Oshi no Ko

NO SPOILERS HERE.

Coming from the author of Kaguya sama, a series which I have been enjoying weekly for quite some time and the artist of "Scums wish" and "You are dirty, my queen", I decided to give it a shot.

I wouldn't go much in depth as it only has 10 chapters out. The first chapter was quite weird but I liked it regardless. The concept does sound like your average isekai but it's the same world and not some harem reincarnation shit. As more chapters came by the story became more interesting and reached the 9th chapter which was quite a twist to the story (though already foreshadowed before). The first 10 chapters were basically a prologue arc.

The art is cool. Some panels look really great. The main character really has potential.

The actual story begins from this point. I'd say that I am quite interested to see how this turns out to be. So yeah if you got some free time I'd recommend reading this.

My rate so far: 6/10

The beginning of the story cannot be one of the best, at the beginning of the second chapter, it simply hooks you up and you want to keep reading more as you read the story.
The characters are unique, including with art remains a simply amazing result.
The protagonist is the typical character who has a single objective and to reach that goal he will have to do many things, which can corrupt him.
Another side of the world behind idols and actors, problems they become, in their lives to become a success over others.
It's just unbelievable to me.

Oshi no Ko is steadily developing to be another fantastic psychological manga from Kaguya-sama: Love is War's author. However, those with light hearts, take caution. Whereas its sibling series is much more comedic-oriented, Oshi no Ko strives to draw open the grandiose curtains of the entertainment industry and bare its murky colors. And in its pursuit, Aka depicts topics such as suicide, social pressure and bullying in an unapologetically pessimistic manner. In conjunction with a supernatural subplot, the story only becomes more dramatic, darker, and intoxicating. Regardless of if his information is truly accurate or not down to the last detail, Aka depicts an interestingly dark world that many of us are unaware of.

In its current serialization span of roughly 8 months and 30 chapters, the story has yet to fully tap into its full potential. But these past 2 arcs have served as great samples as to what you can expect from this series. Strong side characters, thickening plots and bold themes. As of now, the story is one-sidedly focused on Aqua's entertainment ventures, pushing Ruby's idol endeavors to the sidelines momentarily, and slow burning the overarching supernatural, revenge plot.

The side characters have thus far been the central focus on each arc, serving as damsels-in-distress for Aqua to save and carries into entertainment industry expositions and nuances. I can only hope these side characters aren't sidelined after time has passed, since the two presented considerable potential for development and enjoyable dynamics with the protagonists. I can't say I especially like or dislike the protagonists yet.

Scum's WIsh's Mengo's art has been nothing short of impressive. Her delicate character design works strongly in Oshi no Ko's favor, nourishing the dichotomous nature between the seemingly perfect appearances of its celebrity characters and their murky thoughts. The paneling and blotchy use of black often adds immensely to the dark undertones and narratives, as well.

At this point, it's expectantly unclear if and how the story direction will change or if its quality will fluctuate. Its measly two arcs have been interesting hooks into what one can expect, but insufficient in foretelling future consistency and direction. I have trust in Aka that he'll continue expanding upon everything and I commend him for creating something boldly contrastive to Kaguya-sama: Love is War. In short, Oshi no Ko has an interesting supernatural and dramatic hook, with an unclear outlook, but nonetheless an intriguing read with its introspective commentary of the entertainment industry and dark subplots.

The story doesn't seem like much at first, but as you read on, you get more invested in the twins and how they'll fair.

The characters are the main selling point of the show, next to the mystery that subtly creeps up upon the reader until you're thrown into the deep end. The character interactions are probably the best thing about the show because of the dichotomy of the main character and the rest of the cast. Everyone is so happy and cheerful except for the main character who schemes in the background while putting on the same happy look when the cameras are rolling. Aqua is such an interesting character and from how the story is going, there's hope for him to fulfill his wish.

