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If you still haven’t gotten the first episode spoiled for you, I suggest you watch it now. Don't even finish this review. Don't read anything, just get up off your dumptruck, watch it and come back. Whomever made the decision to aggregate 3-4 episodes worth of manga into a single episode needs a raise.

** Actual Review
Non-Spoiler Portion (assuming you read the synopsis)

Oshi no Ko is gearing up to be a wonderous deep dive into the (Japanese) entertainment industry. The entire entertainment industry, not just idols. And its also here to pull our pants down and remind the viewers that the entertainment industry is a ... business. Money comes before anything else. Including the people.

See, in countries like Japan and Korea, it's common to manufacture idols. Which is funny, because in the West, manufactured celebrities are called "Industry Plants". Anyhow, the companies take young people, often middle school children if not younger, curate their image, their look, control their lives, what they eat, wear, look, etc. And that's just seen as coming with the territory. It's generally accepted that these celebrities are meant to serve as objects of worship. They are meant to cater to and belong to their fans. They are literally punished (especially women, by fans and their companies) if they are known to be dating or non-virgins. These celebrities will literally have to apologize for being human and trying to be happy. Signing contracts stating you will remain single is also a thing fyi. They must keep up that aura of purity and availability so the NEETS, neckbeards and cat ladies (we need a new insult for lady loners cause cats are awesome) can maladaptive daydream their parasocial relationships with these people. You thought beliebers and directioners were bad? Let me introduce you to kpop and jpop fans. You can see why this might be a problem for the MC, Ai. She’s preggo with twins!

It’s not just that. The industry is exploitative. They take away your youth, and if things do not work out, you’re tossed away. The industry seeks to use you and it does a terrible job of protecting you. Sasaeng fans (stalkers) are normal and often, very little is done to curb them because the industry profits off of crazy, obsessed, lonely people who will pay $1000 to shake someone’s hand. And the wonderful internet! Where I can be called a snowflake Puritan because I don’t like lolis. People on the internet suck and they’re bullies. I can be one too so… hey, don’t pretend you don’t revel in internet drama too. Oshi no Ko explores all of that as well as the business, “dog eat dog” aspect of everything, and the logistical side. I don’t know how Aka got this information but it’s a real eye opener.

Biggest hurdles. Anime's obsession with perverted men and lolicons. There are some weird scenes, but honestly, a large portion of otherwise good anime have scenes you have to cringe through. *cough* Mushoku Tensei *cough* Made in Abyss.

The MCs obsession with a 16 yr old idol. Not that weird but tipped some people off. He becomes that aforementioned idols gyno. Yes, Vag Doctor. Weird, but at least they didn’t do anything creepy with that storyline. It’s just weird in general.

He’s a doctor so we meet another patient of his. Some dying 12-year-old with an unnamed disease that I think is cancer but apparently she’s had it long enough that she’s never danced? She’s dying and says she wants to marry him cuz SENPAI; he says he’ll marry her when she’s older. Could be heartfelt seeing as the girl is DYING and it’s probably an empty promise to keep her happy since she’s gonna be 6 feet under soon. Only problem is he gave a specific age. “I’ll marry you at 16”.

The reincarnation bit. He’s a baby. Breast-feeding. You know how anime loves their oppai. Oshi no Ko is no exception. Could have skipped that “what if” and it wouldn’t take anything out the story, but it’s there. Bright side? MC specifically says he refuses to breast feed because it’s weird. His twin sister who is also a reincarnation? Nope. There’s a scene where she aggressively breastfeeds because her mom is her idol and she wants to suckle her idol’s boobs. So… just cringe through it. These weird moments are just brief and there’s diamonds and gold at the end. There’s essentially no other fanservice (at this point).
Second biggest hurdle: Some might not understand why they have to be reincarnated. I will expand on this in the spoiler portion. Or at least my thoughts.

Spoiler Portion
**
**
Ahh, the spoiler portion. The murder. I thought the twist was that the gyno was the baby. I read the synopsis, so I thought I was already spoiled. Nope. Her death came out of left field, sucker punched me and called me its b*tch. The industry did not protect her. The advertising of the show and the first 80% of it, make it seem like an idol anime. The anime handles the aftermath realistically. People mourn for a bit and move on. Some people online say “to be expected because she probably had a boyfriend” and Ruby has an aneurysm because why can’t her mom fall in love and be happy? Others say “sucks, she was kawaii”. Lovely internet, where people meme death.

But why are the babies reincarnated? I think it’s because children (I think they’re 3 when it happens) wouldn’t be able to comprehend the gravity of things and take measures to avenge their mother. Aqua realizes (as he’s a grown *ss man) that their dad is the only person that could have leaked Ai’s location back at the hospital and her house. A little crotch goblin wouldn’t come to that conclusion. He starts plotting right away. He spent 3 years brute forcing a phone to get Ai’s contacts (and therefore, their father’s name). He’s making connections in the industry as he grows. He’s turned into Sasuke (I’m joking, don’t kill me) and wants revenge served piping hot. I don’t know what the hell Ruby is doing. Just making the most of her 2nd life? So, I guess that was not necessary BUT that brings me to the next point. Plot twist. How do you hide a plot twist? You put it under another plot twist. Twistception. If everyone thinks the twist/gimmick is that these people are reincarnated as the kids of the idol they loved, and it’s a happy family friendly anime, then you can hide the murder mystery plot. Amazing, right? Great anime so far.
**
So why the mixed feelings? Because
1. If you are watching this show because of the hype from episode 1, you may be left disappointed. That sort of "WTF is happening high" is a very short-lived thing and the show will probably just be smooth sailing from here on out with more of the drama being down to earth and spread out.
2. The show might give the impression of a murder mystery after EP 1 and while it is, it's more so an exploration of the entertainment industry and that's not going to appeal to a lot of the viewers episode brought in from ep 1. If you’re watching because the synopsis appealed to you (yay! Idol anime), then you’ll still enjoy it and its slower bits.

Soft Review:
Music - 10/10. Stellar. If an idol anime didn’t have good music, wtf are they doing. Just quit your jobs.

Characters - 10/10. Already are expanded upon with strong motivations and very distinct personalities by ep 3. Some twat was complaining that Ai doesn’t really have a personality or isn’t treated like a human. That’s because Ai really doesn’t have a personality and she isn’t treated as human. The POINT of the show. Her entire life is a gimmick that she’s upholding. The girl can’t even smile properly without thinking about it most of the time? She can’t tell her children she loves them because she is scared her fake life would leak into her real life! She wants to be a good and genuine person, so she does it the only way she knows how. Lying. She puts all her efforts into lying as a way to try and love normally. We as an audience may never even know the real Ai, even as we see her behind the scenes.

Animation - 10/10 – Amazing. That’s all I have to say. The eye details, the dancing, the movement, the cinematography (I don’t even really know what that means but they have some fancy panels) are ALL amazing.

Story - 8.5/10 – Interesting story and it’s strong but I don’t necessarily think there’s anything enticing about it right now. I know this will ramp up later and I should wait to write a review, but twats are flooding the reviews based on 1 episode so why should I wait to review an unfinished anime?

Final score could be anywhere from 8-10 depending on how it ends but so far, it’s great. It doesn’t look like they’ll fumble.