[Oshi no Ko] 2nd Season

If you liked the first season you will most likely enjoy the second one, if you didn't you won't. This may sound a bit simplistic, but despite changing direction and focusing on a side quest the fundamental premise of this show remains the same. Whenever I discuss this anime there is a major issue that decides if someone likes it or not, is the anime too pretentious/preachy? If those aspects of Oshi no Ko never bothered you than I hope reading this may at least explain to you why there are those who despise this seemingly universally liked anime. It is often fine for a show to be pretentious, so what makes people annoyed by it mad? Oshi no Ko is the strangest combination of documentary and a show. Author wants not only to educate you about show business, but also to reveal all of the dirt that surrounds it. Serious issues are brought up, certain ones condemned in a clear way. Because of this there needs to be a lot of exposition, some forced. Pacing must be occasionally sacrificed, plot abandoned. So we have this educational, serious side which meshes with it being a show. Oshi no Ko is comedic and bombastic, characters wacky, plot exaggerated. Aqua is a super edgelord, with some ridiculous revenge story. Show constantly tired to overhype everything about acting to the point of parody. Some see this combination as the best of both worlds, but I mostly felt the negatives. This wacky, edgy show seems to have a religious mission to preach the good word while trying to maintain having a plot which counters its goals and takes time away from this preaching, making the documentary often feeling half assed, the issues rushed and manhandled. It feels insulting when anime and all its characters are screaming at me to take them seriously and than I get to see an edgelord and his team play out one of the more 'anime' plots I've seen. To be fair second season lessened many of those issues by turning away from the main plot, this move highlighted Aqua. If you like him its a fine move, but I would suspect people who find Oshi no Ko pretentious don't (including me). Theater arc in itself is longer than it ought to be by the previously mentioned fact that anime has to both be a show and a documentary. Another reason why we are spending a long time on this arc is to also witness the massive overselling and overhyping of acting in theater. Again the duality. It is fine to be over the top, but it just didn't glue well for me with being educational and preachy. I do appreciate the fact that the hit manga being adapted into a play is an awful slop. Quite a realistic touch, intentional or not. Beside the basic education and symbolically touching some issues in the industry first arc focuses on developing the protagonist with his two love interests which leads into characters. Aqua is a super serious, annoying edgelord. Theoretically he has PTSD which should be compelling and interesting, but it feels like just being there to make him more edgy. He has to 'suffer' to act, same as his great predecessor, Sasuke, he has to get better to kill his target. Manipulator but also aware of his wrong actions and completely ready to sink into the filth of the showbiz. Let me tell you, if this wasn't a flawed documentary I would most likely enjoy this duality a whole lot more, but it is and I dislike it. By bringing up real flaws in our modern world and making the protagonist a part of the problem, he stops being like an anime super master manipulator, but feels to me like a scumbag and I don't like that in a serious critique, it feels hypocritical. Anime tries to address this issue. Towards the end of the season this aspect of Aquas character is shown as a flaw that he should abandon. If the anime was serious about trying to bring good change that would be a great direction for his character. Redemption, maybe followed up by trying to help people in the industry and really focus in on some message... but no. This is a show so plot demands that we get back to the ridiculous revenge story, anime straight up tells us that this reflective Aqua is temporary. He will go back to his wacky mission and his manipulative edgy tendencies are spreading to yet another character. Will this anime commit to its revenge story wholeheartedly? I doubt it. We will most likely return to the template from the first season, following this ridiculous plot while engaging with more sensetive issues. Author will narrate by some of those wacky characters how the industry is evil and whatever, after which those same character will engage in the similar tactics to achieve their cartoonish goals. Oshi no Ko will continue to demand being taken seriously while being the same anime as those 'less' serious shows... anyway. Theater arc is focused on advancing Aqua's relationships and skill, in the second one we are shown how he would act if he was a normal human being. As I said, seemingly a momentary change, but at least he has some development. I found Akane as a nice representation of this anime. On one hand a walking mishandeling of the issue of suicide, with the feelings of indebtedness towards Aqua and the aura of being a 'serious' character, but also with a wacky anime psycho side to her. Perfect clash of pretentious topics and the showiness of this anime. Beside the nature of her character her goal is the advancment of her relationship with Aqua and seeing Arima at her best. Said Arima is the most enjoyable person here. Quirky, but not over the top, she works the best in this story and her journey to become a little selfish was cute. Outside of the main focus is Ruby which didn't get much love in this season. Most of the shake up with her character is setting up next season so it doesn't make sense to talk about her much in this review. I couldn't give a damn about other characters, but let it be known that everyone here has amazing voice acting. Of course often it was very outlandish and contributed to my previously stated problems, but the quality of acting itself was great. While I am in the positives it is important to mention that this show still looks great. Art style is memorable, animation good. Passion was put into many creative sequences. Direction was nice and so was the music. The over the top nature of the animation led to some wacky scenes and my previous complaints. Side note, goofy manga panels in the theater were quite unintentionally funny, being unintentionally funny is something that decreased in this season. By moving away from cringe plot and serious topics, there was less room for funny fumbles. They still happened, but in this season when something failed it often wasn't as funny. Oshi no Ko is in my eyes a pretentious mishandeling of its intentions, that instead of being captivating, mysterious, emotional and educational felt preachy, annoying, insensitive and quite wacky. First season gave the vibe of self importance despite mishandeling serious topics while being a silly, edgy show. The second season temporarily shifted weaknesses of this work. We are exploring theater which leads to smaller amount of sensitive issues to cover that Oshi no Ko can screw up, but on the other hand we are on a overly long side quest that without the constant education should be half as long and focuses on our cast of characters which are of questionable likeability to some (me). This is a positive trade off in my eyes, but last episodes convinced me that even if my main problems with the first season were being slightly addressed/lessened, it is a temporary effect of being momentarily away from the main plot. I want to enjoy this ironically as a wacky failure, but author's arrogant belief of self importance imprinted into this show is impeeding even that kind of enjoyment.

