How Oshi no Ko Failed Its Audience

Last year, Oshi no Ko concluded with its final chapter. After a long, harrowing journey of what it means to be in the industry, the truth behind showbiz, and the complexities of relationships, the narrative ended in, quite literally, what the audience referred to as “anti-climatic”. Aqua completed his revenge, but committed suicide, framing Hikaru, his father, as the perpetrator while they both drowned.

It can be argued that Aqua simply felt that he wouldn’t be worthy of living as a result of revenge. However, Ruby’s happiness was frequently addressed in the sense that if Aqua’s revenge was completed, she would be sad if he was gone. In a story that was meant to criticize the cycle of hatred and breaking free from fate, all it did was throw it away.

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What Could Have Been

A fan-made alternate ending by 半吊子Bill on YouTube, re-imagines the ending of Oshi no Ko in which Aqua goes through with his revenge, but rather than killing himself as well, he recognizes his own worth and walks away from the scene, thus freeing himself of that hatred. Yet still taking accountability in that only Aqua would live with the fact that he committed murder. Just like in the other chapters, an explanation was given about how he managed to get away with it.

By posing as his dad, Aqua created a witness in a hotel worker, thinking that Hikaru was still alive. This would affect how the authorities would determine the time of death. Moreover, Aqua attended B-Komachi‘s final concert, cheering for Ruby and fulfilling his promise to Kana – a homage to their first concert. This is observed by Akane, who keeps his secret between the two of them. Though Aqua still has doubts in his mind and his actions haunt him, he is able to move forward. Aqua fulfills his promise to Ai, Ruby moves on, the end is satisfactory.

Going Downhill

As observed in the fan-ending, other chapters and series of events didn’t need to change for the story to end in a different direction. However, one arc did fail in its storytelling. The movie arc, where Aqua and Ruby portray their parents, has them perform an on-screen kiss. Kana acts as the audience surrogate, pointing out how strange it is to openly show (let alone promote) incest. While this could have been used as a means to explore the acting industry (as there are actual cases of family members playing lovers), and addressing the issue, it was still used for shock value and comedy.

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Moreover, after Ruby found out about Aqua’s identity, she began pursuing him. Again, this could have been explored, in that her childish desire to be with him carried over from an obligated “promise” Goro had made to her in the previous life. But rather than that element being fleshed out and clarified, Aqua seemingly doesn’t have a problem with it, either; even though, in previous chapters, he kept her away from his drama.

It wasn’t until a dream sequence that he has with his past self, does Aqua “let go” of his former identity as Goro and address Ruby as his sister. Ruby also seemingly moves on from him, but the audience never saw it explicitly. Aqua evidently always saw Ruby as his sister regardless, and viewed Sarina as his patient. From the get-go, it would have been more reasonable for him to set boundaries with her sooner. But a potential opportunity for character development and more insight into the entertainment industry just fell flat.

Learning From The Past

After the author’s previous work, Kaguya-sama, ended, readers observed that the final arc and ending were messily put together as well – leading many to believe that the same thing would happen with Oshi no Ko. Assuming that the sequence of the events in the story was a result of it being rushed, they were correct. But given the audience’s reception to Oshi no Ko‘s ending, let’s hope that mistake isn’t repeated for a third time.

Oshi No Ko

Release Date

April 12, 2023

Directors

Daisuke Hiramaki

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