Oshi no Ko: Gen-Z Pop Culture Meets Classic Revenge

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Oshi no Ko is taking the world by storm.

The anime adaptation of Akasaka Aka’s hit manga hit the air in April and has already been renewed for season two. It aired in eleven episodes for its first season. Although, the first episode is actually feature film length. Really, it’s about the length of four normal length anime episodes!

However, the first episode ends with a major twist. There, the viewer realizes the story they thought they were watching is actually not the story they thought they were watching at all. Some spoilers, including of the twist, follow, so be careful!

 

Reborn As An Idol’s Child: The Context

The title can be translated two different ways: My Favorite Idol or My Idol’s Children. An idol, for those who might not be familiar, is the term for a star, often a singer, in Japan, Korea, and other nations.

Obviously, cultural differences abound, but the idol industry also has a few striking differences from western pop stars. For one thing, idols rarely date. In fact, some companies make idols sign contracts agreeing not to date. The idea is to create a parasocial dating relationship with fans.

Of course, idols are people. They date, and some of the more established ones are less private about it. Yet it’s not unheard of for idols who do date to get kicked out of their company or to receive backlash from fans. In one infamous case, a J-Pop star who got caught dating publicly apologized and shaved her head in punishment.

When idols do marry, fans who aren’t sending hate often joke that they want to be reborn as the idol’s child. It’s a common, cute phrase, and it’s this phrase that Oshi no Ko takes literally.

The first episode begins with a genius idol, Hoshino Ai, pregnant with twins at sixteen. Her gynecologist is a fan thanks to a patient of his who dies. The day Ai gives birth, a deranged fan murders the doctor and he is reborn as Ai’s son, Aqua. The patient is reborn as Ruby, Ai’s daughter.

The first episode isn’t over, though. No, instead it ends when the twins are three years old… when a crazed fan murders Hoshino Ai in front of her children. Surprise! Aqua and Ruby are the real protagonists of the story.

 

Oshi no Ko: The Manga

Akasawa works with artist Yokoyari Mengo to publish the manga weekly in Weekly Young Jump, which has previously hosted popular mangas like Tokyo Ghoul and Golden Kamuy.

This magazine is a sister magazine of the more well-known Weekly Shonen Jump, home to classics like My Hero Academia and One Piece. However, Weekly Young Jump publishes stories aimed at a seinen audience. In contrast to shonen, which traditionally targets an audience of young boys (though everyone loves superheroes), seinen targets adults and is often known for its dark and psychological themes.

The manga’s also not finished yet. However, Akasawa stated that it is in its final arc!

 

Oshi no Ko: The Power of an OP 

What’s an anime without a dramatic 90-second montage chock-full of symbolism that plays during the opening credits? Oshi no Ko’s “Idol,” performed by Japanese duo Yoasobi, more than delivers.

The song itself is particularly catchy. There’s no build-up. The very first second hits listeners with a bang, and it continues from there with a beat that constantly changes yet is somehow irresistible. Proof? It’s the first Japanese song to ever top the world Billboard charts.

As per usual for anime, there’s plenty of symbolism and foreshadowing in the imagery flashing across the screen during the OP. However, even besides those, the song’s consistent swerves and unusual melding of haunting gospel choir with a hip-hop rap performed in chirpy J-Pop vocals set the tone of the story. It’s unpredictable, fun, and unsettling at the same time.

Hence, the OP functions as a perfect snippet of the story’s premise. Behind the perfectly crafted, shiny entertainment industry lies chaos and haunting loss. This heaviness is constantly threatening to crush the image. This, of course, also grants the music a tension that serves the story perfectly, since it’s part thriller.

 

Oshi no Ko’s Layers

The story is exciting. The art is colorful, vibrant, and beautiful. The animation is crisp. However, what makes Oshi no Ko stand out is the sharp attention to minor details.

For example, the names of the characters hide symbolism. Hoshino Ai breaks down into “hoshi no eye,” which literally means “starry eye” in Japanese. Ai’s eyes notably have stars in them, and Aqua and Ruby have one starry eye each.

