Oshi no Ko is a dramatic new anime from the Spring 2023 anime season that exposes the pop idol market for what it is: a harsh, exploitative society that turns girls into unhappy shells of their former selves, complete with sparkly falsehoods on the surface. The late Ai Hoshino tried to make the best of a bad situation, but becoming an idol cost her her life.

Now that Ai's twin son and daughter are free to live their own lives, Aquamarine's twin sister Ruby is determined to become the next Ai Hoshino at any cost. Aqua admired Ai in the same way that Ruby did, but he also understands what this industry does to individuals and will not allow Ruby to suffer the same fate if he can persuade her to stop.

 

In the Oshi no Ko idol business, the house always prevails

Ruby Hoshino has already decided that she wants to be a pop idol like her mother by the time she is in her early teens, and as early as Episode 2, Ruby is making a concerted attempt to get recruited into any idol group that would accept her. Ruby's determination to pursue her ambition is admirable, but it has the potential to backfire. The music idol industry did not change or reform in the aftermath of Ai Hoshino's terrible death; it remains the same ruthless industry as before, and if Ai died for her music, other girls, like Ruby, may suffer the same fate. 
 Successful idols have lots of passionate fans, and the male yandere who killed Ai is hardly unique. There may be many more fans just like him, outraged that their favorite idols are lying about love.

Despite its grandeur and happy themes, the idol industry in Oshi no Ko does not care about its talent on a human level. The industry can always find more starry-eyed girls to recruit and place onstage, and Ruby, like her successful mother, will not be able to beat the system. In many ways, becoming an idol is a risk at best, and the house always wins. Aquamarine Hoshino, the resurrected Dr. Garou, is well aware of this and is determined to save his twin sister from the same destiny.

Ai received no plot armor as a result of her superstar status; in fact, the idol industry was the reason she was slain. Ruby is willingly putting herself into the industry, which is a meat grinder with a dazzling facade. Naturally, Ruby's doctor-turned-twin brother can't bear the thought of another girl he cares about suffering in such a way, and he'll go to any length to protect her, even if it means ruining Ruby's hopes.

 

Ruby Hoshino can't let her second life go to waste

Oshi no Ko is a partial isekai anime where two ordinary Japanese people died and were reborn under supernatural circumstances to live new lives. Many true isekai anime portray this as a wonderful second chance to live a great life and pursue something constructive, such as I've Been Killing Slimes For 300 Years and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, but Ruby is currently fumbling with her new lease on life. She died as a sickly tween in the hospital and never got to pursue her own dreams, but now she is reborn as a healthy, beautiful girl with a found family and more determination than ever.

Ruby was never told to become an idol, and no one is making any particular demands of her. She is free to build her new life however she chooses and grow up to become anyone and anything. However, Ruby is dead set on becoming a music idol to honor her mother's memory, and she's setting herself up for misery and hardship. That's tragic enough for any Japanese girl, but Ruby/Sarina is different because she got a one-in-a-million chance to live life a second time and learn from her past experiences. That makes things all the more tragic, with Ruby poised to destroy not just one but two lives, and she only has her protective doctor/brother Aqua to help. Ruby needs tough love to protect her from her destructive dreams and make the most of her new life, and it's up to her to listen -- before it's too late.