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Worth the watch if you like a campy,goofy, yet quite entertaining show. It needs a bit to gain steam but look, this show is meant to be campy and derpy (the theme song 100% reflects the mood) with some good character development and backstories under the hood.

My martial arts background might help lift this shows appeal for me because I really like some of the creative ways they handle the fights and techniques the characters use.

Some people are calling the MC an idiot but they didn't watch enough of the show. The MC starts off naive because he was intentionally misled during his ... training but Rick-kun is actually a fairly intelligent and highly empathetic person. He acknowledges the absurd strength of his party and has a healthy fear of how out of touch THEY are with reality - especially when interacting with others. Of course he is as well, but only because of his training and I don't think he's as out of touch or godly as some other show MCs with this type of character trope.

Broughston and Renette are great, Angelica is fun and ridiculous, and Rick is a great blend, even if he seems a bit hyper concerned about the wake of destruction his party can leave.

Animation is ok, it's certainly not terrible. I like the character art, the creativity with the spells, and also how the show continues to evolve. The pacing dips a toe into shonen style sob-story background flashbacks, but it's fun overall. I would actually like to see the party on a real adventure towards their goal. If they're so strong, there must be some really epic challenges.

Imo this is top 3-4 of the summer season, even if it is several steps behind oshi and elusive samurai. I found myself enjoying and looking forward to the silly yet interesting shenannigans of the show each week.

How to summarize the show? I'd say silly, fun, innocent, light-hearted, a good albeit slow rolling story, interesting world-building, with fantastic use of amusing summary conversations between characters.

I get how a lot of people want more action and more stuff to happen in episodes, but it's all relevant. The MC builds relationships, struggles internally, works hard, and desires to be a good person who can take care of himself. In a lot of shows, many of these things are glossed over or left to a montage. In this show, we see these smaller day to day struggles and efforts that the MC puts into ... his development.

The montages are used sparingly and actually are saved for the moment when you worry that 4 minutes of an episode is going to be spent summarizing an event to another character. In a pleasant twist and thematic to the light-heartedness of the show, these moments have the fast forward high pitched voice and they only use a few seconds and then continue the story. In some anime this might be an issue but because of it's slower pace, this works wonderfully and I really appreciated this.

Honestly, there's nothing mind-blowing about this show but somehow it holds its own to me and I found it very enjoyable. In fact, I've re-watched each episode at least 2 or 3 times because it's been chill and fun to kick back to.

Maybe it's because that it hits that cozy home cooked meal vibe to me that I like it so much, but I really liked this show. Don't go in expecting cutting edge animation, cinematography, music, or any of that. I'm no connoisseur but the choices in these categories that the show made work for it.

Do you want a fantasy high school slice of life anime drama set in an isekai? Dash in some pre-school mini-adventure with a focus on narcissistic, egocentric self-loathing and self-victimizing by the MC and you get this season. It's painful to watch...unless that's your thing.

The animation, music, and setting of this world are still amazing and very enjoyable. The supporting characters are meaningful, relevant, and developed. If the school arc didn't feel the need to drive home adolescent drama and instead supported the adventure theme of the show, this would have been far better of a show.

Animation: great - 8
Music: great - ... 8
world setting: amazing 9
main character: 0

I'll give it a 6 but man is it a painful 6 to give. If I can hate a protagonist and method of storytelling this much and still give it a 6 then you should probably watch it if you haven't.

Semi-spoiler follows:

Look, I get that part of the show is this guy overcoming some mental and psychological hardships as well as being presenting the story of a 50 year old guy (total both lives) who isn't even mentally matured past being a 12 year old. But the way they handle it by dragging it out so much really detracts from the magic this show can possess when it chooses to do so.

It's a bizarre story, dealing with Japanese legends during feudal japan. It's got Samurai Champloo meets Lost TV show meets FLCL (the bizarre feel of it I mean) show vibes. From someone who normally can't stand shonen format, I would call it shonen light. The stuff that normally bogs down shonen storytelling is handled in a way that doesn't make you want to fast forward past the emo. The action is fun, extremely colorful (a theme this season), and the characters all have their own drives and their own agendas beneath the excuse that brought them to the island.

I ended up binging the whole ... season. When taken from start to finish it provides a fun and interesting storyline with good character growth. The story has good pacing and it provides a slightly uncomfortable mystery to keep you curious. I was a bit disappointed when some of the mystery ended up being not as complex as I was hoping for but honestly, I really enjoyed the show and am looking forward to the 2nd season.

