Oshi No Ko has had four big things on its mind since its start: the complexity of the entertainment industry at every level, where it can be the most toxic and how it can bring people together; the love triangle series lead Aqua has with Akane and Kana; Ruby’s idol dreams; and Aqua trying to solve the murder of Ai. We’re still at that point as we enter season three, but now it is Ruby that has questions about Ai’s death.
We are now six months out since B-Komachi’s music video was released, with Mem-cho detailing what the band members and the rest of the cast have been up to, in a surprisingly natural way. As a social media person as well as a member of the band, her exposition felt natural and really got us up to speed.
We are now seeing what success looks like for these characters. Everyone, at least professionally, is doing well. They may not be on top of the world, but they are on their way. How they are dealing with it is where we’re getting a great sense of where the show is going. Having a great single and starting to sell out certain venues is good, but there are many hurdles that still need to be overcome. We see some of that stress with the band, mainly with Mem-cho.
One thing that I was really wondering about is what Aqua will do, thinking that Ai’s murderer is dead. The premiere gives us a taste of this with him now dating Akane for real instead of as a publicity stunt, and doing some acting. We don’t have a complete idea what he is thinking because Mem-cho is our viewpoint character for this episode. But the flashes we got had me really excited and worried for him at the same time.
Kana dealing with Aqua now dating Akane is very interesting, as is how she is processing it. I really like this love triangle, mainly because there aren’t any bad choices, and it is actually understandable and does not feel contrived. Kana has been a favorite character for me for a while, and I freely admit, I want her to win but even if she doesn’t, what they are showing with her is a great way of processing not getting the guy but getting other things you might still want. What Ruby is up to is probably the most anticipated part. I think the less said the better.
I know the manga ending has divided people, and I have not read what it is because I enjoy watching this show spoiler free. So right now, what I am seeing is the same show that I’ve loved for two seasons still doing what I’ve loved about it before.
Oshi No Ko airs Wednesdays on Crunchyroll.
