in the industry? The story started to involve gods and divine intervention later on because of course it did. It has become ungrounded, took off and flew into the same vapid and generic shounen-esque drama crap that always sells so great.

The author writes compelling situations (which is worth noting that there are a lot of linear coincidences that lead to these situations in the first place, so if you start paying attention to them, you realize that the situations these characters are in aren't as fluid and organic as they might seem), sure, but unfortunately sacrifices character development and any of the previous things that made the anime actually stand out in my eyes, to reach these situations.

Anyways,

Most people walked away from the first episode with a feeling of sadness. I walked away with it with a feeling of sadness and disappointment. Not disappointment towards the author or even the franchise itself, but disappointment towards myself for believing that this franchise would evolve into anything but your run of the mil anime cash cow.

Oshi no Ko


Aka Akasaka is the author who fascinated me with "Love is War". It is rare to find such a diverse and creative comedy show, I was captivated by the talent of the author. After experiencing the hype of "Oshi no Ko" for quite some time and discovering that it was the same author as Love is War, my curiosity was immense. After the first 3 episodes, I can't say much about it, but I get the feeling that Akasaka isn't exactly made for dramas.

Since I only know the anime, I can only write about it exclusively. This show undoubtedly possesses a concept ... that I find incredibly interesting, not only does it deal with reincarnation, but also many other dark and realistic topics. Unfortunately, the execution seems to be lacking. The first episode alone didn't have any balance between comedy and serious scenes, so everything just got mixed up. Although I find the series relatively interesting and will continue to watch it, I have doubts about future episodes.

The first episode created a lot of hype that was constantly circulating on the internet. Similar to "To Your Eternity." Except that in that said anime, the first episode was a Tour de Force that was better than any that followed. Here is the complete opposite. The "Prologue" episode of Oshi no Ko is pretty average in every way. The fact that the episode lasted an hour was the right decision. Otherwise, it would have left a much weaker impression. There's also the fact that the anime pretty much thrives on melodrama. I loved how the first episode picked up on the show's business theme. It's a very underrated topic in real life, especially when it comes to idols. Unfortunately, the prologue spent more than half the time constantly making some kind of joke and shooting itself in the leg over and over again. In my opinion, I found episodes 2 and 3 a bit better than the first one. So I hope for an improvement and with Akasaka, this should be possible. Unfortunately, too often people confuse well-written scenes, with unexpected scenes. Just because a character dies where you didn't expect it, doesn't automatically mean that everything is suddenly fascinating and brilliant.

Unfortunately, the show follows an immensely forced plot line. If at the end of the manga, it turns out that there was a god who forced these events, then I would even accept it. All the main events in the prologue are so forced that you could either say that fate has been their enemy or that the author is a sadist. Of course, it helps that both AI and Gorou both have massively low IQs and choose virtually all the "false turns" in this story. And where I also arrive at the death of the protagonist. Until the end of episode 1, I was almost 100% sure that Oshi no Koi was going to be a parody comedy, at least that's what the death of the protagonist gave me. If it weren't for the end of the episode, which shocked me, I would still think so. Even though I find the anime relatively enjoyable, I have to say that the start could have been done better by far. The whole thing would have gone much better if the protagonist only had a manager... and not this guy who has zero idea of what he's being paid for.
Why doesn't anyone notice that the 3-year-old protagonist has the mind of an adult? Calling him a " mature baby" is a good idea in a comedy. But what does the anime want to be now? A drama? A comedy?
The protagonists' fake mother was practically a mentally unstable lunatic who wanted to ruin their mother. They briefly manipulated her through her "Divine Appearance" and that was it? Now she's suddenly on their side just to find an attractive guy?
This anime bends everything just to keep it going somehow. Following the scheme - Random Bullshit Go -

[Story 4]

I can already see where this story is going. The protagonist will probably do his Aqua Jäger Revenge Tour until he finds the mastermind. While his sister will mimic her mother, this will be the likely course of the series. Not exactly what I was hoping for at the beginning. I thought it was going to be a family drama/comedy anime that picked up on the above themes. Instead, we end up with another Revenge anime, which is not conditionally bad. But just looking at the last sentence from the protagonist when he was in the car and had made up his mind...I just get goosebumps. There's hardly a worse way to stage it without making the protagonist seem like a little Edgylord, where are we, on Kill la Kill?

With the flow of the first 3 episodes, practically everything is right, only it constantly fails in the implementation which I just can not understand. The manga/anime makes such simple mistakes and tries not to confront important moments or essential explanations and skips them instead. Just like the relationship between Aqua and the studio guy. No reaction from the mother, not the manager nothing. How did they get in touch after the phone call? This and so much else are just skipped over. What I find disappointing.

[Characters 5]

Can hardly say anything so far.

The 3 biggest focus characters are Ai, Aqua, and Ruby.

We know practically nothing about Ruby except for her simplistic personality. Ai was the most interesting of the three, especially with her perspective on the world but... yeah with that being said? I love beautifully animated eyes, but with Ai, they went way too overboard with it. It's not beautiful anymore, it's just the eye version of "put all kinds of filters on it".
And Aqua the protagonist is hard to classify. On the one hand, I thought he was a relatively intelligent adult, but somehow the reincarnation got to him, making him seem relatively regressed.

None of the three is likable so far. With 3 episodes, it's also hard to sympathize with characters whose screen time consisted of 95% gags.

However, I read some comments about Aqua in the manga, which arouse my interest, but unfortunately, you have to wait until it is animated.


