Japan Reacts

Author: Japan Reacts Editorial

  • National Stadium Turns a Profit — ¥2.25 Billion in FY2025 Sales — 5ch: ‘Cheaper Than I Expected’

    The National Stadium (now MUFG Stadium), built for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, has its management back on track. Sales for fiscal year 2025 came to ¥2.25 billion, beating the target of ¥1.7 billion. Koji Takeuchi, president of the operating company, explained that boosting the facility’s utilization rate was what drove the higher revenue, with the FY2025 utilization rate reaching 47% (171 days). On 5ch, opinions were split over whether that figure was being padded by free invitation tickets, and over how to balance the stadium’s original role as a track-and-field venue with commercial use for J.League matches, concerts, and the like.

    MUFG Stadium (National Stadium), built for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. Management of the large-scale facility, whose profitability some initially doubted, has gotten back on track. FY2025 sales came to ¥2.25 billion, clearing the ¥1.7 billion target. Koji Takeuchi (61), who became president of operator Japan National Stadium Entertainment last year, says with pride, “We raised revenue by thoroughly boosting utilization.”

    Takeuchi previously handled public relations for the Seibu Lions pro baseball team and Japan’s national baseball team “Samurai Japan,” and also has experience managing Seibu Dome and Yokohama Arena. Drawing on his perspective as both an event organizer and a venue manager, he has aimed for “optimizing the whole,” and the stadium’s FY2025 utilization rate reached 47% (171 days).

    Can it shake off its “negative legacy”? The privatized National Stadium

    Source: jiji.com / Original article here

    3AnonymousSep 26, 2026 07:52
    Aren't they just handing out free invites by the ten-thousands, even for J2 (Japan's second-tier soccer league) matches?
    4AnonymousSep 26, 2026 07:54
    Re: #3 Even with free invites, the facility usage fee still isn't waived, is it?
    13AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:10
    Re: #3 Still impressive it fills up even for second-division matches. The Hiroshima "Zombies" (a mocking nickname for a struggling local team) should hand out free tickets by the ten-thousands too — or do they already, and it's still empty?
    5AnonymousSep 26, 2026 07:55
    It's just about whether it's being used or not — with or without free invites, it still counts as utilization.
    6AnonymousSep 26, 2026 07:56
    So it's a scheme of the tax-subsidized league dumping free tickets and hijacking home games away from each team's own stadium?
    7AnonymousSep 26, 2026 07:57
    Good thing they didn't convert it into a ball-sports-only venue.
    9AnonymousSep 26, 2026 07:58
    Having the running track means it can be used for concerts too.
    10AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:05
    Re: #4 Performing here adds prestige for celebrities too, so they hand out tons of invite tickets to fill the seats.
    14AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:11
    Before it was privatized, only a handful of top-tier artists could hold concerts here, but since then even acts like Sakurazaka46 or =LOVE (idol groups) can play. You can't deny it feels like a step down — there was also that VIP-area ruckus at the Mrs. GREEN APPLE show.
    20AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:26
    That said, with a 10,000-capacity arena hosting 7 shows, most of that could just be diehard otaku (obsessive fans) going multiple times. But filling the National Stadium with 70,000 people actually takes 70,000 real fans — if there's any value here, that's it.
    40AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:49
    Re: #20 That's exactly what sponsor giveaway tickets are for.
    24AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:32
    Hosting J.League home games — of which there are only 19 all season — at the National Stadium. So much for 'community-rooted.'
    25AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:35
    Re: #24 Oh, so you're completely dismissing pro baseball's regional exhibition games? Or are you just making excuses about the match count?
    26AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:37
    Why not let the Imperial Palace joggers (people who run laps around the Imperial Palace) use it, and charge them a bit?
    38AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:48
    Re: #26 Actually, they're holding a relay marathon there today.
    47AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:09
    But without a track, you can't run trolleys or moving stages during concerts, you know. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HGtrhOIbUAEukrH.jpg
    53AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:19
    Re: #1 Added value is great and all, but please don't neglect its original purpose — actual track-and-field usage.
    56AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:20
    Re: #53 Exactly. What's even the point of calling it a track-and-field stadium then?
    59AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:41
    There's already the massive soccer-only Saitama Stadium, yet the J.League still insists on playing at the National Stadium.
    81AnonymousSep 26, 2026 11:00
    Re: #59 Can't help it — more fans show up at the track-and-field stadium.
    63AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:04
    171 days of use for ¥2.2 billion sounds cheaper than I expected. Feels like something you'd rent out for corporate sports days, but who knows.
    74AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:29
    Re: #63 Not too long ago, corporate sports days were actually the biggest users. No idea now. I'd guess the main revenue is stadium signage ads rather than usage fees.
    65AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:16
    Re: #13 The Carp (Hiroshima Toyo Carp baseball team) pull in 30,000 unless it's a weekday, so they don't need to go that far.
    77AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:40
    Re: #65 Soccer attendance counts actual people who walked in, but pro baseball counts tickets sold. Pro baseball even counts season-ticket seats with nobody sitting in them.
    66AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:21
    Soccer's the one cleaning up the mess here. They should just make it a ball-sports-only stadium eventually.
    80AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:59
    Re: #66 Even making it ball-sports-only wouldn't help — it was a crappy stadium to begin with.
    71AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:26
    They should've made it ball-sports-only from the start — no need to cater to a money-losing minor sport like track and field.
    73AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:28
    Re: #71 What's your basis for saying it'd turn a profit if it went ball-sports-only?
    72AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:28
    So being in the black means no tax money is being poured in?
    84AnonymousSep 26, 2026 11:08
    Re: #72 The naming-rights revenue is probably pretty substantial too.

