Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 4 review: Doga Kobo surpasses the manga's portrayal of Aqua's PTSD

With the release of Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 4, the anime series delved further into the Tokyo Blade stage play rehearsals. Unlike the last time when Aqua Hoshino was considered one of the better actors and the story's only conflict was the one surrounding Abiko Samejima, the anime had now switched its focus to Aqua's acting abilities.

Surprisingly, despite the anime's focus on Aqua's acting abilities, it soon switched to his PTSD. This is because, while Kana Arima wished to help his crush Aqua with emotional acting by creating a fake scenario for him, she mistakenly reminded him about the most traumatic incident from his past, i.e., his mother, Ai's death.

The fact that was even more surprising is that Doga Kobo did a better job portraying Aqua Hoshino's PTSD than its source material, the manga series.

Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 4 review: Aqua's PTSD depicts how deeply rooted one's trauma could be

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Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 4 saw Aqua Hoshino hoping to improve his acting skills as he wished to do the revamped script justice. This desire saw him asking Kana Arima for tips on how to cry on command.

While Kana Arima simply wished to help her crush Aqua, unbeknownst to her, she reminded Aqua of his mother Ai's death. Soon after, Aqua's condition worsened at a rapid rate. He not only had a panic attack and fell unconscious but also saw visions of his past persona, i.e., Gorou Amamiya blaming him for Ai's death.

Aqua being haunted by Gorou Amamiya in Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 4 (Image via Doga Kobo)

As fans might remember, Aqua Hoshino had witnessed Ai get killed in front of him at the age of four. While both he and his sister Ruby Hoshino had gone to therapy, his condition was seemingly far worse as he never truly recovered from it. But instead of continuing the process, he lied to his family that he was doing fine.

Moreover, Ai Hoshino had passed away 12 years ago. Hence, one would think that the passage of time must have made things better for him. However, as evident from the anime, Aqua was far from recovering from his PTSD as he simply masked his emotions and never attempted to deal with them.

Aqua Hoshino as seen in Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 4 (Image via Doga Kobo)

The fact that he was entirely focused on something else but was thrown deep into his abyss of emotions due to a suggestion from his friend simply proved how deeply routed one's trauma could be.

Fortunately, animation studio Doga Kobo did justice to this topic as PTSD is often not portrayed well in anime. However, the animation studio adapted the same brilliantly. One could even say that the anime did it better than the manga series. This is because the scenes were depicted in a much darker and gloomy manner, especially the flashbacks of Ai's death.

On top of that, Doga Kobo also gifted fans with ominous scenes of Doctor Gorou Amamiya speaking with Aqua and blaming him for Ai's death.

"Detective" Akane Kurokawa made her return in Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 4

Akane Kurokawa as seen in the Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 4 (Image via Doga Kobo)

Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 4 saw Akane Kurokawa again take on her detective persona as she deduced Aqua and Ruby's past and connected their lives with B-Komachi idol Ai to understand their relationship.

In the past, Akane had deduced that the late idol Ai must have been an illegitimate mother. This deduction further came to life after she realized that Aqua and Ruby's obsession with Ai and a traumatic incident adjoined to their past very much coincided with Ai's death and the possibility of her being an illegitimate mother. This helped Akane deduce Aqua's past and what he must have gone through as a child.

Even this scene was depicted brilliantly by the anime as it was at par with Akane Kurokawa's deduction scene in the anime's first season, which itself was outstanding by its own standards.

What went wrong with Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 4?

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Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 4 was pretty much a perfect episode. However, there was one scene that seemed like it was lacking in the anime as compared to the manga. It was the scene that saw Kana Arima suggest Aqua Hoshino think about how he would feel if his mother died.

The manga had made the scene look creepy and ominous, but the anime failed at this task and made the scene look plain and lifeless.

Final thoughts on Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 4

Kana Arima as seen in Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 4 (Image via Doga Kobo)

Oshi no Ko season 2 episode 4 was a brilliant episode, and similar to other episodes, it showcased outstanding animation quality. Moreover, the pacing of the story was just right. Additionally, the anime also added some extra scenes that made the anime episode look well-rounded. The only mediocre part of the episode was one where Kana suggested to Aqua a tip on how to incorporate emotional acting.