Professor of Ai Hoshino studies - if you had Ch 163 be Aqua having a final convo with Ai rather than Crow Girl, what would you have them talk about and say? Hopefully no Ai going "Thank you for suiciding to save your sister's idol career ❤️ Teehee ❤️ " (since I would assume that's what would've happened if the manga had used Ai instead LOL)
Ngl, I actually think the 163 talk is pretty... it's fine for what it is and I think it's outright good in that it emphasizes and drives home that Aqua was just an eighteen year old boy who was struggling to carry a weight that had been dumped on him well beyond the capacity of even most fully grown adults. Even past 150, I saw so many people insisting that Aqua was definitely 100% Gorou with no break in the continuity of identity and thus that Aqua was 100% Totally A Grown Adult With Grown Adult Cognition And Reasoning and would evaluate all his actions under that lens and hold him accountable to that standard. And while that's like... it's fine as an individual's interpretation of the text, the issue is that it was very clearly not the canon text's interpretation and thus the reader would inevitably butt heads with it. So having essentially the Literal God of OnK's world basically look into the camera and Directly State To The Reader that Aqua should be understood as just some kid who was fucked up and doing his best is. well i feel slightly exhausted that it was necessary but I'm glad it happened.
I also think that like... I'm really in two minds about Aqua and Ai never having that sort of reunion. I think it's very clearly a deliberate choice on Aka's part that I can respect to a degree. Not only has he had Tsukuyomi really drill it in that Ai is gone and never coming back, but iirc he and Mengo once described OnK in an interview as an "irreversible" story, that nobody in it can go back to the past however much they want to. So I think refusing to give Ai a ghost cameo or give her an afterlife chat with Aqua is like… as a storytelling choice, I can respect it.
but at the same time. come on, man. COME ON, MAN. DO I EVEN NEED TO JUSTIFY IT ANY MORE THAN THAT!!!!!
The main problems with 163 as it's presented in the manga are, firstly, that it follows up on Aqua's big "i was reincarnated to kms for my sister's career" speech and makes no attempt to refute it - and thus implicitly agrees that this is the case and affirms Aqua's choice to do so as the correct thing. In other words, Oshi no Ko approves of Aqua committing murder-suicide... so long as he does it for the correct reasons.
I also generally think the little "perfect world" dream that Aqua sees is like... plastic and hollow to a really OOC extent. I understand that this is basically a "sinless world" type of deal where everything goes right, but it's just really hard for me to imagine Aqua wishing that for Sarina when he was so sickened and furious at how she was treated by Marina, and also just kind of gross from a metatextual perspective when we know that Sarina's parents were at best neglectful and at worst outright emotionally abusive based on what we've seen of them.
I think it also sucks that it puts all this weight on Gorou and Sarina's lives, rather than Aqua and Ruby's - especially when we know what a massive impact they've had on so many people who love them. Like... great, it's nice that Gorou and Sarina are surface-level happy but what about all the tension and conflict still going on in B-Komachi? What about Ai's inner conflict and misery and her desperation to love and be loved? Kana, Akane, Melt, Taiki - none of these people whose lives were touched by the Hoshinos are given any real weight in this chapter and it makes that assertion that Aqua's life as Aqua hit just a bit less effectively.
SO! Here's how I would've done 163.
(uh. this got way longer than anticipated so. behind a readmore it goes!!!!)
The structure of the chapter is mostly unchanged and the big difference is just the details.
We start in the 'perfect world' dream sequence again, but this time it's a world where everyone was happy. The way I imagine it is that we start off with a few panels of the B-Komachi concert to make the reader think they're seeing what's going on over there and from there, we'd get a few pages showing how happy everyone is in this world - Kana and Akane are thriving in their acting careers, Ruby is shining as an idol and Aqua himself is just leading a chill life following his dreams. And then at the last second, we see panels of two people who are not explicitly Gorou and Sarina but are clearly probably those two, to give the reader a sort of "huh???" moment.
