Episode 8

First Time (初めて) is the eighth episode of Oshi no Ko anime adaptation.

Synopsis
Akane perfectly understands Ai and traces her actions. Moreover, she even found out that Ai had a secret child. Aqua, who has a strong interest in actress Akane is...!?

Summary


While watching LoveNow, Kana tells Ruby about Akane's genius-level ability as an actress to get into a character. On set, Aqua is stunned by Akane's performance, which perfectly copies that of Ai. Not only he but the cast and crew are drawn in by the charisma Akane exudes from her acting. Mem-Cho notices that Aqua has acted strange since Akane's change and decides to test her suspicions. She asks Aqua to grab a pouch for her, which he refuses until Akane tells him so. Mem and Yuki realize that Akane's new character is his type and tease him about it. To their surprise, Aqua gets flustered and tells them to stop before running off.

Akane quickly snaps out of her character as Mem and Yuki ask if she would date Aqua if he was serious about her, to which she answers yes. While the girls are excited by this development, Kana is less than pleased and stops watching the show. Meanwhile, Ruby watches Akane's performance, which makes her think of her mother. Now alone to gather his thoughts, Aqua acknowledges that despite living with her as a child, he never knew anything about Ai, wondering how much of her he saw was genuine. More importantly, he questions the nature of his relationship with Ai: as her son, her fan, or something else.

On their way to school, Aqua calls Kana and invites her to skip school together, which she happily agrees to. However, to Kana's disappointment, the two go to the park to play catch, with Aqua even buying a ball and gloves. Kana asks why he didn't ask any of the LoveNow members, and Aqua says that he is not that close with them anyways and doesn't have to worry about any lies or ulterior motives when he is with Kana. The topic changes to the end of LoveNow as Kana asks Aqua which of the girls he is aiming for and what his type is. Aqua pauses and thinks to himself that, over the years, his mind has been adapting to his new body and environment as he grows up.

Aqua says aloud: "The boundary between 'me' and 'Aqua Hoshino' is disappearing steadily." This makes Kana express her concerns about Aqua possibly having eighth-grader syndrome and tells him to grow out of it as it is painful for her to watch. Aqua retaliates by hurling the ball at Kana, then admits that he sees girls around his age as potential love interests, adding that he prefers them older. Kana, a year older than Aqua, is happy to hear this, but that happiness quickly fades as she realizes that Akane is also the same age as her. Kana angrily throws the ball at Aqua, which he compliments, and asks if this is her first time. Kana cheerfully confirms this, saying it is her very first time.

With this interaction, Aqua concludes that his feelings towards Akane are not romantic, and he sees Ai's ghost in her performance. During their final days of filming, Akane thanks Aqua for helping her gain more popularity by putting on a character like he said. Aqua asks Akane how she could imitate Ai so well, and Akane tells him that she studied Ai and interpreted her scenarios about Ai to understand her better, one of them being that Ai had a secret child. Aqua asks how good Akane is with her knowledge of Ai's thought patterns, to which Akane says it is pretty well and claims to have Ai pretty much figured out. Aqua is astounded to learn all this and decides that with her talent to understand and imitate Ai perfectly, Akane is too valuable for him to let go after the show finishes. As such, in the show's finale, Aqua gets together with Akane, and the two share a kiss, to Kana's dismay.

After wrapping up filming, LoveNow's cast and crew holds an afterparty, where Akane and Aqua are questioned if they will be going out for real now. Akane is unsure, saying she went with the flow then and wants to focus on her career. As the cast members discuss having relationships as an entertainer, the show's director chimes in, stating that since the show and its staff will no longer be involved with them, the couple is free to choose whether they stay together. He then warns the youths to be careful as people will want to use them for their talents before throwing them away.

Meanwhile, Aqua has snuck out to talk with Producer Kaburagi, and the two discuss the show's rise in popularity, especially after the online outrage with Akane. Kaburagi overheard that Aqua was the one that resolved things with the video and told him how the higher-ups took issue with his taboo use of the raw footage and had even discussed seeking damages from his agency. Aqua states that it never passed because their contract allowed him and his co-stars to upload candid footage on the show's social media accounts. Thus, he did not break any rules by uploading the video there. Nevertheless, Kaburagi is impressed, and, as promised, he and Aqua set up a date to talk about Ai. Shortly after, Yuki and Nobuyuki bring Aqua back inside to discuss with Akane the future of their relationship. Akane knows Aqua does not see her as a woman, but Aqua states that he is interested in her as an actress, which Akane is happy to hear. The two agree to date as an extension of their job, and Akane reveals that they already have a real couple with Nobuyuki and Yuki, who has recently begun dating.

After the party, the cast members take their separate ways home. Aqua learns that Mem lives nearby, and the two walk together. Mem gets nostalgic about the group's time together and chats with Aqua about his relationship with Akane, teasing him about his reaction to her portraying Ai. On that note, Aqua remarks how she knows a lot about B-Komachi despite it being an older-gen idol group. Mem confesses to Aqua that she originally wanted to be an idol, but she gave up on it after some setbacks. Aqua invites Mem to join his agency as the new B-Komachi recruits additional members. Mem thinks Aqua is joking, but her face quickly lights up with anticipation.

Trivia

 * The episode was aired on the same day as Chapter 120 of the manga was published.
 * The park where Kana and Aqua play catch is the Dendō Square Park, Tokyo.

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第八集