Season Two continues Oshi no Ko’s two-pronged approach to storytelling, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the Japanese entertainment industry while simultaneously serving up a long-form murder mystery. This season shifts its spotlight onto a fictional theater production, opening in media res with an unusually long static shot of the stage. It’s a fun scene as part of an anime adaptation of a real-world manga, which has an arc about adapting a fictional, in-universe manga into an in-universe stage play that you then get to experience as if you were part of the in-universe audience. As fun as these meta-layers are, though, Oshi no Ko is more concerned with exploring the conflicting perspectives of its characters. Many of them are involved with the aforementioned stage play, and their attitudes and creative methods constantly clash throughout the thirteen episodes of this season. Oshi no Ko also features some brilliant animation work that elevates its already-solid source material to new heights. Episode 6 in particular ends with a spectacular, wordless sequence on how a side character’s life changed as a result of his involvement with the play. For me, the main highlights of this season are the in-depth, humanized exploration of the manga-to-stage-play adaptation process that covered a lot of unexpected perspectives, the compelling narrative arcs of several recurring characters (but not all of them, unfortunately), the much smoother transitions between low-stakes and high-stakes scenes (compared to the first season), and the striking visuals. I was not a huge fan of Ruby’s general absence or the (expected) soapy melodrama. As a whole, this season was rewarding to dig into. It’s a treat for your eyes and a rollercoaster for your emotions. After seeing what it accomplished, I would highly recommend giving Oshi no Ko a try, as it was one of my favorite shows this year.

This is what happens when an artist self-inserts about being an artist. Even worse this is a self-fellationary product placement ad for a Japanese theater. The writing tells the audience what to think about everything through braindead dialogue: "This is cool" "This acting is amazing" "this person is the greatest star ever" it will spend every moment dialogue-dumping exposition for the audience to tell you their feelings and motivations, and literally narrating what is being shown, on top of telling you what to think about everything. It is shamefully braindead. Rather than actually make a good show it just has characters tell you "this is the best thing ever" about a play that is the most boring unoriginal shonen-action slop ever. The play also doubles as boring self-inserts for each character, adding another layer of uninspired artistic self-fellation to rehash the same braindead artistic melodrama as s1 ("I need to deliberately act poorly to make the performance better just like last season, believe it! I said it so it's true!") The new characters are dumb and further bloat an already bloated cast in a meandering 1-note story. Unsurprisingly the author shows the play script get shat out overnight just like how it's by an artist who shits out weekly manga slop prioritizing quantity over quality, but this is good because they said so. They go into detail expositing all about how important it is to properly adapt a work by taking advantage of the different medium and do an entire scene about removing all the dumb exposition dialogue in favor of conveying information through subtle scene writing, while ironically doing nothing of the sort to fix the show itself. The entire play is braindead. The source material writer character explains that nothing about the adaptation's script matters aside from that her precious OC characters have the same personality as the source material. The adaptor explains that the generic shonen slop needs to be even more dumbed down to spoonfeed to the audience... Braindead. Story: almost the entire season was wasted on a pointless theater arc that never mattered before finishing with pointless sidetracking with braindead reasoning. Characters: these aren't even characters anymore, they're just whiney exposition machines the author shoves around to do whatever as needed for the plot/filler melodrama. The author frequently self inserts to tell you that good characters/acting is the opposite of real people and dumbed down spectacle garbage is the best, among many other misguided notions about art. Art/direction: high budget, however it was almost entirely superficial spectacle adding nothing beyond jingling keys over a baby. 1/10 (where 5/10 is average)

Note - This review does not contain spoilers of this season, but does contain spoilers of the previous one! I love Oshi no Ko, but I feel like this season is a bit of a letdown compared to the last. What makes Oshi no Ko so different than the typical idol / showbiz anime is that it's anything but lighthearted. It has a strong dark side, about murder and vengeance. The first season ended with Aqua joining a stage play for the sole purpose of identifying his father, who is presumably the person behind the killing of his mother Ai, as well as himself in his past life. This season picks up from there. The main issue with this season is that the vast majority of it is the preparation for the stage play and the play itself, which really feels like an average showbiz anime, one of those that you've seen one you've seen them all. The season only picks up around the 9th episode, and only then it becomes as enjoyable as the first season. I understand that they probably wanted to stick to the source material as much as possible, which I generally consider a good thing - I don't like it when anime cuts a lot of things, but I still wander whether arc that doesn't seem very important had to take two thirds of the season. Anyway, a 3rd season has already been announced, and at the very least the last five episodes of this season are very much worth watching and will definitely be needed to understand it. Go ahead and watch, but keep in mind that the first eight episodes might feel somewhat boring.

