Ai Hoshino

"It's a secret~"
This article contains SPOILERS to later chapters. Read this page at your own risk.

Plot

Relationships

Gallery

Ai Hoshino
Biographical Information
Name	Ai Hoshino
Kanji Name	星 (ほし) 野 (の) ア () イ ()
Rōmaji Name	Hoshino Ai
Gender	Female
Height	151 cm (4'11")
Age	16 (Chapter 1 - 2) 19 (Chapter 7) 20 (Chapter 9)
Status
Status	Deceased
Occupation	Idol Actress Fashion model Radio announcer
Affiliation	Ichigo Production, Inc Lala Lai Theatrical Company (Formerly)
Relatives	Ayumi Hoshino (Mother) Aqua Hoshino (Son) Ruby Hoshino (Daughter)
Relationships	Ichigo Saitou (Surrogate father) Hikaru Kamiki (Ex-boyfriend)
First Appearances
Manga	Chapter 1
Anime	Episode 1
Portrayal
Japanese VA	Rie Takahashi
English VA	Donna Bella Litton
Live Action	Asuka Saitō
Character's Signature

“	And so Here I am, telling lies again... believing they'll turn true. Even if I end up paying for someday...	„
― Ai Hoshino

Ai Hoshino「星 (ほし) 野 (の) アイ, Hoshino Ai^?」 was the titular character and the poster child of Oshi no Ko. She was the lead idol of the original B-Komachi and mother of Aqua and Ruby.

As an idol, she lived a life of deceit by pretending to genuinely love her fans. After becoming pregnant with the twins, to not squander her reputation, she gave birth and raised them in secret, playing the role of both idol and mother. However, her lies inevitably caught up with her when she was fatally attacked by a disgruntled fan, using her final moments to tell her children that she loved them.

Even after her death, her influence is felt throughout the remainder of the series, with her daughter carrying on her legacy while her son devoted his life to revenge against the one who sold her out, her ex-boyfriend.

Quick Answers

What was Ai Hoshino's perspective on lies and love?

Ai Hoshino believed that lies were a form of love and saw them as a way to express her feelings towards her fans.

Provided by: Fandom

How did Ai Hoshino's attitude change after having children?

After having children, Ai Hoshino realized the true meaning of love and experienced genuine feelings of love and satisfaction.

Provided by: Fandom

How did Ai Hoshino's personal life differ from her public persona?

In her personal life, Ai Hoshino was not very social and had few close friendships outside of the entertainment industry. Her public persona was a bright and cheerful act that hid her true personality.

Provided by: Fandom

What was the meaning behind Ai Hoshino's name?

The name Ai Hoshino can be interpreted as "wild star eyes" and has various meanings, including "love" and "indigo."

Provided by: Fandom

Appearance

Ai was a beautiful and quite thin girl with gradient-colored eyes from purple to pink and a six-pointed star in each of her eyes. She was shown to have brownish-red hair on the first chapter cover, but it is shown to have more of a blue-purplish hair color on the volume cover.

Her idol outfit was adorned in a pink aesthetic of varying degrees of lighter and darker shades. The outfit's design has an overall ruffled appearance. A black belt is located on her waist, and other miscellaneous accessories are present throughout the design: three blue stars on her chest, a heart-shaped necklace on her neck and a bunny hairpin accentuated by two gold stars and a pink ribbon.

Personality

When Ai was very young, her mother Ayumi Hoshino was arrested on a theft charge, and even after her release, she did not care enough to raise Ai anymore, which made her grow up in an orphanage. The environment she suffered being with her abusive mother caused her to think of ways to protect herself. Ai lacked any memory of loving or ever being loved herself, - prominently shown when Ichigo Saitou scouted for idols to start a group. She believed she lacked the qualification to become due to these reasons, showcasing a lack of faith in herself. She became quickly convinced to join when Saitou told her that lying is fine and is, in fact, a desirable trait.

