【OSHI NO KO】 (【推しの子】)

No! Let me go!

Calm down!

I don't mean you any harm. Please just calm down.

Aqua... how come?

Mem said you went out in the typhoon,

but you wouldn't return, so she's looking around for you.

So I was following the route to the convenience store.

You idiot.

Hey, you two!

That was dangerous earlier!

What are you guys doing?!

Akane Kurokawa's getting roasted.

Well, with that incident, it's no surprise.

Don't you get used to this type of thing once you're a public figure?

More or less.

But it depends on the person, so some people never get used to it.

Even for me,

depending on my mental state, there are days when I think of actually dying too.

The mind of a teenage girl receiving a storm of criticism for the first time

must be something unimaginable for you.

It's enough to make you believe that your life is over.

Reality dating shows are popular in countries all over the world,

but it's produced nearly 50 suicides up to now.

Depending on the country, counseling for the cast is mandatory by law.

If 50 people are dead, then you should think there are ten times more than that

who have thought of committing suicide, but barely escaped death.

Reality shows are a program where you expose your true self.

The one who gets slammed is yourself, not the show.

Of course that's tough.

My brother said, "Lies are also the best way to protect yourself."

That's well put.

It's good if you created a persona to some degree,

but the more you show your true self, the damage is deeper.

Social media makes the slander toward celebrities visible.

By freedom of expression and in the name of justice,

someone is getting lynched every day somewhere.

Everyone thinks of themselves as an exception,

but they are in fact cornering someone.

Your casual remark can kill people.

I wonder if Bro is okay.

Even if you're careful, it's useless.

Like they say, "Everyone has their quirks."

Every person has some kind of flaw.

We all possess fuel to spark controversy.

Yes. That's correct.

What? Is that true?

Yes. I'll be over right away.

Is something wrong, CEO?

Aqua...

seems to be in trouble with the police right now.

What?!

My daughter told me not to watch the program,

and I'm not familiar with the internet.

I never knew she was in such a situation.

Why didn't you tell me?

Because I didn't want to worry you!

When I was called, I prepared myself for the worst.

But good job, Aqua. I'm proud of you.

You look uninterested in others, but you're watching over people.

It's not like that.

People can die easily.

If someone screams for help, you gotta move quickly or it'll be too late.

But I'll charge Akane for the taxi fare later.

You're cheap.

Akane!

You idi...

Why did you make us worry?

Why?! Why didn't you talk to us?!

Sorry...

Akane.

What do you wanna do from here?

What do I wanna do?

I'm saying you have an option to quit the show this way.

But what about the contract and stuff?

This is an issue that questions the supervisory responsibility

of the program that uses minors.

Now that it's reached this point, they wouldn't complain if you wanted to quit.

You're exposing your real name, Akane Kurokawa, on the show.

You decide where to draw the line.

I've been working hard all this time to become more famous as an actress

and to continue acting.

Everyone's helped me out so much too...

But it ended up like this.

Akane...

I'm scared...

I'm really scared...

But I'm gonna continue.

I don't wanna quit like this!

Alright.

You heard her. There's no problems, right?

Of course.

That's what we've been saying from the start.

We'll try to back you up as much as possible too.

You all get along on this set.

Well, this set's entire cast is around the same age.

I'm sure everyone's going to work together

and go through with the show despite what's being said.

But this leaves a bad aftertaste.

The show that fueled the fire and those online who said whatever they wanted ...

they all piss me off.

PRESS CLUB

The police station has something called a press club.

Various media journalists stand by 24 hours to pick up the latest news

and they're all waiting eagerly for a scoop.

TEENAGE ACTRESS ATTEMPTS SUICIDE

Now you've gone and done it...

I was a fool for complimenting you.

I hope you know where this is going.

Yeah, although I don't know if it'll go well.

Now this is where the real reality show begins.

The news of Akane's suicide attempt spread,

and it sparked various debates in the community.

Of course there were those who backed off,

but new disputes and slander increased too.

It gained attention, but there's no net positive outcome.

This kind of thing just isn't a good countermeasure against backlash.

In fact, Akane Kurokawa is still on hiatus right now,

and she has no plans of returning yet.

You selfish child.

Can you take responsibility for making this a big issue?

I don't think this is a bad bet.

The amount of attention is the same as the poker chips on the table.

If she folds now, Akane will lose big without having put up a fight.

You can't win if you don't raise.

I still bet even if I have only one ace.

Real life is nothing like poker.

What? You want videos and pictures with everyone in it?

But I don't have that many. Maybe only 100 or less.

You've got a ton.

What do you wanna use it for?

Love For Real is content edited by a pro, right?

So there's an intent there to make Akane the villain to make the show interesting.

If you just cut out parts of a story and patch it together,

even a saint can look like a criminal.

That's what staging does.

I have the filmmaking skills, so if I just have the materials...

I see.

In other words, you want to make a Love For Real in our own perspective.

Whose advice was that? Did you think of it yourself?

Hm? I did.

Really, that's not a bad idea.

This situation now in advertising agency terms is called

"A situation with many active viewers where many impressions can be expected."

Akane's backlash stands out at first glance,

but that's just the tip of the iceberg.

In reality, that's only a small percentage of the viewers.

The sensitive topic of attempted suicide...

Most of the audience are wondering if they should support or criticize.

They're the silent majority.

In other words, many users are looking for an answer.

That's where you provide a highly relatable opinion,

then most people will believe that's what's correct in this market.

We're the focus of attention right now,

so we might be able to completely overwrite public opinion.

And we have the access to upload your video to the official accounts too.

The user flow is secured.

Depending on the video's quality, we can expect it to go super viral.

Once it's finished, gimme the data! I'll upload it!

Well, I could do that much...

Do you know which day and time is best to upload to get the most retweets

and how many characters in a post gives the highest impressions?

No...

I came this far through online marketing and self-promoting, you know?

I may not look it, but I'm a pro at making content go viral.

Hm. Then I'll provide the music.

You can do that?

Well, I am a pro who belongs to a record label, living off music.

I write the songs for my band and offer music to others too.

I just gotta make some teary emotional songs, right?

Piece of cake!

Whoa.

But you know, don't we want that one scene?

Which scene?

You know, the scene where Akane hit me and I kindly hugged her!

Ah! Oh, but the camera wasn't rolling there...

Don't underestimate me.

You think a pro model like me wouldn't take notice of the static camera position?

I put us in a position that'd make us perfectly appear on camera.

So much for a natural reaction...

The staff definitely has the footage. They're hiding it on purpose!

It's so unfair!

Well, yeah, we do have it.

But it's prohibited to carry out video data. I can't lend it to you.

That's true.

If that gets out,

it's like admitting the show set up a cast member to look like a villain.

If that happens while we're attracting this much attention,