Author: Japan Reacts Editorial

  • Nakayama Kinnikun Hit With ¥162 Million Lawsuit Over Ex-Manager’s Fraud — 5ch Asks: ‘Victim or Scammer?’

    It came to light on September 30 via a Daily Shincho report that fitness personality Nakayama Kinnikun has been sued by people connected to actor Kane Kosugi, demanding he “pay back the money.” The defendants are Kinnikun himself, his personal agency “Company 333,” and former manager Yuichi Iio, who has already been arrested on suspicion of fraud. The plaintiffs are jointly demanding a total of ¥162 million, of which ¥70 million is claimed from the individual plaintiff alone. Opinions on 5ch were split — some argued it’s unreasonable to hold Kinnikun liable after the fact when lending the money was the plaintiff’s own decision, while others raised the question of the talent’s duty of oversight, such as how the agency’s official seal was managed.

    9/30 (Wed) 12:31

    Daily Shincho

    “Kane Furious, Feels ‘Betrayed’ by Kinnikun”

    Source: topics.smt.docomo.ne.jp / Original article here

    7AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:19
    Maybe Kinnikun should've just stayed with Yoshimoto…?
    9AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:19
    "I'm a victim too," huh

    Corporate data breaches pull the same move, don't they
    "We suffered unauthorized access" and leaked your info
    So it's damages, random attacker, Shane (a disjointed word-association riff — exact meaning unclear, possibly a meme chain)
    10AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:19
    Victim or scammer, WHICH IS IT?!

    POWER! ("Power!" is Kinnikun's own catchphrase)
    11AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:19
    The manager's probably got the money stashed away somewhere.
    12AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:19
    His body fat percentage is single digits, same as Kane Kosugi's.
    15AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:20
    In my experience, guys with beady little eyes like that can't be trusted.
    16AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:20
    Would this not have happened if he'd just stayed at Yoshimoto?
    32AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:23
    Re: #16
    Yoshimoto would probably just front that kind of cash for him.
    Kinnikun could pay it back easily anyway.
    17AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:21
    What an absolute disaster of an ex-manager, lol
    18AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:21
    This claim is way too much of a stretch.
    Lending the money was his own call —
    it's not like Kinnikun was standing there telling him to hand it over.

    And yet they're pinning the outcome all on him? That's just idiotic.
    19AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:21
    Are there other comedians you guys used to hype up who actually turned out to be bad people?
    22AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:21
    My "muscle" pick lost at this year's Sprinters Stakes (a major Japanese horse race), so I figured something was coming — and here it is already.
    23AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:21
    You guys really have zero eye for character, huh.
    24AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:21
    Just being "connected" to him gets you a loan that big?
    Kinnikun's name value is insane.
    25AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:22
    Surely Kinnikun's in the clear here?
    This Iio guy just used his name without permission to run the scam, right?
    And he's already been arrested for it.
    Just make him pay it back.
    59AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:28
    Re: #25
    He doesn't have the means to repay it, so they're suing jointly (the scammer, Kinnikun, and Kinnikun's company — three parties).

    If Kinnikun had left management of the company seal or his own personal seal in the scammer's hands, joint liability can sometimes be established (since it's normal to trust a contract that's been properly stamped).

    But if it was just a verbal arrangement (some made-up line like "I've been put in charge of producing Kinnikun's health food line"), that alone probably wouldn't hold up.
    26AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:22
    Reading the article, Kane himself doesn't seem all that involved…

    Sounds more like whoever was handling Kane's side of things just got caught up in the fraud…
    34AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:23
    Re: #26
    It's an ugly fight between two guys both trying to cash in on someone else's name.
    31AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:22
    Probably won't hold up legally, but I get the sentiment.
    Maybe he'll at least get some token amount back.
    33AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:23
    His momentary impact on M-1 (Japan's top manzai comedy competition) was pretty huge — that "gone right after he arrived" feeling was the best part.
    35AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:23
    Wait, the talent is responsible for supervising the manager?
    I'd have assumed it was the manager's job to keep the talent in line.
    If he'd been at a big agency that employed the manager directly, would he have been in the clear?
    36AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:23
    So this is the classic case of scumbags flocking to an easy-to-carry figurehead (a "light mikoshi" — someone easily propped up and exploited)?
    37AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:24
    This is exactly how a nation of laws is supposed to work 🤣
    39AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:24
    Guess getting rich changed him as a person.
    Well, that probably happens to everyone, but for Kinnikun it's a serious blow to his image.
    53AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:26
    Feels like there was also some cult or self-help seminar trouble before.
    Nakayama sure racks up the money troubles.
    102AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:34
    Re: #53
    The Ohtani of the muscle world.

    Guess Ohtani (Shohei Ohtani, MLB star) counts as part of the muscle world too, lol
    58AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:27
    He could've at least gotten a lawyer and talked it out.
    Cutting off contact outright is just dumb.
    He's built his whole image on being a good guy — he should've handled this carefully to avoid a lawsuit.
    74AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:30
    Re: #58
    I get that Kinnikun was scared of saying anything careless,
    but not even managing "I'll consult a lawyer and get back to you" is the real problem.
    60AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:28
    This lawsuit is such an impossible ask, I'm speechless, lol
    61AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:28
    The person who lent the money bears the real responsibility here.
    They should be suing the lender first.
    73AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:30
    Re: #61
    They are suing him.

    The defendants are Kinnikun, his personal agency "Company 333" (read "Sasami" — a pun on 3-3-3 that also means chicken breast, a nod to bodybuilding), and former manager Yuichi Iio (52). The defendants are being asked to jointly pay a total of ¥162 million, of which ¥70 million is being claimed by Mr. A.
    70AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:29
    Money trouble again?
    Hire decent people for once.
    79AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:31
    These two used to be a duo and entered the M-1 qualifiers together, right?
    I think they were called "Perfect Powers."
    85AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:31
    Re: #79

    Nah, it's right there in Re: #1.
    86AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:31
    Hasn't he had a lot of money-related trouble ever since leaving Yoshimoto?

    Background and Key Points of This Story

    Nakayama Kinnikun previously left the major talent agency Yoshimoto Kogyo and has been operating under his own independent agency, “Company 333” — the backstory behind thread comments like “maybe he should go back to Yoshimoto.” The lawsuit stems from the arrest of former manager Yuichi Iio on suspicion of fraud, with the plaintiff seeking joint payment from both Kinnikun himself and his agency. The central question is how far a talent’s personal liability extends for money trouble caused by their manager — as comment 59 points out, whether joint liability sticks depends on how much Kinnikun actually entrusted the manager with handling contracts and the company or personal seal. The framing behind the headline — that “‘I’m a victim’ won’t fly” — reflects reports that Kinnikun’s side cut off contact without fulfilling any duty to explain, which is why the reporting suggests this can’t simply be written off as him being a victim.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisports Sokuho+) thread “Nakayama Kinnikun sued by parties connected to “Kane Kosugi” demanding “pay back the money”! Claim amount ¥160 million — “‘I’m a victim’ won’t fly”.”

  • Hitoshi Matsumoto’s New Content Coming to Netflix — Simultaneous Release with ‘DOWNTOWN+’ Planned by Year’s End

    On September 30, Yoshimoto Kogyo announced that new content produced by Hitoshi Matsumoto will stream simultaneously on the paid service ‘DOWNTOWN+’ and on Netflix. This marks the first time DOWNTOWN+ has released the same content at the same time as another streaming service. The project is currently in production, with release planned before the end of the year, and it will reportedly be distributed globally via Netflix. On 5ch, reactions were split: some worried about subscribers leaving DOWNTOWN+ and made sarcastic comments, while others took it positively, saying it showed ‘high trust from foreign capital.’

    New content produced by Hitoshi Matsumoto confirmed for Netflix, with simultaneous release alongside ‘DOWNTOWN+’ planned by year’s end

    It was revealed on the 30th that new content produced by Hitoshi Matsumoto of the comedy duo Downtown will stream simultaneously on the paid service ‘DOWNTOWN+’ and on ‘Netflix.’ The announcement was made by Yoshimoto Kogyo.

    This is the first time ‘DOWNTOWN+’ will release the same content at the same time as another video streaming service. Yoshimoto and Netflix reached an agreement over Matsumoto’s new content. It is currently in production, with release planned within the year, and the work will be rolled out globally through Netflix.

    Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

    4AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:04
    Guess DOWNTOWN+ alone just wasn't cutting it anymore, huh?
    6AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:05
    Don't let it out of DOWNTOWN+!
    7AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:05
    DOWNTOWN+'s annual plan renews on 11/1, so they're apparently scrambling — expecting a mass wave of cancellations.
    62AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:26
    Re: #7
    Watch out, this might be one of those services that auto-renews your subscription without asking.
    11AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:07
    Now that Netflix is involved, expect a flood of mysterious puff pieces hyping him up from here on out.
    13AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:07
    DOWNTOWN+ just feels cheap in every way.
    Though even with money behind it now, they might not be able to make anything interesting anymore.
    16AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:07
    Does simultaneous release even matter?
    It's already streaming on DOWNTOWN+ anyway.
    Is there really much difference?
    21AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:09
    Matsumoto's a shrewd operator, but Netflix's reputation keeps getting shadier with stuff like the MEGUMI thing.
    71AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:31
    Re: #21
    Netflix got a taste of success with hits like 'The Naked Director' back when compliance standards were basically nonexistent.
    22AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:10
    Did the haters lose again?
    23AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:10
    Re: #22
    The haters have been winning this whole time though.
    25AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:11
    Priced higher than Jump+ and it flopped lol (Jump+ = Shueisha's manga streaming app)
    27AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:11
    Countdown's officially on for our boy Matsu-chan's big comeback.
    28AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:11
    Gaki no Tsukai might as well just go streaming-only at this point.
    Just give us Sake no Tsumami, Suberanai Hanashi, and Warattewa Ikenai, please. (fan-favorite Downtown segments/specials)
    51AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:23
    Re: #28
    They could expand Sake no Tsumami into 'San Nomi' and a bigger 'Berobero Nomi Wide.'
    Honestly didn't expect Sakagami and Mitz to be that funny.
    29AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:12
    If Netflix puts up the money, they could make a show with a budget that blows terrestrial TV out of the water.
    40AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:18
    Re: #29
    Even before that — with 500,000 subscribers they'd already be pulling in 550 million yen a month, so they should be able to fund a solid project as is.
    32AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:14
    Why doesn't Hamada ever appear alongside him? (his Downtown comedy partner, Masatoshi Hamada)
    78AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:34
    Re: #32
    His wife is dead set against it.
    33AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:14
    Come to think of it, it's been a while since we've seen a thread about DOWNTOWN+'s subscriber numbers.
    35AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:15
    Sounds like they might make a Netflix version of Warattewa Ikenai.
    38AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:16
    If he's not needed anymore, maybe retiring is the way to go.
    Doesn't change what he's already accomplished on TV though.
    41AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:18
    Going with Netflix is the smart move.
    A standalone platform is just a hassle for viewers and the people running it alike.
    42AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:18
    Warattewa Ikenai probably isn't happening anymore health-wise anyway, so no great loss there.
    I just don't want it popping up on my home screen — is there a way to block it?
    67AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:29
    Re: #42
    Let's make sure it flops hard, just to be thorough.
    43AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:19
    Between this and Amazon Prime, Matsumoto's trust level with foreign capital is through the roof. You can see why Yoshimoto could never cut him loose. DOWNTOWN+ won't have money troubles after this. Tough luck for the haters lol
    44AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:21
    Re: #1
    Would Warattewa Ikenai even work on Netflix? Can't they just talk to Hulu instead?
    45AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:21
    New content on Netflix!?

    Probably just another judging gig…
    46AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:21
    An archive of Suberanai Hanashi would be fine by me.
    48AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:22
    So if I'm already paying for Netflix, does that mean I get this for free?
    49AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:22
    Re: #40
    But they keep managing to book guests who look expensive every single time.
    56AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:25
    Re: #49
    That's just piling up as debt for Yoshimoto.
    50AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:22
    He mentioned there was a big project coming up on DOWNTOWN+ — guess this is what he meant. I was half-expecting him to show up on King of Conte, but this is on a whole different level. (KOC = a major Japanese comedy competition)
    53AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:23
    I used to love Downtown so much I owned the Gotchi and Gaki no Tsukai DVDs,
    but the last thing I remember watching was around the Yugawara episode of Gaki no Tsukai.
    He should just retire already.
    55AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:24
    Personally, it got boring once he started running with a huge pack of comedians.
    Hitoshi was funnier when he was thinner.
    Hitoshi should just retire already.

    Background and Points of Debate

    DOWNTOWN+ is the paid streaming service Hitoshi Matsumoto has built his career around since scaling back his TV appearances. This is the first time it has released the same content simultaneously with another streaming service, which can be read as a move by Yoshimoto Kogyo to broaden its revenue streams. Opinion in the thread split between skeptics who see the tie-up as a sign that DOWNTOWN+ has been struggling to grow subscribers on its own, and those who took it positively as proof that drawing interest from foreign capital like Netflix is itself a mark of trust. Subscriber numbers and revenue haven’t been made public, so figures like the ‘550 million yen a month’ estimate floated in the thread are pure speculation. The specific content and cast of the new release also hadn’t been announced at the time of writing, so this is still a story to watch for further updates.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread ‘[Entertainment] New content produced by Hitoshi Matsumoto confirmed for Netflix, simultaneous release with ‘DOWNTOWN+’ planned by year’s end.’

  • TOPPAN Mis-sends Data on 170,000 Sompo Japan Policyholders — 5ch: “Just Ban ZIP Files Already, lol”

    It was reported on September 30, 2026 that TOPPAN, during a data transfer job entrusted to it by Sompo Japan Insurance, made a drag-and-drop error and sent the personal information of roughly 170,000 policyholders to the wrong company instead of the intended recipient. On 5ch, discussion centered on whether “operational mistake” was really a fair description — many argued the true cause was a failure to double-check before sending — while others called for scrapping manual-work-reliant processes altogether, sparking debate over how to genuinely prevent a repeat.

    Published

    September 30, 2026, 8:44 AM

    Author

    Source: itmedia.co.jp / Original article here

    2AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:12
    Lol. When something feels off, you'd better actually stop and check it.
    3AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:19
    First things first: ban ZIP files, lol
    5AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:36
    You could've just run `unzip -l` to see the file list before sending…
    7AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:46
    Yeah, this proves you really shouldn't let people work outside a CLI (command-line interface).
    25AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:55
    Re: #7
    It's the same problem even with manual work.
    And with a CLI, there's the horror of your `history` (command log) coming back to bite you.
    8AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:50
    Come on…
    Fine if it's your personal mouse, but if you're using one for work and it's double-clicking on its own (chattering), replace it immediately.
    9AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:56
    This particular case was a dumb mistake, but yeah —
    drag-and-drop really is
    prone to slipping off target.
    11AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:01
    TOPPAN, probably: "Oh, Times leaked 6 million records? Guess we'll quietly drop our own 170,000-person leak while everyone's distracted!"
    12AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:01
    Work like this should always be done with a written procedure, a second checker present, and evidence like screenshots being logged along the way.
    Even then, mistakes still happen sometimes, though.
    13AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:21
    Guess the other insurance companies are saying "thanks" (for making them look good by comparison).
    14AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:23
    Between this and that earlier business where they brushed off the Agent Orange (defoliant) issue, the insurance industry's ethics are completely falling apart.
    15AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:23
    With cyber incidents, they hide the real details so as not to give copycat criminals any ideas.
    There's no way the customer database is actually connected to the open internet… right?
    16AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:33
    Drag-and-drop is hard to verify, yeah.
    If the PC's specs are garbage, it can stutter and the drag can release without you noticing, moving the file somewhere you never meant it to go.
    19AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:43
    That's not quite accurate.
    It shouldn't be framed as "due to a drag-and-drop mistake" —
    it should be "a drag-and-drop mistake" AND "a failure to double-check."
    Sending straight off a drag-and-drop without any verification doesn't add up, so
    ultimately the main cause was failing to check before sending.
    It's obvious they're trying to hide a bigger failure and make it look
    like a minor operational slip, lol
    26AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:55
    Re: #19
    Good point, exactly right.
    This happens a lot —
    the media pulling its punches out of deference.
    21AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:47
    At the end of the day, a human is the one who screws it up, so no matter how tight you make security it's useless, useless, USELESS!
    All you can really do is encrypt it and store it so it's only ever handled on your own company's machines — basically keep it locked down "hell-safe" (a jokey, garbled riff on "fail-safe").
    22AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:47
    Might be better to split responsibility by client company,
    or just use separate PCs for each.
    23AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:54
    Clackety-clackety-clack… *ta-daa!*

    You're supposed to double-check BEFORE the "ta-daa," lol
    24AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:54
    Happens all the time.
    They always say this kind of mistake will be "corrected," but is there an actual fix?
    27AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:00
    Re: #24
    Cut out the manual work.
    Cut out single-person processing.
    It's bad enough that the vendor is treating 170,000 files like some ad-hoc, non-standardized task.
    They say they're moving it to ServiceNow or AI, sure — but on a totally unrelated note, ServiceNow's McDermott was actually at Trump's gathering of tech-industry bigwigs yesterday, showing up flashy enough to look like a rock star. He's tight with that guy in the leather jacket (Jensen Huang) — they show up at each other's annual events, and it's basically a running bit that the two of them, Jensen and McDermott, always end up together in a Bloomberg interview.

