Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 3 review: Doga Kobo peeks into the life of a mangaka through Abiko Samejima's outbursts

Modified Jul 18, 2024 21:29 GMT

Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 3 review: Doga Kobo peeks into the life of a mangaka through Abiko Samejima — Abiko Samejima as seen in Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 3 (Image via Doga Kobo)

With the release of Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 3, the anime delved deep into a manga creator's lifestyle. While the fans were hoping for Aqua Hoshino to succeed in helping scriptwriter GOA retain his staff position, the anime switched its focus to manga creators Yoriko Kichijouji and Abiko Samejima, showcasing how different creators deal with their workload.

While not all anime fans may know this, those who delve deep into the animanga community must know that manga creators often overwork, leading to poor health issues. The same was depicted in Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 3 as Abiko Samejima, a young popular manga creator, could be seen driving herself crazy while working on her manga, 'Tokyo Blade.'

Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 3 review: Doga Kobo's depiction of Abiko Samejima's workload depicts what is wrong with the manga industry

Expand Tweet

While many fans must have heard about manga creators having a tough time maintaining their health, they must have never realized how bad their situation could be. With Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 3, Doga Kobo revealed everything behind the scenes to a manga creator when their series became widely popular.

At first, the anime depicted how a veteran manga creator like Yoriko Kichijouji dealt with the workload. As explained by the anime, she, too, was previously serialized in a weekly magazine, forcing her to work from 9 am to 4 am. However, as time passed, she seemingly learned to manage her work and say no to editors when required. This is also evident because she was no longer serialized in a weekly magazine but a monthly magazine.

Yoriko Kichijouji as seen in Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 3 (Image via Doga Kobo)

Given her situation, she was reasonably happy, had free time on her hands, and did not worry about deadlines.

This was not the case for Abiko Samejima. Like many manga creators, Abiko had a tough time trusting others with her work. Hence, she refused to have any assistants who could not match her art. This saw her working on a weekly manga alone.

Moreover, she was unwilling to compromise on the art quality as she would spend hours drawing intricate details for the characters and backgrounds. These poor decisions made her work with only two hours of sleep daily. As one could guess, such a lifestyle could only be detrimental.

Abiko Samejima as seen in Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 3 (Image via Doga Kobo)

Hence, even Yoriko Kichijouji asked Abiko to change her ways. However, such suggestions only caused Abiko to have outbursts. This was because she was very unsocial. Abiko wanted to connect with others but had no idea how to.

Thus, she would do everything she could to please others to avoid any conflict. This included adhering to the cruel weekly manga schedule, changing plot points based on character popularity polls, and doing all the work by herself.

This was also the reason why Abiko had a tough time trusting someone else (GOA) with her work. She had always been doing everything on her own. Hence, trusting others was the last thing she could do. Fortunately, Doga Kobo was able to deliver all such emotions beautifully.

What went wrong with Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 3?

Ruby Hoshino as seen in Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 3 (Image via Doga Kobo)

As evident from the events that took place in Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 3, it seems like Doga Kobo itself fell into the trap Abiko had fallen into. The anime episode saw Yoriko express that Abiko was changing plot points in her story based on what fans would like.

Doga Kobo had seemingly done the same with the anime episode. As evident from the manga series, Ruby Hoshino was not supposed to appear in this episode. Nevertheless, the animation team must not have wanted to disappoint Ruby fans for the third week in a row. Hence, they tailored some events that took place earlier in the manga and some anime-original scenes to give fans some Ruby and B-Komachi moments.

While the scenes themselves don't harm the story, they seem too out of place for fans who have read the manga.

Final thoughts on Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 3

Abiko Samejima and Yoriko Kichijouji as seen in Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 3 (Image via Shueisha)

Overall, Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 3 was an above-average watch. While fans must not have been left impressed by some of the scenes at the start, the episode ended on a strong note. The exchanges between Yoriko and Abiko were fantastic and helped fans learn about their relationship.

While the conversation was messy, they had love between them, as depicted by Abiko's varied emotions. Hopefully, the anime will build up some momentum with the same.