Oshi no Ko

Episode 6

Content Warning: This review deals heavily with themes of suicide and cyberbullying.

Oshi no Ko is already a very dark show, but you know what's darker? Realizing how much of it is based on real life. In the exclusive interview with Aka Akasaka that ANN published last week, the Oshi no Ko co-creator said this of the story's inspiration: “With the spread of the internet, we live in a society where fans' voices are heard directly. I want people to know how young talents are being hurt, exploited, and suffering.” Suffering was indeed the name of the game this week. The story drew us into the life and problems of Aqua's costar, Akane, who was inundated with pressure from all sides until she couldn't take it anymore. Showy visuals and dramatic sound design made “Egosurfing” a chilling episode that'll be on my mind all week.

Be honest: you've probably searched your name on social media at least once like Ruby did. It's harmless navel-gazing fun for most of us. But it can do some serious psychic damage to entertainers in the public eye. Oshi no Ko mirrors this real-world phenomenon in which fans can shout their praise, ambivalence, and vitriol directly into the ears of performers on Twitter, YouTube, and the other walled gardens of the Internet. Typically, anime series use altered brand names—WcDonalds-style—to signal the audience that the story does not take place in the real world. Oshi no Ko does nothing to soften the blow because fan comments have real consequences.

Last week I mentioned how Aqua's reality dating show, with its artificial environment of twee friendliness, reminded me of Terrace House. This week, Akane's arc reminded me of how Terrace House ended—with resident Hana Kimura's death by suicide. One of the final episodes aired showed Kimura getting angry at another resident, a display of rage that broke the illusion that Terrace House is one big happy family, and fans responded by lashing out at Kimura online. It is undeniable that online harassment played a major role in Kimura's death—a fact acknowledged even by the Japanese government, which tightened penalties for cyberbullying in the wake of Kimura's death. Akane's arc is painfully similar to this real-world tragedy. Pressured into action, she also broke the illusion of the dating show in a single moment of fury.

Nothing about this reality show is real: Yuki may have garnered attention for threatening to quit the show, but when the cameras stop rolling, she reminds the others that her contract makes it clear that she doesn't have a choice at all. We already knew from the last episode that she's a master manipulator on Aqua's level. But this time, we saw how advanced Yuki's machinations were—wrapping the cast and crew around her finger and calling the shots. And to mousy Akane, she's the one to beat. With her manager getting chewed out on her behalf and the fans on Twitter barely cognizant of her presence, Akane focuses on the latest advice she has jotted down in her notebook: play the bad girl. Clever Yuki knows exactly what Akane is thinking. “I won't let you,” she tells Akane over a manicure in the library, a gesture of care accompanied by a battle cry. Once Chekhov's nail bedazzling enters the stage, jewels sparkling in the late day sun: all the pieces are in place. Akane uses the hand that Yuki manicured to strike Yuki's face, drawing blood—to the shock of both.

Yuki may be an antagonist (at least to Akane), but she's not a villain. She instantly forgives her, enveloping her in a warm hug even though the cameras aren't on. Recall that Yuki is part of an agency where the main girl never says no to a gig, leaving Yuki with only the scraps. She's under just as much pressure as Akane, and it's not her fault that circumstances have made them battle over every second of screentime. Aqua notes that if this blow had happened between real friends, it would be forgotten the next day. (I almost didn't remember that Kana slapped Ruby across the face in private) But since it happened on screen, it makes way for the episode's far darker Act 2. The sound design is phenomenal—the ringing sound accompanied by an overlapping narration of tweets sounds like anxiety feels. The sequence in which a medley of voices insults Akane's very existence, as the visuals dissonantly show her trying her best, is almost painful. When her mother cares for her, all she can think of are the tweets insulting her mother. When her agency offers guidance, all she can think of are the tweets insulting her manager. When she tries to apologize, she receives the comment: “Apologize by dying.” Immersed in this audio overload, I can sympathize when she nearly does.

Thankfully, Akane gets a second chance in the form of Aqua, who swoops down from nowhere to save her life. Luckily, she happened to send a message to the dating show group chat before venturing out in the typhoon. The real question is: what's Aqua thinking? After losing Sarina to cancer, and Ai to murder, does he just want to prevent the death of someone else close to him? Or does he see a valuable role for Akane in his future schemes? That suggestion might be a little harsh, but that wouldn't be out of place for this phenomenal episode. It so relentlessly expressed the ice-cold panic and despair that Akane must have felt when the audience turned on her that even non-celebrities could understand her pain.

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Oshi no Ko is currently streaming on HIDIVE.

Lauren blogs at Otaku Journalist and writes about model kits at Gunpla 101. She spends her days teaching her two small Newtypes to bring peace to the space colonies.