Buckle up, guys, this is going to take a while, because honestly? This has been bothering me for a long time.
The more I think about Kana's scandal arc .... the more convinced I become that it's not only one of the weakest arcs in Oshi no Ko, but also one of the most IRRESPONSIBLE (yeah, you read that right) examples of Aka Akasaka trying to tackle a sensitive subject for the sake of cheap drama. AND without having any idea what to do with it afterward. Honestly, it feels like he wanted the shock value of a story about predatory directors exploiting actresses without committing to exploring what that ACTUALLY MEANS.
Like ... bro, this isn't some random issue. This is something that happens to people who are genuinely trapped. Women with debts, abusive families, agencies pressuring them, relatives to support, or no safety net whatsoever. People who feel cornered into believing they have NO CHOICE. Kana is none of those things.
She's financially okay. She has friends. Nobody is forcing her into anything. Nobody is threatening her. SHE HAS OPTIONS.
So right from the beginning, I already have trouble taking this plotline seriously because it feels like the story itself doesn't understand WHY these kinds of situations happen in real life. And that's what really gets me.
Because let's face the facts, all right? Kana's whole downward spiral comes down to one thing: Aqua chose Akane and started pulling away from her. That's it. And every time I see people say, "Well, Aqua was her first friend and her biggest support, so of course she'd fall apart," I'm just sitting there like... guys, Mem-cho exists. Miyako (an adult) exists. B-Komachi exists.
Kana has people who care about her, even Ruby during her dark era. It's not like Aqua was literally the only person in her life. HE WASNÂŽT. So yeah, Kana wasn't heartbroken because she lost her only/first friend. She was heartbroken because the romantic fantasy where Aqua broke up with Akane and chose her instead simply ... didn't happen. And okay, that's fine. She's human, and yeah, rejection hurts. But when THAT is the emotional foundation beneath a storyline involving SEXUAL EXPLOTATION in the entertainment industry, I can't help thinking ... "Really? THIS is the setup we're going with?"
Because the scale of the emotions and the scale of the subject matter just don't match. AT ALL.
And then we get to what honestly bothers me the most: Kana's decision to go back to acting doesn't even come from some realization that acting was always her true passion, or that maybe becoming an idol just because Aqua asked her wasn't healthy. Nope, her motivations are basically, "Aqua isn't looking at me anymore" and "Ruby is getting all the attention now." That's what drives her toward meeting director Shima.
And I'm sorry, but doesn't that sound completely ridiculous when we think about what kind of topic this arc is supposed to tackle? It's like the story accidentally says, "Women having a bad time because their crush stopped noticing them and somebody else became more popular? Obviously they'll go sleep with powerful directors!" Which is INSANE.
That's not how exploitation works. Real victims aren't pushed into those situations because they aren't the center of attention anymore. They're pushed into those situations because they're desperate, trapped, AND AGAIN, feel like they have no choice.
And don't even get me started on how Aka Akasaka handles the aftermath. Because Kana fans always talk about Kana like she almost experienced this life-changing traumatic event, but does the story itself TREAT IT that way? Not even remotely.
In the manga, Kana knowingly goes to meet Shima. The anime later softened things with Mako ditching her and leaving her alone with the director, but originally Kana knew what she was doing. And after Shima nearly takes advantage of her, what happens?
Does she become fearful? Or have nightmares? Does she even struggle emotionally? Nope. She spends the whole night chatting with the guy until sunrise and complaining about Aqua.
Then she walks out, and the story moves on like nothing happened. Meanwhile, Aqua's scars from his traumatic experience were evident throughout the entire series. Ruby's scars from her traumatic experience were ALSO evident throughout the entire series. Even Akane's in a more subtle way, when she expressed concern for Kana's well-being at the thought of a rumor ruining her career as an idol. But Kana? Aka doesn't even bother showing any lasting effects because honestly? I don't think he ever intended the incident to be treated as traumatic. It was just drama.
That's why people downplay it. Because the author himself downplays it.
And then the payoff is so bizarre that I still don't know what I was supposed to take away from it: Shima almost takes advantage of Kana, and his reward is... giving her a role.
And not just any role, but a girl obsessed with a man while dressed in a maid apron.
That's the conclusion? Seriously? No commentary on abuse, no criticism of the system, no closure, NOTHING.
And the craziest part is that this whole arc doesn't even matter that much to the story. Aqua was already planning to expose Ai's secret because he needed it for the movie. Saving Kana's career wasn't the objective. It was just killing two birds with one stone. So the scandal arc doesn't really push the plot forward. And somehow, despite being Kana's biggest solo arc, it doesn't even push her character forward either.
Because at the end of the day, what did Kana actually learn? Her fans always say she stopped relying on Aqua and became independent, but... DID SHE? Aqua saves her again. Her own plan was basically, "Well, I guess I'll just accept the scandal and hope B-Komachi survives somehow."
The fact is that Kana remains passive while someone else fixes the problem. And then, just when people are celebrating all this supposed development, the last few chapters of the manga hit the reset button and have her say that she wants to become Aqua's favorite idol and the only girl he'll look at.
I remember reading that and thinking, "Aren't we back to chapter one?" Because that doesn't sound like someone who's grown out of her emotional dependence. More like someone whose entire sense of fulfillment is still centered around being acknowledged by the same guy. Which is why I genuinely feel like the scandal arc says less about Kana and more about Aka Akasaka not really knowing what to do with her. It feels like he kept throwing bigger and bigger dramatic situations at her and hoping we would confuse suffering with character development, and honestly? It didnÂŽt even work.