I do not think this holds a candle do Season 1. There, I said it. If you liked season 1 you will probably enjoy this, but not as much. I got the feeling that the whole narrative did a 180. I don't mean to say it's bad, but for me specifically it's not ideal that it made such a great turn. The base concept of swapping roles of the avenger between brother and sister is nice, but what is up ahead is only a season of ruby hunting someone and guess in season 4 they will band together. I found the plot not that interesting, the impact of aqua and ruby in season 1 was great, now I feel that they were a bit side-lined in light of other characters, I would much more preffer seeing a sinister duo like Aqua and Akane. The best impact of this season was, when she told him *you kow what* I won't spoil. After that the drama and the impact went down until the last 2 episodes, which created a prelude for season 3 which I do not even find interesting as an idea... Well we'll see what they do with it...

best part of season 2 was the end credits song Hitsujibungaku - Burning just watch the first season and walk away. the second season will bore you to death with the artist's meta mid-life crisis permeating into the story. from what i've read, the contents of the third season will kill what's left of any love you have left for the characters. the second season is bogged down with overly wordy origin stories for every side character. the whole thing seemed like the artist was trying to work out some of their own life issues and created filler content in the meantime. apparently i need to write more to fulfill some arbitrary word count... dumb

It speaks volumes about Oshi no Ko that the story arc that has by far the best character work, most engaging storytelling and least active problems with its writing also has the absolute least to do with its fundamentals. The Tokyo Blade storyline is the best its in-depth exploration of industry mechanics gets, Kana and Akane's dynamic gets explored with so much more depth, and even Aqua has some more interesting internal conflicts to deal with. Melt's highlight episode is even one of my strongest contenders for episode of the year. And once this arc ends it immediately goes back to being as shallow, pretentious and condescending as it was in season 1 like it never stopped. My highest praises I can sing for season 2 is that the first two thirds where it stops being Oshi no Ko are also by far the best that it has to offer.

Oshi no Ko: Season 2 – The "Wait, What Happened to the Plot?" Edition Stunning visuals? Check. Character development? On point. The way they cleverly visualized the characters' mental gymnastics and emotional breakdowns? Chef’s kiss. But oh boy, did the main plot vanish like a magician’s rabbit! Remember that little thing called "Who killed Hoshino Ai?" Yeah, they briefly glanced over that like it was an afterthought. The whole "murder mystery and revenge" angle? Poof! Gone. Instead, we got served with a buffet of side stories. Yawn. Yes, the art style is memorable, and you can see the passion poured into the over-the-top creative sequences. The direction? Nice. Music? It’s there. And the animation? Well, let’s just say the wacky scenes were more of a rollercoaster ride than the actual plot. I mean, who doesn’t love a little chaos with their anime? Then there’s Ruby. Oh sweet Ruby. We saw her, like, what, twice? Both times, she adds about as much to the plot as a decorative pillow to a sinking ship. But hey, at least Akane's character is thriving. Watching her develop is probably the most satisfying part of this season—props to her. But let’s talk about what Oshi no Ko should be doing. Aqua was supposed to be investigating Ai’s murder and planning his big, dramatic revenge. Ruby was supposed to be kicking off her idol journey with B Komachi. But nope, we’re stuck watching a stage play for 80% of the season. Seriously, if I wanted a generic showbiz anime, I’d watch... literally any other showbiz anime. The story barely advances the plot from the last season, and this could have been a standalone filler season—plotholes and all. Season one grabbed us with murder, vengeance, and dark showbiz twists. That’s what made Oshi no Ko stand out. But this season? It’s like the show got distracted by its own reflection. Sure, the entertainment industry critique is still sharp, but it tiptoes around the actual story, leaving us with yet another love triangle. Because nothing says "revenge and murder mystery" like awkward romantic drama, right? (Sigh.) So yeah, if you're here for the murder-mystery revenge plot, maybe check back next season. Or never.

Oshi no Ko season 2 might have started a little slow, but once it got going, we got episodes that were on par with if not better than anything in season 1. The Tokyo Blade Arc in the manga wasn’t my fave, but the love and attention to detail including anime original scenes that Doga Kobo added in the anime took it to a whole other level and over season 1’s story arc. It’s in this second season, which really feels more like a second cour of one continuous season, that we truly see the story of Oshi no Ko take shape. While the toxicity of the entertainment industry is certainly part of Oshi no Ko, it’s ultimately a revenge story and this season sees things begin to fall into place on that front. It’s a different experience from season 1 since it focuses on the play, characters’ internal struggles and it starts slow, but I promise you if you stick around this season you will be very satisfied with where things go. So I said it before, but it’s really important to emphasise that this season of Oshi no Ko is a different sort of story from the first. I don’t want people to come into this blind and then the first couple episodes are a little annoying with the director drama and you give up watching it. Yes, she’s annoying, and yes, it gets better. It’s a lot slower at the start than last season was. No 1 hour film-like premiere, no suicide attempts etc. Instead, a lot of the conflict in this season is internal. Akane dealing with her insecurities and achieving her acting goals, Kana dealing with her feelings for Aqua and reconciling with her past, etc., the play is used as a conduit through which a lot of this happens. The characters that the cast portray in the play have many similarities and so they’re able to express themselves through those characters in ways they normally wouldn’t be able to. ESPECIALLY Aqua and Akane who get a ton of development in this season. Aqua can kind of come off as edgy and one dimensional at times, but this season shows there’s a lot more to him. For me, the slow build up to the play was entirely worth it just for the 3-4 episodes that we got of it. Doga Kobo really absorbed me into the story as if I were on the stage during the play. Let’s face it, ship wars are a big reason for Oshi no Ko’s popularity and anime onlies could be forgiven for being a little confused on why the debate is so strong. Season 1 had Kana firmly in the lead, but this season is where the real best girl, Akane gets some of her big moments and really introduces herself as the best character in this series. This was a massive part of my enjoyment for the season because I am unapologetically a huge Akane stan and my girl delivered this season. So many memorable moments, face serves, you name it she was great. It also helps that Akane is so supportive of Aqua and is the driving force behind a lot of important plot moments. If you weren’t sure why the debates were so heated and passionate before, well you’ll know after this. Even with the staff’s obvious Kana bias, Akane was able to really shine through both in her role as Sayahime in the play and her everyday life. Production wise Doga Kobo did an even better job in this cour than season 1 in my opinion. The Tokyo Blade play looked incredible with some episodes surpassing season 1’s B Komachi concert debut. “Magical” is the best way I could describe it. But there’s also more subtle improvements that I enjoyed a lot too such as the way episodes bleed into the ED so well. I’m a huge fan of shows ending with a scene that merges into the ED because it preserves a sort of “continuity”. Speaking of which, Burning is an incredible track, as is the OP, Fatal. They might not have the radio power of Mephisto and Idol from last season, but they’re still two very good tracks. Touched on this earlier as well, but it bears repeating. The anime original scenes that DG added really took some parts of the season to another level. They really understand the story and characters so well and know exactly when to interject a new scene to connect things. Oshi no Ko season 2 is really where things start getting going and where a lot of the hype that you’ve indubitably seen online for this series comes from. It’s a different sort of story from season 1 and takes a minute to get going, but when it does the character development and emotional moments are top tier. If you like Oshi no Ko it’s a no brainer to keep up with s2 and for those potential newcomers, I really encourage you to go in with an open mind and don’t let the ship stuff on social media act as a deterrent. There’s some great stuff in this series and there’s a reason it’s so big. Oshi no Ko season 2 gets 10 stars, out of 10.