    Background and points of debate

    The National Stadium was rebuilt for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and given its enormous construction cost and heavy post-Games upkeep, it’s long been dubbed a “negative legacy.” The current operator, Japan National Stadium Entertainment, is a private company that took over management from the Japan Sport Council, and has pursued a strategy of raising utilization while keeping the running track intact. In the thread, opinions clashed between those suspicious the utilization figures are inflated by free invitation tickets, and those arguing that facility fees and ad revenue still apply regardless, so it’s genuine use either way. The track’s presence also keeps alive a design debate dating back to the stadium’s construction: it preserves the venue’s original athletic purpose, but critics keep pushing for it to be converted into a dedicated ball-sports stadium.

    *This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Entertainment/Sports Breaking News+) thread “[Stadium] The National Stadium Gets Back on Track — Rising Utilization Creates New Value.”

  • Theatrical Girls’ Division’s “TIME REPEAT” Sells Out Every Single Performance

    Hello! Project’s BEYOOOOONDS-starring stage play “TIME REPEAT” (Theatrical Girls’ Division) has sold out every performance, including the fan-club presale. Perhaps as a backlash to how highly acclaimed the previous production was, reports flooded the Hello! Project board on 5ch that even general-sale tickets vanished within minutes. Opinions in the thread were split over whether the fan-club presale lottery is really fair, and whether stage plays — a medium where reserved seating should in theory make it easier for new or female fans to get in — are in practice just being filled up by the same die-hard fanbase.

    Kokumin Kyosai coop Hall / Space Zero Affiliated Performance — Theatrical Girls’ Division “TIME REPEAT”

    Source: helloproject.com / Original article here

    2AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:24
    Theatrical Girls' Division "TIME REPEAT"
    https://t.pia.jp/pia/event/event.do?eventBundleCd=b2670686
    7AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:27
    The guy who said tickets would be "easy to get," lol
    9AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:28
    Well of course — this is BEYOOOOONDS, they were averaging over 800 people a week at Stellar Ball
    12AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:31
    Thought I could snipe just one ticket solo and whiffed.
    Had no choice but to grab one through the cast presale instead.
    21AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:40
    I saw the last one so I was sure I'd go this time too, but I was way too naive.
    Guess live-viewing screenings just aren't a thing for stage plays.
    Maybe a stream, then?
    24AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:41
    Only got 2 out of 8 shows in the FC presale and wanted at least one more, but they vanished instantly.
    Could they think about venue capacity a little more?
    28AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:46
    Juice=Juice's was incredible, I went twice — the content alone was just that good.
    Everyone who saw the last one is applying again, plus all the BEYOOOOONDS fans are applying too, so of course you can't get in.
    30AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:47
    If you thought Juice=Juice's stage play was good, the others are even better (Angerme's aside).
    31AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:48
    I wonder if there'll be a stream once all the performances wrap.
    Stage plays really do need to be seen live though.
    32AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:48
    A big part of why Juice=Juice's stage play was so good was Inaba.
    33AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:48
    For BEYOOOOONDS' spy play ("Beyo Spy"), there were zero same-day tickets for any Tokyo show.
    37AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:49
    That's because last time there were tons of leftover tickets for Ocha's (a cast member's nickname) shows.
    39AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:49
    There's a suspense angle and the culprit twist keeps flip-flopping.
    Music's good too — though it'll probably be different this time around.
    41AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:49
    Well, honestly it's a rerun, though.
    The only thing I care about is whether the ending changes.
    Plus I've already got Sugiyama's big acting moments pretty much memorized.
    42AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:50
    Had a bad experience with the whole re-purchase mess during COVID and ended up quitting as an oshi.
    43AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:50
    With this cast and story, I've got a feeling this one could finally be a masterpiece on par with "Mori-Beyo."
    No wonder people have their hopes up.
    44AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:51
    Forget the ending — even all the songs in the show are getting changed.
    46AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:52
    I couldn't get tickets to save my life, I'm about to go bald over this.
    47AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:53
    Last time I went, I spotted Tsubaki Factory members in the back row.
    If it's sold out this time, other Hello! Project members won't even be able to come watch, huh?
    I wonder if they'll release the industry seats or the tech-booth seats.
    48AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:54
    Apparently the director watched the last production and it was so good they cried.
    Said it was the first time they'd ever cried watching their own work.
    49AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:54
    Applied for every performance through the FC and only won one.
    Then through general sale I managed to buy two, including the final show.
    The FC lottery odds make zero sense.
    51AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:56
    BEYOOOOONDS' regulars already pull in casual fans who otherwise never show up.
    That alone makes it brutal competition, and if Mano/Yuna's new fans and stage-play lovers pile on too…
    59AnonymousSep 26, 2026 11:02
    Re: #51
    Why would casual fans who never normally show up suddenly turn out just for a stage play?
    52AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:57
    Figured I could at least grab one ticket for a weekday show — nope, every performance sold out in 4 minutes.
    53AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:57
    The last production was the greatest Hello! Project stage play of all time.
    55AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:58
    Weekday shows come with stage greetings and send-offs, so I figured the odds would be brutal and avoided them.
    56AnonymousSep 26, 2026 11:00
    Watching the last one got me into reading time-slip novels.
    57AnonymousSep 26, 2026 11:00
    Honestly the two productions after "Mori-Beyo" were pretty mediocre, so this is probably partly a rebound from that.
    60AnonymousSep 26, 2026 11:03
    Everyone piles in because there's this sense of security that it's a sure bet.
    61AnonymousSep 26, 2026 11:06
    They've got Budokan in November, so I guess there won't be any extra performances added?
    62AnonymousSep 26, 2026 11:07
    Why aren't they doing it at Sunshine (theatre)?

