Review of [Oshi No Ko]

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 inthe 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.