#im so enamoured by akasaka idt yall get it

[yuhenglesbian]

The naming of ‘Oshi no Ko’ is so so clever. I'm sure people have talked about it already but every time I think about it I am so genuinely impressed at Akasaka's cleverness.

The most direct translation is of course "My Idol's Child". It reflects the surface-level view of the story so well: An isekai-esque story about a man who has been reincarnated as the child of his favourite idol.

But then you have "The Girl that You Support". And it really lets you see the whole story as something you must unravel as a reader from the point of seeing Aqua's and/or Ruby's and/or the rest of the characters' actions as manifestations of the desire to love and to be loved.

Especially because "子" in Japanese isn't just used for the girl child — it isn't a gendered term to the best of my knowledge. "子" is child, so the title may also read as "The Child that You Support". And it is the story of children — or people who have been children — who haven't been supported wholly, and who are looking for ways to support each other.

Whether it is Ruby and Aqua's desire to avenge Ai, who was barely an adult when she was killed. Whether it is Aqua's own fears about the women in his life, all of whom are in the showbiz and his attempts to make sure they are protected even at the cost of him being harmed. Whether it is Akane's willingness to go wherever Aqua goes because she wants to share the burden of his pain, or the way Arima doesn't leave the revived B-Komachi until she is sure that they will be alright without her. And even the smaller singular arc-limited instances: Yuki choosing to calm Akane who is having a breakdown and later the entire Love Today cast being immediately onboard with saving Akane's reputation.

Throughout the story, the children consistently step in to protect each other when the adults have shorthanded in or are unwilling to do so. Over and over again, the horrors of the industry everyone is placed in is touched upon through a child/teenager in the business and as a viewer, you are made to witness these horrors and the way it impacts them.

Everything about the story is so very well done, it almost makes me a little ill. It's so very brilliantly thought through.