Oshi no Ko Season 2, Episode 3 Recap and Spoilers (2024)

So far in the Summer 2024 anime season, the Oshi no Ko anime has been focusing on the Tokyo Blade stage play, the adaptation of the in-universe Tokyo Blade shonen manga series. This is a big step forward for Oshi no Ko, expanding its critique of the entertainment industry to include stage plays and manga as well as idols. Right now, the production of Tokyo Blade is taking center stage in the anime's narratie, so to speak, and that means some characters must be sidelined while others are introduced and get their chance to shine.

More specifically, Aqua's twin sister Ruby is being benched for now as an irrelevant character who can't stand being sidelinedl ike this, and even Aqua himself doesn't feel that important while the stage play unfolds around him. Meanwhile, Episode 3 focuses even more on Abiko Samejima, the genius young woman behind Tokyo Blade's initial success in the manga world, and while Abiko's position is sympathetic, the time may have finally come for her to bend to the will of others.

Ruby Hoshino Won't Let Herself Be Totally Sidelined

One of Episode 3's first scenes is also one of its least important. With Kana Arima being an important part of B-Komachi, it's a problem for Ruby and Mem-Cho that Kana is currently busy with her major role in the Tokyo Blade stage play. Without Kana around, the new B-Komachi is stuck in place, and Ruby has little choice but to wait for the stage play to be done. Ruby feels restless in Episode 3 with nothing to do, and she almost feels embarrassed by it at school. She has a chat with two classmates, who blend complaining and boasting into one package by commenting on how many commitments they have. Ruby feels left out, and Mem-Cho isn't doing much better, either.

Overall, Ruby's short scene in Episode 3 contributes rather little to Oshi no Ko's second season aside from reminding fans that Ruby and Mem-Cho are still around while the Tokyo Blade production marches on. Such a scene might have hinted at a new plan of Ruby's to become relevant once again and keep herself busy, but there's not much like that in the episode. It's just an obligatory "let's cut to Ruby for a moment" sequence that, in the eyes of some anime fans, might feel like fluff or padding. With any luck, though, Ruby and the rest of B-Komachi will retake center stage and find plenty to do in the next story arc, and continue their brutally honest look at the Japanese idol industry. That subversion is how Ruby's and her mother's careers began, and eventually, Oshi no Ko will need more of that, perhaps in a future third season.

Akane Kurokawa Finds Her Rhythm as Aqua's Boyfriend and a Theater Enthusiast

In the first season of Oshi no Ko, Akane Kurokawa was downright miserable. She was the one who impusively slapped a co-star on reality TV, became an internet pariah, and nearly ended her own life to escape the soul-crushing cyberbullying. For a brief time, it felt like Akane's character arc would be defined mainly by her trauma, turning her into a passive character, but then the love triangle started, and now Akane is part of a stylish stage play that's making her feel more inspired than ever. Fans of Akane Kurokawa can take heart that she is assuming command of her own life and is feeling much better, at least on the outside. She's not even showing her Hoshino-style eye stars that much in Episode 3, either.

As she promised in Episode 2's closing moments, Akane Kurokawa spends some time in Episode 3 taking her boyfriend Aqua to a stage play to prove the merits of this supposedly obsolete medium, and it works well. Akane feels more confident and validated than ever when she enjoys the performance and hears Aqua laud it as well. They see Smash Heaven, a sports series, and Aqua can't help marveling at the technical accomplishments of that production. Aqua also notes that the script is written precisely with theater technology and presentation in mind, rather than copying a manga's story exactly and performing it in real life. Aqua's observations serve as a preview for what Abiko Samejima must deal with during her creative clash with GOA, since Abiko is digging in her heels on the topic of how to write Tokyo Blade's screenplay.

Abiko Samejima Has a Reckoning With Her Identity as a Creator

The manga creator Abiko Samejima played a prominent role in Episode 2, disrupting the stage play by insisting on rewriting GOA's screenplay to suit her own vision of her manga. That plot thread continues for much of Episode 3, with Abiko pushing herself to her limit and beyond as a frazzled manga author. She almost feels like something out of Bakuman, the manga about making manga, being an archtypical "tortured genius" type who refuses to let anyone else interfere with her creative process. Episode 3 makes her character more sympathetic, too, showing Oshi no Ko fans why she is being so stubborn about the Tokyo Blade stage play. For Abiko, it's personal, and in highly vulnerable ways, too. She isn't trying to rewrite the screenplay just to throw her weight around as the original creator of Tokyo Blade. For Abiko, her entire personhood is in the line here.