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    Theatrical Girls’ Division is a stage-production project that draws performers from multiple Hello! Project groups, with the lineup changing from show to show. This time, thanks to the strong reputation of the previous production, competition was already fierce at the fan-club presale stage, and reports poured into the thread that even general-sale tickets for every performance sold out within minutes. The point of contention was whether stage plays — a medium that, with reserved seating, should in theory be more accessible to casual fans and women — are in practice just being snapped up by the same existing hardcore fanbase. Frustration was also voiced over the opaque criteria for winning the fan-club presale lottery, and the practice of dropping after-talk sessions once a show sells out, though these remain individual fan accounts rather than officially explained selection criteria.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “[BEYOOOOONDS-Starring Stage Play] Theatrical Girls’ Division “TIME REPEAT” Sells Out Every Performance.”

  • Where Can You Get Real Mapo Tofu? 5ch Says: ‘Go to Chen Mapo Tofu’

    The thread kicked off with a post saying, “I want to eat real mapo tofu.” The first replies pointed to Akasaka Sichuan Restaurant and to Chen Mapo Tofu (Chengdu, Sichuan Province, founded 1862), said to be the birthplace of the dish. From there the discussion branched into debates over authenticity — comments like “whether it suits Japanese tastes is a separate issue” and “the Japanese version falls flat because it leaves out Sichuan peppercorns.” Things ranged from “Marumiya’s retort-pouch mix is plenty good enough” all the way to tangents questioning whether the dish even needs to use tofu at all.

    1AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:03
    Everywhere you go, it's all fake stuff.
    2AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:04
    Why not just ask Haru-san one-on-one?
    4AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:05
    Go eat at Chen's place, then.
    I mean Akasaka Sichuan Restaurant.
    7AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:07
    I buy Chinese mapo tofu sauce mix on Amazon and make it myself.
    8AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:07
    Just go to China, settle down, and stay there for good.
    9AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:08
    There's no single right answer for mapo tofu.
    No 'real' or 'fake' about it.
    14AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:09
    Fukuoka, obviously.
    Everything you eat in Fukuoka is the best in the world.
    Fukuoka is the greatest.
    Anything eaten outside Fukuoka tastes terrible.
    15AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:10
    Just don't feed him for 4 or 5 days first, lol
    16AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:11
    Origin (1862): Invented at a small eatery near Wanfu Bridge in Chengdu, Sichuan Province
    called "Chen Xingsheng Fanpu," by Chen Liu, the wife of the shop's owner.
    18AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:14
    Even made with Marumiya's mapo tofu sauce mix, it's plenty delicious.
    20AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:15
    So is Yamaoka gonna swoop in and solve this in the end? (a nod to Yamaoka Shirō, the food critic from the manga Oishinbo)
    23AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:22
    Re: #20