Aqua watches all this goes down and struggles to understand what he's seeing. Then as it gradually sinks in:
Aqua: So this is…
[ A speech bubble comes from off panel, answering Aqua's question. ]
???: It's a dream.
[ Aqua reacts with shock and whips around. Over the next handful of panels, we slowly draw in towards his expression as the unseen speaker continues. ]
???: Or I guess I should say it's your dream. The kind of world you always wished you could see…
[ Cut back to the B-Komachi concert - another idol joins the girls on stage and they all react with surprise and delight, especially Ruby. We don't see her face, but it's immediately obvious who she is - I think it'd be cute if this panel paralleled the art of new gen B-Komachi & Ai that Kappe did for the 2023 IchiPro Fan Thanksgiving event. ]
???: … even if you knew it wasn't possible.
[ Cut back to Aqua and we finally see who's speaking… and obviously, it's Ai. ]
From there, their reunion intentionally parallels Aqua's "impossible dream" from ch65, where he embraces her in tears - this time, rather than the 'untouchable' Ai of his dreams, this one cries and embraces him in return, letting us know that this really is the real Ai. They have a sweet reunion where Ai comments on how well Aqua's grown up.
Aqua protests that she's wrong - that he's spent his life using and hurting the people around him for his revenge and even now, he's selfishly left his sister behind. I'd probably move some of his 162 speech here, letting him directly address what he says about his 'duty' of protecting Ruby and that being the reason he was reborn to another person. Then he realizes he's just said that to Ai and freezes up. Not only is this the first time he's ever admitted the truth of his reincarnation to anyone, but he's just said it to Ai.
Ai doesn't react with surprise and the idea we get, even if only implicitly, is that this Ai already knows. She gives him basically a more emotional and less exposition-y version of Tsukuyomi's dialogue about him inheriting Gorou's will and memories, etc - but stops there and says explicitly that yes, Aqua's a good kid, but that carrying all those burdens and sacrificing himself wasn't his purpose. He was reborn to love and be loved and to find happiness. That's all.
Aqua reacts with shock. It takes him a few moments to try and process those words and he obviously struggles. Eventually, he asks her - if he wasn't reborn for revenge or to carry on Gorou's will and protect Sarina, then what has he been doing all this time? Who even is he?
[ Ai gives him a sad smile. ]
Ai: You've been carrying these grown-up memories all this time… but you're still just a child, you know? You’re such a hopeless softie, you just can’t stand seeing anyone else suffer, and even if you never get anything in return, you still help anyway.
[ Same double page spread as original 163 - Ai embraces Aqua, while we see a collage of flashbacks to Aqua's life as Aqua in the background. ]
Ai: You're a young man who's always angry at the world’s unfairness and at all the senseless obstacles life threw at you. But even so, you kept going. You were so young, but you worked tirelessly. You wanted to experience romance, just like anybody else. And even though you lied just like me… you still loved your sister and all the other people by your side.
[ Cut between Aqua and Ai's tearful faces - Aqua looking exhausted and yet, somehow peaceful. ]
Ai: All of that was you. My beloved son, Aqua Hoshino.
The two of them exchange "I love you"s - Aqua even says them first and Ai, smiling, says that she knows. She always has and that she loves him too.
Everything fades out and the last shot of the chapter is the Ai keychain.
After yapping for two posts (part 1 and part 2) about Oshi no Ko collabs, here is one more to justify my extensive Googling on this.
Since writing the previous posts, I found a Youtube channel I recommend if you're interested in this stuff.
Theme Parks and Onsens
Oshi no Ko has been highlighted at Yomiuriland theme park in Inagi, Seibuen Amusement Park in Tokorozawa which features a recreation of 1960s Showa era Japan, and Toei Kyoto Studio Park in Kyoto which doubles as a film set for historical movies and TV.
I'm partial to the designs used for both Toei Kyoto Studio Park and Yomiuriland. In the Yomiuriland one, I appreciate that they turned Aqua into a furry. Let this boy have hobbies other than revenge.
