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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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 Stretch
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[series:4815#628] | ||||||
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(Seven episodes watched): This is the one show of the Summer 2024 season that I was certain I'd be watching to its end even before I saw episode one. S1 was great fun with interesting characters and the mix of a murder mystery and the dark underside of Japan's entertainment industry. S2 picks up just where S1 left off. Aqua is playing the part of 'Touki' in Tokyo Blade, not because he particularly wants to be an actor but because he suspects that the leader of the Lala Lai theater company, Toshirou Kindaichi, 'may have had some influence on Ai'. Akane is playing Princess Saya but is unhappy with the way her character has been simplified--dumbed down--from the original manga. The actors have ulterior motives as they see themselves as competing to shine before the audience. We learn a fair amount about things like how plays are rehearsed and what the purpose of a scriptwriter is, which were interesting. And then the mangakka behind the original work makes a startling request. Thankfully, just as much fun as season one. It turns out that Abiko, the original author of Tokyo Blade, is completely dissastisfied and frustrated with the screenplay and wants a total rewrite--and there are only three weeks until the play is supposed to premiere. She demands that the scriptwriter, Goa, be sacked. This show is actually around 1/10 murder mystery and 9/10 about show business in modern day Japan. When there's a disagreement between two characters about something, most anime would take the approach of one character being 100% right and the other 100% wrong, but here we get a much more realistic take. Numerous levels of bureaucracy have caused the wishes of Abiko to be diluted to such an extent that the people at the top are taken completely by surprise when she meets them in person and makes her opinion clear. Very educational, and I appreciate that. Whoever wrote Oshi no Ko must have a good deal of experience in these lines of work. We also get an idea of how disinterested and ignorant about stage acting Aqua is. In episode three (or 14, if you are counting from season one) Akane takes Aqua to see a high tech play and he is genuinely impressed. A little party is arranged with Yoriko Kichijouji, who was once Abiko's Senpai. Yoriko tells Aqua, Akane and others about how 'eccentric' and unwilling to compromise fame and success have made Abiko. They get an idea of the stress Abiko must constantly deal with: "Fundamentally, doing a weekly manga isn't a job suited for humans!". Later, Yoriko goes to visit Abiko and finds that it's even worse than she had described. Abiko has fired all her assistants because they were not as perfectionistic as she is, and must now do everything herself and get by with a mere two hours sleep per day. They get into an vicious argument but ultimately emerge as better friends. We see that Abiko is actually a deeply insecure person who dreads what would happen if she made a major mistake at any point. Yoriko gives Abiko a gift from Aqua: a ticket to the play he saw, and she dares to go see it. No mention whatsoever of the murder mystery in this episode, but that's fine with me. This show business stuff is much more fun. The whole murder angle may in fact be little more than an excuse for Aqua to pursue all sorts of different jobs in the industry. Raida, the producer of both Tokyo Blade and the play Abiko attends, convinces her to allow Goa to remain at his job. A video conference is arranged between them in which they agree on a radically changed script which will surely be either a fantastic success or a total disaster. The actors can finally get started rehearsing, but it becomes clear that Aqua has no experience at all in the highly emotional acting that will be needed here. An attempt to find a way to make him cry results in an unexpected flashback to Ai's death, which is traumatic. The unflappable Aqua Hoshino has an emotional disorder, apparently. Akane begins to connect the dots leading to the identity of Aqua's mother (I had assumed she already knew). In episode five the rivalry between Akane and Sana Arima intensifies. Aqua comes close to telling Akane the ulterior motive why he is pursuing a career as an actor. And at the end of the episode, apparently the play is already ready for its premiere, or at least a trial performance before an audience--that was quick. Aqua is still tormented by anxiety attacks whenever Ai is mentioned and there's no sign he has figured out how to act in a super-emotional manner. In episode six we watch a quick version of act one of the play. So much thought and detail has gone into this that I wonder if there isn't a real play by this name running in Japan, or something very similar. This episode concentrates on the mediocre actor who messed up Sweet Today, the TV series based on Yoriko's manga. He knows he's not much of an actor, and asks Aqua for advice, and gets some that is strange but effective. The director and producer took a big gamble by giving him a major part in Tokyo Blade, and it's hard to see how they could have forseen that he would learn his lesson so thoroughly. But the episode is just as much fun as ever nevertheless. Episode seven is about the rivalry between Akane and Sana. We learn how as a child Akane actually once greatly admired Sana, and went into acting herself in part in hopes of meeting her, only to discover how different Sana really was from the child actress she idolized. I became confused over whether Akane now wants to humiliate Sana or prod her to accomplish even more (or both?). As usual, Aqua has a plan. Last updated Tuesday, September 10 2024. Created Wednesday, July 24 2024. | ||||||||
