Japan Reacts

Author: Japan Reacts Editorial

  • ‘15 Tickets Sold Out of 300’: Yoshimoto’s Human Nakamura Admits Dismal Sales Ahead of Solo Makuhari Show

    Human Nakamura, a solo comedian with Yoshimoto Kogyo, revealed on X that only 15 of 300 seats have sold for his flip-chart comedy show “Makufuri,” set for October 11 at the Makuhari AEON Mall Theater in Chiba. With advance tickets priced at 2,000 yen and only about two weeks left before showtime, the announcement sparked a range of reactions on 5ch — from claims that his Osaka shows always sell out, to pointed remarks about a mismatch between the venue’s size and his name recognition, to comparisons with other comedians who’ve used the same “please buy tickets” tactic to sell out.

    Mon, Sep 28, 9:00 AM

    Yoshimoto Kogyo comedian Human Nakamura (43) posted an update on X by the 28th, revealing ticket sales for his upcoming show.

    “Of the 300 seats, only 15 have sold so far. Thank you all so much for everything up to now,” he wrote, sharing the grim update before repeating the announcement: “October 11 (Sun) — Human Nakamura’s 60-Minute Flip-Chart Show ‘Makufuri.’ Start time: 6:30 PM. Venue: Yoshimoto Makuhari AEON Mall Theater. Advance tickets: 2,000 yen.”

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

    3AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:47
    So how's Takuro Expo doing?
    Need details!
    5AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:47
    > Human Nakamura 【never heard of him】
    > Sold out every seat in Osaka 【yeah, sure it did】
    6AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:48
    Watching Naoya Tetsudo's train videos on YouTube is way more fun than watching Peace-kun from Omiya Park.
    8AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:49
    He should just do it in Osaka.
    54AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:12
    Re: #8
    Honestly, these days you make more money selling streaming tickets than theater tickets, since theater sales live and die on popularity.

    FUJIWARA's Haranishi even said in a video that his theater shows didn't sell 100 tickets.
    9AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:50
    Just throw in some Chiikawa merch as a bonus.
    12AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:52
    > In response to this post: 'It sold out completely in Osaka, but I guess Tokyo's different.'



    Is that so?
    13AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:52
    Given his name recognition, even 100 seats would be tough in Tokyo.
    15AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:53
    Nobody's going out of their way to see some old guy they've never heard of lol
    16AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:53
    He should do a show at home, like Audrey did back when they weren't popular. (Audrey — a comedy duo)
    17AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:53
    No idea who that is, but
    does Yoshimoto even have a theater in a place like that?
    19AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:53
    Is he popular in Osaka?
    I'm from the Kanto region, so I have no idea.
    50AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:07
    Re: #19
    I live in Kansai, but aside from R-1 I think I've only seen him on 'Kijou no Kuronjo' (hosted by the duo Kamaitachi)
    Well, he's probably on other shows too.
    20AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:54
    In Tokyo or out in the provinces, you need name recognition from TV or it's a no-go.
    21AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:54
    It says the venue is a Yoshimoto theater, so he's not actually losing money on this, right?
    27AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:56
    Re: #21
    They'll definitely make the comedian foot the bill.
    24AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:54
    Why not offer refunds if the show's no good?
    That way he'd get a clearer picture of where he actually stands.
    25AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:55
    Isn't that just how it is for bands that don't sell either?
    26AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:56
    The Nelsons pulled the exact same kind of tweet and sold out too, but
    don't think that trick's gonna keep working forever.
    29AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:57
    Give it your all for those 15 people — make it a show so good they'll be glad they came.
    31AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:58
    Sob story or not, that's just reality, so what can you do.
    32AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:59
    Why not just make the NSC students buy tickets? (NSC — Yoshimoto's comedy training school)
    33AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:59
    Probably because a landslide has paralyzed transit.
    34AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:00
    If it's not selling even over a three-day holiday weekend, that's just his drawing power.
    And honestly, wanting to watch flip-chart comedy in a 300-seat venue — even fans might find that a tough sell.
    44AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:04
    Makuhari's far, though. I wouldn't go even if it were free.
    45AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:05
    > 'It sold out completely in Osaka, but I guess Tokyo's different.'
    'Just a simple question — every time I see one of these videos saying tickets aren't selling, please buy them, I can't help thinking he should just book a smaller venue.'


    Maybe it's because he can actually sell out 300 seats in Osaka?
    46AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:05
    He could just do it in a big karaoke box room or something.
    90AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:37
    Re: #46
    Yeah, those even have a stage.
    48AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:06
    Why try to fill a 300-seat venue when there's no demand? Just stay in Osaka.
    49AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:06
    If he renamed himself 'Piiman (Green Pepper) Nakamura,' the place would sell out. (wordplay: ヒューマン "Human" vs ピーマン "green pepper")
    51AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:08
    Makuhari isn't Tokyo, it's Chiba.
    And people keep getting this wrong — it's about 30-40 minutes from central Tokyo, so it's not exactly close either.
    It's way farther out than Tokyo Disneyland.
    70AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:19
    Having even 15 people who want to see you — that's pretty impressive, isn't it?
    84AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:29
    Re: #70
    Those 15 are probably just classmates and relatives.
    80AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:27
    At my kid's university,
    they brought in some comedian from Yoshimoto last year, and apparently the tickets absolutely did not sell — a huge loss.
    Guess that's just how it is in Kanto even if you've been on TV a bit.
    88AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:35
    Re: #80
    Wonder who it was lol. I'd laugh if it was ZAZY.

    Background and Key Points of Debate

    Comedians publicly pleading “my tickets aren’t selling” on social media has become a fairly common promotional tactic in recent years, and posters in the thread pointed out that the Nelsons pulled the same move and sold out. At the same time, Yoshimoto’s theater tickets are structured to depend heavily on each performer’s own drawing power, and several posters shared stories of comedians with some TV exposure still struggling to draw crowds in the Kanto region. Opinions split mainly on two points: whether it’s actually true that his Osaka shows sell out, and whether a 300-seat venue is realistic given his current drawing power. Some also pointed out that Makuhari is in Chiba Prefecture, not Tokyo, and sits roughly 30-40 minutes from central Tokyo, correcting a geographic misunderstanding. Reactions to the ticket-sales plea itself were similarly split, ranging from harsh criticism questioning his professionalism to more matter-of-fact acceptance of the tough realities of drawing an audience.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou Sokuhou+) thread “‘Currently 15 of 300 Seats Sold’ — Yoshimoto Solo Comedian Human Nakamura Reports Dismal Sales, Two Weeks Until Solo Makuhari Show.”

  • 97-Year-Old Woman Gets Hooked on Fighting Game Tekken at Her Nursing Home: ‘It Became My Reason to Live’

    A 97-year-old woman living in a nursing home has become obsessed with the fighting game Tekken, according to an article in Josei Jishin (Women’s Own) that went viral on 5ch. The article also features an 89-year-old fellow resident who battles alongside her, and says gaming has become a new reason to live. On the thread, comments ranged from sarcastic jabs at the once-widespread “game brain” theory that demonized video games, to praise for incorporating games into elderly care facility recreation, alongside surprise and skepticism about how well a 97-year-old could truly grasp the game’s strategy and mind games.

    “I’ll Keep Fighting as Long as I’m Alive”: 97-Year-Old Woman, the Oldest Fighting-Game Fan Around, Goes Wild for Tekken! The “Too Hot” Passion That Blossomed at Her Nursing Home

    Article posted: 2026/09/27 11:00 Last updated: 2026/09/27 23:27

    Josei Jishin Editorial Team

    Source: jisin.jp / Original article here

    2AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:59
    "Game brain"?
    I wonder what happened to the idiots who used to say that.
    30AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:21
    Re: #2
    Huh?
    Doesn't make sense.
    Nursing homes putting out pachinko machines for residents to play is standard too — does that make you a pachinko fan?
    3AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:59
    Nice.
    No matter how old you get, having an environment where you can compete with others keeps you feeling alive.
    6AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:01
    The generation that survived the war is tough.
    8AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:02
    Elderly folks who debut as YouTubers only to vanish soon after (´・ω・｀)
    9AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:02
    Lived 90 years and her reason for living is… video games 😭😭😭
    41AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:33
    Re: #9
    She got skillfully brainwashed by a gamer working in caregiving.
    11AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:03
    That's an old-school character choice. Just hope she's not picking the one who does seppuku (ritual suicide) as a taunt.
    12AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:04
    Games are good for preventing dementia in the elderly.
    Finger exercises give the brain good stimulation.
    14AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:06
    Why did Tekken become a dead franchise and go extinct?
    Street Fighter 6 is basically the only fighting game still surviving at this point.
    15AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:06
    She's young at heart.
    You'd think she'd be from a generation that hates video games.
    Maybe she wasn't a housewife, which is why she's so open-minded?
    16AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:07
    As someone who no longer even has the energy to play games, I can't imagine a 97-year-old playing fighting games.
    17AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:08
    My grandpa played Best Play Pro Baseball on the Famicom for almost 10 years, right up until he died.
    Every year, updating the players' stats using the Weekly Baseball annual guide, the player handbook, and his own judgment was his favorite pastime in his later years.

