A show that is not what it seems begins with Oshi No Ko Episode 1 in what must be one of the most anticipated show pilots of all time. Let’s see how it went in this review!
Oshi No Ko Episode 1 Overview
Oshi No Ko, or My Star, is a drama and supernatural anime based on a manga written by Aka Akasaka, who also wrote Kaguya-sama Love Is War and illustrated by Mengo Yokoyari. The anime adaptation is being directed by Daisuke Hiramaki, who has directed shows like Selection Project and Koisuru Asteroid in the past, alongside being a part of huge productions such as Bunny Girl Senpai and Naruto.
The series is being brought into the medium of anime by studio Doga Kobo, a relatively new studio which has been behind shows like Himotou Umaru-chan and Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie. This episode is also referred to as My Star Episode 1.
– My Star Episode 1 Review does not contain spoilers –
Oshi No Ko Episode 1 Review- Hope You’re Paying Attention
The first thing that you notice when you put this episode on is, “Oh wow, this is 90 minutes”. That’s feature length and then some. The second thing you see is that the show looks really pretty and gives off the vibe of a normal idol show. Then you start getting deeper and deeper into the show as the events keep unfolding, and you finally realise that something really special is going on here and that we really needed the entirety of these 92 minutes to tell the story that the show was trying to tell.
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With all honesty, this might have been my favourite first episode of an anime of all time. Anime take a long time to get settled and produce their best outcomes, and Oshi No Ko Episode 1 overcame that time by being the size of four episodes by itself. This was an absolutely mesmerising start that is going to make sure that this show retains viewers for a long time, and all it needs to do is make sure that the other episodes are half as watchable as the first one was. There are not enough good things in the world to say about this episode and its role as the introduction to the series.
To talk about its actual quality, Oshi No Ko Episode 1 was as scathing a critique as you’re going to get today on the current state of the entertainment industry. In the disguise of a cutesy reincarnation story, the viewer gets treated to the ugliest side of one of the most awful industries on the planet, and the show does not hold back. There was a healthy layer of cynicism even when the show was showing the glamorous parts of show business, but even that got dwarfed by the sheer mirth the show (rightly) displayed for the industry.
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Not just that, but the characters in this show are far less cliche and one-note than they would appear at first glance. The somewhat creepy doctor did give a pretty reasonable explanation of why he listened to a young idol group anyways, and the idol herself did not follow the stereotypes of somebody in her position. The story told with all these was wonderful, and even if the show borrowed a few isekai elements from different shows, the execution, as well as how it treated the subject of death, made it a wholly unique experience.
Doga Kobo also did a fantastic job in bringing the series to life, as the studio absolutely killed it with Oshi No Ko Episode 1. I don’t know how this series will continue after this episode and if Doga Kobo will put in as much effort now that it has our attention, but this is as promising as promising gets. Any way the pendulum swings- this was a terrific episode. The subtlety, the storytelling, the character development, the scathing criticism, and most of all, the entertainment factor were all extremely impressive, as this looks like a story that can run away with this season.
Verdict
Oshi No Ko Episode 1 was absolutely perfect. The show earned every bit of the 92-minute runtime and told a compelling story with enough twists and turns to make Shyamalan blush.
Click here to read the review of the next episode!