    Using garlic leaves like the ones used in Sichuan brings out a distinctive flavor.
    The girl is reminded of the mapo tofu her beloved grandmother used to make, and eats it happily.
    24AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:24
    Re: #23
    Classic Yamaoka.
    But even Yamaoka's takes on ayu (sweetfish) are trash (a dig at a notorious Oishinbo storyline).
    25AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:28
    Re: #23
    I don't care if it's the "authentic" flavor or whatever,
    but isn't it a weird leap to assume that something considered delicious in China will also suit Japanese palates?
    21AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:15
    Re: #1
    Yet you'd be the first to blow up screaming, "Are you even tasting the sansho?!" (another Oishinbo callback)
    22AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:16
    Come to think of it, there's no such thing as a mapo-tofu-only specialty restaurant, huh.
    26AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:35
    Just go eat at Chen Mapo Tofu, the restaurant where it all began.
    30AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:42
    Re: #26
    Now you get it.
    27AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:36
    If you can't make it to Chen Mapo Tofu, Kaldi sells a retort-pouch version.
    28AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:38
    About the only thing you'll spot at the supermarket is garlic scapes.
    29AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:40
    You don't need garlic scapes at all.
    If you want that flavor, just add garlic powder.
    31AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:44
    Just make it yourself.
    Mapo tofu isn't that hard.
    33AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:53
    Every time I eat mapo tofu,
    I end up wondering why it has to be tofu.
    35AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:58
    Re: #33
    Deep.
    So what would you use instead?
    36AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:00
    Re: #35
    Tofu and eggplant really are both good,
    so I guess what you want is an ingredient that soaks up the flavor well.
    37AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:04
    When I make mapo tofu, I use soy meat instead of ground meat.
    39AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:46
    My daughters Jun Jun and Lin Lin had never eaten mapo tofu before they came to Japan. Guess it's not that popular a dish in China after all.
    43AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:06
    Re: #39
    These days logistics have improved so you can get the same food anywhere in Japan,
    but back in the day there were plenty of dishes here too that were only eaten in certain regions.
    With how huge China's landmass is, that's probably even more the case there.
    61AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:28
    Re: #39
    That's pretty common with dishes that originated overseas.
    63AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:42
    Re: #39
    These days it's such a nationwide staple that I'd think it's rare to find a Chinese person who doesn't know it.
    But 30 years ago in China, even traveling outside your hometown required strict screening, so most people living in rural areas only knew the narrow range of local dishes from their own region.
    41AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:58
    You can find it at genuine Chinese places run by Sichuanese cooks, but it varies wildly by shop.
    Some make you go 'what even is this?' it's so bad, others aren't that different from the Japanese version.
    If they don't tone it down for Japanese customers it's way too spicy —
    their "mildly spicy" is about equal to Japan's "medium spicy,"
    and their real "medium spicy" is about equal to Japan's "extra hot."
    44AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:07
    I ate at the original Chen Mapo Tofu restaurant in Sichuan, and it was a completely different concept of a dish from the Japanese version.
    Ever since, I've kept eating mapo tofu everywhere trying to chase that same taste, but nothing comes close.
    It had this narcotic kind of kick and deliciousness that hit straight to your brain and body.
    49AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:09
    Re: #44
    Sichuan peppercorns (huajiao) — that's the key ingredient.
    Japanese mapo tofu tends to skip them.
    46AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:08
    Doubanjiang, sweet bean sauce, Sichuan peppercorns, garlic, long green onion, tofu — the supermarket sells all of it.
    Just crank the heat way up with plenty of oil, mix it together, and stir-fry.
    51AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:12
    Kaibara Yuzan (Oishinbo's brutally strict food critic), after fasting for 4 or 5 days straight: "Man, McDonald's is delicious, lol"
    52AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:12
    Dishes considered "spicy" are, when you eat them in their home country, about three times spicier than what Japanese people imagine.
    53AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:16
    Japanese cuisine is the aesthetics of subtraction; Chinese cuisine is addition.
    58AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:22
    Re: #53
    Wow, dropping an incredibly shallow cliché without a shred of hesitation.
    54AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:18
    Re: #49
    Sichuan cuisine is exactly the mala ("numbing-spicy") technique —
    dishes built on intense Sichuan-pepper numbness and serious heat.
    55AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:18
    Sprinkle on extra Japanese sansho pepper and it'll pass for it.

