Oshi no Ko is a globally popular seinen manga written by Aka Akasaka and drawn by Mengo Yokoyari. It has been published since April 23, 2020, in the Weekly Young Jump; so far, ten collected volumes have been released since April 2020. An anime adaptation produced by the Doga Kobo studio premiered on April 12, 2023, with the first season ending on June28,2023. A second season has been announced and while we’re waiting for it, we are going to tell you how much of the manga the first season adapted.
The first season of the Oshi no Ko manga had a total of eleven episodes that aired from April 12, 2023, to June 28, 2023. The first season was a major hit around the world, and it adapted Chapters 1 through 40 of the original manga, which is actually the first four volumes. On top of that, the series itself has been collected in six home release volumes.
This article will be about the overall structure of the Oshi no Ko series, as we will compare the structure and plot of the anime and the manga. Many fans often want to know the pacing of an anime compared to the manga, so this article will tell you that, as you are going to find out, how much of the story has been adapted. The article is, of course, going to contain spoilers as well, but we are going to try to limit ourselves to just the first season and not dive into the future too much.
The first season of Oshi no Ko adapted the first 40 chapters of the manga
Oshi no Ko is a manga series written by Aka Akasaka and drawn by Mengo Yokoyari. The manga began publication in the 21st issue of the year 2020 of the magazine Weekly Young Jump, which came out on April 23, 2020. The publisher Shūeisha publishes the manga chapters in tankōbon volumes as well, with the first volume released on July 17, 2020. Twelve volumes have been released as of July 19, 2023, in Japan.
An anime adaptation of the series produced by the Doga Kobo studio was announced in June 2022. Daisuke Hiramaki was hired as director, and Chao Nekotomi as assistant director. Jin Tanaka was soon announced as the scriptwriter, and Kanna Hirayama was the character designer.
The series’ first season aired from April 12 to June 28, 2023, on Tokyo MX and other channels. The first 90-minute episode also premiered in Japan on March 17, 2023. Yoasobi performed the opening credits titled “Idol,” while Queen Bee performed the ending credits titled “Mephisto.” When the last episode of the first season aired on June 28, 2023, a second season was announced.
So, as we can see, the first season aired for a period of about two and a half months in early 2023, and it encompassed a total of 11 episodes. As for the structure of the episodes when compared to the manga, you can check out this table for more information:
| # | Episode Title | Air Date | Chapters Adapted | Volume(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Mother and Children” | April12,2023 | 1-10 | 1 |
| 2 | “Third Option” Transcription: “Mittsume no Sentakushi” (Japanese: 三つ目の選択肢) | April19,2023 | 11-13 | 2 |
| 3 | “Manga-Based TV Drama” Transcription: “Manga Gensaku Dorama” (Japanese: 漫画原作ドラマ) | April26,2023 | 14-16 | 2 |
| 4 | “Actors” Transcription: “Yakusha” (Japanese: 役者) | May3,2023 | 17-19 | 2 |
| 5 | “Reality Dating Show” Transcription: “Ren’ai Riaritī Shō” (Japanese: 恋愛リアリティショー) | May10,2023 | 20-22 | 2-3 |
| 6 | “Egosurfing” Transcription: “Ego Sāchi” (Japanese: エゴサーチ) | May17,2023 | 23-25 | 3 |
| 7 | “Buzz” Transcription: “Bazu” (Japanese: バズ) | May24,2023 | 26-28 | 3 |
| 8 | “First Time” Transcription: “Hajimete” (Japanese: 初めて) | June7,2023 | 29-32 | 3-4 |
| 9 | “B-Komachi” (Japanese: B小町) | June14,2023 | 32-34 | 4 |
| 10 | “Pressure” Transcription: “Puresshā” (Japanese: プレッシャー) | June21,2023 | 35-37 | 4 |
| 11 | “Idol” Transcription: “Aidoru” (Japanese: アイドル) | June28,2023 | 38-40 | 4 |
As you can see, the first season adapted the first 40 chapters of the original manga, which also coincides with the first four collected volumes of that same manga. So, we can expect the second season to pick up from Chapter 41, i.e., Volume 5 of the manga. Before we end this, let us quickly recap what happened in the show’s first season.
Dr. Gorou Amemiya is a young gynecologist at the hospital in Takachiho, a mountain town in Kyūshū, and is a huge fan of idol Ai Hoshino, frontman of B-Komachi; this passion was transmitted to him by Sarina Tendouji, a young terminally ill patient who was admitted to his hospital, who died at the age of 12 without being able to realize her dream of becoming an idol.
Gorou’s quiet life takes a sharp turn when Ai Hoshino arrives at the hospital, pregnant with twins, and refuses to reveal the father’s identity. Ai confides in Gorou that she intends to keep the twins since she, being herself an orphan, has never had a family and wants to create one, albeit without wanting to abandon her career as an idol; she, therefore, decides to keep her pregnancy a secret from the public, so as not to cause a stir and not to upset her fans. Gorou promises Ai that he will take care of her for the rest of her pregnancy and deliver her children.
But, on the day of delivery, Gorou is attacked by a stalker of Ai, who had discovered that the singer was hospitalized and is thrown off a cliff, dying shortly after. Just then, Ai goes into labor and gives birth to her two children, who turn out to be the reincarnations of Gorou and Sarina, to whom she will give the names Aquamarine and Ruby. The two children know that they are both reincarnated but agree to hide their true identities.
Ichigo Saito, CEO of Strawberry Productions and Ai’s agent, organizes her epic return to the stage, entrusting the twins to the custody of his wife Miyako, who, however, soon gets tired of her role as a babysitter and decides to reveal to the press the truth about twins. Ruby and Aqua, realizing the woman’s evil intentions, use their intelligence to scare the woman and convince her that they are the reincarnations of two gods, ensuring her loyalty and cooperation.
Over the years, the twins become aware of the intrigues and lies of the entertainment world. When he turned four, Aqua came into contact with Taishi Gotanda, a director who was shooting a series in which Ai is also taking part, he senses the child’s acting skills and convinces him to star in one of his next films, in which he will be still protagonist.
During filming, Aqua meets child prodigy Kana Arima, who, initially skeptical of her acting skills, is impressed by the child’s performance. The film is quite successful: Ai’s career takes off definitively, and the B-Komachi get a date at the prestigious Tokyo Dome.
However, on the morning of the day of the concert, the same stalker who had killed Gorou shows up at her doorstep, accusing her of betraying her fans, stabbing her to death, and running away; later, it will be discovered that the man committed suicide. In her dying moments, Ai comforts her twins, who witnessed her murder, declaring her love for them and wondering if one day they, too, will follow in her footsteps in show business.
Ai’s death causes uproar, and for a few weeks, nothing else is said, but the news soon ends up being forgotten by the public in favor of other news events. The Saitos adopted the twins since Ai had no relatives. Ruby decides to become an idol just like her mother, while Aqua realizes that the instigator of the murder could be their biological father, the only person who was aware of Ai’s pregnancy and her home address, and decides to enter into show business as an actor to track him down and kill him. Several years later, the twins leave home for their first day of high school.
