Point of Contention「対立軸, Tairitsu-jiku?」 is the fifty-fourth chapter of the Oshi no Ko manga series. It is written by Aka Akasaka and illustrated by Mengo Yokoyari. It was released in Weekly Young Jump on September 2, 2021.[1]
Summary[]
It is another day at the rehearsals, after exchanging glances in the changing room, Kana and Akane start throwing verbal jabs at each other. Suddenly, Kana pulls out an old magazine about children's theater. Akane's face immediately turns glum and Melt asks about it, Kana shows off an interview featuring Akane as a child where talked about Kana being the reason she started acting. As Kana smugly parades it around, Akane angrily demands to know who let Kana find out about her past with Taiki apologizing as he raises his hand.
Aqua remarks that he knew that they have a rivalry but he never realized how complicated it was. Akane explains that Kana was popular and she wanted to be like until she saw the real thing. Aqua tries to deescalate things by telling Akane cannot compete but she shouts out that Kana is only known for her Bell Pepper Exercise. Kana immediately fires back by saying Akane is only known because of a reality dating show. To prevent a physical fight from breaking out, Aqua and Melt pull the two away from each other. Separated, Akane vents her frustration of Kana and when she asks Aqua to take her side. Aqua sympathizes since he contemplated killing Kana himself during their first meeting.
Meanwhile Kana cannot help but gloat in front of Melt and Taiki. Melt tries to get her to get along since Aqua is from her agency and Akane is Aqua's girlfriend. Kana gives him a cold stare, saying their relationship is only for work. She goes on to explain her reasons for goading Akane, it is due to her pride and their different mindset regarding acting itself. Melt asks Taiki for his thoughts about Akane and Kana, and Taiki responds by saying that they're evenly matched on their own, but Kana will win this time because she is acting with him. As the main casts rehearse together, Sakuya points out once again that Melt is out of his depth, and it will be even more obvious by acting next to Taiki. Spurred by this, Melt requests Kana to practice with him while Akane hurries Aqua to practice at Gotanda's place. As both Akane and Kana refuse to admit defeat, time passes and the opening day has arrived.
Characters[]
