Oshi no Ko Rewatch - Season 2 Discussion

**Longtime B-Komachi Fan!**

Although I wasn't as invested in the new characters or the plot that revolves around their current acting project, the second half of the season really picked up once the focus shifted back to the main characters, and the anime did a good job elevating these scenes from the manga. The character development for Aqua, Ruby, Akane and Kana was fantastic. There were a few things in this season I wasn't fond of like the introduction of some supernatural elements with crow girl, and season 2 didn't reach the same heights as season 1 which was near perfect for me, but I still enjoyed it a lot overall and it made me hyped to see what comes next.

**Questions of the Day:**

1) Himekawa, and I really hope he continues to be part of the story going forward because Aqua and Ruby having a half-brother was a neat twist. I also liked Himura, even though he only made a short appearance.

2) The emotional acting plotline with Aqua. For something completely different, I always enjoy watching their lighthearted moments in between the shocking twists too.

3) Aqua's trauma and survivor's guilt that resurfaced taking the form of Gorou was a really interesting development, going all in on his revenge quest and then dropping it just as quickly when he had just enough reason to believe it was over, but still feeling tied down by his unfinished business as Gorou. This season made it clear how conflicted he feels about a lot of things.

4) I really enjoyed the part about Himura's creative block and Ruby inspiring him.

5) The season started off slow but really picked up around the midway point, so I gave it a 9/10 overall - which is just a bit lower than season 1.

**First Timer**

I am now one step closer to catching up on all my seasonals from Summer 2024...

[](#tiredaoi)

For the most part, I honestly think this second season of Oshi no Ko is just more Oshi no Ko without particularly deviating from either the strengths or weaknesses of the first season or reinventing the wheel too much. Of course, I think Oshi no Ko is good, so simply having more Oshi no Ko is also good!

Talking about it a bit more widely, despite technically being a bit of a departure from the main mystery draw of the show, I do think Tokyo Blade is actually really good at illustrating what I'd consider this show's best and worst parts. Starting from the latter, I do think it continues the trend of Oshi no Ko overrelying on dialogue at times, especially and most frustratingly when it comes to explaining the entertainment industry. In this case, I think it creates a somewhat lopsided starting portion in particular when it comes to Abiko's parts, even more annoying when the play ends up being the exact opposite (In a positive way) for that aspect, and it also kind of triggers the larger landmine at the core of this arc, that being Tokyo Blade as a framing device itself.

Because it shifts the focus of the story to new characters, and more critically, away from the main mystery plot, your investment in it can often wildly vary depending on how much you care for the entertainment industry exploration side of the show! So for one, you're dealing with some occasionally dry exploration on an aspect only vaguely related to the show's main characters. And then you have Tokyo Blade, which, as a fairly simple spectacle-action shonen piece, makes for a near-perfect framing device for the pure purpose of conveying the wonder of the stage and emotional acting, but if that's not something you care for a lot, you're left with Tokyo Blade's less-than-engaging actual narrative. I'm more in the middle myself, I like the exploration and the emotional perspective, but feel it drags and gets too dry sometimes. Likewise, I like a lot of the technical aspects of Tokyo Blade and how it's used in conjunction with the character arcs, but I could definitely use less of it straightforwardly. Either way, integration with the entertainment concepts it wants to explore remains Oshi no Ko's most major enemy, arguably the only major one at that.

(And thinking back to shows like Aoi Hana or Wandering Son, I'm also reminded of how much thematic weight and interesting contemplation there is to be had by showing theater depictions of actual classics, rather than having a story that's simply tailor-made for your characters)

[](#thoughtful)

But then again, one can't deny how stellar the arc at conveying that stage wonder, right? And while I could use some complexity in the mirror between the play and the characters, I still think it does a really great job of expanding on pre-existing character arcs and dynamics, or at least in one case, fantastically expanding on a character that could have just as easily been a one-off! And it all creates some really powerful and resonant emotional moments, some of the absolute best this has to offer, dare I say even! Melt aside, though, I do feel like Aqua's part here especially deserves some praise, because while there is still some of his behind-the-scenes "omnipotence" driving things here, I really think this arc gives him and his relationships so much more emotional depth. The same goes for the Kana/Akane dynamic, actually, and in general, aside from those occasional bumps, the actual play portion of Tokyo Blade in particular captures just about everything that's entrancing (But without failing to show from multiple sides) in entertainment really well, as Oshi no Ko's balanced approach would have it.

