In the early hours of October 1st, singer milet posted on her personal X (formerly Twitter) account, writing “Between living and dying there’s really only a thin layer about the thickness of one gyoza wrapper” and “Damn it, I’ll live,” opening up about her struggle with depression. Because the post came from a heavyweight singer who has performed at the Kohaku Uta Gassen (NHK’s prestigious New Year’s Eve song contest) four times, and because it was posted in the dead of night, it drew wide attention, even getting picked up by Yahoo! News. On 5channel (5ch) threads, reactions ranged from surprise at her distinctive “gyoza wrapper” metaphor to concern over the unexpectedly harsh realities of life as an entertainer — though opinion split over the sincerity of the post and her past career.
Red-and-White Singer Reveals Depression: “Between Life and Death Is One Gyoza Wrapper,” “Damn It, I’ll Live” — Late-Night X Post
Singer milet updated her X account on the 1st, sharing her thoughts on life and death.
At 3:08 AM on the 1st, she began: “Between living and dying there’s really only a thin layer about the thickness of one gyoza wrapper. Pull on it even a little and it feels like it’d tear right through. Give me a break. This is so pathetic. Where does this feeling even come from. Gyoza wrapper, just go flutter around somewhere else.”
Gyoza, 'damn it'… is she channeling Horiemon? [Takafumi Horie, a famous entrepreneur known for blunt, profanity-laced commentary]
5AnonymousOct 1, 2026 09:50
She's fallen from that mystery 'Olympics singer.' Her agency's to blame.
14AnonymousOct 1, 2026 09:53
I think she meant 'hanging by a thread' (lit. 'one layer of neck skin') [a set Japanese idiom, 首の皮一枚, for barely surviving].
35AnonymousOct 1, 2026 09:57
Re: #14 Being an adult means NOT pointing that out!
119AnonymousOct 1, 2026 10:14
Re: #14 I think she was expressing the idea of a 'razor-thin margin' through the image of a gyoza wrapper.
16AnonymousOct 1, 2026 09:54
Depression and social media seem like a terrible mix.
17AnonymousOct 1, 2026 09:54
Never heard of her despite being a Kohaku performer. Guess that's what getting old does to you (^o^)
21AnonymousOct 1, 2026 09:55
'Gyoza wrapper' isn't exactly a beautiful lyric lol
23AnonymousOct 1, 2026 09:55
It's unpleasant to read — write that stuff on the back of a flyer instead [i.e., keep it to yourself].
25AnonymousOct 1, 2026 09:55
Back in her Niconico utaite (cover-singer) days she went by 'Rascal.' Most people who come up through Niconico are pretty thick-skinned and quick to rationalize their own behavior, so I figured she'd be the same, but… guess not.
31AnonymousOct 1, 2026 09:56
At one point her agency was pushing her hard — she even landed a movie heroine role.
32AnonymousOct 1, 2026 09:56
milet and Maria Nishiuchi are kind of similar — good raw material, but the people backing them push too hard and it breaks them.
33AnonymousOct 1, 2026 09:56
This might really be the end, who knows. [a well-worn ironic meme phrase implying something's finished]
36AnonymousOct 1, 2026 09:57
I'm an unmarried, non-regular-employed, not-great-looking guy in my 50s, and even I'm having a decent time living — what happened to her?
37AnonymousOct 1, 2026 09:57
I keep mixing her up with 'Aimar.' [likely a mix-up with footballer Pablo Aimar, due to the similar-sounding name]
38AnonymousOct 1, 2026 09:57
Checked her Wikipedia page — she lands a ton of commercial tie-ins every single year. Even with that kind of star treatment, she still gets depressed?
41AnonymousOct 1, 2026 09:59
That movie was a huge flop — it gave her an uncool image. Kind of the same pattern as [singer] miwa. She's done for.
42AnonymousOct 1, 2026 09:59
Give 'Nanmo Nee' [one of her songs, title means 'Nothing At All'] a listen — the fan chorus version. Seriously, for real.
43AnonymousOct 1, 2026 09:59
I think she's just overthinking it. Get some sun, exercise, go travel to a developing country or something — it'll make the worrying feel silly.
46AnonymousOct 1, 2026 09:59
You're more than just your music. You can live without singing. It'll be okay. Even if you can't sing anymore, you're still wonderful.
47AnonymousOct 1, 2026 09:59
So even being beautiful, a great singer, a top-university grad, and successful at work doesn't stop you from getting depressed.
77AnonymousOct 1, 2026 10:05
Re: #47 Maybe she feels singing is all she has. People who end up struggling mentally usually have low self-esteem and self-worth — even though from the outside she looks like pure talent.
60AnonymousOct 1, 2026 10:02
You wouldn't know how big that gap really is unless you were already dead.
61AnonymousOct 1, 2026 10:02
'Gyoza wrapper, go flutter around somewhere else' — it's not laundry hanging on a line! [playing on her 'flutter/wave' wording]
62AnonymousOct 1, 2026 10:02
From people I know, it really does seem like the ones everybody fawns over are more prone to depression. Well, it's easier when no one expects anything of you.
63AnonymousOct 1, 2026 10:03
A lot of these 'alphabet-named' female singers [stage names in Roman letters, like milet, LiSA, Aimyon] turn out to be kind of a letdown.
92AnonymousOct 1, 2026 10:08
She's gorgeous — surely she could just get married.
96AnonymousOct 1, 2026 10:09
I mean, aren't you not supposed to tell depressed people to 'hang in there'? It's hard to know how to react. Though I do feel for her.
101AnonymousOct 1, 2026 10:11
Re: #96 'Hang in there' is fine to say. It's 'push yourself even if it kills you' that's off-limits.
Background and Key Points of the Discussion
Celebrities disclosing mental health struggles on social media has become fairly common in recent years, and this case spread widely once news outlets picked it up. On the thread, most of the reaction centered on milet’s choice of words — rendering a “razor-thin margin” (紙一重, kamihitoe) as a “gyoza wrapper” — but what stood out was the split between posters who sincerely worried about her and those who questioned the post’s sincerity. Several commenters also pointed out that self-esteem can run low behind the glamorous facade of showbiz work. That gap in understanding — that success and mental/physical struggle can coexist — is arguably part of why online confessions of distress are so often met with suspicion of being a “publicity stunt” or a “cry for attention.”
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