[Music 6 / Animations 8]

From a musical point of view, the anime is only above average. What shines in is the good scene changes and animations. Especially the backgrounds are immensely good. Even just during the horror shoot in episode 1 (with Kana), the forest looked like a painting.
The pacing is also relatively good, the studio put a massive amount of effort into that.

[Conclusion 5]

I'll update the scores as the episodes progress. Since this anime is a massively controversial topic at the moment, I also just wanted to write a review.

In the end, the first episodes were okay, but that's all there had been. They were neither outstanding nor impressive. The sad thing is that both the shocking scene in episode 1 and the concept itself could be really good. Unfortunately, it didn't feel like anything. If you're going to wrap up a character arc so quickly, you need to pay a lot more attention to the character beforehand. Sending it half-heartedly across the plank like that is not a proper solution.

Anyway, am looking forward to the next episodes and hope that the manga will be fully animated. If anyone wants to spoil me, feel free to do so, at least I'll know what I'm waiting for.

[Enjoyment 5]

It has been a while since I have been active. I came back from massive burnout to anime seasonal because of the greatest animated show pilot episode of the 2020s. But we are not here to talk about the pilot episode of Lackadaisy (the episode is available on YouTube). We are here for Oshi No Ko.

Let’s try to temper expectations here because there is solid chance that you were marketed to in an unintentionally misleading way by several YouTube content creators as to the kind of story Oshi No Ko is. That is okay. I was too. I tried to go into this show blind ... but even with that, I still ran into video recommendations talking about Oshi No Ko, cases it draws from, and how it is an expose on the seedy underbelly of the idol industry. With those video essay titles and fan marketing, you can be forgiven for having a particular set of expectations, namely: that this will be an uncomfortable character-focused psychological storytelling. It is not that, not nearly enough that.

What it is is more a slice-of-life with some humorous beats mixed in when it is not trying to beat you over the head with its point about how dark the idol industry is (which is an open secret even a decade ago). It has a little bit of whodunnit mystery in the background that is unfortunately not being handled well. And for us adults in the audience watching, several enjoyable bits of talking shop (editor’s note: talking shop = to talk about your job with those you work with, even when not at work) in the show-within-a-show format of some of its arcs. And I am serious when I say the part where characters talk shop, with bits of humor mixed in, is the best part of the show for me. This is not a back-handed compliment. Look, the breakdown of the expenses you incur as an idol and your net salary are the more eye-opening parts of the show/the idol industry to anyone who has been on the internet for the last five years or more.

The show proper has a very clear linear break (some call it a tone switcharoo) that you should be wary of when deciding if this is a show for you. The first episode’s story attracts audiences that might be turned off by the story beats of episode two onwards. Meanwhile, the audiences that might enjoy the story of episode two onwards might have been turned off by episode one’s introduction and what they felt might be the direction of the series. (The kind of humor this show has stays consistent all throughout the season however so if it is the humor that caught you, you should be pleased to know that.)

Episode 1 is the most talked about part of the series and with a run time of almost an hour and a half it could have been a movie all on its own, centered around Ai as she tries to navigate the seedy underbelly of the entertainment industry while trying to keep her children a secret. The problem is that she must share screentime and development with her children. They need this setup for their eventual roles after the episode, but they eat into her story progression. Combined with the multiple mini time-skips, you eventually get the message that her story is not the important part of Oshi No Ko. She is the call to arms, the setup for the story of her children. They are the main characters. If you were here for her, it can feel like a switcharoo. I want to clear that up first with you, potential future viewer.

What can you expect? If you have a fascination with behind-the-scenes stories or show-within-a-show formats, this show has that. Do you want to see contractually obligated participants in a dating show talk about their “strategies” and real goals when the camera is not looking? How about a former child actress starring in a manga adaptation that she likes and is currently being butchered in the adaptation table to launch the careers of several up-and-coming male models with little acting experience?

I must admit that last part could have been more interesting if it had been given enough time to build it up. This is the second biggest weakness of the show, after marketing. It had multiple character arcs but it did a poor job managing its timetable.

But enough talk of spilled rice, this is more in line with what you should expect going into this show.

[Oshi no Ko]: An Ambiguous Glimpse into the Entertainment Industry

Oshi no Ko is a series that has evoked mixed feelings from me throughout its course. From my perspective, the series attempts to explore comedic and dramatic storytelling conventions while examining the darker aspects of the entertainment industry. However, I must admit that it fails to fully immerse itself in those disturbing aspects, choosing to imply them rather than confront them directly. This can be frustrating for those who expected a deeper and grittier look into the world of entertainment.

The main protagonist, Aqua, is portrayed as a character with exceptional abilities and knowledge who seems capable ... of overcoming any obstacle. This, to some extent, diminishes the sense of danger and tension that should exist in such an unforgiving environment as the entertainment industry. Furthermore, the series maintains a rather abstract representation of the industry, focusing more on personal relationships and professional success rather than showcasing malicious characters and the real difficulties faced by those involved in it.

While I appreciate the creativity of the series' initial premise, involving two idol fans reincarnating as the children of their favorite idol, I must admit that Oshi no Ko quickly falls into tropes and clichés of school dramas, becoming predictable and dull at times. The lolicon humor present in the series also failed to capture my interest, and I believe that the dialogue lacks the strength and depth necessary to emotionally engage me with the characters.

One of the biggest disappointments for me was the hypocrisy present in the series. Despite its attempt to be realistic and honest in its portrayal of the entertainment industry, Oshi no Ko ends up following the same patterns as other anime in the genre, offering nothing truly innovative. I expected the series to leverage its unique premise to delve deeper into the relationship between fans and the industry, as well as the challenges and dangers faced by those involved in it, but I feel that it fell short in that aspect.

