#OSHI NO KO’s Yurie Igoma & Shimpei Yamashita Explore Season 2

After a resounding success last year, 【OSHI NO KO】 is back with a sequel airing this summer 2024 anime season. In celebration of the new season, 【OSHI NO KO】 was at Anime Expo 2024 featuring Yurie Igoma, the voice of Ruby, and Shimpei Yamashita, the KADOKAWA producer behind the series. We had the opportunity to exclusively talk to them about 【OSHI NO KO】 season 1 and what to expect for season 2.

Thank you both for your time! Congratulations on season 2. Could you both share any highlights or memorable moments while working on season 1?

Yurie Igoma: There’s so many! One memory that I have is for season 1 episode 1 when recording was split into four days. The episode itself is 90 minutes long, so  that’s not a normal anime length and the content was dense too. Even though I was nervous, I was very excited to be recording. Meeting so many of the cast and staff, I remember feeling lots of emotions going into this project.

What really left an impression for me was playing Ruby as a child in episode 1. There were a lot of shocking events that happened, making the scenes very emotional, so I really felt the weight in recording.

Shimpei Yamashita: Just like for the fans, it really felt like a festival while making that first episode for season 1. There were so many different things that we did that was amazing. Looking back in November 2023, we did a fan event with Ichigo Productions. Originally it was going to be in a 1000-person hall, but with the large number of requests, we ended up renting a 7000-person hall.

Eventually, we ran the event a second time with 14,000 fans that came to support us and all the voice actors that attended the event. The second event had a live performance by an idol group and script reading, so it was this very interesting experience of reality and fiction mixing together. It left an impression on me. 

With the huge success of season 1, there is a high expectation and bar going into season 2. What can fans expect going into the new season? 

Igoma: What’s great about 【OSHI NO KO】 is that it has so many different facets. In season 1, it focused a lot on the tv shows, the reality program and the idol group. The beginning of season 2 focuses a lot on the stage play, so it’s a totally different angle of looking at things. For people who loved season 1, I think it’s the excitement of a new story, but there’s still that strong sense of understanding  what 【OSHI NO KO】 is about moving forward.

Yamashita: I think season 1 was so popular and the staff really knew about that, so we all decided to enhance everything that we’ve already been doing and make it bigger and better for season 2. For example, the first episode of season 2 was released in even higher quality for the direction and the visuals, and I hope everybody looks forward to the remaining episodes.

【OSHI NO KO】 won many awards at the 10th Anime Trending Awards including “Best in Voice Cast.” What was your initial reaction when you heard the show was well received overseas?

Igoma: So happy! (in English) So Happy! The large number of people seeing 【OSHI NO KO】 is what really makes me the most happy — it gives me a lot of motivation. When I was just starting to work on the recording of 【OSHI NO KO】 and it wasn’t even out yet, I did have a feeling it was going to be really good, but one never knows until the release.  I was pretty nervous about that and how it would be received. It gained many viewers in Japan and even became immensely popular overseas, which was hard to believe and made me so happy. I just hope more people are able to see 【OSHI NO KO】!

Yamashita:I knew the manga was popular in Japan and we had to make the adaptation popular, but with the idol culture and everything being pretty particular in Japan, I wasn’t sure if it would be accepted overseas. The first time I thought, “Oh maybe we have a chance!” was when HIDIVE reached out to us if they could work with us. I went, “Oh, maybe we do have a chance in Europe and North America!”

After【OSHI NO KO】  actually came out and was streaming, the fans on MyAnimeList put out a score that was highest of any anime up to that point. When we saw that, we really knew that the series was probably going to be successful!

Igoma-san, as the voice of Ruby, her character has developed significantly throughout season 1. Now, she’s part of B-Komachi and has the support of her friends. Could you talk about the journey and growing with Ruby throughout season 1?

Igoma: Ruby really went through a lot; even before she started school, a lot had happened to her. Both as a girl and as an idol, she has this very forward-thinking attitude, which also made me feel more positive in my thinking as well. There were a lot of things that she wanted to do but couldn’t, and things that weren’t going well that she wanted to progress even more. By the end of season 1, she finally became an idol and got to perform on stage, which was one of her biggest dreams. I think it’s really that forward-thinking perspective that has helped her along her whole journey. I think the people around her like Miyako, Aqua (her brother), all of her friends, the people and the environment, and everything were really kind of blessing to her in a lot of ways.

While Ruby is not a part of the stage play, she’s a key part to support the other characters like Aqua, Kana, and Akane. What kind of character and performance could we expect from Ruby?

Igoma: Just like everyone else, Ruby is going forward in her life, but as an idol, you’ll have to wait and see how far she goes! However, you will get a sense of how hard she’s working, as well as some developments and changes in her career along the way, so I’m very excited for people to see her growth!

Yamashita: I think people who know the original Ruby will kind of get a sense in the opening how far this is actually going to go.

Yamashita-san, the Tokyo Blade stage play is a different type of performance compared to singing and the idols in season 1. What kind of creative elements will we see to help elevate 2.5D stage play performances?

Yamashita: There are two things; first, we filmed a lot of stage plays. There’s a group called Stage Around Tokyo that we got permission from to film, so we could really research how they do their stage productions and see all the details, which I think improved the depiction in our anime. You’ll see that the staff behind Tokyo Blade created some really beautiful work across the 3D stage backdrop.

Secondly, we had a vision of the film scoring idea, just like in the first episode of 【OSHI NO KO】’s first season.  You’ll see that as we approach the climax in Tokyo Blade, there’s a buildup in the music and visuals, with lots of scores there. I think the timing matched perfectly because it’s scored, and I think people will enjoy that!

Was there any additional research you did to prepare for the next season? If so, could you talk about it?

Igoma: As it’s already announced in season 2, there’s a new song by B-Komachi that is going to be released — in fact it’s three songs, and these three songs are very different from the first season. It’s sort of an area I’ve never expressed in, so I put a lot of thought into, “How does Ruby approach this kind of material?” I ended up listening to a lot of music in that genre and talked to people who perform that kind of music. 

Yamashita: Similar to what I said about the stage plays, the director and I went to a lot of 2.5D stage plays, and we paid particular attention to when the clapping occurred and when the people started to emotionally invest into the play. There was no cheering allowed, but we just paid particular attention to all the moments that really connected to the audience. I think because of that, people who understand stage plays are really going to be like, “Oh I get it!” when they see those moments in season 2. 

Thanks to HIDIVE for this interview opportunity.【OSHI NO KO】 season 2 is now available for streaming on the HIDIVE platform.

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