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Stills from Oshi no Ko episode 6 (Image via Doga Kobo)

Oshi no Ko: Exposing the unreality of reality dating shows

Priya MajumdarBy Updated:7 Mins Read Anime

The record-breaking Oshi no Ko anime is capturing viewers’ attention with the right balance of comedy and heartwarming moments and dark themes related to murder mystery, mental health, etc. With its explosive visuals and an interesting plotline, Oshi no Ko brings the flavor of newness through the Hoshino twins, Aqua and Ruby. Though connected by familial bonds and their link to the entertainment industry, both the protagonists have chosen their different pathways and motivations to make their mark on the viewers. 

As Ruby continues forward to follow her mother’s footsteps, Aqua gets himself entangled into the TV reality showbiz in order to get close to their mother’s real murderer. i.e., their father. With his participation in The Beginning of My Love With An Idol, Aqua, and in turn the viewers of Oshi no Ko, are met with the sham that follows the concept of dating reality shows. Despite being tagged with the word ‘reality’, such shows lay their foundation in scripts, thus breaking the notions of truth that are associated with ‘reality’. Through The Beginning of My Love With An Idol, Oshi no Ko provides a commentary on the same, raising questions on what lies at the crux of these shows and the dire consequences that may follow if the problems are not dealt with seriously.

Note: This article will contain spoilers from the Oshi no Ko series.

An accidental mishap lands Akane Kurokawa in hot waters with the fanbase of the dating reality show within Oshi no Ko

Most consumers of dating reality shows are aware that what takes place on the screen is not how they are in real life. The contestants or stars often adopt a persona that they think would benefit them in getting the show’s limelight. In Oshi no Ko, this is acknowledged by Yuki Sumi, Mem-Cho, and Aqua – all of whom participate in The Beginning of My Love With An Idol alongside Akane Kurokawa, Nobuyuki Kumano, and Keno Morimoto. In fact, Yuki seems to capitalize on her persona as a sweet and caring girl to get the attention of two male contestants. The love triangle instead contributes to her growing popularity among viewers of the show. Meanwhile, Aqua, whom Kana and Ruby think is a tsundere, suddenly changes his character to fit the image of The Beginning of My Love With An Idol.

The purpose of reality dating shows is that it establishes a parasocial relationship between the viewers and the stars, who often provide an escape route to a different imaginative reality through their participation in reality shows. Advertised largely as an “unscripted” premise, the thrill of reality shows also extends to seeing the stars achieve what they want, their hardships, or their fall from success. In reality dating shows, love is not the end goal, even though the show is marketed like that. It’s the experiences of participants like Yuki or Nobuyuki that turns viewers into fans, as they admire, appreciate, engage with their favorite stars on social media and try to find out more details on their life or relationships. And the stars, more often than not, fulfil their demands/wishes.

In episode 6 of Oshi no Ko, while doing Akane’s nails behind-the-camera, Yuki explicitly reveals her competitive nature and how she has no plans of backing down from the spotlight. Though Akane and Yuki are good friends, and the latter is even shown to be sensible and caring for the other, Yuki implicity asserts that one’s existence in the show is only based on their popularity, which will not only help them in the social image outside of the dating show but also benefit them professionally. On the other hand, the hard-working Akane struggles to make an impression. Her management forces her to be popular on the show, but she grapples with it. And when she does try, the fandom, who ship Yuki and Nobuyuki, see her as a nobody or “dull girl” whose existence on the show is unnecessary. 

However, things take a turn for the worse when Akane, in a brief moment of bravado, accidentally hurts Yuki when the latter asks Nobuyuki to join her instead. This scene is captured on camera and later shown on TV. But what was not shown was Akane being shocked by the event so much that she had to be brought back to reality when Yuki hugged and consoled her that she was fine. While the staff and the contestants thought that this event won’t make much impact, the narrative took a dark turn when she became a victim of constant cyberbullying. 

To add to that, when she apologized publicly through Twitter, the harsh criticism only came in barrages. She is also instructed to not tweet anything further as it might fuel the backlashes. Akane later tells the Oshi no Ko viewers how due to the contract she signed, she couldn’t explain her side of the story or what transpired on the set exactly. One of the comments even says how they knew Akane as a hard-working individual, but given the latest incident on The Beginning of My Love With An Idol, they think she is fake and can’t bring themselves to support her further. 

With comments on her “rotten personality” or happiness on not being able to see on the show exacerbates, Akane starts receiving death threats that aggravates mental health, ultimately leading to her decision to jump off a footbridge in the middle of a typhoon. But at the last moment, Aqua saves her. 

At this point, it is to be noted that whatever was being shown lately on the screen, fans seem to paint Akane in the negative light while praising Yuki. Despite the two sharing a close bond, The Beginning of My Love With An Idol never showed the friendship between the two characters, which only led to fans assuming many things. Moreover, the lack of clarity from the show’s staffs or contestants to address the controversy pushed Akane to make such a decision. Later on in the manga, Aqua tells Akane to adopt a personality that would benefit her showbiz career, and she likewise replicates Ai Hoshino’s (Aqua’s mother) mannerisms. Akane and Aqua even become a couple for professional reasons that would help with the show’s popularity. 

However, the moot point is that even when the situation worsened, the show’s staffs banked on the traction that the show gained instead of clearing the air around Yuki and Akane’s controversy. Since it’s a “reality” show with no ounce of reality presented on screen, the fans of the show every recorded events for what it is instead of investigating the matter. 

The real-life stabbing incident of Mayu Tomita has its echo in Ai Hoshino’s murder. On the other hand, Japanese pro wrestler Hana Kimura’s time on a TV reality show Terrace House sees similarity with Akane’s controversy. Unfortunately, while the vituperative comments pushed Hana to her untimely death, Akane was saved by Aqua. Oshi no Ko does not provide a solution to this problem, it just points to the viewers the issue and bares the naked truth to them. The approach is similar to how reality dating shows invite the audience to engage with it. The task of ‘solution-finding’ is left to the viewers who are tasked to use their moral conscience to draw their own conclusion. However, one message that Oshi no Ko does deliver to the viewers is that one must not take everything at face value when they know the sham surrounding the reality dating shows.

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Priya is an anime lover and writer at GamesHorizon. A graduate from EFL University, she is deeply interested in anything remotely anime, manga, and fan culture. In her free time, she likes to draw, cook, visit cafes, and read fanfiction on a variety of anime fandoms' ships.