After an explosive and unexpectedly dark premiere, Oshi no Ko essentially becomes Aqua's scheme to avenge Ai Hoshino. So, does Aqua get revenge in Oshi no Ko?
Spoiler Warning: There are Oshi no Ko manga spoilers below!
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Aqua Hoshino's Plan Explained
Aqua plans to use his precocious mental development as a child who remembers his previous life and combine it with his medical skills to avenge Ai.
To advance his plan, Aqua becomes an actor despite his hate and mistrust of the entertainment industry.
Aqua concludes early on that his father is also in show business, and that Ai's former lover had a hand in her death.
By acting, Aqua hopes to get close to anyone who might have been involved with Ai Hoshino, run DNA tests, identify his father, and confront him.
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Does Aqua Get Revenge in Oshi no Ko?
As the Oshi no Ko manga is still ongoing, we don't know yet if Aqua will get revenge.
Later manga chapters reveal the identity of Aqua and Ruby's father. Specifically, Hikaru Kamiki was also a child star at the time of the twins' birth.
As Aqua had deduced, Hikaru was indeed involved in Ai's murder by proxy, as he gave her address to an obsessed fan.
Does Aqua Kill His Father?
So far, Aqua hasn't managed to kill his father or get revenge in any other way.
Of course, with the manga not yet completed, anything is possible.
Given Aka Akasaka's subversive and often ironic writing, we doubt that the story would end as a straightforward revenge tragedy with Aqua killing his father and/or dying.
Instead, many fans speculate that Aqua will find a more indirect way to get revenge or that other characters will stop him from killing his father.
The Problem With Aqua's Revenge
It's hard to talk about the plot of Oshi no Ko past the first episode without mentioning Aqua's revenge -- and this has some drawbacks.
One cannot really criticize a creator for choosing to tell their story in a particular way, but the premise does alienate some fans by toning down the premiere's elements, which everyone loved.
For instance, Ai Hoshino was an amazing, complex female protagonist. Despite her naïveté, she knew what she wanted and had a rich inner world.
Her story sheds light on defective and dangerous industry practices, and on the unimaginable pressures a woman in show business might face.
Despite Ai's brutal death, her daughter, Ruby, decides to honor her memory by becoming an idol, too.
However, Aqua's revenge plot draws us away from Ruby's storyline until much later.
The critique of the entertainment industry is still there, and the impossible positions in which it puts young people are still showcased.
However, many fans would have loved to know more of this -- especially from a woman's perspective -- instead of Aqua's obsession with revenge.
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