Oshi no Ko - Reviews

How can a work be so underrated, like give this a try, and anyone who does will never regret it, The characters are brilliant, so is the story. and the art just knocks it out of the park.

Amazing art and very unique storyline, absolutely love it. Found this after reading Berserk chapter 364 and now I am full of regrets.

I have read up to ch100 as of writing this.

I heard a lot of good things about this and, while I do think it's pretty good, it's a bit overhyped.

The plot deals with the psychological aspect of up-and-coming entertainers. Whether that's in TV & Film, classical theatre, or even youtube everyone deals with some sort of problem(s). The MC is a twin who's life is suddenly turned around and the story quickly gains a revenge sub-plot. While the story is a bit lackluster in that I couldnt empathize with many of the characters outside of the twins, I do still find some aspects interesting. I would say that the mangaka arc was better done in Gintama. The cast of characters seem to snowball after every arc and most of them, including important supporting characters, are sidelined or simply not mentioned for a long break. The transitions and time skips are rather forced and come abruptly that it doesnt really fit well. The art, however, is impeccable. Every character is different and fits their character. The scenes meant to capture some aspect of emotion do exactly that. I can and will definitely say that Yokoyori Mengo (the artist) absolutely hard carries this manga.

With all that said, I think a 7 or 7.5 is a fair overall score. There isnt really anything ground breaking (moral of the story: DONT BE MEAN TO PEOPLE!!!1!1) and the art can only carry so far. I will continue to read this but I feel like the little hint during the mangaka arc may come true "they wont let stories end).

This is a still-developing story, the tone of this manga hasn't been fleshed out yet.

The story is a serious and heartbreaking one, about the cut-throat world of entertainment and how Idols in Japan are mistreated. Idols can't have relationships, because the fans feel betrayed, Our protagonist's mother Ai is an Idol who is killed because a crazy fan couldn't accept that she had a lover and got pregnant with his child (children cuz twins).

Our Male MC is trying to find out about his mother's killer, Our Female MC is trying to follow in her mother's footsteps.

The tone I mentioned earlier is because it is neither a murder mystery looking for a killer nor is it about teenagers trying to make it into this dangerous industry.

It still needs quite a few more chapters to figure itself out. I Will update the review when it changes

Until then I can't really recommend it. But you can do whatever you want, I'm a review, not a Cop.

UPDATE: Later chapters do increase the overall enjoyability of the manga. It definitively ends up being a "teenagers in the entertainment" industry story. Still seriously entertaining. 

oshi no ko is a continuing manga. it's got a great deal of hype—this means that it's still in the 'author making promises' phase of storytelling—those promises have yet to be fully paid off. however, as of this review, the author Aka Akasaka seems, in tandem with the artist Mengo Yokoyari, to be bringing the story toward its closing point. here's what we know for certain; the defining trait of the manga is that it is a social commentary, the butt of its often satirical criticism being the japanese entertainment industry. this is in itself a great, if late, commentary to make; yet the story picks it up after the initial story themes were laid, which, bearing mention, were not that of social commentary but rather of a psychological thriller—thus the story has a divide between its beginning and everything afterward, wherein the beginning seems to shine brighter with the most appeal and excitement, as most readers pick up for the hype and stay just long enough to realize the manga is not what its prologue suggested it would be.

the psychological thriller and mystery intrigue elements do remain, but they are little more than like a main quest in a massive open-world game which knows you're more interested in the side quests. the side plots, side characters, and side narratives take over, proving to be more interesting to the author than the actual premise he established, which can strike a reader a little dishonestly in hindsight, like false advertisement. however, this is only so indicting; the side plots are good, they each have catchy hooks and satisfying, meaningful conclusions. characters do not grow so much as their mostly static natures reveal social problems endemic in present-day japan. each side plot takes you into a new area of the japanese entertainment industry, and leaves you greatfully informed by the end of it, while the main cast tries to resolve the problems a new victim of this area of the industry has suffered. sadly, thus far, said victims have consistently been made into extras after their focus, to join the main character's close circle which was another victim of the 'main plot negligence' touched on earlier—the circle he builds fails to receive much focus besides as a repository or sort of war-chest for the main character's friends, each of whom he 'saved' from the industry one way or another, in spite of the fact that, by all earlier indication, this circle was meant to be perhaps the central focus of the story.

what will be required to resolve these problems is likely too much for the author & artist to bear, given they seem intent on closing up shop quite soon. renewed focus will have to be placed on the circle to justify its existence—it will need to be both the source and conclusion of some critical, main-plot conflict, rather than a mostly unnecessary repository for the main character's war prizes. the characters in the circle in an official, idol capacity, should each have final arcs which justify their promotions and make them vital for the story's conclusion. the main character should overcome their attachment issues but receive punishment for their wrongdoings that amounts to more than a slap on the wrist. the 'hot male savior complex' needs to be addressed. one of the love interests, whose dependency on the former was an issue raised, needs to manifest as an actually relevant antagonist, rather than becoming what i suspect they're headed for, which is 'joining the war-chest after learning to unconditionally trust the mc.' the magical elements of the story need to be thoroughly justified and addressed, and the rule of these magical elements need to impose themselves again on the main characters so that it isn't just some 'free prize' that conveniently allowed for the story to occur, but has a tangible cost, as the author has earlier repeatedly inferred.

if these things are done successfully, then my review will probably change to something around a 7/10. however, as it stands, the inconsistency of the story direction is the primary flaw this manga has, not mentioning the often dangerous leaning the author has on psychological problems without too much concern toward how he resolves them—suggesting often very unhealthy solutions that, if left unaddressed by the ending, end up proving not only unrealistic, but a little harmful for those who felt they found a voice for their issues in this social commentary.