(Image quote: “Anime [Oshi no Ko]” official website https://ichigoproduction.com/)

A special feature on [Oshinoko], which monopolized the topic of spring 2023 and recorded an explosive hit!
We will thoroughly examine the achievements left by this work in the first season, the highlights of the 2.5-dimensional stage broadcast in the second season, and the possibility of making a big change with animation!

The first season that made the most of the original material

(Image quote: Amazon)

As the centerpiece of the spring 2023 anime, [Oshi no Ko] was highly anticipated even before it aired.
The degree of expectation is quantified everywhere, and anime! animation! ‘s survey “Which anime has the highest expectations for the spring of 2023?” ranked second after “Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith’s Village”, d anime “What to watch this season? Spring 2023 anime popularity poll”, Filmarks “Spring 2023 anime They ranked 3rd in the Expectations Ranking.
The number of followers on the anime’s official Twitter account exceeded 200,000 before the broadcast, an unusual number for a new work.

And when the first episode started broadcasting, in addition to the 90-minute broadcast time, the shocking ending excited anime fans both in Japan and overseas, and it became the world’s number one trend.
It is no exaggeration to say that at this moment, the success of the animation of my favorite child was guaranteed.

On the other hand, some anime fans who haven’t read the original have said, “The first episode is the peak, and after that, the buttocks will bud…”.
In fact, the first episode had a sensational content, and the excitement was too high, so it wouldn’t be strange if there was a backlash from the second episode onwards.

However, in the end, those fears turned out to be groundless.
After the second episode, it was well received, and when the second season was announced in the final episode, it again became the number one trend in the world.
The number of followers continues to grow steadily, and as of July 2023, about 700,000 people are following.

・ [Oshi no Ko] Changes in the number of followers of the official account

204,000 April 11 (the day before the first episode aired)
313,000 April 18 (the day before episode 2 aired)
405,000 April 25 (the day before episode 3 aired)
447,000 May 02 (the day before episode 4 aired)
480,000 May 9th (the day before episode 5 airs)
504,000 May 16 (the day before Episode 6 aired)
538,000 May 23 (the day before episode 7 aired)
596,000 June 06 (the day before Episode 8 aired)
618,000 June 13 (the day before episode 9 aired)
640,000 June 20 (the day before episode 10 aired)
661,000 June 27 (the day before episode 11 airs)
688,000 July 04

However, one thing that is worrisome is the fact that there is not much growth after the final round, which cannot be ignored.

For example, the 2022 blockbuster “Bocchi the Rock! ” has gained more than 100,000 followers after the final episode aired.
A big reason for this is thought to be the excitement of the live scene depicted in the final episode.

And like “Bozzaro”, this work also drew a live scene in the final episode.
This is B Komachi’s first live performance, and the culmination of the first stage episode.
It wouldn’t be strange if that became the detonator and the number of fans increased significantly, but it didn’t actually happen.

As for why… the reason is obvious, and in the extreme case, B Komachi’s live scene in the anime wasn’t portrayed that much.
It’s only 5 minutes long, and since it includes Kana Arima’s reminiscences, it’s about half that when it comes to pure live scenes.
The scene of “I’ll be your favorite child”, which was extremely popular in the original work as the title recovery line, also seemed to flow smoothly in an instant, and it didn’t leave much of an impression on those who saw the anime for the first time.

This is probably because the live scene was intentionally suppressed after considering the main theme of the work “Oshi no Ko” and future developments.

This work has aspects of an idol anime or romantic comedy, but the main story is suspense.
I will omit the details because it will be a spoiler, but that point will not be shaken in the future.
However, if the live scene in the final episode stands out too much, the impression of an “idol anime” will be established before the second season starts, and there is a risk that there will be a gap between the expectations of the viewers and the content of the second season. there is.

This gap between expectations and content is a very troublesome problem in anime, and it is common for works that are by no means bad to lose popularity because “the content was different from what was expected”.
It is speculated that the composition and depiction of the final episode were intended to avoid such risks.