I think this season was much better. The first few episodes were great; the setting of the entertainment industry was explored very well, besides a few oversimplifications, and I could really grasp the potential of Oshi no Ko. The pacing was good for the most part, and the production was decent. Also some of the drama was great. That being said, the dialogue and most of the characters are not great. I think Akane is the only character of the main cast that I find believable and enjoyable to watch; the others are too cartoonish and annoying. The plot isn't great neither, it is frequently dumb. In particular, I dislike how the characters act so competitive towards each other during the play, I don't think it's believable, nor does it make a good story. It appears like the show is trying to appeal to teenagers with cheap emotional bits, meanwhile throwing logic out of the window. Overall, a good season from a mediocre series.

It is impossible to appreciate a work of art without knowing what the artist was trying to accomplish, which in the case of a work of fiction is broadly described by its genre. Romantic comedy does not serve the purposes of science fiction, for instance, and to watch 'My Dress-Up Darling' expecting it to explore the consequences of scientific advancement would be like buying a toothbrush and expecting it to peel oranges. Notice how easy it is, in that example, to identify the genre: it's clear in the first ten minutes of the show — which is normal. It's not science fiction, so it doesn't put Marin on the moon; it's not a mystery, so it doesn't put her at the scene of a crime. I bring this up because 'Oshi no Ko' has made it singularly difficult to understand what the artist was trying to accomplish. It is a toothbrush shaped exactly like an orange peeler, sold in the produce aisle, and marketed as having citrus-piercing bristles. No one ever actually told you to peel oranges with it, but you could be forgiven for trying. 'Oshi no Ko' spent the first eighty minutes setting up a murder mystery, although it isn't one; or if it is still trying to be one now, it isn't trying very hard. 'Chinatown' is a murder mystery; 'Oshi no Ko' is a soap opera. It may be filed under melodrama. Its purpose is to contrive scenarios in which sexy teenagers can slap, kiss, and yell at one another. The closest recent match is probably 'True Beauty', which is slightly more grounded and delivers about as much social commentary. You can also watch 'Melrose Place'. With that understanding, 'Oshi no Ko' is fairly enjoyable. It does a decent job of contriving scenarios in which beautiful young celebrities living in the world's safest country can slap, kiss, and yell at one another. I can't imagine taking any of it seriously, but it's difficult to beat for sentimentality and sensationalism. Coming up next on 'Melrose Place', a beautiful young actress throws herself off a bridge during a typhoon after she was harassed by online bullies for assaulting her co-star, but her life is saved by a handsome doctor with a troubled past who was reincarnated after being murdered before he could deliver the secret twin babies of a teenage pop idol he obsessed over while treating a young girl for cancer — and you'll never guess what happens next. The teen suicide arc in season one is when 'Oshi no Ko' really takes off, precisely because it has become impossible to take seriously. Right up until the moment when discount Light Yagami defeats online bullying through the power of friendship, and yandere Nancy Drew rewards him with a sexy cosplay of his mother, it was barely possible to believe that 'Oshi no Ko' is a story about a man investigating a murder, and not about long-lost twins in love triangles with coma patients, but no longer. For comparison, if 'Oshi no Ko' were a murder mystery about uncovering the dark side of the entertainment industry, then Aqua's plan to help Akane, by making a director feel guilty about her jumping off a bridge, would not have worked until Aqua revealed the photos he took of the director with an underage girl — or boy — or Ruby, for that matter. It's not difficult to spot the difference: 'Melrose Place' is not 'Chinatown'. To be clear, I enjoyed the arc. It's not particularly outrageous stuff — Aqua could have slept with Akane, for instance, on set, still in her cosplay, while Kana was doing coke in the bathroom with Mem-Cho — 'Degrassi High' would have done it — anyway, it did enough. Yandere Nancy Drew is delightfully nutty. Most of all, I appreciate the clarity, because continued misidentification of the genre invites continued disappointment. Unfortunately, shortly after the series takes off, it crashes into a mountain called Tokyo Blade. Okay, that was unfair: I'll say it lost an engine. 'Oshi no Ko' is not a great soap opera, and a murder mystery that mostly goes nowhere and three hours of Tokyo Blade are examples of a general problem: it tries to do too many things; it's cluttered. For comparison, there is another franchise where the main character gets involved in the entertainment industry to solve a supernatural murder mystery and avenge the death of his parent: it's called 'Hamlet', and you can watch the whole thing in about four hours. Brevity is the soul of wit. 'Oshi no Ko' is like 'Hamlet' if Hamlet put on five plays to catch six killers, he was dating three Ophelias, and one of them was his sister. Tokyo Blade already featured Aqua, Akane, and Kana, and I assume they were getting up to all sorts of slapping, kissing, and yelling, but I can't be certain, because so much screen time was dedicated to fight scenes from the show within the show — some godawful shonen nonsense — not to mention the lengthy and rather dry lectures on the business of putting on plays, how a comic book may be adapted into a play, the difficulties that may arise when adapting comic books into plays, recent advances in theater technology, etc. The first episode of season one ends on the main character plotting his revenge; the first episode of season two ends on a comic book writer being unhappy with a script — and you'll never guess what happens next: she edits it. Okay, that was unfair: I mildly enjoyed the arc. The comic book writer is fine. Almost everything in 'Oshi no Ko' is fine. Two writers struggling to adapt a story; two former child stars competing on and off the stage; a pop group aspiring to one day perform at a top venue; a supernatural murder mystery — oh, wait: one of those doesn't fit. It's not just that any given thing would stand out more in less cluttered surroundings. Another problem is that some of those things, such as murder, suicide, revenge, and reincarnation, are inherently more ostentatious than others, such as a songwriter we just met feeling inspired to write a new song because he got an encouraging email; but in the adaptation, each of those things is given comparably lavish treatment. 'Oshi no Ko' is wildly overproduced. Ai's star quality just doesn't seem as impressive after it's been attributed to every single performance in Tokyo Blade. Aqua, being so cunning and manipulative, has a cunning plan to manipulate everyone to save Akane, but he also has a cunning plan to manipulate everyone to save the finale of a television show. Speaking of manipulation, if 'Oshi no Ko' has a theme, then its theme must be deception or dishonesty. It's a fine theme, but the consequences of lying would have been clearer in a more focused, less cluttered story. When Hamlet deceived Ophelia, when Iago deceived Othello, the consequences were clear and relevant to the plot. When Aqua pretended to be in love with Akane, she found out immediately and played along for two seasons. When Kana pretended not to be in love with Aqua, everyone found out immediately, literally everyone, including undiscovered tribes in the highlands of New Guinea, and they all played along for two seasons. When baby Aqua pretended to be a god for two minutes — no, I didn't forget about that one, which goes exactly nowhere. Let's get back to Aqua and his cunning plans to manipulate everyone. Okay, "discount Light Yagami" was probably unfair — unfairly generous to Light Yagami — but the character is clearly meant to be cunning and manipulative — isn't he? At least twice an episode, the man is manipulating someone into doing something, whether he's manipulating a lousy actor into giving a decent performance, or manipulating Ruby into wearing panties around the house for once in her life, for God's sake, Ruby. But why is Aqua cunning and manipulative? Why should he insist on playing three-dimensional checkers? Before he died, he was kind, earnest, and slightly awkward. Did reincarnation make him cunning and manipulative? Either commit to writing him as a cunning, manipulative teenage celebrity, or leave him the way he was and make it clear that he's in over his head when it comes t…

