Review of [Oshi No Ko]

I really hate myself for waiting to watch it all in one sitting. However, I don't think I could've lived, knowing I couldn't watch the next episode. The entertainment industry. It's anything but new, we know it really well, ever since “Perfect Blue” from Satoshi Kon. Everything is a lie, made to sell, market, and gain something out of it. People love entertainment, and as the world advances, everything becomes ephemeral, passing, quickly fading away into obscurity, replaced by the new thing in less than a day. Not only a critique on the entertainment industry, but more of the world, how it works, and howhard it is to have some of it looking at you, with complete anonymity. Not only that, it begins with a weird-ass twist.

Maybe part of the reactionary nature of anime, or stories nowadays. “Oshi no Ko” is all about what people call “the moment”. I don't like how people focus on the very first episode as the only noteworthy part of it all. The whole series is an incredibly paced, and amazingly crafted, character study on people who were given a second chance. I believe the most important aspect to focus on when looking at the series, is borrowed time, and how you use it. The one stuck in the past, and the one set in carrying the legacy towards the future. Those two characters lead the complete story to develop while they reach heights nobody every thought possible, precisely because of what happened in the first episode. In other words, the series isn't the first episode; it's what it is, because of the first episode. Not shock, but the perfect prologue.

I legitimately adore the anime. A mature look into so many themes that I can't just write. Diverse, always building, always tense with new developments that create a strange mesh of genre that wouldn't really fit in a select category. It can be a comedy many times, a tragedy, drama, slice of life, revenge, (slightly disturbing), and then to become incredibly precious. You don't know what will happen next, and the impossible to predict story, coupled with constant self-awareness, and it not trying to disturb you, more so to let you feel it, makes it even better. Incredible story that everybody has to experience, and subsequently go to the manga. I ain't waiting a second after I finish writing this.

No character feels wasted on this one. What seems like one-off, single episode characters, always come back as a pivotal part of the story. Some of them are used for what seems endgame aspects that I can't see happening without them. All that, and I still don't know what we'll see of them. The very first episode gave the series an air of gravity to every appearance, giving us the power to feel connected, while still fearing, caring, and loving them at the same time. Be it a fake sense of security, or purposeful misalignment, I'm in, and if the series wants to hurt me with the people I've come to like, so be it. I don't even agree with everyone. I don't think the characters are all “humans” or incredibly realistic. What I see are incredible characters, and maybe that can be a turn-off for some, since the story itself feels grounded in reality. But it worked for me, except for some elements where I have to suspend my disbelief a little too much.

To not make the review that long, the animation, and art, astounding. No reliance in CG (even though I'm a CG believer) for big crowds of characters or landscapes. Impressive camera movements working with the animation to create beautiful moments of emotion, and impact. The designs are top of the line, best of the best, without a shadow of a doubt. Filled with personality, color, and I can't believe the love put into each of them, even the small appearances like the director's mom looking special. Chef's kiss, I loved it all.

Overall, why not a 10? It's a season one, and usually they're able to hide it a little better. It has to work as a story that has a beginning and end, to open the second, or next one as a sequel of sorts. A bit rushed, just feels like the ending of an arc, but not the ending of a season, if that makes sense. I didn't feel fulfilled, but that can change once I read the manga, or watch the next one. Now apart from that, there are some moments that are impossible to believe due to real, human reaction rules, or moments that are “too perfectly timed” to be real. Again, part of the suspension of disbelief.

9.4/10. I'm now invested in this new thing, 100%.