Oshi No Ko has been a quite the dramatci anime full of twists for Spring 2023 season. Here are some anime recommendations similar to Oshi No Ko (My Star) that you should consider watching if you enjoyed the anime.
Perfect Blue
J-pop idol group CHAM! has spent the last two years entertaining its fans. Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and CHAM! must see one of its members, Mima Kirigoe, leave the group to pursue her acting career. While Mima’s choice is met with a mixed response, she hopes her fans will continue to support her.
However, Mima’s life begins to change drastically after her departure from the group. Wanting to shed her pop-idol image, she takes on a role in a crime drama series, and her career as an actress gradually becomes more demanding and taxing for both Mima and her manager, Rumi Hidaka. To add to Mima’s growing unease, an obsessed fan who is incapable of accepting that Mima has quit being an innocent idol, begins stalking her; a new anonymous website begins to impersonate her life with intricate detail; and CHAM! also appears to be doing better without her. One by one, each disturbing development drives Mima to become increasingly unhinged and unable to distinguish reality from fantasy.
Comments (by Andre Alexander)
- Everything you get from Oshi no Ko is here (except the reincarnation part): stalker, media pressure & evil reporting, sex scandal, unhealthy competitive idol world, mental health, and many more. All the problems are here, just in a more serious dark way. Oshi no Ko will seems like childplay. WARNING sensitive content, not for everyone!
IDOLiSH7 (Anime Like Oshi No Ko)
On her first day of work at her father’s small production agency, Tsumugi Takanashi was not expecting to be made the manager of the agency’s new male idol group. Though shocked that her father is trusting her with such a major project so soon, Tsumugi vows to do everything she can to support the seven young boys. After seeing how well the boys work as a team, Tsumugi meets with her father and learns that her first job as manager will be to cut four boys from the group. This is because her father believes seven idols are too much to manage, and the current top group, TRIGGER, only has three members.
After holding an impromptu audition, Tsumugi returns to her father and boldly declares that she refuses to cut anyone from the group, as each member has a unique allure which collectively enhances the group’s appeal. She returns to the boys and they are thrilled that none of them will get to miss out on their dreams. Together they become IDOLiSH7, and prepare to take on the fiercely competitive world of idols.
Comments (by Tsunara)
- Both animes tackle the “dirty” part of the entertainment industry. The analysis, however, goes further by bringing the dramas experienced by those who make up this environment. Don’t think they are idol anime with songs and cute things! You really feel the pain and anguish of real problems, real people.
- Thought-provoking, even slightly exaggerated representations of the entertainment industry and its sides less shined light upon. Both shows have a grim atmosphere and handle a fair amount of taboo topics all while keeping focus on the characters, their internal conflicts and dynamics with one another.
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ERASED (Boku dake ga Inai Machi)
When tragedy is about to strike, Satoru Fujinuma finds himself sent back several minutes before the accident occurs. The detached, 29-year-old manga artist has taken advantage of this powerful yet mysterious phenomenon, which he calls “Revival,” to save many lives.
However, when he is wrongfully accused of murdering someone close to him, Satoru is sent back to the past once again, but this time to 1988, 18 years in the past. Soon, he realizes that the murder may be connected to the abduction and killing of one of his classmates, the solitary and mysterious Kayo Hinazuki, that took place when he was a child. This is his chance to make things right.
Boku dake ga Inai Machi follows Satoru in his mission to uncover what truly transpired 18 years ago and prevent the death of his classmate while protecting those he cares about in the present.
Comments (by ANormaluser):
- Both are referring to a murder mystery. While the difference being the element of reincarnation in one vs time travel in the other, in both the MC wishes to solve a murder that is related to himself, while uncovering family secrets.
- Murder. The two anime have one thing in common: “murder”. In both stories the protagonist will do everything in his power to solve the murders. One big difference is that Boku dake ga Inai Machi has a strong element of time travel, while Oshi no Ko bases its plot on reincarnation.
Kaguya-sama: Love is War
At the renowned Shuchiin Academy, Miyuki Shirogane and Kaguya Shinomiya are the student body’s top representatives. Ranked the top student in the nation and respected by peers and mentors alike, Miyuki serves as the student council president. Alongside him, the vice president Kaguya—eldest daughter of the wealthy Shinomiya family—excels in every field imaginable. They are the envy of the entire student body, regarded as the perfect couple.
However, despite both having already developed feelings for the other, neither are willing to admit them. The first to confess loses, will be looked down upon, and will be considered the lesser. With their honor and pride at stake, Miyuki and Kaguya are both equally determined to be the one to emerge victorious on the battlefield of love!
