A thread reporting on the crowd at a fan club event for Sasaki Rikako, a Hello! Project graduate (OG), appeared on 5ch’s Hello! Project board. According to one post, the venue’s capacity was around 78 people, but only about 10 male fans showed up, sparking a split among thread posters over why so few male otaku attended. Some wondered in confusion, “But she’s so cute,” while others pointed out that she spends too long engaging with specific favorite fans, driving casual fans away.
What people said
3AnonymousOct 1, 2026 06:57
There weren't even 10 old guys total.
5AnonymousOct 1, 2026 06:59
Why are there old guys here at all?
9AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:11
Re: #5
Because old guys won tickets too, that's why.
7AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:03
Seriously, why is she this unpopular with guys?
10AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:13
Re: #1
First session, huh.
Sounds like the otaku crowd didn't hype it up at all.
12AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:15
She's just not that endearing.
This might have a higher female ratio than Kudo Haruka's bus tour.
17AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:21
Re: #12
She's a bundle of cute.
What happened to the makeup the day before yesterday though? But yesterday she looked normal-cute.
15AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:19
Max capacity was 78 and there were 10 guys there.
16AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:21
What did everyone do with their umbrellas? Was there somewhere to stash them?
18AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:22
Re: #16
Mine was a folding one — double-bagged it in plastic and just shoved it in.
19AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:24
The elite few who didn't drift off to Juice=Juice (a fellow Hello! Project group)?
21AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:30
Re: #19
There were people there acting like TO regulars (TO = "top oshi," the most devoted front-row fans) even though they've clearly moved on elsewhere.
20AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:26
It was really fun, but I think the small venue size had a lot to do with that.
Please do it again!
24AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:38
I only got into the first session, but somehow ended up front row like it was nothing.
25AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:38
She said she's doing an event at Hello! Shop Osaka next.
27AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:39
The only guys who showed up are probably the type who are into her female fans, not her.
28AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:41
The person in front of me was probably young, but with the clothes and everything, from behind they looked exactly like a gray-haired old lady.
30AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:46
Where's TO "Sawami auntie" (a well-known regular top fan)?
33AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:49
Re: #30
This was the second session.
"Yumeriai auntie" was front row at the first session.
32AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:47
What was the big giveaway for the second session?
The first session had a yellow cat T-shirt and a navy-and-white checked tote bag.
35AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:51
She's so cute, why are there so few male otaku?
39AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:53
Who'd have thought she'd end up less popular than Tamenaga…
40AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:54
She was originally a model, so the ratio isn't that strange. There are even high schoolers among the guys there.
41AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:57
In Rikako's case, her events cater way too heavily to her "omaitsu" favorites (regulars she always dotes on), leaving casual fans behind, so they keep disappearing one by one — can't help it. She reaps what she sowed.
43AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:57
People keep saying it's few, but aside from Fukumura, Ishida, Sato, Miyamoto, and Inaba, the other OGs aren't much different.
47AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:58
Re: #43
Morito probably pulls in around 300.
61AnonymousOct 1, 2026 08:25
Re: #43
Those names at least pull 300 to 600 for an FC event around Tokyo.
44AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:57
She was an exclusive CanCam model for years, but it never translated into popularity from that crowd.
46AnonymousOct 1, 2026 07:58
If Ange (ANGERME, a Hello! Project group) goes viral, her otaku numbers will grow too.
49AnonymousOct 1, 2026 08:01
She's so adorable, why are there so few male otaku?
tps://pbs.twimg.com/media/HTW70uAakAAvArJ.jpg
tps://pbs.twimg.com/media/HTXQOmJbkAAKL2r.jpg
tps://pbs.twimg.com/media/HTXDwlPaUAAf-Qq.jpg
tps://pbs.twimg.com/media/HTXDwDMb0AA-TbS.jpg
51AnonymousOct 1, 2026 08:01
Re: #49
Did she say something discriminatory against old guys at some point or something?
53AnonymousOct 1, 2026 08:05
Re: #51
No, she didn't.
She's an equal-opportunity sweetheart to everyone regardless of age or gender.
It's just that she spends way too long on her favorite fans while leaving everyone else behind, and it kills the mood.
52AnonymousOct 1, 2026 08:03
Her CanCam-related events are favoritism-driven too — this is an FC event, but it's the same vibe.
54AnonymousOct 1, 2026 08:10
Those favorites are probably all women, aren't they.
55AnonymousOct 1, 2026 08:10
https://x.com/katsumaru__/status/2105270498087329860
Apparently that was given out to everyone at an event where they screened her graduation concert footage in a movie theater.
Someone go let them know.
59AnonymousOct 1, 2026 08:23
When they announced they'd give this to whoever got the quiz question right, it felt too intimidating and I thought "nah, I don't want it" — I couldn't even take care of it properly.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HTdmD72acAA23Ky.jpg
https://youtu.be/8xDGXCVCptg?t=7m53s
60AnonymousOct 1, 2026 08:23
Isn't the crowd even smaller than Koseki's?
62AnonymousOct 1, 2026 08:28
Even at Bar Event Square Ebara, tickets for both sessions didn't sell out.
Wonder what they'll do if they hold it again next year.
If they switch to somewhere like TFM, the floor's flat, so even fewer people will show up.
Background and Key Points of This Topic
Sasaki Rikako, a Hello! Project graduate, has continued to hold fan-club-organized events on an irregular basis since leaving the group. It’s worth noting that the figure cited in the thread — “about 10 male fans out of a venue capacity of roughly 78” — comes from an attendee’s visual estimate, not an official number released by the organizers. The debate centered on why male fans were so few, with some arguing it has nothing to do with her looks, while others claimed she spends too much time with specific favorite fans, driving casual fans away. Since venue size and turnout for Hello! Project graduate events vary widely depending on each member’s current activity level, simple numerical comparisons with other members’ events should be made with caution.
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