Fans of Kaguya-Sama: Love is War are in for another seinen manga/anime treat in the near future. Author Aka Akasaka is a busy mangaka, writing not only chapters for Kaguya-Sama but also his concurrent seinen drama series Oshi no Ko, with Scum's Wish illustrator Mengo Yokoyari drawing all the art.
Oshi no Ko has been serialized in Japan since April 2020, but this series only recently began being translated and serialized in the West over the last couple of months. Fortunately, the industry is working hard to get manga fans caught up with Oshi no Ko's Japanese release, and better yet, Doga Kobo studio of Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie fame will create Oshi no Ko's upcoming anime series. It's a good time to be an Aka Akasaka fan.
The Story, Characters & Themes Of Oshi No Ko
Author Aka Akasaka continues the high-stakes, high-IQ seinen romance themes in his new series Oshi no Ko, but in a notably different way this time around. While Kaguya-Sama is a drama-light comedy about a high school battle of wits, Oshi no Ko is primarily a drama with some partial isekai elements added in, helping to set this series apart. The supernatural plays a role this time, but never does it overshadow the very grounded and emotionally impactful personal drama of Oshi no Ko's compelling adolescent characters. That helps keep this story feeling familiar but fresh at the same time, showing the breadth of Aka Akasaka's creative abilities.
Oshi no Ko focuses on the Japanese idol industry, the drama reality TV industry and the child actor industry all at once, with characters being involved in one or more of those fields. The protagonist is a rural gynecologist named Goro -- a man in his mid-20s who's smitten with the popular teen idol Ai Hoshino, and Goro's young female patient Sarina feels the same way. Tragedy strikes in Chapter 1, when a mysterious hooded man stabs Goro to death. Then, Goro finds himself literally reborn as Ai's newborn baby boy -- a child whom Ai must keep secret from the world. And Goro, reborn under the name Aquamarine Hoshino, isn't alone; he has a twin sister named Ruby.
Now, Aquamarine and Ruby both get another shot at life from square one, growing up as the son and daughter of the mega-idol Ai while trying to figure out what this new life really means for both of them. Can they follow their teen mom's footsteps and make it big in Japan's ruthless, lie-infested entertainment industry -- or were they reborn only to face disappointment and failure once again. It won't be easy, even if Aquamarine and Ruby have serious acting chops and inherited their idol mother's good looks. It's a drama/isekai/idol adventure like no other, and fans of both manga and anime can soon dive right into the story.
Where To Read & Watch Oshi No Ko
There is little information just yet about the upcoming anime adaptation of Oshi no Ko aside from studio Doga Kobo being the pick to animate it, but anime fans can keep an eye out for any production or release schedule updates that the studio may release later. In the meantime, the Oshi no Ko manga is a great option for exploring Aka Akasaka's newest seinen story.
The manga is available in the West exclusively on the Manga Plus app and website -- a popular free app that boasts a formidable library of titles, including exclusive ones such as Don't Blush, Sekime-San! and Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable. Manga Plus, in an effort to catch up to Japan's publications, releases four fully translated chapters every Wednesday at 10:00 AM CST.
As of this writing, Manga Plus has 32 chapters of Oshi no Ko available to read, with the first six and most recent six chapters being permanently available to read and the rest being available to read twice each before becoming locked. It's possible that Oshi no Ko's manga will soon be licensed for a manga release in the West, given that the same happened to another Manga Plus title, Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible. If so, details on where to purchase the Oshi no Ko manga will be added when this information becomes available.