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What is the plot?
Gorou Amamiya, an obstetrician-gynecologist in a rural hospital, treats his patient Sarina Tendōji, a terminally ill girl who idolizes the pop idol Ai Hoshino of the group B-Komachi. Ai, secretly 16 and pregnant, visits Gorou for confidential prenatal care, revealing her pregnancy to only him and her manager. While Gorou steps outside for fresh air on the night of Ai's delivery, a stalker who knows about the pregnancy stabs him to death. As Gorou dies, he reincarnates as Aquamarine "Aqua" Hoshino, Ai's newborn son, retaining all his past memories. Aqua realizes his fraternal twin sister Ruby Hoshino is the reincarnated Sarina Tendōji, also with her past memories intact.
Ai raises Aqua and Ruby in secrecy as a single mother, unable to publicly acknowledge her children due to idol industry rules against relationships. Ai performs as the leader of B-Komachi, hiding her family life. Four years pass with the family living privately, Ai doting on her children while balancing her career.
One night, Ai returns home late from work. Aqua and Ruby excitedly greet her. Ai reveals she has a boyfriend and plans to introduce him soon, smiling genuinely for the first time in front of them. Later that night, Ai leaves to meet her boyfriend. The stalker, the same one who killed Gorou, ambushes Ai in their apartment building, mortally stabbing her in the chest. Ai staggers back home, collapses in front of Aqua and Ruby, and dies after confessing her love for them and admitting she learned to love them despite initially faking her idol persona.
Aqua and Ruby discover the dying stalker hiding nearby. The stalker confesses his obsession with Ai, says he tailed her from a fan event, and reveals Ai's boyfriend gave him their address. The stalker then commits suicide by stabbing himself. Police arrive, and the twins are taken in by Ai's manager, Ichigo Saitou, who raises them.
Years later, Aqua and Ruby enter high school. Ruby, determined to become an idol like Ai, auditions for opportunities. Aqua supports her but vows internally to find and kill their father, suspecting him as the accomplice who leaked information to the stalker, and plans to infiltrate the entertainment industry for revenge.
At school, Aqua meets Kana Arima, a former child actress now struggling, who vows to become his rival after he outperforms her in class. Ruby befriends Mem-Cho, a social media influencer. Ruby passes an audition for a new B-Komachi revival group led by Ichigo, joining alongside Kana and Mem-Cho after competitive tryouts where Ruby's talent shines.
Aqua enters acting to pursue his revenge investigation. He researches Ai's past connections. The group prepares for their debut. Aqua dates Akane Kurokawa, a top actress, strategically to access industry information through her connections, as she wins a role opposite him.
The B-Komachi revival debuts successfully online. Aqua continues investigating, identifying potential leads on their father from Ai's old acquaintances.
Aqua and the teenage cast, including Kana, Ruby, Mem-Cho, and Akane, participate in a reality dating show called "My Teen Romantic Comedy is Wrong, As I Expected" adaptation, scripted for drama. During filming, Akane, playing Aqua's love interest, flubs a scripted scene by hugging him too genuinely instead of following the emotional cue precisely.
Online fans criticize Akane harshly for the mistake, sparking a firestorm of hate comments accusing her of ruining the show. Akane apologizes publicly, but backlash intensifies.
Akane spirals from reading negative comments, facing anger from classmates at school. Her mental state deteriorates.
Akane attempts suicide by standing on a balcony edge, ready to jump. Aqua arrives just in time, talks her down step by step, grabs her arm, and pulls her to safety, saving her life.
Kana grows jealous of Aqua's closeness to Akane and other girls on the show. Aqua and Kana skip school together. They play catch in a park, where Aqua admits he has crushes on girls his age but prefers older ones. Kana angrily calls him a jerk for kissing Akane on the show and demands he kiss her instead.
A love triangle emerges with Kana developing feelings for Aqua, while Akane determines to win him over after he saved her. Aqua hugs Akane reassuringly amid the resolved show drama. Ruby confides in Kana about suicidal thoughts some days, and Kana admits the same, with Ruby noting lying protects oneself. Aqua presses forward with his hidden revenge quest, hiding it from Ruby and classmates, as his investigation nears results.
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Short Summary
Aqua confronts his father Hikaru at a cliff and, realizing the only way to protect Ruby is to eliminate the threat permanently, stabs himself and throws both of them into the water below, where Hikaru drowns. Ruby discovers Aqua's skeletal remains in a cave and grieves his death, but ultimately moves forward with her idol career, determined to shine brightly and keep telling her story despite the darkness she has endured.
Expanded Narrative
The final arc of Oshi no Ko unfolds with mounting tension as Aqua's resolve to protect his sister crystallizes into action. Throughout the story leading to this moment, Aqua has wrestled with the question of revenge against Hikaru, the man responsible for his mother Ai's death. His friends and loved ones, particularly Akane, have urged him not to kill his father, understanding the moral and practical consequences such an act would bring. Yet Aqua recognizes a fundamental truth: as long as Hikaru lives, Ruby remains in danger.
