On a 5ch thread about Hello! Project idols, fans debated whether switching your favorite member (“oshi”) to someone else within the same group — known as “in-group oshi-hen” — counts as a taboo move. The thread starter opened with, “Switching out of pity just drags things out and makes everything messier,” sparking a clash between those who say you should only switch favorites after your current one graduates and those who argue that who you support is entirely a matter of personal choice. Switching because a member was extra nice to you one-on-one got dismissed by some as “creepy,” while opinions were also split on keeping a backup favorite in anticipation of your main pick’s eventual graduation — highlighting just how differently fans read the same situation.
What people said
1AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:20
Switching your favorite within the group out of pity just drags things out and makes everything messier.
If you've switched with real conviction, fine, but switching out of pity feels disrespectful to the idol herself, I've come to think.
Apparently, from the idol's side, an in-group oshi-hen feels like "my boyfriend broke up with me and started dating my little sister" — genuinely gross and unbearable, or so I hear.
3AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:23
In-group favorite switching should wait until after graduation.
6AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:27
If your reason for switching is "she never replies to me" or "another member was nice to me one-on-one," that's pretty creepy.
13AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:32
Re: #6
That's basically starting from zero.
Plus, younger girls are just better.
8AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:29
If things don't work out with my favorite, I'm done for — I have zero interest in anyone else.
11AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:31
Didn't someone from Hello! Project already answer a question like this before?
14AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:32
I'm not interested in members outside my favorite's group, so switching has never even crossed my mind — I've never been in that situation.
15AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:32
It's fine before she actually recognizes your face.
Once she recognizes you, switching isn't something a decent person does.
16AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:33
Wouldn't it be awkward if your old favorite saw you doing this?
17AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:34
Hello! Project has that whole member-recruitment system, so some of this is bound to happen.
19AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:36
Didn't anyone switch favorites after getting a deadpan-faced photo (cheki) with Riorio?
20AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:38
If both the fan and the member feel like things are truly over between them, I guess an in-group switch is fine.
Though the member you switch to probably won't feel great about it.
21AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:38
Try it once and see.
You'll get the cold shoulder from both sides and end up in hell.
22AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:38
Once my favorite graduated, I've been switching favorites within that group like crazy.
23AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:39
It's easy to imagine a 15th-gen fan cheating on their favorite with someone from the 18th generation.
24AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:40
If you're just a background fan, do whatever you want.
But if you're someone who goes to tons of one-on-one events, that's just stupid.
You have no heart.
25AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:40
Switching when your favorite graduates is fine, but switching over and over after that just makes you a problem fan lol.
26AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:40
Supporting another member after the one you liked graduates isn't a problem at all — that doesn't even count as an "in-group switch."
27AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:42
Members notice things even from background fans, you know.
Better not to switch favorites too casually.
28AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:43
Going from loving the whole group equally to narrowing it down to one member — that's fine.
29AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:44
I always keep a backup favorite on standby for when my main one graduates, though.
35AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:48
Re: #29
Stuff like that really gets on my nerves.
39AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:51
Re: #29
As a true single-favorite fan, I'm thinking "you'll just move on to another girl once yours graduates too, creep" — though I'd never say it out loud.
30AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:44
I'd never switch within the group, but my heart still races at Hello! Project concerts.
31AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:44
I watched a video of Aoi Onishi from Nia Joy (ニアジョイ) talking about exactly this — she said switching favorites within the group is a cardinal sin, but it's still better for Nia Joy than switching to an outside group.
32AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:46
I've done it more than once, but every one of my former favorites has been nice about it.
34AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:48
Re: #32
She's a problem fan, so it's best to just leave her alone and not provoke her.
33AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:48
I have a favorite in every group, but for units where I have multiple favorites at a Hello! Project concert, I just wear my top favorite's color.
Well, Hello! Project concerts are held in huge venues anyway, so nobody notices, nobody notices.
36AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:49
Having a favorite in every single group, that's impressive.
I don't feel that much appeal in Hello! Project myself lol.
37AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:50
Who you choose to support is up to you, so in-group favorite switching isn't an absolute no-go — but both the members and the fans around you, even without showing it on their faces, are secretly thinking "are you serious right now" and looking down on you for it.
43AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:54
I switch to the new member every single time one joins.
I've never had any trouble because of it.
45AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:55
In a certain now-disbanded group, I originally thought I was supporting the oldest member, the leader.
But at some point I realized my real favorite was actually the youngest member, so I switched my T-shirt color too.
Before the group disbanded, I apologized to the leader about it at a one-on-one meet-and-greet, and she just laughed and said, "That's okay!"
Even now, after the breakup, the youngest member and I are still in a relaxed support-and-be-supported relationship.
50AnonymousOct 18, 2026 11:58
Re: #45
Saying it to her face directly, that's wild.
53AnonymousOct 18, 2026 12:00
Re: #45
It wasn't "That's okay!" — it was probably "Finally!" Who announces an oshi-hen straight to the idol's face anyway.
60AnonymousOct 18, 2026 12:05
I was solely supporting Chii-chan, but once she joined Morning Musume, it naturally became an in-group switch within Morning Musume.
61AnonymousOct 18, 2026 12:06
Re: #60
What do you mean by that?
Background and Key Points of This Debate
The clash of values around “oshi-hen” (switching your favorite idol) is a theme long debated in idol fan circles, and this thread is just the latest chapter. Underlying it is a shared psychology on both sides — fans and idols alike — that switching favorites within the very same group tends to feel like “cheating” or “betrayal.” The thread split mainly on two points: where to draw the line (acceptable after graduation versus not), and how to judge the reasons and frequency behind a switch (if a little one-on-one kindness is enough to make you move on, your commitment was shallow to begin with). That said, a fair number of commenters argued that “who you support is entirely a matter of personal freedom” — worth noting that the stricter norms voiced here reflect the values of one segment of 5ch fans, not a consensus among all fans. The idol-side comments and anecdotes mentioned by name are also just secondhand accounts from fans, not confirmed statements that accurately reflect the idols’ own intentions.
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