{"id":99869,"date":"2024-10-11T20:32:50","date_gmt":"2024-10-12T03:32:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/?p=99869"},"modified":"2024-10-25T00:16:55","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T07:16:55","slug":"oshi-no-ko-season-2-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/2024\/10\/11\/oshi-no-ko-season-2-review\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: \u3010OSHI NO KO\u3011 Season 2 Is Even Better Than Season 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Season aired<\/b>: Summer 2024<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Number of episodes<\/b>: 13<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Watched on: <\/b>HIDIVE<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Translated by: <\/b>Jake Jung<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Genres<\/b>: Drama, Mystery<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Thoughts<\/b>: I was really excited to start <\/span>\u3010OSHI NO KO\u3011<\/span><\/i>\u2019s second season. Its first season did a great job<\/a> introducing the characters, the conflict, and the overall theme, so I was curious to see if the second season could maintain the quality of storytelling as it has not become surprising to see a dropoff in quality after the first (see <\/span>The Misfit of Demon King Academy<\/span><\/i>\u2019s later seasons.) My conclusion is that the second season is even better than the first.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The series starts off exactly where the first season ended. Aqua has now been cast alongside a colorful cast of other actors to star in a live theater adaptation of a currently popular manga. Unlike other actors, who join as a chance to pursue their passions or to prove their acting abilities, Aqua accepted his role because of the theater\u2019s ties to his deceased mother, Ai. He concluded in the last season that his mother likely met his father in this theatrical production company, and he hopes it\u2019ll bring him closer to murdering his father.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
A more creative direction this season<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was enraptured by this season from the very first episode. Rather than opening with a scene of the characters talking, it opens with the theatrical performance. The whole cast of characters stand on stage, and the light shines on every individual, introducing the actor and the character they would be playing. In its own way, the anime cleverly harkens to how we, as the audience, are also watching a performance, waiting eagerly for the story to unfold and happily meeting the characters we would either love or hate. I love when a series finds a creative way to open a story, and the fact that <\/span>\u3010OSHI NO KO\u3011 <\/span><\/i>pulls that in the second season, whereas I expected the episode to dive right in, is just a delight for me to witness.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This theatrical adaptation paves the way for more than just creative directional storytelling. Like the first season, it opens our eyes to what happens behind the scenes. The original source creators in Japan have a lot more power than those in the West, and it was interesting to learn how much power they hold to the point they can shut an entire production down if they so wish.<\/span><\/p>\n

The best part of this, however, is putting Kana and Akane in close proximity. While Ai\u2019s mystery remains the encompassing plot of this series, the second season\u2019s biggest focus is on the girls and their rivalry with each other. It would\u2019ve been too easy to turn this into a petty catfight between girls fighting over a boy. While there\u2019s definitely a love triangle in place, with Aqua as the coveted boy, the girls\u2019 actual animosity over each other comes from a mutual respect for each other\u2019s skills. Both are talented actresses. Both worked hard to get to where they are. Both find each other threatening, and yet, they can\u2019t help but admire each other for their acting skills. This eternal rivals trope is almost always relegated to the boy characters, so it was refreshing to see girls for once fighting with each other to be the best in a cutthroat industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Akane and Kana have a fascinating dynamic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This also paves the way to learn more about Kana, which narratively makes sense as we spent the first season learning about Akane. Heartbreakingly, some truths extend beyond cultural divides. Like many child actors, Kana was thrust into the spotlight by a mother who was a failed actress. Her pressure to perform and her subsequent abuse all came at the expense of trying to fulfill someone else\u2019s dreams, and when she finally rebelled, the adults all promptly abandoned her. Even though it was unsurprising, it was still disappointing. The fact that Kana was written specifically to represent successful child actors who burned out is just proof that even overseas, children often aren\u2019t protected and are instead taken advantage of in the industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of the thirteen episodes, four of them were dedicated to the actual theatrical play. I found that to be a bold move, but a risk that paid off beautifully. As strange as it is, the anime did such a job of hyping up the actual play that I <\/span>wanted <\/span><\/i>to see the whole thing rather than wanting the story to pivot back to Ai\u2019s murder mystery. It\u2019s successful because it integrates the actual play characters, the actors\u2019 performance processes, and their overarching arc together to develop the characters and the relationship as a whole. While Kana and Akane\u2019s showdown is what\u2019s most well-known, my favorite is actually Melt. Originally introduced as what seems like a minor character, his hard work, frustration, and overall morals as a good person completely won me over in just a single episode. I wanted him to succeed, and I also choked up when he did.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Melt had one of the best arcs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This couldn\u2019t have been pulled off without the objectively good elements. The first is the soundtrack. I reviewed in the first season that the soundtrack didn\u2019t stick out too much to me, but this time, it blew me away. The composer clearly wrote two sets of scores: one for the \u201cdaily life\u201d of the characters, and the other specifically for the live theater. The former is subtle, and hard to detect. The latter is larger than life, with magnificent Japanese instrumentals made to reverberate powerfully in a large theater. It makes the play feel real and all the more exciting.<\/span><\/p>\n

