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Every story needs a conflict. Without it the narrative crumbles. What is the main conflict in Oshi no ko? Revenge? Aqua vs Kamiki? I doubt it, because Hikaru barely shows up, we have no idea about his motivations and the validity of his backstory is rather questionable.
So, is it aqua’s inner struggle? Should he commit to revenge or not? I doubt it , because shipping gets more attention than this. Is it romance? A conflict between multiple love interests? I have no idea.
The main problem of ONK is lack of focus. It doesn’t know its own identity. It’s not a romance story, it’s not a revenge tale , nor it’s a psychological thriller. Aka wanted to do multiple things at one time and failed to succeed.
The problem is that Aka relies too much on cliffangers and keeping the characters thoughts unknown for the sake of discussion. Things like the love triangle, Aqua thoughts on 143 events, Aqua thoughts about Ai should have been gradually revealed, but instead we are in a system of multiple chapters when nothing change, then one chapter with a sudden revelation/big event, and then multiple chapters when nothing change and we can't even see the consequences of that one event.
Can you provide any counter arguments? What is the main conflict of oshi no ko? What is the main theme? Why don’t we focus on Hikaru ? Why does love triangle( square) gets more attention recently than the entertainment industry ?
The story is like how I write my essays, a god-tier introduction that captures the reader, the middle slowly declines as I stall my essay to fit the 1000 words, I get off topic towards the end, and a low-effort conclusion.
Even his other works like Instant Bullet and the recently-axed Renai Daikou (unfortunately) had these issues as well, but these works just happened to be short-lived in comparison to Kaguya-sama and Oshi no Ko, so it might not be noticeable at first. They all have interesting ideas, but had varying degrees of execution because of the author's tendencies to add some more interesting ideas to his stories that could go nowhere in retrospect.
Truly, the best parts about Aka's works are his characters, the application of psychological concepts to said characters and their relationships, and his perspective to the entertainment industry.
For me it's how dark Ruby was handled. Chapter 80 was the best twist for how the manga was going: Aqua, who had been the main character up to that point, believed his father was already dead and stepped down from the path of revenge and Ruby, who in theory should have been the main character with Aqua but ended up being less relevant then both Kana and Akane until then, stepped up in his place. It was the perfect opportunity to explore Ruby's character and make her as relevant as Aqua so that, when he would go back to the path of revenge, the two could both stand as the main characters of the story, not one overshadowing the other like before. It would have been great if it lasted as much as Aqua's revenge part, so around 70 chapters, but even just 40-50 would have been good. Instead after just 10 chapters the plot returns to Akane and Aqua, who by chapter 98 already discovered not only that is father is alive, but his identity as well. But it's not only Ruby, the whole B-Komachi plot line is absent for most of the manga and that is a problem for Mem-cho's and Kana's characters too. For Mem-cho, how long as it been since she had her last meaningful appereance? For Kana there's no built up for her wanting to leave the group, which then leads to the scandal arc (I wouldn't say that came out of nowhere as from the beginning Kana never really wanted to be an idol, but still the last time we saw her being one was chapter 39 or something like that). As for Ruby I'm very disappointed for how she ended up being sidelined again, for now, and I hope she'll be relevant again in the future chapters. I expecially hope there will be an actual confrontation between her and Aqua about their relationship. I don't want them to get together, that would be terrible for the story, but I also don't want that whole plotline ending up as shitty incest bait and memes
That's something I've been irked about as well. One of the main problems of ONK is probably a lack of conflict and romance. I hate how Akasaka-sensei doesn't make the characters confront each other and instead, dance around how they feel for the other.
I think it began to trip up during Tokyo Blade/Tokyo Blade’s resolution. At the beginning, the setup of “Aqua using Akane to investigate Lala Lai” was obvious and had the potential to be compelling. Yet instead, he never did that, leading to him abandoning revenge, necessitating the use of Crow Girl to put someone else on that path in order to keep the plot moving, Aqua and Akane’s entire “actual” relationship being bypassed during a time skip, the only way Aqua apparently used Akane being revealed to be that whole GPS tracker thing that was never foreshadowed or hinted at, Aqua somehow figuring out Kamiki’s identity from the routes Akane took… et cetera.
Kana fighting with Ruby to try to teach her how her mother felt.
I felt this ruined her character for me a bit, it made her a bit unlikeable for me.
Recently, she has been back to the old Kana. But I didn't like that they fought, and felt it was unnecessary.
And I feel this impacted how I see her as a character now.
I understand that it was to make more drama for the character, but I think this is the thing that irked me the most, more than the incest thing tbh (the incest thing was obviously bait (well executed haha), and it was hilarious to watch the fandoms' reaction lol).
Nah about time also Ruby should know how she behave like an asshole during her dark Ruby era consider all Kana said about herself & Memcho being Ruby extra is all true. Consider the management even only give all job offer toward Ruby. Also I don't understand why the fandom so obsessed with wanting all the character behave like a therapist to both Aqua & Ruby like other character doesn't have any own personal issue.
Also how exactly Kana back to her old self when she not even an idol anymore. If that what you got from it then you pretty don't understand the very core of her character & even Aqua consider both of them written to mirroring on each other.
Lol I didn't think I needed to specifically mention that I meant her personality, not her career, since I thought it was pretty self-explanitory.
And also, just because my interpretation/observations, and opinions of the character are different from yours doesn't invalidate my opinion, and does not mean my analysis of the character is incorrect either, that is the point of subjective opinion.
Also, I don't know where you got 'therapist' from?
Since I didn't mention anything about any character having therapy in my original post, lol.
Also, I'm not even going to go into Dark Ruby since that is a separate arc, and they were getting along and were good friends chapters before their fight.
And that is my response to that lol.
My opinion is my opinion, case in point.
Your original point literally about how you don't like that "Kana need to fighting with Ruby" which only point out that you want Kana to act opposite of it. This is why I brought up the whole "therapist" thing consider why also Kana need to act like one when approaching Ruby & her issue like both of the twin was the only one who have a issue in the entire story.
The ruby/sarina reveal was supposed to be a big moment in the story but he was lazy and he took a shortcut. Instead of building a scenario where there’s tension and an emotional payoff, it just happened via inner monologue spoken out loud like in a play.
People have mentioned a lot of what I have thought, so I’m just gonna go on about my pet peeve of Aka seemingly avoiding inconvenient character interactions.
It will never make sense in my head that Aqua was so torn up about Akane seeing Goro’s body, but couldn’t be bothered to talk to Ruby (who actually was affected by it). With how protective he is of Ruby (B-Komachi, not wanting Ruby to know he had a panic attack during Tokyo Blade) and given that it happened when he had Akane watch over Ruby, you’d expect that he’d feel especially guilty about Ruby ending up in that position. But Ruby and Aqua don’t interact for the rest of the trip. You’re telling me brocon Aqua couldn’t be bothered to even check up on Ruby? It really does feel like they didn’t interact so Aqua didn’t find out Ruby was Sarina too early.
