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· The Scandal Arc in 'Oshi no Ko' corresponds to the eighth act of the story.
· It deals with the protagonist Ai getting caught in a scandal after being photographed with a film director, who is also her acquaintance, by a tabloid magazine.

· The very act of dealing with a sensitive topic like a scandal is controversial.
· It received a lot of criticism for its poor content, and many viewers started watching the series after this arc.

· Ai becomes acquainted with a film director named Shima through a mutual friend and they grow closer.
· She is invited to Shima's house, where she is photographed by a tabloid reporter.
· Ai initially tries to refuse, but eventually accepts Shima's proposal.
· However, she remembers Aqua and rejects Shima, leaving his house.
· She then flees from the pursuing reporter, dropping her phone and losing contact.
· Aqua was behind this scandal.

· The biggest reason is Ai's behavior. Approaching Shima, who caused the scandal, first was reckless.
· In the past, Ai ignored warnings about the dangers of exchanging contact information with Ruby, yet she easily approached Shima in this situation, which is hard to understand.
· At the time, Ai was going through a slump, mentally exhausted from being ignored by Aqua or facing conflicts with other members.
· She also had an inferiority complex about not having established her identity as firmly as Ruby, putting her in a difficult position from multiple angles.
· Understanding this background makes her falling for Shima's proposal somewhat understandable, but it feels inconsistent because the Ai of the past could have easily avoided this situation.
· Ai must have faced similar temptations in the past, but she showed excellent evasion skills by not getting involved in scandals until the Scandal Arc.
· Despite this, her easy involvement in the Scandal Arc feels very inconsistent.
· Furthermore, the impression that she had sex from the beginning was also negatively received.
· It's fortunate she remembered Aqua and refused to have sex, but the fact that the impression of having sex was given is pointed out as a problem.
· Ai already had many anti-fans, and those who saw the Scandal Arc heavily criticized her.
· Ai's remarks when she recovered also caused controversy. Her statement, like 'Aqua doesn't matter,' seemed like she was trying to act tough, but people who didn't understand this criticized her.
· Although criticized for not apologizing after causing the scandal, Ai did apologize. However, if her lines are taken out of context, they can give a negative impression.

· After the scandal broke, Ai met with Akane, Kohaku, and others to discuss countermeasures.
· However, no concrete solutions were proposed due to the reporter being perceived as dangerous, leading readers to criticize, 'Is the problem with the reporter?'
· While a reporter engaging in criminal stalking is problematic, Ai's statement could be interpreted as 'as long as I don't get caught,' which drew criticism.
· Ultimately, nothing concrete was decided other than responding diligently without specific measures.
· Later, Aqua asks Ruby if she wants to help Ai, and Ruby answers affirmatively.
· Aqua then releases an article revealing that he and Ruby are Ai's children, covering up the scandal.
· This is called a 'Bait Article,' and Aqua's action of revealing his and Ruby's secret to protect Ai was heavily criticized by readers.
· Aqua's decision to reveal Ai's secret was partly to protect Ai, but also to prepare for his revenge.
· This can be seen as a rational decision, as he could evade the scandal while preparing for revenge.
· This incident causes a period of strained relations between Ai, Aqua, and Ruby.
· In the end, the scandal was not exposed externally, and Ai overcame the crisis with Aqua's help.
· However, covering up one scandal with another is reprehensible.
· Previously, incidents were resolved in a way that convinced readers, but this time it failed to do so, leading to more criticism.
· This is why the method of resolving the scandal was criticized.

