Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Oshi no Ko Season 2
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dm
 Subscriber Posts: 1490 |
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The reincarnation plot might seem irrelevant because the series is at its best when Aqua is off to the side. Granted, there’s a through line from the murder to the current ensemble, but it’s the ensemble that drives a lot of interest in the show, no matter the reason they’ve come together.
I wonder if Akasaka had the original idea for the series and started it, but then the characters hijacked the series and went in their own direction. |
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Covnam
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Episode 3 was another great episode. I was wondering why they didn't take Abiko to see an example of a finished play, so I'm glad that's the direction they went in.
Nice to see Yoriko strike back when Abiko tried to throw the weight of her success around. |
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jdnation
Posts: 2142 |
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Hey, that Blade guy isn't Wesley Snipes...
And this is very different from the Tokyo Blade I know... 
But seriously, I'm so happy the new season is here. Definitely my favorite show of last year! It'll come down to this and Frieren for who wins my award this year, and Frieren is pretty strong, and Elusive Samurai is making a great impression already! I'm okay with the reincarnation/revenge stuff being backgrounded for more insight into the entertainment industry and the talents and lives of the professionals and behind the scenes stuff. There are mixed story genres all over the place in Oshi No Ko, switch between docu-drama to mystery to romance to comedy, and it's intentional and keeps things fresh and fun. Aqua is obviously an older guy under there and is stepping up to help the young'uns and is taking initiatives left and right, typical of a character who relives their life, but sadly dedicated to the sole end of revenge. On the other hand, while we haven't seen a lot of her yet, Ruby is living her new life and her dream to the fullest, or at least as far as she has managed to get so far. I think there will be an arc opening up for her to try modelling. She's still a daft little girl under there, which also makes her cute and charming next to her more maturer idol members and classmates. A contrast to the brooding Aqua. I think they don't want to give us too much of the Prince of Tennis play, because they are saving the big impressive moments for the actual Tokyo Blade play. I've definitely got to check out one of these StageAround theaters someday if they're ever closer by me. But I imagine they are very expensive affairs that need big cities where there is a theaterical scene, or at least you'd think that like standard stage theaters, even businesses like Apple and PlayStation could hold some cool press conferences in one of these, so a site like that needs to be making revenue. I think I see a scenario where the romance between the Tokyo Blade characters will be a big meta-emphasis for Akane, Aqua and Kana. Which I think the mangaka will actually work together with GOA to rewrite specifically for the stage play out of regret for changing things in the manga to a direction she didn't personally intend to begin with. So the StageAround play will have that unique hook to entice audiences, but at the same time a risk towards the manga fans who already support the other ship. But the parallels could work out this way from what is already foreshadowed. Aqua losing Ai mirroring his character losing the princess, and being dedicated towards revenge against Blade whcih could drive him to put on one heck of a performance. I can see Akane trying to figure out the best way to stand out, and doing a thing where she doesn't simply play the princess, but play Ai playing the princess, which also really impacts Aqua. But I also think by the end of it, Akane will realize something, and it's that Aqua only has eyes for Ai, not her, and I think that just as in the play where the princess and the blue-haired dude are separated, Akane and Aqua will also 'break up.' That's just my guess. But I do hope Akane sticks around, if only because her analytical mind and approach to things could continue to be useful, and I wonder if she's ever going to try using her approach for figuring out Aqua, if only because she wants to be closer to him and get him to like her. The OP isn't as good as last season, but it is growing on me the more I watch it and it's got some banger visuals. The lead-in of the ED is awesome for closing every episode, and it's interesting to see Ruby doing what looks like some interpretive dancing. She does love to dance, so I wonder if there's opportunity to see her character explore other forms of dance that aren't idol-choreography, and also start to branch out from there into other talents that she can discover she has. And it's amusing to me that we've got both Ruby and Nier Automata's 2B dancing their way through their EDs this season. Anyway, I'm thrilled the show is back, the visuals, animation and direction and all firing on all cylinders, and I'm always hooked in to want to see the next episode RIGHT NOW! Maybe I should've waited to binge this, but I can't help it! 
