Tsukuyomi「ツクヨミ, Tsukuyomi?」, real name unknown, is a pivotal character in Oshi no Ko. She is a seemingly supernatural being inhabiting the body of a young girl and implied to be the one who reincarnated Gorou Amamiya and Sarina Tendouji as Aqua and Ruby Hoshino.
When Aqua momentarily gives up on avenging his mother, she approaches Ruby and reveals to her the truth regarding the deaths of her mother and Gorou Amamiya, prompting her to go down the same dark path as her brother.
She is eventually revealed to also be a long-time acquaintance of Aqua, and he later persuades her into aiding him in his revenge plot.
Appearance[]
Tsukuyomi has been described by Taishi Gotanda as a "creepy-looking child" reminiscent of Aqua when he was younger. She has long white hair and brown eyes that are always wide open, causing her to give off a disturbing stare. In terms of attire, she dresses in a black and white child school uniform.
Before acquiring her current human body, Tsukuyomi took on the form of a seemingly ordinary crow.
Personality[]
Seemingly omniscient, Tsukuyomi is an enigmatic being whose motives and goals are shrouded in mystery. Befitting her appearance, she bears the overall demeanor of a creepy child, acting mischievous and almost always having a smile on her face. Taishi Gotanda even noted that she reminds him of Aqua when he was younger, comparing her to a "twisted adult trapped in the body of a child".
When interacting with people, she tends to tease them about their insecurities. While partly a tactic to quickly get their attention, Tsukuyomi seems to be genuinely interested in others' thought processes, implying that she cannot directly read minds. However, should they ignore her, she will quickly change the topic to get their attention back, such as by confronting them about their desires and offering vital information to help them achieve their goals whilst teasingly keeping critical details to herself. Still, she does not appear to be malicious, merely giving her information and inquiring others to think on it.
Tsukuyomi does have a more "human" side to her, taking pride in her supernatural status and getting angry when looked down upon. Ironically, this leaves her open to being manipulated herself through others exploiting her haughtiness. She has also shown to be stubborn, refusing to admit when she has been tricked. Deep down, she secretly cares for Ruby and Aqua, having observed them since being saved and cared for by them in their past lives when she took the form of a crow, and sees them as cheeky and cute children.
Skills & Talents[]
Despite being a complete newcomer to the entertainment industry, Taishi Gotanda noted that Tsukuyomi possesses potential comparable to Aqua Hoshino when he was younger, though this partly stems from her actually being a supernatural being with wisdom far beyond her physical age.
Stats[]
| Stars | Entertainer | Singing | Acting | Popularity | Internet / Social Media |
Variety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★☆☆☆☆ | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Plot[]
Background[]
According to Tsukuyomi, her current body is not her own but a "vessel" given birth to by a mother, comparing her situation to Aqua and Ruby reincarnating as Ai Hoshino's children. She also adds that said mother is not a normal person either.
In a flashback, it is shown that Tsukuyomi has the memories of a crow that Sarina Tendouji and Gorou Amamiya saved from a net at their hospital in Miyazaki. The crow continued to watch over the two until the day Sarina died.[1]
At some point following Ai Hoshino's death, Tsukuyomi confronted Aqua. As he was holding out hope that she might perhaps have been reincarnated like himself and Ruby, she informed him that his mother's soul had left this world.
Private[]
Tsukuyomi is first seen after Aqua tells Gorou Amamiya's backstory to Akane. Having seemingly overheard the conversation despite not even being in the same area, she mumbles to herself how "God must be kind to have brought him, Ruby, and Ai Hoshino together," though she also notes that there "might be more to it."
Later, a crow steals Ruby's keys, prompting the latter to give chase with Akane in tow. Upon catching up to the animal at a cave hidden behind a shrine, however, the two girls also stumble across Gorou Amamiya's corpse, who Ruby immediate recognizes from Sarina Tendouji's Ai Fan Club membership card on the body. The strange circumstances that led to the corpse's discovery seem to imply that the crow was, in fact, sent by Tsukuyomi.[2]
While Ruby was still processing Gorou's death, Tsukuyomi confronted her in person. To gain her attention, she initially teased her about her taking Sarina's membership card off the corpse, which she somehow knew about despite not having been there. However, Ruby just angrily brushed her off, forcing her to change tactics. She reveals to Ruby that there were two people behind Gorou and Ai's deaths, the stalker and a middle schooler, but does not disclose the identity of the latter, telling Ruby that it is her duty to find out.[3]
Movie[]
Around the same time the movie The 15 Year Lie is green lit, Tsukuyomi comes to see Aqua, asking him what he is thinking about, his sister, his ex, someone who loves him or even his mother. She repeats the fact that Ai was not reincarnated like he and his sister were and that he should be thinking about why he was reborn at all.[4]