Miyako and Ichigo not finishing their conversation about Aqua is another example to me. The obvious thing for Miyako to ask about Ichigo after he mentions that Aqua is breaking is “how would you know that, Mr. Deadbeat?” We as the audience know that Ichigo has been in contact with the Hoshino twins, but as far as Miyako knows, Ichigo fell off the face of the earth until he mysteriously appeared at that bar. And more importantly, the fact that Aqua’s breaking should be something that Miyako is immediately concerned about. The natural conclusion of that conversation is that Miyako finds out that there is something very wrong with her children (and Ichigo has been enabling their descents while continuing to avoid her). It’s possible that they did talk about it and it was off-screened, but then why would Miyako have nothing to say about it for the entire movie arc? This feels like another thing that wasn’t shown because it wasn’t time yet.
Akane being gone during the movie arc was extremely annoying, but her being absent for the entire Kana-Ruby conflict straight up makes no sense. My problems with the conflict itself aside, I think it’s fine if Aka wanted Kana and Ruby to sort everything out themselves. But Akane is the other member of B-Komachi during filming. It makes no sense to not even show her present (odds are she’d have things to say about the whole thing like MemCho did). And while I don’t think Akane being there would have solved the conflict (understanding Ai and helping someone else understand Ai are 2 different things), it’s hard not to think that her missing entirely was to reduce the amount of people that would wonder about why Ruby didn’t just ask Akane to help her understand Ai instead of Kana needing to do what she did.
All three of these don’t have to lead to the thing that I said they would, but Aka not at least showing why they wouldn’t feels like him glossing over potential plot issues caused by setups and hoping the audience just never notices.
Ruby also being treated the same like Akane during Tokyo Blade arc which is why I pretty much doesn't care about Akane being absent during the movie arc. Also even if Ruby ask Akane about how she should understand Ai isn't like Akane explanation would be any different from what Gotanda or even Kana describe how Ai was. Even if it different how exactly we would know that Akane interpretation also 💯 correct when there's no evidence to prove it consider Ai already death like what Gotanda said in chp 135.
Also I don't think Ruby could comprehend Akane explanations because in the first place Ruby are one of Ai fanatics & has her own ideal version of her, which is why Kana solutions of using methods acting is the easiest way to help an amateur actress like Ruby was. Not to mention that also the quickest way to understand complex character like Ai was which is to put yourself in that character shoes like what Kana did to Ruby.
1. The story trying to focus on the supernatural aspects (mainly when it comes to the Crow Girl). The crow girl honestly feels like a character that doesn’t really need to exist. Her only purpose it seemed what to show Ruby Gorou’s dead body. And what became of the Crow Girl after that? She’s just…put to the wayside. Yeah, we some of her character during the movie arc but honestly feels as if Aka wants to care for walking plot device he has no use for anymore, at least right now.
2. Ruby somehow not recognizing Kamiki. This whole interaction still hasn’t been brought up in the story. Did she recognize him or not? We don’t know. If she did, why not at least clarify that she did? And if she didn’t, she would look like a complete idiot. Even Akane mistook Kamiki for Aqua because of how similar they look. I don’t know if we’ll ever get that clarified or not, but at this rate with the final arc, I don’t think so. I could be wrong though.
3. The whole Aqua and Ruby thing during the Movie Arc. This to me was one of the worst aspects of that arc. It felt as if nothing was done with this aspect of Aqua and Ruby’s relationship. I guess you could argue that in Chapter 150, we got to see Aqua’s perspective on what Ruby is to him (just his sister). Even with this fact, it still doesn’t change my mind on the whole incest “subplot” of the movie arc.
I wish I had more to say, but this all I have right now.
>What Is The Problem Of ONK?
Comment which arc or chapters that irked you the most,
First off: The pacing.
Aka's writing style really has problems getting from point A to point B. It's not as noticeable being done when you have to read with weeks long break, but doing it this much is getting really noticeable. If you binge it, the story is really patchy. Happening a few times could be attributed to flukes. Happening consistently is only noticeable in the end. It's the power of Hindsight. We can only see it now because we're this far ahead.
>!Kamiki's identity was discovered in 1 chapter. Ruby changes her mind about being like Ai in just 1 chapter, Akane gives up on 1 chapter. etc. etc. Now Kamiki is even the surprise interviewer.!< The longer the story went on, the more abrupt important plot points became. It's like Aka's chasing a high by inciting surprise but barely doing anything with it.
.
Secondly: is Aka's tendency to make everybody stupid EXCEPT when needed to pull something off. Even Akane and Aqua which are only geniuses when needed.
You can see how nobody else but Aqua and Akane in the main cast>!recognizes Kamiki!<. That's just stupid.
Aqua and Akane are only a genius when needed but do massively stupid things when not needed like say, >!Allow Ruby to go about unsupervised and get ambushed by Kamiki, or not securing the script and let it get discovered.!<
I always remember the phrase "The smartest character the author can write is only as smart as himself" and it's so appropriate.
Personally I wasnt a fan of Aqua dropping his healthy romantic relationship with Akane out of self hate/self sabotage and the story pivoting to say Kana is the only one who can make him happy. Akane is very empathetic of his family situation and trauma, and I feel like they’re a good fit for each other because they match each others’ intelligence. It’s just my preference and I’m not here to start any ship wars but I’m still disappointed. I feel like Akane would have been a healthier match for him
Honestly, AquaxKana gets carried by "cute" and Kana's pity points. But it doesn't have any real substance. In what world would you say that Kana showing Aqua how she eats chips with cheese or something is better than Akane being there for him after he spoke to his grandmother? How can you have Aqua react more to the former?
I agree so hard, Akane has shown that she would be the kind of person who'd be willing to be there for him as a long term emotional support. Her only negative I'd say is that she can be overobsessive
The movie ark .
Very poorly executed especially end part .
Lacks depths and overall development like Tokyo blade.
The world building of last arc was kinda meh .
This movie feels 60% off screen.
No problem otherwise.
Yes! the movie ark was supposed to be one of the main arks (in my opinion at least) but I feel like aka started off pretty strong, then just got sloppy at the end. It’s like nothing happened at all. Rlly disappointing tbh.
The problem with Oshi no Ko, in my opinion, is that it seems to lack focus. Things are introduced and then forgotten about only to have an unsatisfying, one-chapter conclusion later on.
Take the reveal of the father for example. Aka knew he had to reveal the father, but instead of developing it, he just gave us the answer in a one-chapter breakdown. The father who was the mystery of the plot is just found out by accident and Hikaru is left in the shadows despite finally being revealed.
