Oshi no Ko season 2 Review – Excellent!
Article at a glance:
- Oshi no Ko Season 2 prioritizes character development, especially during the Stage Play arc, with impressive growth for Akane, Kana, and Aqua.
- The plot may not be as strong as Season 1, but it is well-paced and filled with impactful twists, particularly in the upcoming Private arc.
- The dynamic between Akane and Kana stands out, with their contrasting acting styles and mutual growth through competition.
- Doga Kobo’s art and animations continue to excel, particularly in character design, lighting, and smooth action scenes.
- While the new opening and ending themes are solid, they don’t quite surpass the iconic music from Season 1.
Oshi no Ko Season 2 was a lot more character-driven than the first season. Most of the important plot development is relegated to the last three episodes. Trust me, that will make more sense when episodes 11 and 12 roll around. And the said character development has been so damn solid in this season. Before I even get into the review pepper let me just repeat it, I love Oshi no Ko Season 2. The way it introduced new characters that will be important later, and the way it built on existing characters was so well done.
There will be a lot of gushing in this review so be prepared for it. Spoiler warning for existing episodes, I won’t spoil anything that will be in the upcoming episodes or future seasons. So welcome to another review and today we are talking about Oshi no Ko Season 2. This will be another long review because a short review won’t do justice to an anime like this. Let’s get started.
Plot
As I mentioned, the plot isn’t as good as Season 1. But don’t let that mislead you. Season 1’s plot was just incredible. Season 2’s plot might not be that good but it is still engaging. It has a lot of interesting plot twists some of which are yet to come. And as always, the plot excels at creating these perfect moments for the characters to shine. And on top of all that, it is all paced so damn well. It is very interesting to see how much Akasaka’s storytelling has improved over time.
Most of this season is spent in the Stage Play arc, about 8.5/99 episodes are dedicated to it. And that whole arc is pretty much an excuse to have a bunch of character development. And all this will be important later on too lol. The remaining 3-4 episodes, 2 of which are yet to air are the “Private” arc. A lot of important plot developments will take place in this arc and a lot of plot twists will be hitting you in the face soon. You already got a taste of it if you watched episode 10 which just came out. So be ready, this arc is short but it is intense.
Characters
As I said, most of Season 2 (the Stage Play arc) is purely character-driven and the character writing for this season is phenomenal. Let’s talk about them one by one
Aqua
This season did an awesome job of showcasing Aqua’s PTSD from Ai’s death. How much it affects him goes on to show just how strongly he felt for Ai. And it is depicted pretty realistically overall. The unrealistic part is how he uses the PTSD in his acting but hey, it made for a really cool scene so I won’t complain much about it. We got some great insight into his character during this season though and we will see a bit of evolution to his character in the last few episodes as well. And this will pave the way for how the future arcs will come together, trust me.
Akane and Kana
This season really turned me into an Akane fan. If you go to my discord, my profile literally says “Kurokaway Akane’s Fan”. Her character growth throughout this season has been immaculate. She is still the sweet Akane from Season 1 but she is a lot more confident now. Akane was already smart but she managed to impress me yet again with how she figured out that Aqua is Ai’s son purely based on context clues. She will continue to be a good influence on Aqua’s character arc going forward as well because she genuinely cares about him.
Akane and Kana’s rival dynamic really shines in this season. We got to learn why they don’t get along well and how their acting styles are completely different. Kana’s character development was brought out so well by Akane and I can’t get over how happy Akane was to see Kana going all out again. Their interactions were constantly entertaining and I love how both of them impacted each other’s character arcs. I like Kana a lot more after this season too.
Others
Ruby will get her moments in the upcoming episodes. I can’t comment on her without getting into spoiler territory so I will hold back. But she will get some very important character development in the upcoming episodes. The Private arc is pretty much her arc after all. Aside from that, I love Himekawa Taiki. I can’t quite put my finger on it but for some reason, his screen presence is crazy. His appearance is unremarkable but when he starts acting, you can’t take your eyes off of him.
Melt and Abiko had really good redemption arcs too. Melt’s focus episode in particular came out of nowhere but I appreciate it. That episode made him so much more relatable as a character.
Animations and Soundtracks
Man, I don’t like comparing openings/endings like this but Idol and Mephisto from Season 1 were so damn iconic, it was always going to be impossible to beat them. Fatal by GEMN and Burning by Hitsujibungaku are good songs, I like them as the opening and ending themes. But they don’t compare at all to the god-duo of Idol and Mephisto. Aside from that, the soundtracks are great in general. The BGMs are really nice and do a great job of enhancing the scenes.
Its Doga Kobo, Oshi no Ko is and will always be one of their best works. The distinct art style is still there. The eyes and hair in particular for every character are so well-drawn. The animations are smooth and this season really highlighted how good the lighting in this anime is. No complaints about the visuals whatsoever.
Summing up
Here are my final review scores for Oshi no Ko Season 2:
- Plot – 8/10
- Characters – 10/10
- Soundtracks – 8/10
- Animations – 10/10
- Enjoyment – 9/10
- Overall – 9/10
That concludes my review of Oshi no Ko Season 2. I loved this season and I look forward to the final episodes even though I know what is gonna happen lol. But yeah, let me know what you guys think and I will take my leave here. See ya!
Abd check out my review for Tower of God Season 2 here!