Absolute Cinema In Oshi no Ko Season 2, the story deepens and retains its unique charm while continuing to explore themes of reincarnation, revenge, and the complexities of the entertainment industry. Although the core plot still revolves around the twins, Aqua and Ruby, their personal journeys evolve, delving into more mature and darker territory. The season introduces more mystery, especially around the death of their mother, Ai, and hints at further supernatural elements that enhance the drama. Realism of Reactions: The emotional responses of the characters are grounded in their past experiences. Aqua’s burdened demeanor and Ruby’s eventual emotional breakdown feel natural given the weight of their past traumas and the overwhelming situations they face in their current lives. This psychological depth helps ground the more fantastical elements of the show

The Good: - Art direction is spectacular with many experiments that elevate the show to another level - Cinematic frame compositions are on top of the medium - Beautiful Character development of main and supporting roles exposing full range of emotions within the characters - Opening and Ending (especially ending) OST just fits exceptionally well (love that guitar in the end <3) - Great presentation of showbusiness with all its merits. Good and bad. - Unexpected plot twists that push the narrative further and keeping the viewer engaged The Bad: - First episodes are exposition heavy - Perplexed ending that doesn't feel well directed. Too many important plot points take place in the last episode. The Ugly: - nil Conclusion: 2nd Season of Oshi No Ko is a great follow up after first one. Anime is meticulously crafted. From presentation, art direction to character development it demonstrates high creative potential and passion of the studio. Story develops with each next episode and beautifully closes the arc of Tokyo Blade show. That said, ending felt somewhat puzzling and disjointed from the whole story, but sets good grounds for the 3rd Season.

Oshi No Ko is by far the best modern anime about the entertainment industry. You'll see a lot of happy faces and good/bad acting mixed with the dark sides the viewers don't usually see on screen. While you get to experience a strong and solid build-up in season 1 things will slow down quite a bit for season 2 (or do they...?) Judging season 2 by itself I have to give my personal experience which was mostly thinking about how much they talk things through to a point where I couldn't follow as much as wanted. You're slowly drifting away from the twins' story towards a fantasy land of Hollywood where your dreams come true only to wake up from that tiny bit of information needed to progress or have the next mental breakdown. When you jump up and down on your seat while tearing up from excitement about what just happened - that's when you know you are more than invested into the story and characters. There are a few examples of perfect music like Bleach where goosebumps are basically included in the fight scenes only with sound. Then there's Re:Zero to sometimes not even have an ending playing for a specific episode because someone knew it would instantly break your immersion. Oshi No Ko has a simple yet complex answer to that: Start an episode with opening, end the episode with ending. Complex for this means each episode you will be greeted with an overall opening that makes sense throughout the season but also the ending that somehow fits to every episode. Sound and ambience are not really noticeable but that's exactly what the viewer needs. Small helpers for powerful scenes to have an even stronger impact.

