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INTEREST: Deceased Pro Wrestler Hana Kimura's Mother Criticizes Oshi no Ko Episode 6

They could have reached out to her beforehand, and I think they owe her an acknowledgement of that in their likely-to-come apology.

The makers. Look at how well it turned out for them, publicity and an enemy for the fans to hate. I’m willing to bet that every single person that has dismissed Kimura’s grievance is a more loyal fan than they were yesterday.

Why would anybody reach out to her? That would eliminate the potential for extra publicity via controversy.

Humans are capable of not being hypocrites. And there's a lot of people at Doga Kobo who are passionate about this story, and its themes. They can choose to be considerate of her desires if they want.

Shouldn’t it be “They could have chosen to be considerate of her feelings if they wanted”? This is a past event.

Passionately damning one group whilst uncaringly trampling over someone else’s feelings isn’t hypocrisy, it’s more like being a different type of asshole.

So many bad takes on all sides. I honestly feel that, while Hana Kimura's mother has every right to be upset and feel exploited, the show was very successful in addressing and bringing attention to the dangers of cyberbullying in a respectful and impactful way. If someone can be taught empathy through it or someone else's life can be saved because of it, I really think it's a net positive.

Also, I'm not sure how else such issues could be portrayed or tackled in media without bearing at least some similarities to real-life cases. Looking at the two cases objectively, the similarities between Akane and Hana are honestly superficial at best - actors on a reality TV show being forced to play the villain against their will and being bullied for it on social media. Unless we simply don't talk about these things, I really don't see a way to avoid having the victims or their loved ones relive some kind of trauma...

ViviP wrote:

Shouldn’t it be “They could have chosen to be considerate of her feelings if they wanted”? This is a past event.

The initial production and release of chapter 25 and episode 6 are past events. Kyoko Kimura's grievances, and how the relevant parties will choose to respond, are an ongoing event.

ViviP wrote:

Passionately damning one group whilst uncaringly trampling over someone else’s feelings isn’t hypocrisy, it’s more like being a different type of asshole.

Exploiting Internet mobs that target a vulnerable individual to drive up viewer engagement is exactly what this arc criticizes.

Exploiting Internet mobs that target a vulnerable individual to drive up viewer engagement is exactly what this arc criticizes.

Fiction has a right to be inspired by real life events. Likewise, she has a right to dislike things being handled a certain way. Conflict can exist without there being a good guy or a bad guy.

Who exactly is exploiting Hana Kimura's death here again?

Production was the correct time to reach out to any parties that could be upset, this didn’t happen. So yes, they could have chosen to be considerate of her feelings if they wanted.

Are you implying Aka Akasaka's goal when writing Oshi no Ko was to goad Hana Kimura's mother into making a public statement 3 years later in a magazine interview after the series gets an anime adaption in order to garner more attention to his series and make money?

dm wrote:

Who do you think was seeking publicity? The makers of Oshi no ko?

Look at how well it turned out for them, publicity and an enemy for the fans to hate. I’m willing to bet that every single person that has dismissed Kimura’s grievance is a more loyal fan than they were yesterday.

Why would anybody reach out to her? That would eliminate the potential for extra publicity via controversy.

To be serious for a second, if anyone is trying to "exploit" a situation here, it would be more likely the person doing magazine interviews years after the fact and continues to sell yearly PPV memorial shows of her late daughter rather than a writer who hasn't said anything at all about the subject. I mean, this whole interview and publicity did drop right when "pinx! went up for order on FiteTV. Free advertising, if nothing else. Who exactly is exploiting Hana Kimura's death here again?

I use the present tense because this isn't over. There are still options. For one thing, anime episodes get edited all the time for BD releases.

To be serious for a second, if anyone is trying to "exploit" a situation here, it would be more likely the person doing magazine interviews years after the fact and continues to sell yearly PPV memorial shows of her late daughter rather than a writer who hasn't said anything at all about the subject. I mean, this whole interview and publicity did drop right when "pinx! went up for order on FiteTV. Free advertising, if nothing else. Who exactly is exploiting Hana Kimura's death here again?

How much of the story's overall plot did you have in mind when you started drawing the first chapter?

Aka Akasaka: For me, the plots of the first act and the final act were a set. Then I pondered what kind of events I wanted to add in between. I had the impression that Japanese entertainment manga in Japan often used dramas, movies, plays, variety shows, etc. as themes. Today, however, the entertainment industry has changed dramatically. Talents [entertainers who frequently appear on TV in Japan] can no longer ignore the internet, YouTube has become super popular, movies are watched with subtitles, plays are increasingly based on anime and manga, and there has been an instance of a suicide stemming from a reality show. Considering all those facts, I then decided to take a contemporary subject, something that is happening in the real world of Japanese entertainment today. That was the first concept.

funkfoot wrote:

To be serious for a second, if anyone is trying to "exploit" a situation here, it would be more likely the person doing magazine interviews years after the fact and continues to sell yearly PPV memorial shows of her late daughter rather than a writer who hasn't said anything at all about the subject. I mean, this whole interview and publicity did drop right when "pinx! went up for order on FiteTV. Free advertising, if nothing else. Who exactly is exploiting Hana Kimura's death here again?

Well, the thing is Aka Akasaka kinda have mentioned the subject:

Quote:

How much of the story's overall plot did you have in mind when you started drawing the first chapter? Aka Akasaka: For me, the plots of the first act and the final act were a set. Then I pondered what kind of events I wanted to add in between. I had the impression that Japanese entertainment manga in Japan often used dramas, movies, plays, variety shows, etc. as themes. Today, however, the entertainment industry has changed dramatically. Talents [entertainers who frequently appear on TV in Japan] can no longer ignore the internet, YouTube has become super popular, movies are watched with subtitles, plays are increasingly based on anime and manga, and there has been an instance of a suicide stemming from a reality show. Considering all those facts, I then decided to take a contemporary subject, something that is happening in the real world of Japanese entertainment today. That was the first concept.

You are free to try to prove about what suicide he was refering if not the one of Hana Kimura.

animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2023-05-10/how-accurate-is-oshi-no-ko-about-the-japanese-entertainment-industry-an-interview-with-aka-akasaka/.197795

What is your process for designing new characters? Were there ever any disagreements on how a character should look?

Aka Akasaka: For the main characters, I draw a rough sketch and send it to a lady in charge of storyboards. However, at times Mengo-sensei draws an entire character even without me providing the finer details in writing. Sometimes, the process is more interactive, like I became fond of the character and increase the frequency with which they appear. I like that style of character creation. If there is a problem with the character design, we discuss it and change it. However, it was only once that we actually made a change. That was when I modeled a character off a real person, and the design looked too much like the person in question. 【Oshi No Ko】 uses pieces of real-life stories in its plots, but it is not a documentary, and it definitely does not intend to attack real people. I adapt events that could happen with the trends and rules of the current entertainment industry in the storylines. This work is fiction.