    Okay, that went completely off-topic.
    33AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:36
    Re: #24
    Sending data outside the company is a pretty critical action,
    so it should require sign-off from multiple people.
    28AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:02
    Honestly the file management itself is the real problem here, isn't it?
    How much are they even getting paid for this contract?
    Just build a proper system for it.
    29AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:04
    If you're sending data on 170,000 people, shouldn't it need approval at the level of, like, a manager pressing a button?
    Though the manager's probably just as careless,
    given they let the workflow get this sloppy in the first place.
    30AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:07
    For data entrusted to you by other people, there should be logs of
    who accessed it,
    who copied it,
    who updated it —
    right?
    There's zero recognition that the actual owner of that data is the person it's about.
    And that goes for the insurance company that outsourced the work too.

    Even with My Number (Japan's national ID) data,
    Japan doesn't operate on the idea that the data belongs to the individual it describes.
    Everyone who has accessed that data —
    meaning everyone who's
    looked at it, touched it —
    should be made known,
    every single one,
    to the person the data is about.
    That's what real privacy actually means.

    Bet you don't get it, do you?
    31AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:19
    Very fitting for a country that lost the IT war — gotta love it.
    38AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:24
    Well, I'm sure they've signed confidentiality agreements with every company involved, so contractually it shouldn't leak.
    Contractually, anyway.
    39AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:37
    Even if you fat-fingered the operation, you'd normally double-check before hitting send, right?
    Why'd they just let it go through as-is?
    40AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:39
    Why not encrypt it before sending, then contact the recipient separately afterward to send the decryption key?

    I think banks used to do something like that back in the day.
    41AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:43
    New hires pull this all the time.
    Companies really should separate the internal LAN from the external LAN with a two-PC setup in the first place —
    but since that's not happening, misdeliveries like this are bound to keep occurring.

    Background and Key Points

    TOPPAN has been shifting its business from printing toward information and data-processing services, and handles large volumes of personal data on behalf of client companies such as insurers. In this incident, the company was sending policyholder data via drag-and-drop as part of that work when the file was dropped onto the wrong destination, leaking data on roughly 170,000 people. Where opinions on the thread split was over how fair the “operational mistake” framing really was: comment #19 argued that the true cause was a failure to check before sending, and that calling it a mere “operational mistake” downplays where the responsibility actually lies. Many commenters also called for mandatory multi-person approval, automated system checks, and eliminating manual handling altogether — the shared view being that treating this as simple human error won’t actually stop it from happening again. Notably, this comes around the same time as a report that car-share giant Times leaked roughly 6 million records, putting renewed scrutiny on how outsourced work handling large volumes of personal data gets checked.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Business News+) thread “TOPPAN Mistakenly Sends Data on 170,000 Sompo Japan Policyholders to Another Company Due to a Drag-and-Drop Error.”

  • Sega: ‘Yes, We Have Sequel Plans for Shin Sakura Taisen — and We Want to Remaster 1 Through V Too’

    A lengthy interview with Sega’s Akira Nishino and Takaharu Terada in the latest issue of Famitsu has become a hot topic on 5ch’s Hardware/Industry (Geha) board. In it, the pair said they “don’t want the idea of a Shin Sakura Taisen sequel to stay just a fantasy,” and also expressed a desire to “somehow make it happen” — remastering the original entries 1 through V for current hardware. In the thread, many posters pointed to a PS exclusivity deal and rights issues reportedly tied to Shin Sakura Taisen’s development as the reason remasters of the older games haven’t materialized, with plenty of comments calling for the older titles to be reassessed and ported before any new game, alongside harsh criticism of Shin Sakura Taisen itself.

    The latest issue of Famitsu features a lengthy interview with Sega’s Akira Nishino and Takaharu Terada.

    It also touches on behind-the-scenes stories from the past, as well as what’s ahead.

    This one’s packed with stuff we’re hearing for the first time too.

    Source: ryokutya2089.xn--bl;og-d41c.jp / Original article here

    2AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:43
    Even if they made a Shin Sakura sequel, with Nagoshi gone now, it'd probably end up like how Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio took over Virtua Fighter — Yokoyama would likely muscle his way in.

    Sakura Wars: Shin, Continued
    Developer… Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
    Script… Yokoyama

    Something like that
    6AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:52
    Re: #2
    Script… Furuta Tsuyoshi

    Then maybe it could actually come back
    4AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:49
    Bet it's some punchline like: Nagoshi already locked them into a PS exclusivity deal → can't release on any other platform → PS alone can't turn a profit, so there's no point releasing it at all lol
    16AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:06
    Re: #4
    Nah, Sega these days would put it on Xbox
    5AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:50
    Before talking sequel plans, how about properly wrapping up the first Shin Sakura Taisen game
    7AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:53
    Would it even be fun if they made it today?
    It felt fresh for its time, but Gunparade March is still the strongest in that genre
    8AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:55
    A series nobody's cared about since Shin
    15AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:03
    Re: #8
    Wasn't it from 5 onward, when Ogami changed?
    9AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:55
    Is there even anyone who actually wants more of 'Shin' in the first place?
    Go fix the mobile game instead
    10AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:56
    > We do have plans for Shin Sakura Taisen all the way through. We don't want it to stay just a fantasy.
    Just let it stay a fantasy lol, or the company's going under lol (´・ω・`)
    11AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:58
    After making such a lame action game…
    12AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:00
    Forget the pointless action stuff, sim gameplay like Sakura 1 would be plenty lol
    13AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:01
    They managed to port 1 and 2 to the PSP back in the day — what's stopping them from porting the old games now?
    Maybe when they launched Shin Sakura they stripped out so many elements from the old games that it soured relations with people involved in the originals, and that turned into some kind of rights issue?
    40AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:26
    Re: #13
    Apparently Sega has held all the rights since 2017
    It's probably just low on the investment priority list, so the project never gets greenlit
    18AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:10
    Re: #16
    To release it on Xbox they'd have to pay a penalty fee to break the PS exclusivity deal Nagoshi signed,
    and that would make it unprofitable — that's the theory, anyway.
    The only way it'd happen is if Microsoft covered the penalty fee themselves,
    but would they really go that far for a title that basically only sells in Japan?
    20AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:12
    Re: #18
    If it means cutting ties with PlayStation, that'd be a bargain
    19AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:10
    Romance stuff? You guys are all washed up by now (´・ω・`)
    24AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:15
    Did Sega sign some Marvelous-style contract like the one behind Senran Kagura (a pun here — 戦乱, "turmoil," swapped in for 閃乱)? Sounds like it comes with brutal restrictions clear through to the sequel lol
    30AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:18
    Re: #24
    If even porting is this hard, sounds like every project with "Sakura Taisen" in the name is locked to PlayStation
    33AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:20
    Re: #30
    Sakura Taisen 4: Koiseyo Otome hasn't been ported to any home console besides the Dreamcast (DC) and Windows (PC) versions.
    35AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:21
    Re: #30
    Is even a Steam port of the old games being blocked?
    That would mean the whole series IP is basically being treated as a Sony IP
    37AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:24
    The original was a Sega Saturn title — what's this nonsense about PS? Are people dumb?
    43AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:28
    Re: #37
    Doesn't matter that it started on the Saturn if there's a later contract involved
    55AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:51
    A company that let the Switch — the biggest opportunity market out there — slip right by can only be called dumb, and the fact they're still dawdling like this says it all. Whether Shin Sakura Taisen flopping really hit them that hard, or they just can't be bothered ("ongī" — obscure net slang, exact meaning unclear), who knows
    57AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:52
    Re: #55
    Well, as a result, they're not exactly a major player in the mainstream market anymore
    66AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:08
    That's because the overseas sales rights for V are held by Nippon Ichi Software's overseas subsidiary —
    Sega of America and Sega Europe both refused to publish it themselves
    69AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:11
    Re: #66
    Sega flatly turned down ("ongi") a Japanese release of the Wii version, but the overseas version's poster actually had the Wii logo on it — at first people on Geha were calling that photoshopped or fake
    73AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:25
    Did things get messy after they sidelined Ōji Hiroi?
    79AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:34
    Re: #73
    When Shin came out, didn't he say something like "I think they should release it as a brand-new title without using the Sakura name, but I'm done with it, so do whatever you want"?
    76AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:26
    Rolling out Sakura Taisen at this point, a franchise that's basically dead content ("owakon") — have they actually thought about who'd even buy it? Releasing something isn't automatically a good idea
    85AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:52
    I'm from the generation that got hit directly by Sakura Taisen, and isn't that generation basically anti-PlayStation?
    I remember only reluctantly buying a PS around the time the Slim model came out and LCD displays were being sold.
    Among old-school Sakura Taisen fans, I don't think a single one has a good impression of PlayStation
    98AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:02
    Re: #85
    Slim for the PS? Are you saying you didn't buy one until the PS2? I never once saw anyone harboring hatred for PlayStation back in real time, especially with no internet around to stir it up — people who bought Sakura Taisen owned a PS too. Other folks who were specifically into anime-style games were off happily playing on the Saturn in their own way — I remember playing Mortal Kombat at one of their houses
    91AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:56
    Whatever's making remasters of the older games difficult, it doesn't sound like a technical issue
    Must be a rights thing
    96AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:00
    Re: #91
    They've released stuff for Windows PC before,
    so I don't think it's technically difficult.
    Like I said earlier, it's probably a contract issue, or otherwise rights issues around the music and such.
    On top of that, thanks to Nagoshi, things apparently got messy with the old series' voice actors too, so that might be tangled up in it as well
    95AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:58
    So the Dreamcast is the only home console version of 4?
    97AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:02
    Re: #95
    Yep, that's right — and that's exactly why the sticking point is that the Ogami arc of Sakura Taisen ended without ever wrapping up

