Oshi no Ko vol. 8

The “Tokyo Blade” stage play has completed its successful run and Aqua isn’t sure what his next move is going to be.  Now that he’s found out what has happened to his supposed biological father, he’s at a loss regarding what he wants to do with his life and career.  Ruby, on the other hand, is still completely fired up about becoming an idol, what with the killer new song that has been composed for her group.  Any great song needs an equally great music video to go along with it, and Mem-cho has the connections to make sure they’ll get a good one.  There’s just one catch:  They’ll be filming the video in Takachiho, the small town where Aqua and Ruby died in their previous lives.

With “Oshi no Ko’s” third anime season not set to arrive until 2026, this will likely be the last time I review a volume of the manga without having its events already spoiled for me.  Not that there isn’t some good stuff here – such as Aqua and Kana’s date, and the additional details we get regarding the former’s backstory – but for an anime-first reader like me, I’m just being told stuff I already know.  Here’s hoping I’ll get some actual surprises in vol. 9.

Unless they deal with the mechanics of Aqua and Ruby’s “resurrection.”  While the premise of this series was outrageous in an attention-getting fashion, writer Aka Akasaka and artist Mengo Yokoyari have spent every single volume since the first downplaying it and making the series into a look behind the scenes of aspects of the Japanese entertainment industry.  To suddenly start digging back into the why and how Aqua and Ruby were brought back to life, and adding an explicit supernatural aspect to the story, seems ill-advised at this point.  Not so much so as to make me want to stop reading, but enough to make the phrase “jump the shark” start echoing in my mind.