Oshi no Ko

Episode 9

After the emotional endurance test that was Akane's online bullying arc, it's about time we get a breather, and Oshi no Ko is ready to deliver. This week, we're exchanging Aqua's brand of intensity for Ruby's, which has a lighter and funnier vibe. But even Ruby's sparkling enthusiasm (and naivete) for the entertainment industry can't overpower the core message of Oshi no Ko: nobody in showbiz is who they seem to be. From relatively harmless fibs from the likes of the surprisingly wise Mem-Cho and the songbird Kana to the shadowy backstory of Ai's camera-ready facade, its secrets, and lies abound. Though "B-Komachi" is all about building the action into the season's likely final arc, smooth transitions between storylines and consistency of messaging and voice make this episode shine.

When I mentioned wanting more anime to feature not only high schoolers but also older adults, Mem-Cho's little secret was not exactly what I had in mind. And if her backstory is cliché, it's only because it has likely been repeated thousands of times among aspiring starlets, forced to set aside their dreams until a sexist society is ready to cast them aside for a newer model. Mem-Cho couldn't have found a more enthusiastically accepting audience than Ruby and Kana, the former amid the second incarnation she knows of, and the latter who is all too familiar with the feeling of being aged out of marketability. One clever footnote: co-author Aka Akasaka already gave us a clue that Mem-Cho is older than she appears. When Aqua described his ideal woman, she instantly named an idol who is dead for more than a decade. If she is nine years older than the twins, that would place her around 13 at the time of Ai's death—right at the age when music preferences solidify.

Mem-Cho is far from the only performer who presents herself differently than she is in reality. The next day in Ruby's homeroom, Frill Shiranui reveals herself to be far funnier than she lets on, horning it up on Aqua and his castmates in a completely deadpan. You know you're thinking with your libido even Minami, the gravure model, thinks you should tone it down! It's one of the episode's lighter moments, but it doesn't last. Minami points out that female performers with a gift for comedy have to keep it under wraps, lest they reveal themselves to be wittier than the male viewers they are trying to charm. Coming right after Mem-Cho's explanation for fudging her age, it's another brick in the depressing wall in front of showbiz success for female performers. However, some subtext is less obvious: what the heck is an “internet sea slug,” as depicted on the cover of the book that Aqua, and later Kana, is reading? At least I completely grasped the inside joke that was Kana's English-language “Baking Soda” shirt thanks to ANN's interview with Mengo Yokoyari last month: “A reader told me about it when it first became popular, so I drew it on Kana's clothing logo as a form of 'reverse importing.' I like it because it sounds cute!”

While the new B-Komachi is bonding, Aqua is still lurking around the shadowy underbelly of the entertainment world, hanging out with the increasingly untrustworthy Producer-san. Who the heck takes a teen out for $400 sushi? The same kind of enabler who helped Ai meet up with her clandestine older boyfriend/probable murderer a decade ago. When Aqua asks the producer why he's helping him, the producer replies that he sees Aqua's potential—and an opportunity to invest in his future success. He may be Aqua's ally now, but he is not Aqua's friend, just as he wasn't Ai's. He is interested in maximizing others' potential but not interested in protecting them. Back when Aqua persuaded the director of Love Now to give him the raw footage of Akane and Yuki embracing, he said, “Who wouldn't choose to protect a 17-year-old?” The answer is probably this guy.

Mem-Cho's fib and Ai's facade pale this episode in comparison to Kana's layers of lies—which are remarkable because she's not just lying to others but to herself. Kana's charm is that she has examined herself as thoroughly as she would examine any character for a role. She is painfully aware of her deepest flaws in an almost ego-less way—she can smile as she offers a rundown of her greatest faults. And unlike most insecure people, who receive this feedback from inside their heads, Kana is getting it from a live studio audience. She has presented herself as a product since childhood and has been discarded. So while she can look at her problems with pinpoint accuracy, she is unable to see her good points, of which there are many. Since she sees herself as a product, she only sees herself in terms of how that product sells. She has acting chops, but her latest show didn't do well, so she believes she is a bad actor. She has a great singing voice (she must know that from karaoke!), but her songs didn't sell, so she considers them worthless. She is unable to separate Kana the product from Kana the person. This is how Aqua can get to her. He is as critical of other people as Kana is of herself. So when he bestows his rare praise upon her, she is confident that it means something. That's why she took Aqua's fake relationship so hard. Meanwhile, Aqua seems genuinely hurt by Kana's distance. “Keep this up and even I will be hurt,” he says, and despite his constant manipulations, there's a ring of truth to it.

The episode caps off with the show's second full music video, and it's a far more pleasurable sonic experience than the squeaky pep, Pieyon. By now, I'm also caught up with the Oshi no Ko manga, and what continues to delight me about the anime is how the music brings the story to life in a way that I had to imagine in my head during the comic. From her bell pepper era to the ethereal glow of her breezy pop song "Full Moon," Kana is made more vibrant through her music. Everyone in Oshi no Ko may be hiding behind a facade, but the secret of Kana's musical ability deserves to be divulged.

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Oshi no Ko is currently streaming on HIDIVE.

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