    Still, considering he died in his 70s, this grandma is incredible — and she's playing a fighting game, no less.
    20AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:12
    "Go home. You have a family waiting for you too, don't you…" (a famous line from a classic fighting-game ending, often quoted as a meme)
    22AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:16
    At a tournament I watched before, there were people who occasionally got their mic cut — probably for hurling abuse.
    Guess that doesn't change even for the elderly.
    24AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:18
    If she's actually landing moves on purpose, that's impressive. If she's just mashing buttons randomly, might as well call it Smash Bros.
    26AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:21
    Once, late at night, there was a woman in her 90s who came out to the hospital lobby in a wheelchair. When I asked what was up, she said she'd come to watch the soccer World Cup — so we turned the volume down and she watched the World Cup on the lobby's big-screen TV until about 5am.
    27AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:21
    I think puzzle-type games are good for preventing dementia, but I'm not so sure about action/reflex games.
    Like the late Nobuyo Ohyama playing Arkanoid, for instance (Ohyama was the original voice actress of Doraemon).
    28AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:21
    Hmm, apparently 3D shooting games are actually good for fighting cognitive decline — she should try those too.
    31AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:22
    I wonder if she can actually pull off something like the Wonderful Mexican Combo (a flashy combo term fighting-game players use).
    34AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:26
    Re: #1
    So basically, letting them play games keeps them out of trouble and makes life easier for the care staff?
    If that's the case, there'll be demand for AI-powered care robots that can chat and play games with residents too… well, the government should just budget for developing those.
    Then we wouldn't need to keep bringing in caregivers from overseas either.
    36AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:30
    Re: #34
    It helps prevent senility.
    That's why they have residents do word-association games, origami, and other recreational activities.
    Video games probably help prevent senility too — and they're probably more fun than word-association games or origami.
    35AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:26
    Is Yuzo Kayama (89) still playing Resident Evil these days? (Kayama is a veteran Japanese actor/singer known for being an avid gamer)
    37AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:31
    Seriously? I thought Tekken was already dead.
    38AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:31
    Understanding and actually playing Tekken at 97 is insane. I wonder what she did for a living when she was young.
    46AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:35
    Re: #38
    Apparently she was a hairdresser.
    39AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:32
    Isn't it good precisely because she's using brain and body together? It's not mindless button-mashing — her brain is actively issuing commands as her eyes track the action and she reacts.
    40AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:33
    I've always thought nursing homes should have residents play video games instead of coloring books or word-association games for recreation.
    Tekken's fine, but so would Puyo Puyo, Animal Crossing, or action games like Resident Evil.
    If they offered a variety of games matched to each resident's tastes, it'd be even better.
    Since it helps prevent senility, it'd reduce the number of residents ending up needing the most severe level of care.
    42AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:34
    Re: #40
    Isn't there a lot to remember in Animal Crossing? Visually it's nice, but a purely task-based game like that might be tough.
    59AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:54
    Re: #40
    They've been incorporating games for ages already.
    43AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:35
    A Tekken tournament among people who are nearly 100 — now that I'd watch.
    44AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:35
    I was told, 'You're ten years too early!' so I kept training until I reached this age (echoing a famous rival taunt from fighting-game lore).
    73AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:21
    Re: #44
    That's a Virtua Fighter line.
    47AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:36
    At 97, wouldn't her eyesight have declined enough that she can barely see the screen?
    49AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:38
    At the care facility where I work, there was someone playing Street Fighter 6 on their own. They broke their hand from slamming the controller in anger, got banned by their family, and now only plays RPGs.
    50AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:38
    97 and 89 years old. Full of life.
    https://img.jisin.jp/uploads/2026/09/e-sports2.jpg
    52AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:38
    I want her to beat an opponent and say, 'You're still just a pup, my dear.'
    53AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:38
    Well, why not.
    If she's found something that gives her a 'sense of purpose in life' while she's still alive, she should keep at it.
    57AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:52
    Re: #50
    Oxygen catheter lol
    64AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:03
    Re: #57
    Apparently the catheter patient is 97. And the one next to her is 89…

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    “Game brain” is a theory that spread around 2002 claiming video games harm children’s brain development, which has since been criticized for lacking solid scientific grounding. This article runs in the opposite direction, presenting a case where a competitive video game may be helping an elderly person find purpose and maintain cognitive function. The thread was divided between surprise and skepticism over whether a 97-year-old could really understand command inputs and strategic back-and-forth well enough to play, and voices welcoming the shift toward incorporating video games into nursing home recreation that had previously centered on coloring books and origami. Some replies pointed to research suggesting that games requiring dynamic visual tracking and quick judgment, such as 3D shooters, may help counter cognitive decline, expressing hope for preventive benefits beyond mere pastime. At the same time, there were also comments lamenting the shrinking fighting-game scene and questioning how widely Tekken itself is still played today, making this a topic that touches on both elderly care and the video game industry.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geino/Sports News+) thread “✊ “I’ll Keep Fighting as Long as I’m Alive”: 97-Year-Old Woman, the Oldest Fighting-Game Fan Around, Goes Wild for Tekken! The “Too Hot” Passion That Blossomed at Her Nursing Home 💥.”

  • Juice=Juice’s Official TikTok Sparks Buzz After Following Male Underground Idols

    The official TikTok account of Hello! Project group Juice=Juice was found to be following several members of a male underground idol group calling itself “#Lovesick,” sparking discussion on 5ch’s Hello! Project board. Thread posters were split on whether it was simply an accidental follow or the result of some behind-the-scenes contact through staff, and some pointed out that “Lovesick” had previously been linked to a scandal implying a relationship with the idol group “=LOVE,” fueling curiosity about how the connection came about. The thread also veered into a tangent comparing the venue sizes of Juice=Juice and Angerme concerts.

    6AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:58
    They've played Pia Arena and Budokan and they're still "underground"?
    30AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:13
    Re: #6
    They're a cut above Angerme.
    7AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:58
    Maybe they're just collaborating behind the scenes?
    10AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:59
    Was Tampopo always like this? I feel like Yaguchi and Iida were in it.
    14AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:01
    Didn't Airi also accidentally follow them before?
    15AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:02
    Which one's Eba's boyfriend and which one's Mifu's?
    17AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:02
    So the manager's connected to a men's underground idol group? That's a pretty low bar.
    19AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:03
    So managers hook them up with guys directly these days? What a great era we live in.
    20AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:08
    Isn't Lovesick the group that got exposed for hinting at dating Equal Love? That's a sketchy crowd to be tied to.
    25AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:09
    Re: #20
    So that means Equal Love and Juice=Juice are on the same level.
    21AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:08
    If it's Pia Arena, that's about the right match for Juice's level.
    22AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:08
    Re: #21
    Isn't Angerme on the same level too?
    23AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:09
    So these guys are Juice's boyfriends? Congrats.
    27AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:11
    Re: #22
    Angerme's selling out Yokohama Arena at full capacity. In terms of big venues, Juice ranks below Beyooooonds.
    28AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:11
    Re: #27
    Can they still pull that off with the current lineup?
    29AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:13
    Official boyfriends, basically. That's just the era we're in now.
    31AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:14
    Angerme can't even fill Budokan these days.
    32AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:14
    What if Mippuru's over there spamming DMs like it's her big chance?
    35AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:16
    Honestly, Juice fans these days kind of want them to date.
    41AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:24
    Backstage is probably buzzing about these guys right now…
    42AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:26
    Juice's official social media has always been a bit off, following random fanboys and stuff.
    43AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:29
    Budokan and Pia Arena aren't as big a deal as you guys think.
    44AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:29
    That's just Ebata working her diplomacy.
    49AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:33
    Re: #44
    Oh really? Let's just send Ebata back to Kyoto already.
    48AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:32
    He was on a show with Yaguchi. Fourth from the left in the back row is the guy from the thread.
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Gp6XBm4awAMRLTJ.jpg
    50AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:33
    Well if it's Yaguchi, can't be helped.