Thus, Ai's perspective started to shift. She convinced herself that lies are a form of love—a love harbored out of the selfish desires of both sides of the spectrum. Ai sought to find an object for her "love.". She wanted to learn how to love by telling her fans that her deceitful lies are, in fact, love. This desire also came when she bore children, but in a different context. She never once said that she loved them because being disingenuous towards them would be terrifying. Nonetheless, she was shown to enjoy her time with her children and was particularly delighted when the twins did an eye-catching performance with idol lightsticks, which stunned the entire venue.

No matter what, lies allowed her to process the world around her. Within these contexts, she never sought to make things right to the point where she was fine to face the consequences of her actions. Lies were her way of expressing love, hoping that one day they would become the truth. Only when a terrible event happened did Ai finally realize she loved her children, a genuine form of love free from impurity and dishonesty. She was relieved and satisfied to finally be able to experience these true feelings. Even before this realization, Ai had grown concerned over their wellbeing and stressed over the prospects of getting better paying jobs in order to provide for them.

According to several characters through the series, Ai had a unique charisma capable of drawing all the attention to herself when she was in the spotlight. Miyako Saitou and Taishi Gotanda commented that Ai was a very uncommon idol and probably they would never get to see anyone like her, stating that she was a rare case among countless idols who wish to be at the top. Ai was notoriously ambitious and a risk-taker to the point of recklessness, best evidenced by her intentions of both continuing her idol career and having children in secret, which was by all accounts extremely dangerous, as it would jeopardize not only her entire career but have harmful ramifications both to her company and coworkers.

When it comes to her private life outside the stage, Ai wasn't very social, and most of her relationships were with people related to the entertainment industry, showing that Ai used to be a loner. Aqua pointed out that Ai didn't have any close friendships, even among her fellow partners at B-Komachi. The seemingly bright and cheerful personality was nothing more than an act that hid her true personality.

It is noted by multiple characters that Ai had a disorderly, impulsive, reckless, clumsy, and asocial behavior with a low level of education, a direct result of growing up in an abusive environment. It wouldn't be until she met her boyfriend that she would have a drastic change in attitude, acting more cheerfully, taking better care of her own appearance, acting more femininely, and reducing her self-destructive inclinations. Although said information was private, observers such as Masaya Kaburagi and Akane Kurokawa were able to correctly deduce that she had found a special someone; the latter in particular was able to observe certain character traits common amongst girls with teen pregnancies, and accurately determine that she had given birth in secret.

Career

Filmography

Film

• That Was the Start

Television

• Unknown TV Show

Discography

B-Komachi

• Our Sign Is B
• STAR☆T☆RAIN
• HEART's♡KISS
• More than 30 unnamed songs

Manga Appearances

Prologue: Childhood
Chapter 1: Mother & Children	Debut
Chapter 2: Big Brother & Little Sister	Appears
Chapter 3: Babysitter	Appears
Chapter 4: How to Smile	Appears
Chapter 5: Director & Actress	Appears
Chapter 6: Child Actors	Absent
Chapter 7: If You Fear Falling, You'll Fall Harder	Appears
Chapter 8: Ai Hoshino Part 1	Appears
Chapter 9: Ai Hoshino Part 2	Appears
Chapter 10: Introduction	Flashback

Show Business
Chapter 11: Audition	Flashback
Chapter 12: The Third Option	Absent
Chapter 13: Procedures	Flashback
Chapter 14: Connection	Absent
Chapter 15: The Manga Drama	Absent
Chapter 16: Acting Skills	Absent
Chapter 17: Staging	Absent
Chapter 18: Modest Praise	Absent
Chapter 19: The Entertainment Department	Absent
Chapter 20: New Member	Flashback

