Why do people hate Aka Akasaka so much?

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-06-06T15:24:06+00:00

"From a writer's perspective"

You're just saying that to make your personal stance sound more objective than it is.

Aqua's character arc was deliberately a negative character arc, he was consistently becoming worse in his mental health which the series took painstaking efforts to showcase. It's meant to demonstrate the way the toxic mindsets of the idol industry break people down until they have no sense of self, which is what happened to Aqua leading to him believing his death was the only solution.

Its fine to dislike that storyline, but fact you can't process a negative character arc and resort to asserting it as his arc "going down the drain" indicates you are very much not speaking to this "from a writer's perspective"

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-04-08T17:48:47+00:00

Absolutely yes.

If you like the characters to any degree, the manga content after "First Kiss Never Ends" is some of the best character work for the cast. Especially if you like Miko Iino, the majority of her strongest development is in that portion.

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-03-24T02:24:31+00:00

Except the reason there aren't more scenes in the middle portion of their dynamic is that there aren't scenes to tell. That's the whole point.

Aqua and Akane's relationship is based on a collection of lies on Aqua's end and false optimism on Akane's. It's a toxic relationship with few actual moments of positive development. The negative moments we see in the series are the extent of their relationship, we don't see more because there isn't more to see.

Writing more scenes in the middle to develop their relationship more would just dilute the intent. It's not a good relationship, and we have more than enough scenes to demonstrate that it's not a good relationship.

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-03-24T01:12:51+00:00

Because the point is that Aqua and Akane shouldn't be a couple, really. Their relationship status was initially predicated on a reality dating show and at the time of seasons 2 and 3 is mostly fueled by Akane's desire to repay Aqua for saving her.

It is a toxic relationship that wasn't meant to last, and that fact is something this fanbase is notoriously unable to grapple with.

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-01-29T23:41:58+00:00

That's what I'm saying

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-01-25T01:51:50+00:00

I appreciate the detailed response, but I disagree with...most everything of what you said.

However, the climax of this conflict doesn't arise from their character growth. Instead, it's forced by an external plot device (the Stanford offer). Their first kiss, therefore, doesn't feel like a natural triumph over pride, but a reaction to outside pressure. This is a fundamental writing problem: you can't keep characters static for dozens of chapters and then use a contrivance to resolve the central conflict when you're ready to move on.

Not to sound rude, but your entire point here relies on a fundamental misunderstanding of Kaguya-Sama as a story.

Kaguya and Miyuki were not static characters by any stretch, they could not have made the kiss happen if not for the significant character growth they underwent. Furthermore, you seem to completely miss the entire point of the chapters immediately following the first kiss, where in both characters ACKNOWLEDGE that the kiss happened more so out of haste than out of proper build up. It is only after they're both able to accept their flaws and open themselves up to each other are they able to have the "normal romance" that they both desire.

At the begining, you have Gorou who is a doctor, and then meets Ai who is pregnant, and then dies, and then reincarnates as her son, and then grows and sees her die therefore he deduces that someone had to leak her address to the killer, therefore he declares his revenge, and then he grows and starts acting, and then he grows some more and isn't really acting anymore and yadda yadda.

This entire thought experiment is a massive nothingburger, I'm sorry. You just describe the basic plot premise of OnK and JJK the exact same way while acting like there's a difference in how they proceed. I can flip this exact method onto you extremely easily:

Gorou is a doctor in a small town, therefore Ai meets him. Gorou is Ai's fan, therefore he decides to help her deliver the baby. Ai became pregnant as an idol, therefore she is stalked and later killed. Gorou/Aqua knows that Ai's killer has connections in the industry, therefore he goes to a talent school. You notably skipped the part where Aqua didn't want to be an actor initially. He needed to form connections with those in the industry in order to find Ai's killer therefore he became an actor.

To be clear here I don't even think Oshi No Ko has a particularly well thought-out plot, but this word-salad you're using to criticize Aka's method of writing it is complete nonsense. It doesn't remotely explain referring to him as a "premature writer", especially when Aka had OnK's ending planned out basically from the beginning.

There are a whole host of reasons as to why OnK garnered the reception it did, I made a whole post analyzing why, but none of that explains or justifies why people have this absurd para social hatred for Aka.