Anyway, all that's left now is deciding on who the best girl will be by the end of this season... After all, we all can agree about who was absolutely the best girl of season 1! 
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Hiroki not Takuya
 Posts: 2709 |
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Sorry, this is the girl who just won't lose! Anyway, Ep14 had the best character back-forth I've seen in a long while and I think a highlight so far. If people say Akibo is on the spectrum then this shows what reality is (being on it myself). And we see that strong emotions coupled to keen intellect and strong opinions quickly make one a "problem" (let's just go outside a sec...)
[EDIT: Fixed your HTML image tagging. -TK] |
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TJ_Kat
Posts: 427 Location: Saskatoon, Canada |
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@Key @YackDe @maximilianjenus @NeverConvex @mooseV01 @dm
(I don't want to needlessly quote everyone who replied to me) While I accept that the show just may not have gotten to the point where the reincarnation and revenge are relevant yet - and that my opinion on the matter may completely change once they do - 1+ seasons is an awful long way to go before getting there. Honestly, at this point in the story, it feels like you could completely remove Ai (including the reincarnation, including the revenge, including Ruby and Aqua's dad), make some other very minor changes and wind up with almost the exact same show. I'm waiting to be wrong, and I hope it happens soon, because I think the show has gone on too long without actually addressing those two things. I think where my frustration lies is that RIGHT NOW it kind of takes me out of the story on the rare occasions those things actually come up. |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18537 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Could you do a series purely about the experiences of ordinary fraternal twins as they navigate the complexities of various aspects of the entertainment industry while growing up? Sure, and it would probably be an interesting series on its own if it was as stocked with insider perspectives as this one is. But it wouldn't be Oshi no Ko. You'd also have to change the name, too. If I'm translating it correctly from the original Japanese, it's at least a bit of a double-meaning that specifically refers to them being the children of an idol. |
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TJ_Kat
Posts: 427 Location: Saskatoon, Canada |
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I guess my point is that that's exactly what the show has been so far. Whenever the reincarnation or revenge has come up since episode 1, it's felt like an afterthought. I look forward to when those things become relevant, but I wish it will have happened sooner. |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18537 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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I can't see it as an afterthought when that aspect of the story is foundational to the nature and behavior of at least one of the main characters. And I don't see that the reincarnation angle has to be constantly relevant for it to still be an important part of the story. |
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Shay Guy
 Posts: 2377 |
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Episode 15:
I've been looking forward to the middle third of this episode for a long time. According to my Fitbit, just sitting on the couch, my heart rate topped 120 when Kana said that thing and when that thing happened to Aqua. (Doga Kobo didn't exactly execute either how I was imagining they might, but that's inevitable, and I do like some of their touches.) You know, between the images we see of the script and the snatches of rehearsal and brainstorming we overhear, the anime contains a lot more Tokyo Blade material than the manga; it'd be interesting to see an analysis. I've been wondering what Akasaka drew from for inspiration for its premise and plot, back in 2021 -- the aesthetics and sudden titanic success were obviously drawing from Demon Slayer, but the who-will-reign plot is closer to something like One Piece. "Striking" is an awkward translation of Raida's description of the new script ("togatta"), but that's something other translators have struggled with too. Yen Press's translation says "extreme", the translation commissioned from Media Do for Manga Plus said "edgy" of all things, and back when the chapter was first released, the scanlation went with "they tend to come up with weird shit that would suck if not for one redeeming quality". I hadn't noticed reading chapter 51, but on its third page, Kana makes a comment about this being a convenient "setting" for Akane ("settei"), and Akane uses the same word in the last panel. Akasaka does this same sort of symmetry with "saiaku" ("the worst") in chapter 30, featuring the game of catch and the AquAka kiss at the end of LoveNow. Is this a writing trick he likes in general? It's neat, though it doesn't always come out in translation. The meaning of Gotanda's "I thought for sure that…" line is a lot less clear than in the manga, where he has a thought balloon showing a picture of Kana. Guess it would've been hard to include something like that without disrupting the pacing or tone. Vague spoilers for material that'll probably be about halfway through season 3: spoiler[Ooh, Gotanda's got a "hikaru" folder on his desktop.] |
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John the Dark Lord
Posts: 268 |
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And also because adaptations usually happen when the original manga is still ongoing, so the editors usually ask the mangaka to keep focused on their own work and not spend too much time thinking about the adaptation. |
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jdnation
Posts: 2142 |
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Well, well! I didn't expect the moment for Akane to finally piece things together to happen this soon, but here we are! The trigger of Kana telling Aqua how to act was brilliant! Also, while I suspected that Aqua's gloominess and solitary nature was due to feeling guilty about being unable to do much to save Ai, ESPECIALLY because it might have been preventable if he bothered to try and figure out what happened to his old body and the culprit earlier on instead of enjoying his new childhood to the point of being grateful towards the killer, I didn't expect this turn where he's practically being haunted by his old self, which explains the creepy Doc/Aqua visual in the OP. Very interesting! I just thought that as a doctor, he'd be more used to the sight of people dying in traumatic ways, but then again he was a small town doc handling pregnancies and the elderly, not trauma victims.