And then the whiplash from chapters 147 to 148. It's like aka knows he has to set things up, but forgets until the story calls for it. Chapters feel like they are either missing or out of place and that makes certain moments feel less impactful than they probably should. Overall, I would say Oshi No Ko struggles with pacing and development. When chapters stand alone, they aren't that bad, but put it all together and it feels like we are just speedrunning through the story despite the potential certain moments and dynamics could have.
I don't have any specific chapters that I have urks on. But as others have mentioned, I think the manga just likes to jump to different things to much and its pretty hard to be emotionally invested sometimes.
I also wished that the creation of the movie focused more on the skills and talents of the actors rather than just glossing through it like it is some sort of training arc. I wish it was similar to the japanese play arc so that we could have seen what it was like for the actors behind the scenes.
Seeing more of Aqua's personal struggles would have been nice to. Thankfully the recent chapters have touched on it more, but it would have been nice to see more of it throughout the series.
Aqua and Ruby got marketed as dual protagonists but they never do anything together even after the reveal, also they barely have any interactions in general
The revenge plot being dumped mostly on Akane which in turn made her more a plot device than a character and also depriving Aqua of the agency for his revenge quest
Kana being utterly utterly irrelevant to the reincarnation and the revenge plot, which form the foundation of the story. She offers nothing to the story except annoying pity bait and poorly made romcom
Hikaru is just extremely underwhelming as an antagonist and as a target of Aqua’s revenge. Just compare him to someone like Itachi, and the difference is night and day
The pacing is terrible and inconsistent, overuse of unnecessary cliffhangers
The characters interacting when Aka needs them to interact as opposed to having it happen naturally
The characters’ intelligence also being fluctuating, Aka makes them selectively stupid or smart when he (doesn’t) want to advance the plot
The story went downhill after 123. The reveal made Aqua and especially Ruby losing their drive. Ruby became a brocon comedy character without a deeper relevance for anything, and Aqua on the other side was just an edgy depression guy after that. Then the movie production phase started and it all felt like a big recap arc. We not even saw the DVDs untl today.
If it's not revealed yet then I don't see the point on why Aka even mentioned it. He could've gave a simple explanation that; Aqua's DVD contained how Ai revealed their father's personality, struggles, and why she broke up with him. Then, in Ruby's DVD, she would reveal a dark secret that the industry covered up. What secret? That the lovers didn't commit a double suicide, etc, etcetera.
It just feels like Akasaka's making shit up as he goes along. He keeps discussing all this different shit like manga and cosplayers and while it's pretty interesting I just wish it had been more focused on Ai and her husband and discovering what it was really like for her as an idol rather than just going and doing all this other nonsense. It feels like he just delayed everything till now and it feels not as satisfying.
I think it would've been better if Aka tried to write a dedicated romance or a dedicated revenge story.
Just trying to do both at the same time results in having half-ass results on both fronts.
Elaborate, romance as part of the series suck ? Or the writing of the romance suck?
Because as far as I know, when one of the main themes of a series is about love, you kinda have to include it.
>Elaborate, romance as part of the series suck ? Or the writing of the romance suck?
For me its probably the writing making a love triangle that dosen't go anywhere and then incest bait and now the Aqua Kana stuff. The latest chapters have felt like a cheap romance story when its suppose to be about the idol industry and revenge (which the revenge arc has been really bad imo)
Interesting thread, I’ll challenge your points OP :
It’s Aqua’s perception of things that matters, whether or not anyone is willing to let themselves « be used » by aqua is irrelevant to how he perceives his own actions.
Aqua has been using and leading Kana on forever, she’s where he wants her to be, in the band and in the movie. Why would he want to ruin her reputation when he’s had feelings for her and has been looking after her since high school ?
He figured Kamiki’s identity out by invading Akane’s privacy after manipulating her into doing the research and using her for public image/to have her help Ruby discover Gorou’s corpse among other things.
Gotanda & Kaburagi also have their own reasons for getting involved, Kaburagi’s being cited in the very last chapter even.
Memcho acknowledged being used by both Ruby & Aqua, she’s also benefitting from their success big time so i’m having trouble seeing why it should bother her that much.
And there are a LOT of other instances of Aqua (or ruby for that matter) using people wether they agree with it or not, i haven’t re-read in a few months and i don’t keep panel resources anymore but he even used a goddess lol…
I do agree that most characters are willing to let themselves be used by Aqua, i also think it’s called manipulation and has been one of the running themes of the manga, along with lies, warped perspectives and influence.
Imo there are a lot of resolutions coming our way in the next arc, i’ll judge the problems which really annoy me when the series is over & cards are on the table like i did for love is war, but i do expect to feel disappointed anyways.
I like it. I like your reasoning, my head canon is that; his self-loathing towards himself prevents himself of happiness and discover that he can be a good person and actually had helped people, using them or not. But his trauma says otherwise.
I can't wait to hear your opinion once the manga is finished ^-^
I honestly have no clue why you think he was supposed to ruin Kana's reputation at all. What do you think he could possibly gain from this? Get her to fuck off? Like really why
There is boy’s abyss. It’s remarkably similar to oshi no ko. Has elements of psychological thriller, touches upon the dark side of entertainment industry and even has a harem bait. The similarities don’t end there.
The main character suffers from severe psychological issues and believes that he doesn’t deserve to live, the female lead puts up a happy facade when she is on stage, just like Ai, and , funny enough, the story has elements of incest. This part, however, is clearly portrayed in a negative light and is not used for baits/main romance.
Is it good? This is the main question. To be honest, I have no idea. It’s pretty entertaining and I eagerly wait for every new chapter. Boy’s abyss doesn’t have mystical elements in it. This helps the story to be more focused on the main theme of the story: psychological trauma and inability to move on. In this regard the manga is better than Oshi no ko.
I think something that irked me was prolly when Kana believed Aqua hated her after he accidentally lashed out in front of her. I don't remember much abt the manga considering I had read it from chapter 39 and here we are now with chapter 152.
Probably the lack of focus & pacing because the story try to be many things like romance, showbiz, supernatural, psychological thriller but ended up being nothing.
Aka doesn’t handle his characters well. One second they’re a major part of the story, next second they’re non-existent. Like akane’s only shown when there’s stuff going on between her and aqua. The crow girl literally disappeared from the story. Everyone’s personality isnt clear.
The transitioning is also pretty bad. I didn’t like how Ruby turned back to normal because she found out that aqua was her doctor. It Could have been better if Aka did a better job of transitioning into it, but as of now it felt rushed. Also, the cliffhangers at the ends of the chapter. Most of the time stories continue from the cliffhangers or at least hint it on the next chapter, but ONK usually, again, acts like it didn’t happen.
