Before I start, I'd like to apologise for my English, which I'm sure won't be perfect.

Firstly, I'll try to remain neutral and objective by developing several key points of the anime in order to analyse it correctly and give a proper review.
Then, I'll recount my personal experience and share my feelings with you. And of course, I'll mix these two aspects in my conclusion.

The beginning:

First of all, the anime launches from the outset with a first episode lasting an hour and a half, which is daring but highly enjoyable for those who want to immerse themselves in a new universe and need more than 20mins to really form an opinion.

You can't imagine the number of animes that would have deserved this, like Vinland Saga for example, which would have avoided a start where the main plot didn't begin straight away.

Doga Kobo opted for this big first episode, and what a success! If this hadn't been the case, the beginning would have been boring for many.

But this first episode has so much more to tell us.

Indeed, beyond its length, which can be frightening, the episode is rich, very rich.

It begins with the story of a doctor, a gynaecologist if I remember correctly (he also gives birth but I've forgotten the name), who talks about a younger patient of his who had a serious illness and died. Despite it being the very beginning, some of the flashbacks to his relationship with her were frankly moving and beautiful (poor Sarina). We learn that she was a fan of a group of idols, the B-Komachi, and more specifically the one at its head, AI Hoshino.

From then on, the magic of the script takes us back to Ai Hoshino in front of the protagonist, as she is pregnant with twins (at the age of 16) and it is the main character who is in charge of the birth. Things don't go according to plan, however, as the main character is murdered in pursuit of a possible stalker. Then, of course, he is reincarnated as the child of Ai, Aqua Hoshino and little Sarina (his deceased former patient), in the body of Ai's daughter, Ruby Hoshino (as fate would have it).

What follows is a kind of Slice of Life, quite comic and peaceful, which explores the realms of show business, but not yet in the depth that the series would later achieve. The episode was pleasant in that respect, it didn't bore you and you enjoyed a little chill anime with no headaches.

But we're getting close to the end of the episode, when suddenly

Well, visually, it's hard to find any faults, as the drawing style is well crafted and offers original, beautiful and striking chara-designs. The colours are bright and vivid, with detailed backgrounds that add charm to every scene, and the animation as a whole is meticulous.

But then the big visual highlight is the eyes. No other anime features such gorgeous eyes, I was spellbound, they're all different, but the colours are deep, with different patterns and shades for each character while representing their personality. Apart from ‘wow’ I can't say anything except admire the phenomenal work put into this detail, which is what makes the anime so charming.

What's more, we're treated to some absolutely brilliant scenes from time to time, at eye level of course, with badass animations done in a completely different style, like at the end of the episode with Aqua swearing to kill her father.

I summed it up just before, so in a nutshell, revenge is classic, reincarnation is classic, but the way it's done, that's original. And everyone loves revenge stories, so it does its job.

All the characters are unique and memorable in their own ways. So I'm going to focus on the two in particular that interest me.

Aqua = A main character like this is just what you need. She's badass, she's smart, she's beautiful, so obviously she's already eye-catching, but more importantly, the character development is really neat and interesting. I can't go too far into this at the risk of spoiling the manga. But this man who seems emotionally empty, consumed by a desire for revenge, actually has dreams, a will to live, and a great deal of fragility. The way this development is brought about makes the work both magical and deeply tragic. In my opinion, Aqua has become one of the best protagonists in the story, he's just perfect.

Akane = Well, without going into too much detail, just look at my profile, even on some of my network accounts, Akane is everywhere. Well, beyond the fact that she's an incredible waifu, the character has real importance and a real impact on the plot. It's simple, you see Akane on screen and the plot moves forward. Without her, Aqua would never have been able to do all that, she gave him everything, she's by far the most intelligent character in the series and all those strokes of genius made us shudder or just love it. Thank you Akane for everything you've contributed <3

Pop in 2, That's all I want to say, I've had it in my head for months aaaahhhhhh

But honestly, the two openings are masterclasses, and so are the endings, but above all, the endings are full of phenomenal foreshadowing, but we won't talk about that here.

Overall, even the osts are nice and fit in well with what's happening on screen, and another bonus point for the endings, but they create great cliffhangers for the end of episodes.

Some will say that the pace is slow, and that the plot doesn't move forward at times, but that's not the point. You have to understand what Aka Akasaka is doing in these works, like Kaguya-sama, which offer us a basic plot that will surround the anime, but which rarely advances, because not only does it remain a comedy, but this slow pace is also used to develop parallel themes or themes that surround the main one but develop it implicitly.
If you've seen Oregairu, you'll know what I mean. This is the case with Oshi no Ko, but above all, this time the author is trying to explore secondary themes. The plot is a pretext for developing these themes, and he uses it perfectly. So yes, if you're only watching the anime for the main plot and you're not interested in anything that happens in secondary themes, and even more so if the slice of life puts you off, you're going to get bored. If it's things that interest you, then you're going to have a great time. In reality, it depends on your sensibility.

I'm a film buff, so I obviously have a particular affection when it comes to this industry, but beyond that, I think it's great to talk about it in this kind of work.
Like Perfect Blue, which explored the vices of the industry and the world of idols, Oshi no Ko does so in an extended and, above all, broader way. We learn a great deal about what goes on behind the screen, we realise the financial importance and privilege of money over artistic quality, and we understand all the lousy anime we eat up every year, fan service galore and no artistic depth. It's sad, but it's the truth, and Oshi no Ko shows it to us.

The work explores the vices of this milieu even further by delving into the vices of human beings, even exploring the themes of paedophilia among the stars (manga), and that's quite frankly daring for a work of this scale.

We are plunged even deeper into the emotions of human beings, the quest for a meaning to existence, everything that really matters.

My personal experience :

I watched the first episode a few days after its release, after I'd seen that the anime had exploded. I thought this hype was weird, especially given the rather basic synopsis with a slice-of-life feel (but as you know, the synopsis is a huge lie).

And then I got a monstrous slap in the face.

Firstly because I found the episode really enjoyable to watch, but mainly because this plot twist, which I really wasn't expecting, turned me inside out and traumatised me for real. I cried and was left with a feeling of emptiness and sadness for easily a week. And I honestly don't know why. I've watched some really sad anime, that made me cry and that will stay with me as a deep emotional void for a long time, like Your Lie in April, Anohana, Plastic Memories, Cyberpunk, but this was different. I don't know why, but I felt something more personal. It was as if I needed that feeling of revenge too, as if Ai was part of my family too. It's strange to say, but I'll never get over his death, and I'll never get over the end of it either,

It makes me sad to see people watching the anime and already knowing the plot twist, and who, when they see it, don't feel what I felt, that feeling of being cheated, a lie we've been given, which is the main theme of this episode, but also of Ai's character, the lie, and I find this parallel exceptional. The writing is just impressive, with all these parallels, each character explores a theme, a vice, their personality is built from that, their actions are, their writing is.

For example, Aqua will be exploring the vices of revenge like Thorfinn in Vinland Saga, but exploring the consequences of that desire.

I've developed a real love for this work, for everything it's given me, including sadness, that wonderful ending, those memorable characters, those themes I'm so fond of. It's all magic to me. It's a complex work, and I know that some people won't like it, and that's perfectly understandable. But for me:

It's a 10/10

This is my first review, sorry if the quality of my explanations isn't great and it lacks development, the next ones will be more polished I promise <3.