Oshi no Ko Movie Review

Oshi no Ko is an anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Aka Akasaka, a mangaka who is also popular with Kaguya-sama Love Is War. Unlike the Kaguya-sama series, Aka Akasaka takes the main premise of an idol group story in this anime, combining drama and supernatural elements.

The anime started broadcasting in mid-April 2023 and consisted of 11 episodes in its first season. What kind of story does the anime Oshi no Ko present ? Here’s the review:

Oshi no Ko Synopsis

• Year of Release 2023
• Genres Drama , Supernatural
• Director Daisuke Hiramaki
• Cast ∙ Takeo Ōtsuka ∙ Yurie Igoma ∙ Rie Takahashi

Ai Hoshino is an idol who is currently shining and has become a public conversation because she always looks stunning on stage. As a result, many viewers fell in love with him, including a gynecologist named Gorou Amemiya and his patient, Sarina Tendouji.

These two otaku always spend time together to support their idol, even though they are far from the hospital. Unfortunately, Sarina’s short life makes Gorou a bit lonely because now he feels he has lost a friend who supports Ai.

One day, Gorou is surprised by Ai’s arrival at the hospital where he works with a large stomach; It turns out that the 16-year-old idol is pregnant with twins without the public knowing.

Only the management and a few people at the hospital know about her condition, and this is the real reason for Ai’s vacuum in the entertainment world. Gorou is now a doctor who treats Ai’s pregnancy.

As the date of birth approaches, Gorou notices a stalker trying to get information about Ai from him. However, Gorou is silent and asks the stalker’s relationship with his patient.

The stalker then ran away but Gorou tried to chase him even though he finally lost the trail when he arrived at the ravine area of ​​the mountain path. Unfortunately, the stalker suddenly pushed Gorou from behind which made him fall into the abyss.

When he awakens, Gorou realizes that he has now been reincarnated in the body of Ai’s son, Aquamarine Hoshino. Aqua also has a younger twin sister, Ruby Hoshino.

The funny thing is, Ruby’s soul is filled with the reincarnation of Sarina, Gorou’s patient and his otaku partner . However, neither Aqua nor Ruby knew anything about their sibling’s true identity.

As her twins grew, Ai’s career skyrocketed again after her comeback from a vacuum. She took various job offers, including starring in commercials to become a supporting actress. Her life was perfect, until one day an unknown fan came to her residence and stabbed Ai to death.

Ai’s death left deep scars for the public and her two children. Not long ago, his group B-Komachi declared that the dissolution was followed by the bankruptcy of Strawberry Production as the umbrella company.

Although mentally ‘strong’, both Aqua and Ruby have new ambitions after the departure of their mother and idol that they love so much; Aqua wants to find the mastermind behind Ai’s murder, while Ruby is determined to continue Ai’s career as an idol.

Growing up, Aqua and Ruby attended Yoto High School, a school with an interest in entertainment which is quite rare in Japan.

This school is known for producing successful celebrity seeds, so it has stiff competition. It was also at this school that Aqua and Ruby met Kana Arima, a former child actress they had known when they were little.

After that meeting, Kana offered Aqua a job to take on a minor role in the drama she was currently starring in. Aqua, who initially refused, agreed after hearing the name of the program’s producer, Masaya Kaburagi.

Masaya Kaburagi is one of the names Aqua found on Ai’s phone contacts. In order to get the producer’s DNA and investigate the mystery of Ai’s death, Aqua also took on the role.

Ruby herself still clings to her determination to become an idol, even though Aqua always tries to stop her because she doesn’t want her sister to have the same fate as her mother.

When Ruby was offered by someone who wanted to recruit her as an underground idol , Aqua immediately asked Strawberry Production manager, Miyako Saitou, who has also been their guardian all this time, to recruit Ruby before her sister was ‘taken’ by another agency.

Miyako agrees and says she will debut the group under her agency, but Miyako needs other members to form an idol group. Fortunately, there is one girl that Aqua thinks is suitable to fill that place, namely Kana.

Ruby chose B-Komachi as her group name, the same name as her mother’s former group name. He also began to practice diligently with Kana and even collaborated with a Youtuber to attract public attention before the group’s official debut was made.

Aqua’s struggles also continued. After finding out that Masaya Kaburagi is just a colleague for Ai, Aqua gets a new offer from Masaya to star in a reality dating show . In return, Masaya will provide important information to Aqua related to Ai.

The reality dating show brings together six high school students at a school to have a romantic relationship until one of them turns out to be a couple. Aqua was placed with five other members: Akane Kurokawa, Mem-cho, Yuki Sumi, Nobuyuki Kumano and Kengo Morimoto. The five of them have different backgrounds even though they both struggle in the entertainment world.

Apart from agreeing to the offer, Aqua had to use a different persona when appearing in front of the camera. Aqua’s calm and cool personality turned into a carefree and playful one during the event.

