#there's a lot to unpack
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Spring 2023 Anime Overview: Oshi no Ko
Spoiler free premise: A doctor in a small town is a fan of a sixteen-year-old idol Ai Hoshino. But then Ai shows up with a secret pregnancy. Now heās going to have to figure out how to deal with her secret and safeguard her from obsessive fans as he helps her give birthā¦
Spoiler for the entire first super long episode twist premise under the cut:
ā¦that is, until the doctor is murdered by Aiās stalker and reincarnates as Aqua, one of the twin children Ai gives birth to. The other twin, Ruby, is also a reincarnated soul. She was a former patient of the doctorās, a twelve-year-old who was a huge fan of Ai before dying of terminal illness. Both twins are unaware of the otherās former identity, but they both enjoy their new lease on life and come to love Ai all the more.
All seems well (I mean well for the twins, that is, not for the viewer who has to grapple with all this bizarre and creepy premise) until the same stalker that murdered the doctor murders Ai herself. Aqua realizes his father/Aiās secret lover must have leaked Aiās location to the stalker on purpose. The problem is that Ai never told Aqua and Ruby who their father was. So Aqua vows to track down his father and kill the man for what he did to Ai, whatever the cost. After growing into a teenager, he gets more involved in the entertainment industry and begins his search for his motherās true killer in earnest.
Yeah, thatās a lot isnāt it? And it probably doesnāt help when I tell you that before he becomes Aqua, the doctor basically admits he, an adult man, wouldnāt turn down a date from the sixteen year old Ai, prompting the nurse to call him a lolicon (because anime will always insist on using that phrase where they should say āpedophile/ephebophile'). Or that baby Aqua refuses to breastfeed with Ai, but his twelve-year-old-girl-in-a-past-life twin happily does so with a huge, lascivious grin. (Thereās also a discussion where Aqua says āheāll let it slideā when he learns Ruby was a girl in her past life too, sheās like āwow so great I was born a girl so I can enjoy mama's/Ai's breastsā and heās like āno itās not okay actuallyā and you just have to sit back and realize this is a conversation youāre watching on TV. This is where your life has bought you. )
Why did you keep watching, you ask me when I say these things? Well, it was well-made and engrossing. The animation was great, the pace was snappy, and Ai was instantly endearing. Plus everyone was talking about it endlessly on a discord I belong to, and they said after the first episodes the weirdness of the reincarnation angle becomes less important, the horny baby antics go away, and it becomes more of a straightforward murder mystery and a intriguing exploration of the entertainment industry.
And thatās pretty much true. The show goes out of the way to handwave Aquaās past life by saying going through puberty and infantile amnesia means he now doesnāt know where he starts and the other dude begins anymore, and he essentially feels like a teenager.
Where Oshi no Ko is truly compelling is itās exploration of the predatory entertainment industry and the twisted misogyny and parasociality of idol fandom.
It makes some basic, but very needed, points. It points out that fans who freak out over 'their' idols having a relationship and blame them for it are gross, and the industry that puts them in a box is gross. This is very basic stuff, but still underdiscussed in anime. A lot of anime pretend all is well for an idol since the anime industry itself makes bank off idols. So it was satisfying to see to see a character scream āYou all fall in love with idols, it's selfish to say idols can't fall in love! You take out all your anger on women because you don't have a girlfriend!" at the endless twitter comments saying it was "expected" that Ai was killed for ābetrayingā her fans. It's also clear the author did a lot of research on the entertainment industry and has a lot to share. A lot of what he has to share is really interesting, and I appreciate that in his interviews he wanted to make sure Americans understand that Japanese actors and idols donāt have unions and it leaves them open to even more exploitation.
(Even the bizarre premise of the anime is nod to a gross ājokeā idol fans make- a lot of 2channers apparently joke about wanting to ābe rebornā as their favorite idolās child whenever thereās a marriage announcement. However, it feels like the premise is rooted a lot in shock value...)
At the same time, Oshi no Ko doesnāt really go as hard as people act like it does. Itās not Perfect Blue, and it pulls its punches. It still goes for easy answers sometimes, and whatās worse, easy answers that lionize its obnoxious protagonist. Never is this more apparent that the cyberbullying arc.
First, letās be clear- the cyberbullying arc focuses on a reality show actor, a girl named Akane, being driven to attempt suicide after a bunch of internet detractors harass her over something she did on the show (that the producers pressured her into doing in the first place). However, Aqua saves her at the last minute.
Hana Kimura lost her life in a very similar incident just a few months before this arc in the manga was published and the authorās spoken about it on record. Hana was a pro-wrestler who was on the reality show Terrace House, and what happened to her is the same thing in broad strokes, only she didnāt get a convenient rescue. But nobody bothered to contact Hanaās family about any of this, so Hanaās mother was blindsided when she heard about it, and claims some of the hate messages in the anime are identical to the ones Hana received in real life. She pleaded that "Because it raises important issues, I would like to support a work like Oshi no Ko. Ā However, I don't think it needs to be done in a way that makes people Ā who have actually been victimized on social media suffer when they see it.ā.