The second is the animation and the direction. There are some fight actions that the characters do on stage, shown in full display through wires that fling them in the air. The view of the episode would first show the audience what it looks like to sit and watch them fight before abruptly shifting to the character\u2019s point of view. When they fly through the air, flipping and hanging upside down, the distinct sound of the wire zips in your ears, and your own perspective flips and flies with them. This description doesn\u2019t even dive into the purposeful, visual colors and the creative art style shifts scattered across the series.<\/span><\/p>\n

The third is the voice cast. We get to meet new characters this second season, but just like the first, they all bring their A-game. A special shoutout goes to Kouki Uchiyama, whose character is actually soft-spoken and likes to mumble but casted as the genki shounen protagonist in the play.. When the episode showed how good his character was at acting, I actually believed it because of how different he sounded as \u201chimself\u201d and the \u201ccharacter\u201d he was cast to play.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
A risky narrative choice that paid off<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The second season does eventually pivot back to the main conflict, Ai\u2019s murder, and makes a fascinatingly good narrative choice. My reviews are always spoiler free, so all I will say is I think the ending of the second season is bold, unique, and absolutely the correct route to take.<\/span><\/p>\n

If it isn\u2019t obvious, I loved the second season. It is decidedly stronger than the first, and I\u2019m happy that it is. Seasons should be made to build on top of each other. It\u2019s refreshing to see that <\/span>\u3010OSHI NO KO\u3011 <\/span><\/i>does exactly that by embracing riskier yet more creative direction in its visual storytelling, translating into something better than good by becoming memorable.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Rating<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Plot: 9 (Multiplier 3)<\/span><\/p>\n

Characters: 8.5 (Multiplier 3)<\/span><\/p>\n

Art\/Animation: 8 (Multiplier 2)<\/span><\/p>\n

Voice acting: 8.5<\/span><\/p>\n

Soundtrack: 8.5<\/span><\/p>\n

FINAL SCORE: 85.5<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Season aired: Summer 2024 Number of episodes: 13 Watched on: HIDIVE Translated by: Jake Jung Genres: Drama, Mystery Thoughts: I was really excited to start \u3010OSHI NO KO\u3011\u2019s second season. Its first season did a great job introducing the characters, the conflict, and the overall theme, so I was curious to see if the second […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":99870,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,397],"tags":[5448,4697,8721],"class_list":["post-99869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anime","category-reviews","tag-gracie-reviews","tag-oshi-no-ko","tag-oshi-no-ko-season-2"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Oshi-no-Ko-ep5-scaled-e1728703482455.jpg?fit=1514%2C853&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8n4QV-pYN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99869"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99869"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99869\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99874,"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99869\/revisions\/99874"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}