First Impression: Oshi no Ko Season 3

Six months have passed since the release of the “POP IN 2” music video, and since then—riding on the video’s popularity, Ruby’s more “cynical and calculated” image, and MEM-Cho’s dedication to their channel—B-Komachi’s popularity has risen beyond even their expectations. Akane is getting a lot of work too, and so is Aqua. But not all is well. Kana is still in terrible pain from Aqua’s rejection of her; Aqua continues to struggle through his trauma; and Ruby? Well…something is definitely up with Ruby, but no one besides her and maybe one other unexpected person knows…

And season three begins with a MEM-Cho-centered episode! WOO-HOO! Of course, it’s not really about MEM-Cho, but she’s the eyes through which we see the first half of the first episode of season three. It’s a really nice device to bring us back into the world of Oshi no Ko, as she’s able to basically recap the end of season two by explaining how things have progressed since, while also providing a new sort of view into events as someone intimately involved with the main characters, but who knows less about what’s going on than we do as the audience. And speaking of the major characters, most of them make an appearance in this episode, including ones that might need to be reintroduced to the audience, like Frill and Kaburagi and…well, the last one is sort of a surprise (if you didn’t recognize him from the OP), because this is Oshi no Ko, after all. But lest I make the episode seem too bouncy, there’s a pretty tender moment within—a reminder that OnK does a number of things well, including the heartfelt stuff we might not associate with the series. The new OP is wonderful, a mix of exuberant energy and mystery (Oshi no Ko in a nutshell); I love how it shows what really strong animation (and by the way, the animation is vibrant throughout the episode) looks like in a dance number, reminding me that CGI is indeed as terrible as I think it is in the idol series I watch. All in all, a fun and tender start to the new season!

Oshi no Ko Season 3 can be streamed on Crunchyroll.

Twwk
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