| “ | The guy who made Ai go through such a thing is in the entertainment world. Since that guy is related to me by blood, I can track him through genetic testing with a piece of hair. I can't die yet. Not until I find him... and kill him with my very own hands. |
„ |
| ― Aquamarine Hoshino | ||
Aqua Hoshino「
An orphan and a fan of Ai in his previous life, he enjoyed being her child, entering the entertainment world from an early age. Unfortunately, this happy life ended when the same stalker who killed him in his previous life murdered his new mother as he watched. This event fundamentally changed him, prompting him to go down down the dark side of the entertainment industry to find the person who sold Ai out, his father.
He momentarily gave up on his quest when his primary suspect turned out to be already deceased, allowing himself to live a normal life. However, his vengeance returned, stronger than ever, once he realized that he targetted the wrong person, and upon finding his real father, he hatched a plot to expose his crimes.
Appearance[]
As a child, Aqua was often called cute by those around him. As he grows older, Aqua becomes a relatively tall boy who is described as "handsome" with blonde hair, much like his younger twin sister Ruby Hoshino. He also long bangs hanging on the left side of his face and aquamarine blue eyes, which his late mother Ai Hoshino named him after, that features a star in his right eye, symbolizing that he and his sister are halves of their mother.
He often changes his appearance due to his job as an actor.
Due to being Ai's son, many people were able to point out their similarities despite being unaware of his pedigree. Much to Aqua's dismay, as before Chapter 105, he wanted to keep the truth about his late mother from being known to the general public. He also bears a strong resemblance to his biological father Hikaru Kamiki.
Personality[]
Before the tragedy that struck his family, Aqua was considered relatively normal other than his unparalleled prodigious talent in acting even as a child and his quick wit and intelligence like reading complex books. With him retaining his past experiences, he accomplished many things not expected for someone his age. Performing acting jobs was something he was open to and excelled at.
After the tragedy that killed his mother, Ai Hoshino, he changed and became cold, calculated, cunning, and discreet, willing to do whatever means necessary to see his goal of finding his father through. His psychological trauma from Ai's murder tends to resurface anytime he seems to forget his goals. This is the case when Kana Arima suggested that he'd look back at his happy memories in Chapter 50 to improve his acting on the spot. It is a case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and doubles as an active reminder to not stray from his original purpose of vengeance. He blames himself for being weak-willed during that moment, even though he was but a child. However, he used these negative emotions to exemplify his acting performance during his scenes in the Tokyo Blade Theatrical.
Aqua is described as someone with emotional distance; he is shocked when he hears from Kana that he is ''gloomy'', but despite this, he does genuinely care about the people close to him. Aqua is overly protective of Ruby, his younger twin sister. It is mainly described by Taishi Gotanda, his mentor, as someone with a sister complex, which is understandable since he was initially unwilling to let his sister become an idol and suffer the same fate as their mother. Thus, he surreptitiously destroyed almost every chance Ruby could get to be promoted due to this overprotective nature, despite knowing how she longed to follow in their mother's footsteps. Ultimately, he helped Ruby and the new B-Komachi group prepare for a gig so they could accomplish a task long thought impossible. He was also one of the main driving forces behind a project that served to save Akane Kurokawa's reputation.
After being told that his father, the main reason for his quest for vengeance, was dead, he becomes warmer to those around him and begins smiling more. He ponders whether he could now be happy and live normally as he recalls his girlfriend's smiling face. Moreover, he becomes more supportive of Ruby's ambitions and encourages her to do her best. He was deeply ashamed of himself for continuously using Akane for his own selfish ambitions, but after she broke down, he wiped her tears and vowed to keep her safe as he gave her their second kiss that was removed from ulterior motives.
After learning he was mistaken in assuming his father was dead, he has a mental breakdown at the realization[14]. As a result of this and discovering his father's true identity, he becomes even more cold and calculating than before. He even develops black stars in both of his eyes, similar to Ruby. He's even gone as far as believing that he won't survive once everything is over, saying his actions are necessary so Ruby can live once he's gone[15].
Throughout the series, Aqua shows signs of being a psychological manipulator. While he has shown to care for those around him, at the same time he also uses them to further his and Ruby's goals.
This manipulation is best seen in his relationship with Kana Arima, taking advantage of her low self-esteem and emotional dependence on several occasions. He employed various tactics, including but not limited to love bombing, superficial charm, and flattery, to get her to join his sister's idol group. He continued doing so afterward to keep her close. Even when she distanced herself after he began a relationship with Akane Kurokawa, he continued with his act, making her believe that they might have a future together. However, despite his manipulations, Aqua has genuinely respected Kana's acting ability.
