Huge Spoiler Warning ahead. Read at your own discretion

I'll start by saying I've written a review about this manga before. It was my favorite manga after all.

I wrote it just after the end of the Tokyo Blade arc. So roughly where the Anime's caught up to now. I'll add it below because Anilist doesn't allow for multiple reviews of the same manga.

This will serve as an addendum, retrospective, and an amendment to that review. More than anything, this will likely turn out to be a rant. Because so much of this manga has changed in the time between the Tokyo Blade arc and the end of the manga that it just isn't the same manga I originally reviewed anymore.

Let's start with the big elephant in the room: How this manga has changed

If you've read my original review (or just scrolled down to peruse it now), you'll notice that I said that this manga was a reflection of the entertainment industry in Japan. For a while, that was still true. It covered many things that Japanese entertainers experienced, such as Kana's scandal, and Ruby's morally questionable attempts to move upwards in the entertainment industry. These are all fine details that stayed true to what my original impression of the story was, but that ended up taking a backseat as the manga moved on to its final arcs. I found that the primary focus seemed to be more on Aqua attempting to get revenge onto Hikaru than anything. Yeah, it was a central plot element of the manga's earlier chapters, and yeah, even Ruby gets into it after seeing Goro's body, but it was more of a plot driver than anything. While I understood that Aqua literally planned to get revenge on Hikaru since Ai's death, this central motivation drove away Aqua's established characterizations, and it alienated him from his friends and allies in his attempt to do so. The only one who stuck by him in a very poor, but still understandable choice, was Akane, who even still Aqua drove away. I get it, he doesn't want anyone to get hurt, but this is precisely the type of situation where allies would help, and this is something that Aqua himself came to realize over the course of the manga, so why the sudden 180 now?

But that isn't my real issue with the manga's direction. Sure, revenge is the name of the game, but after the release of The 15 Year Lie, that should've been a revenge job well done. Hikaru fell to his knees in regret, they had plans in place to catch Nino. So why in heaven and hell's name did Aqua decide to continue his revenge? If you've read the manga, you know what I'm talking about.

This leads me to two breakpoints that I'd like to talk about. Fans of this manga will know exactly what happens during these chapters.

Breakpoint 1: Chapter 123
Oh yeah, we're talking about this chapter first.

Let me get something immediately clear with all of you. To this day, I hated the idea of the incest route. I thought it was wrong, especially since Aqua deserved to be with either Akane or Kana among other people (I was an avid Akane fan through all this), and if anything I thought fate dealt a good enough hand by reincarnating Goro and Sarina as siblings already.

Despite all of this, I would have been totally fine with the manga if it went the incest route. Why? Because there was precedent for it. They built up Goro and Sarina's relationship through snippets and flashbacks, enough for the audience to know how close they were before they both died. I would've hated it, yes. But I would've accepted it as part of the story because they made it believable. On top of that, this chapter served as a very important plot point in the manga because it completely mended Aqua and Ruby's relationship up to that point, which was in tatters. I would've been totally fine with some forbidden romance between the two because it helped them get back on the same page again.

In fact, despite my disdain for an incenst route, I saw Chapter 123 as a GOOD thing for the manga, because it meant that entering the final arcs of the manga, Aqua and Ruby had a strong bond as siblings (and also something more than that I guess) and were able to tackle their problems as a team.

So why, why in all the nine realms did the next breakpoint happen?

Breakpoint 2: Chapter 160
By the time chapter 159 rolled around, all the loose ends were tied up. Hikaru Kamiki had realized his regret, Nino was successfully apprehended and Ruby was now singing on the big stage that Ai never got to sing on. She even did her signature pose. So why, over the course of 6 chapters, did the manga torpedo itself six feet under?

In the viewer's eyes, everything was wrapped up. Aqua and Ruby had gotten the revenge they had imagined, Ruby achieved hers and Ai's dreams, and Aqua, for once, can finally start living his life as the brother figure for Ruby and a potential love interest again for Kana and Akane.

But instead, he threw that away, all in the name of guaranteeing that one mere possiblity out of trillions wouldn't happen: That Hikaru Kamiki wouldn't get back up to his shenanigans and maybe endanger Ruby's life. While it is a noble and valiant motivation, you know laws exist right? Aqua's approach, instead of getting the authorities involved, which they could given Nino was just apprehended and would likely spill the beans of all of Hikaru's actions, was to kamikaze himself into the ocean with Hikaru, to guarantee that it looked like Hikaru attempted to murder him.

I'm sorry, but didn't you have your chat with Goro about a few dozen chapters ago? I thought we agreed that killing is never the option? So where did this come from? Certainly wasn't left field because there was no left field to come from.