In conclusion, Oshi no Ko is an ambiguous series in its approach and execution. While it tries to delve into the dark aspects of the entertainment industry, it fails to do so satisfactorily, maintaining a narrative that oscillates between interesting moments and more mundane ones. Although it has the potential to offer a unique and profound look into the world of idols and the entertainment industry, ultimately its reception will depend on the individual expectations and preferences of each viewer.

I finally came around to watching what many dubbed "Anime of the Year". I was skeptical then, and by the end of it, this is not AOTY. It is good, enjoyable, with a great prologue episode, which hooked me, but the story is plagued by a 10 episode aftermath of the prologue, which fails to stay focused. I get that this anime is building towards something, but this is why I absolutely hate half seasons, or cours or whatever you want to call it. We have seen what can be done in 10, 12, or 13 episodes with other series that ... knock it out of the park. Oshi no Ko doesn't lend itself to settling a score, and instead focuses on a long game strategy to build this anime over a period of time. This is fine, and I'm sure once it has built upon this foundation, it will turn out great. Going off of these 11 episodes, I have to say the story could have been more substantial, something important could have been done for a cliffhanger. The biggest happening of the series was episode 1, and then the series has a bit of an identity crisis. Is it a mystery, slice of life, harem? Yes, it's all of the above, but doesn't stay in a lane. If this was a 24-26 episode proper season, maybe we would have gotten that substantial cliffhanger, or something to really bring this story together. As of now, it's not there for me.

Animation 10/10
- Absolutely beautiful eye candy as Frill would say.
Sound 10/10
- Great music, and voice acting.
Story 3/10
- Lacks focus, trading its story for character development for later seasons.
Characters 8/10
- Great characters and development, but Ruby is third string to Kana, which doesn't make sense to me. She is the first character the author asks you to care about, and by the end of the season, she is almost a background character.
Enjoyment 7/10
- Despite my perceived flaws of the show, I had no trouble watching it, and enjoyed every episode except ep 2.

I have mixed feelings recommending a series like this, because it's clear, this anime intends to drop multiple seasons, and IMO a series like this should be enjoyed in binge fashion, especially when the first season fails to deliver substantial plot development. If you are okay with the start/stop fashion of cours, then I recommend it.

*[Oshi no Ko]* *QUICK REVIEW!*

Reliable narration supported by beautiful illustrations, amazing cast, and it does an excellent portrayal of an entry view into the components of the entertainment industry. Oshi No Ko has a unique portrayal of the dark side of the entertainment industry which some may enjoy.

Story was unique, semi-predictable, but enjoyable because of how the genre was portraying the entertainment industry.
Art style definitely fit during bone-chilling scenes.

Most characters are average. One character Aqua, stood out to me personally. Others may find a different character to stand out.

Characters are realistic in most of their reactions.
...
If somebody is looking for 100% realism, then I doubt they'd enjoy this. However, if they're looking for a quick watch and insight into the entertainment industry, then I would recommend.

aaah... I really wanted to enjoy this anime as much as it was hyped and God knows how I really waited for that to happen but in the end, it just felt flat and I was a little disappointed.

I will not go into an in-depth review but I will touch on the main key points that stood out to me without trying to spoil anything.

I will start by saying despite a few comments I saw later online the first episode was by far the best episode of the whole season which now, looking at the whole picture is a little sad. Despite being the best ... episode of the season it had a few issues starting with the pacing, In an hour and a half we felt like we knew something but at the same time also nothing bout the characters. Ai who seemed to be an airhead but also a loving person has an almost complete change of character in the last five minutes of the episode.

Bringing me to my next point, the complete disregard for the "show, don't tell" rule. The show seemed to compensate for its lack of emotional impact or sufficient world-building with the dumping of information (which in my opinion does not seem relevant) to somehow make us sympathetic towards the characters. The best way for us to relate to a character in a way is to be able to go through whatever pain they went through. Instead of being spoon-fed. A show who succeeded perfectly in doing so will be fruits basket (well at least in the first two seasons) PS: I don't want to talk about the third season. Anyway... by bringing us into this character's world, by drawing us into his mind we are able to understand why he feels the way he feels. Are his actions warranted? and even if they are stupid do they make sense to him? A very good example is Thorfinn in Vinland Saga seasons 1 and 2.
His way of acting is triggered by the internal conflict happening inside of him so whether he acts out of revenge or decides he has no enemies we can feel empathetic towards him even though we do not fully agree on one decision or the other. The point is he feels painfully real. And yes every anime will still be an anime in its own delusional way but the point here is, in attempting to make a deep plot and character-based anime the character should at least have some depth.

The most disappointing point of this whole show was the lack of direction in this story. The story hooked me up with the premise of a revenge-murder mystery. Which I was expecting after watching the first episode but then it turns into a slice of life but not really but also a dive into the dark side of the entertainment industry but not so deep to see some real substance and since there is a lack of proper direction the main point plot (which was getting revenge) gets relayed to the second plan. We see less and less of the main character and get distracted with futilities wondering if they are relevant to the whole picture

The whole story nevertheless has some potential and just needs to be well executed.

Aside from that, the story is watchable but do not expect it to be as awesome as it was depicted on Tiktok(which seems to be extremely biased for some reason). Matter of fact I think if you intend to watch it start with the second episode and end with the first.

Aside from all the above the animation and sound is quite decent and it can be quite enjoyable without a high expectation.

