"Everyone's got the right to dream. You can't win the lottery unless you buy a ticket. I'm saying you could stand to believe in your talent a bit more. Sure, Ai was incredible. Maybe she was a really special person. But you can't be Ai and Ai can't be you. Don't let a failure or two make you a permanent bystander. Save that line for after you've used every weapon in your arsenal."
Taishi Gotanda「五反田泰志, Gotanda Taishi?」 is a supporting character in Oshi no Ko. He is a famous award-winning director that worked with Aqua Hoshino when he was incredibly young and made it possible for Aqua to later on become an actor. As Aqua grew up, Taishi became something of a mentor figure to him.
Spoilers Ahead!
It is later revealed that, Ai Hoshino entrusted him with her will to be passed to Aqua and Ruby once they turned 15.
Taishi has medium-long brown hair that he occasionally styles into a bun and usually appears wearing a black shirt, a dark blue hooded sweater, blue pants and dark red shoes with white soles. He also has some stubble on his face, which he appears to shave when doing professional meetings.
Personality[]
Due to his role as a movie director, Taishi is well-informed and aware about the acting world, knowing the fact that there are three types of actors and explaining clearly what their roles are in the acting world. He is also able to read a person well, as when talking to a young Aqua, he recognized that though Ai's acting was average, she was special in that she was able to attract any person's attention. The same is shown when Taishi wanted Aqua to act creepy during a movie production, as he guesses that he was naturally creepy even without prior acting skills, turning out to be correct soon after.
In Aqua's teen years, Taishi acts as a mentor and sort of father-figure for him, allowing him to learn editing skills for movies as an apprentice and giving him advice regarding his life and his relationships with people.
Taishi is first introduced as a famous director for Ai's first role in a TV show, and he had a discussion with young Aqua Hoshino about actress and acting world. Aqua later contacted him again after Ai's scenes are mostly cut from the final released version of the movie. Taishi offered Ai another role as an apology, but he said that Aqua must also be involved in the movie as well, as a child actor.[4]
Taishi then appears again as he directed the movie That Was the Start, and he taught Aqua about entertainment world, discussing with him about movie budget and the concept of "bartering". After they finished the scene involving Aqua, and having to face Kana who demands a retake, Taishi talked about communication skills to Aqua, and praised his ability to read Taishi's intention and he acted perfectly. Taishi also revealed that he deliberately put Aqua in the movie to teach Kana a valuable lesson about communication, and he encouraged Aqua to become an actor capable of delivering ideal performance.[5]
Later on it was revealed that Taishi is nominated for a director's award for the movie.[6] Taishi then appears on the funeral of Ai Hoshino, approached by Aqua as he asked Taishi if he can raise him, which surprised him.[7]
The name Taishi means "peaceful, calm, peace, easy, Thailand" (泰) (tai) and "will, purpose" (志) (shi).
Taishi's surname Gotanda means "five" (五) (go), "anti, opposite, antithesis, antagonism, measure of land" (反) (tan) and "field, rice paddy" (田) (ta/da).
Trivia[]
He is one of the characters who, prior to the reveal to the public, knows about the relationship between Aqua, Ruby and Ai. He also wants to punish Ai's murderer and supports Aqua's revenge plan.[8][9]
Interestingly, during the rehearsal for The 15 Year Lie, he mentions that Tsukuyomi's acting reminded him of a young Aqua, while mentioning that her tone sounds like a “twisted adult who's trapped inside a child.", an obvious nod to Aqua's current predicament.[10]
