REVIEW: ‘Oshi No Ko’ Season 3 Episode 10 — “Private Audition”

Oshi No Ko Season 3 Episode 10, “Private Audition,” sees Ruby (Yurie Igoma, Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie) give her all to convince Akane (Manaka Iwami, Code Vein II) and Frill (Asami Seto, The Apothecary Diaries) that she should play her mom in Aqua’s upcoming movie. Also, things seem to be getting worse with Aqua (Takeo Otsouka, To Be Hero X), as a pair of chilling moments hint at just how far he has fallen. 

Picking up with Ruby’s turn to audition for Akane and Frill, Oshi No Ko Season 3 Episode 10 opens with a deep dive into the young girl’s mind. As she ponders what a liar is, she goes down an emotional rabbit hole far deeper than either of the other two could conceive. After all, virtually everything about Ruby is a lie.

Oshi No Ko Season 3 Episode 10 delivers the first interesting use of the show’s reincarnation concept to date. How we see Ruby spiral as she considers what being a liar means, given that the very nature of her role as Ai’s daughter is a fabrication, is powerfully delivered.

Ruby commits fully to the performance. 

Familiar themes of coming-of-age stories like meeting expectations and trying to decipher what a parent wants from you are amplified thanks to Ruby’s circumstances. The story manages to do something I’d given up on a long time ago: using this core reincarnation element of the narrative in a way that doesn’t make me cringe. 

These deliberations, along with the performance inspired by them, are etched into the story’s visuals by the familiar, emotionally intense style. Ruby’s body quakes; her eyes take on the series’ familiar, unhinged look, and Igoma’s voice work drives home the tremor in Ruby’s voice as she delivers her chosen lines. But the final element of this moment that makes it break out is the final lie Ruby seems to be telling the two women watching. The feelings she is presenting in this moment are not an act. They may be the only truth Ruby has ever told—a truth as a lie. 

Not to be wholly outdone, Oshi No Ko Season 3 Episode 10 sees Akane also strut her hour upon the stage, as her turn to perform her interpretation of the meaning of “liar” is to out Frill’s motivations for the audition. Akane lays out why Frill wants Ruby to win, even guessing the film’s nature and that Aqua is behind its production. 

Akane demonstrates just how well she knows Aqua in her audition. 

While not as emotionally charged as Ruby’s performance, Akane’s moment shines as brightly. The natural way Akane’s deductions are presented flows with a confidence that gives her strength, without steering into arrogance. This energy is conveyed through both Akane’s casual swagger and Iwami’s precise voice work. Akane knows she’s right because she knows Aqua that well.

Unsurprisingly, Ruby’s resolve is greatly reinforced once she learns who they are competing to play. We don’t get a clear read of how she feels about Auqa using their mother as a means of revenge, but we do know for certain that she wants to be there as it plays out. Whether purely to honor Ai’s memory, or for another motivation, remains to be seen.

Once Oshi No Ko Season 3 Episode 10 moves past its opening moments, it shifts its focus to Aqua for the middle portion of its time. Following him as he has encounters with both Akane and Kana (Megumi Han, Love through a Prism), we get a peek into Aqua’s darkening mood, as he shifts from threatening to manipulative.

Oshi No Ko Season 3 Episode 10 finds Aqua hitting greater lows. 

Aqua’s moments in this episode fully solidify the fact that he exists only for his goal now. While his negativity towards Akane had already been established, how he treats Kana is a revealing new low for him. What makes him even more sinister in the moment is how casually he can acknowledge to himself just how wrongly he is manipulating her, and how much damage it will do. 

The remainder of the episode follows the movie’s pre-production, as various layers of management give it the green light. With the preceding scenes laying out the emotional turmoil that will infuse every step of the film’s creation, there seems to be little hope for a smooth filming. 

Oshi No Ko Season 3 Episode 10 hits strong notes as it dives into the current mental state of its twin stars. The intensity that the narrative produces leaves an emotional tightness in its wake, like a warning to brace for what comes next.

Oshi No Ko Season 3 Episode 10 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.

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