    (ノ∀`)ウッ…

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    It’s not uncommon for corporate and official accounts to be managed by multiple staff members on rotation, making it hard for outsiders to tell whether a change in who an account follows reflects genuine intent or simply an operator’s mistake. Opinions in the thread were divided on this point, and much of the discussion never rose above speculation. Additionally, the term “underground idol” technically refers to acts that mainly perform at small venues, but it’s sometimes applied loosely even to groups with a track record of playing large venues — a point some thread posters also questioned. As for the earlier reports hinting at a relationship with “=LOVE,” those too remain unconfirmed rumor, and it should be noted that the facts have not been verified.

    *This article was compiled by excerpting and summarizing the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “[Sad News] Juice=Juice’s Official TikTok Is Following Members of a Men’s Underground Idol Group Called “#Lovesick”…“

  • Bras Obara’s ‘Aren’t anti-fabric-softener people kind of extreme?’ sparks backlash — 5ch: ‘Fragrance pollution is no joke’

    Bras Obara (34), a Russian-born TV personality raised in Himeji City, Hyogo, posted his views on fabric softener on social media on September 28. He explained that he personally avoids fabric softener because it causes mold in the washing machine drum and reduces towels’ water absorption, then posed the question: “Don’t people who hate fabric softener hate it so much that a lot of them are basically extremists?” The post sparked a thread on 5ch’s Entertainment & Sports News+ board, where opinions clashed — from sympathy for people sensitive to strong scents, to complaints aimed at people who overdo it with the stuff.

    Mon 9/28, 9:58 AM

    Bras Obara (34), a Russian-born columnist and TV personality raised in Himeji City, Hyogo, updated his Threads account on the 28th with his personal take on using fabric softener.

    “Personally, I don’t use fabric softener because it causes mold in the washing machine and makes towels less absorbent… but don’t people who are anti-fabric-softener hate it so much that a lot of them are basically extremists?” he wrote.

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

    4AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:40
    He's basically a talent-world version of Mentalist DaiGo (a YouTuber known for blunt, controversial opinions).
    7AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:40
    Being anti-fabric-softener at all is just baffling to me.
    Same with people who turn it into some big debate.
    11AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:42
    Probably hard to get if your nose is dull.
    Some people literally gag from the smell of fabric softener.
    12AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:43
    There was a kid at school with bad body odor and everyone bullied him, calling him "stinky" all the time.
    As an adult, I caught a whiff of Fa Fa fabric softener (a popular Japanese brand) and it was the exact same smell.
    Maybe his parents used Fa Fa, and that smell is what got him bullied all along.
    15AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:44
    Who's the one who made Downy (the American softener brand) popular here, anyway?
    16AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:44
    People who use the auto-dispenser feature reek something awful lol
    17AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:45
    Downy should honestly be banned from sale in Japan.
    18AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:45
    Why does fabric softener specifically smell so off to people?
    Even folks who don't mind other detergents or air fresheners say fabric softener makes them feel sick.
    19AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:46
    Can't generalize, but people who are, you know, "sensitive" do tend to be oversensitive to smells and sounds too.
    20AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:47
    If you can't stand fabric softener smell, you could never live abroad long-term.
    Apparently foreigners find Japanese people's obsession with being odorless bizarre.
    21AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:47
    Not sure if it's Downy or what, but there's definitely stuff out there that smells like straight-up chemicals.
    23AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:48
    Fabric softener is basically poison.
    Though I'll give it credit for stopping static cling.
    25AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:49
    Aren't people overreacting to folks who just say they don't like the smell of fabric softener?
    26AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:50
    People with mental health conditions can get extra sensitive to fabric softener smells, so you've got to be considerate.
    27AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:50
    When a repairman who reeks of fabric softener comes into the house, the smell lingers forever.
    28AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:50
    Heated tobacco products reek of chemicals too, by the way.
    31AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:50
    Oh sure, with fabric softener, the more you dump in the better, right? (sarcasm)
    39AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:53
    It smells like a cheap perfume gone horribly wrong.
    Honestly closer to body odor than anything else.
    43AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:53
    I do use fabric softener, but
    some brands separate from the water if you just let the bottle sit.
    Then if you shake it before using, it foams up and gets hard to pour.
    Somebody fix that already.
    57AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:58
    I know someone with what seems like a fragrance allergy, so I have to be careful around them.
    It's really something you can't understand unless it's happened to you.
    They once got so nauseous in a crowded room they had to rush to the bathroom.
    64AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:00
    Re: #57
    Allergies are no joke.
    Apparently it feels like someone's literally choking you (´・ω・｀)
    67AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:01
    I think it's more extreme than anti-smoking sentiment — almost pathological.
    72AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:05
    If you don't use fabric softener your towels go all stiff and crunchy though.
    104AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:15
    My neighbor's a smoker, so maybe their nose is shot, but when they hang laundry on the balcony it reeks of fabric softener.
    Might be mixing with body odor too?
    Either way, it's rank.
    There was also this one time it smelled cheap and artificial in a different way — maybe a room fragrance spray.
    When someone whose nose is already ruined causes fragrance pollution, it's genuinely brutal.

    Re: #72
    Switching to unscented fabric softener or a citric acid rinse would solve the fragrance-pollution problem, I'd think.
    82AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:08
    Fabric softener is what turns the washing machine drum moldy in the first place.
    Maybe push that angle instead.
    89AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:11
    Re: #82
    Oh, maybe that's less like sweat and more like the smell mixing with grime in the washing machine drum.

    Background and key points of this debate

    In recent years the term “kōgai” (香害, a pun on 公害 meaning “pollution,” used for fragrance-related health complaints) has spread in discussions around fabric softener, with Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency and the National Consumer Affairs Center fielding complaints about health issues caused by scented detergents and softeners. In the thread, voices sympathetic to people sensitive to smells clashed with those who dismissed that sensitivity as “oversensitive” or “pathological,” with no clear resolution in sight. While Obara’s original post was aimed at poking fun at anti-fabric-softener people, most of the actual replies were grounded in real experiences from both users and non-users — it wasn’t really a simple two-sided fight. Worth noting too: scent preference and medically recognized chemical sensitivity are two different things, and the thread often blurred the line between them.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Entertainment & Sports News+) thread “34-year-old talent Bras Obara: ‘Aren’t anti-fabric-softener people kind of extreme?’ sparks backlash: ‘Way too sensitive… that’s your problem’.”

  • GACKT Mistakes NISA Tax Program for an Investment Product — 5ch: “Total Idiot lol”

    Entertainer GACKT is facing backlash after a clip resurfaced showing him mischaracterizing Japan’s tax-free NISA investment program as an “investment product” itself. The clip spread on X on the night of September 26 and had racked up more than 7.2 million views by the morning of the 28th. In the video, GACKT says things like “I don’t even want to invest in NISA” and “explain to me how NISA generates profit,” while dismissing people who use it as having “stopped thinking.” Investor and influencer Shintaro Tabata poured fuel on the fire by reacting with “total idiot lol.” On 5ch, while many mocked GACKT by bringing up his own past cryptocurrency venture, some commenters also argued his warning “isn’t entirely off-base as a caution to novice investors,” keeping the discussion from being a simple gaffe story.

    September 28, 2026

    A clip of “GACKT” (870,000 subscribers) talking about NISA is spreading on X. His comments, which treat NISA as an investment product rather than a tax program, drew a string of callouts — including from investor and influencer “Shintaro Tabata” (400,000 subscribers), who reacted with “GACKT-sama! Total idiot lol.”

    The clip was posted on X on the night of September 26 and had surpassed 7.2 million views by the morning of the 28th. In the video, GACKT says “I don’t even want to invest in NISA” and “explain to me how NISA generates profit,” criticizing people who use NISA as having “stopped thinking.”

