Who is OSHI NO KO’s BEST-WRITTEN CHARACTER?
Who is Oshi No Ko’s Best Girl?
OSHI NO KO'S BEST GIRL
Kurokawa Akane is Oshi No Ko’s Best Girl. (FACTS) In my opinion, there should be no argument about this one. She has all the solid qualities anyone could ask for in a person. She has that ride-or-die attitude in pursuing her interests and relationships. Someone who’ll remain loyal and stay by your side no matter what, helping see you through till the end. More than just her talents and beauty, she also has a well-adjusted personality and a highly intelligent and inquisitive nature. She is someone who would never do you wrong. Someone who wants the best for everyone. I’d actually like to have a friend like her in my life because she is, according to my standards, despite the inherent flaws in her character, she is ‘Almost Perfect’.
And that is the reason why we will not be talking about her today in this article.
But who is Oshi No Ko’s Best-Written Character?
It’s very straightforward to make people like and get invested in a pleasant character with a ton of good qualities. That’s a basic Save The Cat! [from Mr. Blake Snyder’s book] concept right there. We like them because they do nice things that display their character.
I mean, why wouldn’t you like Akane? She is the character that you are meant to like.
The big challenge for writers, then, is to figure out how to make people root for and invest in an unlikeable character with quite an unpleasant personality.
This is where Oshi No Ko’s best flawed character steps in.
ARIMA KANA
Let’s be real here: Arima Kana is far from your ideal person. On top of her problematic behavior, massive ego, and arrogance, she also has a lot of personal issues and emotional baggage. She also makes a ton of stupid mistakes throughout the story. But despite her striking flaws and unpleasantness, she remains one of the most popular characters in the show.
So, what gives?
How can this story make an unlikable character quite likeable?
Let’s find out how Oshi No Ko pulls it off.
Let's start with one of the most basic concepts in making the audience get invested in a character:
RELATABILITY
Let me be pretentious for a bit and say that Kana feels like a tragic character straight out of those classic Russian novels (Leo Tolstoy and Dostoevsky’s works). Someone who’s very complex, problematic, and flawed. Down on her luck. Couldn't catch a break. Gets built up just to be let down. Yet still earnestly struggles for validation and self-redemption.
Kana was a former child actress who has fallen from grace, taken away from the spotlight. She longed for, and after many attempts, failed to take the centre stage. The way her mother and the people around her treated her when she was young made her believe that her worth as a person, as a human being, is ultimately tied to her acting skills, social image, and popularity.
What makes her character interesting is that, through her, we can examine some of the most intense, ugliest, and at the same time, most common human emotions. Her story is one of pride, jealousy, insecurity, arrogance, desperation, and at the same time, hope.
Many people can relate to Kana because we recognise these emotions and understand what it’s like to be taken hold of by these feelings. At some point in our lives, we've felt very insecure, worthless, and desperate. Maybe from a painful rejection or a personal failure. Who among us has never been envious of others? With Kana’s character, we get to examine these emotions under a microscope and relate to her. It makes many of us say to ourselves, "We don’t agree with her actions, but we kinda understand why she’s like that."
We admire Akane because of her well-adjusted personality and strive to be like her because of her good qualities. But it is with Kana that people can relate more. Kana’s story is much easier to empathize with and understand.
UNDERDOG STORIES
Another reason why people just can’t help but root for Kana is the fact that we are naturally drawn to people who are always down on their luck. Kana serves as the Maki Shijo of the show, being the literary punching bag of Aka and Mengo when they are writing "Oshi No Ko." Everything Kana wanted, worked hard for, and strived for, to the point of almost selling herself, gets handed to other people around her. Popularity. Great roles. A good reputation. Her love interest. Everything goes to Akane, and Kana could do nothing about it but just simply watch. For a character who tries so hard, Kana takes a lot of Ls and, on top of feeling bad for her, we kinda want her to get at least even the smallest of wins. We humans have this common desire for fairness, and seeing her not get what she yearned for despite her efforts makes us feel like she wasn’t given a fair fighting chance. In our minds, it registers as injustice.
