The following contains spoilers for Episode 5 of Oshi no Ko, “Reality Dating Show,” now streaming onHiDive.
The fifth episode ofOshi no Kotakes a break from Aqua’s quest for revenge and instead focuses on Ruby’s journey of becoming an idol just like her mother Ai. Unfortunately for her, her path is a tough one, especially since she still needs to find members for her idol group. The addition of Kana as a member is a big step, but she’ll have to work much harder before she can get off the ground.
In the meantime, Aqua starts appearing on the reality dating show as a favor to Kaburagi. In exchange, he hopes to learn more about the kinds of people Ai was seeing, potentially finding the father he blames for Ai’s untimely death. Both siblings have vastly different goals, but they are both slowly making their way towards them.
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The Second Member
While Ruby admits that Kana would certainly be a fairly popular idol, she is a bit reluctant to ask her to actually do it,since the two don’t get along very much. However, Aqua reminds Ruby that she doesn’t have much choice, especially if she wants to debut as an idol as quickly as possible. To push her forward, Aqua contacts Kana and tells her that he wants to talk to her about something important. Kana misunderstands and thinks Aqua wants to talk about something romantic, but those hopes are quickly dashed when Ruby is present at their meeting.
Ruby asks Kana to join her new idol group. Kana is outwardly hesitant, but inwardly she has already made her decision: she’s an actor, and she has no interest in being an idol. However, she does admit that Ruby certainly has the capability to become an idol. Nevertheless, she is fully intent on refusing Ruby, but before she can, Aqua sincerely requests for Kana to join Strawberry Productions as an idol. Kana tries to refuse, but Aqua is persistent, and before she knows it, she is signing the papers for her contract with Strawberry Productions.
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The Reality Of A Dating Show
In the meantime, Aqua has already begun working on the set ofMy Love With a Star,the reality dating showKaburagi asked him to appear on. The show features a total of six young stars in the entertainment industry and chronicles their journeys as they experience romance together. As someone who is expected to get to know the girls better and experience a blossoming romance, Aqua puts on the demeanor of a friendly and outgoing young man that gets along easily with others. His persona is so different from his normal one that Kana and Ruby are shocked and disgusted by the act he puts on.
As Aqua speaks with the high school streamer MEM-cho, he is already exhausted by the meaningless chatter he has to endure. Nevertheless, he keeps up the act so that he can hear more about Ai’s private life from Kaburagi. While speaking with Yumi Suki about how the reality dating show works, he admits that romance is complicated for him due to his attachment to Ai, though he doesn’t mention her explicitly. Yumi tells Aqua that she wouldn’t mind sharing a kiss with him, which catches him off guard. However, it turns out she only said this because a camera person was nearby, and wanted to get her scene in the show. Aqua is impressed by her awareness and cunning.
Growing As An Idol
In the meantime, Ruby is still frustrated about not having any idol work, even with Kana onboard. However, there is little they can do with no songs to perform or even a group name. To remedy this, Miyako suggests that they start building a fanbase and growing their internet presence by creating a YouTube channel. To help them, Miyako brings in Strawberry Productions' biggest internet talent:Pieyon, a masked strength training YouTuberwho is incredibly popular with children. Though Kana is initially standoffish about learning from such a strange personality, she changes her tune when Pieyon reveals how much money he makes from his YouTube channel.
Pieyon gives Ruby and Kana a few tips for growing their channel, but notes that the best way for them to grow fast is to collab with bigger YouTubers. To that end, Pieyon has Kana and Ruby appear masked on his own channel. Pieyon has them do the Pieyon Boot Dance, an incredibly exhausting exercise routine, and says that if they keep up with him for a full hour, they’ll be able to show their faces and introduce themselves. Though it is tough, both Ruby and Kana manage to last the hour and introduce themselves to Pieyon’s fanbase. Pieyon had planned to edit the video to make it look as if they had done the full hour, but appreciates Ruby and Kana’s earnestness and determination to do it properly. When Pieyon asks Ruby what her group is called, Ruby replies with the name of her mother’s former idol group: B-Komachi.