The confrontation occurs while Hikaru watches Ruby performing live on stage. Aqua appears before his father once more, and this time the interaction is different from their previous encounters. Hikaru attempts to manipulate Aqua psychologically, arguing that killing him will only damage Aqua's reputation and harm Ruby's perception of her brother. The logic is sound on its surface, but Aqua has moved beyond such considerations. He understands that leaving his father alive guarantees continued threat to the person he loves most.
At the cliff's edge, Aqua makes his choice. He stabs Hikaru and forces both of them over the precipice into the water below. Even as they fall and strike rocks, Hikaru clings to life. Aqua, bleeding and weakening, continues to fight, choking his father in the water until Hikaru finally drowns. In his final moments, Hikaru experiences a supernatural vision of all the people he has murdered pulling him deeper into the depths, a manifestation of the weight of his crimes.
As Aqua's consciousness fades, he dreams of his past life as Gorou. In this dream, he receives news that Sarina's surgery was successful. Her hair grows back. She is no longer confined to a wheelchair. She becomes an idol and lives a full life. This dream represents what Aqua has made possible through his sacrifice: Ruby, the reincarnation of Sarina, now has the opportunity to live the life that was stolen from her in their previous existence.
Aqua's final thoughts crystallize his purpose. He reflects that he was not born to seek revenge, but to protect his sister. Being a twin meant he was closest to her, and he is grateful that this time he can die before her, ensuring her safety and future.
Time passes. Ruby eventually discovers the skeletal remains of Dr. Goro Amamiya in a cave. The discovery is devastating. She spends considerable time brooding and slowly accepting the grim reality of her brother's death. The sparkle in her eyes darkens as she processes this loss. She grieves alongside Akane and Kana, though she grieves differently than they do, internalizing much of her pain.
Yet Ruby does not remain broken. She tells herself a small lie--that she is not sad--and this lie becomes a source of strength rather than denial. She channels her grief into her work as an idol. She returns to her apartment and prepares for rehearsals. She walks forward determined to keep telling her story no matter how difficult things become. She is resolved to keep smiling on stage.
The final image of the series shows Ruby shining brightly as a star in the night sky, even against the world's darkness. A young fan looks up at her, seeing her radiance. Ruby has made a choice despite her own hard past, despite losing her brother and never getting a chance with her first love. She continues forward.
The fates of the main characters at the story's end are as follows: Aqua dies by his own hand, sacrificing himself to eliminate the threat his father posed and to give his sister the future she deserves. Hikaru drowns, his crimes finally catching up with him. Ruby survives and becomes a successful idol, carrying forward the dreams of both her mother Ai and her brother Aqua, who are both now dead. Akane and Kana continue their lives, supporting Ruby as she moves forward. The story concludes not with triumph, but with the bittersweet reality that Ruby's opportunity to shine came at the cost of her brother's life, and she must live with that knowledge while choosing to honor his sacrifice through her continued dedication to her craft.
Who dies?
Yes, several characters die in the 2023 TV show Oshi no Ko, with deaths driving the core narrative of obsession, revenge, and the dark side of idol culture. Below is a chronological list of key deaths from Season 1 (covering manga Volumes 1-2, Episodes 1-11), including circumstances, motivations, timing, and methods, drawn from the plot's emotional and visual intensity.
Gorou Amamiya dies first, before the main story begins. As a rural obstetrician-gynecologist and devoted fan of idol Ai Hoshino, Gorou secretly delivers her twins, Aquamarine (Aqua) and Ruby, in his clinic on a tense, stormy night. Ai, pregnant at 16 and hiding it to protect her B-Komachi idol career, trusts him completely, her wide eyes sparkling with vulnerable hope amid the clinic's dim fluorescent lights. But Ai's stalker, a gaunt, wild-eyed fanatic named Ryosuke, leaks her pregnancy news and feels utterly betrayed--watching her for four years as his sole escape from a bleak life, he fixates on her "purity." Consumed by delusional rage, Ryosuke ambushes Gorou outside the clinic with a brutal knife attack, stabbing him repeatedly in the shadows of the countryside road. Gorou collapses in a pool of blood, his final thoughts a mix of professional duty and quiet admiration for Ai, gasping as rain mixes with his blood. This murder reincarnates Gorou as newborn Aqua, retaining his memories and fueling a lifelong quest.
Sarina Tendouji, Gorou's young patient, dies prior to the series start in a heartbreaking hospital scene. A frail 12-year-old girl bedridden with a terminal brain tumor, Sarina clings to Ai's idol performances as her only joy, her pale face lighting up weakly during videos on a small screen. Hospitalized and wasting away, she passes quietly in her bed, tubes snaking across her emaciated body, eyes dimming with unfulfilled dreams of idol life. Her death reincarnates her as Ruby, Gorou's twin sister, carrying the same obsessive fandom into her new life.
