Oshi no Ko (推しの子)

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

I bet the resolution of this conflict will be Ruby meeting Sarina's mother and realizing she's a major peace of shit. Confronted with this reality, Ruby won't be able to keep her lie, and will have to come to terms with the fact she was never loved, just like Ai (supposedly) did.

From what Kana says, Ai coming to terms with the fact her mother never loved her allowed Ai to move on. I wonder if that's how Ai really felt or if it's just Gotanda and Aqua's interpretation.

Last week I thought it would go the opposite way and this arc would be about her realizing her mother genuinely cared for her, which would heal her a bit.

But seeing as she's stuck with her acting because she's completely unable to accept that a mother wouldn't love her children, it's obvious she's going to be forced to confront just that. This is going to be real ugly, and she will fall deeper into darkness. I guess her salvation will be finding out Aqua is Goro's reincarnation, but I doubt that will happen any time soon now.
I love how royally pissed Aqua was. It felt like he was going to break a bottle and stab Marina in the throat. Finding out Sarina was reincarnated as Ruby will also be a form of salvation for him. At the end of the day, the person they care about the most in their former life wasn't Ai, it was each other. Ai was more or less a proxy.

[GDB]

Originally Posted by Shadow5YA

Kana picked up on the desperation and denial. What if Kana thinks Ruby is forcing herself to believe that Ai loved her but really didn't?

This, combined with her earlier statement of having lived in a room without going outside, having no hopes for the future, and that she'd just wait quietly until she died without anything to live for, definitely makes me agree with you.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Kanon

But seeing as she's stuck with her acting because she's completely unable to accept that a mother wouldn't love her children, it's obvious she's going to be forced to confront just that. This is going to be real ugly, and she will fall deeper into darkness.

Definitely. And I guess Ai went through someone similar. Even though the script of the movie says that accepting her mother never loved her allowed Ai to move on, it must have been really painful all the same. I guess Ai only found some salvation when she had her own kids.

[Shadow5YA]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

Definitely. And I guess Ai went through someone similar. Even though the script of the movie says that accepting her mother never loved her allowed Ai to move on, it must have been really painful all the same.

It's less pain and more numb. She accepted it in the sense that she stopped dwelling on the past, but at the cost of losing emotions that a normal person would have developed.

Feeling some sort of distress means that you at least have some sort expectation that things shouldn't be this way, meaning you have an idea of how things should be. This goes beyond that into resignation.

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

I guess Ai only found some salvation when she had her own kids.

When Ai said that she didn't know what love was, she meant it.

[Shadow5YA]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

Knowing how to play a role and actually being able to pull it off are totally different things. If Gotanda wanted to show Ai's darkest side in the movie, could Akane deliver? I don't think so. Because that darkness is symbolized by the black starry eyes, and Akane has never displayed those eyes. Only Ai, Kamiki and their kids Aqua and Ruby were shown with those eyes. Even if Akane could understand Ai's personality on an intellectual level, I don't think she could portray it properly without those eyes.

This current chapter shows what I was saying earlier how anyone chosen for the lead role, even Ruby, would have their own shortcomings that they have to deal with get this to work, so Ruby even with her talent and likeness to Ai having to learn how to act isn't necessarily any better than Akane or Frill having to learn how to emulate Ai's darkness.

If this were the real world, Akane or Frill would have been chosen and even if they couldn't display misery and angst as well as the Hoshino twins could, they could learn because they're professionals and wouldn't be having the same problems that Ruby is having.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Shadow5YA

This current chapter shows what I was saying earlier how anyone chosen for the lead role, even Ruby, would have their own shortcomings that they have to deal with get this to work, so Ruby even with her talent and likeness to Ai having to learn how to act isn't necessarily any better than Akane or Frill having to learn how to emulate Ai's darkness.

Ruby is a rookie when it comes to acting. We all know that. But the most important thing here is what the director wants to convey with this movie. Frill, who was the only one to read the script beforehand, immediately understood what the movie was going for, and she was convinced Ruby was the right choice to play Ai. Gotanda, the director himself, also thought the same after meeting Ruby just once.

