List of Oshi no Ko episodes

Oshi no Ko is a Japanese anime television series based on the manga series of the same name written by Aka Akasaka and illustrated by Mengo Yokoyari. Produced by Doga Kobo, the anime series is directed by Daisuke Hiramaki, with character designs by Kanna Hirayama. The music is composed by Takurō Iga. The first season of series consisted of 11 episodes that aired in Japan from 12 April to 28 June 2023. The 90-minute first episode also premiered at selected theatres in Japan on 17 March 2023.

Key visual of the series

At Anime NYC 2022, Sentai Filmworks announced that they had licensed the series, and would be streaming it on Hidive. An English dub premiered on 24 May 2023. Medialink licensed the series in Asia-Pacific and they streamed it on the Ani-One Asia YouTube channel, Netflix, Bilibili, and iQIYI.

After the airing of the eleventh episode, it was announced that a second season was greenlit. It is set to premiere in July 2024.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Storyboarded by	Chief animation directed by	Original air date
1	"Mother and Children"	Daisuke Hiramaki, Chao Nekotomi, Asami Nakatani, Ryōta Itō & Sung Min Kim	Daisuke Hiramaki, Chao Nekotomi & Asami Nakatani	Kanna Hirayama	12 April 2023 (2023-04-12)
Dr. Gorou Amamiya is an avid fan of the idol Ai Hoshino, spurred on partly due to her being the favorite idol of a deceased patient of his named Sarina Tendouji. Gorou is shocked when Ai quietly arrives at his rural hospital 20 weeks pregnant with twins. On her due date, Gorou is pushed off a cliff by Ai's stalker, Ryosuke. He then wakes up and discovers he has been reborn as Ai's son Aquamarine and lives together with her and his twin sister Ruby, who herself is the reincarnation of Sarina. As time passes, the twins steadily learn more and more about the entertainment industry. One year later, Aqua becomes acquainted with both a film director and a child actress named Kana Arima. Two years later, the film ends up being a modest success. However, on the day of her first major Tokyo Dome performance, Ryosuke ends up fatally stabbing Ai, who realizes her love for the twins before dying. The twins are later formally adopted by the Saitous. Ruby decides she wants to follow in Ai's footsteps and become an idol, while Aqua deduces that their biological father leaked Ai's address to Ryosuke, who committed suicide. Many years later, Aqua sets his revenge plan in motion.
2	"Third Option" Transliteration: "Mittsume no Sentakushi" (Japanese: 三つ目の選択肢)	Sung Min Kim	Koji Masunari	Maho Yoshikawa & Kanna Hirayama	19 April 2023 (2023-04-19)
In the twelve years since Ai's death, Ichigo has fallen out of contact, Ai's idol group B-Komachi was disbanded, and Miyako closed down Strawberry Production's idol unit. Ruby has been auditioning to become an idol, unaware that Aqua has been using his acting skills to secretly sabotage her applications and give her false rejection notices. However, he cannot stop Ruby from being scouted by an underground idol group. Not trusting the management of said group and wanting to support Ruby's dream, Miyako decides to finally reopen Strawberry Production's idol unit with Ruby as its first member. Meanwhile, Aqua works as director Gotanda's apprentice, but has given up on trying to be an actor and is content working behind the scenes to find his father. Gotanda advises Aqua not to give up on his dreams so easily, causing him to recall Ai's last words to him. Aqua and Ruby are later admitted into the prestigious Youtou High School, which has a performing arts department. While visiting the school, the twins encounter Kana again, who is glad to see Aqua again but is shocked that he is enrolled in the general education department instead of performing arts.
3	"Manga-Based TV Drama" Transliteration: "Manga Gensaku Dorama" (Japanese: 漫画原作ドラマ)	Kōki Uchinomiya	Takudai Kakuchi & Kenta Ōnishi	Tomoya Atsumi	26 April 2023 (2023-04-26)
Kana is eager to reconnect with Aqua and tries to talk him into getting back into acting, offering a role in a live action adaptation of the manga series Sweet Today. She mentions she has connections to famed producer Masaya Kaburagi, who Aqua recognizes as one of names on Ai's secret contact list he found on her personal phone. Aqua agrees to take a role as an excuse to get close to Kaburagi. Kana secures a role as the show's villain for Aqua, but he discovers the show is a very low-quality production. Kana admits the show cast young male models and prioritized their looks over their acting ability, and she has been forced to hold back her own acting talent. She further explains due to her spoiled behavior as a child, she quickly fell out favor in the acting industry as she grew older. During a break in filming, Aqua manages to collect some saliva samples from Kaburagi's discarded cigarettes and overhears that Kaburagi is only taking advantage of Kana. Despite having gotten what he came for, Aqua decides to stay and go all out on his acting.
4	"Actors" Transliteration: "Yakusha" (Japanese: 役者)	Kuniyasu Nishina	Ryōta Itō	Miki Matsumoto	3 May 2023 (2023-05-03)
