Seemingly a revenge story, Oshi No Ko has evolved into an educational depiction of the entertainment industry, glazed with drama and mysteries! While referring to various anime by their translated titles is common practice, like Demon Slayer, how come we don’t have an alternative title for Oshi no Ko? What does Oshi no Ko mean? Here’s a breakdown of everything worth preserving in the original title of Oshi no Ko.
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What does Oshi no Ko mean?
Oshi no Ko can be translated to “My Idol”, “My Favorite Idol”, or “My Favorite Idol’s children”. These translations arise from the way fans of Idol groups refer to their favorite member. Hearing these translations immediately makes one think of Ai Hoshino. From the beginning, she has been the favorite idol of everyone who came to know her. Her name Hoshino Ai sounds similar to Oshi no Ko, while Oshi means favorite, Hoshi means Star.
- The kanji for ‘Ai’ symbolizes love whereas when it’s written in Katana, it can be interpreted to be an eye.
Had it not been for Ai’s peculiar starry eyes, this observation could easily be ruled off as mere overanalysis. But considering how the starry eyes are a recurring concept in the story, let’s understand what they signify.
Note: Katakana is one of the writing systems of Japanese, foreign words or borrowed words which are used as it is, are written using Katakana.
The Starry eyes of the Hoshinos
Here onwards the article contains manga spoilers. Ai was the first person in Oshi No Ko to be seen with star-shaped eyes. The eyes were later inherited by her children Aqua and Ruby. The stars usually appear either white or black but it’s not something arbitrary, the colors signify something. The meaning behind those colors hasn’t been revealed yet. Based on the plot progression, here’s a possibility as to what they might mean.
White Stars
The Hoshinos including Ai, Ruby, Aqua, and Hikaru are plagued with darkness. They are all victims of unfortunate circumstances which they hide from the world around them. Ai used to lie her way around without revealing her true feelings or persona to anyone. Hikaru was the same in the beginning. According to the movie, Hikaru had white eyes when he was training Ai. The white eyes might be a manifestation of the Hoshinos’ desire to present a more acceptable picture of themselves to the rest of the world, an idealistic version that caters to expectations.
Although this theory leaves Yura Katayose’s eyes unexplained. In Akane’s case, the white eyes might have appeared as she started to think and act like Ai after intensive research of Ai’s character. There are some instances where the white stars have a dilated appearance, such as the scene with Yura Katayose, and Akane during one of her gigs, and even Ai and Ruby during the scenes of 15 Year Old Lie.
Black Stars
The Black Stars might appear whenever the characters are in touch with the darkness within them, as this is what has happened in the story so far. In Aqua and Ruby’s case, the black stars appeared when they both swore to kill their father. When Ai enquired about the fake facade which is common to both her and Hikaru, their eyes turned black. At present Hikaru seems to have black eyes at all times which can mean that he’s forever in touch with his dark and negative side.
Ruby is an intriguing character as far as the eyes are concerned. At different points in the story, she seems to have both white and black stars simultaneously in each one of her eyes. When the news of Kana and the director was about to hit the newspapers, it threatened not only her career but also the future of B-Komachi. Before that moment, both the eyes were black, whereas when Aqua asks her to help Kana one of them turns white. The white pupil was a sign of her concern for Kana whereas the black pupil represented her desire to fulfill her dreams as an idol.
An explanation of the black and white eyes explains the connection between the story and the wordplay incorporated using Ai’s name. Although the explanations are also just mere speculations at this point.
What does Oshi no Ko mean for the story?
Aka Akasaka confirmed in an interview that Oshi no Ko refers to Ai as well as Aqua and Ruby. The relevance of the title ‘Oshi no Ko’ is reflected in the overarching plot with Hoshino Ai giving birth to her children, Aqua and Ruby. But similar to everything else in the story, there are multiple layers to the title, like the brackets. What attracts attention about the title is the brackets present at its beginning and end.
Akasaka has assured that the story will explain the brackets and the titles by the end. Speculatively, ‘Oshi no Ko’ could be a phrase said by someone in the story as similar brackets are used as double quotes in Japanese or it could be a component of the 15-Year-Old-Lie which is yet to appear. Or maybe the secrets also lie in the eyes.
Conclusion
The wordplay, mysteries, and layers seem to be never-ending with Oshi No Ko. Until Aka Akasaka reveals the true meaning and symbolism of the different aspects, we’re left with our theories and the weekly chapters to fuel more speculations. So until the official confirmation, happy reading Sherlock(s)!