Past Lives Finally Resurface Oshi no Ko Volume 8 

A lot’s happened over the last few volumes of the Oshi no Ko manga. In volume 6, the focus was on character development during the Tokyo Blade stage play. When we read through volume 7, we got Aqua come to terms with his trama and the possibility that he doesn’t need to live for revenge. Sometimes transitions between arcs in series can feel fuzzy, but this is very clear cut. Which is exciting, because now in volume 8 of Oshi no Ko the manga’s focus finally shifts back to Ruby and both Ruby and Aqua’s past lives.

Editor’s Note: There will be some mild spoilers for Oshi no Ko, particularly volume 8 of the manga and Ruby and Aqua’s past lives, below.

Okay, so this shouldn’t be a spoiler by now. But in Oshi no Ko, both Ruby and Aqua are reincarnated characters who knew each other in their past lives. Before becoming Ai’s children, they knew each other in the town of Miyazaki. Ruby was a young woman named Sarina Tendouji, who was dying of cancer. Aqua was Dr. Gorou Amamiya, an obstetrician who was there for Ai when pregnant, but also was caring for Sarina since her parents weren’t present. They both died at about the same time, with Sarina’s being due to her illness and Gorou’s due to someone with malevolent intentions tied to Ai. 

The thing is, that element sort of fell off a bit as the focus turned to their new lives as siblings Aqua and Ruby. The two both knew they were reincarnated individuals. They also both knew they had a connection to and love for Ai. They didn’t know their sibling was actually the person they knew in their past life. But after volume 1, that seemed to be it. Yes, Aqua’s past identity is helping to drive his pursuit of revenge for Ai’s murder. But we didn’t learn anymore about Gorou.

So getting to return to both of these characters via flashbacks and references to these past lives in Oshi no Ko volume 8 is such a welcome opportunity. Because now that the new B-Komachi is going to Miyazaki to record a video, both Aqua and Ruby are thinking about what once was. In the case of Aqua, he’s trying to find out if anyone realized what happened when Gorou was killed. With Ruby, she’s also searching for Gorou while reminiscing about how much her doctor meant to her. There are some fantastic resolutions for both of them in this, and it especially means some new growth and opportunities for us to see Ruby as something other than a constantly happy and eternal optimist. 

I also love how there’s a hint of something else in Oshi no Ko volume 8. There’s a touch of the supernatural here. Again, I’m not going to spoil such major revelations. However, given the circumstances behind Sarina and Gorou’s deaths, and the fact they both happened to reincarnate as Ai’s children and siblings, it’s always felt like something is going on. With this volume, there’s an additional hint of there being something more after everyone’s arrival and Miyazaki, and I can’t wait to see how that plays out.

Basically, I’m glad Oshi no Ko is coming back to the past lives of Ruby and Aqua with volume 8 of the manga. There’s so much unexplored potential there. Unanswered questions too! It feels like now that the Tokyo Blade arc is over, we’ll finally get to see more from Ruby and additional insights into the characters and what’s going on again. 

Oshi no Ko volume 8 is available now, and Yen Press will release volume 9 of the manga on February 18, 2025. The anime is streaming on HIDIVE. Season 3 is in development.