Are 'Oshi no Ko' and 'Kaguya-sama' Connected? (2024)

One of the anime series that fans can’t get enough of right now is Oshi no Ko, which follows the storyline of a reincarnated young man trying to solve the mystery of his death and the murder of his new mother, a young idol named Ai Hoshino. Of course, while there are many things good about Oshi no Ko, fans can’t help but compare it to other manga and anime by the same author. We are talking about Kaguya-sama: Love is War, which has shown a few similarities with Oshi no Ko. So, are Oshi no Ko and Kaguya-sama connected?

Aka Akasaka, the author of both Oshi no Ko and Kaguya-sama: Love is War, confirmed that both storylines occur in the same universe. He also said that Kaguya-sama takes place earlier than Oshi no Ko, as he tweeted that the characters of Kaguya-sama are already young adults in Oshi no Ko.

Of course, the storylines of both Oshi no Ko and Kaguya-sama are entirely different, even though they are both from the same author. In that regard, it was surprising when the author announced that both manga take place in the same universe. Of course, other than the fact that they are from the same universe, we will talk about a few subtle connections.

Oshi no Ko and Kaguya-sama take place in the Same World

There are a lot of different fictional storylines that have connections with one another as they take place in the same universe. Of course, we can’t help but think of comic book storylines from Marvel and DC, as the different superheroes in these respective fictional universes exist in the same universe. The same can also happen in anime, especially if the storylines come from the same author. For example, Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump exist in the same universe.

In that regard, one of the things that we know is that there are two incredibly popular manga and anime titles that fans can’t get enough of and were written by the same author. We are talking about Oshi no Ko and Kaguya-sama: Love is War. They both have different stories and themes, but the thing is that they are both from the same author.

Oshi no Ko follows the story of a reincarnated doctor that was given a second chance in life as Aqua, one of the children of a young teen idol named Ai Hoshino, who was one of his patients before he was murdered. However, Ai was murdered by the same stalker that killed him in his previous life, which is why Aqua is now looking to solve the murder of his mother while traversing through the life of idols.

Meanwhile, Kaguya-sama: Love is War follows the story of a student council in a prestigious school. The president and vice president of the council are secretly in love with one another. Still, they are too afraid to admit it out of fear that the first person who admits will become the one who doesn’t have control over the relationship. As such, the story follows the misadventures of the student council as they traverse through their different school activities and teenage romance.

So, as you can see, the stories of Oshi no Ko and Kaguya-sama are very different, even though they come from the same author, Aka Akasaka. Of course, Oshi no Ko still has a few rom-com elements that have always been prevalent in Kaguya-sama. But the thing is that Oshi no Ko is darker and more serious compared to the lighthearted approach of Kaguya-sama, which has always been about romance and comedy. And let’s not forget that there’s a supernatural element in Oshi no Ko due to the theme of reincarnation, as there are hardly any supernatural themes in Kaguya-sama.

Even though they are entirely different in their storylines and themes, Oshi no Ko and Kaguya-Sama take place in the same universe. And this isn’t something that fans merely speculated, as the author himself confirmed it.

The translation of the tweet says:

“[3rd “Kaguya-sama Suggestion Box”] A.007 From Akasaka-sensei

☆[Oshi no Ko] takes place a few years after Kaguya-sama, and it seems that the student council members have become members of society.”

In that regard, it is clear that Oshi no Ko and Kaguya-sama take place in the same universe, as mentioned by the author. This means that even though they have different stories and themes, both of those titles happen in the same world. Of course, they don’t happen simultaneously, as this was one of the things that the Akasaka said.

Oshi no Ko and Kaguya-sama connections

Of course, while it has been confirmed that both Oshi no Ko and Kaguya-sama take place in the same universe, fans were quick to speculate about this when they saw what happened in the manga. That’s because an extra page in one of the manga chapters showed that Ruby Hoshino was in a photoshoot, and Kaguya took her photos. Nevertheless, there were hardly any interactions between the two as it is clear that what happened in Kaguya-sama didn’t affect the events of Oshi no Ko and vice versa.

Then again, other connections can be seen in Oshi no Ko. The ‘Sweet Today’ fictional manga in Kaguya-sama was still ongoing. However, in the events of Oshi no Ko, the storyline of that manga has already ended. And that means that they both take place in the same universe, albeit with different timelines, as it is clear that Oshi no Ko takes place years after the ending of Kaguya-sama, which has already had three successful anime seasons.

Another good detail that can be seen in that appearance by Kaguya in the Oshi no Ko manga chapter is that she took up the surname of Shirogane instead of her given the surname of Shinomiya. For those who don’t know, Shirogane is the surname of Miyuki in Kaguya-sama. Miyuki is one of the two main characters of the Kaguya-sama storyline and is the male half of the dysfunctional romantic tandem of the manga and anime.

That means that Kaguya ended up marrying Miyuki as she carried his surname. This means that the ending of Kaguya-sama will favor the two main characters, as the cameo appearance made by Kaguya in Oshi no Ko serves as an epilogue to the original storyline.

Other than that, there are hardly any connections between the two storylines because they have different characters and different themes and stories that are not connected to each other. That means that the storyline of Kaguya-sama doesn’t affect the events of Oshi no Ko, and vice versa.