Oshi no Ko Season 2

Episode 18

The 2.5D Stage Play Arc was far from my favorite Oshi no Ko manga arc. I felt its focus on a different character spread it too thinly every week. Fast forward, and this arc's anime adaptation has become my weekly highlight. This arc's alternating character-driven stories are made stronger with powerful voice performances, an evocative soundtrack, and gorgeous animation, elevating the material into a brand-new experience. This week digs into the origins of Akane and Kana's rivalry, folding their years-long cold war into the conflict of the play. The result is a deep dive into both girls' psyches that frames their different approaches to acting while endearing them to the audience.

The episode's title is "Sun," and sure enough, the very first frame is of a white-hot spotlight—a motif to which the episode returns at pivotal moments. It's a premonition of what's to come: an episode entirely about who occupies that space and who is allowed to shine the brightest under its warmth. As the Tokyo Blade play continues, Kana and Akane go above and beyond in their roles, as Abiko-sensei and one of the producers noted. When it's finally time for them to face off, during Princess Saya and Tsurugi's one-on-one battle, the two actors each bring plenty of baggage along with them. Between the pair, this is Akane's episode to narrate. Akane recalls her first forays into acting, inspired by her childhood role model, Kana. But Akane failed to heed that old chestnut: "Never meet your heroes." When she and Kana meet during an audition, Kana is already a hardened cynic who drops some harsh words about the film industry. As Kana's acting jobs began to dry up, Akane realized that Kana had begun to parrot the cynical adults around her and had lost her spark.

This "spark" is a visual cue that continues through Oshi no Ko, especially throughout this episode, and revolves steadily around depictions of light and dark. In one of Akane's memories, Kana closes the door on Akane, leaving her in a darkened room—but for a glimmering moment, the light through the crack in the closing door creates a starburst. Back in the present, as Akane strengthens her tie to the role of Princess Saya, her eyes light up in starbursts akin to Ai's. Imagery and dialogue about the sun and stars continue throughout. If Akane's eyes are twin suns, there's another gorgeous moment in which Kana is depicted with galaxies in her eyes. "Stars can't shine on their own," she says later in a TV interview, justifying her supportive acting style. But it's not support that Akane hopes to draw out of her; it's an intensity to match her own. Akane goes through a stylistic magical girl transformation sequence, first as Saya, then as herself, and then as her child self with outstretched hands—it's a gentle and inspirational scene that wouldn't be out of place in a Studio Ghibli movie.

Everything in Kana's body language and voice performance suggests that Akane's wish reaches her, but then there's a record scratch moment when Kana recalls her child self—spotlit, yet tearful and all alone. There are downsides to shining as bright as the sun. Instead, Kana retreats into herself. The music changes as she stands in front of a grayed-out slideshow of her past, vowing to discard her ego and support Akane rather than rise to match her. It's a brilliant moment of contrast: while Akane recalls her past experiences and draws strength from them, when Kana recalls her childhood, it saps her drive.

At the end of the episode, there's another dreamlike sequence in which Akane as Princess Saya seems to be occupying the world of the play, complete with widescreen film proportions when Aqua as Touki steps into the scene and starts talking about Kana. While up until this point, the intermingling of the actors' drama and the play felt cohesive, this was confusing. Is this happening on film, on stage, backstage, or in Akane's head? It didn't quite work for me, but I can forgive Studia Doga Kobo for its experimentation. These remixes have made the anime a fascinating experience different from reading the manga, and making changes comes with risks. I eagerly anticipate watching how Akane and Aqua team up to make Kana try something new herself.

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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.