Ai Hoshino, the radiant 20-year-old top idol and twins' mother, is murdered four years later in Episode 1's gut-wrenching climax. After a triumphant live performance where she dances under blinding stage lights, sweat-glistened and beaming with star-like charisma, Ai returns home exhausted but joyful, hugging her wide-eyed children in their cozy apartment. Ryosuke, the same stalker, arrives at their door with a bouquet of flowers masking his knife, his face twisted in fanatic betrayal over her hidden pregnancy and "deception." Ai opens the door with a gentle smile, trying to calm him--her internal motivation pure empathy, whispering forgiveness even as blood sprays from her stabbed neck. She staggers back, collapsing before Aqua and Ruby, who huddle terrified in the corner, her blood pooling on the floor as she gasps final words of love: "I wanted to be loved by everyone." Ryosuke flees screaming in horror at her lack of condemnation, later committing suicide off-screen by jumping, his body found broken. Ai's death, visually stark with crimson against her sparkling idol outfit, shatters the twins emotionally--Aqua vows revenge, Ruby clings to her mother's dream.
In later episodes adapting further manga arcs (up to Episode 28 context), Hikaru Kamiki, Ai's biological father and a manipulative actor obsessed with "immortalizing" her beauty, dies in a murder-suicide with Aqua. Years after Ai's death, as Aqua infiltrates the industry for vengeance, Hikaru reveals his twisted philosophy: killing anyone surpassing Ai, including manipulating ex-idol Nino to stab Ruby. Aqua, hardened by grief and self-sacrifice, confronts him on a foggy cliffside at night, rain-slicked rocks echoing their tense standoff. Believing Ruby unsafe forever, Aqua stabs himself first in a surge of protective resolve, then drags Hikaru off the edge. They plummet into churning waves below; Aqua drowns Hikaru but succumbs to his wounds, his final solace a faint smile knowing he shielded his sister, body washing ashore broken and pale.
These deaths anchor the series' themes: Gorou and Sarina's pass quietly from illness and duty, Ryosuke's from unhinged obsession, Ai's in raw betrayal witnessed by her children, and Aqua's/Hikaru's in vengeful tragedy. Additional minor deceased characters exist per source lists, but these form the emotional core of Season 1's 2023 broadcast.
Is there a post-credit scene?
Yes, Oshi no Ko (2023) features at least one notable post-credits scene in its first episode, with additional ones confirmed in later episodes like Season 2 Episode 13.
In the post-credits scene of Episode 1, after the extended 90-minute premiere's devastating conclusion where Ai Hoshino meets her tragic end in a bloody stabbing--her blood pooling on the floor as her wide-eyed twins Aqua and Ruby stare in silent shock from the shadows--the screen fades to black, then gently illuminates with a home video recording. Ai appears on camera, her face glowing with rare vulnerability under soft, warm lighting in their modest apartment, her iconic purple-streaked hair loosely tied back, cradling her one-year-old twins in her lap. She's smiling tenderly, her voice soft and melodic as she whispers a personal birthday message just for them: "Happy birthday, my little stars. Mommy dreams of the day we can all shine together on a big stage, holding hands forever." Her eyes sparkle with hopeful tears, imagining a vibrant future of family performances and unbreakable bonds, her fingers gently stroking their tiny cheeks. The scene cuts back to the present reality, the contrast amplifying Aqua's seething rage and Ruby's dawning trauma, their reincarnated souls--once obsessive fans Gorou and Sarina--now forever scarred, fueling Aqua's cold resolve for vengeance against the shadowy stalker who shattered that impossible dream.
A post-credits scene also appears in Season 2 Episode 13, teasing deeper intrigue by showing the boy who killed a girl as none other than the informant who aided Ai's murderer and Gorou's killer, his sinister smirk hinting at unresolved vendettas as the finale's padded epilogue skips past emotional fallout into vague Season 3 teases.
What are the 5 most popular questions people ask about this title that deal specifically about specific plot elements or specific characters of the story itself, excluding the following questions 'what is the overall plot?' and 'what is the ending?' Do not include questions that are general, abstract, or thematic in nature.
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Will Ruby Hoshino figure out that Aqua is the reincarnation of Dr. Gorou Amamiya after finding his skeletal remains?
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Who is Aqua's father and why did he have Gorou Amamiya killed?
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Does Aqua end up with Kana Arima or Akane Kurokawa in the love triangle?
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What exactly happened between Dr. Gorou Amamiya and Ai Hoshino on the hospital rooftop before her pregnancy procedure?
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Why did Akane Kurokawa attempt suicide after the public backlash?
Is this family friendly?
No, Oshi No Ko is not family-friendly due to its mature themes and graphic depictions that could distress children or sensitive viewers.
Potentially objectionable or upsetting elements include: - Sudden, violent deaths depicted on-screen, including stabbings and murders. - References to murder mysteries and investigations involving family members. - Emotional trauma from parental loss and secrecy surrounding family. - Realistic portrayal of the idol industry's dark pressures, such as exploitation and hidden personal sacrifices. - Early character deaths from illness and violence, shown in detail during key family moments.