    Background and Points of Debate

    The Sakura Wars (Sakura Taisen) series began with the 1996 Sega Saturn original, and Shin Sakura Taisen, released in 2019, was developed as a PS4-exclusive title, with series creator Ōji Hiroi no longer involved in production. The original entries 1 through V have so far only received home console ports in limited forms, such as the PSP versions, with no expansion onto platforms like Steam. What split the thread was whether this wall against porting comes down to technical reasons or to contractual and rights-related restrictions — and either way, none of it goes beyond speculation, since there’s no confirmed information. One point readers can easily get wrong: Sega’s comments here amount only to statements of “plans” and “intentions,” not an official announcement that a sequel or remasters are actually happening.

    ※This article is compiled as an excerpt/summary of the 5ch Hardware/Industry (Geha) board thread “[PS5] Sega: “We don’t want the idea of a new Shin Sakura Taisen to stay just a fantasy, and we want to somehow remaster 1 through V for current hardware”“.

  • Juice=Juice’s New Song Tops 900 Million Plays — 5ch Skeptics: ‘Plenty of People Don’t Even Know the Original’

    It was announced that “Moré! Mi Amore,” the song Juice=Juice released in October 2025, has surpassed roughly 900 million combined plays across social media, and a thread went up alongside news of the group’s new Nippon Broadcasting show “Juice=Juice Juicy Talk,” premiering October 4. While some posters genuinely celebrated the milestone, skepticism about the “total social media plays” metric itself stood out, with commenters pointing out that the actual Spotify play count sits at just 5.53 million and suggesting that most of the total likely comes from fan-made cover/dance videos. The discussion also spilled over into talk of a fan survey ranking artists for a possible Kōhaku Uta Gassen (Japan’s New Year’s Eve music special) appearance.

    Juice=Juice’s first-ever regular Nippon Broadcasting show, “Juice=Juice Juicy Talk,” premieres October 4!

    mes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000001009.000060459.html

    Juice=Juice’s song “Moré! Mi Amore,” released in October 2025, became a talking point for its catchy choreography and powerhouse performances, and has now surpassed roughly 900 million combined plays across social media. Having sparked a “Moré Mi” craze, the group has gone on to appear on numerous TV programs, music festivals, and commercials.

    Source: prti / Original article here

    3AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:27
    Play counts are pretty dubious, sure
    but hitting a billion still adds some serious cachet.
    4AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:29
    They went through some rocky patches, but pulled through well
    Keep cherishing 'Moré Mi' going forward.
    5AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:29
    Alright, let's aim for a billion now!
    6AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:31
    What's even good about it?
    11AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:40
    Re: #6
    You can't tell what's good about it?
    Your taste is as rotten as the Hello! Project staffer who'd bury this as a B-side lol
    7AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:32
    How are they even calculating this?
    Who's putting out these numbers?
    10AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:37
    Re: #7
    Better ask K-pop or =LOVE (Equal Love) about that.
    8AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:35
    By year-end they'll probably be touting it as a billion.
    9AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:36
    It's been climbing ever since all that summer media exposure.
    12AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:41
    Growing organically, little by little
    Now that's a number you can actually trust.
    13AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:43
    There's no source for this, though.
    14AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:43
    Re: #13
    There's no independent verification, but there is a source.
    15AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:45
    So how big a deal is this really?
    Compared to Hello! Project's hit songs over the past few decades.
    17AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:46
    Re: #15
    Hello! Project's old hits obviously never had social media metrics to begin with, so this is a one-of-a-kind song that just can't be compared to its predecessors.
    18AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:47
    A '1 billion plays' milestone announcement at Kōhaku would have a nice ring to it.
    19AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:47
    Never heard of it.
    20AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:48
    Re: #19
    On Spotify it's actually got more plays than 'LOVE Machine' or 'Renai Revolution 21' (classic Morning Musume hits).
    50AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:00
    Re: #20
    Never heard of it.
    21AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:48
    Does 'total social media plays' even mean anything?
    What matters is total streaming plays
    Has it even cracked 100 million there?
    22AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:49
    Re: #21
    Monaki's viral hit only gets about the same number of Spotify plays as 'Moré Mi,' but it's unquestionably treated as a hit song, so I don't think streaming numbers get weighted that heavily
    Of course, more is always better though.
    23AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:51
    It's not that Juice=Juice itself is popular — the play count is only climbing because of the celebrities copying the dance
    In reality there are tons of people out there who know nothing about the original Juice=Juice.
    26AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:52
    Re: #23
    If it's spreading that widely as background-music material given that kind of melody, that's actually impressive in its own right.
    24AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:51
    Add up every 'Moré Mi'-related video on YouTube and you're nowhere near 50 million
    Even throw in TikTok and Spotify — the easiest platforms to game for numbers — and it still doesn't hit 100 million.
    28AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:53
    Re: #24
    On TikTok, Juice=Juice's official account can rack up hundreds of thousands or even millions of views with just one post.
    96AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:14
    Re: #24
    'Total TikTok plays' doesn't mean what you think it means.
    29AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:54
    The rule of thumb for 'total social media plays': 3 billion is the bare minimum, 5 billion is the benchmark to even register, and you don't get real name recognition until around 10 billion.
    30AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:55
    Re: #29
    Even M!LK has never hit 10 billion with a single song.
    68AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:03
    Re: #30
    Back in the day, even mid-run Tokimeki Sendenbu was easily pulling 6 billion, and the Kawaii Lab crew clears that number with room to spare too
    31AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:57
    Which artists do you want to see at this year's Kōhaku? 70,000-person survey
    #2 =LOVE
    #6 iLIFE!
    #7 Cutie Street
    #9 HANA
    #10 Fruits Zipper
    #11 Keyakizaka
    #12 ME:I
    #13 Juice=Juice
    #15 Nogizaka
    #19 Cho Tokimeki Sendenbu

    That's where female idol popularity actually stands right now
    For Juice=Juice to make Kōhaku, they'd need numbers on the level of last year's 'Baibai FIGHT!'
    32AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:57
    Re: #31
    Isn't this different from the results of the X (Twitter) survey?
    33AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:57
    How many hundred million for Musume and Angerme? How maaaany?!
    34AnonymousSep 30, 2026 16:57
    How much do they actually get paid per play?
    64AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:03
    Who's going to host 'Juicy Talk'?
    Yafu again, I bet?
    67AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:03
    What's even good about this one?
    70AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:08
    5.53 million Spotify plays
    That's far ahead of other Hello! Project groups
    but absolutely tiny next to other popular idol acts.
    97AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:15
    Videos that are genuinely going viral are a whole order of magnitude bigger than that.
    98AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:16
    Come to think of it, there was a story on the Yahoo! front page today about a 'smartphone farm' (a click-farm operation using racks of phones to fake views).