If this were the real world, Akane or Frill would have been chosen and even if they couldn't display misery and angst as well as the Hoshino twins could, they could learn because they're professionals and wouldn't be having the same problems that Ruby is having.

I would say probably not. Some of the most expressive actors in history were method actors. People who didn't just act but melted into their roles, sometimes to the point of getting emotionally affected afterwards. And this kind of acting relies heavily on personal experiences.

Ruby lacks skill, but she does have talent, and her personal experiences mirror Ai's so closely that even people who don't know about her past can feel the similarities. The only thing holding her back is her internal conflict over her mother. Once that's resolved, I'm convinced we'll see the best representation of Ai we've ever seen in this story.

It's like Kana said in this chapter. Ruby just has to find the right emotions that are already inside her, and draw from there. Once she can do that, I think we'll see something pretty fucking amazing.

That been said, I'm not saying Akane or Frill would not be able to play Ai. I'm sure they could. All I'm saying is that Ruby is the best choice for what Gotanda, as director, is going for.

[Shadow5YA]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

Ruby is a rookie when it comes to acting. We all know that. But the most important thing here is what the director wants to convey with this movie. Frill, who was the only one to read the script beforehand, immediately understood what the movie was going for, and she was convinced Ruby was the right choice to play Ai. Gotanda, the director himself, also thought the same after meeting Ruby just once.



I would say probably not. Some of the most expressive actors in history were method actors. People who didn't just act but melted into their roles, sometimes to the point of getting emotionally affected afterwards. And this kind of acting relies heavily on personal experiences.

Ruby lacks skill, but she does have talent, and her personal experiences mirror Ai's so closely that even people who don't know about her past can feel the similarities. The only thing holding her back is her internal conflict over her mother. Once that's resolved, I'm convinced we'll see the best representation of Ai we've ever seen in this story.

It's like Kana said in this chapter. Ruby just has to find the right emotions that are already inside her, and draw from there. Once she can do that, I think we'll see something pretty fucking amazing.

That been said, I'm not saying Akane or Frill would not be able to play Ai. I'm sure they could. All I'm saying is that Ruby is the best choice for what Gotanda, as director, is going for.

Method acting does not mean your personal experiences have to mirror the character you're playing, just that you can empathize and put yourself in someone else's shoes. I highly doubt anyone's life is anything close to Sonic's Eggman, yet Jim Carrey pulls it off because he imagined this outlandish scenario where Sonic represents the lost childhood that Eggman yearned for but could never get back - all just so the character could be more relatable to him, or how Aqua imagined Ai coming back to life just so he could fit his character in the Tokyo Blade stage play.

That is the method acting that Kana is talking about: how would you act if you were put in that exact situation?

At the end of the day they are still actors trying to play as someone who may be similar to them some ways, but also inevitably will be different somewhere. It is up to the actors to reconcile that.
We can see here that as close Ruby is to Ai, she is still not her, just like Kana is nothing like the character she was playing.

My point is that the hurdles Ruby has to overcome to be a good Ai is not any less than Akane or Frill's shortcomings, therefore being the "best" candidate is debatable.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Shadow5YA

Method acting does not mean your personal experiences have to mirror the character you're playing

I didn't mean that. What I did mean is that having that kind of personal experiences help, which is why Strasberg advocated for it. Though, to be fair, those ideas were controversial due to concerns for actors' mental heath. But that's besides the point.

Originally Posted by Shadow5YA

At the end of the day they are still actors trying to play as someone who may be similar to them some ways, but also inevitably will be different somewhere. It is up to the actors to reconcile that.
We can see here that as close Ruby is to Ai, she is still not her, just like Kana is nothing like the character she was playing.

When did I say Ruby was the same as Ai? I want to believe I was careful with my words. I specifically said "Ruby is the best choice for what Gotanda, as director, is going for." And that is a fact, because Gotanda himself said so.

Originally Posted by Shadow5YA

My point is that the hurdles Ruby has to overcome to be a good Ai is not any less than Akane or Frill's shortcomings, therefore being the "best" candidate is debatable.

