The third season of the TV anime "Oshi no Ko," based on the popular manga serialized in "Weekly Young Jump" (Shueisha), is currently airing on TOKYO MX and other channels. The series has been attracting attention from viewers with a series of shocking developments, including Kana Arima's scandal, the revelation that Aqua and Ruby are Ai's children, and the decision to produce the movie "15 Years of Lies." Episode 34 depicted a scene where Ruby, popular actors Shiranui Frill and Akane Kurokawa held a "personal audition" for the role of Ai in "15 Years of Lies." We spoke to Yurie Igoma, the voice actress who plays Ruby, about what happened behind the scenes of the recording.
◇Ruby's monologue was "painful" - a word she savored.
"Oshi no Ko " is a popular manga series created by Aka Akasaka , author of " Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, " and Mengo Yokoyari , author of " Scum's Wish ," and was serialized in "Weekly Young Jump" from April 2020 to November 2024. It tells the story of twin siblings left behind by Ai, a genius idol who suddenly dies. The twin sister, Ruby, enters the entertainment industry aspiring to be like her mother, while her brother, Aqua, vows revenge to find the person who murdered Ai.
Ikoma said she was surprised by the individual auditions in episode 34, saying, "There are so many conflicting motives, and everyone is doing something incredible." In that episode, Ruby, Akane, and Frill perform an improvisation on the theme of "liar," and there is a scene in which Ruby speaks in monologue, saying, "Lie... what is a liar?" and "I am always playing the role of Hoshino Ruby."
"This might have been the most difficult part for me while acting. Because Ruby says, 'I'm always acting.' This one line made it clear to me why Ruby had always seemed so bright, cheerful, and straightforward up until then. I felt that the fact that Ruby is acting, that she's living the role, was key to my portrayal of Ruby, so I really savored this line."
After Ruby was chosen for the role of Ai following individual auditions, she also remembers the scenes where she was practicing her acting.
"There's a scene during rehearsals where I have to say the line 'Mom,' and it really made me think about how much weight that word carries. Considering Ruby's time as Sarina and the fact that Ai has passed away, it was a very weighty scene where I couldn't come up with the right answer for the line 'Mom.' It's a scene where Ruby is playing Ai, and I think it was a scene where I really had to understand Ruby's character."
In that scene, I also felt that "it was a moment where we could see that Ruby is someone who understands that she doesn't understand something."
"It felt like we were trying to grasp a hazy cloud, so we recorded many different versions during filming, and I think each one was a meaningful expression. The scene that was chosen and broadcast is a scene that I think is filled with everyone's feelings."
◇ Individual auditions are "unique and appealing"
Ikoma said that the individual audition process made her realize the amazing talent of each character. Voice actress Asami Seto plays Shiranui Frill, and Manaka Iwami plays Akane Kurokawa.
"When Frill-chan was talking about why she wanted to hold individual auditions, only Frill-chan herself knows whether she was being sincere or not, but I felt like I really understood her. When they decided to make a movie about Ai's life, Ai's daughter Ruby is still alive, and there's Akane-chan, who has incredible acting skills, so I thought Frill-chan had a really great idea to hold individual auditions. Akane-chan, too, when she came to the individual auditions, I think she looked different than before, and I could feel that everyone had gone through time, from the first, second, and third seasons."
I also felt a certain "unconventionality" that is unique to the entertainment industry.
"Even the atmosphere when the three of them were talking before the audition made me think, 'Are these really high school students?' It was a fascinating scene that gave off an air of being different, like they had about 20 years of work experience."
The third season, which has depicted shocking developments, is finally reaching its climax. Ikoma says, "Oshi no Ko depicts a world that even I don't understand, but even in the first chapter of the original work, it says, 'This story is fiction.' It feels real, but I wonder if it might be fiction. That's what's so interesting about Oshi no Ko." The ending of the third season is not to be missed. (Shiroinu/MANTANWEB)
