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The medium of manga is not widespread used for autobiography, which I’ve realized is a shame. Though this, of course, means immensely slice of life and lots of inner monologue, having visual expression to aid a person’s experience can be powerful. It also allows for a little more ‘show don’t tell’ than a standard autobiographical novel can achieve. It can lead to it appearing less compelling than fictional manga to a large portion of manga readers.

So what about *this* autobiographical manga specifically? The art is a simple and cute style that I’m not normally drawn to, but the type of story being told is ... so honest and specific I binged through the first volume. Though very specific to AFAB (assigned female at birth) genderqueer experience, it speaks greatly to the general female experience as well. Since it is the recounting of personal experiences, I can foresee a critique that the work feels heavy handed. What I argue in response to that, is that hearing these accounts, and specifically the emotional after affects, are what help bring a greater understanding to these issues (which is a theme in itself addressed in this manga).

The biggest strength of this work though, is that Pesuyama is not anyone of extraordinary caliber. It’s an inside scoop on celebrity life, it’s not that one in a million success story, or a prodigy, it is the story of an average human. This grounds the story into how these experiences could happen to absolutely anyone, and how even those not on societies pedestals deserve a voice.

The last important thing I’d like to note is that Pesuyama does not paint themself as a perfect person either. They have many regrets of their own behavior, recognize some things that may be their own interpretation, as well as their own problematic thought processes they internally struggle to fight against. This understanding of self actually makes it easier to want to root for them on their emotional journey.

Obviously there is still more of this manga coming, but as an AFAB genderqueer person myself, this resonated very deeply with me and can act as a great platform to further discuss sexism, gender roles, transphobia, and the importance of all the movements attached to these issues.

The theme of this review is hesitant but optimistic. Media centered around criticizing the entertainment is not fresh on own, and thus far most of “Oshi No Ko”’s takes have just scratched the surface and moved on from each topic it addresses. That is, outside of the pilot, which is what leaves me hopeful of where these ideas will develop (that, and knowing Aka Akasaka puts intense levels of thought and research into his works).

The pilot is easily the strongest part of this season, but it has the benefit of being a fully contained arc in (theoretically) one sitting. Tackling the idea of what ... love is and using showbiz to fill the void can be painfully relatable. It also paints an intricate character portrait, one that gets to be held up right next to the idealized version of her idol persona.

Before hitting some spoilers I also think it is important to note the production of this anime is excellent. The designs are cute and memorable, the use of color is dynamic, and the animation is fluid. That in itself is keeping this at an 8 regardless of how the story unfolds.

Okay spoiler time:
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For obvious reasons, AI’s character got to be the most fleshed out most immediately. What I like most about this though, is that even postmortem, the show centers around Ai so we are constantly learning things about her. THAT is how you handle an early character death.

It does set an odd precedent when all of the other characters have a much slower burn of development, but when the product is in full that will be more appreciated. It does make them less immediately captivating though. That being said, there are very few Tsundere I find as likable as Kana, which is in big part that we get so much of her introspective on things this early on (as opposed to many tsundere, who are toxic for awhile and then we learn their deep dark backstory much later). It also shows, she is not that much of a tsundere after all. It is clear Akasaka has put a lot of thought into each character, and developing the tsundere the soonest was a smart move. This care is also worthy of praise to Akasaka for his ability to write *varied* female characters better than 90% of works geared for the Shonen demographic.

Outside of Ai and Kana, the other girls show promise and are enjoyable, but time will tell. Most specifically I point that sentiment to Akane. Her harassment story line was well done, and in the moment definitely emotionally affected me. However, the story seemed to move past this rather quickly and used it more as a device to give Akane a reason to center around Aqua. Maybe that take is more cynical, and it could still come about more later on, but it just didn’t quite hit the mark for me. What I do find interesting, and is hopefully what the story is going for, is Akane having to rely so heavily on crafting personas and really struggling with her own sense of identity. I truly hope that idea gets explored and all her set up was not just for the sake of forming a love triangle and giving Aqua a partner in crime.

On THAT note (thank you for reading this far), I do enjoy this spin of a love triangle where the male actually has no real romantic interest in either girl. Partially because he’s only really in love with the persona of Ai, and also because he’s mentally a 50 year old man. I don’t expect Aqua to be completely heartless though, he’s already shown genuine care, reminding us he is still the doctor he once was..but please don’t let anything romantic come about. Partially because I don’t want to have to deal with the ethical questioning of his mental age, but also I want these girls to pass the Bechdel test as much as possible.

Speaking of Aqua being 50, I do hope more of the supernatural elements become relevant again. There are a lot of ‘I Hope’s’ and ‘it depends’ here, but it really is so early in the story. Also because it immensely bothers me that, in 16 years, neither Aqua or Ruby felt okay about sharing their past identities with each other. That reveal will have a high bar to reach to make up for that.

To end on a positive, Aqua as a deuteragonist helps keep the hints of a darker tone while paralleling Ruby’s seemingly more positive underdog idol story. It creates a nice balance of light and dark, which was the strongest consistency of the show so far.


In short: There is a lot of potential, but only time will tell if the potential is realized. It is a good gateway to entertainment criticism for those less over saturated to it, and the execution of it all is top tier.

This anime was great and just about anyone who gives it a true chance would see that. It is very much a *prequel*, which it already hints at from the first episode and gets progressively more clear by the episode (which is why we see so many differences, ie; missing Milly). Though this erases some of the initial mystery the original presents, this take is telling the story from a different angle, and with much more material to explore. I love the original, I love that Vash and this Vash is still very much the same Vash, the stakes are just more consistently serious. ... Let’s break a few things down:

Story: I know it is pulling info from the manga, which was completed post the original anime, giving it so much more lore to build upon. All of the original themes of the anime are still in tact (morality, forgiveness, necessity of violence etc etc…) and explored with more depth and nuance. The sci-fi element is even more prominent, and though some elements feel more standard for anime sci-fi, studio Orange makes it look cool as hell. Which brings us to…

Animation: CG haters need to, respectfully, put their bias aside because Orange gets more and more impressive with each project. As things progress in some of the afore mentioned sci fi elements, they use the Cg to great advantage. When it comes to fights, the Cg adds such a layer of dynamics that 2D can not achieve (this is not to say one is better than the other, they just have different strengths). Lastly, there is a true since of artistry, especially in those final few episodes, both with the literal animation as well as the framing and direction. It is a great example of the making the most of what they had and you can tell genuine effort was put in by this team.

Characters: Vash was already touched on, so let’s focus on Knives. Knives who, in all honesty, worked well as a symbol but not a character in the original. He was significant in building Vash but he himself couldn’t stand on his own as a strong character. This has changed, he is given motivation and development and so much more screen time. Though still not ‘best anime villain of all time’, I am more invested in him than any of the several times I watched the ‘98. Meryl is in a different dynamic here, as the lackey instead of the leader. She also acts more as the audience stand in, however, she is just as stubborn and motivated as ever. I am looking forward to season 2 exploring more layers and subtlety with her, which seems like the case.

In short; Was it the most mind blowing sci fi ever? Not necessarily. Was it an enjoyable watch that was excellently directed that gave more depth to all of the things I love about original Trigun? Yes. My main critique? Needs more donuts.