I tried akasaka, I tried my best to love this new series of yours for which you so mercilessly murdered your already beloved kaguya sama love is war , I tried to love it like i loved love is war even joined the hype , but just like the idol Ai, it was completely a fabricated love that only got converted to indifference as the episodes went by. Since it's by all means just a ….

A ONE EPISODE HIT WONDER, Which is very polarizing in its depiction of the film industry and is for the most part, just a revenge porn story since that ... is the primary motivation of the main character and adds the illusion of meaning and motivation for us to follow this edgelord of an ‘adult’.

Oshi no ko the next big thing by akasaka sensei who had the credibility and popularity of kaguya sama behind them and the faith of the fans to produce yet another masterpiece. Kaguya sama, a loved series, rushed to completion so that akasaka could completely focus on this manga alone. Many anitubers or should i call them social media influencers with podcasts now ?praised it as the one true holy grail of immaculate writing and heartbreaking drama with a headspining mystery in the mix. And what came off of all this? a one episode shocker that set expectations but failed to meet any of them so far.

There was only ONE episode of oshi no ko that even deserves any of the attention the show has got till date, I am no hater , I completely agree that the first episode of oshi no ko WAS AN IMMACULATE masterpiece, but we are here for the review of the entire season are we not?
While the rest of the episodes are not bad by any means some of them are actually pretty good, but I can't help but feel that we go through a downward spiral from episode one onwards.


Plot (5/10)
The whole plot is kinda meh because of these three things
1)reincarnation seems pointless other than giving the MC and FMC an unfair edge.
2)The whole story is a convoluted excuse to gather sympathy for film industry workers because the story could literally be the same without the media industry gimmick. The whole show has a solemn and negative look only and it hardly EVER BOTHERS to show the positives of the film industry.
3) literally half of each episode past episode 1 is monologue heavy rants on why the industry is shit , and then the second half is usually showing it being shit.

The whole reincarnation aspect is just cardboard armor to give validity to the rage of aqua and also him not being able to let go. Just as spyder95 said in the forums it's to make it “different from being a fan and son to simply a son. his love for ai was insane and without that it wouldn't give him the true driving force he needed to seek revenge”. And not to mention the level of hypocrisy of the main character who actively hates the industry for having caused AI harm but then also proceeds to actively manipulate and maneuver people to achieve his less than ideal goal of revenge. Except for showing us any of the positives for many people here who could be aspiring actors, youtubers and whatnot , it tries to devolve more and more into the negative aspects of the film industry.

And what is the whole theme of the story? Actors and actresses have it hard because they are popular and pretty. So well do normal people not have stalkers? Are normal people not murdered? Do you think common people aren't used to negative attention and flaming in social media? The formula of oshi no ko is very clear to garner fake empathy for these stars and of course to utilize the under tapped idol otaku market. Of course they get all of the above in a bigger scale , but they make a much bigger impact so it's unavoidable. The film industry people who, more often than not, lead a much more fun and comfortable life than any of us are glorified for what purpose. I understand none of it. There is no description of the film industry here , only showing the dark side of it.

Yes there is some drawbacks and politics in this industry but that IS EVER PRESENT everywhere for every fucking job, so just going on and on about how manipulative and shitty this industry is they never ever explore any of the positives like how complicated acting is , how hard it is to learn to dance and sing to produce and direct and add VFX and SFX.the concept of talent in acting , facial expressions and the very complex art of costume design and cosmetics in this industry is all just a SKIP, they only ever concentrate on drama.

It's just the internet hates them sob sob , the industry manipulating them sob sob again. Where is the love and adoration of fans,pure wow moments of acting and productions, where is the bugatti and alcohol and posh life with free connections to the upper echelon of the world?

SO AKASAKA SENSEI are you really just gonna preach about HOW SHITTY IT IS TO work in the film Industry and there simply no reward for doing that? No love , recognition , fame , influence , wealth and satisfaction in working in this industry?


Oh sorry aka sensei you must think i am just an internet troll and definitely not worth your time.


Now to be completely fair , it does do what it set out to do perfectly well. The depiction of the struggles to make it big into the film/idol industry is depicted pretty well in the journey of kana but it does it in a much more negative spiral. The cons of working in the film industry the ironically two faced political nature of this industry and them even using up and coming stars who are still underaged teens or children even as pawns is sadly something that is a reality and more so in japan than one would like to believe , the deranged nature of the idol otaku fandom with the love for only 20 or below girls who show off their airhead cutesy nature while very clearly showing off body lines with the dance is depicted as well with a good amount of accuracy.it's no wonder that the most heinous and weird sort of crimes occur mostly with the fans of idol otaku involved, so the setting and what ends up happening in end of episode one have a very good amount of credibility.



Character (7/10)
The characters are made as miserable as possible with most of them having some sort of issue due to the industry. There is a big attempt at comedy as well , most of which falls short of what we know akasaka sensei to be capable of. The setting is mostly based on the MC POV of aqua, and he is the most boorish and annoying adult reincarnated as a kid who spent three years brute forcing a phone for revenge rather than enjoy his SECOND chance at life (even counting isekai here this is just pathetic) are we supposed to teach people who tragically lost their parents in a crime to YEAH BOI GO GET EM attitude? He has mostly depressive and monotonous dialogues on being cautious of the industry and it being very dangerous is completely fed to us at regular intervals by especially by him and sometimes kana and the adoptive mother.But we barely ever move on from this (just like aqua ig :3) are we seriously supposed to believe that the industry is not for positive and driven people at all? so sadly yeah this does tend to turn out more like a drama with a very selectively negative outlook. The MC is also a complete hypocrite who will blame and lash out on the industry for all he cares and still be manipulating the underage teenagers for his less than ideal objectives which is frankly also putting them in harm's way since he is looking for a literal criminal using these girls.