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    Mapo tofu is said to have been invented in 1862 by Chen Liu, the wife of the owner of a small Chengdu eatery called “Chen Xingsheng Fanpu” — a story the thread itself brings up — and the restaurant’s name is the origin of “Chen Mapo Tofu.” The dish took off in Japan largely thanks to the spread of retort-pouch seasoning mixes like Marumiya’s, which tone the flavor down for Japanese palates by cutting back on huajiao (Sichuan peppercorns, a spice similar to Japan’s sansho) — a difference from the authentic version that came up again and again in the thread. Opinions split over whether the goal should be chasing the authentic flavor, or whether a Japanese-adapted mapo tofu should be embraced as a valid dish in its own right. Posts #29, #31, and #32 (numbered >>39 in the original thread) also raised how, historically, the dish’s popularity varied by region even within China — worth flagging, since readers might otherwise assume mapo tofu had always been known nationwide there.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “I want to eat real mapo tofu — where can I get it?.”

  • Hideki Kamiya: “Hey Microsoft… Gathering Talented People Doesn’t Automatically Make a Fun Game”

    PlatinumGames’ Hideki Kamiya sparked discussion on 5ch’s Hardware/Industry (Geha) board after saying that when it comes to Microsoft’s approach to hiring talent, “it’s not as simple as gathering talented people and expecting a fun game to come out of it.” While Microsoft has pushed forward with major acquisitions like Activision Blizzard in recent years, it has also seen a wave of Xbox studio closures and layoffs, and the thread filled up with comments weighing the validity of Kamiya’s remark by pointing to things like 343 Industries’ struggles with Halo and staff cuts at id Software. At the same time, plenty of posters pointed out that Kamiya himself never managed to finish Scalebound, casting doubt on how much weight his comment should carry.

    6AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:58
    Because of you, people are saying Kojima's gonna get cut too eventually, you know?
    7AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:58
    The moment they cut costs, Asha's objective was already achieved. What happens after that isn't their problem.
    8AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:59
    Jim Ryan◯: "Wonder why that could be~ (playing dumb)"
    Sweet Baby◯: "Beats me~ (staring into the distance)"
    9AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:59
    Embezzling Resident Evil's budget to secretly make DMC — that's just not how things work anymore.
    10AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:59
    Well yeah, there's also cases like Scalebound where they never allocated any real staff and it just ended up never getting finished.
    14AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:03
    Cygames doesn't seem to be doing great either — even their engine ended up switching to UE5.
    15AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:03
    Okamoto (Yoshiki Okamoto, veteran Capcom producer) said something similar too — gather talented people and they just end up forming factions around "this is how we did it at my old company," and nothing moves forward.
    19AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:05
    And what exactly have YOU been doing?
    51AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:39
    Re: #19
    He's making Okami 2 right now, isn't he?
    21AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:06
    A grown adult with both status and a track record shouldn't keep playing the wild maverick forever and running his mouth.
    Xbox's new CEO is way younger than this guy and doing just fine.
    50AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:37
    Re: #21
    What do you even mean by "playing the wild maverick"?
    27AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:14
    Kamiya's got his issues, but he's right on this one.
    It starts with "just poach Miyamoto and it'll all work out" thinking — and it nails exactly what's broken about Microsoft, who are still killing off titles to this day.
    55AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:48
    Re: #27
    34AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:20
    It's true, though. Take 343 Industries, the Halo studio — from the moment it was founded they scooped up veterans from studios all across the industry to focus on making the ultimate Halo, and yet in reality their management was such a mess it nearly killed the franchise for good.
    38AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:25
    Honestly, projects that gather a bunch of big names and market that as the whole selling point often end up unwatchable failures, lol — same goes for anime.
    "Too many captains steer the ship up a mountain" (a Japanese proverb: too many cooks spoil the broth)…

