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The story
TV Tokyo’s “Why Did You Come to Japan?” announced an upcoming episode following a foreign fan who traveled to Japan in search of a “new favorite” (oshi) to replace the now-disbanded popular idol group Berryz Kōbō, setting off a buzz on 5ch’s Hello! Project board. The preview also showed the fan heading to a massive idol festival with roughly 1,200 groups performing, and the thread filled with guesses about his true identity — “Isn’t his current favorite Juice=Juice?” and “He seems like a fan of Reina or Ocha (Kanami Ishiguri)” among them. Since a Hello! Project concert was held the same night at Toyota Arena, some posters also wondered whether the schedules overlapped.
What people said
"I want to find a new favorite!"
Searching for a replacement for Berryz Kōbō
● A YOU living in an old folk house "begs his wife" — the whole house fills with smoke, but he still wants to cook over the irori hearth!
● Hooked on "anago" (conger eel) instead of unagi — feasting at a Ginza sushi restaurant and a Michelin-starred favorite
● "I want to find a new favorite!" Chasing a replacement for Berryz Kōbō, he crashes a massive idol festival with around 1,200 groups total!
● A 64-year-old woman heads to Mt. Fuji alone to fulfill a lifelong dream — a moving climb… achieving the dream in place of her late mother
Retracting what I said earlier about him coming to us
Though it's been 9 years since she retired, so maybe not
Ran into a Morning Musume. fan who calls himself "Hachinohe's #1 fan"! He showed off knowledge and love for the group that would put the members themselves to shame.
That's Miki-sama, right?
Oh, it's Tsurube huh
"Tsurube's Family Cheers" — Fujimoto Miki enjoys an all-squid feast in Hachinohe, Aomori
■ Fujimoto Miki ■ "Tsurube's Family Cheers" — Meeting a self-proclaimed "Hachinohe's #1" Morning Musume. fan in Hachinohe, Aomori ■ NHK General TV 19:57-20:42 ■
https://kizuna.5ch.io/test/read.cgi/morningcoffee/1792403149/
I don't think it's this guy though
Can't AI handle that these days?
It's Harocon at Toyota Arena, so no, she's not in it
There were day-of tickets, right?
He'd probably be shocked at how tame today's otaku are, if anything
Those aren't real Hello! Project otaku
Background and Key Points of This Topic
“Why Did You Come to Japan?” is a TV Tokyo information-variety show built around following foreign visitors to Japan. This episode features a foreign fan who came to Japan looking for a “new favorite” to replace Berryz Kōbō, and the preview also teases his attendance at a massive idol festival with roughly 1,200 participating groups. Since Berryz Kōbō disbanded in 2015, the thread’s main focus became speculating which current Hello! Project group the fan would end up gravitating toward. There was also discussion of the fact that a Hello! Project concert (Harocon) was held at Toyota Arena the same night as the broadcast, raising questions about whether the festival and concert schedules overlapped, and whether the fan actually managed to attend Harocon himself. Because the broadcast blurred the fan’s face, his identity was never confirmed, and the discussion ended without resolving whether he was the same person previously featured as a fan of Maria Makino or Juice=Juice.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Looks like a Berryz Kōbō otaku is appearing on today’s ‘Why Did You Come to Japan?’.”
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