"Oshi no Ko" 2nd Season

Okay, I cannot believe I’m saying this, but I actually really enjoy this series. I was on the fence when I saw Season 1, mainly because the whole "adult now a child" concept is weird; I still find that setup strange. However, setting that aside, I totally enjoy the show, love the characters, and appreciate the colorization. Sometimes the main character annoys me with his attempts to act all mysterious, especially since his original personality as an adult is so different from how he is now. Despite that, this season really delves into what working in media is actually like, which I enjoy, and explores ... how it affects the artists and others around them in bringing something artistically to life.

I won't focus on the things they do well, obviously it's not all bad. Honestly, I expect them to do well. This was arguably one of the most high profile shows of 2023. S1 was great. I specifically rewatched S1 in anticipation of S2 because I was having such a good time with S1 last year. They introduced great characters, established dynamics, set out goals for them (what every good first season should do) and with S2 all they had to do was basically go through with that.

Instead they make one of the biggest mistakes a second season can make: Introduce a new character and ... focus HEAVILY on them.

This is a gamble that CAN pay off. I'd argue in most cases it straight up sucks though. This is one such case.

So instead of getting to focus MORE on the struggle of the new Komachi B within Ichigo, or MORE of Aqua's quest for whoever has more intel on Ai, or MORE of Akane, or MORE Mem-Cho or WHOEVER really made S1 interesting for you, we instead get episodes that almost exclusively revolve around the drama this new character has with some background characters about the plot device (the play). In all honesty, this is the WORST POSSIBLE DIRECTION they could've taken it.

And I don't wanna hate on anyone hat enjoys that, really. For a variety of reasons. You might sympathise with these other characters, or find the storyline interesting, or whatever. That's genuinely fine and understandable and it's honestly great that you can enjoy this.

But as a sequel, so far, this sadly straight up sucks. And it's not about it "getting better", or some episodes later on being absolute bangers, or whatever. It's about my disappointment as a fan that they did not utilize every single episode to its fullest, to focus on continuing story and character arcs they started out and instead chose to throw in new ones instead. This is pretty much the most lazy you can get with writing.

And inb4 "the play is obvl important to the story so it's only natural that they focus on it, you still get the other stuff yada yada yada!!" - of course. I'm not contesting that the play is an important plot device and obviously production of the play will have to be an important part in the story. But you'd be arguing in bad faith if you'd be not contending that they could've gone about this in a VERY different way, with their focus on characters less diluted especially.

S2 has been a major disappointment so far to me and since misery enjoys company I want to share my sentiment.

Thumbs up if you are frustrated because Hoshino Ai's plot hasn't developed at all since the first episode of the first season. This anime is just a huge bait! We have to suffer through random plots related to Hoshino's children in order to find out about the circumstances of her life, which is never shown in the anime. My only goal now in watching this anime is so I can come here and tell you exactly which episodes to watch in order to skip all the uninteresting episodes and get to the actual main plot: Hoshino Ai's true story.

Season 2 so far brought a ton ... of new characters, and barely any screen time of the main characters, and also has brought NOTHING to add to the main plots that were unsolved in season 1. And I'm not even disappointed, since Season 1 showed us that this anime is all about baiting us and beating around the bush.

I'm expecting to be back to you around episode 10 or so, when maybe they remember to bring back Hoshino Ai's unsolved mysteries.