(First of all, before I begin writing this manga review, it is the first time I write a review about anything outside anime show, which means that not only it will lack some crucial aspects that I use during writing anime review such as music, visual animation, and cinematic pacing. So please, be considerate as I also am quite new to this which means I also need some positive input from others. And once again, if you dislike this review, downvote is okay. However, much better if you reach me on my profile and tell me your issue - I will certainly welcome this more. And oh, I almost forgot, I cannot do spoilers-free review)Oshi No Ko is a manga that unravels secrets regarding entertainment industry as a whole, given the compelling narrative and mystery throughout the series, it simply adds layers to a cake with a cherry on top being the midway of this series. However, something changes....
To be fairly honest, I was a bit rather too late with the hype - not only I had to chase for it until the latest chapter back, then which still got 100 chapters more or less, I also finished it in one night. Some friends on Discord did recommend me this after referring to Aquamarine Hoshino, the manga protagonist, as we talked about the way mental age affected the intelligence that people have - in this case, we talked about the way this mental development aged throughout the time e.g. Einstein with his IQ can also be calculated using this mental age procedure (mental age/actual age*100 = your IQ), Eventually, this 'myth' was debunked as mental age is no longer the accurate measurement for IQ, but the mystery about Aqua remains.
I then stumbled upon this manga, decided to pick it up and finished until the latest chapter, later procrastinated again until it got more chapters to read so I could just catch-up for the latest without waiting for a new one every single month. If I remember it well, I did finish around 100 chapters, and only continued reading it again once I got many chapters left.
So, why did I tell all of these? Because it showed how much effort I would have put for this manga and my bias towards this once was a masterpiece in my point of view. Not only I used to call it a wordly phenomenon, but the compelling narrative and storytelling simply hooked me to read this over and over again - I even read the colored version which was released in a site not long ago, giving that the beauty of Ai Hoshino's arc back then was immense.
Right, let's get back on track. About the manga? Hmmm.... how should I begin it with? OH RIGHT! Let's just talk about the story. Until the mid-point where Tokyo Blade arc was concluded, it was really good! It's peak! It's an absolute masterclass! Anything about this manga just screams phenomenon, masterpiece, and perfection! It was definitely not the opinion that people would agree the most but UNTIL THAT POINT I did appreciate this manga, giving it the highest praise possible there is for handing down an absolute cinema...
However, it fell off. "How did it happen?", you ask...
Spoiler, click to view
This was the beginning of when I disliked the direction of this manga. This plot was at best rushed, didn't seem to have a process at all - everything was instant. The fact Ruby went from zero-to-hero with this revenge arc as a special treatment almost made me wanting to quit reading this manga. However, people didn't seem to see the problem the way I could tell this was the beginning of downfall or rather the downfall of this manga on itself after reaching its peak on middle point. The manga further complicated themselves with the telltale of mystery and connections it has with "entertainment" as if the world is just revolved around "them" as individuals but nothing else. We didn't get to see the development of other potential characters and everything simply was ruined in the end, which also was the most convincing reason why I should drop the manga. And that's how this manga killed my heart, or rather I killed this manga with my own hands.Speaking of characters, let's begin with the protagonist, Aquamarine Hoshino. To be fair, better said the less about him considering that by revealing his true identity will automatically reveal the plot so I will simply do a level-surface description. He is a recluse who happens to be in an entertainment industry with a hatred out of it, mostly due to the way his childhood affected his overall experience when it comes to performing as an actor, but also the fact that he disliked interacting with others. In other words, acting for him is a mere hobby and therefore it is not something to be taken seriously. Hence why he prefers to work behind the stage, becoming an assistant and helping a director he knows well with editing movie scenes or stuff that usually requires graphic designs skills, as he prefers it that way. However something changes once he encountered many other actors of his age, with Ruby wanting to become an idol and forming her own group, this means he would have a journey to await for. However, this doesn't mean the other characters are insignificant: Akane Kurokawa is quite central in making a crucial direction to the series despite actually coming out of nowhere, including her interaction with Kana and Ruby, which made this series becoming the place to find for well-written heroines.
However... After what appears to be a too good to be true phenomenal masterpiece, it fell off the exact same way he did during that chapter. As if it described just how much disappointments and ruined potentials that this series got. By putting aside the great artstyle and compelling narrative at the beginning, to say it was disappointing is quite an understatement. In the end, it's the lowest point a manga could get without being subjective about this. And overall, it was so-so and mid at best; you got both the best and worst parts with the latter had overwhelmed the former eventually considering the way it was concluded.
Hatred-aside, I would still recommend this manga if you prefer to experience great artstyle and compelling narrative. But once you dislike it, please drop it - you won't regret it. It offers great art style, nice order of chapters, vivid descriptions and character designs, and also the thematic experience that unravels the cinematic scenes behind the entertainment industry. That's all and thank you for reading this manga series review.
(Whether you love, hate, or enjoy this review, check for others I wrote here if you wish: /user/NarcReal/reviews)