    Background and Points of Debate

    “Total social media plays” is a figure that adds together view/play counts across multiple platforms — TV, TikTok, YouTube, Spotify, and more — and it’s a metric record labels frequently use in promotional materials. As pointed out in the thread, this combined total also includes plays from cover/dance videos of the “Moré Mi” choreography posted by fans and other celebrities, so it doesn’t necessarily reflect awareness of the original Juice=Juice one-to-one. In fact, posters in the thread noted that the official Spotify play count sits at just 5.53 million — a full order of magnitude below what you’d expect from a genuine TikTok trending hit. The thread was split on how to read the sheer size of the “900 million” figure, with some praising the achievement itself and others arguing it’s ultimately just a number used for added prestige, given the nature of the metric. The topic of Kōhaku selection also came up, but that referred to a separate fan survey — it’s worth noting there’s no direct causal link between that and passing 900 million plays.

    *This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “[Breaking] Juice=Juice’s “Moré! Mi Amore” Total Social Media Plays Surpass 900 Million wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.”

  • Dragon Quest Difficulty Selection Debate: ‘Just Don’t Use It’ Rebuttal — 5ch: ‘This Is What Happens When You Lack Confidence’

    Difficulty selection features in RPGs like Dragon Quest sparked debate on 5channel’s Newsoku VIP board. It started with a dismissive comment: “That’s just wrong from the get-go.” A wave of rebuttals followed with “Just don’t use it, then” — but others argued that merely having the option available is the problem, since it plants the thought “if I lowered the difficulty, I could beat this boss easily,” undermining the sense of accomplishment. The thread split sharply between those who think everyone should be able to clear a game and those who believe a sense of achievement only exists because some people can’t clear it, with commenters citing both FromSoftware’s success and Dragon Quest’s declining popularity as evidence.

    1AnonymousSep 30, 2026 11:56
    It's wrong from the start, idiot.
    4AnonymousSep 30, 2026 11:58
    Dragon Quest is fine as an easy game — don't go adding unnecessary crap like instant-kill AoE attacks.
    7AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:02
    Re: #4
    Difficulty's fine, but that's not the right kind of difficulty.
    9AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:05
    Just give us some purely self-satisfaction reward, like a trophy, for clearing it without using that stuff.
    11AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:07
    Re: #9
    Yeah, if something like that existed, I could actually live with it.
    12AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:08
    Re: #9
    No good — the people who can't get it will just complain.
    10AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:06
    I've only played up through 11S, but do the recent ones have difficulty selection?
    14AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:10
    Re: #10
    I think 11 had it too, but that was more like an official self-imposed challenge mode, wasn't it?
    13AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:09
    I think it's fine? Busy office workers or little kids probably can't clear it, so I feel like DQ and FF should just add an easy mode.
    16AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:12
    Re: #13
    The whole mindset that 'everyone has to be able to clear it' is just wrong to begin with.
    17AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:14
    Re: #16
    Isn't it better if everyone can clear it?
    20AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:18
    Re: #16
    The people who can't clear it complain more anyway, so it's smoother if the folks who hate difficulty selection just deal with it.
    15AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:11
    Why is it bad just for existing?
    19AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:17
    Re: #15
    When you're struggling with a boss, the problem is that the thought crosses your mind: "Ah, if I just lowered the difficulty I'd win right away."
    "This secret boss is insanely strong — alright, let's grind levels and rethink my gear!… but wait, the guy playing on lower difficulty beats this thing easily too…"
    "Wait, does it even mean anything that I worked hard to win this?"
    "Wait, why am I even spending my time on this game in the first place?"
    That's how it goes bad.
    32AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:22
    Re: #19
    If it's just a matter of self-satisfaction, then whether the option exists or not shouldn't matter.
    24AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:20
    A setting like that just looks like an escape hatch for incompetent developers.
    There's no three-star restaurant that piles condiments on every table, right?
    Sorry if there actually is one.
    26AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:21
    Re: #24
    No matter how hard you make it, someone will show up demanding it be even harder, and if you cater to them it all falls apart.
    68AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:00
    Re: #24
    But honestly, I think this nails it.
    I want developers to confidently say, 'This is the most fun way to play it!'
    This whole mess happens because they lack that confidence.
    25AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:20
    Re: #21
    What's actually wrong with it, though?
    Why do you hate it just for having a difficulty option?
    Can't you just pick Normal and be done with it?
    38AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:31
    Re: #25
    Games were always built so that the joy of clearing them comes precisely from the fact that some people can't.
    I'd think that's just common sense.
    43AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:33
    Re: #38
    That's a mindset from an era when games barely even had proper endings and were just about gameplay.
    Modern games are built around story and endings as standard, so if the people who paid for it can't enjoy that, it gets bad reviews.
    44AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:34
    Re: #38
    That's only because you're on the side that can actually clear it, right?
    Because you're good at games.
    There are people out there who don't have the time, or just aren't good at games.
    Easy mode exists for people like that.
    And yet people on the 'good at games' side mock easy mode or say 'I'm against adding a feature like that' — that attitude itself is low class.
    You could just play on Normal and be done with it.
    34AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:25
    There are people out there who struggle with grinding levels in turn-based RPGs, or with the 3D movement in action RPGs.
    It's a good thing if adding difficulty options lets everyone clear the game.
    People used to RPGs can just play on Normal.
    36AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:29
    There's a ton of garbage out there where idiots like this leave a one-star review just because a difficulty option got added.
    Japanese people trash-talk things instantly, while people overseas praise them.
    That's exactly why Japanese people get called low class.
    58AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:48
    Studios like FromSoftware obviously understand this feeling when they make games.
    And they're huge hits.
    Meanwhile Dragon Quest is on the decline.
    Isn't it obvious which approach is right?
    61AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:51
    Re: #58
    That's just because it's full of out-of-touch old fans.
    105AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:45
    Re: #101
    Can't say for sure about that.
    But you can't deny it either.
    108AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:50
    Re: #105
    It's just baseless fantasy, so there's nothing to deny in the first place.
    109AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:51
    Re: #108
    Well, coming from the guy fantasizing back in Re: #58…
    88AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:26
    I don't play Dragon Quest so I don't really care, but it's mostly just developers giving up on balancing and dumping it onto difficulty selection.
    90AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:28
    Re: #88
    Exactly this.
    Way too many people don't get that feeling.
    92AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:30
    Re: #88
    'No difficulty options means it's properly balanced' is just an illusion.
    114AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:05
    Dragon Quest's difficulty settings are garbage — just a few stat tweaks.
    At the very least the enemy AI routines should change too.
    115AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:09
    Re: #114
    In 11S it actually did change.
    116AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:10
    Re: #114
    And they tweak it so sloppily too.
    121AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:18
    Difficulty settings, like official cheat codes, are an incredibly delicate part of the experience.
    'We put it right within easy reach, so if you don't like it just don't use it' is nothing but pure laziness from the developers.
    123AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:20
    Re: #121
    This is exactly it, but don't you think way too many people just don't get this feeling?
    125AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:24
    Re: #121
    But games like GTA and that whole genre are massive successes though.

    Background and Key Points of the Debate

    Whether or not games should offer difficulty selection is a debate that has recurred in the gaming industry before. A prime example is 2019’s “Sekiro,” where FromSoftware’s decision not to include a difficulty option sparked controversy both for and against. The split in this thread comes from the same root: it comes down to a difference in values between those who feel that the mere existence of a selectable option changes the sense of accomplishment and quality of the play experience, and those who believe that as long as you don’t use it, it shouldn’t affect you at all. What readers may easily misunderstand is that this isn’t simply a matter of “coddling versus grit.” As pointed out in post 121, it’s also a question of how much development resources should go into fine-tuning difficulty balance, and it isn’t as simple as post 44’s claim that “skilled players can just play on Normal.” No conclusion was reached in the thread, and it’s worth noting that no evidence was presented directly linking Dragon Quest’s sales trends to its difficulty design.

    *This article is compiled and summarized from a 5ch (Newsoku VIP) thread titled “An idiot responds “then just don’t use it” to complaints that “Dragon Quest’s difficulty selection is trash”.”

  • Is Keeping Your Hat On at Restaurants Bad Manners? 5ch: “I’ll Take It Off in a Private Room”

    A 5ch thread sparked debate over people who eat at restaurants without taking off their hats. Many backed a line-drawing rule — “restaurants count as public space, so you take it off once you’re in a private room” — while others flatly insisted “wearing a hat indoors is just wrong, period.” The two camps never found common ground. Plenty of posters also chimed in with personal reasons for keeping their hats on, from hiding thinning hair to covering up bad bed-head.

