Oshi no Ko vol. 4

It appears that I should’ve waited until the release of this volume before posting my thoughts on this series so far.  That’s because it contains the last bit of the manga adapted for the anime as Ruby, former genius child actor Kana, and Youtuber Mem-cho – who is hot off the success of “Let’s Fall in Love For Real” with Aqua – team up to form a new idol act.  They’re adopting the name of Ai Hoshino’s old group, B*Komachi and are looking to follow in her successful footsteps.  Which is going to be somewhat difficult since two of them are tone-deaf, another is dealing with crippling anxiety relating to her showbiz struggles, and none of them have any experience with the physical demands of being an idol.  Sure, Aqua could help them out with this, but his relationship with Kana is all sorts of complicated now after his work with Aakane on that dating show.

Everything I said last time still applies to vol. 4.  The art is functional and the showbiz lessons are obvious, but the characters are likeable and the comedy works more often than it doesn’t.  There are also interesting bits that didn’t make it into the anime, such as an extended scene with an idol who sees B*Komachi perform and realizes that she doesn’t have what it takes to make it in the industry.  Rather than come off like a villain origin story, it’s a measured bit of reflection that sees this minor character take stock of what she’s accomplished so far in her life and make a rational decision about what to do with it next.  More of this would be appreciated going forward, but I’m still expecting better things from vol. 5 as we get into territory the anime hasn’t covered and Ruby, Kana, and Akana wind up in a stage play inspired by that multimedia manga/anime megahit Demon Slayer Tokyo Blade.