The anime [Oshi no Ko] does not include any original episodes or lines, and is made faithfully to the original work.
Especially from the second episode onwards, it is produced under the general principle of “visualizing episodes of the original three episodes per broadcast”, and there are no exceptions.
It is an anime that makes the most of the original material by reproducing the strength of the original work almost as it is while digesting the original work at a constant speed without breaking the tempo of the original work.

It can be said that this attitude of “respect for the original work” was behind the great success of the animation adaptation of this work.

Delivery is the second coolest next to Demon Slayer! Original sales increased from 5 million copies to 12 million copies

(Image quote: Amazon)

The success of [Oshi no Ko] is not only due to the reaction on the Internet, but also the numbers in the form of sales.

Disc (Blu-ray / DVD) sales released on June 28, 2023 recorded 8400 copies in the first week alone.
This is a good result that surpasses the first week sales (8100 copies) of the first volume of “SPY x FAMILY”, which was a big hit in 2022.
Volumes 1 and 2 include event ticket priority sales application tickets, so there is a possibility that the number will drop slightly after volume 3, but it can be said that sales will still be at a high level.

In addition, distribution is even better.
In Nico Nico Douga’s spring 2023 anime ranking, it ranked first in the ranking of demon destruction.
It is ranked 2nd in ABEMA’s 2023 spring anime ranking in terms of the number of views, and is ranked in the top 3 across the board for major video distribution services such as d anime, U-NEXT, and Hulu, and a large number of people use the distribution. I know you’ve been watching this movie.

That’s not all.
The total circulation of the original comics has increased from 5 million before the anime aired to 12 million.
+7 million copies during the anime (1 course) broadcast period is the highest number among all anime series, and since there were no new publications during this period, there was an increase of this amount purely due to the effects of the anime adaptation. It’s going to happen.

Volumes 1 to 11 reached 12 million copies, so the volume split (volume average) exceeded 1 million copies.
This is a big record that even Kaguya-sama wants to tell you, which is also a Young Jump series and is a representative work by Aka Akasaka-sensei.

Looking at these numbers, Oshi no Ko is one of the most successful anime in recent years.

How far will the second season be visualized?

(Image quote: Amazon)

The 1st season of [Oshi no Ko] animation has been visualized up to the last of Volume 4 (Episode 40) and Chapter 4 “First Stage”.
It was a total of 11 episodes, but as mentioned above, the 1st episode of the first season was broadcast in a 90-minute frame, so in reality it will be 14 to 15 episodes.
So, in the second season, it won’t necessarily be 4 volumes, that is, until the end of the 8th volume, just like in the first season.

Based on that, we will predict to what extent the second season will be visualized.

First, if the 2nd season is a normal 1 course (episodes 11 to 13) broadcast.
At the pace of “visualizing 3 episodes of the original for each broadcast” as in the first period, episodes 73 to 79 will be visualized.
Since Chapter 6 “Private Arc” will be completed at the end of Volume 8 (Episode 80), it would be appropriate to speed up the pace a little or cut a few episodes to visualize even the Private Arc.

However, episodes that are completely unrelated to the main story, such as the episode about Mana Suzushiro, which was the only cut target in the first term, are not within the scope of the second term.
Considering the attitude of “respect for the original work” that the production team showed in the first season, it is hard to think of a cut.
Rather than that, I think there is a high possibility that we will make several episodes that digest the four episodes of the original and visualize it until the last of the private episode.

And there is another way to animate the private arc to the end in 1 cour.
As in the first term, it is a choice to broadcast in the expanded special frame.

However, it would be difficult to broadcast the first episode in a 90-minute frame like the first season.
Chapter 5, “2.5 Dimensional Stage”, which will be drawn at the beginning of the second season, is a long episode that continues until the middle of Volume 7, and it is far too long to fit in 120 minutes, let alone 90 minutes.
The 90 minutes of the 1st season is meaningful in “showing all the episodes of 1 volume in 1 episode”, and there is almost no point in doing it until the middle of the feature.

