The Oshi no Ko Manga Vol 2 Manga Showcases Aqua’s Ambitions

With the first volume of the Oshi no Ko manga, we saw Aka Akasaka setting the stage. Aqua and Ruby, Ai Hoshino’s children, definitely play major parts. But a lot of the focus is on ensuring we care as much about their idol mother Ai as they did, to help ensure we’re invested in the story and things to come. With volume 2 of the Oshi no Ko manga, the kids don’t need to share the spotlight anymore, and it especially starts setting the stage for Aqua to begin taking steps to find answers and work toward his new goal.

This isn’t to say that Ruby doesn’t also feature quite often in these chapters. Rather, it’s more that Aqua is a driving force for many of the actions in the second volume of the Oshi no Ko manga. After all, it begins with him working behind the scenes to make Ruby believe she didn’t make it through one idol audition. Only for it to show a page later that her brother faked it using the phone of his mentor, Director Taishi Gotanda. This moment is brief, but immediately pulls the attention away from her by showing exactly how the events of the first volume changed him irrevocably and that he’s already willing to do terrible things in the name of his plans for revenge.

We immediately see a pattern as the story goes on. Ruby gets scouted by another idol group. Aqua then uses Ichigo Productions to talk to a performer who is already with that company to learn about what they’re like. Ruby goes to a school catering to young adults in the entertainment industry. Even though he’s smart enough to attend far better ones, he joins under their general education division. So for multiple chapters, we’re seeing the efforts he’s taking to try and achieve one goal, which is to keep his twin sister safe. Whether the actions are benign and underhanded, he’s willing to do what it takes, helping to establish him as a character.

However, the second half of volume 2 of the Oshi no Ko manga focuses on Aqua getting closer to his more dangerous goal: finding their father. He’s determined based on the events of the first volume that this person is directly tied to Ai’s fate, and is going to use the entertainment industry to work out his identity. That means taking a job on the live-action adaptation of Sweet Today that doesn’t have the best reputation to get close to someone who knew his mother and could provide a connection. It’s fascinating to watch these calculated movements.

But even though Aqua is absolutely becoming the Oshi no Ko antihero in this volume, we’re also seeing moments that show his calculating nature can be used in genuinely good ways. He gives Kana a chance to show exactly how good of an actress she is in Sweet Today. He also does so by seeing exactly what needs to be done to bring out the best in an actor who was hired for his looks and name, rather than his ability. This doesn’t benefit him in any way. Rather, he does it because it would help Kana, someone he’s also come to care about in his way.

In a way, the second volume of the Oshi no Ko manga is all about helping us understand Aqua. He experienced a major trauma in the first volume. This changed him and gave him a new sense of purpose for life. One is that he’ll try and protect his sister Ruby and save her from Ai’s fate. The other is that he’ll do whatever it takes to avenge his mother. In each case, we’re seeing that he’ll do whatever it takes to make both of his goals happen.

Yen Press is handling the English localization of the Oshi no Ko manga. Volume 2 arrived on May 23, 2023. The anime is streaming on HIDIVE, and the original Japanese with English subtitles and an English dub are available as viewing options.

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