Aqua also used Akane multiple times for his own gain, trapping her in a relationship by pretending to truly love her. While saving her from cyberbullying and attempted suicide during the filming of LoveforReal, his primary reason for starting a romance was due to her connections to the Lala Lai Theatrical Company. To this end, he showered her with gifts, attention, and affection while placing a listening device on her to ensure she would not leave him due to a possible fear of abandonment. Over time, however, his false feelings for her were slowly becoming real, subtly trying to get her to stay away out of concern, and he ultimately threatens her into staying out of his revenge plan, ending their relationship, ironically to protect her.
Skills & Talents[]
Arguably, Aqua's greatest talent is his ability to mimic as demonstrated when he puts on a disguise and pretends to be Pieyon.[16] His mimicry is so uncanny that he is able to fool his own sister.
In terms of acting, it is Aqua's nature to reenact samples that he saw somewhere, as noted by Kana.[17] And after watching tapes of his performances when he was younger, Akane Kurokawa concludes that Aqua's acting was all planned ahead of time.[18] Furthermore, Aqua has also demonstrated his ability to improvise on set.[19] Taken together, it suggests Aqua follows the Meisner technique, an acting technique that emphasizes on emotional preparation, repetition exercises, and improvisation.
And due to working for Taishi Gotanda as an intern, Aqua has also become proficient at editing videos.
Stats[]
| Stars | Entertainer | Singing | Acting | Popularity | Internet/Social Media | Variety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★★★☆☆ | B | D | B | A | C | B |
Career[]
Film[]
Television[]
- I'll Go With Sweet Today
- We're About to Fall in Love for Real
- Dig Deep! One Chance
- Some unknown drama titles[13]
Theater[]
- Tokyo Blade
- Unknown stage play title[20]
Manga Appearance[]
| Chapter 1: Mother & Children | Debut |
| Chapter 2: Big Brother & Little Sister | Appears |
| Chapter 3: Babysitter | Appears |
| Chapter 4: How to Smile | Appears |
| Chapter 5: Director & Actress | Appears |
| Chapter 6: Child Actors | Appears |
| Chapter 7: If You Fear Falling, You'll Fall Harder | Appears |
| Chapter 8: Ai Hoshino Part 1 | Appears |
| Chapter 9: Ai Hoshino Part 2 | Appears |
| Chapter 10: Introduction | Appears |
| Chapter 11: Audition | Appears |
| Chapter 12: The Third Option | Appears |
| Chapter 13: Procedures | Appears |
| Chapter 14: Connection | Appears |
| Chapter 15: The Manga Drama | Appears |
| Chapter 16: Acting Skills | Appears |
| Chapter 17: Staging | Appears |
| Chapter 18: Modest Praise | Appears |
| Chapter 19: The Entertainment Department | Appears |
| Chapter 20: New Member | Appears |
| Chapter 21: The Dating Reality Show | Appears |
| Chapter 22: Wannable Idol | Absent |
| Chapter 23: AMark | Appears |
| Chapter 24: Egosearch | Appears |
| Chapter 25: Up in Flames | Appears |
| Chapter 26: Storm | Appears |
| Chapter 27: Viral | Appears |
| Chapter 28: Role Creation | Appears |
| Chapter 29: Perfect Copy | Appears |
| Chapter 30: The First | Appears |
| Chapter 31: Love for Real | Appears |
| Chapter 32: Appropriate Age | Appears |
| Chapter 33: Motivation | Appears |
| Chapter 34: Center | Appears |
| Chapter 35: Responsible | Appears |
| Chapter 36: The Night Before | Appears |
| Chapter 37: Pressure | Flashback |
| Chapter 38: Group Fan | Appears |
| Chapter 39: A Job That's Kinda Fun | Appears |
| Chapter 40: Sore Loser | Appears |
| Chapter 41: Introductions | Appears |
| Chapter 42: Read-Through | Appears |
| Chapter 43: The Losing Heroine | Appears |
| Chapter 44: The Visit | Appears |
| Chapter 45: The Telephone Game | Appears |
| Chapter 46: Theater | Appears |
| Chapter 47: Studio Visit | Appears |
| Chapter 48: Crunch Time | Absent |
| Chapter 49: Rewriting | Appears |
| Chapter 50: Emotional Acting | Appears |
| Chapter 51: Inquiry | Appears |
| Chapter 52: Boyfriend, Girlfriend | Appears |
| Chapter 53: Playboy | Flashback |
| Chapter 54: Axis of a Conflict | Appears |
| Chapter 55: Opening | Appears |
| Chapter 56: Beginning of Competition | Appears |