I really liked the first season minus the real life drama around it but this season.... I liked it but I am conflicted about it as well. As the pessimistic person I am I will mainly talk about the conflicting parts for me and keep it as vague as possible to not spoil too much: 1. The 'naruto' type of filler epsiodes... It first started with the 'Here is a campfire! Let's make marshmellows! but lemme kill the fire and let's remake the campfire so you know how this came to be' type of first 4 episodes. (if you wondering where tf this comes from: my. brain.) In other words show you the ending, a conclussion something that you didn't see but can easily imagine came to be, but before the climax reaction to get GO ALL THE F- WAY BACK TO THIS SCENE AGAIN SO YOU KNOW FOR SURE WHAT YOU THOUGHT HAPPEN DID INDEED HAPPEN. In my oppinion very unnecessary or just show the 'correct' order so I won't be bored with the story before the climax. 2. The even worse 'naruto' type of filler episodes (yes even worse). Sorry Melt but you probably aint coming back and ya kinda scum as well so why should I feel empathy for you for only one episode. Then a character that shares a past with someone (Kana) which we saw the past from in season one, so we kinda know what to expect from the character her interacting with Kana. And then F'ing Kana, who we already have seen the past from in season one, then the previous episode from another pointerview (even though we already had that through Aqua) but no we need it one more time a whole episode (kinda started liking Kana less for it...). 3. The take about sex when they are underaged characters.... Especially since Aqua is mentally way older... I meannnnnn it was not needed, not now. Made me very uncomfortable even though I was rooting for their relationship, but nah man ew. Also I read some other mixed feeling reviews and no one seems to bring this point up which made me feel like I had to write this review.... Also their past lives she said daisuke... not suki but daisuki romanticly... Not only was she underaged but in this live they are family as well and the doctor never said no, no he even said come back when you're 16... excuse me but I rather you not say anything at all or at least a legal age if you have to say something.. 4. The fucking bird child. I mean yes the main characters have been reborn which is not real to life but I mean who knows maybe we really do but our memories got wiped. What I'm tryna say is that it is the only 'fantasy' thing that happens in the begin to start the story and for the main to be smarter than babies and have more information for the later murder case. So after that it seems more like something that takes place in our world with a little bit of a crazy start (the rebirth thing). BUT the bird child was for me like, nah we didn't need her to progress the story and I kinda liked the rebirth this was the only fantasy aspect to it, because then you can 'reasonably' try and figure out who the murder is. But now.... it could be that the murder was reborn as well? maybe there is a spirit world? I mean with this you could have unbelievably many options that do not make sense in our world which takes away of the thiller, the 'Who is the murder?' fun for me. Because if the crow child can whisper spoilers, then the murder could be a f-ing spirit for all I know. I hate that kind of variable in this kind of cruel reality world vibe.... Kinda ruined it for me... So why did I give it a seven. What can I say, I love a 'thriller' and I love to see (especially) Aqua having mental break down, being his own biggest enemy, where you can see he tries to not recover but to suffer instead but of course he kind of recovers eventually. Yeah this psycho loves that shit. And I bet next season he will suffer even a bigger backstep as he uncovers that the murder isn't dead yet. I wanna see that shit. So okay 7 out of 10 XD ((BTW this was my first review ever so sorry for the chaotic writing but I felt I had to since I didn't saw anyone taking about the cow child or the underage shit))

We keep digging deeper into the entertainment industry with all its drama, issues and its dark secrets behind the scenes. While we try to figure out the truth behind Aqua’ and Ruby’s past and future. In this season we first follow the Tokyo Blade arc, where Aqua stars in a theatrical show together with Akane and Kana. Where we later in the season then start to focus more on Ruby as the idol world is calling once again. For the plot of the season it is mostly structured around one major arc and then introduces a new arc. Through the major arc is the plot focused around the Tokyo Blade play, and is very much focused around acting. But the plot is not just focused on their acting skill, but their reason for how they act, what drives their style of acting. This gives an in-depth feeling to the plot where it is not just a play, but a media that shows who they are as people and how they show themselves. We also get an in depth perspective to how the adaptation of a story from one media to another can be a struggle and involves many elements. For the later arc it is somewhat a build up, it is leading up to the future and what is to come. But this is not done with small plotlines being hinted at and is instead done with bold scenes that really draws in the viewer. For the characters, they are as amazing as the first season, where we keep getting highly detailed characters with great character progression. The characters are very consistent with the first season, where we now see them continue through new dilemmas and conflicts. We see how the characters are put in situations where they show their true side or are forced to face their problems, where they have to get through it or give up. This is not only done for the major characters, but is also shown for the side characters which helps build up the main characters, but also gives the whole show a really detailed feel to it. Overall the characters are just done right, they have their own personality, they show progress and feel like real people struggling with their own problems. The show is also very well known for its high quality animation, which continues in this season. The animation keeps a high quality in both fast paced scenes and more intimate scenes. Both types of scenes are also supported by its artistic styles, used as symbolism to help viewers get a visual understanding for complex emotions or situations that the characters find themselves in. They also show great detail in their animation when it comes to both big and small movements, which overall helps keep the viewer invested in every second of the show. Music has also been a big part of Oshi no Ko, for this season the music is still great but have taken a turn to songs that feel more aligned to the arcs we follow this season. This means the songs are more focused on the hard feelings characters have to go through, and less focused on the glorified idol world. To conclude it all, can i without a doubt say it's a great season, where we get to see the plot continue, characters evolve and experience both the beautiful animation and the powerful music. So if you liked the first season can i without a doubt recommend you watch this season too.