For me, what best ties that all together just has to be the production, though. I mean, no offense to Aka's writing or Mengo's art, I like both quite a bit, but man, this arc feels like it was absolutely made for the screen, and I just can't imagine liking this part of the story nearly as much without all the meticulous work that clearly went into just about every aspect of production here. Be it animation, direction, or everything sound, this season might not be Oshi no Ko's best in terms of writing, but it is in terms of its ability for *expression*. Not a lot to add here when I've gushed about it in the respective episodes already! That one Melt sequence hadn't left my brain for a year for good reason, and the episodes that followed it didn't let go of the gas either. Coming together with the strong character moments, I think the 17-20 stretch here is just phenomenal, and makes up my favorite parts of both seasons thus far.

The arc that follows Blade is comparatively fairly standard Oshi no Ko, all in all, strong character drama wrapped in a pretty gripping and intriguing mystery, which also gives some very welcome developments for more underused characters like Ruby. Still, unlike the ultra-focused Blade, I think it's great in displaying OnK's great control of tone! These episodes jump a lot between light-hearted/comedic and deathly serious/emotional, and not only does it really never feel jarring, it also never gets in the way of the show's ability to establish a very powerful and impactful atmosphere on either side. I don't thinkit should be taken for granted at all, not in writing and not in direction!

But yeah, on the whole, season 2 wasn't all too different from the first one for me, so I also feel comfortable giving it the same score with a solid [9/10](#banjo).

And big thanks to /u/Heda-of-Aincrad for hosting! I couldn't be here for all of it, but it's been fun, and it was nice to have an excuse to finally finish the show lol.

[](#grouphug)

> Which of the new characters introduced in season 2 did you like best?

Hmmm, probably Himekawa? [He's cool](#kannathumbs)

I generally liked all the new characters for their specific uses, but I wouldn't say they particularly left much of an impact either, and he's the only one I'd say I really want to see more of.

> What are your favorite episodes or scenes?

Touched on this already, but singular scene would be the Melt one from 17, whereas if I had to pick a specific episode, it'd probably be 18? Love Nishina's direction there, and I really like the twist it adds to Kana and Akane's dynamic.

(But again, 17-20 make for a pretty exceptional stretch in general IMO with a lot of standout scenes to point to!)

> This season had some big changes to the status quo. Which character development did you like the best or find most interesting?

Probably Aqua's! We really unlock a new dimension to his character in both parts of this season, and it'll be really interesting to see where he goes from here now that he's fundamentally changed under a false peace.

Revenge-driven Ruby also has *a lot* of potential, but obviously, we didn't get enough of that to say much.

[](#mugiwait)

> Of all the aspects of the entertainment industry explored in this season, which did you find the most interesting?

The parts about the script-writing process in adaptation (That is, specifically the GOA-related parts) were definitely the best delivered for me!

**Rewatcher/Manga Reader**

* Honestly Season 2 felt like a slow burner but the end it got good

**Questions**

* QOTD 2 - When they revisited their past at the end
* QOTD 3 - Melt's and Aqua
* QOTD 4 - The struggle with Source Accuracy in adaptations going off one of my earliest examples before becoming a weeb - The Maximum Ride movie while I haven't personally seen it apparently did really bad for not following The Angel Experiment well (Maybe I should throw it one day and compare)
* QOTD 5 - About an 8-9/10

5) I loved season 2 as much as season 1, which is a lot. But I love the industry exposition. Although I was binging episodes to catch up to the rewatch when I crossed the line between seasons, so I don't have as firm of a separation between the seasons in my mind compared to someone who watched them a year apart.