On top of that, Crow Girl, who had no relevance to the story whatsoever other than a few cryptic messages and a small role in the movie, comes and just says fuck you to the readers by commenting that "oh no you died." Then what exactly were you then? When you were revealed everyone thought that you were the person who brought the two souls into Aqua and Ruby, but now the entire community sees you as nothing more than an actual crow: Just endless cawing with no actual meaning behind it.

This lead to the entire manga attempting to wrap up every last loose end in 2 chapters instead of 6, because by killing himself and Hikaru (which we don't even know if he pulled off because Hikaru's body was never found, but I guess that leaves many more interpretations so eh) Aqua created so many more loose ends than he resolved. You can't kill off the protagonist of your story without a very good reason, and even if you do you have to be prepared to handle the consequences, both of these conditions were not fulfilled, leading to the manga ending feeling rushed and haphazard. Thanks to this, Oshi no Ko, instead of being another shining crown jewel in Aka Akasaka's array of very popular mangas and animes, ended up leaving a sour taste in everybody's mouths.

Concluding Remarks
At the end of the day, I'm just exceptionally mad about the last 6 chapters of the manga. Sure, there were moments where it were rocky, but overall, I would've been content to give Oshi no Ko a high rating and lived the rest of my life knowing that these fictional anime characters lived out the rest of their days in peace and happiness. But instead, a fantastic manga that captivated my heart and pulled me in, a manga that I once called my favorite manga, and one that I had so fervently supported, slapped me in the face and told me that life doesn't go the way I wanted it to.

Perhaps it is the final lesson in this story, which I would try to argue, but alas, even the devil's advocate needs some material to work with.

You did well, Oshi no Ko. I won't forget you for as long as i live.

Beginning of Old Review

Rating: 99/100

If you're here, I'm assuming you're here for 2 things

1. You want to see how others think about this new piece of manga that Gigguk recommended
2. You want to see other people's opinions on this manga

Just as the manga itself predicted, people are heavily influecned by the modern rise of the internet, where every opinion matters. So I will do you guys some good by providing my unfiltered opinion on this manga. With that being said, spoilers will definitely apply.

Oshi no Ko is one of the best mangas I've ever read, even though I don't read much manga, this one instantly shot up into my "keep reading" list and made its way into my favorites. It explores so much about the performing arts industries to a depth that only someone in that very business can provide. This makes a lot of sense, considering the man behind this manga was none other than Kaguya-sama's Aka Akasaka-sensei himself. Having seen his mangas blossom into well-received animes, this man poured all he knew about the industry into one fantastic manga that burdens our souls with the same weight these very characters go through while also retaining aspects of comedy, romance, and drama that a normal manga of this genre would achieve.

Plot
This piece is definitely where it hits my soft spot. The Isekai genre has been overdone to no avail and now every anime season a new dull one pops up to give us shits and giggles. The premise of Oshi is original in their own right. Aquamarine and Ruby are reincarnations of a hospital doctor and a passed patient respectively, both respect their figurative and literal idol Ai, and as a result when Ruby passes from her illness and Aqua gets stabbed from a stalking fan, they reincarnate as Ai's new twin children. Originality points there

Other than that, the kids decide to follow in their mother's footsteps, with Ruby retracing the path to Idol Greatness while a slightly less enthusiastic Aqua becomes a talented actor. From there, the progression goes on. Aqua's talents land him gigs of increasing magnitude while retaining the same friends. His mysteriousness, along with his stunning good genes, land him a variety of different showbiz genres, anything from stageplay dramas to reality TV dating shows. Meanwhile Ruby, reaping from the benefits of Aqua's new connections, successfully establishes her idol group and makes a stunning splash at the annual Idol Festival (which is actually a real thing). While it is far too early to call what the authors will do with established storyline, it is brilliant to see this progression happen. Many moments in the manga turn us on our heads with how unexpected they are, or just how straight up funny they are. This is one of the great things about this manga, and its plot director Aka Akasaka. One minute you're experiencing much of the PTSD Aqua went through, and another you're laughing your guts out because of the stupid shenanigans this group of chumps are doing. It's honestly refreshing to see a manga or an anime that can aptly mix these two emotional extremes, but this anime does it perfectly.

Art
This carries on within the art section too. The artists drawing this manga made very clever use of symbolism. The most prominent of which is the Hoshino Family's signature starry eyes. When Aqua gets dead serious, his star turns pitch black and his irises are no longer reflective, when Ruby adapts into her onstage persona, her stars get larger and widen to resemble Ai's own eyes. For Aqua, his darkening is motivated by his desire to find the person who killed him, and for Ruby, her lightening is motivated by her passion coming forth. The Twins aren't the only one who have this tho. Partway through the Reality TV arc, Akane Kurokawa adopts Ai's personality for one scene after her return, slipping into the idol's persona and emulating her very emotions to such a pinpoint accuracy that she actually correctly guessed the fact that Ai secretly had children. In that scene, her pupils turned into the signature Hoshino stars and her hair was redrawn to emulate Ai's. This uncanny use of symbolism gave me mad respects and it gives the reader so much visual clue that they can immediately understand just what kind of a person these Hoshino siblings are.

