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The story
A post on 5ch’s “Live Commentary General” board claiming that today’s 30-somethings have childish hobbies sparked a debate. Posters painted a picture of a generation priced out of cars, brand-name goods, and overseas trips, turning instead to capsule-toy machines (gachapon) and anime and video games — and many compared them to 30-somethings from 20 to 30 years ago. Others pushed back, arguing that the earlier generation’s “grown-up” image wasn’t just about having more money, but also about Showa-era social norms. In the end, the thread never settled on whether the “childishness” comes down to economics or a shift in values.
What people said
Brand names — now it's Uniqlo and GU
Overseas trips — can't go
We're doomed.
30-somethings 20 years ago: "Playing around with women! Cars! Road trips! Overseas vacations! Golf! Buying up brand-name goods!"
↑
Where did these guys go?
Tenants are vanishing from shopping centers, and the empty spots just keep turning into gachapon (capsule toy machine) corners.
Unlike the old days, it's undeniably poorer now.
Even if you drop 2 million yen (~$13,000) on a car today, it's a totally different class of car than back then.
These days they're all basically kids.
Japan as a whole still had leftover Showa-era vibes back then — it was a pretty Spartan society.
Re: #29
When my parents were 30, I was already 7 and my little brother was 3 ☺
That was just normal back then.
Cars, golf, overseas trips, soaplands (brothels), sports.
Mahjong, pachinko, horse racing, obviously.
Even the Marui department store by my local station has had almost all its high-end tenants pull out —
now it's a Suruga-ya (used goods store) and a "gachapon forest" in their place.
It's not just Marui — station buildings and shopping centers downtown are the same way.
Look at fashion magazines from the early 2000s and the prices are shockingly high.
No wonder today's kids have no money and only buy clothes from Uniqlo.
Back then, for better or worse, a lot of 30-somethings were putting on airs, so on the whole everyone came across as more grown-up.
Things were still prosperous back then.
Japan has genuinely gotten poorer in the last 10 years.
Re: #51
It's probably smartphones that did it —
smartphones are destroying everything.
Back then there was just still a vibe where you couldn't openly say "video games" or "anime" were your hobbies.
What are you even saying — this is a country where people have been reading manga on trains since the Showa era.
Well, that's just how it actually was, can't help it.
There was a hierarchy even within manga — anime and games were treated as a different category.
When I was young, I used to hide the fact that I watched it.
30 years ago, just watching Gundam or playing Super Robot Wars was enough to get you branded an otaku.
Don't think so.
If someone told me "you look like you'd be into anime," I'd take it as an insult.
You look like you'd be into anime.
See? It's the kind of insult you immediately want to use on someone.
True.
"You look like you'd be into anime" doesn't conjure up a single positive image.
"You look like you'd be into anime" hits an exquisitely precise line as an insult.
Went to Okayama during Silver Week (the autumn holiday cluster).
The Ohara Museum of Art was good, but everything else was just so-so.
I went to Kurashiki too 😁
Got some shots of the night illuminations 😁
Off-topic, but Okayama really doesn't have much in the way of sightseeing.
I grew out of it in elementary school, but
on 5ch you genuinely get these "man-child uncles" who throw tantrums insisting it's totally fine for an adult to still be into this stuff.
Especially middle-aged guys watching anime — that's just repulsive.
What's gone mainstream is young people watching anime.
More like kids, not just young people — it's only acceptable up through minors.
I mean, most anime protagonists are minors themselves,
so if you're older than the protagonist, it's creepy to be watching.
There are a lot of creepy middle-aged guys into Kamen Rider too.
People say "adults can enjoy it too," but it's the same creepiness as an adult seriously enjoying a swing set or a slide.
People are lumping way too much under "oshi-katsu" these days.
These days the term "oshi-katsu" itself has started to sound like extreme otaku behavior.
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
The thread’s framing — “30-somethings priced out of cars, brand-name goods, and overseas trips” — reflects wage stagnation and shrinking disposable income since the 1990s. The trend of high-end tenants pulling out of department stores and shopping centers like Marui, replaced by dedicated gachapon (capsule toy) shops, is a real phenomenon happening across Japan in recent years, matching what posters describe firsthand. Where opinions diverged was over whether the “childishness” stems from economic constraints or from the erosion of Showa-era social norms. Some pointed out that the “grown-up” image of 30-somethings in the past may have had less to do with personal maturity than with a society that placed heavy weight on appearances and social standing — a reminder to be cautious about simple generational comparisons. The view on anime and games is similarly split: once a hobby people felt they had to hide, it’s now mainstream among younger people, while the gaze directed at middle-aged and older men remains harsh — and that asymmetry is where the real disagreement lies.
*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (“Live Commentary General” board) thread “Japan’s 30-somethings these days have WAY too childish hobbies lmaooooooooo“.
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