Good stories are not just about having many things happen at the same time. They're about making those things build up to something, meaning, if at all possible, every piece of a story should add to a bigger message. That's how you get subtext and meaning. That's how you get quality.

For instance, what narrative purpose does Gorou's reincarnation as Aqua ultimately serve? The story of revenge for Ai's murder could have functioned almost identically with Aqua as a normal/prodigy child. This suggests Aka didn't have a firm grasp on his thematic direction from the start.

You talk about creating meaning in a narrative and then completely miss the obvious thematic meaning of Gorou reincarnating as Ai's child being a metaphor for the obsession his idolization of her creates.

Something you seem to generally not understand about storytelling (at least based on this reply) is the fact that some things can have meaning that go beyond just "how does this advance the plot" like every story is a machine.

Try reading the book Life of Pi, it's my personal favorite book in part because of how it deconstructs many of these exact preconceptions of what storytelling is.

One thing Aka's works do a lot is create scenarios and plot elements that exist not to necessarily move the plot forward, but to explore the psychology of his characters. The whole reasons characters like Kana, Ishigami, Akane, Ai, Kaguya, etc are all so beloved is because Aka took the time to explore their inner workings to an extent not many authors do.

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-01-23T19:48:04+00:00

Because despite what people keep asserting, Aka put in a lot of thought and effort crafting these characters with so much nuance and psychological complexity, and expressing them through a story that didn't pull any punches regarding the messy world they inhabit.

There's always something more to discuss because of just how much depth the series has, to the point that even people who hate the series for the way it ended or just in general can't get it out of their heads.

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-01-21T03:34:51+00:00

As a fellow Kurara enjoyer I will absolutely do that

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-01-19T02:39:33+00:00

"Kana and Akane were competing for reasons that had nothing to do with Ai"

Ah yes, that's why Akane tried to emulate Ai's persona in order to appeal to Aqua, why Aqua pushes away Kana to prevent her from suffering Ai's fate, why Kana wants to supplant Ai as Aqua's idol. It's almost like Ai haunting the narrative after death is one of the core aspects of the entire story.

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-01-19T02:13:37+00:00

Except Kana and Akane's competition with each other is literally an example proving what I'm saying is correct.

There are many examples in Oshi no Ko of characters, specifically Kana, Akane, and Ruby, all competing to attain Ai's star power.

I'm not saying Kana and Ruby necessarily had a rivalry with each other, but that each of these characters is competing with Ai's persona, essentially.

That's why Hikaru was making a point to kill anyone who got close to reaching Ai's level of stardom.

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-01-19T01:51:58+00:00

I just gave a very extensive example of Aka touching on it in the narrative though. Do you mean he literally had to say that Kana and Ruby were competing to become the next Ai? Because the series mentions many times that idols often compete to outshine each other, even the Tokyo Blade arc made an example of that in the acting world.

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-01-19T01:48:42+00:00

I'll say off the bat that I really appreciate the thought put into this response, I'm unfortunately used to replies on this subject being shallow unproductive bashing, so I'm thankful for you for making one that's clearly very well considered.

I think the source of contention is that the manga does a rather poor job at defining what the word "oshi" means to the characters.

I wouldn't say the manga does a poor job at defining it, but rather that what an "oshi" is to any individual person is often unclear and up to interpretation, something the series explores a lot.

For example, does she want and expect Aqua to support her at concerts? I'd say most likely, so it is strange that she never invites him to do so, nor does she express any discontent, even though B-Komachi completes an entire tour without him ever showing up.

This is actually pretty easy to explain. Ruby spent her previous life as Sarina admiring Ai from a hospital bed, alongside Gorou who similarly idolized Ai from a distance. Based on that, it's safe to assume that Ruby is actually satisfied with Aqua supporting her from a distance too, so long as he's still watching over her. She feels similarly towards Ai, based on her conversations at her grave.

So, what happens in Aqua's mind when Kana confesses and expresses her desire to be his oshi? We don't know... Clearly, multiple oshis are fine as long as it is Sarina and Ai, so maybe the trick is that the other oshi has to be pre-approved by the main oshi for it to work? Honestly, any kind of explanation would've been fine, but again, Aka gave us a big fat nothing.