Dating Reality Show
Chapter 21: The Dating Reality Show	Flashback
Chapter 22: Wannabe Idol	Absent
Chapter 23: A Mark	Absent
Chapter 24: Egosearch	Absent
Chapter 25: Up in Flames	Absent
Chapter 26: Storm	Absent
Chapter 27: Viral	Absent
Chapter 28: Role Creation	Imagined
Chapter 29: Perfect Copy	Imagined
Chapter 30: The First	Mentioned
Chapter 31: Love for Real	Absent
Chapter 32: Appropriate Age	Absent

The First Concert
Chapter 33: Motivation	Flashback
Chapter 34: Center	Flashback
Chapter 35: Responsible	Absent
Chapter 36: The Night Before	Flashback
Chapter 37: Pressure	Absent
Chapter 38: Group Fan	Flashback
Chapter 39: A Job That's Kinda Fun	Absent
Chapter 40: Sore Loser	Absent

2.5D Stage Play
Chapter 41: Introductions	Absent
Chapter 42: Read-Through	Absent
Chapter 43: The Losing Heroine	Absent
Chapter 44: The Visit	Absent
Chapter 45: The Telephone Game	Absent
Chapter 46: Theater	Absent
Chapter 47: Studio Visit	Absent
Chapter 48: Crunch Time	Absent
Chapter 49: Rewriting	Absent
Chapter 50: Emotional Acting	Flashback
Chapter 51: Inquiry	Flashback
Chapter 52: Boyfriend, Girlfriend	Absent
Chapter 53: Playboy	Absent
Chapter 54: Axis of a Conflict	Absent
Chapter 55: Opening	Pictured
Chapter 56: Beginning of Competition	Absent
Chapter 57: Lousy	Absent
Chapter 58: Growth	Absent
Chapter 59: Admiration	Absent
Chapter 60: The Sun	Absent
Chapter 61: Play Along	Absent
Chapter 62: Ad-lib	Absent
Chapter 63: Genius Actor	Absent
Chapter 64: Trigger	Flashback
Chapter 65: Regret	Flashback
Chapter 66: The Curtain Falls	Absent

Private
Chapter 67: Drinking Party	Flashback
Chapter 68: Liberation	Pictured
Chapter 69: Room Tour	Flashback
Chapter 70: Flame	Mentioned
Chapter 71: Pedestrian Bridge	Absent
Chapter 72: Freedom	Absent
Chapter 73: Smart	Absent
Chapter 74: Takachiho	Absent
Chapter 75: Mother and Mother	Flashback
Chapter 76: Music Video	Flashback
Chapter 77: Reunion	Absent
Chapter 78: Use	Absent
Chapter 79: Duty	Flashback
Chapter 80: Wish	Absent

Mainstay
Chapter 81: Rapid Progress	Absent
Chapter 82: B-Komachi Night	Absent
Chapter 83: Obsessed	Flashback
Chapter 84: Hard Selling	Absent
Chapter 85: Calculation	Flashback
Chapter 86: AD	Absent
Chapter 87: Lies	Absent
Chapter 88: Offer	Absent
Chapter 89: Cosplay	Absent
Chapter 90: Compliance	Absent
Chapter 91: Dig Deep	Absent
Chapter 92: Ritual Purification	Absent
Chapter 93: Leak	Screen
Chapter 94: Breakthrough	Flashback
Chapter 95: Blindness	Flashback
Chapter 96: White Roses	Flashback
Chapter 97: Together	Absent
Chapter 98: Going Astray	Absent
Chapter 99: Drinking	Absent
Chapter 100: Industry	Absent

Scandal
Chapter 101: Predicament	Absent
Chapter 102: Idol and Love	Absent
Chapter 103: Scandal	Absent
Chapter 104: Countermeasure	Absent
Chapter 105: Reporter	Pictured
Chapter 106: Breaking Off	Pictured
Chapter 107: Friends	Mentioned
Chapter 108: Plan	Pictured