    1AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:15
    That kind of thing makes people question how you were raised.
    2AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:15
    I'm not on TV often enough for anyone to bother changing the channel over it, sorry.
    7AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:21
    None of your business, honestly.
    Some people have medical conditions too.
    10AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:25
    I kept mine on too, back when my hair was long.
    13AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:30
    I'm a balding middle-aged guy and I don't take my hat off either.
    Restaurants count as public space, no different from outdoors.
    I'll take it off if I'm in a private room though.
    51AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:14
    That's exactly the point of Re: #13.
    Train stations and trains count as indoors too, but nobody takes their hat off there, right?
    Same at hospitals — the waiting room is public space so keeping your hat on is fine, but manners say you take it off once you step into the exam room.
    15AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:31
    Not taking your hat off face-to-face with someone is rude and shows bad manners, I'd say — but when you're just eating, who cares?
    16AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:32
    I keep my hat on whether I'm eating out or at the movies.
    17AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:32
    Forget eating — wearing a hat indoors at all is just dumb.
    19AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:34
    Sounds like you're just going for the "unkempt" look, huh —
    it's a hat to hide bed-head after all.
    23AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:39
    Honestly the only place I've ever seen it is McDonald's.
    26AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:42
    You guys don't take your hats off in front of your oshi either, do you? (oshi = your favorite idol/celebrity)
    30AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:49
    Once you start lecturing people over trivial stuff like Re: #1, that's proof you've turned into an old man.
    32AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:51
    Right now I'm just sitting alone in my room wearing an "Islamic watch cap" (a small skullcap-style beanie), reading this thread like a lone wolf.
    37AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:02
    Re: #32
    Yeah, the "Islamic watch cap" is great — it doesn't take up much space.
    33AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:54
    Turning something this trivial into affiliate clickbait is worse manners than any hat.
    35AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:00
    I've worn a hat in restaurants for over 20 years and not once has anyone called it a manners violation — not staff, not other customers.
    Plenty of other customers wear hats too, and I've never seen anyone act like it bothered them.
    38AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:02
    I eat out something like 200 times a year, and I've never once seen some idiot eating with their hat on.
    43AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:06
    Sounds like someone who worries that much about everyone else's every little move is living a pretty exhausting life.
    44AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:07
    To answer seriously: one reason I wear a hat is that without it, loose hairs sometimes flutter down onto my food.
    45AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:08
    More and more young people these days just can't show any sympathy for bald guys.
    46AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:08
    The kind of hat Suzuki Yoshiko wears on G1 race day.
    47AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:09
    I've never once seen a sign at a restaurant saying "please remove your hat."
    Realistically, that kind of rule probably doesn't exist anywhere.
    48AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:12
    I get that you just want to bash people who eat with their hats on. But what are you actually going to do about it?
    There are people eating at restaurants with their hats on by the thousands.
    49AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:13
    If it were a place with a dress code, sure, but otherwise who cares?
    There are people in there wearing tracksuits and shorts too.
    55AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:17
    People raised poor get weirdly obsessed with manners the rare times they treat themselves.

    Background and Key Points of the Debate

    There’s no official rule dictating whether hats should come off indoors. As one reply pointed out, nobody has ever actually seen a sign saying so — it’s always just been a matter of custom, repeated as hearsay. The view that kept winning support throughout the thread drew a line between spaces: “restaurants count as public space, the same as train stations or trains — the real rule is to take your hat off once you step into a private room.” Against that stood the opposing camp, insisting flatly that “wearing a hat indoors is wrong, period,” and the two sides never reached an agreement. The original thread’s title used a slang term aimed at women, but most of the actual posts weren’t gender-specific at all, citing personal reasons like hiding thinning hair or dealing with bed-head and frizzy hair. The real fault line in the debate was about place, not gender — indoors versus outdoors, private room versus public space. Note that some posts containing personal insults or discriminatory language toward specific individuals have been excluded from this article.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Aren’t the women (the original uses “mansan,” a mocking 5ch slang term for women) who eat at restaurants without taking off their hats out of their minds?“

  • Corrected once, nearly in tears → no-show the next day: 5ch asks “Do creatures like this actually exist?”

    FORZA STYLE published a personal account set in an IT workplace, featuring a 24-year-old subordinate and his 42-year-old boss. The subordinate reportedly welled up in tears just from being corrected on a mistake, then no-showed work without notice the next day. The boss says that was the point at which he gave up on continuing to train this employee. When the article was picked up on 5ch’s News Express+ board, opinions split over how the correction was delivered (whether it was right to call him into a private room) and over generational differences in how such feedback lands. Some commenters even suggested handing new-hire training over to AI entirely.

    FORZA STYLE

    “Humor is a gentleman’s virtue”

    Case Files of Women

    Source: forzastyle.com / Original article here

    12AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:07
    Do creatures like this actually exist?
    Seriously, how did this guy even make it through elementary, middle, high school, and college?
    60AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:15
    Re: #12
    His parents went on and on to the school about their own convenience, and he himself sulked or cried over every little thing — always got coddled. Late arrivals, absences, poor work — never his fault, and everyone's just supposed to gently ask what's wrong and validate his feelings without ever getting angry.
    68AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:15
    Re: #12
    Back in his school days he probably hit back whenever someone hit him. He doesn't actually want to work, he just wants money — so he's trying to frame his boss as a harasser to cash in. When people are genuinely scared, they can't even manage to run away.
    203AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:27
    Re: #12
    This is especially common with kids who went straight up through a school's affiliated track — no hardship at all during their formative years.
    14AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:07
    The subordinate probably just freaked out over something that didn't even warrant being called into a private room lol
    111AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:20
    Re: #14
    These days it's considered bad form to correct someone in front of everyone, so even for something trivial, you end up pulling them aside somewhere out of sight.
    28AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:10
    Seriously, the "yutori" generation (Japan's "relaxed education" cohort, often mocked as coddled) is toxic.
    192AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:27
    Re: #28
    The boss is the yutori-generation one here though?
    35AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:11
    He probably nagged him about it in that snide, needling way. Guys from the "Ice Age" generation (those who job-hunted during Japan's brutal employment freeze) have twisted personalities.
    67AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:15
    Re: #35
    Yeah, he's definitely the type to nag and needle snidely. And guys like that dish it out themselves but crumble and cry harassment the second it's turned back on them.
    41AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:12
    Here's what went wrong: calling him into a private room. It's an IT company — they must use a business chat app normally. "Please change the amount on page X to ¥X — here's the source doc link." That alone shouldn't rub anyone the wrong way.
    99AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:18
    Re: #41
    That's a considerate approach.

    Also pretty impressive that the boss actually double-checks his subordinate's work — it's basically spot-the-difference at that point.

    I mess something up all the time myself so I feel for the guy, but bosses really do vary — some actually look things over and point out mistakes properly, and others just go "yeah yeah, sure" and then later go "wait, this is all wrong!" (´・ω・`)
    42AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:12
    Guess it's best to just stop correcting people in front of others for now. Annoying, but there it is.
    59AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:14
    Re: #42
    It's the opposite. If you can't correct someone in front of others, then don't call them into a private room either — the moment a new hire gets summoned, in their head it's already "harassment."
    45AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:12
    Ugh, another convenient made-up story from out-of-touch old-guard media trying to justify harassment…
    82AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:17
    Re: #45
    There are plenty of solid young people at other companies too. This story is just about how, in the current environment, more young people seem to lack resilience. If you want to criticize it, at least read the article first.
    80AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:17
    I gave a new hire completely normal guidance and still got reported to the company's compliance hotline. What I said was so ordinary they didn't even bother interviewing me about it.
    102AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:19
    Re: #80
    Most compliance hotlines are basically a dumping ground for complaints, like a supermarket suggestion box. Something similar happened to me — got called in for "just a quick hearing," so I recorded it and argued them down, and they ended up apologizing.
    88AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:17
    Screen for this at the interview stage and reject them. HR is just incompetent.
    115AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:20
    Re: #88
    People get through interviews because they take their time and mentally prepare themselves properly beforehand.
    92AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:18
    I take corrections really hard myself. I don't cry, but apparently it shows all over my face.
    105AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:19
    Re: #92
    ChatGPT (nicknamed "Chappy" by users): "Your hairline doesn't lie." (a joking dig implying stress shows up as a receding hairline)
    101AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:19
    This does smell like a made-up story, but if this person really exists, they're not fit for functioning in society.
    139AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:22
    Re: #101
    Then again, a company that can't spot someone like that during the interview also has a problem.
    106AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:19
    Isn't this just fiction?
    120AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:20
    Re: #106
    Something similar happened at my company too, so it's probably true. Scary as that is.
    124AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:21
    Re: #106
    There's no shortage of real websites and banking apps out there with security so bad it sounds made up — reality's already worse than fiction.
    107AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:19
    Honestly, from now on new-hire training should just be handled by AI. Young people would probably follow instructions from that more obediently anyway.
    136AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:22
    Re: #107
    True. If anything they trust AI too much these days — so if you just set the company AI's system prompt to respond in ways that turn them into loyal corporate drones, they'd probably put the collar on themselves happily lol
    161AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:24
    Re: #136
    Could actually happen… they seem more likely to listen to an AI than to a human.
    171AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:25
    Re: #136
    That's basically a form of brainwashing. Then again, something like ChatGPT could probably boost their self-esteem while getting them to do what it wants — guess that's "even a fool is useful if you know how to use them."
    212AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:29
    Re: #192
    Huh? Wasn't it the yutori generation that got scolded here? The yutori generation alone is the enemy of Japan — wipe them out.
    240AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:32
    Re: #212
    Wait, the yutori generation is in their 40s now, you know?
    247AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:33
    Re: #240
    That's still a bit too early for that.
    248AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:33
    Re: #240
    Bubble-era geezers in their 60s think everyone younger than the Ice Age generation counts as "yutori."
    221AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:30
    What parallel universe is this from? The new hires and young staff at my company are mentally tough, know their way around investing, get married by 27, and are all so capable it's honestly a little intimidating.
    250AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:33
    Re: #221
    Says "what world is this from," but then the only "world" he brings up is his own tiny company lol