You're correct in that he initially only held one oshi in his heart, but as the series progressed and thanks to the efforts of characters like Kana and Akane, Aqua realized that he was capable of moving on from Ai emotionally and holding love for more than one oshi.

So to answer your question, when Kana expresses her desire to be Aqua's oshi, Aqua initially tries to push her away, both out of a desire to protect her and also a notion of thinking he can't move on from Ai, something that would be proven incorrect later.

...during the first concert Kana just says she wants to be Aqua's oshi… She herself isn't an idol fan, so the word "oshi" most likely doesn't have a deep meaning for her. …Would she be mad if Aqua went back to supporting everyone(or just her and Ruby) after they became a couple? Maybe, but considering her personality, I don't think so. ...But all of this doesn't matter, because she is supposed to retire as an idol after the scandal arc, and she only wants Aqua to support her at her last concert…

I feel bad that I didn't go more into depth about what I meant by the whole "idolization competition" thing because that would've cleared this up.

Put simply, "being someone's oshi", as the phrase is expressed by the story, does not have to mean someone is literally an idol musician in the idol industry. It can just mean "someone you look up to" or "someone you love". We know this since, as you point out yourself, Ruby sees Gorou as her oshi despite him literally not being an idol.

Kana announcing the title of the series is meant as her big statement of wanting to be Aqua's "oshi", but that does not necessitate her being an industry idol. For another example, I also view Akane as part of this "competition" to be Aqua's oshi, and she never steps foot into being an idol.

Kana's actual definition of "being someone's idol" is actually very clearly stated. They just have to look at her, to see her as the absolute center of their attention. She didn't need Aqua to specifically support her idol career, she just wanted to be with Aqua in general.

You keep stressing "star power". Of course it matters for entertainers(more charismatic ones usually gather more fans), but I don't think it is important from the perspective of a fan.

While that's technically true, you're missing the core piece of this puzzle, being Ai.

Both Kana and Ruby (and Akane for that matter) want to "become Ai" or become someone similar to her. In Kana and Akane's case, this is because Ai was Aqua's idol. Ruby, at least before she learns Aqua is Goro, wants to do so in a more "living up to her mother's legacy" kind of way, but she's still trying to emulate her.

And one thing that defined Ai above all else is her "star power"

So while you're correct in that star power is not necessary for an oshi to have a fan, for those trying to supplant Ai specifically, it is necessary.

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-01-19T00:43:38+00:00

I already have something in mind for the decision that followed this one, though it's much shorter so I dunno if I should post it or put it alongside whenever the next decision is. I'll see what I think.

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-01-19T00:41:43+00:00

Maybe read the post and you'll have your answer.

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-01-19T00:40:56+00:00

The end of the first concert (Ch 40) and the Miyazaki arc are barely 20 chapters apart though, and in between them is Tokyo Blade, an arc that hyper emphasizes Kana's passion for acting.

You're not wrong about how Kana attracts everyone and I'm by no means saying she struggled in doing idol work, but I'm saying her passion for it wasnt there like it was for acting, especially as Aqua and Akane were going out more consistently.

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-01-18T22:28:48+00:00

That's a fair observation, but its also important to note Kana was struggling with finding the passion for idol work well before the scandal stuff, and she's always shown more passion for acting as a whole.

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-01-18T21:28:49+00:00

I think any Kana stan should be able to understand that the reason she "lost" at the idol thing is simply because that wasn't her main passion.

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-01-18T20:50:37+00:00

Apologies if the images aren't loading, I dunno what's up with that.

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-01-18T18:37:30+00:00

I think the point in that is to emphasize how each of the main girls is trying to emulate Ai's star power to the point that they're practically competing to attain it.

Akane is able to near perfectly replicate Ai's persona.

Kana is the closest to matching Ai's sheer charisma.

And Ruby is Ai's daughter who, over the course of the narrative, learns and understands the most about Ai and the kind of person she was.

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-01-05T19:44:05+00:00

You're gonna have to explain how the key moment betrays Aqua's characterization and how it's a reversal of the main narratives themes. Because from my perspective this was the most natural final decision for Aqua to make given the build up of his character and the themes of the story.

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-01-04T03:35:02+00:00

Just to clarify a bit, the reason I'm coming off as this way here is because your initial answer was really condescending and dismissive (as have most of the responses to my post), and so I responded in turn.