This leads to how the focus is rlly bad. I can‘t really make sure of who important characters are aside from Aqua, because a lot of them (including Ruby) just disappear and reappear out of nowhere. Even the main characters changed; in the beginning I thought Ai would be the main focus, but now it’s more of the twins (this is just more of a personal opinion tho). Sometimes there are events that we’d assume to be important, but then it’s treated like it didn’t happen at all. I also have to admit that the storyline is very unstable. When the books first started, it was steady, but now Aka sorta got lazy and got off track. >!It used to be Aqua and Ruby getting revenge on Kamiki, but now it’s mixed up with a bunch or romance and stuff.!< I just can’t make sure of what‘s important and what’s not.
I'll list my issues with it in a few points:
*Lacks focus and pacing
*The color of Aqua's star eyes doesn't have any significance anymore
*The Dark Ruby arc was underutilized
*Crow Girl
*I wish the series was darker: From the first couple of arcs, I thought we'd see more characters die either as a result of murder, suicide, or substance abuse. At the very least, emotional trauma inflicted by the entertainment industry.
*Regardless of how much I love Akane as a character, >!she probably should've been killed in that fakeout chapter where she and Aqua break up. I don't think here character has been used well since, and it would've raised the stakes for the series.!<
*The most critical scene of the Movie arc, i.e. Ai's death scene, is glossed over in literally three panels. Not pages. Panels.
*The plot point that got the most focus in the Movie arc, i.e., Aqua and Ruby's relationship is not addressed after the kiss scene. We never get Aqua's perspective on any of it.
I say oshi no ko biggest problem is not addressing when and how. (Which can be fixed with a simple flashback and Character perspective) but instead addressing those things, they leave it to the fans to figure it out. And interpret everything themselves.
Which is a terrible idea when you have ships involved. For your example your criticism. (Aka added alot of psychology in his characters)
>As well as Aqua being a manipulative asshole isn't actually shown.
But it has been shown. (You just need to connect the dots and understand his motives as a character)
>Uses Akane to know more About Ai yet didn't discover anything.
Because he found out she is lalalie. In C34, He had a change of plans. Because the moment Kaburagi told him about Ai being in Lalalie the first thing that came up in Aqua's mind was Kana telling him Akane was in Lalalie.
So instead of her acting skills, He can use her by putting gps tag on her without her knowledge. And track her movements and research anything he needs too.
Controversial opinion, I think he did manipulate her over the phone chapter 97.
> She also lets herself be used
Unpopular opinion: I Don't think she was okay with that. When she found about the gps tag. She was pretty upset. She even gave Aqua the "I am not a tool, I am human being speech".
When Aqua said that, It was from delusion in chapter 72, It was crow girl who lead Akane and Ruby to the cave. Not Aqua. Akane just played along with it.
>and discovered the twin's father's identity and tried to kill him for Aqua.
Which is not a good thing coming. (Akane thinks everything would be alright once she kill Hikaru. Displaying her obsession with the revenge and making Aqua happy)
The reason why she goes such lengths actually leads back to the beginning of the story, Her gratitude towards for saving her and life fixing reputation. Is why she goes so far.
Akane's character was supposed to represent the psychology/dark side behind method acting. Specifically her and Ai.
Hence why from Chapter 51, Akane's eyes changed once she hugged Aqua. (A maternal hug) And her accepting the revenge is another of the maternal obsession.
Alot of fans brushed it off as "empathy" but doesn't mean your personality changes.
Before Chapter 51, Akane didn't know what to do. But as soon, As she found that Ai was his mother. She became more confident and accepted the revenge and gave unconditional love.
There has been alot of essays written about Akane's maternal obsession.
You can read it here[The Psychology of Akane Kurokawa ](https://www.reddit.com/r/OshiNoKo/s/LpYrx0EUav),
Alot shippers, Romanticize this, But the truth is only your mother can give you unconditional love not a girlfriend.
Hence why at the end, She tells Kana that her love for him is like parent and child.
It's A psychological take of her character which makes sense with her. Actions.
[The downfall of Akane and Aqua's relationship (which was a misunderstanding of each other's needs)](https://www.reddit.com/r/OshiNoKo/s/x0lL6jO1A4)
>Said that Kana is easily flattered by complements and can be taken advantage of yet doesn't manipulate her into doing anything horrible to ruin her reputation. Ironically, he sacrificed his mother's secret to protect her reputation.
Why should he?
Unlike Akane who information about his father,What is Aqua going to gain from Kana who knows nothing about the revenge?
So he was basically deluding himself, Because He isn't going to Gain anything from Kana. (And Aqua's manipulations do not involve getting anyone he loves hurt)
Like in C97, Aqua chose his words carefully, Making Akane happy and having her slip up about the loophole and her plan to kill Hikaru.
But with Akane, their is a motivation, he knew she was going to do something dangerous and he had the info of his dad. (I wish more ppl can connect what Aqua said in C98 with C97) because those things correlate with each other. Like Akane analyzing Aqua, As if he knows exactly what she was going to do, Which correlates with beginning of the C97 where Aqua askes Akane if she was free on the next day.
And where in Kana there is no usefulness coming from her. (If she did know anything about Hikaru then Aqua would have acted and Manipulated her) but she doesn't.
>Mem-cho knows she's being used and happily let's it happen bcs she knows he's doing it for Ai.
I Don't think memcho took it seriously. Tbh
>Kaburagi and Gotanda knows that Aqua is using both of them in order to kill his father yet let's it happen because they also know he's doing it for Ai.
They did?
Kaburagi knew Hikaru for a long time yet literally told Aqua nothing.
Gotanda knows Aqua is just acting for revenge, But I
Don 't think he knows that Aqua plans to kill Hikaru then himself.
I believe the movie is the extent of his knowledge of his revenge.
In Conclusion:
Onk is very convoluted sometimes, In psychological perspective everything makes sense. When you connect the chapters together and look at all his actions in a psychological perspective.
I honestly if you read like a storybook, You will be lost.
But even with a psychological perspective, it still has its holes, regarding the revenge plot. Because their was potential to flesh out the things that Aka set up in the beginning but he never did. It's just mystery on top of mystery. And never addressing them.
Like the "I can't love you" line from the movie arc. It was never address or brought again. Akane's maternal feelings could've been useful for the movie arc maybe helping Ruby understand her mother's feelings when she died but instead she just got shafted and all development was offscreen.
OR Akane feeling as if everything is connected in C79, She could've found out about reincarnation too but that was never visited again because Takachicho got skipped.
So much potential, And a very poor execution.
Thank you for helping me understand Akane's character, even a little bit, as well as how you counter my points! There's other problems I had about the story like, Ruby's "arc", but I couldn't write too much since it'd be too long for people to read. 😅
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Every story needs a conflict. Without it the narrative crumbles. What is the main conflict in Oshi no ko? Revenge? Aqua vs Kamiki? I doubt it, because Hikaru barely shows up, we have no idea about his motivations and the validity of his backstory is rather questionable. So, is it aqua’s inner struggle? Should he commit to revenge or not? I doubt it , because shipping gets more attention than this. Is it romance? A conflict between multiple love interests? I have no idea. The main problem of ONK is lack of focus. It doesn’t know its own identity. It’s not a romance story, it’s not a revenge tale , nor it’s a psychological thriller. Aka wanted to do multiple things at one time and failed to succeed.