Movie
Chapter 109: Night	Absent
Chapter 110: How It Began	Flashback
Chapter 111: Mammon-Worship and Passion	Absent
Chapter 112: Towards the Future	Flashback
Chapter 113: Commercial Work	Absent
Chapter 114: Interpersonal Audition	Absent
Chapter 115: Roles	Flashback
Chapter 116: Responsibility	Imagined
Chapter 117: Panda	Absent
Chapter 118: Activation	Flashback
Chapter 119: Biological Mother	Absent
Chapter 120: Lack of Ability	Absent
Chapter 121: Sarina Tendouji	Flashback
Chapter 122: Doc	Pictured
Chapter 123: Bad Move	Pictured
Chapter 124: Reversal	Flashback
Chapter 125: Dazzled	Flashback
Chapter 126: Management	Absent
Chapter 127: Scouting A Girl	Absent
Chapter 128: Script Reading	Portrayed
Chapter 129: Piece	Portrayed
Chapter 130: Basic Tactic	Screen
Chapter 131: Atonement	Portrayed
Chapter 132: Nino	Portrayed
Chapter 133: Acting	Portrayed
Chapter 134: Depths	Imagined
Chapter 135: By Her Side	Imagined
Chapter 136: Fight	Portrayed
Chapter 137: Idol	Flashback
Chapter 138: Amends	Absent
Chapter 139: Lookism	Portrayed
Chapter 140: Is This Right?	Portrayed
Chapter 141: Chain	Portrayed
Chapter 142: Responsibility	Mentioned
Chapter 143: Blind Follower	Portrayed
Chapter 144: Fan of the Originals	Absent
Chapter 145: Children	Portrayed
Chapter 146: Role	Portrayed
Chapter 147: Wish	Portrayed

The End of the Play
Chapter 148: End of Summer	Absent
Chapter 149: By the Sea	Absent
Chapter 150: Knife	Imagined
Chapter 151: Catch Ball	Absent
Chapter 152: Interview	Mentioned

Toward the Stars and Dreams
Chapter 153: Fiction	Flashback
Chapter 154: 15-Year Lie	Flashback
Chapter 155: Happy End	Pictured
Chapter 156: MEMe	Absent
Chapter 157: An Ordinary Day, A Wonderful Day	Flashback
Chapter 158: Jewel	Imagined
Chapter 159: Resonance	Imagined
Chapter 160: Eye	Absent
Chapter 161: Future	Mentioned
Chapter 162: Aqua Hoshino	Flashback
Chapter 163: You	Imagined
Chapter 164: Finale	Absent
Chapter 165: And Then	Pictured
Chapter 166: Star	Pictured

Anime Appearances

Season 1
Episode 1: Mother and Children	Debut
Episode 2: Third Option	Flashback
Episode 3: Manga Based TV Drama	Absent
Episode 4: Actors	Absent
Episode 5: Reality Dating Show	Flashback
Episode 6: Egosurfing	Absent
Episode 7: Buzz	Pictured
Episode 8: First Time	Imagined
Episode 9: B-Komachi	Flashback
Episode 10: Pressure	Flashback
Episode 11: Idol	Flashback

Season 2
Episode 12: Tokyo Blade	Flashback
Episode 13: The Telephone Game	Absent
Episode 14: Rewriting	Absent
Episode 15: Emotional Acting	Flashback
Episode 16: The Curtain Rises	Screen
Episode 17: Growth	Absent
Episode 18: Sun	Absent
Episode 19: Trigger	Flashback
Episode 20: Dream	Flashback
Episode 21: Liberation	Pictured
Episode 22: Freedom	Imagined
Episode 23: Reunion	Absent
Episode 24: Wish	Flashback

Etymology

Together, her full name means "wild star eyes" as a caricature of her double star eyes. When pronounced, it can also be interpreted as "desires of love".

• The name Ai, when written in katakana (アイ), means "eye", but when written in kanji (愛 or 藍), it could mean:
  • 愛 - "love, affection".
  • 藍 - "indigo".
• Ai's surname Hoshino means "star" (星) (hoshi) and "field, wild/wilderness" (野/野生) (no).
  • The pronunciation of Hoshino (ほしの) is similar to (欲しいの), which means "Desire of".

