【OSHI NO KO】 (【推しの子】)

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OSHI NO KO

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What do you think, Sensei?

They're all such great actors.

They can put on a great play.

But of course. Lalalai's filled with top-class actors.

They all must be practicing a lot for this, right?

Sensei, in theater it's called "rehearsing," not "practicing."

Oh, really? Sorry about that.

I'm very new to all of this.

They're amazing. I really couldn't do this.

But that's exactly why...

I need to be the one to say it, don't I?

Can you still make changes to the script?

Of course, but what part?

"What part"? Well...

All of it?

Stage Play Tokyo Blade First Introductions

Lalalai has quite the purist image. I'm surprised they agreed to a 2.5D play.

Yeah, but half of the cast consists of outside actors.

I don't think we need to be nervous.

I'm not nervous or anything.

Melt-kun.

Hey.

I heard Producer Kaburagi helped cast the non-Lalalai actors for this.

So we're basically Team Kaburagi here. Glad to be working with you.

Yeah, same.

What's with the pause?

I mean, I get it.

You saw this awful actor and thought, "Welp, it's Sweet Today all over again."

Busted.

I'm not gonna ask you to give me a pass because that was my first acting gig.

But it's been nine months since then, and I've, uh... done some homework.

I should do better than last time.

If I'm not good enough, let me know.

Studio B

I'm Melt Narushima, with Sonic Stage. I'll be playing Kizami.

I look forward to working with you.

I'm Kana Arima, with Strawberry Pro. I'll be playing Tsurugi.

I'm Aqua Hoshino, also with Strawberry Pro. I'll be playing Touki.

You're all here so early! We still have another ten minutes!

But since everybody's here, let's get started on the introductions.

My name's Raida. I'm the one in charge of this show.

And this here's the director, Kin-chan.

I'm Toshirou Kindaichi.

GOA-san, the scriptwriter!

Sakuya Kamoshida-kun, an actor with 2.5D play experience in spades.

Pleasure.

He's Team Kaburagi, too.

Huh...

Now, here are the Lalalai actors.

Norio Mita.

Mei Adashino. Koyuki Yoshidomi.

Kiiro Hayashibara. Ryouma Funato.

Akane Kurokawa.

Glad to be working with you.

And last but not least, the star of the show...

Wake up, you fool!

Ow.

Uh, sorry. I'm playing the lead...

Imperial Theater Awards

Best Actor Award

Monday 9 PM TV Series Lead

What's his name again?

Whatever. I'm Taiki Himekawa.

Heya.

Let's all come together and make the Tokyo Blade stage play a success!

Let's do this!

We were only gonna do introductions today, but as the major cast members are here,

want to do a read-through while we're at it?

We'll start at half past.

You're free to chat, get ready, or whatever until then.

Okay!

Long time no see, Aqua-kun.

Not that long. We meet up for alibi reasons now and then.

That's one thing,

but I'm just happy I get to work with you again.

All I did on Love for Real was cause you trouble.

But theater is my forte.

This time, I'll help you out.

You sound confident.

Uh, I didn't mean it like that.

I've still got a long way to go. I can't get full of myself.

But we'll have a lot of scenes together in this play,

so I just wanted to let you know you can rely on me.

Yeah? Thanks.

I'll talk to you if anything comes up.

Sure.

Grr...

Those two are going out, right? They got together on some reality show?

Snap!

Th-That's the narrative they put together on the show, it seems!

But I hear it's purely business.

The fans wouldn't like it if you kissed someone and then never met them again.

They do seem pretty close, though.

Huh...

Their characters are engaged, so maybe it was a deliberate casting choice?

I'd say they're a good fit.

I don't like tying actors' real situations to their roles. It's distracting.

And factoring in things that the audience may not know

only serves to make shows less accessible.

Yet for some reason, promoters have liked blurring the lines for centuries now.

Whoa, someone's opinionated.

During Sweet Today, you were more of a team player.

Well, yeah, I was cast leader. I didn't want to bring down the mood.

This is what I'm really like.

You didn't have to hold yourself back like that.

If you'd spoken your mind from the start, I might've noticed how bad I was sooner.

Nah, that's just an excuse. Forget I said anything.

We've got a lot of scenes together. I'll let my acting do the talking.

Cheers!

Cheers.

Sensei, thank you for taking the time to come out tonight.

I mean, I work on a monthly series.

I'm usually free unless I've got a deadline coming up.

Still, you agreed to come see me of all people.

What are you talking about?

You might have been my assistant before, but you're a full-fledged author now.

Heck, you've left me in the dust.

The brain behind a mega-hit weekly manga and anime personally invited me out.

I'm obviously going to show up.

So, what did you want to talk about?

Sensei, you've experienced both anime and live-action adaptations of your manga.

This has all been new for me, so I don't know how it works.

There's always so much I want to say, but I'm not sure how far I can take it.

Ah...

And now they're making a Tokyo Blade play, and I don't know how I feel.

Sensei, could you please come watch a rehearsal with me?

If you're okay with me not being much help, sure, I'll go with you.

That's great. Thank you.

Check, please!

I'm sorry. I should've been the one to pay.

Hey, it's the older one's job to pick up the tab.

Let's hit the next place.

Oh...

Can I brush my teeth first?

I feel gross if I don't brush right after I eat.

Oh, right, I remember that.

I'll be right back.

The manga industry's full of oddballs,

and even among them, Abiko-sensei stands out.

You can draw a manga by yourself,

but adaptations involve a lot more hands, which means you need people skills.

We know for a fact that letting adapters just do whatever they want is a bad idea,

but you also hear talk of creator meddling throwing productions into chaos.

So both sides need to give and take,

but Abiko-sensei has trouble with that.

I should hit the restroom, too.

Huh? What are you doing?

Double brushing.

Double the brushes, double the speed.

I can't keep you waiting, so I'm going twice as fast.

Yeah, she's weird weird.

I hope the Tokyo Blade stage play doesn't run into any trouble.

Please fix the script. All of it.

Saw that coming!

A-All of it? That's impossible.

You already gave this script the okay, and we've started rehearsing.

And we open in twenty days!

I asked several times for it to be fixed.

But I was told I'd see how good the script really was when I saw it performed,

so I said if it really was good, then you'd have my okay.

But it's not good, so you don't have my okay, do you?

Sensei! First, let me apologize for writing a script you're unhappy with.

Of course, I'll fix what I can, even at this point.

However...

We communicated several times beforehand,

and I felt I'd incorporated your wishes as much as I possibly could.

What else am I supposed to change now?

So you're the one who produced this "script."

I already told you what I wanted fixed, but apparently you didn't get it.

"What else am I supposed to change"? Have you even read Tokyo Blade?

Of course I read it!