| Chapter 57: Lousy | Appears |
| Chapter 58: Growth | Appears |
| Chapter 59: Admiration | Appears |
| Chapter 60: The Sun | Absent |
| Chapter 61: Play Along | Appears |
| Chapter 62: Ad-lib | Appears |
| Chapter 63: Genius Actor | Appears |
| Chapter 64: Trigger | Appears |
| Chapter 65: Regret | Appears |
| Chapter 66: The Curtain Falls | Appears |
| Chapter 67: Drinking Party | Appears |
| Chapter 68: Liberation | Appears |
| Chapter 69: Room Tour | Appears |
| Chapter 70: Flame | Appears |
| Chapter 71: Pedestrian Bridge | Appears |
| Chapter 72: Freedom | Appears |
| Chapter 73: Smart | Appears |
| Chapter 74: Takachiho | Appears |
| Chapter 75: Mother and Mother | Appears |
| Chapter 76: Music Video | Appears |
| Chapter 77: Reunion | Appears |
| Chapter 78: Use | Appears |
| Chapter 79: Duty | Absent |
| Chapter 80: Wish | Appears |
| Chapter 81: Rapid Progress | Appears |
| Chapter 82: B-Komachi Night | Absent |
| Chapter 83: Obsessed | Appears |
| Chapter 84: Hard Selling | Appears |
| Chapter 85: Calculation | Appears |
| Chapter 86: AD | Appears |
| Chapter 87: Lies | Appears |
| Chapter 88: Offer | Absent |
| Chapter 89: Cosplay | Absent |
| Chapter 90: Compliance | Absent |
| Chapter 91: Dig Deep | Appears |
| Chapter 92: Ritual Purification | Appears |
| Chapter 93: Leak | Appears |
| Chapter 94: Breakthrough | Appears |
| Chapter 95: Blindness | Appears |
| Chapter 96: White Roses | Appears |
| Chapter 97: Together | Appears |
| Chapter 98: Going Astray | Appears |
| Chapter 99: Drinking | Appears |
| Chapter 100: Industry | Absent |
| Chapter 101: Predicament | Imagined |
| Chapter 102: Idol and Love | Appears |
| Chapter 103: Scandal | Appears |
| Chapter 104: Countermeasure | Appears |
| Chapter 105: Reporter | Appears |
| Chapter 106: Breaking Off | Appears |
| Chapter 107: Friends | Appears |
| Chapter 108: Plan | Appears |
| Chapter 109: Night | Absent |
| Chapter 110: How It Began | Appears |
| Chapter 111: Mammon-Worship and Passion | Flashback |
| Chapter 112: Towards the Future | Appears |
| Chapter 113: Commercial Work | Absent |
| Chapter 114: Interpersonal Audition | Flashback |
| Chapter 115: Roles | Flashback |
| Chapter 116: Responsibility | Appears |
| Chapter 117: Panda | Appears |
| Chapter 118: Activation | Appears |
| Chapter 119: Biological Mother | Appears |
| Chapter 120: Lack of Ability | Appears |
| Chapter 121: Sarina Tendouji | Appears |
| Chapter 122: Doc | Appears |
| Chapter 123: Bad Move | Appears |
| Chapter 124: Reversal | Appears |
| Chapter 125: Dazzled | Absent |
| Chapter 126: Management | Appears |
| Chapter 127: Scouting A Girl | Appears |
| Chapter 128: Script Reading | Appears |
| Chapter 129: Piece | Flashback |
| Chapter 130: Basic Tactic | Appears |
| Chapter 131: Atonement | Appears |
| Chapter 132: Nino | Appears |
| Chapter 133: Acting | Imagined |
| Chapter 134: Depths | Absent |
| Chapter 135: By Her Side | Appears |
| Chapter 136: Fight | Appears |
| Chapter 137: Idol | Absent |
| Chapter 138: Amends | Appears |
| Chapter 139: Lookism | Appears |
| Chapter 140: Is This Right? | Appears |
| Chapter 141: Chain | Appears |
| Chapter 142: Responsibility | Appears |
| Chapter 143: Blind Follower | Appears |
| Chapter 144: Fan of the Originals | Absent |
| Chapter 145: Children | Appears |
| Chapter 146: Role | Appears |
| Chapter 147: Wish | Appears |
| Chapter 148: End of Summer | Appears |
| Chapter 149: By the Sea | Appears |
| Special Chapter | Appears |
| Interlude Chapter 1 | Absent |
| Interlude Chapter 2 | Absent |
| Interlude Chapter 3 | Absent |
| Interlude Chapter 4 | Appears |
Anime Appearance[]
| Episode 1: Mother and Children | Debut |
| Episode 2: Third Option | Appears |
| Episode 3: Manga Based TV Drama | Appears |
| Episode 4: Actors | Appears |
| Episode 5: Reality Dating Show | Appears |
| Episode 6: Egosurfing | Appears |
| Episode 7: Buzz | Appears |
| Episode 8: First Time | Appears |
| Episode 9: B-Komachi | Appears |
| Episode 10: Pressure | Appears |
| Episode 11: Idol | Appears |
Etymology[]
- The name Aquamarine means "love, affection" (愛) (a), "long time" (久) (ku), "love, affection" (愛) (a) and "sea, ocean" (海) (marin).