The girls in question tho are given much more attention than the MC which i am kinda thankful for due to his edgelord tendencies, the girls are a bit more enjoyable due to them still being able to add a bit of positivity and cuteness to this anime but they too get hit with some quite disturbing and depressing arcs at times.

The whole kana redemption arc from start to finish did establish who the main girl is , and if there is romance , I guess we know who is winning( first meet takes the meat :3). The subtle changes in her personality from a very confident and sassy little child, to a a confident front and sassy attitude which has a deeper defeatist mindset was honestly good writing and i was very satisfied with the kana character arc alone. The FMC and mem characters honestly felt like filler side characters so far. While this is fine for the obvious side, cutey MEM with a hidden cult just like hayasaka, this is unacceptable for ruby to be so much outshone by her brother and kana while showing not much character other than having a bad past life and being able to move on unlike her brother.


The mystery and the hunt for revenge is in a very early stage so its hard to comment there , also because the pseudo emo boy with dark past nature of Aqua (even tho he is supposed to be an adult and even the kid was able to let go and move forward) is kinda annoying so I tend to fast forward to those scenes.

Sound VA (9/10)
Ok make no mistake here that the sound and VA performance in this series is the best of the best , if it would have been carried by better characters and plot id easily give it a 10.the Voice actors are from the top and best of the industry since oshi no ko has a very big presence and is one of the biggest productions they all definitely gave their 100% and it shows . The most notable was obviously Hoshino AI who was able to convert the first episode into an absolute hit and a shocker. Adult FMC and MC also do a good job in their on screen moments. The side characters the most shining example is kana and the rest are memorable as well for the most part. The OST of shi no ko needs no introduction , the OP is a universally acclaimed banger and almost everyone who is an anime fan acknowledges this , the ED while being a bit overlooked flows in at the end of each episode perfectly and is able to add a bit of excitement for the next. The art in OP as I have been seeing a trend of lately is better than that of ED, the sound and VFX of the anime are able to add a good amount of effect in the scenes but most of the sad melodramatic things are kinda overshot IMO.the ed really helps bring out the best of the cliffhanger ends and adds that effect.


Art and animation ( 9/10 )
The art in this anime is actually flawless , the way they were able to represent and actually full show in the first episode with the hype tension and audience was really good,the dance and synced very well with the song and much of it is carried through to the later episodes , the stalker scene with aqua had very good art and animation as well . I have to also give a huge shout out to the beautiful way the Eyes are drawn in this anime and they do add a separate layer of immersion when they are on highlight.


Ok i still think it is a must watch anime. yeah sure that it was only a one episode hit wonder In my Opinion and those who really wanted an unbiased decent narrative may find themselves a bit disappointed , but overall I can say it was a good ride and I will still look forward to the next season and hope that it improves upon the flaws, and hopefully stops being a sad soap opera and show us the bright side of the picture. At Least give the first one a go. It's an one hour long episode which was actually really good.

Like every anime that I watch, I tell the person to watch it and form their own opinion.

When I look at some reactions to this anime, it’s like I’m seeing herd behavior because I can’t see anything that people are saying in the anime.

For example, if you want something mysterious about a murder investigation, this anime is horrible. Do you want content about the idol or actor industries? This anime has nothing more than a shallow approach to the subject. Amazing character development? Nothing to see here either, my friend. Unfortunately, it’s 11 episodes of nothing happening and the same short red-haired girl in the ... same loop.

I was really waiting for an amazing story and incredible animation, but this anime was a disaster in everything it tried to talk about. For me, it’s a shame since I believed that this work could become something bigger in its final episodes, but that’s not what happened

I started watching Oshi no ko first because it was so popular. And honestly, I think the first episode was pretty good. The animation is great and I thought the premise was interesting. But after the first episode when the time skip happened, it really dropped for me.

This show is all about talking on how horrible the entertainment industry can be, and how hard it can be to find your place in it. But the male MC (Aqua) is apparently such a talented actor (even though he barely ever acted in his life) he can easily get job offers. The female MC (Ruby) also gets ... a pretty good job rather easily, but at least she put more effort into it then Aqua.

This anime sadly falls into the “harem but not really” type as almost all the girls, even his SISTER (sorta) are in love with the edgy and self inserty MC, or at least take an immediate liking to him. Which in my opinion is dragging the anime down.

This show also severaly lacks male characters. I really wish the main cast had more of them, because it gets can get boring for me sometimes with the main cast made almost entirely out of girls.

To sum it up, the Anime is mainly targeted for the male audience, with the mostly girl main cast and the edgy and self inserty male MC. So if you are into that, then you should give it a watch. Personally I’m mostly watching for the animation and Ruby.

Overhyped? In my opinion, yes. But just like with anything else, that doesn’t stop it from still being pretty good, right? The praises for this show, however, have already been sung to a great extent, so I’ll stick to a more negative, yet hopefully insightful critique, so as to not reiterate what has already been said.

I feel like Oshi no Ko suffers from the same issue that many other titles do, namely that it’s trying to be something more than it actually is. It’s an enjoyable story about young and naive adolescents who desire nothing more than to fulfill their ambitious dreams and their ... different ways of doing so. But then the show also wants to be a dark, serious, and intricately written murder mystery, a plotline that obnoxiously clashes with the other ones. Granted, I might just feel like this because of my dislike for Aqua, a character who embodies an archetype that I am exceptionally unfond of. It’s a typical case of all of the characters other than the main one’s arcs being compelling, and I know I would’ve enjoyed the show more if it just stuck to one aspect of its story. However, that doesn’t mean the show isn’t allowed to be serious, Akane’s storyline was amongst the best ones after all and that shit hit surprisingly hard.

