Oshi no Ko Season 2 ‒ Episode 23

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©Aka Akasaka x Mengo Yokoyari/Shueisha, “OSHI NO KO” Partners

One lifetime later, Sarina is reunited with her beloved Goro-sensei, but it’s nothing like anyone imagined. Naming this episode of Oshi no Ko “Reunion” was such a cruel irony, considering the monkey’s paw situation that actually occurred. What began as a vacation episode packed with light-hearted hijinks quickly turned serious and supernatural as Aqua and Ruby set out on separate quests for the same answers—and the worst part was when Ruby succeeded. Peppered with significant moments and meaningful flashbacks all the way to episode one, this penultimate episode of Oshi no Ko was nothing short of phenomenal.

Before we get to this episode’s most shocking moments, I want to highlight how funny it managed to be as well. I’m impressed with the way this anime can swing the pendulum between two very different tones without feeling discordant. It manages to capture Kana’s (joking) personal hell—Akane joining the trip as a last-minute addition—and Ruby’s (serious) personal hell in the same episode without either moment losing its intended delivery. The first half of the episode was filled with funny moments. Mem-Cho’s comedic bemoaning of her advanced age is relatable to any adult who’s tried to say how do you do to their fellow kids. I hope nobody missed that when the girls were taking pictures in front of a Miyazaki landmark, Akane’s cell phone camera was zoomed in to Kana’s face. It was funny when Aqua worried the girls would fight only for Akane to shift into her ultimate Kana fangirl form. Akane is indeed one of us.

It’s fitting that Aqua and Ruby’s birthplace of Miyazaki is considered an occult hotspot, considering the supernatural shenanigans that occurred there 15 years ago. As both Aqua and Ruby take Akane along for separate scouting missions, I assume it will be only a matter of time before someone as intelligent as Akane connects the dots and realizes both siblings are searching for the same person. I thought it was brilliantly done when the pair’s separate flashbacks united to paint a full portrait of what Sarina and Goro-sensei had in common, and why they specifically might have been chosen to be reincarnated as Ai’s twins. It was a kind of karmic retribution for two souls who never experienced a mother’s love. What do you think the narrative means when it’s said that Ai had “two soulless children?” I’m partial to the fan theory that without the reincarnation shenanigans, Ai’s kids would not have survived. Though you’d think a good obstetrician would have noticed if the fetuses weren’t healthy! By the way, I also appreciated the plot reason for Goro becoming an OB-GYN. Though it’s a perfectly normal profession for a man and I’m grateful to the male doctor who attended my daughter at her birth, the first episode was such a horny trust-fall of bizarre fetish material that it’s gratifying to see Akasaka had a plan all along.

If you skipped the ending credits, go ahead and watch them now, because there’s a brief but significant change. It was always clear the crow was holding something, and now we know exactly what it was. In this critical scene it was impossible not to think about the concurrently-airing Yatagarasu, since these crows are something more than a natural phenomenon. The white-haired girl who knows too much still hasn’t been given a voice credit, but she must be a supernatural being controlling the crows. The placement of the corpse behind a shrine is too perfect. And in the stark, brilliant light of Ruby’s cell phone flashlight, the truth is finally uncovered in one dramatic moment. Aqua lost his starburst when he let go of his quest, now Ruby’s is dimming in something like despair. This episode felt like it was five minutes long as it nailed the highs and lows, and I can only imagine what’s in store for the finale.

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Oshi no Ko Season 2 is currently streaming on
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Lauren writes about model kits at Gunpla 101. She spends her days teaching her two small Newtypes to bring peace to the space colonies.

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