It’s almost hard to believe that a show already themed around isekai and the idol trade could find another that I possibly hold in even lower esteem.  But dating “reality” TV may just be the one.  That’s a two-way street though, because it may be even more remarkable that Oshi no Ko did that and I’m still here.  It’s not as if this is a flat-out hatchet job either (which I would definitely take a certain glee in, though it would eventually wear out its appeal).  It may seem like it on the surface, but if you’re paying close attention you know Akasaka’s perspective is considerably more nuanced than that.

This was one of those days where the internet was a real minefield.  I don’t know how I managed to avoid being spoiled about the OnK premiere, but I did – so I had a certain stubborn desire to keep that record intact here.  But I knew something big had gone down, and this series has already proved its radar for pushing people’s buttons is spot-on.  Given the furore and the recent turn of plot, I kind of had an idea what all the commotion might be about.  And by about the 15-minute mark I knew without a doubt what the shock payoff was going to be.  Or at least I thought I did.

I have to give Akasaka-sensei credit on a couple of fronts.  He’s doing a good job of keeping me guessing about where he stands, and he’s pretty fearless as a writer with this series.  As I said, I’m no fan of dating shows or reality TV generally, so what I saw here was more disgusting than surprising.  But I don’t think someone can write an episode like this (“episode” in the broad sense) unless they’re a fan themselves.  I guess I’d sum up my current take on Akasaka (as regards idols, dating TV, drama adaptations – all of it) this way.  He doesn’t come off like a hater out to cause as much damage to the institutions as possible – he comes across like a lover who’s been jilted and wants to express his outrage over the way things turned out.

In case you’re unaware, the events of this episode are based – and shockingly closely, too – on the real incident of Kimura Hana.  She was a professional wrestler by trade, but achieved great fame as a regular on the Fuji/Netflix dating reality show Terrace House.  After an on-screen altercation with another cast member, Kimura was subject to vicious online bullying –  including racism, as her father was from Indonesia and the Japanese delight in bigotry no more than when it’s against haafu.  Eventually she committed suicide at 22, and the remainder of the season – and two unaired ones that were in the can – were never released.

Here, the focus is placed on Kurokawa Akane (Iwami Manaka), one of the cast members we met last week.  Awkward, earnest, neurotic – Akane is a hard worker but clearly ill-suited to the utterly calculated and cagey world of “My Love With a Star”.  She’s so on the periphery of events that she barely registers as a presence.  This infuriates the president of her management company, who lambastes her manager in Akane’s earshot.  He pledges to be her “shield”, but a shield is the wrong tool to protect one from a blizzard.

Eventually the stress builds and builds, she obsesses more and more, and snaps on-camera at the show’s confident and magnetic it girl, Sumi Yuki (Oonishi Saori).  This results in a cut on Yuki’s face (thanks to the nail job she’d given Akane), a problem for a model.  To be fair, Yuki doesn’t fan the flames herself – how much of it is an act it’s hard to say, but she seems to sense that Akane is close to breaking and goes easy on her.  But the net is another matter.  Akane had nothing banked with these people – she was a cipher – and the incident turns her into a pariah.  And her attempted apology predictably makes things even worse.

In the two big dramatic events of Oshi no Ko (so far), the culprit is the same: fans.  And that seems to be who Akasaka blames for much of the toxicity of the Japanese entertainment industry.  He doesn’t spare the powers that be, undeniably, or gloss over how little matters of art are weighed into any decisions they make.  But it’s obsessed and cruel fans that draw his most potent venom.  If anything it’s a vicious cycle – the more toxic they are, the more the scumbags calling the shots up the ante to try and placate them.  This is not a patient I consider to be worth saving, and that’s where I suspect Akasaka and I will eventually part company.  But his perspective is an interesting one from which to view these sorts of events.

As I said, I knew where things were headed with Akane for much of the episode.  But the ending did catch me off guard, in a good way.  I do hope we get some sort of explanation for why Aqua was there at that very moment – maybe being a doctor he saw the warning signs, but how did he know where Akane would be?  That aside, it represents an interesting turn for his character, a departure from his single-minded obsession.  Aqua doesn’t seem like an altruistic sort of guy, but the truth of it is that he’s a grown adult in a world of kids.  If his experience allows him to see troubling things his “peers” can’t, he has a moral and ethical duty to act on it.  Exactly as he did here – whether it’s an aberration or a trend remains to be seen.