Forum - View topicREVIEW: Oshi no Ko GN 1
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ThatGuyWhoLikesThings
Posts: 1037 |
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Correction: The artist for Oshi no Ko is actually the same one as Scum's Wish. Aka only does the writing here.
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AnimeFan617
 Collector ExtraordinairePosts: 76 |
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Actually, Aka Akasaka did not create the art for this manga. The art was done by Mengo Yokoyari. It even says so on the front cover. Akasaka only wrote the story.
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09jcg
Posts: 538 |
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That spoiler warning should probably be placed at the top in front of the synopsis. The synopsis itself spoils the whole thing
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Princess_Irene
ANN Associate Editor
 Posts: 2658 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
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Fixed! Sorry about that!
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dm
Subscriber Posts: 1480 |
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I wouldn't have given this series a second glance given its alleged premise, but (a) Aka Akasaka and (b) a lot of really positive chatter in the forums here made me get the first volume and read it.
Wow. Was that unexpected --- in the best way possible. I'm really interested in seeing where this goes. Ai's early emphasis on "it's all a lie"/"deception is what makes the industry work" was intriguing; the use of interstitial "talking heads" interviews with people looking back on the events that are unfolding in the series from some unknown vantage point in the future; the vantage point of a narrator more-or-less off stage (an adult mind in an child's body); all make for surprisingly effective storytelling. |
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Kiwi93
Posts: 407 |
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I’ve been reading the manga on Manga plus and it’s one of my favorite manga’s currently, I am beyond hyped for the anime.
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wolf10
 Posts: 931 |
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This is an easy series to avoid based on premise, thanks to deliberate similarities to Mushoku Tensei and that whole genre. It's very much not. (Stop reading the comments and go in blind! Now!)
I honestly don't think it's possible to come out the other side and not love Ai. She's probably the best possible version of her character type, and that's really important for everything that follows. The mystery setup is really strong, even from the first chapter, and looking back on this first volume has only given me more theories. (But wait, if that's true, then...) I'm usually wrong, but it's still fun to play along, and that's also really tough to pull off. |
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Shay Guy
 Posts: 2337 |
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Oh dang, I didn’t think we’d get a review two weeks after release! I guess that’s probably something that happens a lot more often around here than I’ve noticed (I’ve never anticipated a manga release date enough to put it on my calendar before). And of that day’s many volume 1 releases, Honey Lemon Soda was certainly a good choice for the same-day review.
I've been reading this manga since chapter 1, and one theme I really like that's already being developed in this volume is the messy nature of celebrity identity and the facades people have to put up. Hence the tagline: "In show business, lies are a weapon." This fits really well with the Narou-isekai-esque reincarnation premise, and in particular just how confusing and contradictory Aqua's own position is -- he's simultaneously Ai's fan (who doesn't do anything inappropriate but still avoids answering when a colleague asks if he'd date Ai -- a girl maybe half his age -- given the chance), her doctor, and her son. When people ask what OnK is about, my favorite answer is "It's about the main character's complicated relationship with his favorite idol." Hell, he was supposed to deliver himself. How many fictional characters can you say that about? (One neat thing about that tagline that I saw when the anime was announced: The kanji meaning "show business" are written with furigana showing they're to be pronounced sekai, making it "In this world, lies are a weapon." Normally they're pronounced geinoukai; both terms use the same character for "kai". For me, it underscores how the twins have been isekai'd into the fantastical alternate "world" of the entertainment industry.)
Though her intellectual faculties are, uh, a bit more dubious. 
I'm pretty sure they're three in the latter part of this volume, though the manga's timeline in general has given me enough headaches that I posted a 1700-word rant on Reddit about them. (One of the weirder implications in this volume is that the child actress who appears in one chapter should be only two or maybe three, given later information, and acts like she's a few years older.)
It’s not framed sexually for the reader, but the way it plays out might be worth going into: Aqua still feels it’d be inappropriate for him to receive it, and insists on being bottle-fed. Ruby agrees that a grown man shouldn't do such things, despite the fact that she’s, uh, very enthusiastic about being breastfed herself, and in general a much more manic fan of Ai than he is. (The whole dynamic walks a fine line, and I think an intentionally awkward one; I think it helps that Ruby was as young as she was in her last life.) One more note: There's an detail early in chapter 1 that I suspect was fairly clear to Japanese readers, but that pretty much none of the English-speaking fandom caught on to until much later, and that the translation notes don't spell out. Specifically, it has to do with spoiler[where exactly the hospital is]. |
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TheSleepyMonkey
Posts: 960 |
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Had high hopes for this one after finding out it was written by Akasaka, but ended up being extremely disappointed after he decided to use the Mushoku Tensei route when it comes to the main characters. Dropped less than 10 chapters in.
Maybe the anime will give me a better impression, but considering Daisuke Hiramaki's other directiorial works are pretty forgettable, I doubt it. |
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JustMonika
Posts: 1167 |
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This was my first manga to purchase and read and I absolutely loved it. Probaby the best thing I've read in 40 years. Can't wait for Volume 2 in May and the anime adaptation.
Last edited by JustMonika on Wed Feb 01, 2023 5:49 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Cho_Desu
 Posts: 242 |
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One of those series that was hyped up to the highest of heavens, but then I read through the first few chapters and could not see anything special about it. I guess my main issue was I couldn't care about the characters much. Also probably just extremely tired of any kind of "reincarnation" story at this point, not to mention rather tired of idols...
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 10034 Location: Virginia |
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I bought it and tried it. It is not for me. Too grim and I found the artwork irritating. Food for the recycle bin.
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Gem-Bug
 Posts: 1330 |
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You should always donate books you don't want! |
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Kendall TV
Posts: 48 |
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I'm a little bit of a latecomer to Oshi No Ko. I heard a lot of buzz about it from people who read the scanlations but I didn't bother looking into it at all.
When MANGA Plus licensed it, I still didn't know anything about it but I decided to give it a shot anyway given how often I see its title mentioned. I read through the first few chapters and I admit that it didn't captivate me that much. I almost dropped it. It wasn't until around chapter 9 when that thing happens that I became interested. A few chapters after that and I was hooked. Now I understand why there's so much buzz about it, and I continue to read the simul chapters when they go up. So for people who might be hesitant about Oshi No Ko, I say go check it out on MANGA Plus (it's free) and at the very least read until you get to the point where that thing happens. You'll know what I mean when you see it. If you still don't like the story at that point, this is probably not for you. Otherwise, fun reading. By the way, the manga produced by MANGA Plus and by Yen Press are different. Different translators, different letterers. I haven't checked out the Yen Press version so I can't comment on its quality, but seeing Gorou in the review is really annoying. |
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Shay Guy
Posts: 2337 |
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"Gorou" is the spelling Yen Press uses. I had no problems with the translation myself (compared to MP's, which clearly suffered from having to crank out four chapters a week). |
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