    Even if you made a variety show with Sanma Akashiya, Emiko Uenuma, and Ichiro Furutachi all as main MCs, it'd fail like 99% of the time.
    46AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:32
    Capcom's still handing him work up through "Dog-God 2" (a jokey mangling of Okami's name), but I wonder what happens after that.
    52AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:41
    Re: #46
    If it doesn't sell, he's out.
    If it sells, it becomes a series.
    63AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:05
    Re: #27
    The only one actually living out the "just need that one guy" thing for real is probably Sakurai (Masahiro Sakurai, Smash Bros creator).
    103AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:35
    Re: #63
    Miyazaki (Hidetaka Miyazaki, FromSoftware) seems like he could actually pull that off, though.
    65AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:07
    Re: #1
    The gaming-forum crowd is trashing him, but this take is correct.
    Spending big money to gather talented staff doesn't guarantee you get a fun game out of it.
    Happens all the time in anime too — like the Grendizer reboot, which pulled together top talent using Saudi money.
    71AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:13
    Re: #65
    We're not talking about anime here.
    68AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:09
    Re: #1
    That's exactly why you need to spend the money, idiot.
    80AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:17
    Re: #68
    But in reality, Microsoft — who's supposed to have all the money — is at the bottom of the heap.
    They sure spent plenty on the Activision Blizzard buyout, that's for sure.
    73AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:14
    Cutting talented people and pouring the money into Kojima instead is the height of incompetence.
    78AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:16
    Re: #73
    Microsoft really does love its problem properties, huh, lol.
    83AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:18
    Isn't this Microsoft reshuffle actually about tearing down walls so people can be assigned properly depending on how development is progressing?
    I took it as them trying to avoid a repeat of FF15, where the cutscene team ended up with nothing to do and just started making gourmet rice balls.
    89AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:22
    Re: #83
    Moving them from directly under Microsoft's Xbox studios to under Activision instead — feels more like they're just dumping the responsibility onto Activision, if you ask me.
    And Activision's in a rough spot too, what with COD on the decline.
    84AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:18
    The id Software layoffs, though — the studio behind the DOOM reboot — that just feels like a straight-up blunder.
    Gutting a studio that makes games that good…
    87AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:20
    Re: #84
    It becomes funding for Kojima's garbage games and Hollywood star cameos.
    90AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:22
    Xbox has nothing but duds because they can't build a relationship of trust with developers.
    92AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:24
    Re: #90
    You don't even own an Xbox, do you.
    Honestly, I think Japan's decline comes from more and more people making calls like that.
    104AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:36
    I think the philosophy that "people make games" is correct, but I also think a day will come when a tiny handful of staff lean hard on AI to churn out blockbuster titles.
    109AnonymousSep 26, 2026 10:40
    Re: #104
    AI's just a tool.
    As long as humans are the ones judging and evaluating what comes out of it, the principle that "people make games" doesn't change.

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    Microsoft has kept cutting costs even after its 2023 acquisition of Activision Blizzard, pushing ahead with the closure and consolidation of multiple Xbox studios. 343 Industries pulled in talent from across the industry to rebuild the Halo brand, but the series’ stagnation still hasn’t been resolved. The comparisons drawn in the thread stem from that backdrop. Kamiya himself ended his collaboration with Microsoft without ever finishing Scalebound, which is why the thread’s disagreement centered less on whether his statement was valid and more on “does he even have standing to say this, given his own track record.” The point that talent quality and organizational management are separate issues is one often raised within the industry — other developers, including Yoshiki Okamoto, have made similar remarks — and that’s context the article body alone doesn’t fully convey.

    ※This article is an excerpt and summary based on the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) thread “Hideki Kamiya: “Hey Microsoft… Gathering Talented People Doesn’t Automatically Make a Fun Game”.”

  • Juice=Juice New Fans Say ‘Current 11 Members Are the Best’ — Old-Guard Fans Push Back

    Hello! Project idol group Juice=Juice formed in 2013 and is now in its 13th year, but a 5ch thread split into opposing camps after a new fan posted, “I don’t know the 13-year history, but the current 11 members are definitely the best.” Critics asked how someone could call the current lineup “the best” without knowing the group’s past songs and former members. In response, some pointed to modern circumstances — like YouTube’s search function getting worse, making old footage harder to track down — while others defended the fan, saying “of course you think the moment you discovered them is the best.” Meanwhile, some longtime fans posted comments revealing more complicated feelings.

