Oshi no Ko

Yeah there's no chance Aqua reciprocates but that they even went in this direction at all is Ew.

Again, I'm not really surprised. Ruby still strongly identifies as Sarina rather than her own person. I'm guessing this is an excuse for more conflict between Aqua and Ruby despite them both wanting to work towards the same goal.

Edited by PhiSat on Jul 5th 2023 at 10:41:00 AM

Sorry, but I just find this hilarious. Honestly my mind goes to the Leon meme whenever I think of Aqua’s reaction to this (just without the slur).

Edited by Cross on Jul 5th 2023 at 2:02:59 PM

Lol yeah, thought the same thing.

Honestly, this is almost certainly gonna lead to drama over Aqua separating himself from his past persona as Goro while Ruby pretty much is Sarina, and the friction this will cause between their expectations of each other. Aqua will most likely just be weirded out. That said, I didn't notice the first time around that Ruby goes out, freshens up, changes into nightclothes and then goes back to Aqua. She's unironically DTF.

I was sure it will end this way since Aka started reminding us about Sarinas crush on Goro. But if he actually wants this ship to sail, he will kill either of them (Aqua most probably) and reincarnate again. Mind my words, it is a possibility...

Edited by Nachtwandler on Jul 5th 2023 at 2:15:06 AM

...Oh my God, I actually didn't notice myself either.

I really don’t think Aka is pursuing the incest ship, this is simply to introduce a point of conflict between Aqua and Ruby.

These two really needs to start divorce themselves from their past selves at this point.

That's the thing, isn't it? Aqua largely has, if anything he's more defined by his Ai trauma than by his life as Goro. But Ruby has a very clear continuity of self from her time as Sarina, which is to be expected when she didn't ever get to grow up — her reincarnation is more of a continuation than a complete reset like it was for Aqua, in that sense. So now that the truth is out there's gonna be a disconnect between her seeing Aqua as Goro vs as the Aqua she knows.

Want to be upset at Mem going along with this, but that sweet Kana suffering is too delicious to pass up.

Ichigo finally returns after a long trip of getting milk cigarettes fishing. No seriously, would he qualify as a deadbeat dad in scenario?

I am glad that it seems Miyako will get a bit time to shine, I really like her as a character.

Honestly, Miyako is THE single greatest adult in the series, period...not that she has much competition to begin with, but still!

She’s still owed a remarriage to a handsome actor.

Kana finding new unchartwd methods of losing. Never change, Aka.

Notable that whatever else Ichigo was, he seemed like he knew his business. Despite only getting married to him out of convenience, Miyako still thinks of what he would do in her place. He's more than earned himself a dressing down no though

This time we got Miyako's back-story. Let's see how long her mini-arc will last and how it will affect the current big story arc.

The chapter is pretty vague about what exactly her "night work" entailed. I know how hostess clubs work, but there's quite a bit of latitude there. I wonder how far she had to go.

Taking what’s shown at face value, at worst it mainly seems like Miyako just dated around. Though if she hadn’t met Ichigo when she did there’s no telling how far she would have went.

Edited by Cross on Jul 26th 2023 at 10:29:02 AM

I...

• got caught up in the anime last week
• binged it in one night
• bought all the mangas when I came home
• pre-ordered and bought tome 8 today as it was released
• came back on all the promises I made to myself of only reading manga publications and binge-read the 45 chapters I was missing during the last 3 hours

That series is fire. The anime straight up went into my personal top 3 and I *think* episodes 1 and 6 might be the best pieces of non-feature-length/theater-released anime I have ever seen (I know, ep 1 got some theater releases...I mean not made by Ghibli, Hosoda, Shinkai and the likes).

I went in 100% blind at the suggestion of YT Channel Mother's Basement, and that was the best decision I have ever made. I daresay it surpasses the manga by removing the interviews that hint at Ai's fate so that the ending packs even more of a punch. Utterly brilliant writing decision.

It also looks like it will have, what, 15 to 18 tomes? That tends to be the ideal length in my opinion.

My only minor gripe is that the Tokyo Blade arc should have been split into two - one dealing with the reality of adaptations, and one dealing with the importance of acting. As it stands, it doesn't feel as well-paced as the other ones.

Edited by Bexlerfu on Aug 16th 2023 at 4:17:54 PM

The Tokyo Blade arc seems to be a common sore point for readers, which is interesting because reading it week-to-week, I don’t remember getting that impression.

Reading week-to-week, it definitely stood out as Oshi no Ko's strongest arc and I don't think it has been surpassed in that regard. But then again, I have Abiko as my second favorite character, which certainly mustn't be a popular opinion.

Yeah I thought it was easily the best part of the manga.

I got the feeling that it was obviously something Akasaka cared a lot about, hence why he put so much emphasis on it.

It's not bad at all, it's just that as a story arc it is not as good at intertwining the interesting bits about the entertainment industry and the overarching plot. It does not help that said plot barely progresses, that the one "final reveal" is rather obviously a Red Herring, and that it is extremely Aqua-centric. It is extremely character-driven, and succeeds at developing Aqua, Kana and Akane in particular, but it felt like for once Akasaka failed to make the plot go forward as his characters evolved.

Edited by Bexlerfu on Aug 16th 2023 at 4:55:06 PM

Funny, I've heard sentiment to the opposite — the Schedule Slip plus the slow pacing making it a sore point for some readers. I'll have to revisit my take on it come the second season.

It was my favorite arc during that time. Though, read it all at once. But I still don't get why people dislike it so much. It may be just th whole length if you read it weekly (with all of the hiatuses).