Yo dawg, I heard you like stage plays, so how about a stage play about your stage play? At the same time that Oshi no Ko wrapped up the 2.5D Stage Play arc, the news came out that it will receive a stage play about the stage play. Ironically for an arc that dealt so heavily with the differences between a stage play and a 2.5D stage play, this one will be produced on a regular stage. And that’s not the only curveball this week regarding Oshi no Ko. “Dream” showed a glimpse of a better world that could have been: a symphonic soundtrack, acrobatic CG animation, and an unexpected vocal performance all combined to create a devastating reminder to Aqua and the audience about what this is for.

It has been 20 episodes since Oshi no Ko‘s jaw-dropping premiere, in which it did the unthinkable and did away with its most charismatic character. Ai has never ceased to be a main character and has haunted Aqua, Ruby, and the audience ever since, but she has done so only through echoes. That changed this week when voice actor Rie Takahashi recorded some new lines for some brand new scenes. The second one, which took place only in Aqua’s psyche, was shattering: it portrayed an alternate reality where AI survived. It was easy to believe Ai’s comforting lines because I wanted to believe them, and that’s a sign of a story that really pulls you in. “What if, like in some story, an expedient miracle occurred?” Aqua muses. This is a truly stilted subtitle, but the sentiment remains. In fictional stories like Tokyo Blade, there’s supposed to be a loophole that means everyone lives. Instead, we get Ai looking directly at the camera, mocking our hopes. There’s dramatic irony in the contrast: viewers are well aware that Oshi no Ko isn’t real and Aka Akasaka really did make up an idol for us to get sad about.

For maximum heartbreak, this episode used a refrain of the same sorrowful music that played when Ai was stabbed. Only this time, the music played while Touki and Blade crossed swords. Aqua was electric in this scene, from his smooth CG choreography to the obvious devastation in his voice. The starburst in his eye is not only black, but it flickers. This is the first time I’ve ever noticed it flickering, as if charged with some strange power. This is a cool elevating detail from the manga (which couldn’t depict this for obvious reasons) and a visual callback to the shade of Goro-sensei, which flickers in the same glitchy rhythm. It is clear how much it agonizes Aqua to reenact on stage what is essentially his mom’s death scene. If it wasn’t apparent enough, Kana reflects on Akane’s performance as Princess Saya as if she was “possessed by something,” the visual of Ai rising from the floor is projected over Akane’s body—it can’t get any more direct than that. Akane’s ability to channel Ai, a woman she has never met, is why she continues to draw out Aqua’s deep feelings even as he seems less than enthused about dating Akane for real. (In other words, Kana didn’t have to make that hilariously envious face during the curtain call when Aqua carried Akane down the stairs.)

Back in the real world, the actors transition from lamenting their poor performances (Akane: “I’m not a genius actor, Kana is.” Kana: “I’m not a genius actor, Akane is!”) to celebrating a job well done at the pub. Kana gets thoroughly trashed on ginger ale while Aqua cozies up to Lala Lai’s founding member in hopes of digging up the past. A change of venue, and then Aqua drops a bombshell on Taiki—he’s been doing DNA tests and it looks like they’re half-brothers. The drums that cue the ending music have never been so unwelcome. Taiki, ever the model actor, is stone-faced at this revelation but there are so many things he could be thinking, the least of which is, “who gave you permission to do a DNA test on me?”

One major change that the anime made from the manga: a literal curtain call. Showcasing all of the features the 2.5D stage has to offer, each of these characters who we’ve seen grow and change so dramatically over the last 9 episodes stands up and takes a bow. This arc is done and dusted but there’s no time to rest with that cliffhanger in mind. I can only hope that the utterly neglected Ruby and Mem-Cho will get more screen time moving forward.

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Oshi no Ko Season 2 is currently streaming on
HIDIVE.

Lauren writes about model kits at Gunpla 101. She spends her days teaching her two small Newtypes to bring peace to the space colonies.

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