Another week in the books. Let’s chat about manga in the general discussion thread! Feel free to use this thread for questions, comments, recommendations, etc.
Like normal, please be careful with spoilers. I wrote a guide about spoilers in case you need a refresher on how to handle them (also linked in the sidebar).
I was originally going to pick up Oshi no Ko. Now that I know the ending, I don’t think I’m going to - at least not in the near future. In fact, season 3 of the anime is now low priority on my watch list.
Oshi no Ko spoiler, kinda
After having been burnt by endings that I was unsatisfied with in the past, I have made it a habit of checking out the endings of the series (for those that ended) before starting them.
meta spoiler; multiple anime
With very few exceptions, non-happy endings for the protagonist just ruins the journey for me. In fact, this is one of the main reasons why I procrastinate starting on some series - e.g. Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans Season 2, Attack on Titan, Your Lie in April. (Top reason: high episode count) Even bittersweet endings like Wolf Children or high-quality shows like Cyberpunk Edgerunners just don’t cut it.
Anyway, that’s why I’d rather spoil myself. Spoilers won’t really reduce my enjoyment of a series; an unsatisfactory ending would.
Oshi no Ko spoiler, kinda
So, boy am I glad I checked out the ending for Oshi no Ko. It’s far from a happy one, and exactly the kind I want to avoid.
I did enjoy the story - at least up to the anime - but there’s no chance of it being among my top favourites now.
I have mixed feelings about the ending, but I think I have come down on the liking it more than disliking it side of things. In the final chapter discussion thread, I wrote a big post about my thoughts on the ending. Short version of my thoughts behind the spoiler tag:
Some thoughts on Oshi no Ko Ending
I think the ending works better from a meta perspective from what it says about the entertainment industry. There is a lot of symmetry between Ai in the beginning of the series and Ruby at the end. I think that you can read into it that despite all the tragedies that the Hoshinos have gone through, nothing about the industry has changed and it is more than willing to chew up and spit out young talent in order to exploit it for money.
As for Aqua’s death, I was frankly expecting Ruby to die as well Romeo/Juliet style. The ending certainly feels rushed and I wish we had more time with the rest of the cast of characters after Aqua’s death. However, Aka already has his new project announced and underway, so I am not sure how much more passion might have been left on his part to expand the ending.