    Source: yutura.net / Original article here

    6AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:58
    Forget NISA, it's all about crypto coins
    You can win streak after streak, right?
    7AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:58
    He's got a sickness where he can't get two words out without saying 'idiot' or 'moron'
    9AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:58
    Well, if he's just steering people toward GACKT Coin, he's not wrong
    11AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:59
    Oniya: "This is a warning from GACKT" (referring to fellow streamer Oniya)
    12AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:59
    Re: #2
    A lot of band musicians got burned by that one too
    13AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:59
    GACKT Coin isn't for idiots, okay?♡
    16AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:00
    Is POPOPO an investment product?
    17AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:00
    This guy's talking without understanding the system at all
    https://livedoor.blogimg.jp/masorira-kabu/imgs/5/7/57e28f59.jpg
    https://livedoor.blogimg.jp/masorira-kabu/imgs/0/0/007196bd.jpg
    19AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:01
    Calling a bunch of random strangers idiots only to turn out to be the idiot yourself — that's the lamest thing in the world
    20AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:01
    So he doesn't even understand it, huh

    Well, I guess recommending it to old folks could be seen as dumb, though
    21AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:01
    Yoshiki actually took over the industry and had real hit songs to show for it
    Has this guy done anything comparable? Why's he even being put in the same class as Yoshiki?
    That's what's been bugging me for a while (Yoshiki, the X Japan musician)
    37AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:04
    Re: #21
    No clue why you think they're on the same level
    23AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:01
    Surely this is just a clip taken out of context, right?
    If he's serious, that's way too stupid — I can't believe an actual adult would think that
    27AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:02
    Re: #1
    Well, blindly jumping on whatever the government recommends is definitely idiotic behavior too (´・ω・｀)
    You guys have totally forgotten about the COVID vaccine already
    29AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:03
    Re: #27
    Don't lump injecting a foreign substance into your body in with a tax-break policy
    45AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:07
    Re: #27
    The government: "We made the NISA program, so go earn your own retirement money
    Oh, and please do it via regular installment investing if you can"
    28AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:03
    Isn't this way healthier than some random 'coin'?
    30AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:03
    GACKT's words carry weight
    31AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:03
    >NISA's flagship stock

    now that's a power phrase
    32AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:03
    NISA is a tax program
    Normally, tax gets taken out of the profit you make buying and selling
    If you make 100,000 yen in trading profit, about 20,000 yen gets taken as tax — but if you use the NISA program, that tax doesn't apply and the full 100,000 yen is yours to keep
    44AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:07
    Re: #32
    It's also a cursed system in the other direction — even if you take a 100,000 yen loss, you can't offset it against other gains, so you can end up paying more tax overall
    33AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:03
    There's a better product out there — it's called GACKT Coin
    34AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:04
    (NISA + GACKT) / 2 = NEET (a pun blending the Japanese pronunciations of "NISA" and "GACKT" into "NEET")
    35AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:04
    Come on… this is GACKT we're talking about
    Of course he'd come off as a total idiot lol
    38AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:05
    He got cocky after getting away clean with Spindle (his crypto project, aka "GACKT Coin")
    39AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:05
    If you really had to name NISA's 'flagship stock,' I guess it'd be something like an all-country index fund — basically an overseas index fund at its core
    And as for how the profit actually gets generated, it's simple: the 20% that would normally get taxed away isn't taxed at all within your NISA allowance, no matter how much you make — so that part is extremely straightforward and extremely profitable
    40AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:06
    The way he acts like he knows it all while confidently spouting nonsense is just like Horiemon
    41AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:06
    "NISA isn't about growing your money — these days it's all about crypto coins"
    57AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:09
    What's the point of digging up some ancient misunderstanding like this
    66AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:11
    Re: #57
    That comment was from last year
    58AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:09
    Re: #44
    Huh?
    That's true for a regular taxable brokerage account, but
    it's basically just saying 'try not to take a loss in the first place'
    that's exactly why mutual funds are the main option here
    83AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:15
    Re: #58
    Don't fall for the myth that mutual funds never lose money
    It's not like the company managing them can never go bankrupt
    81AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:15
    It's true I have real doubts about how far to trust something just because the government is the one recommending it.

    This is the same government that keeps stubbornly refusing to cut the consumption tax, insisting it still needs to collect even more tax — and that's the government pushing this on us,
    so I just can't shake the feeling that something about it is fishy
    90AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:17
    Re: #81
    You get to pick what you buy yourself, so it's entirely up to you
    Think of it like a tax-free checkout lane
    92AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:17
    People who casually jump into NISA on a whim will eventually
    get stopped out and hit with a margin call, and it'll wreck their life
    Investing isn't something amateurs should wade into lightly
    In that sense, what GACKT is saying isn't entirely wrong
    94AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:18
    Re: #92
    A margin call… on NISA?
    104AnonymousSep 28, 2026 14:20
    Re: #92
    Make it clear whether you're trolling or being dead serious

    Background and Key Points of This Story

    NISA isn’t an “investment product” — it’s a tax program that waives the roughly 20% tax normally charged on gains and dividends from stocks and mutual funds. The uproar started when experts and influencers called out GACKT for conflating this “program” with a “product,” and the clip took off after racking up over 70 million views. GACKT is also known for a past controversy involving the cryptocurrency “Spindle” (aka “GACKT Coin”) that he was personally involved with, and much of the mockery in the thread draws on that history. That said, the reactions weren’t all mockery — some commenters voiced sympathy for GACKT’s underlying point that “novice investors shouldn’t be pushed into this too casually,” while others noted that NISA itself has real structural downsides, like not letting you offset losses against other gains, resulting in a genuinely split debate. One nuance that a headline alone doesn’t capture: the real problem was GACKT speaking without correctly understanding how NISA works — not that his underlying caution about investment risk was itself off base.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread “‘Is everyone doing NISA an idiot?’ — GACKT denies NISA while mistaking it for an investment product, old clip resurfaces on X sparking a wave of callouts.”

  • Low-Pressure Headaches Spread on 5ch: ‘Feels Like My Head’s Being Hit With a Hammer’

    On 5ch’s “News VIP” board, a rainy-morning chat thread called “Sulking Nap Club,” featuring emoticon characters, was started. Participants posted one after another about low-pressure headaches and fatigue, unrealized gains on semiconductor stocks, a typhoon approaching Chiba, and everyday topics like dentist visits and laundry. Replies sympathizing with the complaint “Feels like my head’s being hit with a hammer, maybe because of the air pressure” piled up, and the ongoing rainy-weather malaise became the thread’s main topic.

    1AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:14
    (´･ω･`) It's my day off and yet it's raining, ugh
    l⌒O⌒O⌒l
    |　□囗□　|
    4AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:16
    ( ･᷄ὢ･᷅ ) So this is the gay mecca, huh
    5AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:16
    Re: #4
    　(´･ω･`)Nope, you're wrong
    l⌒O⌒O⌒l
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    7AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:18
    ( `･Δ･´)Ty-phoooon
    つ🌀と

    10AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:19
    Re: #7
    l⌒O⌒O⌒lI'm hunkering down in a shelter
    |　□囗□　|
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    12AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:20
    ( `･Δ･´)I sold my semiconductor-related
    investment trust, and
    the next day it jumped
    about 7%.
    Missed out on around
    ¥400,000 in profit.
    16AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:23
    Re: #12
    　(´･ω･`)Gagaa-rin
    l⌒O⌒O⌒l
    |　□囗□　|
    |　囗□囗　|
    |　□囗□　|
    13AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:20
    (´･ω･`)
    l⌒O⌒O⌒l
    |　□囗□　|
    |　囗□囗　|
    |　□囗□　|
    🔥🔥🔥🔥
    17AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:23
    Re: #13
    　(´･ω･`)Cut it out
    l⌒O⌒O⌒l
    |　□囗□　|
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    14AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:20
    ( `-Δ-´)　Guess all I can do is sulk and nap
    l⌒O⌒O⌒l
    | 🐏🐑🐏 |
    | 🐑🐏🐑 |
    | 🐏🐑🐏 |
    18AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:23
    Re: #14
    　(´･ω･`)Your futon looks nice and fluffy
    l⌒O⌒O⌒l
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    19AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:23
    (´・∀・｀)Guess this makes it the Co-Sleeping Club
    l⌒O⌒O⌒l
    | Y Y Y Y |
    | Y Y Y Y |
    | Y Y Y Y |
    21AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:24
    Re: #19
    　(´･ω･`)I wonder if that's the real one
    l⌒O⌒O⌒l
    |　□囗□　|
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    22AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:25
    Re: #21
    (´・∀・｀)Ahh, ahh, ahhh~ (mock moaning, ahegao-style)
    l⌒O⌒O⌒l
    | Y Y Y Y |
    | Y Y Y Y |
    | Y Y Y Y |
    24AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:27
    Re: #22
    　(´･ω･`)Begone
    l⌒O⌒O⌒l
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    23AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:26
    ( ･᷄ὢ･᷅ )You get fooled every day, huh
    25AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:27
    Re: #23
    　(´･ω･`)I totally saw through it
    l⌒O⌒O⌒l
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    30AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:38
    Sulk-napping because of the rain? ʕ⌯᷄ω⌯᷅ʔ
    34AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:41
    Re: #30
    　(´･ω･`)That's the one
    l⌒O⌒O⌒l
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    32AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:38
    (´･ω･`)Is this a Mambo-kun too?
    36AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:41
    Re: #32
    　(´･ω･`)Yup-ola
    l⌒O⌒O⌒l
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    33AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:40
    Why, could this be the mysterious flagged 🏁 members-only thread of Village Chief Tiger, of the Exploding Betting-Slip Master's Come-On-In Room, who decides his nightly off-road stroll with a marked roulette wheel, methinks (´・ω・`)
    37AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:42
    Re: #33
    　(´･ω･`)Piling on more again
    l⌒O⌒O⌒l
    |　□囗□　|
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    38AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:42
    Re: #34
    Did you go to the laundromat?
    39AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:43
    Re: #38
    　(´･ω･`)Not yet, gotta go today
    l⌒O⌒O⌒l
    |　□囗□　|
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    41AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:46
    Re: #39
    This is the classic 'lounge around till noon' pattern
    54AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:54
    __,.,,_
    ./ *・ω・ヽMorning, everyone
    Tokyo's had low pressure 30 days straight
    What is even going on!
    59AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:57
    Re: #54
    　(´･ω･`)Even for the autumn rains, this is really pouring
    l⌒O⌒O⌒l
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    60AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:57
    Re: #54
    　λ_Λ
    ૮₍ #)∀ ･᷆ ₎ა Mornin'~
    Maybe it's the air pressure, but my head feels like it's getting hit with a hammer
    72AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:01
    Λ_Λ
    ૮₍ ･᷇ ∀ ･᷆ ₎ა Thought a shower might perk me up, but nope, no good
    My head's so heavy 😭
    75AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:02
    Re: #72
    　(´･ω･`)っ🧪Here, this medicine works great
    l⌒O ⌒ ⌒l
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    81AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:03
    Re: #72
    　 __,.,,_
    ./ *・ω・ヽTry running a dehumidifier
    l⌒O⌒O⌒⌒l and warm yourself up from the inside
    |　🌊🌊🌊　|
    |　🌊🌊🌊　|
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    111AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:31
    Gotta go to the dentist, so I was getting ready to head out