And yeah, the animation is pretty great. Too bad I can’t take it quite as seriously as it wants me to since every single character has these giant sparkly uwu eyes, no matter the scene or mood. It’s an idol show, let the characters shine on stage while toning the magic down in other scenes in which they simply struggle as normal people. If the show is so adamant about portraying the duality between your idol persona and your real life, why not go the extra length to illustrate that? It’s a visual medium, use it to your advantage.

6.5 / 10, high highs, low lows, nonetheless excited for season 2 though.

Not worth watching. There is something that really bothers me about reincarnation stories and which this show unfortunately exemplifies. This type of anime gives off a strange after taste, thriving on three off-putting elements. It is a strange mix of ideas / attitudes: wish fulfillment, arrogance and exploitation. Why is that? The appeal of the show, and of this type of show in general, is in thinking that you can throw all your worries away and live a happy life through the miracle of rebirth. No more concerns about aging, obligations or purpose! You get a do over in life and can think of all ... this thoroughly. After all, you have your new mother taking care of you! And what's more? You get to be a genius just for the sake of having been an adult. Effort is, of course, for losers. If you are a "cool", jaded guy, as these protagonists are often presented, you can find happiness in the fact that only a little bit of your knowledge will be enough to awe everyone around you. As far as the arrogance, I find the attitude of these reborn characters very strange. There is often a sense that they are detached, cool, intelligent heroes. And what makes them so? Again, it is the basic knowledge they had as an adult. They may have some extra work ethic, which, again, will be enough to awe everyone around them. Plus, it will help them achieve their plans, however convoluted. Who would expect a child to do all that, isn't that right?

The most disturbing part, in my opinion, is the angle of a character using their newfound childhood / youth as a means of tricking people about who they really are. The reborn character is the ultimate catfish. Through the miracle of rebirth they get to be around all the young girls they were lusting after. Thank goodness it's all good now! They are they same age! How great! And what about the mother or father who sincerely think the child is their own when it is, in fact, a random dude? To really put these things into perspective, imagine a young couple getting some middle-aged guy off the street and deciding to put him in baby clothes and adopting him. It's weird! The dude is really happy, though, I bet, with having his expenses paid and getting to be babied.

I don't want this review to be all written in a sneer. My problem with these rebirth stories is that they touch on a real human issue and brush it aside in favor or fantasy. People often feel that they were left behind in life, afraid of aging, concerned with regrets, etc. Most of us have felt this way. In fact, people can have these apprehension even while still young -- though such concerns can worse if you go through life without properly reflecting on them. Most of us have felt, at some point, that we were a so-called loser. But is the answer to close your eyes to the world and ignore the discomfort of living? Would the answer really be that of conceptualizing oneself as this "distant, cool" guy / girl that does not need to engage with the world? Even when the protagonists of this story are conventionally successful, as the character is here -- he is a doctor --, these stories still thrive on appealing to the lens of the protagonist being this coolly disconnected person who will now have the chance of becoming someone else, someone great. There is something so defeatist in this idea -- that the only way to change anything, or to enjoy life, is to die and be reborn. Yes, some things are awful and cannot be changed. But dealing with them is also a part of life. Sometimes the most you can do is grieve for what has been lost. And that's okay. That is part of living. To live is to struggle. We all struggle.

Maybe I am getting a little bit too philosophical with an anime review. It is a review for a show that I dropped very early (it's alright, you can judge me). Still, the concept of these stories points to a sad mindset. It would be much more interesting to properly confront uncomfortable feelings instead of denying them or escaping them. Why must rebirth be so appealing to a character? What is it about a character that he or she can accept becoming a child / teenager all over again without any concern about his or her own situation? Why must a character be okay in using a fake appearance to feel fulfilled? In essence, these characters are wretches whose only salvation is becoming someone they are not. And, even for shows like Mushoku Tensei, that supposedly tackle the issue, there is hardly any depth to these tales. The characters feel okay taking advantage of their new appearances / circumstances while telling themselves sob stories in an act of self-flagellation. As soon as they are done with their cycle of self-pity, they shift their attention to the power systems or mind games of their new world. That is not growth! It's okay to feel sorry for yourself, but you have to change. Instead of a true reflection ever occurring, these moments serve only to provide the character with some twisted reason to excuse their deceitfulness.

Didn't live up to it's hype tbh. The first episode was pretty fire and it even got me to read the manga, but the story turned out to be quite boring and not live up to it's hype. The first episode was much like bait, you expected the plot to be something about revenge, vengeance, or detective stuff but in reality the story turned out to be a bunch of idoling, acting, singing, and dancing.

Plot wise though, like I said, was quite boring, confusing, some of the arcs were just dragged for too long, and the pacing is...idk....not the best. Not bad of an ... anime but certainly not of the best. I'm sure there's others who think the opposite or agree but I personally don't find this anime to be top notch like the hype says so.

I feel like this anime completely misdirected the audience. I'll try to keep it spoiler-free.

Let's start with the trailer, the trailer makes it seem like a physcological thriller in the idol industry. The idea is pretty unique and you would think that it's true after the reception received after episode 1.

Episode 1 was phenomenal, considering the twist at the end. The first half of the episode makes it look like a slice-of-life anime but it steers into a completely different genre in the end. This, along with Ai, was what made the reception great. Combine this with the animation quality [The stars in the ... eyes, basically] and the author's popularity and you have high expectations on this anime but what you recieve is a massive disappointment. People were overhyping it or rather- the anime went downhill from here.