Unfortunately until the program will end, there is no progress from Aqua’s story. This was actually a good thing for Aqua for not bothering to get involved in the public’s excessive interest, but Akane Kurokawa managed to change her mind.

After the rookie actress fell into a slump due to the public’s negative views and almost sacrificed her own life, Akane got up and assumed the Ai persona to make her comeback on the program.

This new persona also managed to attract the attention of Aqua and the audience. Even though it was only for the purposes of the program, unexpectedly Aqua and Akane came out as a couple at the end of the program. This also triggers a change in Kana’s attitude towards Aqua.

After the reality dating show Aqua ended, B-Komachi started preparing for her debut which was getting closer and closer. Aqua then recruited a girl from her last program to join B-Komachi. Who is this girl? And, did Aqua manage to get a clue about the mastermind behind Ai Hoshino’s death?

Oshi no Ko Movie review

Telling the ‘Lies’ of the Entertainment World

Unlike most anime that have idol themes in general, Oshi no Ko focuses its story on the world of entertainment, especially the world of idols.

Behind their sweet smiles, complete with agile dance moves when appearing on stage, these idols still have lives as ordinary people who are full of flaws. Not a few of them even have dark secrets that are hidden from the public. They must be able to ‘lie’ to the world if they do not want their careers to be destroyed.

Other entertainment industry wrestlers also do the same thing. Their goal is the same; survive in the industry no matter what way to go. This anime will show how various fields in the entertainment industry work, such as acting, television programs, to artistic management.

An Interesting and Confusing Theme Blend

When watching the first episode of Oshi no Ko , we would think that this anime only combines idol and isekai (reincarnation) themes. However, as the story progresses, Oshi no Ko will introduce the audience to a mysterious story that is getting darker and more intense.

This dark atmosphere is getting stronger as Aqua struggles to avenge her mother. Although slowly, this ambition never once extinguished from him. Arima Kana and Akane Kurokawa’s difficult struggles to achieve their dreams as actresses also add to the darkness and drama elements of this anime directed by Daisuke Hiramaki.

Meanwhile, Ruby who dreams of becoming an idol makes Oshi no Ko on track as an idol-themed anime. We will continue to witness Ruby and several other characters performing various songs with energetic dances on stage.

Unfortunately, in this first season, only elements of mystery and the world of showbiz dominate Oshi no Ko . This anime hasn’t delved deeper into the mysteries of Aqua and Ruby’s old life. As a result, the two still didn’t realize their relationship in their previous lives until the last episode.

Stunning Visuals and Stunning Score

As a manga adaptation that raises the premise of the world of showbiz , of course it would be incomplete if it didn’t visually display the glitter of this industry, and Doga Kobo as the production studio managed to make it happen in the anime Oshi no Ko . One of the most stunning is the graphics of the eyes of the important characters in the story.

All the characters who play an important role, whether as the main protagonist or supporting roles, have beautiful eyeball graphics. This Mengo Yokoyari illustration was executed very nicely by Doga Kobo, and managed to impress anyone who watched Oshi no Ko .

Everyone will agree that the eyes of stars Ai, Aqua, and Ruby are one of the icons of this anime. In addition, good scoring is also successful in making almost all scenes feel alive. The songs performed by B-Komachi members are also quite popular among fans.

Don’t forget the opening song from Yoasobi which went viral while this anime was on the air. All of these elements combine harmoniously to pamper the audience and make Oshi no Ko one of the strong candidates for the best anime in 2023.

Slow Pace with Hanging End

Even though it has an interesting plot and excels in many elements, unfortunately the pace of the anime Oshi no Ko feels very slow, especially in Aqua’s struggle to find out the mastermind behind her mother’s death. Until the last episode, it felt like Aqua had just taken the first steps to unravel the mystery.

On the other hand, even though it felt lost in several episodes, Ruby’s desire to become an idol can be achieved with the official debut of the new generation of B-Komachi, which indicates that there is hope for Ruby to become a popular idol like her mother.

Her teacher friend, Kana’s wish to return to the stage in the entertainment world has also shown positive progress. At the end of the episode, there is a hint that Kana will one day become a ‘rival’ of Kurokawa Akane.

It’s a shame, this rapid progress of character development hasn’t been found by Aqua herself as one of the main protagonists. In fact, his ambition to enter the entertainment industry is the highlight of Oshi no Ko’s excitement . Only the rivalry between Kana and Akane ‘fighting over’ Aqua was emphasized this season.

Even so, this anime always manages to present the peak of tension in each episode. The hanging ending is also good news for the fans because it indicates the continuation of the struggles of Aqua, Ruby and friends in the next season.

That’s the review of the first season of the anime Oshi no Ko . No one thought that the contradictory plots between the world of entertainment, murder mystery and reincarnation would combine quite well in this anime. He also managed to prove his popularity and even became one of the strongest candidates for the best anime in 2023. Are you ready to watch?