· After the scandal was resolved, Ai tried to thank Aqua but ended up complaining about her love life.
· From their first meeting, she complained about her situation rather than expressing gratitude, showing a 'yandere' side.
· Later, after hearing Aqua's words, she went as far as to criticize him.
· She later regrets this when she realizes Aqua sacrificed for her.
· This part left a very bad impression, and many viewers pointed out, 'Shouldn't she have thanked him first?'
· Ultimately, despite committing many wrongdoings, Ai seemed to be forgiven too easily by those around her.
· The leniency shown by the people around Ai is also pointed out as a problem.
· If more scenes showing Ai reflecting and changing her attitude had been added, she might have been evaluated differently.
· However, Ai's behavior didn't change, giving the impression that she wasn't reflecting.
· Some opinions suggest it's unclear whether the author favors Ai or wants to see her fall.
· Aqua also showed himself giving love advice to Ai. This led to many speculations that his help wasn't purely out of affection for Ai.
· After Aqua revealed the scandal, not only did Aqua and Ruby's workload increase, but Ai's workload also increased.
· Many people view this pattern of increased work through controversy negatively.
· In 'Oshi no Ko,' the pattern of resolving incidents through controversy leading to more work often appears.
· The same pattern was seen in the Lieria Arc, but it was well-received due to the high quality of the story.
· However, the Scandal Arc had a more flawed resolution method, and the characters' workloads didn't increase significantly, making it difficult for readers to accept.
· Ultimately, the main characters of 'Oshi no Ko' were depicted as growing through controversy.
· The fact that Aqua, Ruby, and Ai all gained attention through controversy leaves a sense of disappointment.
· Gaining popularity through consistent work rather than controversy can negatively impact one's image.
· 'Oshi no Ko' portrays the entertainment industry as one that succeeds through controversy.
· It's a work that deals with the light and dark sides of the entertainment industry, but the dark side is depicted too excessively, leading to criticism about the lack of balance.

· Despite Ai's scandal, Shima was treated as innocent.
· The incident was brushed aside as if nothing happened, Shima continued making movies, and Ai appeared in his film.
· Although Shima was portrayed as an antagonist, the fact that he was ultimately treated as innocent is hard to accept.
· It's also strange that Ai, the victim, appeared in the film of Shima, the perpetrator.
· This part is truly serious.

· The main reason for criticism is that the characters who should have taken responsibility in the Scandal Arc did not, and the incident was swept under the rug.
· From beginning to end, the characters' actions, the story's flow, and the resolution methods were all developments that were difficult to accept.
· In the Scandal Arc, Aqua and Ruby's identities as Ai's children were revealed to the world, leading to the production of a movie.
· Therefore, the Scandal Arc also has aspects of a movie arc.
· After the Scandal Arc, 'Oshi no Ko' feels like it's heading towards its conclusion.
· Ultimately, the revelation of the story's secrets seemed to have no purpose other than protecting Ai.
· Although a movie was produced after the secret was revealed, it had little effect on Shima, the target of revenge.
· Furthermore, revealing the secret to protect Ai was an unacceptable decision.
· 'Oshi no Ko' began with lies, but consistently seems to deny lies.
· While many evaluate the story as having gone downhill after the Scandal Arc, cracks began to show as early as the 5th Act Stage Play, and the story had already started to collapse from the 6th Act, where Ruby is active.
· However, it became undeniably strange for everyone starting from the Scandal Arc.
· It's understandable that many people quit 'Oshi no Ko' due to the flimsiness of the Scandal Arc.
· Nevertheless, the Scandal Arc continues to be mentioned until the final arc.
· The character whose image declined the most in this story was not a celebrity, but Ai.
· After the Scandal Arc, Ai became fixed in readers' minds as a 'bed character.'
· Strictly speaking, she didn't have sex, but the image arose because of the fact that she was propositioned.
· Many people speculate that Ai 'must have had sex' when she debuted in Hollywood.
· If the story had been adapted to portray Ai being forcibly taken by Director Shima, she might not have been criticized.
· At the very least, it would have left a much better impression than it did.
· In the live-action drama, the scene was adapted to show Ai almost being raped by Shima, emphasizing Ai as the victim.
· The live-action drama received a much more positive evaluation than the original work because Shima was properly portrayed as an antagonist.

· The main reasons why the Scandal Arc received harsh criticism are Ai's actions, the way the incident was handled, and the subsequent actions of the characters.
· The Scandal Arc is widely regarded by readers as unnecessary because it doesn't seem to benefit anyone and doesn't advance the story.