    　Λ_Λ
    ૮₍･᷇ ∀ ･᷆ ₎ა Off I go!
    Ο┳Ο　) *shuffle shuffle*
    ◎┻し◎ ))
    113AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:32
    Re: #111
    (´･ω･`)I wonder if the rain's okay [over there]
    115AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:34
    Re: #113
    It's raining like crazy
    126AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:48
    Re: #113
    　Λ_Λ
    ૮₍ ･᷇ ∀ ･᷆ ₎ა It's stopped raining over here right now so I'm good
    120AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:38
    (´・ω・`)Mornin'-afternoon to ya
    Another typhoon's headed for Chiba
    Gonna offer a sacrifice to dodge it

    (´･ω･`)
    🔥🔥🔥
    124AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:39
    Re: #120
    (u_u)I'm in Chiba~ Since I'm on the Tokyo side of Chiba there's no major damage, but it's been nothing but rain lately ☔
    130AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:06
    Re: #120
    (´･ω･`)Cut it out

    Background and Discussion Points

    The sensation described in the thread — “my head hurts, maybe because of the air pressure” — is medically known as weather-related illness (kiatsu-tsū, or “barometric headache”), a phenomenon in which changes in air pressure are thought to stimulate the inner ear, throwing the autonomic nervous system out of balance and triggering headaches and fatigue. That said, figures like “30 days of low pressure straight in Tokyo” are exaggerations based on posters’ personal impressions, not official Japan Meteorological Agency data, and should be read with that caveat. “Sulking Nap Club” is also the informal name for a recurring chat thread on News VIP that uses emoticon characters; it isn’t tied to any particular incident or news story, but exists mainly for posters to narrate and share everyday small talk about weather and daily life as it happens. The way topics like unrealized gains on semiconductor stocks, dentist visits, and laundry are interspersed reflects the casual, live-narration feel typical of this kind of thread.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News VIP) thread “(´･ω･`) This Is the Members-Only ‘Sulking Nap Club’ Thread.”

  • Individual Bonds Over NISA? 5ch Debates How the Risk-Averse Should Build Wealth

    The thread kicked off with a challenge to people who say “investing scares me because I might lose money”: why not just buy principal-guaranteed individual government bonds? Posters noted these bonds pay more interest than an ordinary savings account and won’t lose principal unless Japan itself goes broke — though others countered that the rate gap isn’t huge and the paperwork hassle barely pays off. As the talk rolled on, it expanded to cover regular investing in All-Country (“Orukan”) and S&P 500 index funds, bank time-deposit promotions, and how big an emergency fund should be, with the thread converging on the idea that bonds, savings, and stocks should be mixed according to one’s risk tolerance.

    1AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:07
    Unless Japan actually defaults, you get your money back — super low risk. And if Japan does default, the yen becomes worthless paper anyway, so it's basically a souped-up savings account.
    Plus you get something like 5-6x the interest of most ordinary savings accounts.
    The only real downside is you can't touch it for a year. It's genuinely a great deal, why isn't everyone buying these?
    8AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:13
    I guess it's a bit of a hassle for not much payoff. That's the downside.
    9AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:13
    Re: #8
    If you put in a large sum, the difference really adds up though.
    11AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:14
    Pretty much every self-employed person already maxes out the Small Enterprise Mutual Aid (a tax-advantaged retirement fund for the self-employed) — that's basically their investment right there.
    13AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:15
    Re: #11
    But there are way more non-self-employed people out there.
    16AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:16
    Re: #9
    I guess the logic is: people who can handle the hassle go for stocks that pay off bigger, and people who find it a hassle won't bother with bonds either if the gains are that small.
    22AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:18
    Re: #16
    Hmm. Setting the second group aside, I'd still want to nudge the stock crowd from the first group into buying at least a little.
    I'm in All-Country myself, and even though it'll probably outperform, I hold a solid chunk of bonds too just to keep my head straight during a crash.
    Panic-selling would defeat the whole point.
    23AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:20
    Are banks getting nervous with everyone rushing into investing?
    My mom, who just hit retirement age, brought home a flyer saying NISA's too confusing for her now so she wants a time deposit instead — about 1.9% on 3 million yen over 3 years, so a guaranteed +300,000 yen with zero risk of loss isn't bad at all.
    Honestly she might out-earn me, and I only started NISA this year.
    24AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:21
    Re: #23
    Bank time deposits have gotten better lately too, though sometimes that rate includes a promotional bonus.
    26AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:22
    Re: #23
    It's decent, but for something like a 3-year term, individual bonds actually beat a time deposit. Time deposits are better suited to 6-month or 1-year terms.
    25AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:22
    Just goes to show most people out there aren't that into money.
    27AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:23
    Re: #25
    Really? Feels like talk about investing and saving has been on the rise though.
    28AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:23
    Re: #24
    Yeah, it included the promo bonus — seems the condition was opening a new account.
    I did look into the bank first before giving the go-ahead, though.
    A friend told me it'd pay off more if I borrowed that 3 million and built her a portfolio, but that scared me, so I had her go with the time deposit instead.
    You never know how much longer your parents will be around, anyway.
    33AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:25
    Re: #28
    I think that's the right call. Even with a promo bonus tacked on, if the conditions line up it's still a good deal.
    29AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:24
    This is my debut round.
    Throwing in a few hundred thousand yen I made off semiconductor stocks.
    40AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:27
    Re: #29
    Nice. Shore up your defenses too and build that grip strength (i.e., the nerve to hold through a downturn) 💪
    34AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:25
    I'm a second-generation self-employed guy, but my freelancer friends are all "Mutual aid? What's that? Tax savings sound like too much hassle" types.
    42AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:28
    Re: #34
    Uh… are they rich, or just completely checked out?
    35AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:25
    I think it's fine to take risks with NISA while you're still working — if you lose money, you can just keep working to earn it back.
    Shifting into defensive assets is a conversation for after you retire.
    43AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:28
    Re: #35
    My risk tolerance is low, so I buy bonds too, for the grip strength. Of course I buy All-Country as well.
    36AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:25
    Even at 5x an ordinary savings rate, that's just 5x of 0.1% — only 0.5%. All-Country gets you over 3%.
    39AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:27
    Re: #36
    Which bank pays 0.1%? My local regional bank's ordinary savings rate is 0.4%.
    And right now you get around 1.9% on the 3-year bond and about 2.2% on the 5-year, if I remember right.
    41AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:27
    Yeah, at this point buying these bonds is on the same level as buying Chinese stocks.
    44AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:28
    Re: #41
    Chinese stocks don't come with a principal guarantee though…
    72AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:42
    Keeping your money in a bank carries its own risk too, and I don't mean deposit-insurance payout limits or anything like that.
    73AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:43
    Re: #72
    What kind of risk are we talking about? Seriously, tell me.
    77AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:44
    Re: #72
    Because inflation is expected to keep climbing over the long run.
    74AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:43
    The thread title's one thing, but the All-Country/S&P true believers scare me too.

