#oshi no ko ch143

[tenebriskukris]

Oshi No Ko Chapter 143 – My Thoughts/Analysis

I knew we were going to be in for a real treat when the previous chapter ended the way it did, and boy howdy did this chapter not disappoint. Spoilers for Oshi No Ko Ch143 below.

The chapter starts off immediately where the last one ends. I said in my previous analysis that we might cut away from Aqua’s reaction where it stands but to see them commit to showing the entire scene like this is a really good sign. Considering how things are framed in the manga, giving this interaction continuous spotlight without cuts is really going to hammer in the importance of this chapter even further.

“I can’t help it. If I don’t hold you tight, I feel like you’ll suddenly disappear, sensei.” Rubyyyyyyyy. You really have to feel for her in this scene. After finding out Goro died when he was the reason she wanted to become an idol in the first place and now that he’s here in front of her you can’t blame her for being so clingy to him. 

Ruby asking him to call her Sarina-chan is as precious as always. Aqua trying to brush it off is also quite in-character for him. The man can be insensitive toward other people’s feelings sometimes—mostly because of his own Issues—but his heart’s in the right place. Not to mention his own trauma pushing him in the direction where he thinks he doesn’t deserve anything good happening to him. Trauma can be a bitch like that.

Ah, I’m sure the mental age comment is going to have people riled up again. It might be relatively accurate for Aqua—though not fully, as we’ve already seen the lines between Aqua and Goro blur by his own admission—but Ruby didn’t get the chance to grow this old in her previous life. This is all new to her, whereas for Aqua he’d already had the chance to be this age in the past.

…Aqua owns a pair of glasses? I recall he had a pair in the first few chapters of the manga where he wanted to deceive that one girl but it’s the first time that’s been brought up in awhile. It could be Ichigo’s but we haven’t seen much of him since he reappeared.

“You always listen to my selfish requests no matter what.” I’ve suddenly been attacked by the mental image of Sarina staying up late to watch B-Komachi and Goro telling her to go to sleep and in exchange he’ll record the concert for her to watch later. 

He looks so similar to Goro in this scene with him wearing the glasses. Perhaps it’s the way the panel and his hairstyle is drawn, but I’m already reminded of the first chapter of the series. The callbacks…

What did I just say about the callbacks??? Ruby asks Aqua if he’ll marry her in a joking manner and again Aqua brushes her off like in the first chapter. Holy shit.

And Ruby’s using the 18 years old line here. I was wondering when she was going to bring that up. And seeing her being praised by the person she loves…it’s so sweet. We really needed some levity after how dark and depressing the past few chapters were. Depending on the atmosphere of some media an onslaught of darkness can be fine, but Oshi No Ko isn’t solidly grimdark enough to justify it.

Ruby is really piling on the pressure here. To her, those meetings with Goro in the hospital room were her light. They were one of the only things tying her to life and a better future since even her own parents didn’t give her the relief of human interaction. Is it any wonder that she was so attached to someone who treated her with overwhelming care and affection? Sarina wasn’t even his patient and he took time out of his day to be with her and comfort her through her ordeal. Of course she was going to be attached to him and vice versa. Those days might have been the happiest she had ever been.

And of course Aqua’s trauma rears its ugly head. It’s an integral part of his character that I’ve seen so many people discount since the series has started. His entire character is built upon the guilt that he feels for being the reason(in his mind) about why his mother is dead. Am I talking about Ai or Goro’s unnamed mother? Either works—but the fact that Aqua’s been put into a situation where he feels like he’s the reason why someone he loves is dead isn’t going to do him any favors. Any sort of healing he’d done over the years as Goro had suddenly been ripped apart after Ai’s death. 

Aqua with his singular white star eye… Oh jeez, he’s really letting down his barriers in front of Ruby now, isn’t he. And I also note that he doesn’t have that black star eye in his other eye. In half the chapter alone Ruby has already done more for him than any of his other love interests. I mean seriously—Kana didn’t even seem to notice Aqua’s entire facade, and Akane couldn’t even partially drag him out of it. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Ruby is the most important person to Aqua if he’s reacting like this to her right now. 

