Between Oshi no Ko and Dr. Stone this season, each week feels like I’m back in the classroom getting my knowledge leveled up. These anime fall into a special category that the general populace has dubbed “edutainment” content, in which the content is both entertaining and educational. Honestly we’ve had this shit for a while, I remember having a smile on my face anytime the science teacher would turn on Bill Nye The Science Guy or The Magic School Bus because while those programs aimed to teach the audience some shit, they didn’t completely forgo the idea of making the content interesting for the audience (unlike every textbook ever just about). If you’ve seen an episode of Dr. Stone you should immediately be able to recognize this style of content, but for me Oshi no Ko was a real surprise.
After the first episode, or should I say movie episode, the series seems to set up for a murder mystery. And while it’s true that it’s a main motivation for the MC, the series has stayed resolute about divvying up the screen time to focus on other side characters and how they relate to the entertainment industry. What’s more is the anime isn’t afraid to explain various aspects of what goes on behind the scenes both in the film industry and the idol industry in Japan. Some may find this boring as oftentimes it’s not really necessary information to follow the plot and understand the characters, but goddammit I personally love it. For a piece of media to be good to me, it either has to touch my heart or stimulate my brain, and throwing in a bit of extra real world context is an easy way to keep my brain from falling asleep at the wheel. It’s basically a cheat code as long as you present said extra content in a captivating way. It also provides an easy route for making your show feel more distinct and fleshed out. I’ve seen like 40 anime about some dude trying to get revenge because his family member(s) was murdered. I’ve seen one anime that explains the ins and outs of the modern idol industry practices.
Mommy, I am ready to learn.
Love it or hate it, these anime seem to be finding success right now. I do think Dr. Stone is starting to reach the end of how far they can stretch the concept, so I hope it either wraps up this season or next. If it does, that will be the perfect anime to recommend for science fans. As for Oshi no Ko, it’s still too early for any definitive conclusions but it hasn’t made any mistakes yet in my eyes. Man this was a great season of anime. Are you watching either show? Have you watched edutainment anime before? Do you watch any edutainment of non-anime origin? Grab a textbook, whip out your notebook, and throw that shit in the trash so you can see the screen to learn from anime instead!
