Review of [Oshi No Ko]

"Oshi no Ko" is not an anime that you can summarize in one word. It's insightful, emotional, endearing, funny as hell, heartbreaking, and uplifting. A show that delves into one of the most misconstrued industries in the world, namely the idol industry, as well as the general entertainment industry, attempting to portray it in a concise and honest way. Showing you in equal tandem the light and dark sides, creating a conflicting, insightful drama. Everyone has told a lie. Whether largely impactful or otherwise, everyone has done it before. Japanese Idols are teenage girls who were either scouted from talent agencies or auditioned on their ownto become a member of a group. An idol group is a collection of anywhere from 3-15 idols or even beyond. Being one takes many skills, from singing, dancing, acting, having good social skills, and of course, lying.

This story is a work of fiction. Actually, most everything in the world is fiction. They fabricate, exaggerate, and thoroughly conceal anything inconvenient. That being the case, the idol fan is one who wants to be skillfully lied to.

It's something everyone is in on. From the producers to the idols to the audience themselves. The more you misrepresent yourself and portray only your most positive traits the better. I mean, it's what everyone does, right? An idol must be cute and skilled in a variety of fields. But those who can proficiently lie are the ones that make it farthest. Those like Ai Hoshino.

Ai Hoshino is an idol superstar. A girl with a pretty face and a smile like the sun. her performances are perfect, her speech and behavior are seemingly all-conquering, her eyes draw you in by their very nature. The ideal girl, on the outside. Due to her stormy upbringing, she never loved anything or anyone. She didn't hate much either, just the embodiment of indifference. After some persuasion from a talent scouter, she sets out to become an idol hoping that one day she could tell her fans "I love all of you!" and have it been the truth. After years of honing her craft, she developed into not only a popular idol but a masterful liar. Her biggest lie, however, is that of her life away from the industry.

At the age of 16, she suddenly announced she was going on hiatus from her idol group B Komachi, with no reason cited. This hiatus lasted almost a year. No reason was ever given, leaving Ai fans to speculate what happened to take her out of action for so long.

Gorou Amemiya is a gynecologist, a doctor who specializes in the health of the female reproductive system. He is an avid fan of Ai, which his co-workers are a little off put by. His reason for being such a fan of Ai's is because he once had a patient, a terminally sick 12-year-old with no family who stayed at his hospital. Her name was Sarina, and she was an Ai superfan. Ever since then, he's been supporting Ai.

After the announcement of her hiatus, Gorou was one of those concerned and confused fans. Until shortly after, someone arrived at his hospital, Ai Hoshino. Pregnant with twins. No father in sight. This is a huge shock to Gorou, but he's happy for her and vows he will see through that her children have a healthy birth.

Now that we've got the base plot out of the way, let's talk about the execution. Oshi no Ko is a show that you can separate into two parts, the first, 90-minute episode one which saw a theatrical release, and the rest of the season, 10 episodes that aired on television. We'll begin with the former.

The first episode can only be described as a masterpiece. It's a bittersweet introduction to the world of Oshi no Ko, it takes very little time for the charm of this anime to start working its wonders. It's essentially a movie, it hits all the beats of one. And the ending is one of the best endings to a movie (Or episode one, or anything honestly) I've ever seen. If this was all there was of this series, it'd be a 10/10.

And where that first part feels almost like a standalone story, the rest of the show not only continues to portray aspiring entertainers in a wonderfully thought-provoking way but continues to set the stage for the underlying plot, which discussing the very nature of is a spoiler.

On top of how great the drama is, which is seriously is, it's absolutely hilarious. And not in the "This drama is so bad it's funny" way, it's just actual good comedy which is a rarity. It's been a long time since I thought an anime was genuinely very funny, there's always a few scenes in every show, but I was laughing out loud almost every episode. A lot of the comedy is a little ridiculous but just right for my sick sense of humor.

Moving on to visuals, this anime is genuinely stunning. The scenery is beautiful, the lighting is artistic, and the character designs are next level. The eyes are mesmerizing. And the performance scenes are a feast for the eyes. In a world where pretty much all anime looks great, this stands out as one of the most visually appealing anime in recent memory.

Naturally, when you talk about Oshi no Ko, you have to talk about the opening, Idol. You don't need me to tell you it's one of the best anime openings ever, just look at all the records it shattered or just give it a listen. YOASOBI gave us a masterpiece. The ending is also amazing. QUEEN BEE is sensational. Even the background songs which I rarely remember are really great. And of course, the songs performed. Music is a strong suit of this anime.

In conclusion, Oshi no Ko is a show that attempted a difficult task in portraying complex people in a complex industry but passed with flying colors. It looks beautiful, it sounds beautiful, and its story is beautiful. And this is only the first season, the stage has been set for a truly special anime. Which I absolutely cannot wait for, but even if that never happened and this was it, this would be special all the same. 10/10.