World building - amazing, animation - fantastic. Using opening credit sequence for exposition? Unique, unexpected, and I wish ALL anime would take this approach. Adventure story? Check and amazing. Supporting cast character development that makes you care about people? Yep, got it. And that's through 28+ episodes.

So why a 6 instead of say, an 8+ score? Well, I have a very strong opinion on the quality of the main character's.... well, character. It's not an opinion on the author or genre/social appropriateness, it's strictly the mc's persona and behavior. In a way, to make me feel so strongly about a character is a compliment to ... the writer.

As I rewatch this for the 2nd time, I'm aware that I am compelled into feeling like the main character is the biggest piece of scummy garbage that exists. We're supposed to feel bad for the terrible bullying that traumatized him and then forgive his lack of respect or dignity toward any other person, especially women. He's depressed, submersed in self-pity, rude, self-deserving, arrogant, a victim card playing bully, charlatan, and opportunist.

He's got the soul of a gutter dwelling self-centered fecal mass of pestilence, only showing empathy or doing something for others when it won't end in his death, when he relates, or when someone stronger forces him to. His most disrespectful behavior never gets corrected, and he never grows out of it.

He has a seriously twisted sense of empathy with brief flashes of compassion or integrity. These moments are basically forced out of him by the humanity that exists around him, not from his own inner self. He's border-line sociopathic but not due to a lack of moral wiring, instead it's framed as due to his self-imposed isolation for 30+ years.

My words don't even capture how big of a scumbag he is. If you can stomache his self-wallowing putrescence, then the story, all the other characters and their development, the adventure, and the world are pretty amazing. One of the best fantasy worlds, the kind you wish you could live in.

Don't let people fool you by saying he changes. Even 28+ episodes in his core, the scum core, has not changed. He's matured and grown and yes there is some development in some areas, but his soul is still rotten. It's almost enough for me to not watch it, but I do. I watch it for the storytelling, the world, and in the hopes that karma comes full swing on the main character in a way that makes him actually correct his black soul before the show ends.

If you like shonen, then you'll like this show as well as this season. The finale episode of season 4 ties things together, furthers the plot, and momentarily makes you forget that you probably hit fast forward though 15-18 minutes of each of the last 5-ish episodes.

Of roughly 274 minutes of content this season, more than 90 minutes or 30%+ is used to try to make you emotional, 50% is fight scenes, 10% is recap or reused scenes, and about 10% furthers the story and plot.

As good as the final episode is, it really can't make up for all of the missed opportunity ... to build a story that doesn't try to force you to cry at someone's misfortune long ago in their past. Seriously. The story was secondary to forcefully attempting to shove empathy down your throat and calling it character development and history. It felt like they spent over half the season's airtime doing this and it wasn't enjoyable, nor necessary.

The story is good but the pacing is all over the place. By catching the first and last minute of the nearly episodal flashbacks you could literally fast forward through them and not feel like you've missed a single thing.

The lead antagonists are both presented to be weaker than the ones in previous seasons. While it's true that the MC is getting stronger, these antagonists should be much more formidable and yet, their power and difficulty seemed on par with weaker antagonists from other seasons.

Ultimately I'm left watching for the animation, music, fight cinematography, and a meager amount of impactful, relevant story.

I came into this anime with the thought of "9.0 on MAL? Fine. Show me what you got". I watched the first 3 episodes, and then binged it up to current, which is 8 aired.

Verdict? It's a great show. It's dark (I'm a big fan of shows that aren't afraid to get real and gritty), it's layered. It makes you wonder when a protagonists obsession is going to catch up to him or how a piece will land on the puzzle board. You have a vague idea of where it'll go but not exactly HOW - and that builds anticipation.

Idol shows are usually ... happy, honest, and innocent. The mc is usually pursuring their dream that they ultimately achieve though hard work and passion while making friends and having some personal + group growing pains drama.

This is NOT that kind of show. It weaves two main stories together so that while on one hand one story seems like the total opposite of a typical idol show, the other story anchors that heartfelt pure, innocent image. It's actually incredibly clever on many levels.

It tackles difficult and real subject matter in a way that connects the viewer to the characters; but, it also connects those two to legit social and business issues that people know exist but a) brush off, b) look the other way about, or c) are contributing to. You can probably guess which type of person might bash this show.

To close out my thoughts on this show, I'd like to include a quote from another review that resonated with me:

"....the characters are written in a way that reflects people in real life and it’s not a stretch to say that they are some of the best written characters in recent anime. Oshi No Ko feels like a project that everyone working on it has poured their soul into. The animation is gorgeous, the art style is identical to the manga and the OST is heart wrenching. Overall I highly recommend this anime." - Juicewrxld

Don't watch this show for the animation. Don't watch it for the music, and don't watch it because you expect a deeply original and profound story.