Overall, while the story is very new, and may not have such a following yet, it has promise. I wish to see how the author continues this show

A story that manages to combine quite a few things together to create something very interesting. The story tackles the entertainment industry and a lot of its different parts from clean to unbelievably dirty. It also manages to highlight the serious flaws in idol culture while not dissing the actual hardworking people just trying to reach their dreams or saying that idols as a whole shouldn’t exist or are dumb. And all of that is just in what amounts to the prologue. The story has an interesting start and while they both have their flaws as well both twins manage to be lovable and endearing characters. The motivations of the two being so very different despite being so much alike and both moving into the entertainment industry is also a nice dynamic. And the mystery of their father and if he was actually involved in the murder is something keeping me invested. The story hasn’t even really reached its stride yet, and even so I have reasonably high hopes for this series and can’t wait to see what happenes.

Oshi no ko is a story that makes the idol industry interesting. Not that the idol industry was uninteresting per se, but in the way that sports anime make you want to play the sport. Blending genres such as mystery, romance, idol, and other unique ones, it takes what could be a generic mystery or idol manga, and makes it interesting. And written by the author of Kaguya-sama, It was inevitable that it is turning out for the better.

The story starts extremely slow, with the first 12 chapters acting setup for the rest of the story. Killed by a stalker and reincarnated as the baby of a famous idol Hoshino Ai, the beginning chapters act like a semi-flashback, setting up moving characters, relationships and the setting, using subtle hints and letting the story flow quite freely. While not terrible, it doesn't matchup with the rest of the series, and shouldn't be dropped there. The flashback ends in a bang as Hoshino Ai is killed by presumably the same stalker in front of the twins, starting the story for real.

The story is a mix of a mystery, romance, and idol show each separated genre somehow blending perfectly. On a quest to find the killer, Aquamarine (The MC) finds himself diving deeper into the show business, as the killer is inevitably related to it. Each chapter is full of content and emotions, as the Manga effortlessly switches from an idol show to a high school show, to a romance, and so on. Your emotions run wild, as the story throws all of them at you, making you care for the characters and the plot. While the mystery is the main plot, it seems to run in the background, the gears slowly turning as he takes different gigs. And By showing instead of telling, it presents you with the information while not treating you like you know nothing, using gigs and shows to give you the pieces.

As mentioned, the idol industry starts to be unraveled and explained, each fact more fascinating than the last, all shown through the characters. Each character brings unique characters and differing experiences, as information about the idol and acting industry flows through the pages. Using just regular dialogue and acting gigs, their conversations, while not always relating to the industry itself, reveal small facts and information that constantly connects and builds up big ideas, overcoming the main problem of these types of shows. It shows rather than tells, hardly wasting any time explaining trivial things, hinting at them instead while other things happen. The characters are great for the kind of setting. As more and more gigs happen, they must be inevitably recycled and forgotten, but the manga doesn't feel like that. Each character feels like a real person and receives small pieces of development, not looking like disposable characters whatsoever. And using the eyes of a male protagonist who lived up to 40 years old makes it better.

So far the story shows a lot of promise and can easily be a 8 out of10.  While it doesn’t have any mistakes, there are a few generic instances, or things that could have been handles a tiny bit better. These mostly happen in the first 12 chapters, with maybe one or two permeating the meat of the series. Also, while it is stated as weekly it has been acting as bi-weekly for now, one unfortunate fact about the series. The art works well for the series, adding extra charm to it. While not the usual run of mill art, it suits the series perfectly. It stands in a mix of a shojo style and a clean and anime-esc style complimenting the scenes and the characters perfectly.  

Story 8/10
Art 8/10
Character 8/10
Enjoyment 9/10
Overall 8/10

I honestly believe this is a 10. Maybe in the future it will change but 100% this manga reminds me so much of act-age except this has the revenge / thriller themes and its darker. Oshi no Ko will have you hooked on the first chapter. The story and characters by far are all great especially the MC (who isnt boring at all). Not only that, he doesnt care about romance, he only cares about revenge! I love how the manga keeps the readers entertained every chapter! If you ever want something new that isnt cliche and focuses on the entertainment industry (acting, directing, idols, etc.) this is the one!