    1AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:28
    Honestly, the saddest ones are the old-timers who always say "my era was the best."
    5AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:32
    That's contradictory — don't you even watch the videos?
    You can't call the present "the best" without knowing the past.
    58AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:43
    Re: #5
    It's hard to dig up old videos these days.
    YouTube's search function has gotten worse too, making it a pain.
    6AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:33
    For an idol who's made it big, the moment they broke through counts as both day one and year one.
    8AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:34
    Knowing the songs means knowing the past.
    New fans just don't run very deep.
    11AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:35
    Re: #8
    These days you can cover that with live recordings anyway.
    And there's not much point studying up on songs they don't even perform live.
    15AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:36
    Of course you think the moment you found them is the best.
    18AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:37
    Re: #15
    Not really, no.
    22AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:37
    Re: #15
    This is actually more true the older and more old-school you get.
    They convince themselves their own glory days were the best and tend to bash the younger generation for it.
    25AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:38
    The anti-Juice energy coming from these "moremi newbies" (5ch slang for fans drawn in by a member's flattering photos/edits) is insane lolololol
    32AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:39
    Re: #25
    They're spending more money than the old-guard fans ever did, and you call them anti-fans?
    35AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:40
    Re: #25
    Just leave it to the moremi newbies and Juice will naturally enter its death phase lol
    26AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:38
    The entertainment industry is unreasonable like that.
    36AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:40
    Re: #26
    The current members kept grinding through hard times without giving up, even when they got sidelined, and ended up surpassing the original members who only got by on being pushed hard by the agency — honestly, it turned out not so bad after all.
    43AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:41
    Re: #36
    See, look —
    this is already turning into S/mileage 2nd-gen fan behavior! (a Hello! Project group whose 2nd-gen fans were notorious for looking down on the original lineup)
    33AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:39
    If you can't enjoy the whole graduation-and-new-member cycle, it'll wreck your mental health.
    41AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:41
    Re: #33
    A group where graduations and new additions become the whole point dies the instant that cycle stops.
    47AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:41
    Just disband with the current lineup already.
    53AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:42
    Re: #47
    Sure, right after they fold all the other groups that aren't making money.
    60AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:43
    Re: #53
    They are making money.
    You just assume they're not.
    48AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:42
    Same here — I'm also a moremi newbie since March this year, and I think the current 11 members are the best.
    56AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:43
    Re: #48
    Exactly.
    These self-proclaimed old-timers keep pushing old videos on us, but honestly the old stuff wasn't even that good.
    50AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:42
    Re: #43
    The early S/mileage lineup is actually a dark chapter — not a single one of them got invited to the Hello! Project 25th anniversary Yoyogi concert.
    80AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:46
    Re: #50
    Called it!
    Just like the 2nd-gen fans who love to lord it over the original S/mileage lineup!!
    54AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:42
    Isn't more than half the crowd at Juice shows made up of new fans now?
    As an old-timer, it's a little sad.
    64AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:44
    Re: #54
    Longtime "always-there" fans don't buy merch, so they're prioritizing new fans and locals instead.
    That's exactly why merch sold like crazy in Hiroshima and Kyoto, just as planned.
    67AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:44
    Don't call yourself a Juice fan if you don't even know the original members.
    Go do your homework.
    71AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:45
    Re: #67
    You're being persistent about this.
    If the present is good, the past doesn't matter.
    82AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:47
    Re: #67
    Per Re: #6, isn't the original-lineup era basically just a prologue anyway?
    Even for M!LK, hardly anyone knows about the original members who quit before the group made it big.
    110AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:50
    This is the downside of going viral.
    Because it blew up out of nowhere, bandwagon fans came flooding in, and once they took over,
    the history, traditions, and sense of belonging the old-guard fans cherished got mercilessly destroyed.
    114AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:51
    Re: #110
    Seeing stuff like this makes me think, "just let it all get destroyed already."
    118AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:52
    Re: #110
    It's not good for old-guard fans to throw their weight around too much either.
    If you don't welcome new fans in moderation, the fanbase just turns into a dying rural village and speeds toward the content's end.
    Balance is what matters.
    126AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:53
    Re: #110
    Part of me wants to say who needs an unsuccessful history or old-guard fans anyway —
    but the agency doesn't have much power left these days, so without dedicated fans picking up the slack in various ways, things are probably going to fall apart.

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    Juice=Juice is a female idol group formed under Hello! Project in 2013, making this its 13th year since debut. Many of the original members graduated early on, and the names mentioned in the thread — Miyamoto Karin, Kanazawa Tomoko, Uemura Akari, and Inaba Manaka — are among the past core members who went on to carry the group afterward. Whether you can call the present lineup “the best” without knowing the group’s history is a debate that keeps resurfacing among idol fans, with new fans citing practical obstacles to tracking down old footage (such as changes to YouTube’s search function) while longtime fans insist fans should study up on the songs and history. The latter half of the thread also touches on the sales of region-limited merchandise and older fans drifting away from live shows, suggesting that behind the generational clash lies not just an emotional divide but also unease over the commercial shifts that come with a changing fanbase.

    ※This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “New moremi fan: “The 13-year history? Don’t know it, but the current 11-member Juice=Juice is definitely the best! Nobody should ever graduate” ← this.”

  • Runo Toyokaze: ‘Miss Our Live and You’ve Lost as Much as Someone Who Never Watched VIVANT’

    Runo Toyokaze of Hello! Project’s Tsubaki Factory made a remark during a program exchange — ‘Missing our live is a loss for your life, a loss on the level of not watching VIVANT’ — that was picked up in a 5ch livestream-comment thread. Her offbeat comparison to TBS’s hit drama VIVANT reportedly got the other members laughing. The remark sparked a back-and-forth among Hello! Project fans in the thread over who had and hadn’t actually watched VIVANT, and the discussion spread to cover the differing blog update frequencies of Misaki Ebata and Toyokaze as well.