And damn—we get to see Aqua’s thoughts on what he’s been doing and how he feels about all of this. This chapter really echoes back some of the things we’d already seen about Aqua and how he thinks, how he reacts and his thoughts on everything that’s happened. The black star eyes return to him as the memories of all the things he’s done come back to him…with the revenge plot looming in the background of this entire interaction. 

Ruby’s star eyes returning as she mentions idols is very on-brand for her. Ditto with this entire infodumping setup about idols. Very cute.

“Sensei, you’re my idol.” Aqua is the real Oshi No Ko confirmed. This is only half a joke as I do think that both Ruby and Aqua are what the title of Oshi No Ko is referring to. So I wonder if in the future Aqua will say that Ruby is his idol as a callback to this scene. There’s also the odd brackets in the whole Oshi No Ko title that I know will be relevant due to Word Of God but I’ll table that discussion until it becomes more relevant.

“Thank you for being alive.” It’s quite plausible that this might be the first time he’s heard those words before. Goro’s relationship with his grandparents wasn’t exactly the coziest from what I remember, Ai famously had issues speaking about love and intimacy, and Miyako would always have some sort of distance with the twins even if she was their foster mother. Even Aqua’s other love interests haven't even got that far with him to say those words.

Blind follower, huh. I know that there’s some translation liberties taken with this scene considering the underlying currents behind those English words, but someone made a better explanation of the subtleties that were lost in translation that I’ll link here.

Oh hey it’s a mention of an event that only happened in the Spica novel! That whole thing where Goro ran to get Sarina concert tickets. I was hearing some slop about how people were talking about it being noncanon because of the material in it and because it was written by another author, but with the Oshi No Ko writer’s blessing, so it’s great that we finally have some confirmation on that end. 

“Nothing’s changed. You’re still the first love I adore.” Putting aside the whole “first love” bit which I will get to later, it’s also curious to note that his behavior from when he was Goro vs Aqua hasn’t changed from Ruby’s perspective. As the only person to see both Goro and Aqua—aside from Ai, but she’s dead—she can make such a statement and leave it uncontested. 

This monologue from Ruby about how she’ll accept everything about Aqua wholeheartedly…it really tugs at some heartstrings. Whatever evils, whatever burdens Aqua will endure, Ruby will accept them all alongside him. It’s a stark contrast to Akane wanting to “save” Aqua from himself. And makes it perhaps doubly hilarious that Akane hasn’t done anything plot relevant to actually stop Aqua’s revenge scheme—hell, she’s even now a part of it.

DID SHE REALLY PULL A TITLE DROP THERE???? AND WITH AQUA SHOWING WHITE STAR EYES AS WELL?????

Oh my god we cut back to the movie Ai and Hikaru kissing. I can’t believe it. On one hand I’m mad because we didn’t get the buildup for it on the set itself and context for it there, but on the other I’m just as satisfied because we finally got to see them set their feelings on the table and FUCKING KISS. 

I NEED to know whether or not Aqua has white star eyes after the kiss scene during the movie. His eyes are still closed in the final panel but if they’re still white after it I think that’s game. Both Kana and Akane have had their shot at dragging Aqua back from the abyss and failed but if he still has white star eyes in the next chapter and keeps having them for the long term…then it’s pretty much over.

Thematically, none of the other girls were able to understand Aqua enough to make him shine again. Akane could only understand a fraction of the whole of Aqua, and Kana can only see Aqua’s facade without exerting the effort to understand him deeper.

But I don’t think this is the climax of the entire arc just yet. Things still need to develop for Aqua and Ruby with the movie production further—there are still issues with the script that need to be touched on, Crow Girl’s presence, Hikaru lurking in the background, and Ruby’s former mother still shrouded in darkness. There’s still plenty of things that’ll still need spotlight on—I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re only about a third or so of the arc down, which is already concerning considering it’s already the longest arc we’ve got. But I’m sure I’ll have words to say on that mess and the entire state of the movie arc after it finishes.