Abiko is still hard at work alone in her messy office when her senior colleague, Yoriko, arrives to both lectue and support her as someone who cares about and understands her. The two women argue, with Abiko insisting that she knows what's best for her intellectual property, while Yoriko tries to convince Abiko to readjust her perspective. Yoriko wants Abiko to be more practical and not overwork herself as a solo artist, especially with no assistants around to provide support, and Yoriko urges Abiko to also bear in mind that she's no screenwriter. Abiko knows the original material best, of course, but that alone doesn't mean she can do GOA's job better than he can. Tokyo Blade's screenplay isn't just a copy of the original to be acted out on stage — it's a story that's crafted with the physical reality of theater in mind, an expertise that Abiko lacks.

Abiko is reluctant to admit any of this, and she's pushing herself to the breaking point by doing all that work alone. It's not healty for her, and she's not enjoying it, but she persists, with more than mere deadlines at stake. Abiko's tireless work is deeply personal because she fears that without her manga, she is absolutely nothing. All of her self-worth and identity is tied up in her work with Tokyo Blade, because without it, she would just be some shut-in, as she tells Yoriko. She might even be a NEET without her work, being too awkward and introverted to have a social life or pursue other projects. Or at least, that's how Abiko sees it, and she won't take any chances by slowing down her work and trying to have a life outside of her manga studio.

All that makes Abiko more sympathetic as a creator, because she pours her soul into her manga and believes that making any concession about it will damage her self-worth. The truth remains that she cannot tell GOA how to do his job for him, and she did pick that fight with him too late, but at least, Osho no Ko fans can see where Abiko is coming from. Oddly, though, this personal angle of Abiko's is not a genre subversion at all, making her a standout in Oshi no Ko. Abiko's personal arc and her actions are actually pretty typical for how overworked geniuses are depicted in fiction, so in a way, Abiko is a plot device rather than a commentary on the entertainment industry.

Abiko's Clash With GOA May Be Ending Soon

No matter where Abiko stands on the Tokyo Blade screenplay or what it means to her, it's increasingly probable that she will not get her way. She does have a point about understanding her characters and their psychological profiles more than anyone else, but as some Oshi no Ko characters are saying, Abiko needs to stay in her lane. Abiko is an exceptional manga artist and is at the top of her game, but she's not equipped to also play the game of screenplays. There are practical differences between mediums like movies, theater, and manga, and someone who's skilled at one of them may struggle with another. That's not a negative comment on creators like Abiko Samejima -- it's just how this industry works. It takes more than knowledge of the story and characters to master multiple mediums with the same IP, and Abiko is on the verge of admitting it herself.

That, combined with Oshi no Ko's generally snappy pacing, suggest that Abiko's and GOA's clash over the Tokyo Blade screenplay may draw to a close soon, so the rehearsals may continue. Time is already against the producers and Abiko has been driven into a corner on the screenplay debate, so perhaps she will make peace with all this and let GOA do his thing. After all, as Yoriko notes in Episode 3, a manga or anime series and its live adaptations aren't that closely tied. Even if the Tokyo Blade play flops, Abiko may rest assured that her original manga will still be in good shape, ready to forge ahead with or without a great stage play to reinforce its image. Abiko may feel like she's losing on a personal level, but as a manga artist, she's in good shape after all — she can't lose.

Oshi No Ko

TV-14

Drama

Fantasy

A doctor and his recently-deceased patient are reborn as twins to a famous Japanese musical idol and navigate the highs and lows of the Japanese entertainment industry as they grow up together through their lives.

Release Date

April 12, 2023

Cast

Rie Takahashi , Yumi Uchiyama

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

1 Season

Creator

Aka Akasaka

Production Company

CyberAgent, Dogakobo, Kadokawa, Sentai Studios, Shueisha

Number of Episodes

12 Episodes