The biggest problem we have with this show is how it completely wastes the potential it has. The premise of the childhood friend being the one who gets the main character in the end is really unusual, and one of the biggest positives from this show is how it pulled the wool over our eyes with this premise when we’re introduced to Shida Kuroha as Maru Sueharu’s childhood friend, and the girl who has loved him their whole lives. On the other hand, Sueharu’s initially depicted as a wishy-washy teenage boy who really likes the most popular girl in his class, Shirokusa Kachi. Osamake’s only turn of brilliance lies in how they used another childhood friend trope, one we’ll call, “I Didn’t Know You Were a Girl!”.

The basic idea is that MC-kun and his best friend from his childhood spend a whole lot of time together until they’re abruptly separated without any way of contacting each other. They both have fond memories of that time, but what tends to happen is that the male MC’s childhood friend reappears in high school as some kind of beacon of beauty and femininity. This is the case of child actor Maru Sueharu’s first best friend, Shiro, a “little boy” who wanted to write a script that could live up to his friend’s immense acting talent. It turns out that Sueharu’s crush, Shirokusa Kachi, is none other than Shiro, his childhood friend! This brilliant twist is an example of some of the interesting things Osamake could have done to truly shine. Now that the love triangle is fully established, the series can only go in the direction of an all-out war between Kuroha and Kachi; however, it gets too complicated for its own good.

Firstly, Sueharu is rejected by Kachi, who was actually mad at him because he didn’t recognize her as Shiro, and also because he abruptly moved away and retired from acting. Angry at Sueharu, Kachi plots to become the prettiest, smartest, and most desirable girl he’ll ever see and also to achieve her dream of becoming a published writer good enough to write a script worthy of Sueharu’s acting talent. She pretends to date Kai Tetsuhiko, a popular actor who hates Sueharu and show business as a whole, and the news spreads.

Then, Kuroha comforts Sueharu after telling him that Kachi has a boyfriend, and he then realises his own feelings for Kuroha. Sueharu promptly confesses his feelings for her on stage after his dance number with fellow child actor Tetsuhiko at the school culture festival. Kuroha rejects Sueharu in front of the whole school, which leaves him shellshocked. At this point, this story has gotten way too complex and cheapened not one, but two confession scenes, and somehow manages to throw in an amnesia arc on top of that.

This show’s characters are consistently in a mode of psychological warfare, plotting and scheming against one another, but the focus seems to have been lost. The story seems to be working on the showbiz element which ties all the main characters together in some way, but it could have taken more time to introduce everybody. Some reveals happened way too early, killing any sense of anticipation left in the show. With some generic characters brought into the mix, Osamake is turning out to be a disappointing mess that could have been a really great show.