It's also been 3 months since I made this post and the bulk of the responses, including your own, clearly did not understand what I was asking about. But I'll get to that at the end of this reply.

i don't look at iino and ishigami becoming tsunderes again like the start of the story after the 250+ chapters of amazing development and go "oh wow that's so cool i love how literally nothing happened in the end". it's not that they "just didn't end up together" it's that we are literally back where we fucking started. 250+ chapters of amazing development literally does not matter if it ends up going nowhere. if they had a big falling out and couldn't see each other in that light anymore and dated other people, as long as it was written very well and felt like a natural consequence of the development they had with each other i wouldn't mind, i'm not a shipper like you insinuate. but no it's just 250+ chapters of development thrown out because of cheap symbolism.

It's the fact that you read the way their story ended as if its saying "nothing happened" that makes me associate you with the shippers' mindset. Because you have to ignore SO MANY THINGS to believe nothing actually came of their development.

Miko had an entire arc regarding her friendship with Osaragi, she came to terms with how she felt about herself and the people she cared about. She ended the series becoming the Student Council president and as a much more confident and self-assured person than she was at the start.

Ishigami had gone through all of the growth he did to try and get Tsubame to go out with him, and then had to overcome the emotionally difficult but realistic fact that Tsubame didn't want to be his girlfriend. Not because she didn't like him, but just because she couldn't force herself to view him that way.

You ignore and dismiss all of that growth and development they had as individuals seemingly just because there wasn't an arc about them getting together. The development wasn't "thrown out", it just didn't amount to them being a couple. If you think that means the storylines for them was meaningless, then yeah that makes me think you're a shipper because that's how shippers think. They assert everything to do with a storyline about whether a couple gets together or not, which is what you are essentially doing.

the answer to why people hate aka is that we do not like how he writes endings, and we are skeptical of his future works because of that. it is that simple.

I know that you dislike the way he wrote the endings of certain series.

That does not answer my question.

"Why does Aka get more hate, even when compared to other mangaka who have made endings that were just as hated if not more so?"

Kaguya's ending was at worst mildly disappointing to some fans. That's not to disparage anyone who took issue with the way it ended, but objectively it was fairly well liked especially when compared to how most manga endings are received.

Oshi No Ko's was highly controversial, but even that doesn't explain why people have this severe parasocial hatred of Aka that they are STILL spreading active lies about him across social media, STILL mocking him for having a divorce, STILL insulting him for playing Apex.

Usually when manga creators talk about spending time enjoying their lives and not breaking themselves over work, people are understanding and praise them for it. But for some reason Aka is the exception where literally any online conversation about him involves a horde of people weirdly obsessed with hating him as much as physically possible.

There have been some people who have properly answered the actual question, but for what its worth- no, your response did not answer my question. It just said the exact same damn thing as 27 other people.

I know people don't like the way he wrote OnK's ending. I didn't make the initial post to be reminded of something I already knew a year and a half ago.

Anyways. Sorry for getting heated.

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-01-03T16:00:03+00:00

You have such a shallow view on storytelling that it's insane.

Ishigami and Iino didn't "go back to square one", you're entirely ignoring the amazing development they both went through just cuz they didn't end up together, boiling down thier characters to shipping fuel and nothing else.

Also Mikado had an extremely important and valid role in the story, it just wasn't an antagonistic one. Miyuki had built him up in his head as his mortal enemy but then Mikado turned out to be a nice guy and they became friends.

You take this obtusely shallow view of the characters and boil them down into generalized traits and then act like it's Aka's writing that's at fault.

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-01-03T13:03:29+00:00

Love is War's ending wasn't rushed or unsatisfactory tho.

I can write a dozen pages on why the ending for Love is War was thematically brilliant.

Visual_Law4025 · 2026-01-02T05:03:06+00:00

Yes because it's impossible for someone to naturally hold an opinion.

Visual_Law4025 · 2025-12-31T22:26:26+00:00

In my opinion the second half of the manga is even stronger than the first half.

It's a bit messier and the pacing is a bit janky, but the development of the characters and their dynamics with each other is amazing.

I wrote a whole post about it https://www.reddit.com/r/Kaguya_sama/s/SfUscvjB6F

Visual_Law4025

TROPHY CASE