[Oshi No Ko] Volume 4 Review
Aqua and Ruby are the secret twin children of Ai Hoshino, a beloved Idol singer who was murdered in her apartment right in front of her children. Aqua has made it his mission to track down his father, whom he believes to have tipped off the killer as to where she lived, and is using his connections in the industry to find the truth. Meanwhile, Ruby’s idol group B-Komachi finally has its third member, YouTube star Mem-cho, and they managed to land a gig at Japan Idol Fest for their debut. But with Kana’s self-doubt beginning to surface, and being forced by the other two members to be centre girl, can she keep it together for their big debut?
If you’ve been watching the anime adaptation and wondering where we are in terms of the manga, this volume contains the whole The First Concert arc, and so the end of this volume corresponds to the last episode of [Oshi No Ko] Season 1. So, with the end of this volume, we’re now matching up with the anime, but as stated before, I’ve not watched the anime adaptation past its pilot, so how does the manga hold up on its own?
Up until this point, we’ve been following Aqua’s POV most of the time, and at the start of this book, as we wrap up the last lingering plot threads of the Dating Show Arc, it looks like we’re following Aqua once more, but most of the arc isn’t about him specifically. Although he bags the huge stage for B-Komachi’s debut, it’s up to the girls to really sell the group. But there’s a lot to do before the first gig, which the manga delves right into; there’s the whole online presence for one thing, and despite Mem-cho’s online fame, they must build their own identity as a group. Then they need to work out who’s singing centre-stage, and learning choreography as well, which comes with building stamina and stage presence to sell themselves. The manga doesn’t shy away from how brutal all this can be. There’s no downtime for these girls, and although they click with each other well and two of the three members are excited to be there, it doesn’t change how much hard work it all is. Because smiling whilst also singing and dancing is something you need to keep up, despite how tired you may feel, and it takes practice, and with their debut gig being on a major stage, they must give it 100% to not only sell their group but prove they deserve to be up there.
The thing that disappointed me most about this arc is that, despite the driving force behind the whole idol group being Ruby, she’s not the POV. It feels like a missed opportunity, and I really hope she gets her own time to shine in the next arc, considering how sidelined she’s been so far. But the POV character we do follow is a character who’s been building up presence since the first volume: Kana Anima. Child actor, turned actress, now part of an idol group, whilst also having lingering feelings for Aqua (plus the knowledge of her apparently having a failed solo singing career when she was a child) all leads up to her crushing self-doubt. She’s very pessimistic, and you can see why, having been in the entertainment industry for many years now, with little to no support from her agency or even her family. It’s easy to see why she just views this idol gig as ‘just a job’ rather than an opportunity for more, as the other two girls do. But the conflict of her not wanting to get her hopes up for something more, being shoved into the spotlight when she’s not fully committed, but also can’t help but feel unloved when she sees the audience’s glow sticks for the other girls and not her, it’s a complex of emotions that anyone can relate to. We’ve all had moments where we want to be left alone, but also need someone to understand what we’re going through. The moment where she’s at her lowest but sees a shining light in the form of Aqua in the audience is a really good move; it’s not a fix it to all her issues but just the moment of support she needed to perform her best. I also couldn’t help but love Aqua’s ‘constructive feedback’ at the end of their gig; not only is it totally in character but to see the interaction between him and Kana is great too.
There’s also a little extra moment in the manga that seems out of place but I wanted to talk about. There’s a brief moment in Chapter 39, just after B-Komachi’s concert but before the car ride home, where we follow a new character Mana Suzushiro who’s part of a much larger idol group performing on another stage. When she sees B-Komachi’s (specifically Ruby’s) performance on stage, she has a moment of realisation that she is done with the entertainment industry. We get a brief montage of all her efforts, how she’s part of a 100+ group, and how she tried to stand out from the crowd with small acting roles and such, but she never gained the fame she sought. However, seeing one performance by Ruby makes her realise that she no longer has the hunger for it; her description of it being like ‘snapped like a broken thread’ really struck me. Admittedly, I’ve gone through something very similar in the past, so that’s probably why such a small moment had a profound effect on me, but I also think it adds to the whole picture of [Oshi No Ko] as a whole. Yes, the entertainment world can be exciting, brutal, fulfilling, enjoyable and soul destroying. It’s also not for everyone, sometimes, it’s OK and even healthier to get out of it, when you know it’s not for you, rather than keep trying the same thing repeatedly, expecting different results. Sometimes you can eventually break through the bad moments (like Kana did at the concert) but choosing to quit for the sake of your own mental health is also just as valid, because the entertainment industry is like any other business; it’ll drop you the instant you’re no longer of use to it.
Taylor Engel continues to translate the manga splendidly and provides handy translation notes at the back. Art by Mengo Yokoyari also continues to be one of the best; from the vibrant idol concert feeling as packed and exciting as the series wants it to be, as well as really giving each character a distinct look (and with a growing cast, that’s essential).
Volume 4 of [Oshi No Ko] isn’t as densely packed with themes and drama as the previous volumes, but it’s still an entertaining ride with great character moments and the building mystery of Aqua’s investigation alongside it. It’ll be interesting to see where we go from here as we enter the 2.5D Play Arc!
Our review copy from Yen Press was supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.
