OSHI NO KO Season 3‘s second episode marks the debut of its opening and ending animations, and both sequences have been released online on the anime’s official YouTube channel as well.
The opening sequence, storyboarded and unit directed by Ciao Nekotomi, pairs glamorous beauty with some darker, disconcerting imagery, and features incredibly pleasing, detailed drawings. Nekotomi was an assistant director and color scripter on OSHI NO KO‘s first two seasons, and also did some storyboarding and episode direction work for the show back then. She’s no stranger to creating memorable openings or endings, which can be seen in shows like Rent-A-Girlfriend Season 4, Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle, and Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian.
(Update: In a post on X/Twitter, Nekotomi shared that the opening’s theme was based on “curses” like the “entertainment industry, parents and children, siblings, youth, sex, lookism,” and “consumption.” She also posted parts of the storyboard.)
Meanwhile, the ending sees Season 1 and 2’s Naoya Nakayama (“Idol” music video director et al., live performance director for the upcoming Cosmic Princess Kaguya!) returning as storyboard artist, unit director, and solo key animator for the third time. There’s an Aqua and Ruby dance, a noticeable use of shadows and distortion effects, and a starting section that depicts the characters and props as cardboard cutouts.
The series’ character designer Kanna Hirayama served as chief animation director for both sequences. The opening is set to Chanmina‘s “TEST ME,” while the ending song is Natori‘s “Serenade.”
OSHI NO KO Season 3 began airing on January 14 at 11 PM JST. The anime is based on the entertainment industry-themed mystery drama manga written by Aka Akasaka (Kaguya-sama: Love is War) and drawn by Mengo Yokoyari (Scum’s Wish), which ran from 2020 to 2024 in Shueisha’s seinen magazine Weekly Young Jump. Season 3’s synopsis reads:
The story moves on to a new stage──
Half a year has passed since the release of “POP IN 2”.
Thanks to MEMcho’s hard work, B-KOMACHI are on the verge of their big break.
Aqua grows steadily as a personality, while Akane advances on her path to becoming a skilled actress.
On the other hand, Kana has lost her cheeriness.
Finally, in her quest to uncover the truth behind Ai and Gorou’s deaths,
Ruby rises through the entertainment industry.
────using lies as her weapon.
The preceding two seasons aired in 2023 and 2024. Season 2 saw Kuniyasu Nishina joining Nekotomi in the assistant director role.
Yen Press has the manga in English and describes it as such:
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).
Staff (reprising)
• Director: Daisuke Hiramaki
• Series composer: Jin Tanaka
• Character designer: Kanna Hirayama
• Animation production: Doga Kobo
Cast
• Takeo Otsuka as Aqua
• Yurie Igoma as Ruby
• Megumi Han as Arima Kana
• Manaka Iwami as Akane Kurokawa
• Rumi Okubo as MEMcho
Source: OSHI NO KO YouTube channel
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