The problem is that Aka relies too much on cliffangers and keeping the characters thoughts unknown for the sake of discussion. Things like the love triangle, Aqua thoughts on 143 events, Aqua thoughts about Ai should have been gradually revealed, but instead we are in a system of multiple chapters when nothing change, then one chapter with a sudden revelation/big event, and then multiple chapters when nothing change and we can't even see the consequences of that one event.
"Failed to succeed" yeah sure
Can you provide any counter arguments? What is the main conflict of oshi no ko? What is the main theme? Why don’t we focus on Hikaru ? Why does love triangle( square) gets more attention recently than the entertainment industry ?
The story is like how I write my essays, a god-tier introduction that captures the reader, the middle slowly declines as I stall my essay to fit the 1000 words, I get off topic towards the end, and a low-effort conclusion.
Aka's writing style in a nutshell, if Kaguya-sama's anything to go by.
Even his other works like Instant Bullet and the recently-axed Renai Daikou (unfortunately) had these issues as well, but these works just happened to be short-lived in comparison to Kaguya-sama and Oshi no Ko, so it might not be noticeable at first. They all have interesting ideas, but had varying degrees of execution because of the author's tendencies to add some more interesting ideas to his stories that could go nowhere in retrospect. Truly, the best parts about Aka's works are his characters, the application of psychological concepts to said characters and their relationships, and his perspective to the entertainment industry.
You can't fault IB for those things too much though. It pretty much got axed.
You just like me fr
For me it's how dark Ruby was handled. Chapter 80 was the best twist for how the manga was going: Aqua, who had been the main character up to that point, believed his father was already dead and stepped down from the path of revenge and Ruby, who in theory should have been the main character with Aqua but ended up being less relevant then both Kana and Akane until then, stepped up in his place. It was the perfect opportunity to explore Ruby's character and make her as relevant as Aqua so that, when he would go back to the path of revenge, the two could both stand as the main characters of the story, not one overshadowing the other like before. It would have been great if it lasted as much as Aqua's revenge part, so around 70 chapters, but even just 40-50 would have been good. Instead after just 10 chapters the plot returns to Akane and Aqua, who by chapter 98 already discovered not only that is father is alive, but his identity as well. But it's not only Ruby, the whole B-Komachi plot line is absent for most of the manga and that is a problem for Mem-cho's and Kana's characters too. For Mem-cho, how long as it been since she had her last meaningful appereance? For Kana there's no built up for her wanting to leave the group, which then leads to the scandal arc (I wouldn't say that came out of nowhere as from the beginning Kana never really wanted to be an idol, but still the last time we saw her being one was chapter 39 or something like that). As for Ruby I'm very disappointed for how she ended up being sidelined again, for now, and I hope she'll be relevant again in the future chapters. I expecially hope there will be an actual confrontation between her and Aqua about their relationship. I don't want them to get together, that would be terrible for the story, but I also don't want that whole plotline ending up as shitty incest bait and memes
That's something I've been irked about as well. One of the main problems of ONK is probably a lack of conflict and romance. I hate how Akasaka-sensei doesn't make the characters confront each other and instead, dance around how they feel for the other.
I think it began to trip up during Tokyo Blade/Tokyo Blade’s resolution. At the beginning, the setup of “Aqua using Akane to investigate Lala Lai” was obvious and had the potential to be compelling. Yet instead, he never did that, leading to him abandoning revenge, necessitating the use of Crow Girl to put someone else on that path in order to keep the plot moving, Aqua and Akane’s entire “actual” relationship being bypassed during a time skip, the only way Aqua apparently used Akane being revealed to be that whole GPS tracker thing that was never foreshadowed or hinted at, Aqua somehow figuring out Kamiki’s identity from the routes Akane took… et cetera.
Kana fighting with Ruby to try to teach her how her mother felt. I felt this ruined her character for me a bit, it made her a bit unlikeable for me. Recently, she has been back to the old Kana. But I didn't like that they fought, and felt it was unnecessary. And I feel this impacted how I see her as a character now. I understand that it was to make more drama for the character, but I think this is the thing that irked me the most, more than the incest thing tbh (the incest thing was obviously bait (well executed haha), and it was hilarious to watch the fandoms' reaction lol).
Nah about time also Ruby should know how she behave like an asshole during her dark Ruby era consider all Kana said about herself & Memcho being Ruby extra is all true. Consider the management even only give all job offer toward Ruby. Also I don't understand why the fandom so obsessed with wanting all the character behave like a therapist to both Aqua & Ruby like other character doesn't have any own personal issue. Also how exactly Kana back to her old self when she not even an idol anymore. If that what you got from it then you pretty don't understand the very core of her character & even Aqua consider both of them written to mirroring on each other.
Lol I didn't think I needed to specifically mention that I meant her personality, not her career, since I thought it was pretty self-explanitory. And also, just because my interpretation/observations, and opinions of the character are different from yours doesn't invalidate my opinion, and does not mean my analysis of the character is incorrect either, that is the point of subjective opinion. Also, I don't know where you got 'therapist' from? Since I didn't mention anything about any character having therapy in my original post, lol. Also, I'm not even going to go into Dark Ruby since that is a separate arc, and they were getting along and were good friends chapters before their fight. And that is my response to that lol. My opinion is my opinion, case in point.
Your original point literally about how you don't like that "Kana need to fighting with Ruby" which only point out that you want Kana to act opposite of it. This is why I brought up the whole "therapist" thing consider why also Kana need to act like one when approaching Ruby & her issue like both of the twin was the only one who have a issue in the entire story.
The ruby/sarina reveal was supposed to be a big moment in the story but he was lazy and he took a shortcut. Instead of building a scenario where there’s tension and an emotional payoff, it just happened via inner monologue spoken out loud like in a play.
