It seems like everyone is singing praises for Oshi no Ko season 2, but I can’t help but feel like I watched an entirely different show. While the first season hooked me with its gripping premise and emotional weight, this season was a frustrating slog that felt more like filler than anything meaningful.

Let’s address the elephant in the room: the stage play arc. A third of the season was spent on a storyline that did nothing to advance the main plot or characters. Yes, I said it, nothing. If anyone dares to argue that Akane or Kana had major development during this arc, I’d recommend revisiting season 1, because we already knew most of their backstories and motivations, yet it got played out during the stage play like it was an incredible revelation inside of themselves. The "development" here was just rehashing old information without adding new layers. The ONLY character that even got a slight bit of new intriguing details was Aqua.

And Melt. Oh, Melt. The show gave him a surprising amount of screentime, complete with an entire backstory that did make me care about him. But for what? To push him aside as soon as the main plot decided to wake up again? It was an odd narrative choice that felt like a waste of time in hindsight.

Meanwhile, Ruby (literally one of the main characters who we'd grown to love in season 1) was practically absent for most of the season. Given how central she was to the emotional core of the first season, her lack of presence felt like a missed opportunity. The story dragged itself through a series of unnecessary distractions, only to rush through the interesting developments near the end. Granted it seems like we're going through her arc next so she will make up for the lost time here, but it still felt like I was missing something.

When the plot finally remembered what it was supposed to be doing, I felt a glimmer of the brilliance I loved in season 1. The connections to Aqua and Ruby's past lives, that burning sensation I felt when the supposed killer revealed himself and even the relationships increasing between the main cast. But by then, it was too late. We’re still no closer to the actual premise that got me so hooked in the first place, and the season’s uneven pacing left me feeling more annoyed than satisfied.

Oshi no Ko season 2 had potential, but it spent too much time meandering and not enough time delivering on its core premise. The stage play arc was completely useless, a lot of the cast ended up underutilized and overall, it felt more like a random Slice-of-Life spinoff series than the crazy Psychological Mystery Drama that I was really into. Sure, it had its moments, but overall, it was a painfully mid follow-up to a stellar first season.