Oshi no Ko fans, having just watched an arc about the serious consequences of internet harassment, were of course respectful to the grieving mother of a harassment victim- nah, they harassed Hanaās mom for criticizing the show. Another example of the incredible media literacy of anime fans.
All of that was already not a great look for the manga and show, and I think the kind thing to do would have been to contact the family before telling this story. But even if that wasnāt a thing, I didnāt like how this arc was handled. After Akane is saved by Aqua, he leaks her attempted suicide to the press. Though thereās a mention that this unethical, heās never really taken to task or confronted with the fact this violation of her privacy could have led to another (potentially successful!) suicide attempt. Then he talks to the director, reminds him that Akane is a teenager and adults should protect children, the director has a change of heart. Aqua's given permission to release footage of the cast being friends, the harassment dies down and Akane immediately gets better offscreen, because thatās how trauma and depression works!
God, ādepression is NBD! You recover quickly!ā is one of my biggest fiction pet peeves. Considering how despicable the producers were to Hana IRL, the whole storyline wrapping up like this wasn't just sloppy and lazy, it was insulting.
Rather than explore with the actual messy fallout this would realistically have for Akane, it just had Aqua get to be the edgy savior who was In the Right even though his actions were horrible and could have had catastrophic consequences. Also the āadults should protect kidsā moral felt weak when Hana and many other entertainers who hurt themselves after being mistreated by fans and the industry were adults. Did they not deserve to be protected?
And I guess it sums up a lot of my problems with the show. It's painstakingly researched and talks about interesting stuff (though sometimes one character has to become an exposition machine just so we don't miss ANY of the author's research, which can feel awkward). It has some interesting and complex main female characters ā¦ but 3/4s of them have some romantic connection to Aqua, which grates. Itās more honest about the idol industry than most anime, but also sometimes pulls its punches when it comes to exploring actual mental illness and industry abuse.
'Aqua is the smartest and all the girls are sooo into himā gets pretty annoying. Two girls are already in love with him, and even without the really unnecessary āwas a pedophile in a past lifeā baggage, he barely has a personality. Aaaand thereās how we have to listen to him muse about whether he was in love with his mom. Aaaand there's the looming threat that the next girl to fall in love with him will be his sister, since she muses she was in love with the doctor in her past life.
Once sis mentioned that, I started wondering if I should even come back to season 2. Leaning towards ānoā right now (definitely not if the manga really doesā¦that). I donāt regret watching ONK- it was interesting, well animated and produced, and the theme song is a certified bop- but itās also not something I could ever recommend to anyone. Itās the most fraught show Iāve watched in a long time, and in the end, Iām not sure all of its weird parts add up to a satisfying, truly subversive story. Ā Itās a mess, but time will tell if itās an intriguing enough mess for me to come back to.
#oshi no ko#spring 2023 anime#anime overview#my reviews#anime#Ended up writing way more than I thought I would oops#there's a lot to unpack
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it's looking a lot like an avengers poster...
#shitze by enchantze#first we have center max#also center danny ric at the bottom smiling and being cute like the sidekick of max#alo/nor/ham villain energy... it's ominous#also charles is the prince from a different area / a morally grey character who you can't help but root for#also why is zhou/hulk/sar pasted in between and not in line??? i'm peeved like???? what is that?#there's a lot to unpack
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yeah yeah I saw him
also mangaverse
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somebody pray for me, i'm starting that awful jd vance book today
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I've had similar thoughts about the way father figures are portrayed in the series, but this is the first time I've seen someone else talk about it.
Give Harry to me, Hagrid, Iām his godfather, Iāll look after him.
#seeing James being called the spare....ouch#but it's not anything I haven't thought myself before#there's also the way she handles ron and hermione#there's a lot to unpack#starting with the stereotype *teenager boys are dumb* and the classic *girls are allowed to use violence on boys*#but on to the topic of sirius I'm surprised how unsympathetic most characters are about his situation#like what's happened to him goes beyond shitty and they're all acting like it isn't a miracle that he isn't constantly having a breakdown#don't get me started on dumbldorer and his role on all this#I think I usually ignore thinking about it because it feels like too much#it seems the fact that sirius wanted to take harry went over a lot of readers' heads because I see that misconception so often#sirius in fanfiction apologizing to harry or harry being mad at him for this#and the narrative framing it as sirius' greatest mistake that he commited in an act of selfishness#it makes me so angry#hp
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damn
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ā Do you want to hear my story? ā Yes.
#interview with the vampire#iwtvedit#iwtv#iwtv spoilers#armand#armandedit#iwtv s2#i apologize for the terrible coloring and lighting i really tried i really did#anyway lots to unpack here#i have thoughts but they are incoherent so y'all get gifs instead#the music at this moment was doing such a clever thing echoing the melody from when he and louis were in the gallery
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time to shot two red bulls and write some nonsense
#nonsense = continuing on a wip#if you're coming here to judge my lifestyle choices then idk#make yourself at home#there's a lot to unpack
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Who put these kids here?