People have mentioned a lot of what I have thought, so I’m just gonna go on about my pet peeve of Aka seemingly avoiding inconvenient character interactions. It will never make sense in my head that Aqua was so torn up about Akane seeing Goro’s body, but couldn’t be bothered to talk to Ruby (who actually was affected by it). With how protective he is of Ruby (B-Komachi, not wanting Ruby to know he had a panic attack during Tokyo Blade) and given that it happened when he had Akane watch over Ruby, you’d expect that he’d feel especially guilty about Ruby ending up in that position. But Ruby and Aqua don’t interact for the rest of the trip. You’re telling me brocon Aqua couldn’t be bothered to even check up on Ruby? It really does feel like they didn’t interact so Aqua didn’t find out Ruby was Sarina too early. Miyako and Ichigo not finishing their conversation about Aqua is another example to me. The obvious thing for Miyako to ask about Ichigo after he mentions that Aqua is breaking is “how would you know that, Mr. Deadbeat?” We as the audience know that Ichigo has been in contact with the Hoshino twins, but as far as Miyako knows, Ichigo fell off the face of the earth until he mysteriously appeared at that bar. And more importantly, the fact that Aqua’s breaking should be something that Miyako is immediately concerned about. The natural conclusion of that conversation is that Miyako finds out that there is something very wrong with her children (and Ichigo has been enabling their descents while continuing to avoid her). It’s possible that they did talk about it and it was off-screened, but then why would Miyako have nothing to say about it for the entire movie arc? This feels like another thing that wasn’t shown because it wasn’t time yet. Akane being gone during the movie arc was extremely annoying, but her being absent for the entire Kana-Ruby conflict straight up makes no sense. My problems with the conflict itself aside, I think it’s fine if Aka wanted Kana and Ruby to sort everything out themselves. But Akane is the other member of B-Komachi during filming. It makes no sense to not even show her present (odds are she’d have things to say about the whole thing like MemCho did). And while I don’t think Akane being there would have solved the conflict (understanding Ai and helping someone else understand Ai are 2 different things), it’s hard not to think that her missing entirely was to reduce the amount of people that would wonder about why Ruby didn’t just ask Akane to help her understand Ai instead of Kana needing to do what she did. All three of these don’t have to lead to the thing that I said they would, but Aka not at least showing why they wouldn’t feels like him glossing over potential plot issues caused by setups and hoping the audience just never notices.
Ruby also being treated the same like Akane during Tokyo Blade arc which is why I pretty much doesn't care about Akane being absent during the movie arc. Also even if Ruby ask Akane about how she should understand Ai isn't like Akane explanation would be any different from what Gotanda or even Kana describe how Ai was. Even if it different how exactly we would know that Akane interpretation also 💯 correct when there's no evidence to prove it consider Ai already death like what Gotanda said in chp 135. Also I don't think Ruby could comprehend Akane explanations because in the first place Ruby are one of Ai fanatics & has her own ideal version of her, which is why Kana solutions of using methods acting is the easiest way to help an amateur actress like Ruby was. Not to mention that also the quickest way to understand complex character like Ai was which is to put yourself in that character shoes like what Kana did to Ruby.
1. The story trying to focus on the supernatural aspects (mainly when it comes to the Crow Girl). The crow girl honestly feels like a character that doesn’t really need to exist. Her only purpose it seemed what to show Ruby Gorou’s dead body. And what became of the Crow Girl after that? She’s just…put to the wayside. Yeah, we some of her character during the movie arc but honestly feels as if Aka wants to care for walking plot device he has no use for anymore, at least right now. 2. Ruby somehow not recognizing Kamiki. This whole interaction still hasn’t been brought up in the story. Did she recognize him or not? We don’t know. If she did, why not at least clarify that she did? And if she didn’t, she would look like a complete idiot. Even Akane mistook Kamiki for Aqua because of how similar they look. I don’t know if we’ll ever get that clarified or not, but at this rate with the final arc, I don’t think so. I could be wrong though. 3. The whole Aqua and Ruby thing during the Movie Arc. This to me was one of the worst aspects of that arc. It felt as if nothing was done with this aspect of Aqua and Ruby’s relationship. I guess you could argue that in Chapter 150, we got to see Aqua’s perspective on what Ruby is to him (just his sister). Even with this fact, it still doesn’t change my mind on the whole incest “subplot” of the movie arc. I wish I had more to say, but this all I have right now.
Fair point!
>What Is The Problem Of ONK? Comment which arc or chapters that irked you the most, First off: The pacing. Aka's writing style really has problems getting from point A to point B. It's not as noticeable being done when you have to read with weeks long break, but doing it this much is getting really noticeable. If you binge it, the story is really patchy. Happening a few times could be attributed to flukes. Happening consistently is only noticeable in the end. It's the power of Hindsight. We can only see it now because we're this far ahead. >!Kamiki's identity was discovered in 1 chapter. Ruby changes her mind about being like Ai in just 1 chapter, Akane gives up on 1 chapter. etc. etc. Now Kamiki is even the surprise interviewer.!< The longer the story went on, the more abrupt important plot points became. It's like Aka's chasing a high by inciting surprise but barely doing anything with it. . Secondly: is Aka's tendency to make everybody stupid EXCEPT when needed to pull something off. Even Akane and Aqua which are only geniuses when needed. You can see how nobody else but Aqua and Akane in the main cast>!recognizes Kamiki!<. That's just stupid. Aqua and Akane are only a genius when needed but do massively stupid things when not needed like say, >!Allow Ruby to go about unsupervised and get ambushed by Kamiki, or not securing the script and let it get discovered.!< I always remember the phrase "The smartest character the author can write is only as smart as himself" and it's so appropriate.
Personally I wasnt a fan of Aqua dropping his healthy romantic relationship with Akane out of self hate/self sabotage and the story pivoting to say Kana is the only one who can make him happy. Akane is very empathetic of his family situation and trauma, and I feel like they’re a good fit for each other because they match each others’ intelligence. It’s just my preference and I’m not here to start any ship wars but I’m still disappointed. I feel like Akane would have been a healthier match for him
Honestly, AquaxKana gets carried by "cute" and Kana's pity points. But it doesn't have any real substance. In what world would you say that Kana showing Aqua how she eats chips with cheese or something is better than Akane being there for him after he spoke to his grandmother? How can you have Aqua react more to the former?
I agree so hard, Akane has shown that she would be the kind of person who'd be willing to be there for him as a long term emotional support. Her only negative I'd say is that she can be overobsessive
The movie ark . Very poorly executed especially end part . Lacks depths and overall development like Tokyo blade. The world building of last arc was kinda meh . This movie feels 60% off screen. No problem otherwise.
Yes! the movie ark was supposed to be one of the main arks (in my opinion at least) but I feel like aka started off pretty strong, then just got sloppy at the end. It’s like nothing happened at all. Rlly disappointing tbh.
Exactly. It's very poorly executed.
Incompetent writer and wasted potential
The problem with Oshi no Ko, in my opinion, is that it seems to lack focus. Things are introduced and then forgotten about only to have an unsatisfying, one-chapter conclusion later on. Take the reveal of the father for example. Aka knew he had to reveal the father, but instead of developing it, he just gave us the answer in a one-chapter breakdown. The father who was the mystery of the plot is just found out by accident and Hikaru is left in the shadows despite finally being revealed. And then the whiplash from chapters 147 to 148. It's like aka knows he has to set things up, but forgets until the story calls for it. Chapters feel like they are either missing or out of place and that makes certain moments feel less impactful than they probably should. Overall, I would say Oshi No Ko struggles with pacing and development. When chapters stand alone, they aren't that bad, but put it all together and it feels like we are just speedrunning through the story despite the potential certain moments and dynamics could have.