Watch it to be entertained, to laugh at the absurdities, to feel connected to the side characters who have real stories and screen time in a very non-shonen* way.

This show is extremely entertaining. Now look, I'll be the first to admit that the humor is not everyones cup of tea but if you like this type of tea, then you will be highly satisfied.

The characters are charming and feel like real people in the most anime absurd way. ... Beneath the trope-filled fluff is a real story of a dirty, nasty, discriminatory and economically divisive world and a mobster rico swavey MC who is basically responsible for the world he gets pulled into...except he finds reasons to care about people in the world. So of course, in true mafioso style, he proceeds to be a badass mobster in a fantasy world he knows less about than he thought.

I really love his inner monologue compared to his outward demeanor. I like the world - it's so tropey and cliche but it feels lived in and each person he interacts with have impact. His right hand henchmen are fantastic. It's really just a great ride. But that's exactly it - it's a fun ride at funcoland, not the centerpiece at a museum of refined taste.

*Non-shonen defined as: a real backstory instead of 3/4 of an episode that furthers .01% plot, insists on trying to make you emotional, and only makes you wish it was never included.

Edit: My initial review is based on misunderstanding the intent and humor of the show. Honestly, it might be cultural but the first episode sets you up for an intentional misunderstanding. I still would not recommend it persay; but, it's not atrocious and still better than a lot of other shows this season. So I'm changing this review from not recommended to mixed feelings.

This anime seems to really play up the clueless naivety of a young teenager who gets crazy fantasy powers that he can also use on modern day earth. He's so clueless (the cultural humor I spoke of) and purehearted that he'll use ... these crazy powers on earth without much regard for the implications that seem like common sense to many of us, and that can really break immersion or feel too unreal; yet, if I think of how a 14/15 y.o. sheltered and mistreated youth might behave, it does actually fit. It's just so... absurd, lol.

A lot of people are also going to hate on this show for a plot device/theme - which is the focus on the protagonist's beauty. If you dislike a story that uses external and internal traits of people to tell a story then this isn't for you.

Now 8 episodes in I still wouldn't recommend it but at least now the show feels like it's coming together. World building is continuing, character power is put into perspective, and we got some fun sidekicks (Night is the best!). I leave the rest of my initial review below because I think it's still relevant if you're interested.....

Whereas Fruit of Evolution's (FoE) tone is comedic and sappy, the tone of this anime is more serious and grounded, the MC far more mature, probably due to being ground down to dust and having to learn to be independent early on

Compared to FoE, the internal monologue and observations by the MC are far better. The story which has a dual world dynamic to it is a fresher idea and so far it's playing out well. The 1st and 3rd episode are my favorites so far - you see so much more of the MC's personality and the story which is definitely deeper than just the focus on his looks.

Animation: 7/10
At times it's amazing, othertimes a bit janky but there seems to be a fair amount of detail, even in the background if you can catch it and keep up with the subtitles. I'm no expert but episode 5 seems to make use of a lot of CG, which contrasts with the fluidity of other scenes. Characters are gorgeous (not just the 'pretty' ones) and feel alive, not stiff. Visual style and art wise it's high quality. Aesthetically pleasing with good lighting and color.

Voice acting: 8.0/10. Very good, it has moments where it can draw you in. Only 1 line by a sidecharacter that felt forced. No super annoying voices or overacting (yet). Director and cast killin it. Honestly, if good voice acting matters to you then maybe you should give this show a shot regardless of everything else.

Story 5.5/10 (updated): Episode 4 nearly ruins this anime for me. In short, the grit and danger the previous episodes build on are shattered, the story is as cookie cutter as it gets and the MC is far too perfect and far too powerful. Not only was it so bad that it actually broke my immersion but I also felt like all hope for this show was dashed in a matter of 20 minutes. It's almost like a completely different show.

Episode 5 rallies somewhat with some lighthearted fun and probably my favorite animal sidekick in a long while. While I have some misgivings about how events unfold at least the train feels like it might be back on the rails.

By episodes 7/ 8 you realize the mc is not the bees knees in the fantasy world. He's getting a handle on how he should realistically be behaving on earth. These episodes pull it together and it feels like the show is contuining to rally well from it's aweful #4 (but I just can't forgive episode 4 yet).

Audio/music: 6/10 I admit I am weakest in this department. I was neither blown away nor repulsed by it.

Theme songs: 6/10. Having just watched Ya Boy Kongming and some others this is pretty average to me in comparison. Still, good enough to listen to while getting a snack instead of fast forwarding through it.