Oshi no Ko Season 2

Episode 22

Congratulations to Aqua on resolving his lifelong revenge quest! Without it, Oshi no Ko is free to become a run of the mill romcom where there's nothing more momentous in Aqua's mind than this: which of these two beautiful girls will he choose? Good thing I'm kidding: even Kana's adorable tsundere act isn't enough to carry this show on its own. Instead, it's one of Studio Dogo Koba's original expressionist sequences that has stuck in my head the longest. Even during its simplest episodes, Oshi no Ko continues to be a visual feast.

Now that Aqua's murderous mission has been abruptly cut short, it's time to figure out whether he'd prefer to enjoy his second chance at youth with Kana or Akane by his side. I've made no secret about who I'm rooting for. With her adorable expressions paired with voice actor Megumi Han's cute but bratty performance, Kana is my girl to beat. This episode gave us an image folder full of Kana reaction faces as our favorite tsundere reacted beat-by-beat to her date with Aqua. From her impromptu pre-date fashion show, to her overactive imagination about where the pair might go after dinner, it was funny to contrast Aqua's poker face with Kana's flustered internal dialogue. I think this is the first time Kana has been allowed to show this much “dere” as opposed to her default “tsun.”

We're told that Aqua is this suave because he retains memories of his past life as a thirty something, but this extra experience isn't without its downsides, as Aqua realizes when he unwittingly uses an outdated expression (“Say cheese” is apparently out of fashion) when he takes Akane's picture. Conversely, Akane is also showing her age with their date conversation: the “dot mask” filter that she applies was an Instagram trend in 2021, when this manga chapter came out, but it's not as popular anymore. This idyllic date might have continued, but Akane is simply too smart for her own good. She can read between the lines when Aqua says he needs to talk to her about something. And later, she can detect the critical loophole in Aqua's reasoning about his dad. You see, Aqua did a DNA test on Himekawa, confirming that he's his half brother without a doubt. But he did not do a DNA test on Himekawa's dad. There's another possibility that Akane sees instantly with her haunted expression: perhaps there's another guy out there who fathered both of them. And while it would have been an extreme reaction, that would even explain the murder-suicide with Himekawa's “parents” if the dad realized the mom had been unfaithful and Himekawa wasn't actually his. I was impressed by the expressionist sequence that visualized this theory more succinctly than I could paraphrase it. The growing specter of Aqua's dad is strong enough that Akane, walking home, can't resist looking over her shoulder: she can feel his evil presence lurking nearby even now.

So, who is that man at the end of the episode, bringing Ai a bouquet of flowers that's identical to the one Ai's murderer used to conceal his knife? The credits refer to him as “Sunglasses Man” with the voice actor credit “? ? ?” but based on his resemblance to Aqua and Ruby, and what he says to Ai about Ruby being their child, that this is the twins' father without a doubt. But is he the man behind Ai's murder? If he is, then this is our first time seeing the primary antagonist of Oshi no Ko, and it only took 22 episodes to get there. I'm undecided because this goes against the Golden Age rule of mysteries that the culprit is supposed to be someone mentioned in “the early part of the story.” Oshi no Ko's manga is still ongoing (though in its final arc) so we may very well be in the early part of the story… and that bouquet choice is too sus to ignore. It's going to be an interesting trip to Miyazaki next week, that's for sure.

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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.