Comments (by ANormalUser):
- Both animes, even though they have many differences, share similarities such as: similar quality of storytelling (the original creator of the source materials is the same, by the way); similar quality and intensity of comedy elements; main characters dealing with false and true sides of themselves and the way others perceive both of these sides; a lot of expressive, overly emotional reactions, coated with a lot of melodramatic moments.
- Both animes are by the same author (Akasaka Aka), they have very comical elements and scenes that make you swoon with laughter, but contrasted with a dramatic plot. Kaguya-sama has more comedy than drama and Oshi no Ko has more drama than comedy. Both anime deal with themes such as faked appearances in a very profound way.
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (Anime Like Oshi No Ko)
Despite being bullied, scorned, and oppressed all of his life, a 34-year-old shut-in still found the resolve to attempt something heroic—only for it to end in a tragic accident. But in a twist of fate, he awakens in another world as Rudeus Greyrat, starting life again as a baby born to two loving parents.
Preserving his memories and knowledge from his previous life, Rudeus quickly adapts to his new environment. With the mind of a grown adult, he starts to display magical talent that exceeds all expectations, honing his skill with the help of a mage named Roxy Migurdia. Rudeus learns swordplay from his father, Paul, and meets Sylphiette, a girl his age who quickly becomes his closest friend.
As Rudeus’ second chance at life begins, he tries to make the most of his new opportunity while conquering his traumatic past. And perhaps, one day, he may find the one thing he could not find in his old world—love.
Comments (by Kef_kiroth):
- Younger versions of the reincarnated MCs share the same VA and act way more mature than their age. You get to see how being reincarnated younger gives them certain advantages. Completely different plots otherwise, but certainly amusing nonetheless.
- Rudeus and Young Aqua share the same VA Both anime feature adults who are reborn as babies and get a second chance at life. Both MCs are weird babies and the show makes it pretty obvious. Both MCs have serious goals and hurdles to overcome.
Monster
Dr. Kenzou Tenma, an elite neurosurgeon recently engaged to his hospital director’s daughter, is well on his way to ascending the hospital hierarchy. That is until one night, a seemingly small event changes Dr. Tenma’s life forever. While preparing to perform surgery on someone, he gets a call from the hospital director telling him to switch patients and instead perform life-saving brain surgery on a famous performer. His fellow doctors, fiancée, and the hospital director applaud his accomplishment; but because of the switch, a poor immigrant worker is dead, causing Dr. Tenma to have a crisis of conscience.
So when a similar situation arises, Dr. Tenma stands his ground and chooses to perform surgery on the young boy Johan Liebert instead of the town’s mayor. Unfortunately, this choice leads to serious ramifications for Dr. Tenma—losing his social standing being one of them. However, with the mysterious death of the director and two other doctors, Dr. Tenma’s position is restored. With no evidence to convict him, he is released and goes on to attain the position of hospital director.
Nine years later when Dr. Tenma saves the life of a criminal, his past comes back to haunt him—once again, he comes face to face with the monster he operated on. He must now embark on a quest of pursuit to make amends for the havoc spread by the one he saved.
Comments (by MarylandIzumiKun):
- The central plot is quite similar for these two shows – a doctor puts his career on hold to track down a killer. Both involve similar themes regarding how revenge can consume someone.
Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (Anime Like Oshi No Ko)
Maquia is a member of a special race called the Iorph—mystical beings who can live for hundreds of years and remain separate from the lives and daily troubles of mankind. However, Maquia has always felt lonely despite being surrounded by her people, as she was orphaned from a young age. She daydreams about the outside world, but dares not travel from her home due to the warnings of the clan’s chief.
One day however, the outside world finds her, as the power-hungry kingdom of Mezarte invades her homeland. They already have what is left of the giant dragons, the Renato, under their control, and now their king wishes to add the immortality of the Iorph to his bloodline.
The humans and their Renato ravage the Iorph homeland and kill most of its inhabitants. Caught in the midst of the attack, Maquia is carried off by one of the Renato that has gone berserk. It soon dies, and she is left deserted in a forest far from home, now truly alone save for the cries of a single baby off in the distance. Maquia finds the baby in a destroyed village and decides to raise him as her own, naming him Ariel. Although she knows nothing of the human world, how to raise a child that ages much faster than her, or how to live with the smoldering loneliness inside, she is determined to make it all work somehow.
Comments (by j99mrj):
Both shows have a young single mother who is lying to the entire world to protect their children. Despite both shows go on different paths in their stories, they both capture motherly aspect very well. Both Maquia and Ai are not perfect mothers due to their circumstances (because Maquia having a long life and Ai being an idol). But they are doing their best to make sure their children would live a happy life. If you like those aspects I would highly recommend both shows to anyone.
That concludes the anime like Oshi No Ko recommendations. Give them a shot!
References: https://myanimelist.net/anime/52034/Oshi_no_Ko
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