It’s taken over the internet as of Wednesday, June 28, 2023. The show’s opening—YOASOBI’s Idol tops the world charts, breaking numerous records along the way. Ai Hoshino’s face lights up the streets of Japan. Oshi no Ko has gone completely viral. But does it live up to the hype?

It all started with the 1 hour and 30-minute special first episode, here the infamous plot twist comes into play. I believe that the core piece of my recommendation is to watch this first because reviewing the rest of the series becomes spoilers if you don’t watch due to an integral plot twist which introduces the plot. Here is where the premise of the story begins, the main characters are introduced, and the plot is introduced. This special was brilliant, and arguably where season one peaked. Now onto the rest of the season

SPOILERS START HERE:
Now Ai Hoshino is dead in a shocking twist of fate. I must say that Oshi no Ko’s strongest aspect is the revenge plot set out by Aqua to kill whoever is responsible for Ai’s death/murder. However, the series does slightly tank in quality after this point onwards plot-wise, as the focus shifts to introducing and developing characters.

Plot [8/10]: I think that the plot is absolutely excellent, but the issue here is it doesn’t stay on topic. The rest of the manga deviates from the plot into side story arcs which I thought were interesting in themselves. The anime mainly covers one of the side story arcs after Ai’s death: the dating show arc. Prior to this was an Arima Kana mini-arc where she and Aqua go on a show together. This mini-arc wasn’t too interesting and was mainly a way to try and develop Kana’s backstory. Moving forward to the dating show arc, it honestly was pretty good but relied heavily on Akane Kurokawa, who I’ll cover later. The arc eventually turns dark and actually drew in real-life complaints from where the mangaka took inspiration.I think that Oshi no Ko’s depiction of mental health issues was actually very beautiful and was coupled with great animation and general effects to convey this message to the audience. Going a little bit off-topic, Oshi no Ko emphasizes that even those who may appear to be living the life (in this case, idols) are human just like the rest of us. Many of us, myself included, often look at celebrities and athletes and say “lmao what does he/she care if I talk shit about them” because they are rich and have social status. Money and social standing can’t buy happiness and don’t just nullify our emotions. I can’t say it enough but the series does a great job of emphasizing this. The final arc of the series is character development for Ruby, as the majority of the season is focused on aqua, in terms of enjoyment, it is a little melodramatic but it is fun to see our beloved ragtag crew of failures, has-beens, and rookies chase their dream.

Characters [10/10]: These characters are complex and very likable for the most part. They fall into the trope of a sad backstory but I will say that each character is multi-dimensional. What I love about this character cast is that they are never entirely positive or entirely negative. Just like real people, they have their good moments and their bad moments. Sometimes they lie and lash out, but they are also kind and caring. The comedy is mostly good, with some bad moments. It isn’t extremely funny but the jokes do land. Aqua is the character who gets the bulk of the screen time in season one. As the revived Doctor Gorou, he clearly holds an intellectual advantage to the average teenager given his life experience. He is mostly cold and calculating, focused on avenging Ai, but has his cute moments here and there. Arima Kana, this character is brilliant in my eyes. Her dialogues are funny and clever, and her character dynamic meshes well with the other overly positive characters as she is a nihilist of sorts, constantly bad-mouthing herself as she struggles to overcome her traumatizing failures. Next up is Akane Kurokawa, my MVP of the season. Her complexity isn’t on full display in season 1but you can’t help but love her kindness and determination, which come into conflict with each other as sometimes, moving forward comes at the cost of others. Her obsession and dedication to her craft is on display when researching Ai, hence why she is considered a genius as an actor. Next, we have Ruby, her screen time is limited I would say but her motivation comes from working past her former bed-ridden life. Miyako is another lovable character who takes over the role of caretaker mother. Finally, there is Mem-cho, whose backstory is inspiring. All in all, the characters are Oshi no Ko’s biggest strength and each character is deeply nuanced but in a way that you cannot help but root for them on their journey to achieve their dreams.

Art/Animation [9/10]: Mengo Yokoyari’s art is just off the charts. The animation is great too don’t get me wrong, the dance sequences as well as the general effects such as the tweets, hate messages, and general comedy effects were well done without a doubt. There was clearly a lot of money and manpower involved in manufacturing the animation. But the art, oh boy I don’t care how much you hate Oshi no Ko, respect is due here. The manga was already brilliant but the animation takes her art to an whole new level. It’s just a feast to watch

Soundtrack/Voice Acting [8/10]: The soundtrack was forgettable, not to say it was bad or good, but I didn’t really notice it. The opening is a banger, easily one of the most popular songs in the world right now. I like the ending as well, the way the episodes end on a cliffhanger leading into the ending sequence is nice. The voice acting is much better, for an idol anime, the voice actors are full of enthusiasm and passion. Each VA went through competitive trials to determine if they were the best fit for their role. Each VA resembles the character of their character whether that’s cute, endearing, manipulative, or negative. I want to highlight Arima Kana’s voice actor in particular, she does a brilliant job.

As is with everything, not everyone will enjoy Oshi no Ko. Personally, my main criticisms are that the dialogues get annoying, the plot stagnates, and it is unbearably cringe at times. The writing is also geared to appease certain character ships (akane x aqua, kana x aqua) and gets kinda fanservice-y which delays the revenge plot. Objectively speaking, however, the series was crafted with a lot of care and is without a doubt worth watching. It may not be 10/10 new number-one anime that would surpass FMAB as many hyped it up to be after the first episode special, but it remains a solid anime overall in terms of plot, characters, art/animation, and voice acting. My advice? Try to be unbiased, tune out the harsh dissenters and diehard fans alike and give it a try for yourself to see if you like it.