    Life is long and there'll be times you need cash, yet they assume you can just keep contributing for 10+ years straight.
    And not many people have the mental fortitude to keep buying in while watching their losses pile up during a downturn.
    76AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:44
    Re: #74
    This is seriously true. If you don't have that mental margin, better to raise your bond allocation and keep more in savings.
    84AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:47
    Re: #74
    Normally you wouldn't put your emergency fund, or tuition savings if you've got kids, into investments anyway.
    You buy All-Country on the assumption that money's locked away for the long haul.
    75AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:44
    The yen itself is actually the thing crashing hardest, when you think about it.
    79AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:45
    Re: #75
    Ordinary savings accounts are the real danger. Go with All-Country or bonds — or at minimum a time deposit with a decent rate.
    81AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:46
    Re: #75
    There's also the risk the US forces a stronger yen on us, so it's hard to say anything for certain.
    98AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:53
    Re: #75
    Buy low, sell high is the basic rule — so if not now while the yen is cheap, when?
    82AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:46
    Honestly, point-farming ("poikatsu" — stacking cashback/reward points) is safer. 3% a month with zero risk.
    85AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:47
    Re: #82
    Well, if we're going there, a side hustle pays even better rates. This is specifically about ordinary asset management though.
    87AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:48
    Re: #82
    You should factor this in too — a floating-rate individual bond gets you 2%, and a Mizuho Rakuten Card gets you another 2%, so you can lock in 4% just from everyday spending.
    92AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:52
    You're better off waiting a bit longer on bonds since the rate should climb further.
    94AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:52
    Re: #92
    True, but there's also a chance rates drop — low, but not zero — so I'll just buy in now while I can.
    97AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:53
    Re: #92
    That's exactly why it's the 10-year floating-rate bond.

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    Individual government bonds (such as the 10-year floating-rate type) are issued by the state, so they never lose principal value. Current market rates run around 1.9% for the 3-year bond and 2.2% for the 5-year, both well above the 0.1-0.4% typical of ordinary bank savings accounts. That said, they generally can’t be cashed in early for a full year, and the payoff is small unless you’re investing a substantial sum. NISA and All-Country (an all-country equity index fund), by contrast, carry no principal guarantee but open the door to long-term capital gains and tax-free allowances — which demands the mental fortitude to keep contributing even while prices are falling. The thread split over whether to build a portfolio around “principal-guaranteed but slow-growing bonds” or “stock investing that can grow but can also fall,” with many participants converging on the idea that combining both, weighted by age and the size of one’s emergency fund, is the sensible approach. The conversation also touched on how to think about dollar-denominated assets amid the weakening yen — a reminder that this isn’t a topic with one simple right answer.

    *This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch “Anything Goes Live G” board thread “Mystery faction says “Investing is dangerous! NISA might lose you money so I won’t do it!” — So why not just buy government bonds?“

  • Controller-Free Console ‘Nex Playground’ Coming to Japan Next Year — 5ch: ‘A Chip That Costs Pennies’

    According to a report from gaming news site automaton-media, developer Nex plans to bring “Nex Playground” — a controller-free gaming system that uses a camera and AI to read body movement — to Japan in 2027. In the US, it’s sold as a $249 console (as low as $239 on sale) bundled with the “Play Pass” subscription service, which gives players unlimited access to over 60 games on top of the 5 titles included at purchase. On the thread, opinions split over what the Japanese price would be: some predicted a price in the ¥20,000s, banking on cheap hardware costs being recouped through subscription revenue, while others countered that the US price should simply be converted directly into yen.

    Developer Nex plans to bring the controller-free gaming system

    “Nex Playground” to Japan in 2027. Also, this fall SEGA will release,

    from the “Sonic” series, titles including “Sonic Force: Rival Rush,” and

    Source: automaton-media.com / Original article here

    9AnonymousSep 28, 2026 07:43
    Nah, this is just Kinect.
    12AnonymousSep 28, 2026 07:47
    Re: #9
    Kinect projects light into the room and captures human movement in 3D based on the distortion of that light.
    NEX, on the other hand, uses AI to convert 2D camera footage into 3D and captures joint movement that way.
    So they're actually completely different things.
    13AnonymousSep 28, 2026 07:51
    Re: #12
    Isn't this closer to EyeToy?
    28AnonymousSep 28, 2026 08:19
    Re: #12
    The capture method doesn't matter. What the player actually has to do is no different from Kinect — meaning it's just a hassle.
    We don't hold a controller because the hardware forces us to, we hold it because we WANT to play that way.
    Even the Mario Kart wheel controller gets abandoned pretty fast.
    16AnonymousSep 28, 2026 07:56
    Re: #1


    I bet a lot of people in Japan don't have this much space 🥺
    20AnonymousSep 28, 2026 08:02
    Re: #16
    The sofa's way too far from the TV for its size.
    19AnonymousSep 28, 2026 08:02
    If the regular US price is $250, that'd put Japan at around ¥40,000?
    Way too expensive, no way.
    23AnonymousSep 28, 2026 08:08
    Re: #19
    It uses the Amlogic A311D2, a mature 12nm chip that only costs a few thousand yen to make, it's a subscription-required model, and it's got a lead who's ex-Sega and knows the Japanese market well — so it might come out around ¥9,800.
    22AnonymousSep 28, 2026 08:03
    >Nex Playground comes with 5 games included at purchase. And by subscribing to the "Play Pass" service, you get unlimited access to over 60 games published by Nex. Individual games aren't sold separately — it's a subscription-only platform.

    So is the console itself cheap?
    24AnonymousSep 28, 2026 08:11
    Re: #22
    It got a price hike in April, so it's around $239 on sale now.
    Before the hike it was $199 on sale.
    25AnonymousSep 28, 2026 08:13
    There's no way this sells.
    They're probably gonna price it at like ¥50,000, right?
    27AnonymousSep 28, 2026 08:17
    Re: #25
    Since it's a subscription model, they don't need to recoup costs through hardware sales, so even at the high end it's probably in the ¥20,000s.
    30AnonymousSep 28, 2026 08:20
    Re: #27
    It's $249 for the console PLUS a subscription in America — what's your basis for thinking Japan gets it cheaper?
    40AnonymousSep 28, 2026 08:35
    Re: #30
    Because the hardware is barely a step up from a ¥2,000 webcam, so the production cost is cheap.
    37AnonymousSep 28, 2026 08:29
    Switch 2 went to the trouble of adding a camera, so they should do something similar with it.
    I thought they'd use it more in Mario Party, but it's really just a bonus afterthought.
    46AnonymousSep 28, 2026 08:45
    Re: #37
    Since it's all done in software, it's actually possible to copy it outright, but apparently it's common knowledge in the game industry that console bundle add-ons don't sell.
    They could straight-up copy it with next-gen hardware, but by then NEX might have IPO'd and become a heavyweight player.
    38AnonymousSep 28, 2026 08:31
    Nintendo's mistake was simply joining the high-performance arms race.
    They should've just stuck with the Switch philosophy that fun isn't about graphics.
    43AnonymousSep 28, 2026 08:39
    Re: #38
    Same goes for motion capture tech — even RC drones sell for like ¥3,000 these days. Instead of chasing resolution and frame rates, they should've been turning mature, cheap tech like that into fun experiences.
    39AnonymousSep 28, 2026 08:33
    It might sell to families, or it might not.
    But that's got nothing to do with a hardware-war board ("geha")…
    41AnonymousSep 28, 2026 08:36
    Re: #39
    Game hardware (that's what "geha" is short for).
    45AnonymousSep 28, 2026 08:42
    Re: #40
    That's not a reason — they're already selling it with fat margins in America.
    What's the reason Japan alone would get a different business model?
    That's just wishful thinking, isn't it?
    47AnonymousSep 28, 2026 08:47
    Re: #45
    There's a lead who knows the Japanese market inside and out, so the chance of them botching it with a ridiculous price is zero. They might launch it high and then discount it later, though.
    48AnonymousSep 28, 2026 08:49
    Re: #47
    If they really knew the market well, they wouldn't release something like this at all.
    51AnonymousSep 28, 2026 08:55
    Re: #47
    What's your basis for saying that?
    It's a different topic, but you see this all the time in next-gen console threads — "it might get pricier, it might get cheaper" — with zero actual basis. Same thing here.

