Oshi no Ko special episode: Aqua and Ruby voice actors share their behind-the-scenes experiences

Ever since Oshi no Ko's dramatic opening, the anime has managed to amass a large audience. The ever-increasing popularity helped push the series to the top of both anime and manga rankings. This also led to a spike in the manga volume sales as the series has now sold a total of nine million copies.

With the anime having aired seven episodes, the series took a break this week. Instead, the anime released a special episode this week. This special episode entailed a recap of the anime and inputs by Takeo Ootsuka and Yurie Igoma, the voice actors of the series protagonists - Aqua and Ruby Hoshino.

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Oshi no Ko: Aqua and Ruby voice actors share their experiences playing the characters

Aqua Hoshinomand voice actor Takeo Ootsuka (Image via Doga Kobo)

Oshi no Ko special episode kickstarted with the recap of the story as it entailed everything that happened from the very first episode. However, this time, the audience got a new perspective on the scenes as the voice actors of Aqua and Ruby - Takeo Ootsuka and Yurie Igoma were present to give their insights on various aspects of the story.

As part of the prologue, Aqua's voice actor Takeo Ootsuka wasn't needed on the set. However, he made sure to be present to listen to Kent Ito and Yumi Uchiyama's performances as Gorou Amamiya and young Aqua, respectively. He believed that he needed to hear their performances up close to learn more about Aqua's emotions.

Ruby Hoshino and voice actor Yurie Igoma (Image via Doga Kobo)

Meanwhile, Ruby's voice actor Yurie Igoma revealed how she was able to resonate with Sarina and Ruby's feelings. She herself, similar to Ruby, wanted to enter the entertainment industry. While she has succeeded, she wanted to give a realistic portrayal of Ruby's feelings and efforts.

As for Ai's death, both voice actors revealed how they believed the incident impacted the characters. Ai's death ignited a desire for revenge in Aqua, meanwhile, Ruby finally decided to take action towards her goal of becoming an idol just like her mother.

Kana Arima as seen in Oshi no Ko (Image via Doga Kobo)

The recap then focused on Arima Kana. Takeo Ootsuka revealed how he thought Aqua and Kana's relationship was different from Aqua's relationship with Ruby. That's because he observed how Aqua's rhythm would get thrown off when with Kana. Meanwhile, Ruby was able to maintain her rhythm as she openly spoke her mind with the former genius child actor.

As for Ruby's idol career, Yurie Ogoma pointed out Ruby was able to showcase her strengths and merits during the Pieyon episode. Up until then, it was only assumed that Ruby had what it took to become an idol. Also, the reason why Ruby decided to name her idol group B-Komachi was that she believed that Gorou Amamiya was alive somewhere. She thought that he would notice her if he came to know about the idol group's revival.

Akane Kurokawa as seen in Oshi no Ko (Image via Doga Kobo)

The episode's recap lastly focused on Akane Kurokawa's incident. Watching the entire incident gave Ruby's voice actor Yurie Igoma a gut-punch feeling. This led her to think over things as the situation seemed meaningful for her at this point in time.

As for Aqua Hoshino, fans were finally able to see a new side to him. Akane's incident was the moment a flame different from a desire for revenge ignited within Aqua. As per Takeo Ootsuka, that event helped show fans an appealing side to his character.

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Final thoughts on Oshi no Ko special episode

Ai Hoshino as seen in Oshi no Ko (Image via Doga Kobo)

Oshi no Ko special episode ended with the Akane Kurokawa scene from episode 7 where she donned Ai's personality. The incident left Aqua speechless as fans will have to wait until the next episode releases to watch how he reacts to Akane's new personality.

The voice actors also revealed how they themselves felt impatient at the end of each episode, so they asked the audience to stay tuned to Oshi no Ko to learn how the story unfolds in the future.