Interest

Oshi no Ko AnimeJapan Stage Event Teases an “Otaku” Anime Experience

The popular manga series 【OSHI NO KO】's first anime episode premiered to wide success before the official air. While not everyone was able to see the episode in theaters, the cast of the anime series was at AnimeJapan 2023 to prepare the uninitiated for its TV debut this spring.

And what better way to introduce the series than to have the in-series YouTube and TikTok star MEM-cho give us a quick synopsis? The simple concept—the gynecologist Goro's favorite idol, Ai, visits his office one day with a secret nobody knows about—instantly conjures images of a dramatic story, yet the saccharine image of MEM-cho evoked a rather different tone.

It was the perfect tone setter for the introduction of the cast members at the AnimeJapan 2023 stage show. As the actors each came onto the stage, we were treated not just to who they were and who they were portraying, but what they (or quite possibly their characters) thought the best part of themselves were. Beginning with Rie Takahashi (Ai Hoshino), Takeo Ōtsuka (Aquamarine “Aqua” Hoshino), Yurie Igoma (Ruby Hoshino), Kento Itō (Goro), and Manaka Iwami (Akane Kurokawa), most described some aspect of their physical appearance. In fact, as Aqua and Ruby are twins, their actors gave almost identical answers without skipping a beat: Ōtsuka praised Aqua's face while Igoma highlighted Ruby's face.

As the cast settled in for the show, they began to talk about the first episode's premiere. They were all content with its massive 90-minute length—almost as long as some children's movies—and they all had a good laugh when it was suggested by Takahashi that the person who decided to make it 90 minutes is most certainly an OSHI NO KO otaku. The cast then commented that they were envious of those who would experience the anime without knowing any information about the series beforehand. The crowd quickly became excited after the second promotional video was shown. It revealed some new material, but what piqued the audience's attention was the reveal of Manaka Iwami and Rumi Okubo as Akane Kurosawa and MEM-cho respectively. The clincher was when the two actresses then appeared on stage—a surprise for all in attendance.

The air in the hall crescendoed with announcements for some of the ancillary media that is currently airing, but more specifically will be airing in tandem when the series begins airing in April. This includes a live radio broadcast hosted by Ōtsuka and Igoma, along with more YouTube videos by MEM-cho. That's correct: MEM-cho (the character) and not Okubo (the actor). During her announcement, MEM-cho appeared on screen to scold Okubo for going into too much detail. Is it movie magic? Probably. Or perhaps MEM-cho and Okubo are considered two separate people.

While the time was short, the cast members certainly piqued the interest of this reporter. I hope many others take a look at the near feature-length film first episode in mid-April to see just how otaku it truly is.