Oshi no Ko vol. 5

After four volumes we’re finally getting to the part of the manga that wasn’t covered by the anime (yet – Season Two is coming this summer).  We’re also getting a look at another aspect of the Japanese entertainment industry as Aqua, along with Kana and Aakane, is recruited to be part of the theatrical adaptation of the hottest anime and manga property around:  Not Demon Slayer Tokyo Blade.  Aqua has to adapt to a new style of acting here as he’s surrounded by members of the professional Lailai Actor’s Group who have a lot more experience with this kind of thing than he does.  Except that it’s not inexperienced actors which are going to be the biggest problem this production has.  No, it’s the unprofessional input and influence from the one person who matters most in this production:  Tokyo Blade mangaka Abiko Samejima.

While you got the feeling that writer Aka Akasaka was speaking from experience when this series was dealing with Aqua’s experience on “I’ll Go With Sweet Today,” we get the other side of the coin here.  Even if the mangaka is the one who knows their characters best, having them butt in on the production of an adaptation of their series usually does more harm than good.  Not everyone is Katsuhiro Otomo or Takehiko Inoue, you know.  This makes for a prickly entertaining read as the crew have to deal with Abiko’s demands and social awkwardness.  We also get some quality laughs here as this showcase of the quirks of mangaka allows Akasaka to show off his self-deprecating side with solid work from artist Mengo Yokoyari.

The catch here is that, five volumes in, it feels like there’s an obvious formula to “Oshi no Ko’s” storytelling at this point.  We get a new showbiz setting with a new problem to address, the stakes are spelled out for the reader, there’s a crisis, and it’s only the intervention and/or hard work of Aqua or Ruby that resolves things here.  That’s what happens again in vol. 5 and things are already starting to feel predictable.  Akasaka does throw up something of a curve at the end of this volume, as we find out that Aqua may not be as done with his past life as he thought he was.  Yet we’ll have to see if this represents an actual shake-up in the storytelling for this series, or just a blip as we transition to the next volume.