To say this blew me out of the water would be an understatement. This season does everything the first did wrong and, not only does it right, perfects it down to a tee. It’s daring in every way, experimenting with its perception, what studio is out here making gambles like this. The first nine episodes are practically a meta-documentary on the making of an adaption, with all the fine details you could ever ask for. The only way you can get more meta is by turning the page on the animators themselves. Needless to say, not only does it pay off in some of the most intriguing character development no one could’ve expected from the relatively lackluster first season, but it blows everything off the stage right towards us in the crowd. Characters who weren’t even thought about in the past season are not only expanded on here, but totally revamped into ideas beyond what they would be associated with prior. Each character is the star of its own episodes, and while it does sometimes feel a little slow, it’s never boring, always captivating our attention with its exceptional writing. Even when four episodes take place in the same building, it’s somehow spun into being the best part of the series. My major gripe with the first season was heard, even if I said it after this season came out. That being the complete lack of any trauma within the main character, who literally watched as his mother died from blood loss. I’m not sure why it was totally lacking in the first season, but they certainly made up for it here. The more minor issues weren’t ignored either, with an in-depth look at screenwriters, adaptations, and theatrical work. Effortlessly exploring the nuances between each while simultaneously delivering an emotionally powerful exploration that are all connected together like well-supported, powerful bridge. If you liked the first season for its unflinching depiction of the entertainment industry, both good and bad, you’ll love this season. While the first hardly highlighted the collaboration aspect of the art form, this season puts it in bold and italics. We finally get everyone coming together to make something greater than themselves, even better is that it’s done through the addition of a new character. We watch as the heavily structured and organized nature of entertainment gets ambushed by an original creator wanting to see her work flourish. It’s great in its depiction of this, not just for being what was missing in this first season, but for connecting back effortlessly with that very season. Everything missing that I wanted in this show is finally here, and hopefully it’s here to stay. Fucking hell, even the character relationships are expanded on in every way, which is the one thing I found to be fantastic in the first season. I no longer feel disturbed with the thought of a 35 year old man being with teenagers. The show is utilizing its own template on being a behind-the-scenes look on the entertainment industry to showcase the light on its characters and their many developmental issues, constantly using lighting equipment to showcase character development and other absolutely wonderful techniques. There isn’t anything like this season, throughout the whole world of animation. It’s no shock that the whole murder mystery aspect of the story is the weakest. Well, it’s rather under-seasoned compared to the five star royalty dinners the show offers in other categories. Even so, the last couple of episodes delving into the lacking main storyline are finally interesting, having multiple key moments which make me anticipate what is to come, even if I’ve heard that this series will only go downhill from here. As the show facilitates my thoughts for it's overall direction, I can't figure out where they are going to take this series. I know I've just been praising the shit out of this season, which it is fantastic, don’t get me wrong. But there are very minor inconsistencies with characters, mainly the newest mangaka. Aquas motivations start to seem strange and repeated, but it never oversteps. Some songwriter, who’s apparently amazing or something, gets a supportive email and it’s enough to make him get out of his writers block (a little ridiculous). It's minor on the nose moments with little reasoning or build up that hold this series back. Still, it's a glorious mix of the experimental nature of the first half of the series and the slice of life aspect we had in the first season. It’s a slightly jarring change, but it boats fine as long as you enjoyed the first season. Still, this is a minor drawback which doesn’t really hinder the quality at all. In fact, the last couple of episodes are great in their own right, since we finally see them looked back on their previous lives after being reincarnated. We are finally making good progress on the shows ability to interweave the previous lives of its main characters with their current lives, something they neglected entirely in the first season, actually avoiding it in most cases with poor writing and explanation. I see so many people saying this show is pretentious, and that’s ridiculous. Give this a watch, it’s fantastic. Ain’t no show doing anything like this one, like who is putting 2 minute long static shot in the opening scene? Only concerns to have now are where we are going next, and whether that is going to be off a cliff.

This is a lovely second season and the only problem I have with it is that it ended, leaving me to wonder what will happen next. The story continues where the first season left off, Akane, Aqua and Kana being cast for the Tokyo Blade musical. The way in which the story continues is different though, you're dropped straight into the rehearsals and preparation for the musical. Any form of revenge plot takes a back seat while the anime instead focusses on how the showbiz works, character flashbacks/backstories and acting - this was one of the most entertaining things I've ever had the pleasure to watch. After this part of the anime the main plot continues, you remember why Aqua joined the musical in the first place and Ruby can start doing idol stuff again now that Kana isn't acting all the time. This results in B-komachi recording a music video and the revenge plot advancing a lot in unexpected ways and is fun or interesting to watch. The only "problem" I have with this part is that it really leaves you to wonder how the story will continue but you'll have to wait for the third season for answers. The characters are great. There are quite a few side-characters that don't have much of a personality and are just there to give their lines but the characters that the story deems important enough are characterised nicely. This season had quite a few backstories/flashbacks that added a lot to some characters and there was quite a bit of character development too throughout the season, even in very unexpected yet interesting directions. After this season Akane is now officially my favourite character in anything I've watched/read. The animation was once again gorgeous. The animation was beautiful, the characters looked amazing and the eyes were simply the best. The eyes were detailed, pretty and expressive and I loved everything about them. There were also a few very creative and abstract animation sequences that I thought were really cool but have no clue how to describe and the music video was animated exactly how you'd expect a music video to look. Overall I think the animation is even better than the first season. The music and sound were great even though season one outshines this one with the fame of it's opening "Idol". The voice acting was very good and expressive. Overall this is a great second season. Even though it ignored the main plot for a bit, it was still massively entertaining and it still had time to add some interesting twists and turns to the plot after the Tokyo Blade musical. The animation is some of the best out there and the characters are great, 100% recommended.

