Review of [Oshi No Ko]

I have to be honest, I almost turned this anime off within the first ten minutes of the premiere episode (extended to 82 min) because I found it grotesque for an obstetrician to be virtually drooling over a teenage idol at his workplace aka the hospital. Yes the first episode was horrendous, and it didn't help especially when I failed to see the appeal of Ai, who in my opinion was fake AF from the start, but hey to each their own. Ultimately I'm glad I stuck it out as episode two onward got drastically better after it became apparent that the story was goingto a completely different direction than what the synopsis implied.

This series is more or less the product of mixing the reincarnation aspect of a typical isekai anime with a revenge driven plot in the entertainment industry similar to that of Skip Beat. Ironically it also gives off some Nisekoi vibes, but the only commonalities between the two are probably the masquerades and harem setting. The protagonists face different challenges along the way as they work towards their respective goals/revenge, often engaging in tug-of-wars with their inner demons. The devil's in the details, as so much emphasis is placed around the MCs being 16 years old, i.e. Ai raising to popularity at the age of 16, Gorou would "consider" Sarina if/when she turns 16, etc., since the age of sexual consent in Japan is 16 and prior to April 2022 girls could legally get married at the age of 16 (now raised to 18), but I digress.

In a nutshell, the characters are likeable (with the exception of Ai, as mentioned above, but that's my personal beef) and the element of suspense inserted throughout the series was more than enough to keep my eyes fixated on the screen. I also enjoyed the unexpected turn of events in this anime without it being a complete crapshoot. Moral of the story: do not judge an anime by its first episode.