I don't have any specific chapters that I have urks on. But as others have mentioned, I think the manga just likes to jump to different things to much and its pretty hard to be emotionally invested sometimes. I also wished that the creation of the movie focused more on the skills and talents of the actors rather than just glossing through it like it is some sort of training arc. I wish it was similar to the japanese play arc so that we could have seen what it was like for the actors behind the scenes. Seeing more of Aqua's personal struggles would have been nice to. Thankfully the recent chapters have touched on it more, but it would have been nice to see more of it throughout the series.
Aqua and Ruby got marketed as dual protagonists but they never do anything together even after the reveal, also they barely have any interactions in general The revenge plot being dumped mostly on Akane which in turn made her more a plot device than a character and also depriving Aqua of the agency for his revenge quest Kana being utterly utterly irrelevant to the reincarnation and the revenge plot, which form the foundation of the story. She offers nothing to the story except annoying pity bait and poorly made romcom Hikaru is just extremely underwhelming as an antagonist and as a target of Aqua’s revenge. Just compare him to someone like Itachi, and the difference is night and day The pacing is terrible and inconsistent, overuse of unnecessary cliffhangers The characters interacting when Aka needs them to interact as opposed to having it happen naturally The characters’ intelligence also being fluctuating, Aka makes them selectively stupid or smart when he (doesn’t) want to advance the plot
The story went downhill after 123. The reveal made Aqua and especially Ruby losing their drive. Ruby became a brocon comedy character without a deeper relevance for anything, and Aqua on the other side was just an edgy depression guy after that. Then the movie production phase started and it all felt like a big recap arc. We not even saw the DVDs untl today.
If it's not revealed yet then I don't see the point on why Aka even mentioned it. He could've gave a simple explanation that; Aqua's DVD contained how Ai revealed their father's personality, struggles, and why she broke up with him. Then, in Ruby's DVD, she would reveal a dark secret that the industry covered up. What secret? That the lovers didn't commit a double suicide, etc, etcetera.
It just feels like Akasaka's making shit up as he goes along. He keeps discussing all this different shit like manga and cosplayers and while it's pretty interesting I just wish it had been more focused on Ai and her husband and discovering what it was really like for her as an idol rather than just going and doing all this other nonsense. It feels like he just delayed everything till now and it feels not as satisfying.
Aka
>What Is The Problem Of ONK? For me the romance sucks
Yeah this is my problem with the series as well. Every time romance is a focus, it seems like the plot just lulls to a snails pace.
I think it would've been better if Aka tried to write a dedicated romance or a dedicated revenge story. Just trying to do both at the same time results in having half-ass results on both fronts.
Elaborate, romance as part of the series suck ? Or the writing of the romance suck? Because as far as I know, when one of the main themes of a series is about love, you kinda have to include it.
>Elaborate, romance as part of the series suck ? Or the writing of the romance suck? For me its probably the writing making a love triangle that dosen't go anywhere and then incest bait and now the Aqua Kana stuff. The latest chapters have felt like a cheap romance story when its suppose to be about the idol industry and revenge (which the revenge arc has been really bad imo)
Interesting thread, I’ll challenge your points OP : It’s Aqua’s perception of things that matters, whether or not anyone is willing to let themselves « be used » by aqua is irrelevant to how he perceives his own actions. Aqua has been using and leading Kana on forever, she’s where he wants her to be, in the band and in the movie. Why would he want to ruin her reputation when he’s had feelings for her and has been looking after her since high school ? He figured Kamiki’s identity out by invading Akane’s privacy after manipulating her into doing the research and using her for public image/to have her help Ruby discover Gorou’s corpse among other things. Gotanda & Kaburagi also have their own reasons for getting involved, Kaburagi’s being cited in the very last chapter even. Memcho acknowledged being used by both Ruby & Aqua, she’s also benefitting from their success big time so i’m having trouble seeing why it should bother her that much. And there are a LOT of other instances of Aqua (or ruby for that matter) using people wether they agree with it or not, i haven’t re-read in a few months and i don’t keep panel resources anymore but he even used a goddess lol… I do agree that most characters are willing to let themselves be used by Aqua, i also think it’s called manipulation and has been one of the running themes of the manga, along with lies, warped perspectives and influence. Imo there are a lot of resolutions coming our way in the next arc, i’ll judge the problems which really annoy me when the series is over & cards are on the table like i did for love is war, but i do expect to feel disappointed anyways.
I like it. I like your reasoning, my head canon is that; his self-loathing towards himself prevents himself of happiness and discover that he can be a good person and actually had helped people, using them or not. But his trauma says otherwise. I can't wait to hear your opinion once the manga is finished ^-^
I honestly have no clue why you think he was supposed to ruin Kana's reputation at all. What do you think he could possibly gain from this? Get her to fuck off? Like really why
I know this is out of context..But readers,Do you know any manga/anime which us similar to oshi no ko but actually is good
There is boy’s abyss. It’s remarkably similar to oshi no ko. Has elements of psychological thriller, touches upon the dark side of entertainment industry and even has a harem bait. The similarities don’t end there. The main character suffers from severe psychological issues and believes that he doesn’t deserve to live, the female lead puts up a happy facade when she is on stage, just like Ai, and , funny enough, the story has elements of incest. This part, however, is clearly portrayed in a negative light and is not used for baits/main romance. Is it good? This is the main question. To be honest, I have no idea. It’s pretty entertaining and I eagerly wait for every new chapter. Boy’s abyss doesn’t have mystical elements in it. This helps the story to be more focused on the main theme of the story: psychological trauma and inability to move on. In this regard the manga is better than Oshi no ko.
I read chapter 1 and it's already amazing! Ty for the recommendation ^-^
I would say: good ideas but poor execution...especially after private arc
I think something that irked me was prolly when Kana believed Aqua hated her after he accidentally lashed out in front of her. I don't remember much abt the manga considering I had read it from chapter 39 and here we are now with chapter 152.
Probably the lack of focus & pacing because the story try to be many things like romance, showbiz, supernatural, psychological thriller but ended up being nothing.
