Mikhail

I have a theory for some time now that the creation of Oshi no Ko is a revenge plot itself. In 2011, toxic fandom nearly destroyed Aya Hirano. And Aka Akasaka was a Death Note fan.

He perfected writing to market and, eventually, got the industry to throw money at a major diss of itself. The shipping part was there, in this theory, to help create the fandom feels that made the manga popular (and thus made the anime happen).

The ending fits this theory perfectly. Killing Aqua off is a big flip-off to the toxic fandom with its shipping wars - everybody loses. And the toxic fandom was a major villain in the Aya Hirano case. I saw rumours of them burning the manga - and it started (in that theory) with them destroying Haruhi merch - a perfect "book-end" ending!

(Guess I need to write this up properly)