Ruby Hoshino

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

## Ruby Hoshino

* Anime
* Manga

## Biographical Information

### Nicknames

Sarina (Previous life)
Ruby
Onee-chan (by Tsukuyomi)

### Age

0 (Chapter 2)
~1 (Chapter 5-6)
3 (Chapter 7)
14 (Chapter 11)
16 (Dating Reality Show - Mainstay arc)

17 (Scandal arc)
18 (Movie arc)

## Status

### Occupation

Idol
Youtuber
TV Personality
Actress

### Relatives

Ayumi Hoshino (Grandmother)
Ai Hoshino (Mother)†
Hikaru Kamiki (Father)
Ichigo Saitou (Adoptive Father)
Miyako Saitou (Adoptive Mother)
Aqua Hoshino (Older Twin Brother)
Taiki Himekawa (Older Half-Brother)
Sarina Tendouji (Previous life)

### Relationships

Kana Arima (Friend, Partner)
Mem-Cho (Friend, Partner)
Shun Yoshizumi (Former Manager)
Tsukuyomi (Spiritual Guide)

## Portrayal

### English VA

Alyssa Marek

**Ruby Hoshino**「星 (ほし) 野 (の) 瑠 (る) 美 (び) 衣 (い) , *Hoshino Rubii*?」, more commonly referred to as just **Ruby**「ルビー, *Rubī*?」, is the female protagonist and one of the titular characters of the **Oshi no Ko** manga series. In her previous life, she was known as **Sarina Tendouji**, a terminally ill patient who was cared for by Gorou Amamiya and, following her death, was reincarnated as the child of her favorite idol, Ai Hoshino.

Neglected by her parents in her previous life and being a fan of Ai, she greatly enjoyed her new life, with her new mother teaching her how to be an idol from an early age. Unfortunately, this happy life ended when Ai was murdered by a deranged fan. Afterward, determined to fulfill her mother's dreams, she reformed Ai's idol group with the support of her friends.

**Spoilers Ahead!**

She later undergoes a great change after learning that Gorou was killed by the same individual who murdered her mother, prompting her to resort to unsavory methods to quickly rise to fame and draw out the culprit. However, she ultimately gives up on revenge upon learning that Gorou was beside her all along.

## Appearance

*Main article: Ruby Hoshino/Gallery*
Ruby is a young girl with average height. She has blonde hair that she ties in a side ponytail like her mother does. Ruby possessed pink-ruby colored eyes, with a six-star on her left eye, like to her late mother.

Ruby has been stated to resemble her late mother by many people, such as Aqua and Kana. Kana herself confirmed that her keen nose in industry "can sense potential in this girl," and it reminds her of Ai Hoshino. The resemblance grows stronger when she wears a purple wig. to the point that it shocks others especially  Akane.

## Personality

In her past life, Ruby was a frail girl who died of anaplastic astrocytoma and could barely walk a few steps without stumbling. Now overwhelmed with joy as **Ruby Hoshino**, the daughter of her favorite idol, Ai, takes her life to the fullest, Ruby has given herself the goal of becoming an idol singer, not only to follow in her mother's footsteps, but also to fulfill her promise to Gorou. Unbeknownst to her, Gorou had already passed away and been reborn as her older twin brother, Aqua.

Unlike Aqua, who is calm, calculated, and discreet,. Ruby is the polar opposite of him, as she is extroverted, outgoing, loud, optimistic and communicative compared to her brooding brother. She is most apparent in the connections she makes with others. At the same time, Aqua only does this to further his agenda. She doesn't share her brother's opinion of hunting down the culprit who killed their mother, instead moving on from that incident and focusing on her dreams. She persists in this notion to the point where she often conflicts with her brother's interests.

Ruby tends to speak her mind without a filter, often referring to Kana as the "gourd girl" and the "girl who will lick a lying snitch," much to Kana's displeasure. Additionally, Ruby has utilized the "airhead sister" persona to her advantage in the media as a character she created to promote herself.

She is the biggest defender of her mother Ai's secrecy and reputation.

**Spoilers for Later Chapters!**

By Chapter 79, after stumbling upon Gorou's corpse and learning that his and Ai's murders correlate with each other, Ruby's drive for revenge becomes a lot more intense, and comparatively more aggressive, albeit stealthily so, than even Aqua's. The murderer stole the future she wanted, and so did Gorou's; she resolved to ensure Gorou gets justice, even if it meant using her brother, who finally attained true happiness with Akane Kurokawa.

Ruby reveals herself to be just as methodical and cunning as her brother. After her darker turn in the manga for the sake of her revenge, Ruby adopts a two-faced attitude towards others entirely whenever she sees that she could benefit from them in the long run:

* She acts friendly and affable with Meiya, but secretly disdains her despite being shown to get along well with her, knowing that Meiya likes beef and vents her frustrations on Twitter.
* She also made sure that she had Tetsu Urushibara under her thumb during the Dig Deep arc by manipulating him into believing that she had saved him and his job through a scandal that she had caused in secret for her own benefit.