Episode 2 went back to a generic highschool anime with romance and drama. It has no hint of thriller other than the occasional scenes where Aqua, Ai's son, finds clues about the mystery (for lack of better terms to keep it spoiler free). The next few episodes did not mention Ai whatso.

Also, the characters didn't really feel fleshed out, to be honest. Aqua is just a smart emo kid. Ruby is the very apparent comic relief [They don't even try to hide it] who aspires to pursue her mom. Kana is just the tsundere who's in love with Aqua. Just your basic cookie-cutter characters

The anime focused too much on Ai, they used her as the selling point. But after Episode 1, the story drifted away from Ai to Aqua and Ruby [Ai's children].

I think it would have turned out fine if they didn't market Episode 1 only.

I have very mixed feelings for this anime and I will try my best to keep this short and to the point with little to no spoilers at all.

The first episode was amazing, fantastic, heart warming with such an agonizing ending that left me not only with a sense of pain in my heart but longing for the next episode to be released. If you have not yet watched the first movie length episode of Oshi No Ko, I would highly recommend doing so, as it goes into my category of being one of the greatest opening episodes to an anime I have seen ... and I have watched many an anime before.

Now here comes the issues.
While the opening episode left me with wanting to watch more and cursing to the anime gods as to why it takes 1 whole week for the next episode to be released , we reach the slow decent into why I have given this anime 5 stars form a strong 8 to begin with.

The plot is a steep slope into "Harem/love triangle" territory, with being introduced to a mainly "female" cast, with the occasional minor side character being male, minus our lead male protagonist it makes you start to think this is going to be nothing but the same rubbish as the last released "love triangle" plotted amines out there. Don't get me wrong, I understand that this is marketed towards being an "Idol" anime, but when you give the viewer such a twisted sense of this anime being a "Revenge" story but filling it with nothing but appeal for the male agenda, It gets very confusing what exactly this anime is about.

I would also like to add that after watching up to the most current episode I compare this anime to being similar to fishing. The first episode is the bait that is placed on the hook , and you the viewer are the fish. It reels you in , but as you continue to watch it starts to become such a struggle to continue to be amused and excited for what is to come, that you almost feel like the line is about to snap.


So I recommend going into this anime without high hopes. I see now why it didn't last long being the #1 spot on AnimeNew.
Will I continue to watch to see, hope and pray that it gets better than what it is right now, yes.
Will I end this anime feeling the same as I did with the first episode? Doubtful.

Loved the anime, but I have one problem.

Ruby, one of the main characters of this series, is getting barely any screen time, even less than the side characters such as Kana Arima and Akane Kurokawa. She needs more time on screen in the series, and because she has made the 2nd generation of B Komachi, her idol group should play a very big role in the anime. They should add more information and more screen time for the idol group.

Overall, I think this anime was alright, but not yet to my expectations. The message on the dark side of the idol industry was well ... explained but I just don't like how some characters are getting less screen time.

Simply put, this is just your average slice of life with cringy girlpop songs that shows what happens in the entertainement indurstry but in anime form for the people that dont know anything and live under a rock. I guess thats why this anime is so overhyped and people were shocked the whole time with its dark topics. Whole anime was underwhelming cuz of the hype it has recieved, especially the first episode which had absolutely no element of surprise at all idk why everyone thinks it does. What was really good about the first ep tho is that it set up the story perfectly ... Animation style was great, and the characters are pretty likable. The story telling throughout the anime is also good for that saying.
Overall a good anime, just really overhyped. Tbh if you enjoy slice of life anime, you'll enjoy this

This is a longer-than-usual review, I have many things to say about this.

Imagine a time when Doga Kobo finally got their hands on adapting something that could change their status, no longer will they be known as the studio that adapts weird moe anime, but as the studio that made something special and pushed them to mainstream attention. The amount of hype this anime has garnered since last year has been astronomical, the studio has been carrying a lot of pressure animating this, and knowing Doga Kobo's previous works, they did it. This is Doga Kobo's at their peak, dishing out the material in ... the best design they could do, to show you Oshi no Ko, the recent addition to the table of 'must-watch' anime.

The Reincarnation aspect in almost every show has usually been clowned on if the story decides to make the protagonists who died in the first episode to restart their lives as a baby and gradually live up to being an adult, you could call it a coming-of-age story though, since every event since then should revolve around the characters since we, the audience only recognize their current state of thinking. The only reason we gave this show any chance to be one of the most popular seasonal anime to air this Spring is because of the Reincarnation bullshit, which grants it an enormous amount of clout. The showbiz theme is cool and all, but it wouldn't garner this much attention if we didn't have someone dying in the first episode.

"OH NO! Our main characters just died, what's going to happen to them?" The author says, "I'm going to use what every author did to get sales and make a reincarnation story, how about that?" So I'm sure almost everyone who's giving this anime a shot just wants to say all of the bad things that Reincarnation has and how it would hinder their enjoyment to watch the show permanently. So, what does this mean? The theme of Reincarnation essentially works as a double-edged sword for those tackling this subject, though mostly more bad than good. In this case, we enter Aqua, the next main character of this anime alongside his fraternal twin, Ruby, who both have their respective personalities. While the show's genre is Drama, it certainly helps to have Ruby appear to lift some of the heavy and depressing subjects the anime tackles into. The only time you see its underlining narrative moving forward is when Aqua shifts into his different personas to gain the information he desires for his twisted goal of vengeance.