However, on the contrary, it is possible if the pattern is to broadcast the final episode in 90 minutes or 60 minutes.
I won’t go into details because it’s going to be a spoiler, but since the stage of the story changes in the middle of the private arc, it’s quite meaningful to finish from there (or from the preparatory episode) to the end in one expansion frame. I have.
This episode has scenes with the same impact as the 1st episode of the 1st season, and each character and human relationship moves greatly, so it is possible to attract you to the end without getting bored even if it is a long broadcast.

As another case, it is also possible to do the second season in two courses.
In that case, it will be up to Chapter 8 “Scandal”.
The scandal edition is up to episode 108, so if the second season is done with all 23 to 24 episodes, it will be possible to visualize it uncut.

It is certain that the original work of [Oshi no Ko] has already entered the final stage of the story, and considering that it has achieved such a great success, it will definitely be animated until the end of the original work.
By the time the second season airs, the original work should have already been completed, or should have progressed to the point where it is close to being completed, so there is no need to hold back on the original work.
Therefore, there is a good chance that the 2nd season will be 2 courses and the 3rd season will be 2 courses, and it will be possible to rush through to the end at once.

The 2.5-dimensional stage version is the most anime-worthy episode

(Image quote: Amazon)

Finally, without spoilers, I will introduce the 2.5-dimensional stage version, which will be the main part of the second season.

As depicted in the final episode of season 1, this 2.5-dimensional stage version is a story about Aqua, Akane, and Kana participating in the 2.5-dimensional stage of the popular manga “Tokyo Blade”, which has recorded a cumulative circulation of 50 million copies. .
The range is from episode 41 to episode 66, and all 26 episodes are the longest episodes in the history of [Oshi no Ko].
And this length also affects the evaluation of the 2.5D stage edition.

In fact, there were pros and cons among fans for this 2.5-dimensional stage version when the original was serialized.
There are quite a few voices that say, “My favorite is the 2.5D stage version.”
It is certain that it is evaluated differently from at least the first stage edition.

One of the big factors is the length.
Up until then, this work had been progressing at a considerable speed, and the roller coaster-like story with big events and surprising developments was well received every time.
However, since the 2.5D stage arc is a fairly long story, I can’t deny that the speed of progress has suddenly slowed down.

Due to this change in tempo, a certain number of readers seemed to perceive the 2.5D stage arc as redundant.
Of course, that’s not the only negative opinion, but it definitely accounts for a considerable percentage.
In fact, the serialization period is eight months, and there is some truth to the opinion that it is too long.

However, this point is not a problem at all in animation.
A total of 26 episodes corresponds to 8 to 9 episodes in an anime, so it’s less than one course.
The broadcast period is about two months, so it should be completely different in terms of experience.

And above all, the 2.5-dimensional stage version is the episode that has the most potential to be transformed into an anime in [Oshi no Ko].

In this episode, the acting ability as a stage actor is expressed, but there is a limit to the expression in the manga.
However, in anime, there are materials that express “acting ability” far more than manga, such as voice, movement, and subtle changes in facial expressions.
Also, in terms of production, there are many scenes that look like anime, so it’s probably the most worthwhile episode to visualize.

In the 1st season, the last scene of the 6th episode, where Akane becomes Ai, received a great response, and Manaka Iwami, who plays Akane, was praised.
Just like this scene, if the staff’s direction and the efforts of the voice actors work well together, the 2.5D stage arc will undoubtedly become a wonderful anime.
At that time, the evaluation of the 2.5-dimensional stage itself should change greatly.

Summary

The success of season 1 has created an environment in which we can allocate more funds and personnel to season 2 than in season 1… I don’t know from the outside whether or not, but expectations are definitely higher than in season 1. increase.
I want to wait for the broadcast of the 2nd season, believing that it will overcome this too high hurdle!