Oshi no Ko voice actor stars Yurie Igoma and Takeo Otsuka, who voice Ruby and Aqua respectively, visited Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2024 (AFA SG) on November 7, Saturday.
During their short stay in Singapore, they held a fan meet and greet session and a day stage panel, answering questions about the anime.
An actual Japanese idol played host to the Oshi no Ko stars, which made the panel more interesting. Sally Amaki is a singer, part of voice acting idol group 22/7, and a voice actress herself who is fluent in Japanese and English.
During the panel, which included Kadokawa series producer Shinpei Yamashita, fans discovered which Oshi no Ko voice actor had read the now completed manga and who hasn’t.
Oshi no Ko voice actors were told not to read the manga, but for one, it was too late
Yurie Igoma and Shinpei Yamashita were last seen traveling overseas for Anime Expo 2024 in Los Angeles in early July this year.
Otsuka-san shared that when he decided to participate in AFA SG 2024, the first thing he did was renew his passport. He had visited Hong Kong before, but it had since expired. Singapore is the second country he’s visited and the first since he launched a career in voice acting.
Igoma-san expressed how excited she was to be in Singapore. In the AFA SG 2024 promotional video, at the fan meeting, and on stage, she had highlighted how much she was looking forward to see the Merlion. She eventually did, and posted a picture of herself with the Merlion against the Marina Bay Sands backdrop.
When the topic shifted to Oshi no Ko, the panel shared that they were surprised at Oshi no Ko’s reception overseas considering it’s about the Japanese entertainment industry with local nuances. Sally Amaki, an idol herself, remarked that it does capture real-life experiences quite well.
Producer Yamashita-san also explained why he intentionally went against the grain, turning the debut episode into a 90-minute run.
“I was expecting Oshi no Ko to be somewhat popular because it’s written by Aka Akasaka, who also wrote Kaguya Sama. That series also had comedic and serious parts to it,” said Yamashita-san.
“I didn’t want to cut the first episode down to 30 minutes like how it would traditionally be done because I didn’t want to cut up scenes leading up to Ai’s death. It was all part of the plan,” he elaborated.
While the anime is still ongoing, having completed the airing of its second season on October 6, 2024, the manga concluded on November 14, 2024 with Chapter 166. Turns out, Igoma-san hasn’t read it while Otsuka-san has.
“Aqua is someone that I really want to see happy,” commented Igoma-san, after which fans in audience reacted and was immediately shushed by the panel.
The panel ended with live readings from the Oshi no Ko voice actors. Otsuka-san picked a scene from Season 2 Episode 16 where Aqua was using his trauma to act, while Igoma-san selected one from Season 2 Episode 23 which she thought sums up Ruby well.