Aqua uses his skills to set the scene up for Kana's performance. This gives Kana the opportunity to show off her true acting skills, which earns the praise of the people still watching the show. At the wrap party, Aqua meets Kaburagi again, now knowing he is not his father thanks to a paternity test. Kaburagi mentions that he knows about someone Ai had been spending time with in secret, and offers to tell Aqua who it is in return for starring in a reality dating show. Sometime later, Aqua and Ruby attend their first day at Youtou High School, where Ruby befriends fellow student and gravure model Minami Kotobuki. She introduces Minami to Aqua, and also mentions that the famous professional entertainer Frill Shiranui is also a member of her class. This makes Ruby self-conscious about the fact that she does not have an established place in the entertainment industry yet. She pesters Miyako about Strawberry Productions moving forward with forming their idol group, but Miyako points out that it is not easy for a small company like theirs to recruit idols. Aqua then suggests that they recruit Kana.
5	"Reality Dating Show" Transliteration: "Ren'ai Riaritī Shō" (Japanese: 恋愛リアリティショー)	Sung Min Kim	Sung Min Kim	Kanna Hirayama	10 May 2023 (2023-05-10)
While reluctant to risk her acting career by becoming an idol, Kana decides to sign up with Strawberry Productions so she can work alongside Aqua. However, she is shocked that his next job is for a reality dating show titled My Love with a Star Begins Now, where he stars alongside fashion model Yuki Sumi, dancer Nobuyuki Kumano, actress Akane Kurokawa, internet personality MEM-cho, and musician Kengo Morimoto. Even though Aqua is putting on an act for the show, Kana feels jealous at how he is interacting with his female co-stars. Meanwhile, Miyako gets to work starting up Strawberry Productions' new idol unit. She decides to have Ruby and Kana make their debut online, and enlists the help of one of their veteran internet personalities, Pieyon, a masked physical training YouTuber. Pieyon determines that the quickest way for the girls to gain a following is to collaborate with his established channel. They perform a rigorous workout dance routine for an hour straight, with Ruby earning Kana's respect after seeing her last the entire hour. Pieyon then asks them what their group name will be, and Ruby decides to revive the name of B-Komachi.
6	"Egosurfing" Transliteration: "Ego Sāchi" (Japanese: エゴサーチ)	Kuniyasu Nishina	Kuniyasu Nishina	Tomoya Atsumi, Majiro & Masato Katsumata	17 May 2023 (2023-05-17)
As the season for Love Now continues, Aqua comes to learn that reality show stars are less scripted and more genuine than he had initially thought. Kana teaches Ruby about the importance and dangers of egosurfing, since idols need to carefully manage their appearance and reputation online. The show soon begins focusing on a love triangle between Yuki, Nobuyuki, and Kengo, with Aqua deciding to stay out of it to avoid drawing attention to himself. MEM-cho enjoys an increase in her subscriber numbers, but Akane struggles to stand out and gain attention, leaving her with the least screentime. Under pressure from her agency to get results, Akane briefly loses her composure and slaps Yuki on film, accidentally scratching her face with her freshly-painted nails. While Yuki forgives Akane and Akane herself posts a formal apology, Akane becomes the target of cyberbullying by Yuki's fans. After being constantly bombarded with negative comments, Akane falls into a state of depression and nearly leaps off a pedestrian overpass, only being saved by a last second intervention from Aqua.
7	"Buzz" Transliteration: "Bazu" (Japanese: バズ)	Yasuhiro Irie	Yasuhiro Irie	Miki Matsumoto	24 May 2023 (2023-05-24)
As Aqua narrowly saves Akane's life, Kana cautions Ruby that it is not uncommon for celebrities to commit suicide due to harassment. Meanwhile, Aqua and Akane are brought to the police station where the rest of the Love Now cast goes to meet them. Aqua advises Akane that she still has the option of dropping out of the show, but she decides to stay on. Angry at the show staff who edited the footage to cast Akane as a villain, Aqua concocts a plan. First, he leaks news about Akane's attempted suicide to the media. He then enlists the help of the cast members to create a video to rehabilitate Akane's image. The video proves to be a success, and most of the harassment against Akane dies down. MEM-cho and Yuki then suggest that Akane use her acting skills to adopt a persona that would appeal to Aqua's tastes. When Aqua reveals his like for Ai, Akane aggressively studies her to emulate her behavior. At the next filming session, Akane officially returns to the show, and Aqua is shocked at how perfectly Akane is able to mimic Ai's personality.
8	"First Time" Transliteration: "Hajimete" (Japanese: 初めて)	Daisuke Hiramaki	Moe Suzuki & Hiroaki Yoshikawa	Kanna Hirayama	7 June 2023 (2023-06-07)