[First]Ā PrevĀ <ā-> Next
#poorly drawn mdzs#mdzs#lan sizhui#jin ling#jin chan#lan wangji#wei wuxian#ouyang zizhen#nameless red disciple#Congrats Jin Chan on your second and likely final appearance in this comic series.#Him turning into a yellow lump in the final panel is shorthand for 'I gave up. drawing is hard. Lump mode activated.'#Or - maybe they turned him around last minute to hide the evidence. It's up to reader interpretation!#I did skip a lot to get here but it is all in the effort of hitting key points and not dragging this season on.#Wen Ning lovers don't worry. He'll be back soon.#I do love how LZH turns to violence and joins in on kicking jin chan alongside the others.#Even more so when you remember they are all tied up the entire time.#Just...What a scene to walk in on as an outsider. And then to not fully comment on.#To be honest: That's kind of how it goes with teens. They know you know. You know they know you know. We won't unpack that.#It's been ages since we saw all the juniors together! They are as silly as ever B*)#I split this comic into two! So there are two comics left of the season!
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Real talk...being born and raised in ācommunistā China didnāt make me communist in the slightest but getting into the French Revolution has made me a full blown socialist reading actual academic leftist theory
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feral protective seb ā¤ļøāš„š„° (( from part 2 of my oneshot which is now up! ao3 / wattpad))
#lots of feral seb in this second part i just love me some feral seb BAHAHAš„°š„°š„°š„°#this was supposed to be out sooner but ive been so busy with unpacking and cleaning and setting up our new placeš©FINALLY DONEEE#i need to do halloween drawings too i just dont have any halloween ideas...rip#hogwarts legacy#sebastian sallow#sebastian sallow x mc#sebastian sallow x oc#clora clemons#sebastian sallow fanfiction#choccyart#sebastian x mc
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I think it's incredibly important to remind folks on testosterone or folks who want to reverse patterned baldness about their options, but man, does it sometimes suck wondering how much of our insecurities about our hair stem from backwards beliefs that to strive towards beauty is not only preferable but "makes you good."
As someone with a rather masculinized body pre-medical transition, patterned baldness has always seemed neutral. Hair is incredibly important (hell, much of my own energy is spent on my hair because I like it), but the pressure to have hair, to have hair the "right way" is something that I absolutely loathe.
I'm not here to judge people who don't want patterned hair loss or baldness, I'm here to say that those traits will never make you lesser. Not only is it neutral, but it is also just as worthy and beautiful.
#trans#transgender#lgbt#lgbtq#ftm#mtf#nonbinary#this especially goes for folks who may be transfem or trans women experiencing patterned hair loss/baldness#i love you and think you are gorgeous<3#i mentioned trans folks going on t because that's a lot of my own experience#i already had a somewhat masc hairline before t and now it's just settling in...#...i found that i'm fortunate in that way for having an already masculine body and i think that's why my changes are more...#...like unpacking your house rather than moving to a new home if that makes sense#but i find that the beauty culture around hair adds even more unnecessary stress for those who want or value their hair#i am beauty culture's number one hater
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This is their relationship in a nutshell
#tag it as whatever ship you're into i don't care#i just see them as a messed up trio with A LOT of history to unpack#honkai star rail#honkai star rail meme#hsr meme#i rarely make memes but i couldn't get this out of my mind#ughhh#dan heng#hsr blade#jing yuan#imbibitor lunae#dan feng#<- whyyy so many naaaames
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Oh, Lala...
#atla#avatar the last airbender#atla fanart#atla art#atla azula#princess azula#atla ursa#suki#atla suki#kyoshi warriors au#kyoshi warriors#Kyoshi Warrior Ursa AU#wip#I felt like sharing a little snippet of a two-page comic I've been working on for AGES#Literally you have no idea for how long this has been sitting on my drafts#Mainly because I keep getting sidetracked by new AUs and sketches and projects. But that's nothing new so#This one is a deep-ish dive into the basic character dynamics between the Fire Siblings as well as Ursa and Suki#Or should I say#Between the siblings Ruolan and Jian Li regarding their mother Noriko and each other.#I know the names can get rather confusing. I'd love to explain the reasoning behind them if anyone would like to know tho#Moving on#There's a lot to unpack in that scene#The characters are different from how we know them due to their circumstances in this AU. But they have things in common with the og series#Of course that remains for you to see#I'm so excited to finish this and share it with you guys!#Some of you have been asking about Azula/Ruolan and Ursa/Noriko in this AU and I am here to deliver#I love the dynamic between this little family SO much it's driving me insane#That being said#What do you get from this panel alone? What do you think it's happening?#I'd love to hear your thoughts on this
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