**Spoilers for Later Chapters!**

In Chapter 106, after Aqua reveals their mother's secret, Ruby has a temporary break with her relationship with her twin brother because she hates him so much that he kept it from her. She is very honest to the extreme with herself and hates lies.

## Skills & Talents

Ruby's greatest asset has repeatedly been noted to be her natural beauty, which she inherited from her mother. Kana Arima also claimed that she has a charisma about her that draws people in. In addition, her mother taught her how to dance from an early age, and even Aqua noted that she indeed possessed a natural talent. However, Ruby lacked in arguably the most vital area for being an idol: singing; only scoring a mediocre 38 at karaoke. She also held herself back by refusing to resort to any underhanded tactics, causing Minami Kotobuki to believe that Ruby was too "pure" for the cutthroat entertainment industry.

**Spoilers for Later Chapters!**

Due to her initially trying to emulate Ai, Anemone Monemone noted that Ruby lacked her own passion, which prevented her from reaching her full potential. However, upon learning of Gorou's death and resolving to avenge him, she began to radiate a murderous aura that drew people's interest. At the same time, she threw away her initial naivete and started using any means necessary to quickly rise in fame. In a way, she showed herself to be just as manipulative as Aqua, if not more so, since she was not just benefitting from scandals but actively causing them.

## Etymology

* The name **Ruby** means "lapis lazuli" (瑠) (**ru**), "beautiful" (美) (**mi**/**bi**) and "clothing, garment" (衣) (**i**).
	+ Just like Aquamarine, Ruby is a gemstone that is known for it's red coloring.
	+ Just like her twin brother Aqua Hoshino, Ruby's name is a reference to her eye color.
* Ruby's surname **Hoshino** means "star" (星) (**hoshi**) and "field, wilderness" (野) (**no**).

## Career

### Discography

#### B-Komachi

* STAR☆T☆RAIN
* Our Sign Is B
* HEART's♡KISS
* Pop in 2

## Trivia

* Ai Hoshino (Ruby's mother) has one star in each eye; Ruby inherited a star in her left eye and her brother Aqua Hoshino inherited it in his right eye.
	+ Her star later becomes blackened, and she gains an additional black star in her right eye after revolving around use dirty tactics to rise in the entertainment industry.
* Ruby wants to be an idol like Ai once was.
* Ruby once pretended to be Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. While the scene is played as a joke at the time, it is later revealed that she and Aqua died (in their past lives) and reborn in the town of Takachiho in Miyazaki prefecture. And as Akane Kurokawa explained during that chapter, Takachiho is where Amaterasu once shut herself in.
	+ If Ruby is interpreted to be based on Amaterasu, then Aqua would be based on one of Amaterasu's siblings, likely to be based on Susanoo.
* Ruby's height is 158 cm , making her the tallest B-Komachi member (compared to Kana Arima's 150 cm and Mem-Cho's 155 cm).
* Ruby applied to be an idol at 14, but she was rejected and had to wait two years before applying again.
* Ruby is in class 1-F during her first year and in class 2-F during her second year at Youtou High School.
* Ruby starts high school at 16.
* Ruby's glowstick idol color is red, which is the same color as Ai.
* Kaguya Shinomiya from Kaguya-sama: Love is War has interacted with Ruby, taking photos of the latter as a part of a job.

## Notes

1. ↑ The twins' age during the filming of *That Was the Start* was never outright stated, but it can be inferred that they are at least one year old from available information.

## Reference

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *Oshi no Ko* Official Anime Website: TALENT -アニメ『【推しの子】』公式サイト- (in Japanese).
2. ↑ *Oshi no Ko* Manga:
 Chapter 2 (p. 4).
3. ↑ *Oshi no Ko* Manga:
 Chapter 5 (p. 2).
4. ↑ *Oshi no Ko* Manga:
 Chapter 7 (p. 3).
5. ↑ *Oshi no Ko* Manga:
 Chapter 23 (p. 2).
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 *Oshi no Ko* Manga:
 Chapter 23 (p. 10).
7. ↑ *Oshi no Ko* Manga:
 Chapter 84 (p. 8).
8. ↑ *Oshi no Ko* Manga:
 Chapter 100 (p. 6), Kana is 18 before going off to meet the director and Ruby is 1 year younger than Kana.
9. ↑ *Oshi no Ko* Manga:
 Chapter 117 (p. 7), it has been two years since Aqua asked Kana to become an idol.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 *Oshi no Ko* Anime:
 Episode 11.
11. ↑ *Oshi no Ko* Manga:
 Chapter 74 (p. 1).
12. ↑ *Oshi no Ko* Manga:
 Chapter 3 (p. 16).
13. ↑ *Oshi no Ko* Manga:
 Chapter 74.
14. ↑ *Oshi no Ko* Manga:
 Chapter 11.
15. ↑ *Oshi no Ko* Manga:
 Chapter 19 (p. 1).
16. ↑ *Oshi no Ko* Manga:
 Chapter 87 (p. 9).
17. ↑ *Oshi no Ko* Manga:
 Chapter 38 (p. 4).
18. ↑ *Oshi no Ko* Manga:
 Special Chapter.