I AM GOING TO MAKE SLIGHT ALLUSIONS TO THE MANGA AND SERIES AS A WHOLE (up to this point) IN THIS REVIEW, IF YOU ARE ANIME-ONLY/DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED, ITS PROBABLY BEST YOU DON'T READ THIS
If i were to describe Oshi No Ko (specifically this season), it would be like driving a sports car at top speed down a steep hill, having the time of your life, and then crashing head first into a wall made of pure tungsten. This season started off extremely well; i found myself liking the Mainstay Arc way more than i did when i read it in the manga, but was worried for what came next.
If we go by our car crash metaphor, the Scandal Arc is where i personally noticed that there was something in the distance. I started to freak out, but then realized whatever this object was happened to be pretty far away, all things considered. Then the Movie Arc started, this is where i realized "oh, there IS something in the distance, and it's much closer than i realize."
And before i knew it, i hit the wall. The wall in question, being twincest. We'll touch on this later, but for now lets talk about what the drive was like pre-tungsten wall, because to no one's surprise driving a sports car at ludicrous speeds is still fun regardless of horrific crashes.
MAINSTAY
If i were to rank all the arcs, including the manga arcs yet to be adapted into a ranking, Mainstay would land somewhere in the middle. Does that mean it's bad? God no. I may and will criticize ONK quite a lot, but that doesnt mean it isn't a good series at times. It's like Weezer; the early stuff (in this case everything up to Tokyo Blade (Reality Dating Show Arc for me personally)) is great, but everything else is widely seen as "...eh?" by most people despite having a small but dedicated fanbase. Just like Weezer as well, ONK is known for some absoutely garbage arcs and plot points. Being around for the final chapter in particular was like watching an empire crumble to pieces, but we are still (hopefully) a long, long way away from that.
Back to mainstay; It's a fun arc. I like Yoshizumi. The whole variety show thing is fun to explore and something i found really engaging (despite not being familiar with the concept, im unfortunately a filthy westerner and watch gritty crime dramas on tv instead) as well as really informative. The main point of this arc though, is to show how Ruby is falling into that same mindset of "revenge revenge revenge" which Aqua had going early in the series. Her method is certainly...unique (intentionally cause controversy and immediately resolve it somehow???) but the same thing happened in Reality Dating Show which also my favourite arc besides when Ai was alive, soooo i dont think I'm at liberty to criticize this.
The commentary about how the industry exploits sketchy topics/people for money is interesting, and makes up one of the main things i like about the series, but in hindsight this is REALLY disappointing considering this is arguably the last decent industry commentary we get from the series. on the topic of industry commentary:
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SCANDAL
...is just okay???
it was short in the manga and just as short here. It doesn't really have much story relevance, as it's more just a way to wrap up the whole "The Hoshino twins are secretly Ai's children" thing (the way it was done was pretty shitty if im being honest), but it also gives some development about Kana. Before we get to Kana though, lets talk about Akane.
a national tragedy for AquaKane fans everywhere
This part of the manga actually happened way earlier, before the scandal arc entirely. But i think it fits better here, as it sets up Aqua's character (for better or for worse) within the next arc.
What I'm about to say might be controversial, but i honestly believe if Akane was killed, or at the very least substantially injured during this scene, i think the show would be way better. I really, REALLY like Akane's character, but her misfortune would not only be a fascinating look at how Aqua sees Akane, but also possibly give him reason for some of the things he does later in the series. Either way, this gets faked out and Akane lives, being saved by Aqua because HE PUT A TRACKER ON HER WITHOUT HER KNOWLEDGE.
Extremely questionable ethics aside, this tracker thing shows Aqua does care about Akane to some degree, even if it's for purely selfish reasons. This could have gone in so many cool directions, but unfortunately because this is also where the two break up. Akane is now going to be relegated to mostly a side character for the rest of the series. No more cute romance, no more cool detective stuff, and nothing stopping Aqua from becoming Second-Hand Dr. Tenma. This is also where i believe the series REALLY starts to fall off, but it's probably time we talk about the best part of the season first.
oh...she just like me...SHE JUST LIKE ME FR!!!!!!
if you asked me before season 3 released who my favourite ONK character was, i would say Akane because while she didn't have much relevance during the last parts of the manga, when she did make an appearance it was if she realized how much the story had fallen up to that point and tried her best to save it from being egregiously mediocre. She may have failed in that regard, but she was still a light at the end of a very long tunnel.
