Oshi no Ko is an anime series based on the manga of the same name written by Aka Akasaka and illustrated by Mengo Yokoyari. The anime is produced by Doga Kobo, the studio behind Plastic Memories. It has 11 episodes and begins airing on April 12th 2023.
Streaming on Netflix.
Oshi no Ko - Episode 2 Summary & Recap
Trying to be an idol
Following up from the previous episode, Aqua and Ruby are now teenagers in middle school. Aqua has become this gloomy pessimistic boy, while Ruby is working hard to be recruited as an idol in an agency. Ruby has faced multiple failures, and oddly, she still has the drive to keep trying. This is despite Aqua warning her about the price of fame as an entertainer- low wages, emotional stress, and potential stalkers for the rest of her life.
Both of them are now taken care of by Miyako after Ichigo Saito went missing. The B Komachi group disbanded 2 years after Ai’s death. Miyako took over Ichigo Productions and now only manages internet personalities as a way to keep the company afloat.
After going through quite a lot of stages in an agency’s recruitment process, Ruby eventually received a rejection call. Little did she know, Aqua and the director (from Episode 1) was actually behind it. Aqua has done his research on the agency and refuses to let Ruby join them. The director helped him because Aqua had also been helping him out on film production and editing.
Building the talent in-house
It was revealed that Aqua tried to be an actor for a while. But he soon realized that he is just one of many struggling potential actors without much talent. However, since he is hell-bent on finding his father, he still wants to be in the entertainment industry.
Soon enough, Ruby got scouted by an underground agency to be an idol again. This time, Aqua tried another way. He pretends to be from Ichigo Productions trying to snap up another talent from that underground agency.
That talent badmouthed the agency, and with that Aqua is no longer willing to allow Ruby into a world with such conditions. Then, out of the blue, Miyako makes a suggestion.
Miyako and Aqua approach Ruby to join Ichigo Productions to be the first idol talent in more than 10 years. Without much hesitation, Ruby signed on.
Both Ruby and Aqua then joined a school famous for their entertainment program. Ruby got in because she was signed to an agency, while Aqua used his medical graduate smarts to get into the general program.
On their first day, they bumped into an old friend- Kana Arima. She was happy to see Aqua because she thought he had stopped being part of the industry. Then, Aqua casually tells her that he is in the general program, and this shocked Kana.
Oshi no Ko - Episode 2 Review
After an hour+ long premiere episode, we are now back to the normal length. On the surface, this episode really lacks the suspense and emotional level the previous episode had; but it serves as a very important base to build the foundation of our main characters. Episode 2 is more of an introductory episode with a lot of backstory to catch us up on where Aqua and Ruby now are in their lives.
That being said, we still get to see some great character developments. Miyako, has turned full 180 since the beginning of the series. From a ruthless gold digger, she becomes an important parental figure to Aqua and Ruby. Aqua too, showed potential to lie and manipulate like his mother. That, together with his wisdom makes him a very intelligent character. He is an adult after all.
In conclusion, Episode 2 did a decent job bringing the audience through a time skip. Wish we would see the more thriller-esque aspect of the show quite soon.
More recaps from Oshi no Ko
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Oshi no Ko – Episode 3 Recap & Review
Oshi no Ko is an anime series based on the manga of the same name written by Aka Akasaka and illustrated by Mengo Yokoyari. The anime is produced by Doga
Oshi no Ko – Episode 2 Recap & Review
Oshi no Ko is an anime series based on the manga of the same name written by Aka Akasaka and illustrated by Mengo Yokoyari. The anime is produced by Doga
Oshi no Ko – Episode 1 Recap & Review
Oshi no Ko is an anime series based on the manga of the same name written by Aka Akasaka and illustrated by Mengo Yokoyari. The anime is produced by Doga