As a manga reader, I was eager to see what the adaptation of Oshi No would look like, I was also hyped to see the opening because it's one of the most entertaining aspect of an anime and it's also a clear way to see if the studio "gets" the source material and how much efforts they are going to put into the adaptation. And I can say I clearly wasn't disappointed. In this review, I'll link the song's lyrics with the story in the purpose of directly analyzing the anime (through it's op)
TV Size :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgBvV9ofjmA
Full :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRtdQ81jPUQ
"Idol" by Yoasoabi is a huge hit.
It became Global No.1 on Apple Music and it also got super popular on many other platforms.
As of now, the full song has around 200 millions views on youtube within only 2 months of release. It's clear people like it and it's good enough to make many people that aren't familiar with the anime resonate with the song.
I think it's kinda funny how appreciated the song became on a large scale. It's kinda meta since the song highlights Ai, an idol that reached the peak of her popularity. Idol is sort of a tribute of her and since, just like in the story, she became insanely popular in the anime community, the fact that a song about her also becomes extra popular is just very fitting. It's kind of like Idol is Ai's song. Thats how good the interpretation of Oshi no Ko and Ai's character is in this music.
What's interesting is that despite this song clearly saying that Ai is a fake and that she excells at lying and duping people, she's also simultaenously being praised and worshipped by the same song, in the same verse. It gives the music a creepy vibe even though it sounds so lighthearted.
It's like her lies are being acknowledged but not condemed, making it very cynical.
These are a bunch of questions idols are usually questionned about in their interviews. One could think they should only limit the questions to things like : the release of their albums, their vision for the future of their career or what inspired them to make this etc. But no. This is not what the public want, the public want to know everything about the artist. This is also due to the fact that many artists, even more so for idols, don't only promote their products (in this case, songs) but they also promote their person. They create a persona that attracts people. The original term of idol litteraly means "an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship." No wonder the choristers in the song sound like they're chanting for a God.
No matter what personnal questions will be raised, Ai will always put on her goofy mask and deflect it.
(there's also more down to earth reasons they won't answer things about their tastes, imagine you're an idol and you say you like this book and later on this book creates a huge controversy, you'll be associated with that)
This part of the lyrics only solidify the previous ones but it also says that all the mystery around her and the unanswered questions are part of what makes her endearing. If you leave it at that you could say the moral of the story is that Idols are just dishonest people who trick their poor victims into making them fall for them. It wouldn't explain why this opening is so confusing tho. Why is all the idols dishonesty admitted ? Why does the song says such uninspiring and crude things with an upbeat music ?
The reason why the symbolysm for Ai is a star is because she brights so fiercly upon everyone. Life is unforgiving, cold and dark. We need moments of escapism not to be submerged by our own distress. That's why Ai is a God to her fans. She's the one who allows them to forget their incapacity agaisnt fatality, the pressure of society and their own finitude. Even if it's for a moment, she makes them see light in all this darkness and make them want to chase it. For some, her smile became the only reason for them to live. Because she smiles, they'll live another day filled with hope (example:Ruby). The thing is that she shines so britghly that, just like night butterflies to light, they're attracted to her luminescence to the point of being blinded by it, so much that they can never let go of her and go back to facing the darkness of real life. Escapism is only good if it's your motivation to face the dark aspects of life, if you only use it to avoid the inevitables dark aspects it's just a delusion.
Morever, Ai is only human, she can't be pure light. That's why she lies to everyone and make them believe in her flashy shining in the hope of creating actual light. On a psychological level, this is also what Ai does with love. She pretends to love people around her until eventually, this turns into actual love. She does it for herself but she also does it to make poeple happy, her lies are a saving. If people use it correctly and not self-destructively, her lies are love.
I used the official english translation of the lyrics, established in Yoasobi's song "YOASOBI / Idol (「アイドル」English Ver."), transcirbed by : https://www.animesonglyrics.com/oshi-no-ko/idol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkjSfZ30GM4
CONCLUSION
To conclude, I want to add a layer to my analysis. Another symbolysm used for Ai is her being a mother. As I firmly believe that Ai is general representation of idols, I think her being a parent is an important thing to consider when interpretating the story. Ai's "dishonest" love is similar to a mother's love. She puts on a brave front and make herself look unbreakable so that her children can feel reassured and become as strong her. She protects her children from the coldness of life and some of her lies/deceptions are necessary. The blackflash is that it can create two types of individuals : Ruby and Aqua who use their mom's brightness for different purposes throughout the story.
Idol is a great song sang by a great singer highlighted visuals brought by an amazing studio. I'm glad Oshi no Ko's staff is so passionated by the story and actually took the time to understand. Perfect op and god-tier adaptation of the source adaptation !
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