The Girl reappears to retell Ruby's past life and her relationship with her mother, Marina Tendouji. As she narrates, Ruby goes to the Tendouji home to find that Marina gave birth to two new children shortly after Sarina's death, leaving her devastated at the fact that her mother did not love her. After Aqua reveals to Ruby that he is Gorou's reincarnated self and helps her get back on her feet, Tsukuyomi observes from afar and says Aqua made a bad move.[5]
One week before the filming of the movie, Aqua is once again visited by Tsukuyomi. Aqua asks the Girl about her parents, to which she answers that her mother, whom she considers not a "normal" parent, gave birth to her vessel, just like the twins. To her surprise, Aqua then asks her to play the child role in the movie. The Girl believes Aqua is joking and reminds him of her otherworldly power, but Aqua continues asking if she can act. Eventually, she agrees in irritation after Aqua tells her to make an apology if she cannot do it, and Aqua introduces her to Gotanda as a child actor.[6]
Relationships[]
Ruby Hoshino[]
Tsukuyomi first comes to Ruby after the latter discovers Gorou's body at Takachiho. She goes on to tell Ruby the events that took place on the day of her birth which coincided with Gorou's disappearance. This would ultimately set Ruby on a path of revenge.[3]
Tsukuyomi is also familiar of Ruby's previous life, Sarina Tendouji as she is able to recount her story up until her death.[5]
Aqua Hoshino[]
Career[]
Filmography[]
Film[]
Manga Appearances[]
| Chapter 67: Drinking Party | Absent |
| Chapter 68: Liberation | Absent |
| Chapter 69: Room Tour | Absent |
| Chapter 70: Flame | Absent |
| Chapter 71: Pedestrian Bridge | Absent |
| Chapter 72: Freedom | Absent |
| Chapter 73: Smart | Absent |
| Chapter 74: Takachiho | Absent |
| Chapter 75: Mother and Mother | Debut |
| Chapter 76: Music Video | Absent |
| Chapter 77: Reunion | Absent |
| Chapter 78: Use | Absent |
| Chapter 79: Duty | Appears |
| Chapter 80: Wish | Absent |
| Chapter 109: Night | Absent |
| Chapter 110: How It Began | Absent |
| Chapter 111: Mammon-Worship and Passion | Absent |
| Chapter 112: Towards the Future | Absent |
| Chapter 113: Commercial Work | Absent |
| Chapter 114: Interpersonal Audition | Absent |
| Chapter 115: Roles | Absent |
| Chapter 116: Responsibility | Absent |
| Chapter 117: Panda | Absent |
| Chapter 118: Activation | Appears |
| Chapter 119: Biological Mother | Absent |
| Chapter 120: Lack of Ability | Absent |
| Chapter 121: Sarina Tendouji | Appears |
| Chapter 122: Doc | Absent |
| Chapter 123: Bad Move | Appears |
| Chapter 124: Reversal | Absent |
| Chapter 125: Dazzled | Absent |
| Chapter 126: Management | Absent |
| Chapter 127: Scouting A Girl | Appears |
| Chapter 128: Script Reading | Appears |
| Chapter 129: Piece | Absent |
| Chapter 130: Basic Tactic | Absent |
| Chapter 131: Atonement | Absent |
| Chapter 132: Nino | Absent |
| Chapter 133: Acting | Absent |
| Chapter 134: Depths | Absent |
| Chapter 135: By Her Side | Absent |
| Chapter 136: Fight | Absent |
| Chapter 137: Idol | Absent |
| Chapter 138: Amends | Absent |
| Chapter 139: Lookism | Absent |
| Chapter 140: Is This Right? | Absent |
| Chapter 141: Chain | Absent |
| Chapter 142: Responsibility | Absent |
| Chapter 143: Blind Follower | Absent |
| Chapter 144: Fan of the Originals | Appears |
| Chapter 145: Children | Appears |
| Chapter 146: Role | Absent |
| Chapter 147: Wish | Absent |
| Chapter 148: End of Summer | Appears |
| Chapter 149: By the Sea | Absent |
| Chapter 150: Knife | Absent |
| Chapter 151: Catch Ball | Absent |
| Chapter 152: Interview | Absent |
| Chapter 153: Fiction | Absent |
| Chapter 154: 15-Year Lie | Absent |
| Chapter 155: Happy End | Absent |
| Chapter 156: MEMe | Absent |
| Chapter 157: An Ordinary Day, A Wonderful Day | Absent |
| Chapter 158: Jewel | Appears |
| Chapter 159: Resonance | Absent |
| Chapter 160: Eye | Absent |
| Chapter 161: Future | Appears |
| Chapter 162: Aqua Hoshino | Appears |
| Chapter 163: You | Appears |
| Chapter 164: Finale | Absent |
| Chapter 165: And Then | Absent |
| Chapter 166: Star | Absent |
Anime Appearance[]
| Episode 12: Tokyo Blade | Absent |
| Episode 13: The Telephone Game | Absent |
| Episode 14: Rewriting | Absent |
| Episode 15: Emotional Acting | Absent |
| Episode 16: The Curtain Rises | Absent |
| Episode 17: Growth | Absent |
| Episode 18: Sun | Absent |
| Episode 19: Trigger | Absent |
| Episode 20: Dream | Absent |
| Episode 21: Liberation | Cameo |
| Episode 22: Freedom | Absent |
| Episode 23: Reunion | Debut |
| Episode 24: Wish | Appears |
Trivia[]
- Tsukuyomi is commonly referred as crow girl by fans as crows are present whenever she appears before she adopts Tsukuyomi as her stage name.
- Tsukuyomi's stage name originates from the deity Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, the bigender god of the moon from Japan's Shinto mythology.
- Coincidentally, Tsukuyomi is a sibling of Amaterasu, the deity that Ruby once pretended to be back when she was a baby.
- Prior to adopting Tsukuyomi as her stage name, a popular fan theory is that Tsukuyomi is either the deity Yatagarasu or Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto from Japan's Shinto mythology.
- Yatagarasu is also known as the "eight-layered crow", like how Tsukuyomi is constantly accompanied by up to eight crows.
- Yatagarasu often serves as a divine guide to humans, like how Tsukuyomi claims to guide Ruby and Aqua.
- Ame-no-Uzume is the goddess of arts, which fits with the themes of Oshi no Ko.
- One time, Ame-no-Uzume was mentioned, with Aqua commenting that same chapter that he "knows her well".[7]
- Tsukuyomi's statement that Ai's children were "soulless" implies that she would have had a stillbirth if Gorou and Sarina were not reincarnated as her twin children.