Road of Becoming Celebrities/ Thriller & Revenge

Planning on reading this manga?
I will say hold it until this manga reaches chapter 25.

So far, I am 11 Chapters in. Is this manga good or bad?
No idea. The first 9 chapters of this manga are paving the background of the story and the “actual story” begins from chapter 10. Thus, I am still not convinced to give this manga a great score.

I can see the story creator for “Kaguya sama” trying to be “unique” with the storyline. But, so many doubts and so many hopes&potentials.

Story: 5~9 (can fluctuate a lot since the storyline is way too unpredictable as for now)
Art: 7 (Above mediocre, but not my fav art style)
Characters: 3~8 (12 chapters in and quite an amount of characters have "died". Let's see if the author can actually begin to add more layers on top of the characters instead of dishing out "unnecessary" deaths)
Enjoyment: 7 (just reading it to see how it goes)
Overall: 5~9 (but will settle with a 7 for now)

If you really crave to start a new series and have time, go for it.
Otherwise, let me be the white mouse for you since I will update this review after this manga have a foundation

"A lie is an exception form of love". The age of the spectacle, afforded to us in part by social media, has made all of us wonderful liars.

Oshi no Ko is a zany mess of a manga that abruptly changes in direction two to three times in the first thirty chapters. An improbable bet to pull off but the manga succeeds, narrative pulling through much like a freight train. Its tone oscillates, reaching sloppy peaks of slapstick comedy, earnest social commentary, and dramatic tension.

There is certainly a lot to juggle and the question it poses are uncertain and complex. Ex: Is the protag's vision of idol mom romantic? platonic? fillial? Does.. it matter? And part of the manga's tension for me is that there was always an anxiety about something being dropped. Ex: add then a sis complex to that first q and those lines become even more at risk of being twisted. But fortunately, the manga seems to thrive on these uncertain dilemmas, maybe as a sort of reflection on the general theme of truth/performance/multiplicitous versions of the self.

ANYWAYYYY
Story : 6/10 so far. Has potential to become either a 2 or a 10 that's how uncertain it is. Will update.

Art: 9/10. Dreamy, glittering style, full of character and charm. Really captures the idol/influencer aegyo. Love that in a world of pretty characters, extra pretty characters have geometric pupils. The gags are funny. Also appreciated the 'film' style panel sequences that looked like sequential shots stacked into a single page when the manga focuses on a single 'honest' statement from characters.

Character 7/10. The main characters are probably the worst in that they're pulled in so many directions. Still I guess this could somehow interpreted as nuance. I love all the new coworkers/characters being introduced. Bob-hair genius actor girl ( I'm sorry i forget her name) is particularly interesting!!! One of the things I appreciated about this manga was the easy acceptance with which the characters just accept that like, they're all kind of faking it! But they all support each other. Feels like a very current iteration of friendship, which sounds like a dig but is a genuine compliment.

Also as a sidenote, this is just a really relevant story about social media and entertainment industries. Compare that one YouTuber's insightful advice as to how to respond to getting cancelled and the different social media growth strategies touched on through the series to like, Sono Bisque Doll's vision of being a social media 'influencer'. Similarly one of my favorite subtle moments was the child actor girl just casually comforting another character by explaining that as a celebrity, the idea of dying (provoked by audience response/internet bullying) frequently flits across her mind and she just has to...get over it. Ganbare!!

Enjoyment 10/10. Read with a huge smile whole way through.

Overall: 8/10 as of chapter 30. Definitely keeping up with this and definitely recommending.

One of the few sleeves that as you go you are attracted to more and more.
The beginning of the story cannot be one of the best, at the beginning of the second chapter, it simply hooks you up and you want to keep reading more as you read the story.
The characters are unique, including with art remains a simply amazing result.
The protagonist is the typical character who has a single objective and to reach that goal he will have to do many things, which can corrupt him.
Another side of the world behind idols and actors, problems they become, in their lives to become a success over others.
It's just unbelievable to me.