People seem to dislike almost omnipotent characters, someone that does not make any mistakes, and are cunning and charismatic when they have shown no evidence of gaining any of the said attributes to progress the plot. So, how do you justify this 'perfect' and holier-than-thou character that just does everything immaculately? Logically, some could say that just because you get a second chance to live another life does not make you any wiser. Well, as said earlier, having a second life could almost justify these characters, since you would retain the knowledge from your past life, and personality, and usually retain your self-conscience that every character as a baby would do in their next life. Has it occurred to you how babies may still be human but they are not smart enough to comprehend some of the dark shit this show tackles its dark subjects? So, the story instead puts this Reincarnation aspect in the backseat and introduces another way to hook you into the story, childhood trauma. Did I get that? This is where it starts to be an issue, the story without the Reincarnation theme can still exist without any major hindrance. Of course, the characters' unquestionable talent would be a scratch in the head to go through, but it can still be justified just because they are the children of a talented idol. Call it stupid and unrealistic, but it can still work out without past lives being put into the subject. It's almost as if the author just wants to write a silly gimmick and have it be a part of their story criticizing the entertainment industry in Japan.

Most of the time, these characters don't add much to the story other than being a bystander to the calculative dark side of the plot. Even if there were, they exist to provide you with exposition dialogue about the entertainment business. Almost every character does this and at times, can break immersion because you're not experiencing the real life of an idol, it's the author spouting how much information he knows about the industry he possibly has gotten from watching YouTube. Despite that, there is still some hope left, well-written side characters do exist in this anime. Who are these few exceptions to add to this story? We have Kana Arima, one of my favorite side characters in this anime. She's a child actress long past her prime struggling to leave behind a mark in the industry as the test of time has been merciless towards her for her past behavior and interactions. She's exactly what many protagonists with dark backstories would usually turn out, sharp-tongued, rude, cynical, and has developed severe self-esteem issues. Despite all these factors, Kana Arima is shown to still have some good in her, being empathetic, caring, and responsible to carry the burden of living in the competitive industry, which can be said impressive for her age while also maintaining some believability in her writing, never has it felt unrealistic and overly edgy for the sake of it.

The other and only exception is Akane Kurokawa, while the story originally portrays her to be quite forgettable and bland, it uses the victim card to make her character stand out to accomplish two purposes. One. To utilize Akane's character more in the story, because who would waste such a good-looking character? And two, to create a projection for the consumers to indulge in the facet of showbiz. This is Oshi no Ko's storytelling at its best, unlike HBO's The Idol (if you're familiar with it) that hilariously fails to delve into the darkness and ends up being hypocritical by itself, it explores the intricacies of the industry our characters work in and effectively unveils the tragedy some of the real-life people might have perished from. This story's idea of receiving merciless backlash is having Twitter the center of attention, which respectively makes sense for their abundance of toxic comments and boundless hatred for an inadequate mistake that happens to be captured by the media itself. Many mistakes are often treated as little inconveniences and can be resolved easily. What happens if you're a pop star or a renowned influencer instead? Then your actions are always on the spectacle and in danger of being exposed. The anonymity of random but immense people on the media uttering their unfiltered words about the entertainment they consume can be overwhelming for everyone. Working in the entertainment industry is to be aware of the dark abyss that is seen with their eyes. Gaze into the abyss, and the abyss gazes back at you. Not to mention that Akane's voice actress did a great job voicing her, Episode 7 is proof of her pouring her soul into the character, it made you think that it was Ai Hoshino for a moment there.

You can argue Mem-cho is a viable side character in this anime, but her impact on the story is less than what Kana and Akane have provided in shedding light on the industry, you might say that tragedy means more popularity, but she acts nothing more than a plot device Aqua perceives to allow the second plot to push forward.

You can say whatever you want about the story and characters, but the artwork is majestic. The animation in this anime is movie quality, every character looks like immaculate eye candies, and to think this was contesting against the likes of Demon Slayer Season 3's visuals makes it apparent who's the clear winner at this point. It might sound biased, but it's a given that Oshi no Ko looks gorgeous and pleasing to the eyes, especially the Opening animation and lastly, the Ending. The show's art direction is also phenomenal, given the vibrant approach to the entertainment industry that holds many dark secrets is the best choice to tell the story of Oshi no Ko.

Overall, if you're looking for an intricate approach to the large showbiz industry, this anime might be the one for you. Otherwise, you might not like the edgy characters that come with it or the actual context that allows the plot to even progress. In the end, it's truly Doga Kobo's magnum opus and to see them animating another season of Oshi no Ko may take years to even await an official announcement. I'm certainly grateful to be able to watch this amazing show, albeit the setbacks and possible plot fallacies inside the story.

Thank you for reading.

I felt the need to write a review on this... so here I go. I haven't gone past 25 minutes. I moved my mouse over the rest of the prologue.
I do not like Oshi no Ko. Though I do understand that some people may like it, others may love it and for what it is trying to achieve... it seems fairly good.

My review is more of a warning based on my *personal* opinions. The main character we follow in the prologue is a 30-year-old man crushing over a 16-year-old idol. Once he reincarnates into the baby of the idol, he shows bits of progress in ... character... even makes self-conscious comments about it too... but then it. still. goes. on. Last moment I watched was the baby sucking on her booby.

My profession is a teacher and I just cannot watch such moments for over the length of a regular episode. Kids aren't supposed to be idoled. I have taken my fair share on the series. I can see what it is trying to do, but it isn't enough for me to keep watching past these moments. At least not right now, I might give it a second chance in another year. It feels like the Cuties of anime, but this goes many steps beyond.