Animeranku

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Oshi no Ko Season 2: Underlying Guilt

Highlights

  • Abiko and GOA collaborate to revise the play script, but unexpected emotional hurdles challenge some actors’ performances.
  • Aqua struggles with emoting in his scenes, triggering past traumas, leading to a dramatic collapse during rehearsal.
  • Akane discovers Aqua’s hidden past and tries to provide comfort and support without delving too deeply into his painful history.



The following contains spoilers for Episode 4 of Oshi no Ko Season 2, “Emotional Acting,” now streaming on HiDive.

With Abiko now finally more receptive to working with GOA on the Tokyo Blade stage play script, the rehearsal can finally move on with a brand-new script that is incredibly demanding as to the actors’ skills. While many relish the challenge, some of the actors are a little less enthusiastic about having such a difficult script to deal with, especially Aqua, who has trouble bringing out his emotions in his acting.

The newest episode of Oshi no Ko pulls back from its usual focus on the entertainment business to look back at the event that started it all. It’s a sobering look at how traumatic events can have long-lasting effects, and Oshi no Ko tackles the subject with the right amount of delicacy.



A Resolution For All Sides

Peaceful Collaboration Between Creator And Scriptwriter

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“However much of a genius manga artist you may be, you won’t be able to write an exceptional one right off the bat!”

While resting in a back room, Raida learns that Abiko has come to see the Smash Heaven stage play and immediately has her brought in for a meeting. He tries to butter her up at first, but when he remembers Aqua’s words, he starts explaining to her how exercising her rights as an author could lead to the production forging ahead with a mediocre script. Raida insists that even a genius mangaka like her couldn’t make a perfect script on her first try, and that she likely wouldn’t get a chance to revise due to how little time is left for rehearsal. Abiko is reluctant, but when she is told that GOA was the one who wrote the play she just saw, Abiko allows GOA to keep working on the script, with one condition.


Raida puts together a group call with GOA, Abiko, and her editor, with the plan being for the two of them to work on the revisions together. Raida is worried about the possibility that the two won’t get along, but surprisingly, Abiko and GOA end up gelling together very well. After taking some time to understand each other’s visions and sensibilities, the two suddenly begin making radical changes to the script. While Abiko and GOA manage to finish revisions with everyone happy, Raida now has a new worry, as the new script is possibly even more troublesome than he bargained for. However, he takes it as it is, as there’s simply no more time to make any further changes.

Emotional Acting

An Unexpected Stumbling Block

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“Aqua-kun… If your mom were to die, what would you do?”

The script makes it to the actors, who are stunned at how much it has changed. The exposition has been cut down massively, requiring the actors to pull out all the stops in order to convey the story properly to the audience. It’s a script that puts the blame on the actors if it doesn’t work out, but the actors relish the chance to utilize their acting chops to the fullest. The same can’t be said for Melt, who isn’t the most confident in his abilities, or Aqua, who has always had trouble showing his emotions.



As a result, Aqua has trouble performing some of Touki’s more emotional scenes, in particular one where he is relieved to find Princess Saya has survived a dangerous injury. While attempting to more properly grasp the scene, Kana tries to help Aqua get in touch with the right emotions by asking him how he would feel if his mother died in front of him, unaware that such an event had actually happened. She then suggests Aqua also think about what makes him happy. He reflects on his memories of the past, and while he starts to feel cheery, he is brought down by a shadow of his past self, who condemns him for failing to protect Ai. The swell of emotions causes Aqua to collapse.

An Unhealed Trauma

Scars Of The Past

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“Well, I suppose there’s no forgetting it. I mean, it even haunts me to some extent.”


Aqua leaves rehearsal early to get some rest. As his “girlfriend”, Akane is asked to check on his well-being. Realizing that Aqua is having a panic attack, Akane tells Aqua that she needs to call his family, but Aqua asks her not to, as he doesn’t want to remind Ruby of what happened in the past. Nevertheless, Akane insists on taking him somewhere so he can get some proper rest, so he relents and has her take him to Director Gotanda’s apartment. There, Gotanda tells Akane a little bit about Aqua’s past, keeping the details largely vague.

Akane goes to watch over Aqua while Gotanda continues his work. As Aqua sleeps, he inadvertently mutters the name Ai, which triggers a chain reaction of realizations within a listening Akane. She suddenly realizes that Aqua’s traumatic history might line up well with Ai’s tragedy, especially considering his strange devotion to her. By the time Aqua wakes up, Akane is in tears thinking about the possibility, but instead of trying to get confirmation, she simply holds him close and tries to comfort him as best she can.




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