Summary
The following contains spoilers for Episode 9 of Oshi no Ko Season 2, “Dream,” now streaming onHiDive.
It’s the climax of theTokyo Bladestage play, and Touki, enraged and in despair, after Princess Saya is mortally wounded, attacks Blade savagely. This performance relies strongly on Aqua’s emotional acting, which forces him to face a painful part of his history. It’s an incredibly impactful moment that easilysets this episode up to be the best of the season.
With this week’s episode ofOshi no Ko, theTokyo Bladestage play’s first showing finally concludes after several episodes of incredibly vibrant and wonderfully animated sequences. While the cast is celebrating the successful completion of the stage play, Aqua is still focused on finding his mother’s killer. With a beautiful conclusion to theTokyo Bladestage play storyline, it’s time to pick up the main storyline and get closer to finding the identity of Ai’s true killer, as well as Aqua and Ruby’s father.
Aqua’s Dream
The Lingering Regrets Of The Past
How many times did I wish for it? For that dream that can never come true…
Aqua remembers going to see his first movie performance with Ai, in which she praises him and swears he’ll be a great actor. Back in the present, Aqua rampages on the stage as Touki, fighting Blade with his bare hands even after losing his sword. As he does, he flashes back to the day Ai died,as a shadowy Goro chastises himfor thinking about forgetting his revenge and tells him he doesn’t deserve to forget. Aqua realizes that the shadowy figure is a symbol of his own guilt and regret for having let Ai die. Driven by that pain and guilt, Aqua continues to let his emotions run wild.
Blade eventually defeats Touki, and declares the battle over. However, Princess Saya is beyond saving, because she used her scabbard’s power, which is normally used to pass her wounds onto others, to take on the wounds of everyone on the battlefield. Realizing that Princess Saya likely wanted to do this to stop the fighting, Blade and Tsurugi use the scabbard to reverse the effect, bringing Princess Saya back to life. As Aqua watches the scene unfold before him, he is reminded of a dream where Ai survived her knife attack, and while that could never happen in real life, the emotions of that dream bring emotion to his performance as he welcomes back a revived Princess Saya.
The Play’s Aftermath
A Job Well Done
It’s so frustrating! It ticks me off! Mark my words: I’ll come out on top before the play’s run is through!
With the play concluded, friends of the cast run backstage to congratulate everyone on a job well done. Akane and Kana happily accept the praise, but inwardly find themselves struggling to match the other. Outside, Kaburagi and Director Kindaichi discuss the particulars of the play,and what it truly means to be a star. Kaburagi theorizes that it is persuasiveness that makes some girls seem cuter than others. While the staff and cast celebrate a job well done, only Aqua seems unmoved, going over the DNA results he’s obtained in secret.
After the end of another fantastic showing, the cast decides to hold a drinking party. Director Kindaichi is among the attendees, and while Kana is reluctant to go herself, she changes her mind once Aqua says he’s going as well. There, Kana quickly gets drunk on the atmosphere while Akane busies herself making sure everyone gets enough to eat. Meanwhile, Aqua attempts to strike up a conversation with Kindaichi, starting with how Lala Lai became a troupe in the first place. When Kindaichi mentions a mistake he made, Aqua attempts to get him to open up, but he becomes cagey and tells Aqua not to pry into personal affairs. Himekawa, having his interest piqued by the mention of a story from Kindaichi’s past, decides to give Aqua a hand in getting the director to open up.
A Surprise Connection
The Next Link In The Search For The Father
Your guys' acting is similar. It’s the acting of someone who’s imperfect.
Himekawa takes Aqua and Kindaichi to a bar full of cute girls serving as hostesses. As the girls slowly get Kindaichi drunk, Himekawa and Aqua chat casually. The conversation eventually turns to the relationship between Kindaichi and Himekawa, as the two are surprisingly close. Himekawa explains that he used to live at a children’s home, and that Kindaichi helped him a lot when he became of age. Kindaichi eventually collapses due to drinking too much, making it impossible to hear the story Kindaichi was keeping secret.
Himekawa apologizes, but Aqua explains that he didn’t actually want to talk to Kindaichi. In truth, he wanted to talk to Himekawa, but he needed a way for the two of them to be alone. He pulls out the DNA results he recently received and gives them to Himekawa, explaining that due to the tests he underwent, he discoveredthat he and Himekawa have the same father. With that established, Aqua asks Himekawa to tell him more about his father.
Oshi No Ko
Oshi no Ko is an animated supernatural mystery series that follows a gynecologist named Gorou, a big fan of an idol whom he is caring for as she prepares to deliver her children. After an obsessive fan of the idols murders Gorou, he is reincarnated as her newborn son - but along with him, a terminal patient he knew is reborn as his twin sister. Years later, after yet another seemingly related murder, Gorou (now known as Aqua) decides to enter the idol world and find the culprit.
