Chapter 34

## Center

**Center**「センター, *Sentā*?」 is the thirty-fourth chapter of the *Oshi no Ko* manga series. It is written by Aka Akasaka and illustrated by Mengo Yokoyari. It was released in *Weekly Young Jump* on February 18, 2021.

## Summary

Kaburagi continues his explanation, he noticed Ai becoming more concerned with her appearance as well as asking for restaurant recommendations after attending workshops organized by Lala Lai. Therefore he believes that Ai fell in love with a certain someone after meeting them there. Kaburagi offers to introduce Aqua to the company's leader, which could bring Aqua closer to the answer he's looking for. When Aqua asks why he is doing all this, Kaburagi says he senses potential in Aqua and the industry runs on favors. Since favors have major influence on casting and casting decision can make a major difference in earnings. By offering Aqua favors today, he will gain major advantage once Aqua becomes popular in the future. He also expresses interest in Kana and Mem-Cho, with their involvement in the revived B-Komachi, he sees potential in the group.

Mem informs Ruby and Kana that they have been offered an opportunity to join the lineup of the Japan Idol Festival. Kana is reluctant since it is taking place a month away and they are not ready. On the other hand Ruby is eager to join, due to the prestige of the event and Mem also believes they should join due to the difficulty of earning a spot for such an event. Kana begrudgingly agrees and with everyone on board, Ruby and Mem move on to discuss about their group's center. Kana does not understand the importance and her partners explain that the center is the star and face of the group, so it is very important. When Kana asks if anyone wants the role, both Ruby and Mem-Cho feign unqualified but cannot hide their desire for the role. As they continue to argue amongst themselves, they wonder if Kana would be the better pick, since she did find success with the Bell Pepper Exercise song during her younger years.

Ruby and Mem decide to determine the role by singing talent and declare a karaoke contest but Kana refuses to come along. She believes that she cannot be their center due to her lack of a fanbase, and begins talking negatively about herself. Ruby comments that Kana is too hard on herself and tries to encourage her, pointing out that her brother, who rarely complements people, called her cute. While Mem tells Kana to join them later, Ruby recalls that it was Aqua who scouted the two and gets concerned about her brother's taste in women.

At the karaoke, Ruby and Mem end a song with mediocre scores. Realizing how bad at singing they are, they conclude that they need more practice. They decide to take a break put on Kana's Bell Pepper song as a breather, only to discover that she actually released many more songs after Bell Pepper. After listening to one of her music videos, Ruby and Mem wonder how Kana could talk poorly about her singing. Elsewhere, Kana has just finished a karaoke alone with a high score.

## Characters

* Ai Hoshino (flashback)
* Masaya Kaburagi
* Aqua Hoshino
* Kana Arima
* Ruby Hoshino
* Mem-Cho
* Akane Kurokawa (flashback)

## References

1. ↑ *Oshi no Ko* Chapter 34 on Young Jump.