Aqua and Akane’s Growth Propel Oshi no Ko Manga Volume 6

There have been Oshi no Ko moments and manga volumes that make it absolutely feel like Aqua and Akane are getting moments to shine. However, this has never been more clear with the sixth volume. Now that the Tokyo Blade stage play is in full-swing, we’re also getting major reveals and development between the two leads.

Editor’s Note: There are spoilers for previous volumes up to and story beats from Oshi no Ko volume 6.

This Tokyo Blade arc in the Oshi no Ko manga brings together a number of major and minor characters, however on opposing sides. So Kana Arima and Melt Narushima are among the “heroes,” while Aqua Hoshino and fake girlfriend Akane Kurokawa are the major villains. This also involves an actual rivalry behind the scenes. However, we’ve only really seen Kana’s side of things until now. Past volumes looked at her past as a child star and why she sees Akane as such competition. (She’s popular and is dating Aqua.) Now, we’re seeing things from the other side.

Initially, the focus is on some development between Aqua and Akane that is tied to their “relationship” in Oshi no Ko. We see him let her in on exactly why he’s trying to succeed in show business. (He wants to get revenge on his mother Ai’s killer.) She then agrees to not only support him, but aid his cause. She brings up her reasoning why, and also suggests that as her “boyfriend” he should also assist with her goal of besting Kana.

This leads to opportunities to see both characters’ growth, as well as insights into who they are and what drives them. Aqua is dealing with PTSD both from his past and present life. As such, it makes tapping into and dealing with emotions difficult. However, to assist Akane and make the stage play a success, he’ll need to do so. So we see his determination to overcome things for the sake of his personal goals.

Meanwhile, with Akane we’re getting a chance to see how her past encounters with Kana shaped her present in Oshi no Ko. We see how admiration and her own drive influenced her goals. There are also shades of “never meet your heroes” here, which is especially fun given the execution of the manga. After all, we’ve been exposed to Kana more often up until this point and seen her viewpoint. Now we’re seeing Akane and her encounters with Kana, and Kana ends up being an antagonist in that story. We’re able to appreciate her desire to overcome, which makes the course of this volume feel like it really pays off.

This also means this volume of the Oshi no Ko manga is again doing a great job of setting up the future actions of characters like Akane and Aqua, while teasing major updates in their career. Akane’s goal is to surpass Kana’s performance in Tokyo Blade. The volume leaves off right as we’re about to see if that’s possible. (And not knowing who to root for, since both are sympathetic leads.) Aqua’s goal is to get closer to Ai’s killer, and Tokyo Blade’s success and Akane’s help could assist with that. It continues to develop wonderfully.

Volume 6 of Oshi no Ko is available now, and Yen Press will release volume 7 of the manga on August 20, 2024. The anime is streaming on HIDIVE.