Is it one of the worst manga endings of all time?

Warning: Contains spoilers for Oshi no Ko.After more than four years of serialization, Oshi no Ko finally ended in mid-November 2024. It was the end of another great manga by Aka Akasaka, and it’s plain to see Oshi no Ko completely eclipsing Kaguya-sama: Love is War as the series that Akasaka is best known for, at least to the general public.

Oshi no Ko it finally ended, but unfortunately it didn’t have as peaceful an ending as people would have liked. The last arcs of Oshi no Ko were divisive for one reason or another, and although some people remained optimistic about the ending, when it finally ended, Oshi no Ko was derided as having one of the worst endings of any manga in recent years, thanks to how poorly it ended the series. Mangas with perfect endings are incredibly rare, but Oshi no KoThe ending of feels especially controversial, and it’s easy to see why.

Oshi No Ko had the worst possible conclusion for its villain

How Oshi No Ko’s Main Villain Finally Met His End

Much of the controversy surrounding Oshi no KoThe ending of is centered on the handling of Hikaru Kamiki, Aqua and Ruby’s father and main antagonist. Although there was some controversy when Kamiki apparently changed his mind and Nino was revealed as the true villain, Oshi no Kolast chapters reconfirmed that Hikaru Kamiki was the main villain and went into excruciating detail about how manipulative and sadistic he was. Because of this, people were once again excited about the series’ final conflict, especially as the story drew to a close.

Unfortunately, Kamiki still ended up not being treated as well as people expected. After Kamiki bragged about his murders and how Aqua couldn’t kill him without damaging Ruby’s reputation, Aqua stabbed himself and threw Kamiki and himself into the ocean so people would think it was a murder-suicide, which made Kamiki gradually lose his cool. facade, as he was powerless to do anything. Hikaru Kamiki, despite years of accumulation in Oshi no Kowas handled incredibly anticlimacticand for anyone who was reading it from the beginning, it was nothing but disappointing.

Oshi No Ko ends without anyone getting a happy ending

No one is really better off at the end of Oshi No Ko

Another big problem people had with Oshi no KoThe ending of was how it ended without anyone getting a happy ending. As cheap as it was for Aqua to miraculously survive her murder-suicide with Kamiki, the point of Aqua’s character arc was her attempt to find a way to be happy after Ai’s death and all the terrible things he’s been through. as Goro Amamiya, and as such, Oshi no Ko ending with Aqua dying without ever doing anything for herself gave the impression that her character arc went nowhere.

The other characters didn’t fare much better. Kana was never clear about Aqua’s feelings for her, Akane could never form an equal relationship with Aqua, whether platonically or romantically, Miyako never got Aqua and Ruby to genuinely treat her like her mother, and everyone else connected to Aqua never understood. the truth. closure with him too. Oshi no Ko ended with everyone simply being worse off with Aqua’s deathand the final chapter with a montage of everyone getting over Aqua’s death, instead of showing the steps they had to take, only emphasized that fact.

The ending of Oshi No Ko betrays the manga’s central concept

How Oshi No Ko Drops the Ball in Its Final Chapter

Oshi no Ko prided itself on its deconstruction of the entertainment industry, which showed how harmful it was to people, and this deconstruction included gradually breaking down Ai’s character to show how flawed she was and how those flaws could negatively affect herself and those around her. others, with Ai, even indirectly, playing a part in Kamiki becoming a villain. Because of this, Oshi no Ko having Aqua die to protect Ruby’s career without thinking about Ruby’s feelings as a person who felt at odds with the manga’s criticism of the entertainment industrywhich further emphasized the feeling of the ending wasting people’s time.

This idea of ​​the series abandoning its themes is best exposed in the way Ruby’s arc ended. Ruby ended up in the same position that Ai was in, where she is constantly lying to hide her suffering and going along with it because of how much people have come to admire her, all done without a hint of irony. Oshi no Ko ended with Ruby falling into the same traps that Ai fell into and framed it as a good thingSo it’s no wonder people were quick to dismiss the ending as terrible.

Oshi No Ko’s divisive ending continues an unfortunate trend for its author

Aka Akasaka keeps failing when it matters most

Oshi no KoThe ending is undoubtedly controversial, and what makes it worse is that it’s not the first time this has happened to one of Aka Akasaka’s works in recent years. As loved as Kaguya-sama: Love is War that is, the final arc is often derided for how poorly it resolved Kaguya’s family issues and several other character arcs, and her last series, Love Agencyit was canceled entirely after just one year of serialization. Oshi no KoThe controversial ending reinforces the growing idea that Aka Akasaka is bad at ending its storiesand unfortunately, this opinion is not going away anytime soon.

The growing backlash against Aka Akasaka has even affected his future projects. It was recently announced that Aka Akasaka is writing a new fantasy manga with illustrations by Ajichika from Ragnarok Record fame, and although it generated a lot of enthusiasm, many of the responses came from people who had already considered it doomed to fail based on Akasaka’s previous track record. The controversial reception Oshi no Ko could very well affect the popularity of Aka Akasaka’s next mangaand while it would be great if that weren’t the case, it’s easy to see why.

Is the ending of Oshi No Ko really as bad as people say it is?

Does Oshi No Ko deserve so much hate?

The intention was probably to Oshi no Ko having a bittersweet ending that leaned more towards optimism, but between the anti-climax of the main conflict, how so many arcs received little resolution and how much of the ending goes against the larger themes of the story, Oshi no KoThe ending, although not the worst a manga could have, more than deserves the derision it has received from fans and critics. Oshi no KoThe ending isn’t so bad that it makes the story pointless, but if someone thought so, it would be hard to argue with that.