“Brief” articles are copied directly from my tumblr, with only minor changes, and are shorter and more off-the-cuff than their full length counterparts.
I’m glad we’re going all-in on the “conniving Ruby” plot here because I think at this point it’s surpassed the whole Aqua <–> Akane <–> Kana love triangle for me in terms of the various things this show can do that I’m personally interested in. She spends a lot of this episode trying to get close to Yoshizumi Shun [Takenaka Yuuto, in what appears to be his first role of any real note], an assistant director on the show she and Aqua both work on. Shun is the sort of industry everyman that Oshi no Ko really likes to spotlight so it can make you feel super, super bad for them. And the show does a great job of that here! Portraying Shun as someone really suffering under the thumb of his boss (a former bigshot who was hired here after some scandal or another) and having to constantly scramble to get the show airing on time.
The whole cosplayer interview bit he gets stuck with here seems truly humiliating for everyone involved, including the cosplayers themselves who include his own younger sister (who he has to pressure into participating). The reveal at the end of the episode that they don’t actually have permission to interview cosplayers who are identifiably dressed up as characters from super popular shonen-thing and frequent in-universe presence Tokyo Blade is very funny. Just have everyone change their costumes at the last minute! It’ll definitely be fine! This isn’t going to have hilarious knock-on consequences that will be surprisingly important down the line, I’m sure.
Maybe more important than the actual plot beats is the direction for Ruby’s character that Oshi no Ko really commits to here. She’s infamously been a bit of a secondary presence in a show where she’s nominally one of the protagonists, and at least so far, the third season seems to be really trying to change that. Admittedly, this involves making her more like Aqua in several ways—cunning, always trying to get her name out there, searching for the truth of her mother’s death—but honestly, while that may be true, “Aqua but a girl” is plenty interesting as a character concept on its own. (And it’s not like they’re strict clones of each other even now.) She’s also surprisingly funny, securing a role as the idiot of the cast in that variety show she’s on. As the show’s gotten darker these little sprinklings of humor have gotten a bit rarer, so it was nice to see some here.
I’m not entirely sure how much of the manga the series has left to cover. My impression is that most people dislike the ending, which has led to Akasaka Aka having something of a reputation as a guy who can start interesting stories but not finish them. (Although, honestly, I’ve always thought the Kaguya-sama ending was pretty good.) I am interested to find out whether that’s more warranted here or not, but in either case, I am at least still quite enjoying the ride.
I should also give a shout out to the absolutely devastating OP sequence that debuts with this episode. Not only is the song fantastic, maybe the best Oshi no Ko has ever had, but the visuals really just have to be seen to be believed.
Me when I have to get a broken heart painted on my back for the music video to symbolize the weight of the heartbreak I’m carrying because I’m a dramatic bitch and don’t do things normally.
I’m particularly fond of B*Komachi’s whole dance routine, the sequence that turns the late Ai into a very literal icon, and of course, all the shots of the huge black stars in Ruby’s eyes. Scary stuff!
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