The most relaxing collabs were surely with Raku Spa and funnily enough the Arima Onsen in Kobe. Below is Megumi Han, Kana's VA, at Arima Onsen. I assume the other people are staff.
Tokyo Giants
Oshi no Ko did a collab with the Tokyo Giants and let me tell you that the resold merch can be pretty expensive. 8,000 yen for an Ai standee? Come on! She's so cute, though. I also love Aqua repping B Komachi. Sir, this is a baseball game, not an idol concert.
Takachiho, Miyazaki
I'm rabid about this event and now have this town on my wish list of places to visit in Japan. Takachiho is of course the birthplace of Ruby and Aqua and B Komachi goes there to shoot a music video.
The town released images of characters at locations in the town, provided guides to tourists, had decorations and even a bus, and sold merch. The coolest merch item has to be the Oshi no Ko goshuincho. This is a stamp/seal book that is proof of pilgrimage to a shrine or temple. You can give it to a shrine attendant who will stamp it with a goshuin, or seal, and write the date and name of the shrine or temple in calligraphy.
The official Takachiho Instagram has posted a fair bit about the event.
It didn't take place during the event, but a fan visited the town and posted photos at locations shown in the anime/manga.
Karaoke
Oshi no Ko and karaoke? Yes. Don't ask me why. There were collabs with karaoke spots Karaoke no Tetsujin and Karaoke Manekineko.
The former gifted us with the girls in wedding dresses. My brain fizzles out and dies seeing Ai like this. TBH I'm not positive that she's the type to wear a full wedding gown but I'm not complaining. She looks happy and is surely in love with someone nice (I volunteered for the job but was turned down) so it makes me happy.
I have no clue why the Manekineko illustrations feature the characters covered in paint but I dig it.
Games
There have be collabs with games The Idolmaster, BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!, Othellonia, and Caravan Stories. As I understand it, this involved special artwork and, unsurprisingly, gacha mechanics. I don't know much about these games but for Idolmaster, Kana, Ruby, and Mem were added as playable characters and there seems to have been a story.
Rhythm game Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival, playable on the Switch, also has an Oshi no Ko DLC. The below is simply too funny.
The arcade rhythm game Himitsu no Aipri also collabed with OnK. I believe there are physical cards you can scan in order to get Ai outfits.
And that's all I can think of although I'm sure I missed some collabs and more will come out in the future, especially with season 3. There are other things like Oshi no Ko at Jump Festa and the Strawberry Pro Thanksgiving Event in 2023, but I view these as directly related to the series rather than tie-ins.
What all this goes to show is that Oshi no Ko is popular. A lot more popular than I realized when I started down this track. Also, I have too much time on my hands.
Hope anyone who read all this got something out of it!
This is an alternate ending story to the series based on what I personally would've liked to see, it is not in any way meant to discredit the original ending (I love Mengo-sensei's art and her effort put into every chapter too much to ever do that 💕), please enjoy
These chapters aren't that long due to how much time it takes to create so many pages so please forgive me 🙇♂️
I think that Ai loved the twins all along, not just in that last moment. But the word "love" was like a curse for her, so she couldn't actually say it. That feeling only intensified after I watched the anime.
There's an anime original bit where Ai kisses the twins on the foreheads and says, "I'm off" when she leaves for work. That's the kind of thing you can only do with love - she was just too scared to actually put it into words.
-Rie Takahashi Interview (translated here by @aihoshiino)
Mengo: For me personally, I think the heaviest love would be Ai's. Well, her existence feels like a joker card, so it's a bit unusual.
Akasaka: Her desire to love someone was the strongest one of all. She kept singing a fake love, hoping it would become real one day. But, isn't that a real love already? I mean, in order to be liked by people, she acted every single movement in her daily life. You could say she was spreading love 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
-DaVinci magazine interview translated here
Once I have them, I'm sure we'll be a fun, lively family!
Happiness as a mother. Happiness as an idol. Normally you'd have to pick one... but I want both. Ai Hoshino's a greedy girl.
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