    Background and Key Points of This Story

    This story is a single personal account drawn from a serialized feature on the labor-focused outlet “FORZA STYLE,” and it isn’t backed by any statistics. Opinions in the thread split mainly along two lines: one over the method of correction itself (the point that simply being called into a private room already puts someone on guard), and the other over comments leaning on generational stereotypes (jabs aimed specifically at the “yutori” and “Ice Age” generations). At the same time, several commenters shared their own experiences of routine corrections to new hires leading to harassment reports, hinting that those giving guidance really are holding back out of caution. Many also questioned whether the article itself is fabricated, so it’s worth noting there’s no way to confirm this as a true story.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Express+) thread “Nearly in tears over one correction → no-show the next day. A 24-year-old subordinate “too fragile” for feedback — the real reason a 42-year-old boss decided to “cancel” his training 【FORZA】“.

  • 2025 Rice Crop ‘Surplus’ — Private Stockpiles Hit Record Highs

    The “rice surplus” from the 2025 harvest is becoming a serious problem. At a JA (agricultural co-op) collection and shipping facility in Tochigi Prefecture, stockpiles have piled up to 8,189 tons — equivalent to 1.63 million 5-kg bags — the highest level on record for this time of year. The average supermarket price has fallen to the ¥2,000 range for 5 kg, good news for consumers but a headache for producers scrambling to find storage space. On 5ch, users debated why the rice surplus happened, the timeline of the “Reiwa Rice Panic,” the timing of stockpile releases, and how distributors and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries handled it all.

    The rice surplus from the 2025 harvest is becoming serious. As new-crop rice distribution ramps up, the 2025 crop — which dealers bought in at high prices — feels overpriced, and consumers are steering clear of it. Private-sector rice stockpiles have piled up to record levels, and the average supermarket price has fallen to the ¥2,000 range per 5 kg. Good news for consumers, but producers are on edge.

    At the “Tochigi Rice Wide-Area Collection and Shipping Center” (Yaita City, Tochigi Prefecture), run by JA Zen-Noh Tochigi, 2025-crop rice is piled high. That’s because the “Reiwa Rice Panic” drove rice prices up and demand down, and on top of that, the cheaper 2026-crop rice has already started moving through distribution.

    The center stores rice as low-temperature brown rice. As of the end of August, stockpiles of the 2025 crop stood at 8,189 tons (equivalent to 1.63 million 5-kg bags), the highest level on record for this time of year. Storage capacity is stretched thin, and the JA is scrambling to secure space for the new crop. A representative said, “We’re managing by having regional JA branches and trucking companies store some of it in their warehouses.”

    Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

    3AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:49
    If they made it cheaper, I'd buy the 2025 crop too, right?
    98AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:04
    Re: #3
    But it's old, so it's ¥1,200 for 5kg.
    5AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:50
    Wait, what?
    Were they secretly hoarding rice during the Reiwa Rice Panic?
    285AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:22
    Re: #5
    Exactly. If the Agriculture Ministry wants to talk about protecting farmers' livelihoods, they should figure out why this mess happened this time and rebuild the whole rice distribution system.
    297AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:23
    Re: #5
    Rice wholesalers clogged up the supply chain to fake a shortage and jack up prices. The harvest was actually bigger than usual, so now all that extra stock is just sitting there unsold.
    https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/cb374d53b017c168f044606aa60f2b496de00b2d
    16AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:53
    Why is there a surplus in the first place?
    That's where we need to start.
    69AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:00
    Re: #16
    It's because after saying 'we're growing plenty of new rice, just wait,' they released bridge stockpile rice without limit in the meantime, then reneged on buying it back. If you can follow a timeline and do basic math, you'd get it.
    42AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:57
    Just like with meat, maybe only high earners should get to eat proper domestic rice.
    46AnonymousSep 30, 2026 12:58
    I've been actively eating the new Fusakogane rice (a rice brand/variety). The ¥2,000-including-tax line is about to break, so I don't think old rice stands a chance anymore.
    91AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:03
    I wonder how mochi rice (glutinous rice) is doing this year.
    146AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:10
    Re: #91
    That's already gotten cheap.
    118AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:06
    If they don't want to drop the price of the 2025 crop, they'll have to add some value to it. Throw in some limited-edition Chiikawa (a popular character) merch or something.
    137AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:08
    Re: #118
    Sounds like rice is about to get illegally dumped everywhere 😂
    119AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:06
    Why is there a surplus?
    Wasn't there a shortage that sent prices soaring?
    136AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:08
    Re: #119
    There was a poor harvest in some areas, true — but there wasn't actually a shortage.
    164AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:12
    A perfectly reasonable question.
    https://imgur.com/UU71WRx.jpeg
    191AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:14
    Re: #164
    It's because Shinjiro (Koizumi, the agriculture minister) released a huge amount of stockpiled rice.
    198AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:15
    Re: #164
    Rice disappearing from supermarket shelves happened in summer–fall 2024. Summer–fall 2025 was when everyone was going crazy over Koizumi's stockpile rice — that's when regular rice, too expensive to sell, was piling up unsold. There was no shortage at all. Way too many people have their timeline all mixed up.
    166AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:12
    Then bring branded rice back down to ¥2,000 for 5kg. Otherwise, no way I'm buying it, idiots.
    186AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:14
    Re: #166
    I see new-crop branded rice at stores for ¥1,980 (tax excluded) for 5kg all the time. Though I have zero interest in actually buying it at that price.
    169AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:12
    Prices dropped so I tried some, and it was terrible. It's supposed to be domestic, but there were some long grains mixed in, and the color shifted from translucent to white. The taste, shape, and color were completely different from before — what foreign rice are they mixing in, exactly?
    276AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:21
    Re: #169
    Like I posted above, a lot of the 2025 crop was immature grain. The Tokai region harvested a large volume, but quality was low.
    https://newsdig.ismcdn.jp/mwimgs/3/c/680mw/img_3c00c30bdabd59ad7cb528aae39cbb5d139915.jpg

    'White immature grains' — heat damage that turns rice kernels cloudy white — Tokai region has the highest rate in the country, over 4x that of Tohoku. What's next for rice prices?
    https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/-/2298660
    Wednesday, November 19, 2025, 18:42
    Harvest volume, which rose in 2018, has since declined, but this year it's forecast to turn upward for the first time in seven years, reaching roughly 351,700 tons — about 24,000 tons more than last year.
    Heat damage: Tokai region has the nation's highest rate of 'white immature grains'
    Heat damage to rice caused by intense summer heat turns kernels cloudy white. As of October 25, the rate of these 'white immature grains' in the Tokai region reached 7.5% of all rice — the highest rate in the country.
    175AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:12
    With a bumper crop and plenty of new rice around, there's no reason to eat old rice. Let the JA (farm co-op) folks eat it themselves lol
    183AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:13
    Re: #175
    So that's why they're desperately playing up a 'poor harvest' this year.
    176AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:13
    They jacked up prices and held back supply, and now they want help? Give me a break. New rice is cheaper, so I'm buying new rice. I feel for the wholesalers who bought expensive rice and are now taking a loss, but consumers were victims too — so we're buying the cheap stuff.
    267AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:20
    Re: #176
    Exactly. This is the price of putting self-interest ahead of the public — the taxpayers and customers. Pay for it yourselves.

