"A lie is an exception form of love". The age of the spectacle, afforded to us in part by social media, has made all of us wonderful liars.

Oshi no Ko is a zany mess of a manga that abruptly changes in direction two to three times in the first thirty chapters. An improbable bet to pull off but the manga succeeds, narrative pulling through much like a freight train. Its tone oscillates, reaching sloppy peaks of slapstick comedy, earnest social commentary, and dramatic tension.

There is certainly a lot to juggle and the question it poses are uncertain and complex. Ex: Is the protag's vision of idol mom romantic? platonic? fillial? Does.. it matter? And part of the manga's tension for me is that there was always an anxiety about something being dropped. Ex: add then a sis complex to that first q and those lines become even more at risk of being twisted. But fortunately, the manga seems to thrive on these uncertain dilemmas, maybe as a sort of reflection on the general theme of truth/performance/multiplicitous versions of the self.

ANYWAYYYY
Story : 6/10 so far. Has potential to become either a 2 or a 10 that's how uncertain it is. Will update.

Art: 9/10. Dreamy, glittering style, full of character and charm. Really captures the idol/influencer aegyo. Love that in a world of pretty characters, extra pretty characters have geometric pupils. The gags are funny. Also appreciated the 'film' style panel sequences that looked like sequential shots stacked into a single page when the manga focuses on a single 'honest' statement from characters.

Character 7/10. The main characters are probably the worst in that they're pulled in so many directions. Still I guess this could somehow interpreted as nuance. I love all the new coworkers/characters being introduced. Bob-hair genius actor girl ( I'm sorry i forget her name) is particularly interesting!!! One of the things I appreciated about this manga was the easy acceptance with which the characters just accept that like, they're all kind of faking it! But they all support each other. Feels like a very current iteration of friendship, which sounds like a dig but is a genuine compliment.

Also as a sidenote, this is just a really relevant story about social media and entertainment industries. Compare that one YouTuber's insightful advice as to how to respond to getting cancelled and the different social media growth strategies touched on through the series to like, Sono Bisque Doll's vision of being a social media 'influencer'. Similarly one of my favorite subtle moments was the child actor girl just casually comforting another character by explaining that as a celebrity, the idea of dying (provoked by audience response/internet bullying) frequently flits across her mind and she just has to...get over it. Ganbare!!

Enjoyment 10/10. Read with a huge smile whole way through.

Overall: 8/10 as of chapter 30. Definitely keeping up with this and definitely recommending.