Trivia

Spoilers Ahead!

• Ai's death resembles the real-life stabbing of Mayu Tomita, a 20-year-old Japanese singer and actress, in May 2016. Tomita originally became famous by playing a fictional idol named Ai Takano in the web drama Secret Girls. The perpetrator in Tomita's stabbing was a 27-year-old fan who had harassed her online and sent her unsolicited gifts. Twelve days before the attack, Tomita reported the harassment to the police out of fear for her safety, but they dismissed the case. Tomita survived the attack, but received lasting physical and psychological injuries. The incident led the Japanese national government to revise its anti-stalking laws to include online harassment.

• Ai has two stars in her eyes compared to her children, who only have one each (Aqua Hoshino has one in his right eye and Ruby Hoshino has one in her left).

Ai's starry eyes

• • As the mix of Aqua and Ruby's eyes colors results in purple, this is an allusion that they are half of their mother.
• Ai's smartphone & blog account password, "45510" is the initial of the four founding members of B-Komachi. The number corresponds to the Japanese flick keyboard:
  • Takamine (た Ta): 4
  • Nino (に Ni): Double 5 (If using a flip phone, double press な Na to get に Ni)
  • Ai (あ A): 1
  • Watanabe (わ Wa): 0
    • The novel 45510 also revealed that through her drafted apology in B-Komachi's former blog, Ai had always wanted to remain friends and reconcile with the other original B-Komachi members, but this is now impossible after her death and the novel's main character deleting the blog.
• Tsukuyomi remarked that Ai's children were originally "soulless" before the souls of Gorou Amamiya and Sarina Tendouji entered their bodies, implying she had a stillbirth.
• Ai's glowstick idol color is red, which is the reason why when Ruby becomes an idol like her mom, she also chooses red as her glowstick color.
• Ai shares her first name with Ai Hayasaka from Kaguya Sama: Love is War, another manga which was also written by Aka Akasaka.
• Nothing is known about Ai's father.

Navigation

Ai Hoshino • Takamine • Fuyuko Niino • Watanabe • Meimei • Ari • Kyun Ruby Hoshino • Kana Arima • Mem-Cho Aqua Hoshino • Pieyon Ichigo Saitou • Miyako Saitou • Shun Yoshizumi Kana Arima • Aqua Hoshino • Ruby Hoshino • Frill Shiranui • Minami Kotobuki Akane Kurokawa • Taiki Himekawa • Toshirou Kindaichi (Founder) Masaya Kaburagi • Hikaru Kamiki • Ai Hoshino

Ai Hoshino • Kana Arima • Aqua Hoshino Taishi Gotanda (Director) Kana Arima • Melt Narushima • Aqua Hoshino Masaya Kaburagi (Producer) Yoriko Kichijouji Yuki Sumi • Akane Kurokawa • Mem-Cho Aqua Hoshino • Nobuyuki Kumano • Kengo Morimoto Masaya Kaburagi (Producer) Taiki Himekawa • Kana Arima • Melt Narushima Akane Kurokawa • Aqua Hoshino • Sakuya Kamoshida Toshirou Kindaichi (Director) • Goa (Scriptwriter) • Sumiaki Raida (Producer) Abiko Samejima Aqua Hoshino • Ruby Hoshino • Kana Arima Tetsu Urushibara (Director) • Shun Yoshizumi (Assistant Director) • Masaya Kaburagi (Producer) Ai Hoshino • Hikaru Kamiki • Airi Himekawa Fuyuko Niino • Gorou Amamiya • Seijuro Uehara Ruby Hoshino • Aqua Hoshino • Tsukuyomi • Frill Shiranui Mem-Cho • Kana Arima • Akane Kurokawa • Melt Narushima • Taiki Himekawa Taishi Gotanda (Screenplay, Director) • Masaya Kaburagi (Producer) Yoriko Kichijouji (Script Doctor) • Abiko Samejima (Script Doctor)