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The upcoming Oshi no Ko anime series announced on Thursday that it will have a 90-minute premiere to kickstart the series. A new teaser visual and the first cast list were also revealed as part of the announcement. Veteran voice actress Rie Takahashi is set to voice the role of the main character Ai Hoshino. The Oshi no Ko series premiere will air sometime in 2023 with studio Doga Kobo in charge of animation production. No other information about the series has been revealed at this time.
Oshi no Ko Staff
Daisuke Hiramaki will be directing the Oshi no Ko anime series. While Hiramki doesn’t have many popular titles under his directing belt, with WATATEN!: an Angel Flew Down to Me being his most popular, also animated by Dogo Kobo, he does have storyboard and episode directing work on some rather big series. He was in charge of episode direction for many series including Shirobako (ep. 19), Sakura Quest (Ep. 6, 14, 22), and Campione! (Ep. 7). Popular series Hiramaki has storyboarded for include Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai (Ep. 5), Wolf Girl & Black Prince (ep. 12), and New Game!! (ep 11). But it’s not just high production staff positions, Hiramaki also has a ton of key animation work in Naruto: Shippuden, Gurren Lagann (Ep. 3 and 22), Baccano! (Ep. 6), To LOVE-Ru (OP), and Ergo Proxy (Ep. 21).
Joining him on the production staff is Jin Tanaka, who will be in charge of the series composition. Tanaka is most notably known for his series composition work with the hit anime series Laid-Back Camp and The Misfit of Demon King Academy. He also has script work in widely popular anime such as One Piece (eps 782, 889), Date a Live (seasons 1 and 2), and Shaman King 2021 (eps 7, 10, 14, 17, 22).
Kanna Hirayama will be in charge of the series’ character designs. While she doesn’t have a long history of character design work for anime series, she was still in charge of the character designs for the hit rom-com series Rent-a-Girlfriend. But don’t let it fool you, Hirayama has a wonderful resume with key animation work in hit series such as Sword Art Online: Alicization (Ep. 8 and 24), Made in Abyss (ep 12), HoriMiya (OP), My Dress-Up Darling (Ep. 11) and Astra: Lost in Space (OP, Ep. 1). But what stands out above all else is probably her work with Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie. Hirayama was one of eight animation directors for the opening and also had key animation in the opening as well along with being chief animation director for episode 8.
Those three are joined by Chao Nekotomi as the assistant director. And while Nekotomi doesn’t have the history the other three do, there’s still credit to be due for his work on the storyboard of the Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie opening, which was listed as one of the best openings from the Spring 2022 anime season. He also worked on the storyboard for episodes 2, 10, and 17) of Tokyo Revengers and was the episode director for episode 2. Nekotomi, much like Hirayama, also directed an episode of Shikimori (ep 12).
Oshi no Ko Manga
The hit manga series received an anime announcement back in June of this year, a month before US-based publisher Yen Press announced they’ll be releasing the manga in English. The manga was ranked 5th on AnimeJapan’s 2022 “Most Wanted Anime Adaptation” poll a year after it won in the print category at the 2021 Next Manga Awards. Written by Aka Akasaka and illustrated by Mengo Yokoyari, Oshi no Ko currently has over 3 million copies in circulation as of October 2022. The series has 8 volumes published with Volume 9 set to release later this month. Volume 1 of the English version will release on January 17, 2023.
Gorou is a gynecologist and idol fan who’s in shock after his favorite star, Ai, announces an impromptu hiatus. Little does Gorou realize that he’s about to forge a bond with her that defies all common sense! Lies are an idol’s greatest weapon in this outrageous manga from Aka Akasaka (Kaguya-sama: Love is War) and Mengo Yokoyari (Scum’s Wish).
Vol. 1 synopsis via Yen Press
