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It's not often that we get a show that tries to be more of a critique of society and less so a piece that you watch for raw entertainment.

Oshi no ko, as it's known in both Japanese and English, at first struck me off as rather creepy when it was announced - I mean, I wasn't familiar with the manga and at first glance, it's a show about a guy who's a big fan of a girl barely above the Japanese age of consent that then becomes her newborn son, of course it'd be weird. I was sceptical at first that it'd be like Inukai-san's ... Dog but far weirder and I'm really glad I was proven wrong.

The show isn't an average idol anime that's about friendship and love or whatever. Instead, it tries to be more informative and sheds light on various aspects of the entertainment industry that are either barely known or well-known but never discussed because ultimately people forget that celebrities are real humans as well alongside the fanaticism that comes with many fans that can manifest in many forms - Ruby being one example and Ryousuke another, far more polar one. In fact, a lot of dialogue in the first episode is about world building and it's delivered rather naturally. Nevertheless, the story is likely to make people consider twice about the entertainment industry and everything not so public that lies below it. The episode 1 itself was very emotional as well and it did great work to lure people in. The plot isn't afraid to be deplorable to itself for the sake of quality which is rare for most anime.

There're smaller issues with various plot holes, though. Namely I'd say that the author has a pretty bad grasp of what people at certain ages can do. Note that Ai became an idol 4 years before the start - at the age of 12. Aqua also holds rather complicated conversation with the Director at the age of 2 or 3 or so and he finds it quite normal.

Characters are fleshed out and recognisable. As per standard Aka Akasaka fashion, main characters generally need a random unique and unnatural feature to make them distinguishable - in this case, the eyes and blonde hair. Although I do admit it looks rather odd at first, I grew used to it rather quickly and by now I'm fine with it. Ai's entire internal struggle is the machine that fuels episode 1 and both its exposition and end are great. Both Ruby and Aqua's former identities are also utilised well as both a tool for character and plot development. And let the praise of the main cast not deter you from noticing the incredibly good array of side characters as well, from the Director, his wife, the Movie Director guy, Kana, etc. etc. (more come but will avoid mention due to spoilers and it's barely even the 3rd episode!). So, tl:dr - it's incredible

Just wish they had more normal names...I mean, imagine being named Aquamarine, that's quite a mouthful, innit? Or Ruby as well, that's just an odd one. But I digress.
Production is impeccable. The voice design is great and VAs include both a big name like Takahashi Rie and then big surprises such as Ruby's VA, who is an amateur (MAL lists this as her first work, even) but nevertheless not lacking in any ways. The opening song Idol by YOASOBI (by the way, if you haven't yet, I warmly advise that you check out the music video, it's great) is also a great fit for the show, albeit not something I'd listen to myself. The opening animation is fluid and pure eye candy. The art style is pretty unique (especially character design) but it's not bad in any way. Naturally, it falls short of masterpieces, but it's still beautiful - you'll likely never ever think to yourself "damn the art is not good"

Never expected that I'd unironically enjoy an idol show as much as I am right now. The genre in general has been experiencing a drought of more serious shows and this one is more than a good way to fill up that hole. Should anything change, I'll edit the review accordingly, although at this point, it can't go higher. Cheers, stay safe and have a nice day!

Wish I could say more, but really, I can only sigh at this after watching the first 3 episodes. Every season, I opt into watching yet another isekai that's - turns out- the same shit as the rest.

Usually they at least have a somewhat unique gimmick, and this one's the ability to go between both worlds. Ironically, that's sort of the same idea as last season's Tax Evasion Isekai. This could naturally lead to some pretty interesting developments, but unfortunately it doesn't.

Regarding the story, to recap it very quickly, an overweight man disappointed with his rather unsightly appearance finds a gate to another world in ... his grandpa's house, then he becomes very hot very pretty va-va-voom man. Then every woman's panties become sodden when he even as much as passes by, with every background character whispering about how cute or beautiful he is just audibly enough that we can hear it. And, if those foolish mortals even dare speak to him, his overflowing sexiness and charisma will stun these women in place as he's so hot that these primal animals cannot do anything to him but revere.

You might think that I'm emphasising on his appearance too much. Well, it's because that's literally half of what this show is about.

So we've summarised that the lasses have a rather dry personality. What about the fellas? So far, of the guys, we have the main character whose personality is pretty bland but sufficient - standard nice guy a bit shy of women and oblivious that every woman is trying to turn the show into a hentai with him. Besides him you have, uh...yeah. The other male characters are pretty bland and average, better than the bare minimum but ultimately serve zero purpose.

