Forum - View topicOshi no Ko (TV) (w/ index).
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ACｘS
 Posts: 961 |
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8:
Nothing particularly revealing in this episode tbh, although that isn't necessarily a bad thing. What caught my interest is Aqua's introspection (existential crisis? lol). After confronting not-Ai in Akane, he began to question what even was Ai to him when she was still alive, and made him more self-aware. The part that piques my interest is how he realizes that he is still susceptible to bodily changes while retaining his identity and thoughts as Goro (something I pointed out before: Aqua still sees himself as Goro whereas Ruby doesn't refer to herself as Sarina anymore, and I think it's because of the age overlap). I said before how Aqua is Goro in a kid's body, but as a kid, his adult thinking is still affected by stuff such as infantile amnesia and now, hormones! But despite all that, he still retains his developed mental faculty. I have to admit, Akane's ability to imagine Ai's psyche and even preferences in men did feel a bit forced. As in, a bit of suspension of disbelief is required. It's clearly a plot device for Aqua to find the culprit, and it's in the same class of conveniences as that time when everyone seemed perfect for their roles in making that video for Akane. I hope there's more to why MEM wanted to become an idol but never happened. There has to be a story for it. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 24171 |
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Man, they're really dragging out this, "I've got some juicy info about Ai for you" jazz. Part of that, of course, is that we had a recap episode last week, so that's obviously a factor in stretching this out. Presumably next week, we'll finally get the dish.
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ACｘS
Posts: 961 |
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I'm not even sure if Aqua will find the culprit within this season. At this rate, unlikely. This season is probably focusing more on how B Komachi 2nd Generation is formed, although admittedly Aqua's quest for revenge has always been the more interesting subplot.
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11446 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Episode 08: First Time
Summary: Pending Comments: Pending Screen Caps:  
 
 
 
 
Last edited by Tony K. on Thu Jun 15, 2023 10:06 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Chiibi
 Posts: 4829 |
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Episode 09
I bet Mem's real age caught everyone here off guard! Well....Kana is better at singing than both Ruby AND MEM....who didn't see that coming 
She's kind of acting like an anti-social brat towards Aqua....but as someone who can also be anti-social brat when she gets jealous, I can totally relate. 
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4159 |
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That's interesting because that's the part I don't like the most and going by what I heard the original premise, Aqua's story was he'd find out the identity of his father despite his mother wanting him to know... because reasons, one of which was Ai was still alive. Instead of that we get a warmed over third hand mystery murder but not really. Ai in the end was killed by a fan (the author), not for any direct human reason but to get isekai'd Aqua off his butt. If you want a story, a real actual story, the culprit would be unknown who'd turn out to be his father... but that would be too close to being something. "Crazy fan" has to "crazy fan" but that doesn't ferment a 7 year revenge plot... because if isekai'd Aqua is adult enough to reason out all the plot details to make it a "murder mystery" then he should be aware enough that a crazy fan is not a murder weapon. It's not a revenge story, it's just some BS so the author can say some cutting remarks about Japan's weird entertainment industry. Like, did you know this predatory business was in fact predatory? Yes, it is such. |
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Chiibi
Posts: 4829 |
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Bro, you hating the anime for goofy reasons doesn't change what the story is doing. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24171 |
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I think adding the revenge/reincarnation angle was pretty smart on the part of the mangakas. Sure, they could have come up with a story that didn't have that aspect at all, and just concentrated on pulling back the curtain on Japan's entertainment industry, but I think the revenge/reincarnation stuff created a much bigger audience.
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11446 Location: Frisco, TX |
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If I hadn't known about the revenge subplot, I probably wouldn't have tried this. I love revenge/redemption stories because of how much they can drive a person over the top. I'm also a big fan of the detective genre, which they've done pretty well in bits and pieces when they actually focus on the revenge. All the entertainment industry stuff is and their psychological effects are just extra icing on the cake.
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Chiibi
Posts: 4829 |
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Me too...I really like mysteries....and I really like jaded male protagonists driven by a dark motivation. They're a lot more interesting than the wide-eyed innocent ones who just want to be good boys all the time. |
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ACｘS
Posts: 961 |
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9:
I said I wanted Mem-Cho's story on why she didn't get to become an idol, and now I got it. Man... she got it rough. Not particularly tragic or anything, but too real. Tfw you got your priorities straight, but before you know it, you'e already [insert age here] and you missed your window to your dreams. Why you gotta do me like that... Her story does serve as a side commentary on how the entertainment industry (especially, agree with me or not, Asian entertainment industry) are obsessed with youth. It's wild; 25 is an age that is considered old in the idol industry, but ask me or any average person in society, and I'd say you're only reached a quarter of your lifetime. "What do you mean 'old'??" See how crazy expectations can be? As far as the current B Komachi goes, it's interesting to see Mem-Cho changes the dynamics of the team. Her and Kana are basically the brains and experiences of the team—Kana had an early start, Mem-cho had to be a late bloomer—but Mem-cho is the optimistic one, and Kana is pessimistic. At the rate, when Akane comes on board, both her and Ruby will be the heart. I imagine Ruby to be the youth and joy of the team; Akane will be the pensive and empathetic one. And as far as the whole story goes, I thought Aqua's revenge quest is carrying its own weight. Right from the onset, and throughout the entire show, the mantra has been about the entertainment industry being one big lie and keeping up with that illusion. The story hasn't strayed from that theme at all; despite learning that Ai isn't as angelic as he would have imagined, Aqua is still bent on finding the culprit to exact revenge, and to be fair, it's purely based on his speculation that Ai's killer couldn't have acted on his own. You can even say that Aqua has become delusional, and represents the obsessed loyalist who would double-down on his faith of Ai in spite of all the dirt he would uncover on her. And to learn about Ai's secrets, Aqua would have to journey through the underbelly of the entertainment industry, which reveals that there's nothing rosy about how things work here. But in spite of all that, there are still ingenuous people who enjoy being an idol and giving back to the fans who support them (as exemplified by Ruby and the new members). Aqua and Ruby represent two sides of the same coin, one being the dark side with themes of revenge and fanaticism, and the other being the bright side with themes of realizing your dreams and giving back to the fans. The revenge subplot was what pulled me into the show; I would have completely dismissed it altogether, like I have for every other idol-based shows if it wasn't for Aqua's subplot (and the unusual reincarnation thing going on... this one I admit being the biggest plot device). |
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Chiibi
Posts: 4829 |
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Right and I have to mention, "THIS ISN'T EVEN JUST ASIA". So I don't know if anyone here watched 90210 back in the 90s. (I didn't myself). But an actress on there lied about being much younger than she actually was to get cast as a high school student and there was MAJOR drama there. It was really dumb.
Aggretsuko season 3 also had much to say about this weird prejudice; as Manaka was a whopping 26 years old, beating MEM
This whole 'obsessed with youth' crap is dumb though...like, LOOKS are the only think that should matter here for idols and actresses; if you can pull it OFF, who cares about the number of birthdays you had? Last edited by Chiibi on Sat Jun 17, 2023 10:16 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24171 |
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This conversation reminds me of that famous Japanese entertainer whose name I can't think of right now who had this hilarious schtick where for years she kept on claiming to be 17 and whenever she said that in public, her fans would answer back incredulously, "Oi! Oi! Oi!" or something like that. It was all done in good fun but it did highlight the preoccupation with age.
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Beltane70
 Posts: 3972 |
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Kikuko Inoue is who you’re thinking about.
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ACｘS
Posts: 961 |
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Ah, MTV and entertainment in the 90s and 2000s, ammarite. |
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