Aqua is caught off guard by Akane's performance and is left to reflect on what exactly his feelings for her and Ai are. After having a short talk with Kana, he is able to sort out his feelings, realizing he has no particular attraction to Akane herself. However, upon learning that she is skilled at profiling, Aqua decides to manipulate her to make use of her skills. On the final episode of Love Now, he openly kisses Akane on camera, to Kana's annoyance. At the wrap party, Aqua meets with Kaburagi, who agrees to hold up his end of the deal and arranges for a meeting next week. He then talks with Akane and they both agree to pretend they are dating to keep up appearances. Akane also points out that Yuki has started dating Nobuyuki for real, despite rejecting him on the show. After the party, MEM-cho teases Aqua about his feelings for Akane and reveals that she had originally wanted to become an idol but gave up after several setbacks. Aqua offers her the opportunity to join the reformed B-Komachi, which catches her off guard.
9	"B-Komachi" (Japanese: B小町)	Kōki Uchinomiya, Sung Min Kim & Daisuke Hiramaki	Hiroaki Yoshikawa	Tomoya Atsumi, Masato Katsumata & Majiro	14 June 2023 (2023-06-14)
Miyako interviews MEM-cho and correctly guesses that she is much older than she claims to be. Mem-cho explains the situation that ultimately led to her becoming a streamer. Ruby and Kana overhear MEM-cho's story and accept her as part of B-Komachi. Meanwhile, the popularity of the recent season of Love Now has put Aqua in the public spotlight. MEM-cho's popularity also brings some attention to the new B-Komachi, and she comes up with the idea of reusing the old B-Komachi's songs. However, Kana has difficulty keeping up with Ruby and MEM-cho during training, and she acts coldly towards Aqua out of jealousy. Aqua meets with Kaburagi again, who reveals Ai's secret lover is likely a member of Akane's theater group, Lalalie. He also shows an interest in the revived B-Komachi and offers to secure them a spot in the upcoming Japan Idol Festival. Ruby and MEM-cho get into a competition over which one of them will be the group's center. However, when they research Kana's music career, they discover that she is actually a very talented singer despite her claims to the contrary.
10	"Pressure" Transliteration: "Puresshā" (Japanese: プレッシャー)	Yūji Tokuno	Yūji Tokuno	Miki Matsumoto	21 June 2023 (2023-06-21)
Ruby and MEM-cho decide that Kana would be the best center, but Kana rejects this proposal. However, after hearing the other two sing and practice the routine, she relents. In order to help prepare the girls in the leadup to the JIF, Miyako brings Pieyon back to coach the girls. In reality, it is actually Aqua disguising himself as Pieyon. The night before the concert, Kana hears a bit about Ruby's past and her motivations to become an idol. She decides to wander downstairs, and accidentally finds out Aqua is posing as Pieyon. Come the day of the JIF, B-Komachi are crammed into a crowded room where dozens of other underground or less popular idol groups are fighting for space. Kana spends much of the day brooding over her own failed path to stardom. She even admits to a nervous Ruby that she herself is more nervous going out as a group. However, Ruby reassures her by pointing out that the three of them are all rookie idols, so failure should be expected. No longer afraid, Kana starts taking her position as center more seriously just as B-Komachi's performance is about to begin.
11	"Idol" Transliteration: "Aidoru" (Japanese: アイドル)	Kuniyasu Nishina & Daisuke Hiramaki	Sumie Noro	Kanna Hirayama	28 June 2023 (2023-06-28)
B-Komachi begins their performance, and their first song goes well. However, Kana begins to lose self-confidence when she observes that the majority of the audience are only there to see Ruby and MEM-cho. However, she witnesses Aqua among the crowd cheering them on, and suddenly finds her motivation. The performance proves to be a huge success and on the way home, Kana finds out that Aqua's relationship with Akane is merely a professional one. A relieved Kana starts interacting normally with Aqua, while MEM-cho senses a looming love triangle between them and Akane. Sometime later, Lalalie is selected to perform a stage adaptation of the popular manga Tokyo Blade, and Kaburagi is asked to provide some outside talent since Lalalie has few young performers. Kana and Akane are both cast as characters in a love triangle with Aqua's character, and Aqua discovers that the two actresses have had an intense rivalry with each other since their child actress days. With the casting complete, the crew for the Tokyo Blade play begins their preparations, Ruby heads off to visit Ai's grave, and Aqua swears once again to track down their father.

Home media release

Vol.		Episodes	Cover character	Release date	Ref.
	1	1	Ai Hoshino	28 June 2023
	2	2–3	Aqua Hoshino	26 July 2023
	3	4–5	Ruby Hoshino	30 August 2023
	4	6–7	Kana Arima	27 September 2023
	5	8–9	Akane Kurokawa	25 October 2023
	6	10–11	Mem-cho	29 November 2023

External links

• Official anime website (in Japanese)