Oshi no Ko season 2 massively builds upon the foundation set in its first season. The already amazing animation comes back stronger than ever, character arcs feel more integrated and deeper. The slightly odd aspects to the show have massively reduced screen time and previously sidelined concepts find themselves thoroughly explored. I debated a lot on rating but my feeling heading out of it is a 9/10, the greatest season to season improvement I’ve seen yet. To start with the animation here is gorgeous, the previous season had made good use of light shadow and color but still had some generic looking scenes. In the second season every single shot is jam packed with color and emotion. If they cannot come up with something for a shot the frequent cut aways to amazing unique animation to explain concepts serve to fill the void. Multiple color palettes are used depending on the context but all of them are amazing. The animations of the now required dynamic fights in the theater sections were also extremely well done and would’ve easily been the best in a normal season if not for strong competition from Elusive Samurai. Continuing with visuals the character designs continue to be very strong with the returning star motif and the stage outfits being great stand outs. In my opinion the star motif in particular felt even more strongly used this season and it was a great way to convey someone’s state changing without needing to spell it out for viewers. The outfit choices for everyday wear were also great and I really enjoyed looking at them for my own style inspiration. It’s very refreshing to see women dressed normally (or normal for their social status in a few cases) instead of what we often see in anime. Akane’s outfits in particular are very similar to the types of things I like to wear. I’m not a musician so I usually refrain from commentary on soundtracks as I don’t understand the dynamics at play but I wanted to call out the strong showing here. The piano themes they use for backing in tense scenes are really good and the insert songs, OPs and EDs remain great as well. My strongest criticism of Oshi No Ko in the past has been it’s treatment of women. Especially in the first season the way women hoard around aqua and fawn over him was extremely annoying and while it might be something funny or interesting for me really takes things away from me. This aspect is still present in the second season but finds itself massively diminished in favor of an arc that focuses on two women's dreams to the exclusion of their affections. This is a massively beneficial change that saves the show from what could’ve been a disaster. This is not to say they completely ignore this dynamic but I’m very happy with the direction they are going and found myself far less annoyed. Similarly I found the treatment of the Idol aspects in the first season to be a bit pedestrian and uninteresting, serving to somewhat glorify the industry in something I think should showcase why it’s terrible for young women. The second season while having a bit of this massively cleans up it’s act in this regard. The focus away from these aspects into other portions of the show I find more interesting certainly went a long way in improving my opinion of this season. Continuing on this I’m very happy with the way the show has been treating women as human beings with their own dreams. Even women with romantic attraction have other things going on in their life that they consider important. They aren’t one dimensional and can coexist on multiple fronts like real people, especially highlighted by a sound off your dreams moment in the last episode. I touched upon this earlier but this decision massively improves the stage play arc by making it about their career goals instead of something to do with possession of Aqua. The largest exception to this behavior is probably R uby and to a lesser degree Kana. In Ruby’s case I do find her brocon cutaways to be grating, unfunny, and uninteresting however it does also seem like the show portrays this as a character failing. With Kana I find the situation to be less distasteful, sometimes funny, and still a little bit annoying and once again it does seem like future development is in store for this. The characterization of the cast outside of romance is just generally extremely good. You get a great idea of *why* people do things and it refuses to play into the idea that people do things for no reason. People have convictions behind their actions which can be explored and deconstructed if you take the time to understand them. The depictions of despair are also really great and I was happy to see one of my favorite motifs portrayed so well. There’s a few blunders present, most notably an extremely simple scene involving a musician but these are stand outs in part because of their length and are easy to let fly you by. The last episode served as a capstone integrating best in the series with its otherworldly visuals, well placed insert, and deepening mystery. They’ve managed to transform me from someone who was debating watching season 2 at all to someone who is quite excited to see where DogaKobo goes next.

Oshi no Ko’s 2nd Season is incredibly deceptive, and it ultimately reinforces my opinion that its narrative is severely misguided. The 2.5D stage play arc exemplifies the series’ strengths, exploring the most compelling motifs the show has to offer, and the revolving character drama here should’ve always been the primary focus. Gathering an eclectic medley of actors and creators to collectively work on a project provides the opportunity to examine how differing inputs affect the production process, underscoring the importance of effective communication in such artistic avenues. Although some circumstances are slightly overblown, the theatricality on display is relatively favorable due to the arc’s nature. Contrasting characters are paired and made to face each other throughout the rehearsals and the main play, and everyone is allocated sufficient time to come to terms with their insecurities and discover a better version of themselves amidst all the internal conflict. Observing their talented co-stars gives rise to all kinds of emotions like dissatisfaction, envy, regret, and guilt, which are common sentiments experienced in passionate people, and Oshi no Ko brilliantly paints these feelings onto the canvas with its visual direction. The production has improved significantly over the first season, and this arc is perhaps the one most deserving of it as its denouement leads us back to the tedious revenge plot. If it wasn’t blatantly evident in the first season, this arc proved that Aqua and Ruby hold back the show from being genuinely entertaining, as limiting their presence amplified the writing quality. It seems to be leaning even deeper into the supernatural aspect, something that it would’ve done better without, and this season ends up concluding on a disappointing note after a remarkable first act. Oshi no Ko’s 2nd season will presumably end up being the one with the most realized potential unless the murder mystery plot is miraculously discarded.