Stuff is kinda flawed in the storytelling perspective in the get-go. If anyone reading remembers Kotoura-san's first episode, it kind of feels like that. The anime is just trying to shove it into your face: "hey this guy is miserable, feel bad for him. You're not feeling bad yet? You'll feel bad now! (insert meaningless dialogue)." Dialogue is delivered pretty okay-ishly.

Overall, you might think that the show is a simple work of raw wish fulfillment, nothing more, nothing else. I mean let's recap this - MC is sad, ugly and miserable, then magically finds a new world, becomes incredibly overpowered overnight, also becomes outlandishly beautiful and also gets free money from monsters ramming into his barrier, therefore being free pickings for him. In fact, he's so hot that he randomly also becomes a model as well. If this isn't the ultimate self insert wish fulfillment power fantasy, I don't know what is.

Regarding worldbuilding, there's not much. All I can say at the moment.

So, production is actually pretty good. Animation is very pretty and the CGI is among the best I've seen in isekai. It doesn't feel clunky at all and is overall pretty natural, namely the fight at the end of episode two. Character designs are distinctive and as memorable as they can be for this type of show. Overall very impressed, I have to admit. Otherwise, background music is very average, somewhat bland but not damaging. Voice-acting is also 10/10, which is an incredible surprise.

To finish it off, I'd like to condemn the decadent view that beauty and ideal appearances are the only thing that matters in interpersonal relationships and society and everyone who's not gifted with good looks is bound to mediocrity. The show throws it very hard at you that the reason life turned around for him is that because now he's super pretty or hot. Even if the author attempts it to spin as something else, it's easy to correlate his new appearance to how quickly he's accepted in his new school and later his decision to change schools as well. And then the entirety of episode 3 js...to be blunt, deplorable.

Came for the isekai, stayed for the art and production, left because of the wish fulfilment

That's about it, folks, have a nice day!

Heyo

I'm not going to start this review with some pretentious quote to try and look smart.

So the anime is about gathering 80 000 gold coins for retirement. Although I'd say it could be more appropriately named "Tax Evasion in Another World," it brings something we've never seen before to the table.

Ultimately, the concept feels fresh and quite funny. It follows a very simple writing flowchart of giving the main character a goal and damn right she's going to achieve it. After the rather underwhelming 1st episode, I genuinely had fun watching her endeavours in the 2nd and 3rd one. Too bad that it's bedridden with ... plot holes or lack of knowledge on historic facts. Namely on the topic of crop cycles (ancient practice on Earth), presence of synthetic materials in the goods she sells, conflicting fashion styles with time periods and so on. Pacing is also painfully bad, quite unfortunate really.

On the topic of characters: Your opinion on Mitsuha is going to make or break the show to you. If you find her fun to watch, you'll feel right at home. If you find her annoying or deplorable, you'll feel annoyed. A big issue arises when you consider the fact she's kind of difficult to cheer for due to how manipulative she gets. Besides her, there are no notable characters, mostly pretty basic side characters that just...exist.

Conversations and dialogue generally feel clunky or inhuman. Arguably one of the bigger issues. Check how oddly dialogue is delivered in episode 2 (interaction with Wolf Fang) and 3 (Count dinner conversations). Mitsuha's inner monologue is also just...weird. Like, they're trying to use her dead brother as an infodump device, but it's also how she genuinely thinks inside her head? The show tries taking on a comedic tone and it's not the worst but absolutely nothing to write home about.

On the topic of production, I'd like to note that this is by no means anything close to a big budget anime. In fact, this is barely the studio's 5th anime and barely the 3rd one without co-production. Looking at it that way, the visuals are mostly fine, but often very lacking. Backgrounds especially often feel very wonky (take the wolf chasing scene in episode 1 for example) or that teleportation scene on her bed.

Sound design is fine. No big names in the VA list from the main cast except for Kaori Maeda who also got to sing the OP and Fukuyama Jun. None of them do a bad job and I have to admit that the background music slaps pretty hard. Unfortunately, no insane stand-out performances.

Conclusion: The show is depressingly average. It brings a fresh concept to the table executed poorly, plagued by terrible pacing and filled with unnecessary tropes. It can be a fun watch at times but nothing to write home about. If you're in it for pretty fight scenes or art shots, stay far away from this.