Oshi No Ko – Season 1 Episode 9 Recap & Review

B Komachi

Episode 9 of Oshi No Ko begins with Miyako examing MEM-cho’s records. MEM-cho confirms she’s in the streaming business as a sole proprietor, and her agency has no issues with her taking different jobs. Miyako notices MEM-cho’s worried about being older than the average idol, so she convinces her to move forward with her new partnership with Strawberry Productions. However, when MEM-cho reveals she’s 25, Miyako snaps.

MEM-cho says she always wanted to become an idol at a young age but to care for her family, she had to get a job. However, her mother told her to follow her dreams, so she auditioned for agencies and got a gig. Yet MEM-cho abandoned the opportunity when her mother got sent to the hospital for overworking herself. This forced MEM-cho to withdraw from school and work multiple part-time jobs. Fortunately, her mother got better, and her younger brothers got to attend college. MEM-cho became 23 when she was ready, but as the world of idols only accepts 20-year-olds and below, she couldn’t achieve her dream anymore.

Ruby and Kana enter the room and formally welcome MEM-cho to B Komachi after being moved by her tale. Aqua asks Kana to look after Ruby and MEM-cho, but Kana’s still jealous about his close connections with Akane, so she plans to look after the group on her own terms.

At school, Minami asks Ruby for her thoughts on Aqua kissing Akane during Love Now. Ruby thought it was awkward and internally knows Aqua only likes Akane because she looks like Ai. Frill interrupts their discussion and shares her thoughts on Love Now. Frill confirms many performing arts girls have taken an interest in Aqua, Frill included. Ruby reflects on how much of an impact Love Now had on Aqua and B Komachi.

Ruby’s delighted that their YouTube channel hit 10,000 subscribers. MEM-cho asks when it’d be the right time to post a music video on their channel. Ruby confirms Miyako’s still pulling strings for the music, so they must wait. MEM-cho suggests they use old B Komachi music, and Ruby thinks that’s a great idea. They visit a dance studio to practice their choreography. After practicing 30 songs, Kana’s worried she won’t be able to memorize them all and fears she can’t match MEM-cho and Ruby’s energy. Aqua hands Kana water, but Kana’s still sour toward him because he kissed Akane. Before she relays this to Aqua, he leaves.

Aqua meets Kubaragi at the sushi diner to get intel about Ai. Kubaragi tells Aqua that Ai was a country bumpkin when he first met her. He introduced her to a theater company called Lala Lai, the same one Akane works for to help Ai out. Kubaragi speculates that’s where Ai fell in love with Aqua’s father. Kubaragi admits he doesn’t know who Ai’s boyfriend was, but he knew that person changed Ai for the better.

Kubaragi offers to introduce Aqua to Lala Lai’s leader. Kubaragi admits that Aqua’s potential as an actor is convincing him to help Aqua resolve his Ai problems. He also sees the investment opportunity in Kana, MEM-cho, and B Komachi’s progress.

At the same time, MEM-cho says the producer she worked with on Love Now has connections to the Japan Idol Festival. She says he can help them get into the line-up.

Ruby and MEM-cho persuade Kana to participate in the Japan Idol Festival. MEM-cho asks the girls who should be at the center of B Komachi. After discussing their reasons for being the center idol, Ruby suggests Kana be the group’s star because she matches the criteria. When Kana admits she’s not a talented singer, MEM-cho decides they should hold a quick contest at karaoke to choose the center.

Kana says she won’t be attending since she knows she doesn’t have the star power necessary to be the group’s center. MEM-cho and Ruby comfort Kana and persuade her to attend the karaoke event. MEM-cho and Ruby sing their songs at karaoke and are surprised at how terrible they both are. They take a break and look up some of Kana’s songs. They realize she sang more songs than the one Ruby mentioned earlier. MEM-cho and Ruby listen to Kana’s “Full Moon” song and are bewildered by her incredible singing voice.

The episode closes with Kana receiving an amazing score in the other karaoke room.

The Episode Review

B Komachi finally has all its members and this episode proves why MEM-cho was a perfect fit for the team. It’ll come to many’s surprise that MEM-cho is older than most viewers’ expected. At the same time, many viewers will adore learning more about MEM-cho’s past and her reasons for hiding her age from her fans and others.

It goes to show that life has a way of foiling anyone’s dreams, but it’s never too late to pursue them. This episode handles Kana’s dilemma with Aqua well and delves into the void between the two. Kana’s shown strong romantic interest in Aqua throughout these past episodes, so for her to sit through a scene of him kissing another girl must’ve taken a toll on her spirit.

Hopefully, MEM-cho and Ruby can help Kana bounce back from her internal issues since she clearly has the potential to be a great center for B Komachi. On the other hand, it appears Aqua will be getting closer to Akane now that he’s received intel about Ai’s involvement with her theater company, Lala Lai. I’m curious to see what stunts he’ll pull to get information from her company’s leader.

Overall, this was a great set-up episode that delves into the background of two of B Komachi’s star players. While it’s unfortunate the plot focuses less on Ruby’s character alongside others, I’m excited to see how Kana will overcome her insecurities. We’ll have to wait and see what method our group uses to break Kana out of her trance.