- His nickname Aqua means "water, sea-blue, one from water" in Latin.
- The name is also associated with a blue-green color reflecting his eye color.
- Just like Ruby, Aquamarine is a gemstone that is a blue-green color.
- The romaji pronunciation does not follow traditional methods because Aqua's name is a kira-kira name, with 海 pronounced as "Marin" instead of "Umi".
- His nickname Aqua means "water, sea-blue, one from water" in Latin.
- Aquamarine's surname Hoshino means "star" (星) (hoshi) and "field, wilderness" (野) (no).
Trivia[]
- Everyone calls him "Aqua" because "Aquamarine" is too long.[21]
- Ai Hoshino had one star in each eye, whereas Aqua inherited a star in his right eye while his younger twin sister Ruby Hoshino inherited it in her left eye. After the revelation that his "father" was 'dead,' he lost the star, implying it is a feature dependent upon their emotional state.
- Possibly due to memories from his past life, Aqua reveals that he can't really use technology as the youngsters do nor does he understand the reason behind their popularity.[3]
- Aqua is constantly called and labeled a sis-con (a person with an extreme attachment to their sister).[22] [23] [24]
- Aqua starts high school at 16, a little after the first episode of We're About to Fall in Love for Real.[9]
- Aqua once admitted to Kana that he prefers women who are older rather than younger.[25]
- Aqua dislikes bell peppers.[26]
- Aqua is in class 1-D during his first year at Youtou High School.[27]
- Aqua spent over five million yen when trying to find out who his biological father is.[28]
- Aqua is shocked by Kana's comment that he looks gloomy; this wasn't something noticeable to him himself, although it is a common perception of him.[29]
- Aqua is the only one of the four main cast members to be male, with all of the others (Ruby, Kana and Akane) being female.
- Young Aqua is voiced by Yumi Uchiyama, who also voiced Rudeus Greyrat from Mushoku Tensei, a character who also died and was reincarnated in a young body.
- Aqua manages to do a perfect vocal impression of Pieyon without Kana noticing the switch.
Notes[]
- ↑ The twins' age during the filming of That Was the Start was never outright stated, but it can be inferred that they are at least one year old from available information.
References[]
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 6 (p. 1).
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 23 (p. 5).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 24 (p. 6).
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Official Anime Website: TALENT -アニメ『【推しの子】』公式サイト- (in Japanese).
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 2 (p. 4).
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 5 (p. 2).
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 7 (p. 2).
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 11 (p. 2), Aqua and Ruby are twins and the same age.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 23 (p. 10).
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 84 (p. 8).
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 100 (p. 6), Kana is 18 before going off to meet the director and Aqua is 1 year younger than her.
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 117 (p. 7), it has been 2 years since Aqua asked Kana to become an idol.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 81 (p. 10), Mem-cho mention Aqua acts in several dramas as supporting characters & he's also a model in fashion magazines.
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 95.
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 106.
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 36.
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 50 (p. 8).
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 52 (p. 7).
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 62.
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 83 (p. 5), Aqua said he have been casted for Lala Lai's next stageplay.
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 13 (p. 15).
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 11 (p. 18).
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 14 (p. 1).
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 94 (p. 16).
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 30 (p. 8).
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 35 (p. 16), Aqua as Pieyon reveals that he hates bell pepper.
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 41 (p. 4), Conversation taking place in class 1-D.
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 72 (p. 9).
- ↑ Oshi no Ko Manga: Ch. 107 (p. 12), Aqua is shocked when he hears from Kama that he looks gloomy?.