Everyone wants to support the underdog because we see ourselves as underdogs in some aspect of our lives. There’s a reason why underdog stories have survived the test of time. From David and Goliath to Rocky Balboa and the Karate Kid. We just naturally root for the underdog because that character type expresses our own hopes and our struggles for things that we have not yet achieved in life.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
Another reason why I think Kana is such a well-written character is because her actions make sense for someone who was put in her position. Kana is far from ideal but one thing we can also say about her is that what you see is what you get. She’s brutally honest not just to others but also to herself. And her personality was justified because her actions were consistent with her characterization. We saw how she was when she was young and witnessed the special treatment she received when she was at the height of her fame. Given how everyone acted and behaved around her, it’s no surprise she turned out the way she did. Naturally, she became a bit egotistical and conceited, and a little spoiled. However, what's great about her is that despite her personality flaws, she understands her weaknesses and puts in a lot of effort to become more well-adjusted and well-behavedWe have this thing called character development, and I can argue that Kana’s character has gone through the most character development in the story.
Development Point 1: From a spoiled acting prodigy to a humbled artist who realized that after her time in the limelight, she couldn’t really sell well by just staying at her level.
Development Point 2: She then became a performing artist who put in a lot of effort to get better only to realize that not everyone who works hard gets evenly rewarded as they expected.
Development Point 3: Then she became a small-time actress who tried to control her personality and prompted herself to become sociable in order to get roles and be liked by directors and production staff. She did this in appreciation of other people’s hard work and in respect for acting as a performing art
Development Point 4: She went through a lot of development in being an idol.
Development Point 5: Being a young woman in love.
Development Point 6: Being a lonely young adult who had to accept that life doesn’t give everyone what they wanted.
Development Point 7: She was overcome by jealousy, feelings of worthlessness, and sense of stagnation and failure in her endeavours and all of this led to a total crash of her defenses. She fell into desperation. Even to the point of selling herself and being exploited by others.
Development Point 8: Then she realized that she still hadn’t given up on love and couldn't give herself so easily to temptation. This allowed her to regain her senses and exit the dangerous situation she had put herself in. I didn’t like what was happening in this point of the story but since the progression and downward spiral of Kana’s character was set up in more than a dozen chapters, it somewhat made sense for the story to follow this route.
Development Point 9: Her mistakes led to the Scandal Arc, causing problems not just for herself but for everyone around her.
Development Point 10: And in this moment of darkness, she found her inner strength. The power to rely on herself and not on the charity of others. The stubbornness in her character gave her the confidence and the courage to face whatever problems life will throw at her as she keeps on pursuing her dreams of becoming a great actress and of becoming the personal idol of her love interest. Earning validation, self-satisfaction, success and the feeling of belonging.
I can keep going, but I think I’ve already made enough examples.
Conclusion
Now how can I say that Kana is such a well-written character despite her mistakes and flaws? Well, it’s because even when she’s committing errors and making the wrong choices, I, as a member of the audience, despite my disapproval, can clearly understand why she ended up doing those things. Her decisions and actions didn’t just spring out of nowhere. They were justified and supplemented by the information that we obtained from watching her character go through a lot of development. Her actions are consistent, and most of all, they are very believable. And in my humble opinion and subjective reasoning, that is what I consider good writing
She doesn’t need to be the nicest person in the show who could do no wrong. She just has to be herself. She’s very flawed. She tries her best, but she still makes a lot of mistakes. She is far from perfect. In other words, she is very human.
I like both Akane and Kana, but there is a reason why I’m rooting more for the former child actress. Akane is the ideal, but Kana feels more human and real. She may not be the show's best girl, but I believe she is Oshi No Ko’s best flawed and best-written character
Oshi No Ko has a lot of issues as a whole, but I like and appreciate the show for portraying the dark side of the entertainment industry, giving us an eye-opening and interesting angle on a topic we sometimes view in a good and glamorous light. The characters in this show are compelling and, at the very least, quite interesting. The girl I am most invested in is Kana because she embodies the complexity of human desires and emotions, making her highly relatable. Her well-developed character allows us to identify with her, feel empathy for her, and understand her on an emotional level, despite her striking flaws and problematic personality.
That is my opinion on this topic, and I just wanted to talk about it, which is why I posted this article.
What do you guys think?
CHECK OUT THE FOLLOWING BOOKS FOR ADDITIONAL READING:
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