[Spoiler Review] Anime 'Oshi no Ko' Season 3 Episode 28 (Total Episode 28) "Blindness"

Episode 28, which aired on February 4, 2026, lived up to its subtitle "Blindness" with a vivid and heart-wrenching contrast between those who become blind to their surroundings in pursuit of their goals and those who see too much and suffer for it.

Overall Review: Ruby's Accelerating Darkness and Akane's Unrequited Devotion

This episode marked an extremely important turning point where the story bared its essence as a "revenge drama."

Ruby manipulates others' goodwill and lies at will, rapidly expanding her work opportunities. While reminiscent of Ai, her demeanor carries a more calculating and purpose-driven "terror." Meanwhile, Aqua is confronted by Ichigo with the possibility that "revenge may not be over yet" and that "the true culprit may be someone else," plunging him back into darkness. This episode depicted Akane's sharp insight as she senses something wrong with Aqua just from his voice over the phone and, drawing on her experience portraying "Ai," independently approaches the truth—alongside the heartbreak of watching their ordinary days as lovers fall apart.

Episode 28

The story opens with Ruby rapidly increasing her media exposure and steadily building her position in the entertainment industry. However, her words—"It's impossible. There's no way to succeed cleanly in this world"—carry the painful resolve of someone who has abandoned her former purity and chosen to use people and lies to make it. The cold gleam of the black star in her eyes and her transformation to accept both light and dark feels both reassuring and spine-chillingly terrifying.

Against Ruby's rapid change, her brother Aqua harbored an inexpressible unease. His sister was behaving more strategically than he could have ever imagined, rapidly expanding her work. To discover who was behind her transformation, Aqua set out to investigate and finally tracked down the former company president, Saito Ichigo, who had gone into hiding. Appearing suddenly before Ichigo, Aqua confronted him about whether he was the one giving Ruby advice. Their confrontation was wrapped in a tense atmosphere far removed from their former trust, where the obsessions of revenge intersected.

However, what came back from Ichigo was a cruel revelation that shook what Aqua had believed to be the "end of his revenge." "Perhaps your revenge isn't over yet. Perhaps the true culprit is someone else"—the moment this possibility was thrust upon him, the light instantly vanished from Aqua's eyes, and deep despair overflowed. Aqua was dragged back into the hell he thought he had escaped. On the night when he thought he could finally see the goal of his revenge, what arrived was an empty darkness with no exit.

The phone scene between Aqua, standing at the edge of despair, and Kurokawa Akane. Her modest and earnest invitation to meet on awards ceremony night. She had expected a night where they would celebrate the success of the ceremony together and enjoy time as lovers. But what came through the receiver was clearly something wrong with Aqua. His hollow voice in response to Akane's questions had a resonance that erased what should have been happy times together.

Aqua would panic whenever he remembered Ai, but after believing his revenge was over, he had been gradually regaining his former brightness. Having watched him change, Akane's prayerful, heartbreaking wish of "if only he never finds out" hit painfully close to heart.

However, the instincts of a performer who had once portrayed "Hoshino Ai" to the extreme and delved deep into her inner world led Akane to a cruel truth. What she discovered after the awards ceremony was the existence of a certain person who had likely belonged to a theater troupe and taught Ai acting—and who bore a resemblance to Aqua. The shocking fact revealed in her monologue. The narration stating "He was a 15-year-old middle schooler at the time." Her voice faced this fact—which she had arrived at precisely because she understood Ai as a person—with calm yet stunned acceptance. That quiet ending, hinting at the true tragedy about to begin, left viewers breathless as the curtain fell.

Predictions for Next Episode

Next episode, Episode 29. Will the "possibility of a true culprit" that Ichigo pointed out drive Aqua further into the flames of revenge? And what action will Akane, who independently arrived at the decisive fact of "a 15-year-old middle schooler," take toward Aqua? Ruby sinking into darkness and Aqua standing once again at the edge of despair. As the door reopens to the truth at the story's core, we cannot look away for even a moment.