In contrast, Ruby is the opposite, who rejects lies and wears her emotions openly. Being essentially a child who was spared the sight of Ai's death, she more easily adjusted. Aqua, ironically feels more responsibility as the adult with experienced hindsight behind him that's older than both Ai and Ruby. A reinforcement is made in the show stressing that adults should protect and look out for kids, which was relevant during Akane's breakdown last season. So Aqua now wastes no time looking out for and resolving situations and relationships, which are when his actions really shine as a protagonist. I wonder if the show will give us insight into the mental health side of the entertainment industry? Like maybe Aqua sees a psychologist who specifically deals with celebrity clients? Akane must have also done it, and she herself is studied in it for her profession, so maybe she introduces him to someone. Then we get more insight into his past life before meeting Ai as well as his 2nd childhood and who Ai really is to him? Could be full of interesting flashbacks. And the reincarnation aspect of the show is relevant once more and some interesting things can be done with this genre that aren't explored before! Great episode! Also it's interesting to note why closer author/script writer collabs aren't usually done. But in this case as with others, it worked out well! I thought the princess died in the story, but she comes back to life. Once Aqua pulls off this performance with Akane, he might reinvigorate the old original ship the author intended with the manga fans, which will also have meta implications for the current Aqua/Akane/Kana triangle we've got here!
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TJ_Kat
Posts: 427 Location: Saskatoon, Canada |
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Ask and you shall receive I guess. This episode was a start and a few more like it and my biggest grip about the show will be dealt with.
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NeverConvex
 Subscriber Posts: 2603 |
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The PTSD scene was really well done. Though, I had some trouble deciding if the face they gave Akane as she was piecing things together was supposed to be creepy or just very focused. Maybe a bit of both, given we don't really know who can and can't be trusted?
Oh, I totally agree with you; maybe I just ended up in your list because I replied, not because I disagreed? I think this is true of many, maybe even most, anime reincarnation stories, really; rarely is the reincarnation actually important or capitalized on very effectively. A side effect of isekai becoming so dominant, I think; it means many stories will feature isekai tropes without really benefitting from them. I just think Oshi no Ko executes on everything else so well that I don't really mind. |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18537 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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I find it interesting that you're making this comment clearly after seeing episode 15, where the reincarnation angle goes back to being very relevant. |
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Shay Guy
Posts: 2377 |
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In fairness, it's easy to miss just how it's shaped the nature of Aqua's PTSD, and how his feelings about the traumatic event that's shaped his second life are different from what an ordinary kid's would've been. That is, it's no coincidence that it's the doctor in him who's saying "you failed to save her life; you have no right to be happy." Ruby's a bit more subtle, since she's already the oldest she's ever been, but there are signs of how she still sees Ai as her oshi first and her mother second, even though she's the twin who calls her "Mama". (I've pointed out before that she always wears her hair in the style that Ai only wore on-stage.) And of course there've been pointed references to how her determination to become an idol is fueled by her memories of wasting away as Sarina -- see episodes 2 and 10. Late-season spoilers: spoiler[Interested to see what people think of the music video arc and all the Gorou backstory therein.] |
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