Apart from that, despite not drawing the art, Akasaka's Kaguya definitely influenced the other panels. One thing I kept noticing as I was reading was how real these characters looked, the light reflecting off their eyes and hair and the atmosphere of the sets on stage. It felt stunning for still black-and-white images to feel so 3D. Even in their comedic cartoony moments, it is more than just a simple doodle, as the characters look genuinely funny. One more thing to point out is the text bubbles. If you have read the Webtoon Unordinary you'll definitely be familiar with the style. Depending on how serious the characters are, their text bubbles shift from light to dark. The best example of this is when Akane was researching Ai's personality to slip into. You can see how she's getting serious by the gradual darkening of her text bubbles. An excellent touch.

Characters
One of the most important things in showbiz is the people portraying the characters. The many characters introduced in Oshi no Ko definitely emulate that idea. Not only are multiple perspectives these character possess evaluated, but everything the characters do is also important as it helps with their standings in their peers. On top of that, the frequent burdens of the showbiz industry frequently show their scars on them. Each of them displays a different trauma associated with a different part of showbusiness. I'll give a quick run-through so you guys know what I mean.

Aquamarine Hoshino
Since the events of his past, the once chipper young lad became a solemn husk of a being racked by PTSD and a desire for vengeance. He is shown to be exceptionally adaptive and perceptive, and that frequently proves to be his ally. In him we see the burden of emotion and reluctance. His immense talent has landed him some killer gigs, yet his personality remains solemn as ever. He's hardworking, yet antisocial. And he has frequently reminded others that he doesn't even want to act at all. Despite this, he takes on the jobs because he wants to enact vengeance. His pure willpower is what's driving him, because what's left of his passion is all gone. He's the embodiment of people trapped in jobs purely for the rewards. And in the case of showbusiness, talent like him won't go to waste.

Ruby Hoshino
Ruby remains a bit of a pure bubble especially in terms of the negatives of showbiz, but she is constantly hammered by one thing: no headstarts. Ruby's aspirations are constantly being denied because people either don't want to accept her into the idol business or she just doesn't have enough of a fanbase to start. Her personality remains the steadfast dreamer as always, but enough nightmares can crush a dream.

Kana Arima
Kana is a child actor known for her ability to cry on command, but that's it. Ever since then, she's embodied the one thing people playing BitLife hate the most: being forgotten. Her spotlight has faded and no one remembers her name. Her talent is impeccable and her skills are numerous, but since her gigs never blew up, no one remembers her. She went through a showbiz person's worst nightmare, and despite climbing back, it has continued to influence how she acts, poisoning her confidence and her self-esteem.

Akane Kurokawa
My personal favorite of the bunch and the victim of the harshest reality of all, Akane Kurokawa is beyond talented, with skills rivaling Kana and a legendary agency behind her. Yet, during the Reality TV arc, she faced an uncontrollable force: The Internet. Nervousness coupled with confusion and lack of action made her forgotten in the TV show, following that, an unintentional outburst and deliberate framing by the studio framed her to be a villain. This drove the internet mad with rage, and if you've played Genshin recently you'll definitely know what's coming up: fans started bombarding her accounts with insults, death threats, toxicity, and everything a fragile 17-year old rising star would NOT want to face every day. Akane was driven to seclusion, her confidence plummeting, and had Aqua not intervened she would no longer be alive. Her plummet during the season exposes the internet's worst consequences, and the unfortunate thing is that it keeps on happening. Many people every day suffer from cyberbullying, even just a bit of it on a high school level was enough to drive high school teens to suicide. Now imagining it happening to a big-shot star, who's also a high schooler so she, therefore, has the tolerance of one. The mangaka did a painstaking job recreating every single thought that went on through her brain as the comments flooded in right up to the moment she was about to jump ship, showing us how this negativity drives a brain. It pains me as I write this to know that this is happening right now. Even through all this, Akane perseveres, bouncing back and giving us all a hell of a show for all the later arcs. Her personality is tough, and her spirit tougher.

Takeaways
Overall, Oshi is a heavy story

Not only is the world it describes one we take for granted, but it also rips each and every industry wide open to reveal how demanding it is. Everyone may aspire to be on the big stage, but it always costs more to win than to lose. Oshi no Ko shows brilliant exploration of such heavy themes and connotations, and it shows us that in the world of showbiz, the greatest lies you can tell are what gets you the furthest. In all else, Oshi teaches us a few important things:

If you want to do something, consider everything about it. Its benefits, its enjoyments, and most importantly, how much it will demand of you. It takes three positives to outweigh a negative, so your passion must burn even brighter to light your way.