Kana however, i mostly sidelined because her character mostly boiled down to "waaaa aqua doesn't love me and my career is in the gutter" and she didn't really contribute much to the plot. Having given the manga some time (and also growing more as a person) i find myself really resonating with Kana, and would go so far as to say she's my favourite character despite not having much different from her manga counterpart. This season focuses on her pretty heavily, as this is where her character starts to really pick up, and hopefully reaches a decent conclusion if the anime team play their cards right. Unfortunately, with how the Anime is headed, she's probably not getting a decent conclusion to her side of the story just like Akane.
Also i can't not mention this, but Aqua and Kana NEED to get together. Shipping wars are probably the most unemployed thing people can do, but I'm gonna participate regardless. I will also take KanaKane because im a sucker for rivals to lovers. Romance isn't exactly a big thing in ONK, so i wont dwell on it any longer.
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MOVIE
Hoo boy. This is gonna be fun.
After Aqua leaked to the public that him and Ruby were Ai's children, he starts work on "The 15-Year Lie", a biography on Ai Hoshino.
I have a lot to say about this arc, but I'm going to save most of it for when it gets fully adapted. Some things i wanna say though:
What did i want them to change?
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Blank Fairy - Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill 2 OST)
When i first read the subtitles of Ruby's character, talking about how she (Sarina) wanted to marry Aqua (Gorou) when she turned 16; i paused the episode, leaned back in my chair, took a deep breath, cupped my mouth firmly with my hands and started laughing. At was at this point, i realized something.
they aren't changing anything.
This terrifies me, because there is a very high chance they won't alter the absolutely garbage ending of the manga. The best we are getting is some expansion on scenes, but other than that? It's really not looking good, and not just because of the plot point that made me realize this. speaking of that plot point:
I don't think i need to say this, but considering what I've seen online and how normalized it can feel, I'm going to say it anyway.
INCEST IS BAD.
I understand loving your siblings, but...jesus. I know the same argument can be made for say, Homosexuality, but it falls apart when you consider the biological concerns. Inbreeding causes birth deformities, which should be reason enough to completely disregard Incest as something that should be committed. Even without the biological concerns, the psychological repercussions are enough justification against Incest entirely. A romantic dynamic mixed with a familial dynamic creates all kinds of concerns for how a power dynamic would operate in such a relationship.
Even with my reasons aside, Incest is plain weird no matter the context. Why this is present in ONK no less, confuses me to this day.
Even MORE things aside, there's no point to Aqua and Ruby being lovers. Regardless of incest, power dynamic, mental age gap, all sorts of things, there's nothing i can see them gaining. Ruby becomes happier and that's all that changes. It is never brought up in any real capacity after.
My main hope going into this part of the story, was that the anime team would cut it completely. It didn't serve anything to the plot, and it doesn't have any reason to be adapted either, besides pleasing the loud minority that like this sort of thing. Seriously, the shit storm i saw when 143 (yet to be adapted) dropped, without even being too aware of Oshi No Ko at the time, was astonishing. It was only topped by the final chapter causing an even bigger shit storm.
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OVERALL THOUGHTS
Criticism aside, Oshi No Ko is still very much worth watching. If you can look past some of the horrible decisions which are NOT going to be remedied, you will see a fascinating deconstruction of the entertainment industry and a nice side dish of character drama and revenge. I still consider ONK to be one of my favourite series ever made, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna pull any punches when it comes to the problems i have with it. If this season had a proper conclusion, and at the very least made an attempt to alter one of the most unnecessary parts of the manga, it would be pushing 9.5/95 territory. I still have hope for the final season, as the anime crew have done an amazing job regardless.
8.9/10.
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