While the excellent Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood has reigned at the number one spot of MyAnimeList’s top anime of all time list for years, one surprising new anime has supplanted it. The new number one anime is Oshi no Ko, a recent anime whose first episode just premiered abroad to rave reviews from fans. This makes sense given the amount of effort the production team put into its first episode, which was essentially a movie.
The premiere of Oshi no Ko was almost an hour and a half long, with movie-quality animation. In fact, it first aired in Japan in a limited theatrical run, cementing its cinematic status. Based on the first arc of the manga by Aka Akasaka (the popular mangaka of Kaguya-Sama) and Mengo Yokoyari, the episode sets up the premise of the show going forward. It follows the career of the idol Ai Hoshino and her two children, who are actually reincarnated super fans. This initial arc of the series is self-contained enough to serve as a satisfying story on its own while also building anticipation for where the show will go next. Since MyAnimeList allows s to rate series even while they are ongoing, most of the scores for Oshi no Ko are likely based solely on this first episode or come from manga fans who know the quality of the story to come. This has left Oshi no Ko with the incredible score of 9.34/10, beating Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood’s score of 9.11/10.
Oshi no Ko Has Claimed Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood's Throne
Even for how great a premiere Oshi no Ko had, this is somewhat shocking. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is widely regarded as one of the best anime of all time and is commonly recommended to new anime fans looking for shows to watch (even though the fact that there are two Fullmetal Alchemist anime can be confusing). This has earned the show an incredibly large fan base despite it being over a decade old. Some of these fans make it their mission to keep Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood in the number one spot on MyAnimeList and will even “review bomb” other popular shows that sur it, giving those anime unfair 1-star reviews.
This will likely also occur with Oshi no Ko once enough Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood fans realize that their favorite anime has been dethroned. In addition, there is also the chance that as more episodes of Oshi no Ko are released, the series will not be able to maintain its movie level quality, causing fans to give it slightly worse reviews. These factors combined may cause Oshi no Ko’s time at the top of MyAnimeList’s best anime to be cut prematurely short.
Oshi no Ko Supplanting Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Shows Its Impact
Even if Oshi no Ko’s reign is temporary, the fact it reached that spot at all is a testament to the impact its premiere has had. Despite being about the idol industry, a relatively niche topic outside of Japan, Western fans have clearly resonated with Ai’s story enough to become very invested in the show. If the anime maintains the quality of its adaptation, these fans may ensure that Oshi no Ko claims Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood’s former throne permanently.
Oshi no Ko is streaming on HIDIVE.
Source: My Anime List