Plus, while Ai is written in katakana, the Japanese script for loan words which reinforces the literal translation of “eye,” it’s also a homonym for the Japanese word for love. In turn, the story explores love as a major theme. Ai’s final thoughts are about her finally understanding love.

Back to eyes, though. Each of the main characters who appear in the OP have their eyes highlighted, and their eyes all represent a celestial motif. Aqua and Ruby have stars. Kana’s eyes resemble galaxies. Akane’s look like an evening sky, and Mem-Cho’s daytime, complete with light reflections forming clouds.

While what this indicates isn’t entirely clear, there is a supernatural feel to the story at times. After all, reincarnation serves as the premise!

 

Oshi no Ko’s Inspirations 

Oshi no Ko works as a revenge saga, following in the steps of classic literature like The Count of Monte Cristo. Aqua, like Dantès in the novel, faces grave suffering at the hands of a powerful person using another, petty person as a tool. Dantès infiltrates Paris society; Aqua infiltrates the entertainment industry.

Aqua firmly believes that his and Ruby’s biological father manipulated the deranged fan into murdering both Ai and his past self. He works as an actor alongside Arima Kana and Kurokawa Akane.

Meanwhile, Ruby, Kana, and a YouTuber named Mem-Cho reform Ai’s idol group. As B-Komachi 2.0, Ruby is determined to live as an idol just like her mother. Aqua is determined to find his father and murder him.

Oshi no Ko also draws from Urasawa Naoki’s acclaimed Monster, which tells about a doctor who chooses to save the life of a child over the life of a mayor. The child then grows up to be a serial killer, and the doctor hunts the mysterious killer to atone for saving his life and right the world. Except, along his journey, the doctor realizes just how human the so-called monster is.

Oshi no Ko’s portrayal of the entertainment industry leaves little question that Aqua’s father is probably victim as well as perpetrator. In addition, him being Aqua’s father likely indicates some major similarities between them. Plus, given that The Count of Monte Cristo ultimately leads to Dantès questioning whether he had gone too far, it’s likely Aqua will have to ask the same question.

Whether Ruby, Kana, and Akane are able to stop him before he loses himself to revenge, fans will have to wait and see.

 

Celebrities Are People: The Anime 

Oshi no Ko details the dark side of the entertainment industry along with its bright lights. Ruby genuinely enjoys her work. Ai found purpose in being an idol. Actresses like Kana genuinely love their craft. Manga writers cry from both disappointment and joy when they see their works in live-action.

Yet abuse and unhealthy manipulation abound. Aqua participates in a reality show that turns out to be staged. In one arc, Akane ends up flooded with online hate after a misunderstanding. This leads to Akane contemplating suicide.

The concern displayed by the reality show’s producers for entertainment over a teen girl’s life jars OnK’s audience. It also prompts reflection on those who exploit people’s real life pain for ratings, and on the blurred lines between reality and fiction.

This particularly plot got quite a bit of pushback because of its resemblance to a real-life tragedy. Unfortunately, this type of tragedy is not unique to J-Pop idols, or even just to idols. Still, in a twist of terrible irony, fans of the anime harassed a grieving mother. Those eager to hate on the story without considering context harassed the anime’s voice actors and writers.

Art imitates life, as they say. The point is that nothing occurs in a vacuum, and people on screens are people. Public shaming of individuals does lead to extreme consequences, and pile-ons can be so loud that what would be normal constructive criticism get drowned out by the din.

 

What Is Oshi no Ko Trying To Say? 

Clearly, Oshi no Ko has plenty to say about entertainment. It celebrates creatives while highlighting the difference between commercial content and art. It explores how fiction, which occurs within reality, is shaped by the real world and vice versa. This, in turn, gets to deeper, philosophical ideas about the nature of truth.

In addition, Oshi no Ko breaks down the screen via its characters. Aqua, Kana, Ruby, Ai, and more form the beating heart of the show. In a time where celebrities are both accessible as never before yet as unknown to us as any stranger, Oshi no Ko reminds us of the humanity in us all.