    Right now all we actually know is the US price.
    50AnonymousSep 28, 2026 08:55
    Re: #48
    I think it'll sell at least a million units.
    52AnonymousSep 28, 2026 08:56
    Re: #50
    You mean 10,000, right?
    66AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:38
    Re: #50
    At least a million? I see — well, one thing's for sure, you clearly don't understand the Japanese market.
    55AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:07
    Is this thing still selling over there?
    61AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:12
    Re: #55
    Converted to yen that's ¥33,814, and it's listed on Amazon as having sold over 6,000 units in the past month.
    57AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:09
    C'mon guys, you're old-timers ("oji") and you didn't bring this up…
    65AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:19
    Re: #57
    What even is this lol lol
    62AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:14
    Re: #61
    Thought it'd be a one-hit wonder, but it's surprisingly still selling well.
    63AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:17
    Re: #62
    It's so easy to use, and if you think of it as a diet expense it feels cheap — I bet a lot of people keep the subscription going for that reason.
    67AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:41
    Seems like you could do the same thing by hooking a USB camera up to the Switch, but given the current climate, maybe they just won't make games that require extra peripherals.
    68AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:53
    Re: #67
    Motion capture itself is mature tech so it can be copied, but NEX's hardware concept and business model can't be.

    Hardware:
    Low price, compact, no controller, camera built into the unit.

    Business model:
    – Effectively a subscription-required model
    – Keeps releasing mini-games one after another so players never get bored
    – Collaborates with all kinds of IP (music, sports, movies, gaming schools) to pull in those users
    69AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:57
    It's a licensed-IP-games-plus-subscription-hardware setup, so structurally it's similar to what PlayStation is now.
    Feels like PlayStation minus the flood of cheap Chinese shovelware ("gunball"-style filler games), aimed at non-otaku normies ("riajuu") instead.
    71AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:06
    Re: #69
    Feels like they filled exactly the gap nobody else was in.
    The fact that a move this clever was still up for grabs is pretty impressive.
    91AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:33
    Even all of Japan's big corporations combined don't come close to Microsoft, yet Japanese people are acting all cocky about this — it's embarrassing.
    Don't forget MS is a monster with a ¥600 trillion market cap.
    92AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:34
    Re: #91
    Bottomless Gates money (lol)
    93AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:38
    Re: #91
    An unprofitable division (lol)

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    Nex Playground captures joint movement by using AI to convert 2D camera footage into 3D, making it technically distinct from Kinect, which measures depth via projected light. In the US, it uses a general-purpose chip believed to cost only a few thousand yen to produce, and generates revenue through subscription fees rather than hardware sales — a structure drawing attention for potentially sidestepping the pricing hurdle that has historically kept controller-free devices from catching on in Japan. That said, the prices floated in the thread — “¥9,800 in Japan,” “in the ¥20,000s” — are speculation based on the US price and estimated chip cost, not an official announcement from Nex. It’s also worth noting that Nintendo’s Switch 2, despite including a camera, hasn’t pursued similar functionality, underscoring how hard it is for such features to catch on as built-in hardware extras.

    *This article was compiled by excerpting and summarizing the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) board thread “[Nintendo in Trouble] “NEX Playground,” Which Beat Xbox in Last Year’s US Black Friday Sales, Confirmed to Launch in Japan Next Year.”

  • Beaujolais Nouveau Lands at Haneda: Heatwave Pushed the Harvest a Month Early, But Release Date Stays November 19

    France’s new-vintage wine, Beaujolais Nouveau, arrived at Haneda Airport on September 28 for its traditional unveiling. France was hit by a record-breaking heatwave this year, pushing the grape harvest up by about a month, but the release date remains unchanged at November 19. On 5ch threads, this perennial seasonal topic drew the usual buzz — though the conversation focused less on the wine’s taste and more on distribution and business angles: rising prices in recent years, accusations of “marketing over substance,” and price/satisfaction comparisons with other imported wines and Japanese sake.

    9/28 (Mon) 9:09

    Kyodo News

    Beaujolais Nouveau, France’s new-vintage wine, arrived at Haneda Airport on the 28th, where an unveiling event was held. France was hit by record-breaking heat from a heatwave this year, pushing this year’s grape harvest earlier than usual. The wine arrived about a month ahead of schedule, but the release date remains unchanged at November 19.

    Source: topics.smt.docomo.ne.jp / Read the original article here

    12AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:56
    Tashiro Masashi used to do the commercials for this (a comedian now better known for repeated drug busts than his old ad work).
    55AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:16
    Re: #12
    21AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:58
    Is it that time of year already?
    Which is it, "Beaujolais Nouveau" or "Bojorē Nouveau"? (debate over how to spell the French name phonetically in Japanese)
    My phone's IME keeps suggesting "Bojorē Nouveau" as the first option though
    32AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:03
    Re: #21
    It's not so much that both are "correct" — it's more that different outlets just spell it differently, which makes no sense.

    Apparently in actual French pronunciation, "Bojore" without the long vowel sounds more natural.
    24AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:59
    The media loves this story.
    Every single year.
    27AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:01
    Re: #24
    The fact that you remember they do this every year means you're pretty into it yourself.
    59AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:18
    Re: #24
    Nobody in France is dumb enough to actually drink Beaujolais Nouveau, let alone fly it in and pay premium prices for it.
    They're looking at us Japanese and going
    "pfft, hehe"
    behind our backs.
    28AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:02
    Wine's normally something you age, but Nouveau found its value by appealing to Japanese people who like things fresh-picked instead.
    So of course they serve it fresh right away — what else would you expect, duh.
    76AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:29
    Re: #28
    Beaujolais has poor soil that isn't suited to growing Pinot Noir, the grape normally used for serious wine.
    So they grow Gamay instead and manufacture value through speed — using a special rapid fermentation method (carbonic maceration) to make it as fast as possible.
    It's a "special wine" that was never meant to be aged in the first place.
    Aging Beaujolais Nouveau doesn't add much value.
    100AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:01
    Re: #28
    If you just want fresh-picked, cheap bottled wine is plenty tasty — that already covers it.
    31AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:03
    Re: #21
    "Nouveau" or "Nouvo," either works.
    That's just how Japanese is.
    106AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:14
    Re: #31
    "Nuvo" works too (yes, like the old Morinaga candy)
    https://www.morinaga.co.jp/museum/history/detail/img/images/detail/article_142.png
    200AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:23
    Re: #106
    What's actually inside is "Kiri no Ukifune" (a cheap sake brand), you know.
    35AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:04
    What's the actual reason this gets special media coverage every single year?
    36AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:04
    Re: #35
    You get to drink the year's release before anywhere else in the world.
    38AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:05
    Re: #35
    It's probably similar to "arabashiri" in sake (the first unfiltered pressing of the season).
    42AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:08
    Back in the day, people were just being played by the industry into thinking this wine was something special.
    51AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:14
    Didn't this used to be under 2,000 yen a bottle?
    61AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:19
    Re: #51
    Between the weak yen and the whole Russia-Ukraine situation,
    prices roughly doubled in 2022 (starting around ¥3,850).