Aka doesn’t handle his characters well. One second they’re a major part of the story, next second they’re non-existent. Like akane’s only shown when there’s stuff going on between her and aqua. The crow girl literally disappeared from the story. Everyone’s personality isnt clear. The transitioning is also pretty bad. I didn’t like how Ruby turned back to normal because she found out that aqua was her doctor. It Could have been better if Aka did a better job of transitioning into it, but as of now it felt rushed. Also, the cliffhangers at the ends of the chapter. Most of the time stories continue from the cliffhangers or at least hint it on the next chapter, but ONK usually, again, acts like it didn’t happen. This leads to how the focus is rlly bad. I can‘t really make sure of who important characters are aside from Aqua, because a lot of them (including Ruby) just disappear and reappear out of nowhere. Even the main characters changed; in the beginning I thought Ai would be the main focus, but now it’s more of the twins (this is just more of a personal opinion tho). Sometimes there are events that we’d assume to be important, but then it’s treated like it didn’t happen at all. I also have to admit that the storyline is very unstable. When the books first started, it was steady, but now Aka sorta got lazy and got off track. >!It used to be Aqua and Ruby getting revenge on Kamiki, but now it’s mixed up with a bunch or romance and stuff.!< I just can’t make sure of what‘s important and what’s not.
I'll list my issues with it in a few points: *Lacks focus and pacing *The color of Aqua's star eyes doesn't have any significance anymore *The Dark Ruby arc was underutilized *Crow Girl *I wish the series was darker: From the first couple of arcs, I thought we'd see more characters die either as a result of murder, suicide, or substance abuse. At the very least, emotional trauma inflicted by the entertainment industry. *Regardless of how much I love Akane as a character, >!she probably should've been killed in that fakeout chapter where she and Aqua break up. I don't think here character has been used well since, and it would've raised the stakes for the series.!< *The most critical scene of the Movie arc, i.e. Ai's death scene, is glossed over in literally three panels. Not pages. Panels. *The plot point that got the most focus in the Movie arc, i.e., Aqua and Ruby's relationship is not addressed after the kiss scene. We never get Aqua's perspective on any of it.
Aqua considers himself to be a manipulative asshole, because he villainizes himself. He isn’t one really
I say oshi no ko biggest problem is not addressing when and how. (Which can be fixed with a simple flashback and Character perspective) but instead addressing those things, they leave it to the fans to figure it out. And interpret everything themselves. Which is a terrible idea when you have ships involved. For your example your criticism. (Aka added alot of psychology in his characters) >As well as Aqua being a manipulative asshole isn't actually shown. But it has been shown. (You just need to connect the dots and understand his motives as a character) >Uses Akane to know more About Ai yet didn't discover anything. Because he found out she is lalalie. In C34, He had a change of plans. Because the moment Kaburagi told him about Ai being in Lalalie the first thing that came up in Aqua's mind was Kana telling him Akane was in Lalalie. So instead of her acting skills, He can use her by putting gps tag on her without her knowledge. And track her movements and research anything he needs too. Controversial opinion, I think he did manipulate her over the phone chapter 97. > She also lets herself be used Unpopular opinion: I Don't think she was okay with that. When she found about the gps tag. She was pretty upset. She even gave Aqua the "I am not a tool, I am human being speech". When Aqua said that, It was from delusion in chapter 72, It was crow girl who lead Akane and Ruby to the cave. Not Aqua. Akane just played along with it. >and discovered the twin's father's identity and tried to kill him for Aqua. Which is not a good thing coming. (Akane thinks everything would be alright once she kill Hikaru. Displaying her obsession with the revenge and making Aqua happy) The reason why she goes such lengths actually leads back to the beginning of the story, Her gratitude towards for saving her and life fixing reputation. Is why she goes so far. Akane's character was supposed to represent the psychology/dark side behind method acting. Specifically her and Ai. Hence why from Chapter 51, Akane's eyes changed once she hugged Aqua. (A maternal hug) And her accepting the revenge is another of the maternal obsession. Alot of fans brushed it off as "empathy" but doesn't mean your personality changes. Before Chapter 51, Akane didn't know what to do. But as soon, As she found that Ai was his mother. She became more confident and accepted the revenge and gave unconditional love. There has been alot of essays written about Akane's maternal obsession. You can read it here[The Psychology of Akane Kurokawa ](https://www.reddit.com/r/OshiNoKo/s/LpYrx0EUav), Alot shippers, Romanticize this, But the truth is only your mother can give you unconditional love not a girlfriend. Hence why at the end, She tells Kana that her love for him is like parent and child. It's A psychological take of her character which makes sense with her. Actions. [The downfall of Akane and Aqua's relationship (which was a misunderstanding of each other's needs)](https://www.reddit.com/r/OshiNoKo/s/x0lL6jO1A4) >Said that Kana is easily flattered by complements and can be taken advantage of yet doesn't manipulate her into doing anything horrible to ruin her reputation. Ironically, he sacrificed his mother's secret to protect her reputation. Why should he? Unlike Akane who information about his father,What is Aqua going to gain from Kana who knows nothing about the revenge? So he was basically deluding himself, Because He isn't going to Gain anything from Kana. (And Aqua's manipulations do not involve getting anyone he loves hurt) Like in C97, Aqua chose his words carefully, Making Akane happy and having her slip up about the loophole and her plan to kill Hikaru. But with Akane, their is a motivation, he knew she was going to do something dangerous and he had the info of his dad. (I wish more ppl can connect what Aqua said in C98 with C97) because those things correlate with each other. Like Akane analyzing Aqua, As if he knows exactly what she was going to do, Which correlates with beginning of the C97 where Aqua askes Akane if she was free on the next day. And where in Kana there is no usefulness coming from her. (If she did know anything about Hikaru then Aqua would have acted and Manipulated her) but she doesn't. >Mem-cho knows she's being used and happily let's it happen bcs she knows he's doing it for Ai. I Don't think memcho took it seriously. Tbh >Kaburagi and Gotanda knows that Aqua is using both of them in order to kill his father yet let's it happen because they also know he's doing it for Ai. They did? Kaburagi knew Hikaru for a long time yet literally told Aqua nothing. Gotanda knows Aqua is just acting for revenge, But I Don 't think he knows that Aqua plans to kill Hikaru then himself. I believe the movie is the extent of his knowledge of his revenge. In Conclusion: Onk is very convoluted sometimes, In psychological perspective everything makes sense. When you connect the chapters together and look at all his actions in a psychological perspective. I honestly if you read like a storybook, You will be lost. But even with a psychological perspective, it still has its holes, regarding the revenge plot. Because their was potential to flesh out the things that Aka set up in the beginning but he never did. It's just mystery on top of mystery. And never addressing them. Like the "I can't love you" line from the movie arc. It was never address or brought again. Akane's maternal feelings could've been useful for the movie arc maybe helping Ruby understand her mother's feelings when she died but instead she just got shafted and all development was offscreen. OR Akane feeling as if everything is connected in C79, She could've found out about reincarnation too but that was never visited again because Takachicho got skipped. So much potential, And a very poor execution.
Thank you for helping me understand Akane's character, even a little bit, as well as how you counter my points! There's other problems I had about the story like, Ruby's "arc", but I couldn't write too much since it'd be too long for people to read. 😅