Everyone would have their set of hurdles, of course, but what matters is the final product, the perfected role. And while we still have yet to see Ruby perfect her take on Ai, we do have Gotanda and Frill's opinions that Ruby is the best choice. If you want to argue over that, go argue with them because I'm not in the mood to have a long and pointless argument. I'd prefer to wait and see what kind of Ai Ruby comes up with once she perfects her interpretation.

[GDB]

Let's be honest, if you're doing a biopic and the person the movie is based on has a child who is physically capable of playing the role, that child gets the role. It increases audience interest and makes it more realistic feeling (even if it isn't actually), especially if the alternative is casting said child into an unimportant side role in the movie.

[Kanon]

Ruby is getting worked to the bone. She won't last much longer with that schedule. Miyako needs to put her foot down, ask her what her priority is, and then cancel all the activities that can be.

I'm not a fan of the producer but he's right: she needs to fully focus on the movie.

[Kazu-kun]

Some people thought Aqua finding out that Ruby is Sarina would be a game chager or something, but it seems Crow Girl had already revealed Ruby's identity to Aqua and we just didn't know it. lol

[Shadow5YA]

Is Aqua finally going to talk to her?

[SidVicious]

Originally Posted by Shadow5YA

Is Aqua finally going to talk to her?

Maybe he will finally show the DVD Ai left for Ruby.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

Some people thought Aqua finding out that Ruby is Sarina would be a game chager or something, but it seems Crow Girl had already revealed Ruby's identity to Aqua and we just didn't know it. lol

I don't know, it felt like the Crow Girl was talking to us.

Anyway, it was never going to be a game changer from Aqua's POV since he's been protecting Ruby since Ai's death. It will just make him feel extremely relieved Sarina got another chance and her story didn't end in that hospital room. However, if he reveals to Ruby he was Goro in his previous life, that will change a lot for Ruby. Goro is half the reason she's on the warpath in the first place, and we know how distrustful she's been of Aqua lately. This will fully restore her faith in him and a bit of her optimism as well.

That is, if he decides to tell her.

And another break, why am I not surprised? This is the same shit that happened to Kaguya-sama when Oshi no Ko started. Aka can't juggle two series at once, even if he only serves as the writer.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Kanon

I don't know, it felt like the Crow Girl was talking to us.

It might have looked like that at first, but with the last panel being Aqua looking at Ruby, it re-contextualizes everything and makes it seem like Crow Girl was talking to him. Of course, we won't know for sure until next chapter but I'm pretty sure this interpretation is correct.

Originally Posted by Kanon

That is, if he decides to tell her.

He won't, of course. He never tells her anything. There's no reason this would change.

[Twi]

Let's be honest, if those two talked half of the drama would evaporate.

[Shadow5YA]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

It might have looked like that at first, but with the last panel being Aqua looking at Ruby, it re-contextualizes everything and makes it seem like Crow Girl was talking to him. Of course, we won't know for sure until next chapter but I'm pretty sure this interpretation is correct.

She was monologuing. If she was talking to Aqua then she would've been looking at him, not off randomly into the sky in one panel.

She was in front of the (probably) Tendoji household. The condo that the Hoshinos reside in don't have a front porch like that.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Shadow5YA

She was monologuing. If she was talking to Aqua then she would've been looking at him, not off randomly into the sky in one panel.

If she was looking at him, it would be too obvious. The point here is to hide that until the end of the chapter. Or so it seems. We'll see soon enough who was right.

[Shadow5YA]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

If she was looking at him, it would be too obvious. The point here is to hide that until the end of the chapter. Or so it seems. We'll see soon enough who was right.

On page 3, Ruby turns around to see Tendouji Marina walk out. In the very next page and panel, we see the crow girl start her monologue in a similar place, heavily implying that she was near where Ruby was while she was.

If you claim that the crow girl is talking to Aqua, then that would mean he is also near where Ruby is, close to the Tendouji household. I think that's a stretch.

Also to be clear, that doesn't mean I think Aqua doesn't know. There's just plenty of other opportunities that make more sense than right this moment, considering where the crow girl is located.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

He won't, of course. He never tells her anything. There's no reason this would change.

Have you seen the state she's in at the end? Ruby is on the road to depression and suicide. If he doesn't sit down and have a talk with her now, he never will.