    A lot of people who fled to whole-wheat bread — easy to cook and nutritious — probably won't come back to rice. I'm sick of this dumb country and its dumb industry.
    220AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:16
    The 2026 crop is looking like a poor harvest. It hasn't been announced yet, but for varieties that need a Grade-1 rating to be sold under a brand name, apparently around 20% aren't making the cut.
    233AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:18
    Re: #220
    Then just sell it as unbranded Grade-2 rice, no?
    243AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:18
    Re: #220
    Who cares. Just raise the price, lol
    284AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:22
    Sorry, but is anyone still out there eating rice, you clueless rubes ("johaku" — 5ch slang for the uninformed)?

    298AnonymousSep 30, 2026 13:23
    Re: #284
    The whole 'nothing fills you up like rice' thing makes no sense.

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    The “Reiwa Rice Panic” traces back to a 2024 shortage and price spike, which prompted the government to release stockpiled rice. Opinions in the thread split over whether the oversupply is due to distributors like rice wholesalers, or to the Agriculture Ministry mistiming its stockpile releases. Also worth noting: the idea that “a poor harvest caused a shortage” isn’t necessarily accurate — in reality, shifts in planted acreage affected yield more, and some point out that by volume, the 2025 crop was actually one of the largest harvests in recent years. At the same time, heat damage caused “white immature grains” in some regions, creating quality variation — so low prices and quality can’t simply be equated.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “2025 Crop ‘Rice Surplus’ Turns Serious, Private Stockpiles at Record Highs — ‘The 2025 Crop Is Tasty Too. Let’s All Eat More, Nationwide’.”

  • SSDs Really Do Die Without Warning — 5ch: “The Least It Could Do Is Say Goodbye”

    The thread kicks off with a poster’s story: while installing Ace Combat 8 and playing a different game on the side, their SSD suddenly froze and threw the PC into a blue screen. Attempts to discharge the system and reboot in minimal configuration failed to fix it, prompting responses from other posters wondering if the old warning that “SSDs die without warning” was actually true. The discussion expanded to cover the reliability of early Intel SSDs, lifespan differences between storage types like QLC and TLC, the distinction between controller failure and NAND wear, recommended manufacturers, and the importance of backups, blending personal anecdotes with technical knowledge.

    1AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:17
    Was playing another game while installing Ace Combat 8
    and it suddenly froze on me
    Pasted a screenshot into Gemini and asked it what happened
    2AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:18
    Sounds like you were using it in some dumb way
    (no wonder it broke)
    6AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:20
    Re: #2
    Sorry for my ignorance, but what exactly counts as a dumb way to use it?
    Would like to know for future reference
    14AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:23
    Re: #6
    Like running it without a heatsink 🥺
    21AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:24
    Re: #6
    Personally I wouldn't pile extra load on it while it's already busy installing something
    9AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:21
    The earliest Intel 64GB drives died fast, but SSDs these days don't break like that
    18AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:23
    Re: #9
    Wasn't the earliest one 80GB? The X25-M, right?
    That one was famous for never dying

    Though I recall it went downhill once they mysteriously swapped the controller
    12AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:22
    Well, usually you just lose the ability to write while reading still works, so clone it ASAP
    42AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:33
    Re: #12
    Nah, there are cases where everything just vanishes all at once too
    15AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:23
    HDDs can die suddenly too, that part's no different
    it's just that most HDD data can actually be recovered
    17AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:23
    Re: #15
    SSDs can't be recovered?
    16AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:23
    Man, I just wish it wouldn't die without saying anything
    20AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:24
    Re: #16
    The least it could do is say goodbye
    31AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:29
    Maybe I should turn off the PS5's always-on recording feature
    33AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:30
    Re: #31
    Doesn't really matter
    When it's gonna die, it's gonna die
    35AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:30
    Discharged it, then tried rebooting in minimal configuration a few times, and this popped up first


    Tried System Restore from the blue screen and ended up with this
    43AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:33
    The classic "only starts backing up after the storage already broke" guy
    45AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:33
    Re: #43
    Sorry about that 😡
    47AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:34
    Just sit tight while it's installing, lol
    If that's how you normally use it, well, there you go
    52AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:36
    Re: #47
    For updates I'd usually kill the wait time playing other offline games, but
    this might've been the first time I touched another game while the game itself was installing
    48AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:34
    Is now just a bad time to buy an SSD too?
    58AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:38
    Re: #48
    The odds of prices dropping in 6 months or a year look hopeless, and honestly even a few years out looks bleak
    So if you need one, it's fine to buy whenever
    55AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:36
    Usage habits matter, but hammering it with writes will kill it
    especially since modern games are absolutely massive in size these days
    56AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:37
    Re: #55
    Big-name titles casually blowing past 100GB is genuinely scary…
    57AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:38
    I'd like to know the percentage of cases where people felt safe after checking the write-endurance rating, and then the controller chip died anyway
    60AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:39
    So when it freezes up like that, does that mean the controller died from the load?
    The memory chips themselves are probably still fine, right?
    63AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:42
    Re: #60
    I'm a total amateur, no idea
    sorry about that
    70AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:46
    Re: #60
    Re: #57
    It's probably the controller that dies
    an SSD's [NAND] lifespan wouldn't run out unless you used it for decades anyway
    61AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:41
    While I'm at it, can I also ask for SSD manufacturer recommendations?
    The one that died on me this time was a Samsung drive about 3-4 years old, so I want to try a different brand

    Googling it, "Western Digital" came up as a good option, how's that?
    73AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:48
    Re: #61
    WD owns SanDisk, so check SanDisk's official store and buy from there
    76AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:52
    Re: #61
    Switching brands just because one sample failed isn't something I'd really recommend
    Do that, and if you're unlucky, you'll keep drifting away from major brands, ending up buying worse and worse stuff the older you get

    Well, going with a different brand next time is fine I guess, but I'd still stick to a major manufacturer like Samsung
    79AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:54
    Re: #61
    WD lets you use Acronis True Image for free, which is handy for making backup clones
    It's not just for SSDs either — as long as you've got even one WD hard drive connected as storage, you can use it
    Having a clone made really puts your mind at ease
    66AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:43
    I've got an SSD from back when people were all "NVMe runs too hot" and it's already logged around 60,000 hours with zero issues
    Considering how long it's been running, it makes you think this thing was way too cheap
    75AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:51
    Re: #66
    ChatGPT (lit. "Chappy-san," a nickname for ChatGPT) told me runtime doesn't matter for SSDs, it's the read/write "volume" that counts, so I went and bought a used SSD
    85AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:57
    Re: #75
    Isn't that actually kind of risky though?
    89AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:59
    Re: #75
    Why's that, lol
    81AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:55
    Even among SSDs, ones with QLC NAND die fast, so you have to pick a drive to match your use case
    That's a tough ask for SSD beginners
    83AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:56
    Re: #81
    The "QLC dies fast" guys are starting to get exposed as liars though
    88AnonymousSep 30, 2026 14:59
    Re: #83
    My Intel QLC drive is already in its 8th year and still going strong
    95AnonymousSep 30, 2026 15:01
    Re: #83
    It's not a lie
    TLC dies after 50 years
    QLC dies after 20 years
    The controller dies after about 3 years
    It's just that something else ends up being the limiting factor

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    Beyond the number of write cycles (lifespan varies by NAND type, such as TLC vs. QLC), an SSD can also stop working due to failure of the controller chip that manages it. In this case, based on the screenshots the poster shared, the sequence went blue screen → failed System Restore, and the thread itself pointed out that the controller likely gave out before the NAND itself did. While HDDs tend to show gradual signs of trouble as they physically degrade, SSDs can become unreadable and unwritable with no warning at all — which is the basis for the saying that “SSDs die suddenly.” That said, some early models, like the Intel X25-M, were known for remarkable longevity, so manufacturer and individual unit variance play a big role too. The thread also noted that “write volume” matters more for lifespan than “hours of use,” but that’s only one factor — it’s easy to overlook that failures like controller death happen for reasons separate from NAND wear. The importance of backups and cloning was something everyone in the thread agreed on.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “Experts warn “SSDs die suddenly, so be careful” — turns out that’s actually true.”