    Then in 2023 they came down about 15%, and it's been flat ever since.
    65AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:20
    Poor Chilean wine, getting looked down on just for being Chilean.
    There's no better value-for-money wine out there.
    70AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:24
    Re: #65
    Chile's vines were originally transplanted from Bordeaux.
    Thanks to the TPP it's cheap in Japan,
    but in Europe high tariffs make it several times the price of European wine.
    Meanwhile French wine grapes are degrading due to global warming,
    and even the French are drinking less wine these days.
    84AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:37
    I don't even drink alcohol at all, let alone wine, so I honestly don't get the appeal.
    87AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:39
    Re: #84
    Just think of it as basically a "new product launch" and you're good.
    129AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:51
    I recently read "The Drops of God" and watched the anime too.
    Thinking that once I retire, I might get into wine as a hobby.
    133AnonymousSep 28, 2026 11:55
    Re: #129
    When you buy this and drink it, make sure to say "oooh!" and really lose yourself in the moment.
    146AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:07
    Bonito or tuna in season are pretty good, but Beaujolais just isn't that great a wine.
    If you're going to spend that kind of money on Beaujolais, you'd get more satisfaction from a nice Rhône wine or a good Chilean bottle instead.
    Sommeliers probably think that deep down too, but they can't say it out loud — bad for business.
    179AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:41
    Re: #146
    The crowd that cares about quality and the crowd that buys Nouveau are just different customers.
    It used to be something you could buy casually and enjoy, but idiots started hyping it up with talk of "vintage" and "once-in-a-century harvest," and that's what soured everyone on it.
    153AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:13
    Back when the Beaujolais Nouveau craze first hit, the yen was strong and prices were lower overall, so a bottle was only about ¥1,500.
    Now it's ¥3,000-5,000.
    I'm honestly amazed people still buy that stuff.
    If you're spending ¥3,000 on alcohol, you could get a daiginjo (premium sake) instead.
    154AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:14
    Re: #153
    Sake is just tastier than wine, honestly.
    Feels like you might as well go cheap on wine anyway.
    159AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:17
    Re: #154
    I like cheap wine, but personally wine agrees with me more than sake does.
    Though lately I've just been drinking whiskey highballs and beer lol
    165AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:20
    Re: #154
    With wine, unless you spend around ¥5,000 at a liquor store or ¥10,000 at a bar, you won't hit that "wow, this is good!" bottle.
    If you know what you're doing you can find a good one for about ¥3,000.
    But if you're spending ¥3,000, sake tastes better for the money.
    170AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:25
    Same with wine — I feel like most types of alcohol taste better aged.
    So why did "Nouveau" of all things become the thing everyone prizes?
    Am I the only one who thinks that's kind of a waste?
    173AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:29
    Re: #170
    Beaujolais' soil just can't grow grapes that make genuinely great wine.
    So they decided to sell it as "Nouveau" instead — not-that-great wine, marketed on speed rather than quality.

    Background and Discussion Points

    Beaujolais Nouveau is a new-vintage wine made from Gamay grapes grown in France’s Beaujolais region and fermented over a short period. As the thread explained, the region’s soil isn’t suited to producing age-worthy wine, so its commercial value instead comes from a rapid fermentation method (carbonic maceration). While the release date stays fixed every year, the weak yen and rising import costs have pushed retail prices up into the several-thousand-yen range, and more voices are distancing themselves from its old image as a “fun, casual seasonal buy.” The thread’s discussion centered less on the taste itself and more on the strength of the marketing behind it, along with comparisons to similarly priced Chilean wines and Japanese sake. The heatwave-driven early harvest is also cited as one more example of how global warming is affecting grape-growing in recent years.

    *This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “[Wine] Beaujolais Nouveau Arrives at Haneda — Heatwave Pushes Harvest a Month Early, Release Date Unchanged.”

  • Hello! Project shows spark debate over older fans attending — 5ch: “It’s an optics problem”

    A thread on 5ch’s Hello! Project board titled “Old men and grannies really shouldn’t be allowed at shows anymore, right?” took off. It started with a crowd photo from a show in Ise, where the strikingly high average age of the attendees became the talking point. Opinions in the thread clashed head-on: some argued fans should hold back voluntarily because “it looks bad,” while others countered that what people like and where they go is nobody’s business but their own. At the same time, some pointed out that older fans have supported the group for decades and represent a demographic that helps attract sponsors from certain industries — turning it into something messier than a simple generational spat.

    1AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:49
    Saw that crowd photo from the Ise show and had some thoughts
    2AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:49
    Re: #1
    Yeah, exactly
    offshore = company, right?
    4AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:52
    If it weren't for the old men and grannies, there'd be no Juice=Juice today
    6AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:54
    The Ise crowd is still tame.
    If you want the group with the strongest 'nursing home' vibe in all of Hello!…
    8AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:56
    It's honestly embarrassing
    The age range is way different from other idol groups
    9AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:56
    Juice=Juice always looked after its older fans
    and now it's the hottest act around
    10AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:56
    You should try going to one of Risachi's or Ressa's bar events sometime
    14AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:00
    If skipping a show is going to kill you,
    why not just move a little further underground (into the indie/'chika' idol scene)?
    16AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:00
    Hello! Project's old-timers basically have zero social life otherwise — the only time they get out and share something with other people is at a Hello! show
    17AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:00
    What's actually shocking is that this thread
    is full of old men itself
    18AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:02
    The Ise crowd is going to become the benchmark from now on —
    people will get mocked based on whether they're above or below that level
    20AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:02
    Re: #18
    Then pretty much every group is wiped out, lol
    23AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:04
    Re: #18
    Sounds like you only just found your way to Hello! Project
    19AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:02
    I'm no old man
    It pisses me off that you can jump on the bandwagon now and still trash-talk the people who've supported the group all along
    22AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:03
    Re: #19
    Just stay home
    It's an optics problem!
    21AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:02
    New, young fans don't stick around because the first time they show up, they end up witnessing a full nursing-home scene
    Come on, Showa-era old-timers, hold back a little
    24AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:05
    Speaking as someone almost 30, having at least some Showa-generation fans around actually keeps things comfortable
    At a genuinely young scene like iLiFE!, the average fan age is barely over 20
    Don't worry though, Hello! is never going to end up that dominated by young people
    25AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:05
    I decided back when I turned 40 that I'd 'graduate' from shows once I hit 50
    This year I actually did it
    Had about a month of withdrawal symptoms
    27AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:06
    I decided back when I turned 40 that I'd 'graduate' from shows once I hit 50
    This year I actually did it
    Had withdrawal symptoms for about a month, but surprisingly, I felt totally clear-headed after that
    29AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:07
    Wasn't there a photo from some AKB-family bus tour that was full of old people too?
    31AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:08
    If you cut the older fans out, you'd be left taking photos with like three people
    32AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:09
    There've been fewer old-timers at Juice=Juice shows lately…
    it's kind of sad, considering they supported the group back when it wasn't even popular
    33AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:09
    It's kind of heartwarming, honestly — like a company employee trip
    36AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:10
    You see AKB48-family fans at idol festivals here and there, but it's overwhelmingly male, and those male fans are even older than Hello!'s crowd — that's wild
    In Hello!, the fans who follow so-called 'grandpa-killers' like Ishii or Fukuda are basically the average age for most 48-family groups and members
    They broke big something like ten years after Morning Musume, so why is their fanbase that much older?
    51AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:15
    Re: #36
    Ressa's fans average 60 years old, and AKB still tops that — that's impressive
    37AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:10
    Here's a tip for going to shows: if you skip whatever you personally consider the single most important show of the year, you can surprisingly get over the habit
    38AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:10
    Exactly
    No need to hit every single date on a tour either
    39AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:10
    Re: #38
    Right
    Just gradually cut back
    46AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:13
    Re: #39
    That never really ends, though
    Even if you start by telling yourself you'll just stop traveling to away shows, between tours, festivals, bus tours, and fan club events, you're never actually going to 'graduate'
    Short of flat-out skipping your favorite member's bar events Re: #39
    it's just not going to happen
    40AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:11
    It's actually the opposite: having Showa-generation fans in the crowd is exactly what makes it possible to land insurance or health-food sponsorships down the line
    You could never run that kind of ad campaign with a fanbase like iLife! or Kawalab's
    Having a different customer base from everyone else is the strength

    It's also why RESCENE, the biggest K-pop girl group right now, became the first idol act to land a deal with the convenience-store chain CU — because their fandom isn't 'women-only' (a crude slang term implying an all-female, sponsor-unfriendly fanbase)
    43AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:12
    Re: #40
    Lol
    They're not at the age where you buy insurance anymore
    they're at the age where you collect on it
    41AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:11
    If you're only going out of a sense of obligation, there's a pattern where skipping shows you really wanted to attend, a few times over, actually helps you get over it
    You realize it wasn't that you wanted to go — you just felt like you had to
    42AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:11
    The old-timers are migrating away from Juice=Juice shows to somewhere else
    47AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:14
    Checked out the Hello Pro Kenshuusei (trainee) announcement event and there were a ton of old men there
    52AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:15
    Re: #47
    Of course Hello Pro Kenshuusei events are full of old men
    it's so old-man-heavy that the vibe is actually really safe and orderly

    Background and points of contention

    Hello! Project has roughly 30 years of history since Morning Musume’s 1997 debut, and the fans who followed from day one have simply aged right along with it. Because of that, it’s well known among fans that Hello! Project’s live audience tends to skew older than other idol groups’. The thread’s central fault line came down to one question: should older fans hold back for the sake of “optics”? That drew pushback from people who saw it as excluding fans who’ve supported the group for years, set against concerns that a highly visible older crowd makes it harder for new, younger fans to stick around. There were also arguments that an older audience makes it easier to attract sponsors from industries like insurance and health foods — showing this is a more complicated issue than simple taste, with a business angle woven in too.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Old men and grannies really shouldn’t be allowed at shows anymore, right?.”