1) Hmm there's not that many to pick from, are there? I'll pick... [Abiko-sensei](https://i.imgur.com/LR1tz9H.jpeg). Sure, she's a caricature and she has a lot of flaws (a lot), but the script debacle was only like 1/3 her fault, and her [rapt expression at seeing her imagination brought to life](https://i.imgur.com/RXfMVpN.jpeg) was Kana-levels of cuteness. But then again I always favor the weird girl.

2) Seeing Aqua's approach to making contact with his darkest and brightest emotions to close out the play was amazing. And I mentioned previously that the Ai resurrection scene triggered an emotional response from me the first time. Although, I expected that the show would explore the consequences of Aqua flipping those switches almost every night for a month, since it was supposed to be dangerous. But we didn't, and then Aqua found catharsis in the belief that the killer was already dead.

3) I really don't know where Ruby's character development is going right now, or what's really been going through her head all these years... only recently are we hearing more of her inner monologue. So I can't say it's the most interesting yet, but it might become the most interesting a few weeks from now. So... maybe Kana's turn towards stardom? And her immediate purchase of a Herman Miller Aeron chair.

4) Reluctantly, I find the *Tokyo Blade* production process the most interesting, but to be honest it's basically what I would expect. What I wanted to learn more about was music videos! But we got very little insight into Anemone's thinking or process, just a few lines here and there, Kana being cute, Ruby being scary, Mem-cho being old, and then the video got uploaded.

1. Himekawa, he seems pretty much like a grown Aqua - someone who had a similarly rough upbringing but has sort of dealt with it and is now at the peak of his powers. Or has he? I would love to uncover more of him.

2. Favorite episode has to be episode 9 - Aqua's performance being the emotional high-point capping off the play arc - felt like simultaneously a moment of catharsis and a turn for the worse - and it left an intriguing shadow over the rest of the episode. But I probably rewatched Episode 5 and 13 in parts the most. Himekawa's intro, Aqua and Akane's talk on the balcony, Ruby's first black star moment with Minami, and the "Pop in 2" music video were my favorite scenes.

3. Big changes to the status quo - and I feel like the story made a point to re-contextualize and complicate what were otherwise pretty straightforward motives and interactions in season 1 - really digging into each of our main cast's already nicely established characters. To do this exploration through the medium of the play was very compelling.

Aqua got the most character development by sheer amount of course - but Akane has absolutely become the most fascinating to me, more than she already was with her freakish method of acting, with how in her element she was on stage, her mind working to solve Aqua's puzzle, the probably unhealthy attachment and obligation she feels for him, and how much she takes from the characters that she plays into her own persona.

While Ruby probably takes point next season, the Aqua-Akane pair and their conflict of interests coming to a head will probably be the highlight to look out for.

4. The plight of the rewriter was probably the perspective I had least considered before. Especially the rock and a hard place of how they take the blame for failing fan expectations (and in the cutting/editing/prioritization process, especially when converting a longer format (book/manga) to a shorter one (movie/play), this is inevitable), but get little-to-no credit for a job well done.

5. 10/10. Doga Kobo went above and beyond with a season and arc that really challenged them (and gave them an opportunity) to do so. Wrote most of the play and its set pieces, gave each character those hand-painted flourish scenes, filled in so many little details to pick out and examine - just showing great love to the source material. For me this story works much better in anime form, especially when it is this high-effort.

Questions:

1. The Mangaka.
2. I did like them shooting the MV.
3. And so now Ruby wants revenge too.
4. Behind the scenes of the play. As they say in Chinese, "on the stage for 10 minutes, off the stage 10 years of effort". It's always nice seeing the effort that goes into such performances.