    1AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:06
    Kawanishi: You'd be missing out if you don't come (to Tsubaki's live), right? How big a loss, in terms of your whole life?
    Toyokaze: As big a loss as not watching VIVANT.
    Nishimura: lol
    2AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:06
    Runo-chan, you're such a perfectionist, Runo-chan
    3AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:08
    So she's saying it's got as much appeal as the hottest entertainment in Japan right now, huh
    7AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:11
    Runo Toyokaze's September blog updates: 2
    Misaki Ebata's September blog updates: 23
    11AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:13
    Re: #7
    This one's more interesting.
    17AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:16
    Re: #7
    Guess Tsubaki Factory's pretty busy.
    62AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:56
    Re: #7
    Eba used to update almost every day before "Moremi" (fan term, exact meaning unclear), but her posting frequency has dropped since.
    9AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:11
    Catching a glimpse of Tsubaki Factory at Hello! Project concerts is about the right amount for me
    12AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:14
    Are you already tired of Evangelion?
    13AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:14
    Planning to go to my first Tsubaki Factory solo concert, but whether I keep it up feels like it'll depend on the Tsubaki fans sitting near me
    14AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:15
    Ebata updates a lot, but the content's pretty thin — though that goes for everyone in Juice=Juice
    20AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:17
    Mikado: 'So? Who do you like now?'
    Former Fujimoto fan: 'Um, a girl named Runo Toyokaze…'
    Mikado: 'From Tsubaki Factory… See? This is exactly how I keep losing fans.'

    There was an exchange like that on TV once.
    Maybe she's cleverly using it to plug VIVANT.
    21AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:18
    Haven't watched VIVANT so I don't get it — my funny-sensor isn't picking anything up
    24AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:22
    Runo doesn't post much on her own blog, but she does read the other members'
    25AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:23
    Not keeping up with what's trending kind of makes you a lesser person, doesn't it
    26AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:24
    She's probably waking sleeping members up Nogizaka46-style — like 'Heyyyy, Onoda!!'
    28AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:25
    Blogs are just promo announcements, so of course Tsubaki posts less and Juice posts more
    31AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:32
    Re: #28
    Ah…
    That makes sense.
    29AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:26
    So that's about the level where it's fine to just skip it, huh
    30AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:28
    Once you can predict just how many Hello! Project fans haven't watched VIVANT, you'll start selling
    34AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:34
    Re: #30
    They really have zero self-awareness that their own fans are the outcasts of mainstream society
    33AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:33
    Even Doigo (fan/member nickname, exact reference unclear) is into this drama — it's probably some throwaway, 100-yen-manga-tier story anyway
    35AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:34
    Never seen VIVANT, no interest in watching it either
    37AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:36
    Mainstream pop culture is made for people with about an IQ of 85
    38AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:39
    If a live show is only as big a deal as missing one episode of a drama, then sure, it's fine to skip it — but I guess if you live inside such a narrow set of values, you just don't get that logic
    39AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:40
    Never watched Vivant — can't be bothered watching some Masaaki Sakai drama
    40AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:40
    I think you should just watch it instead of playing tough guy about it. You don't have to blindly obsess over it, just know what it's about — why get so stubborn over it lol
    42AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:44
    Not really into that whole vibe, so I haven't watched it — oh, I mean VIVANT
    43AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:44
    I recommend VIVANT — if you're a Hello! Project fan, there's a good chance it'll hit home for you. After all, you guys are supposedly great at actively picking out quality content that suits you. If you can't even get on board with a hit drama this good once in a while, your brain's just going to rot
    44AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:44
    There's plenty of other interesting stuff out there, though
    46AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:45
    With everyone going on and on about Vivant, I've decided I refuse to watch it out of pure spite — not that I wanted to anyway
    48AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:46
    I watched up through 'Until the Thong Dries' but it fizzled out and wasn't much to write home about
    49AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:48
    The dramas and anime that get popular among Tsubaki Factory fans are always weird picks
    55AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:50
    Like 80% of Japanese people haven't even watched Vivant, you know
    57AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:51
    Wait, 20% actually watched it? lol That's a massive hit drama then
    59AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:53
    That one you can skip, but Toyokaze-chan is someone I want to watch closely, every last detail
    60AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:54
    I'm interested in Vivant but just haven't gotten around to watching it

    Background and Points of Discussion

    VIVANT was a 2023 TBS Sunday Drama series set against an espionage-thriller backdrop in Mongolia, and it became a major talking point at the time, known for reaching even viewers who don’t normally watch TV dramas. Among Hello! Project fans, it’s a familiar pattern for whether someone has kept up with a mainstream hit like this to be treated as a yardstick for having ‘normal’ sensibilities, and in this thread too, opinions split over who had and hadn’t watched VIVANT. Toyokaze’s remark itself was a joking line meant to encourage fans to come to the live show, but the thread strayed from that point into harsher takes like ‘living without keeping up with trends means having a narrow worldview,’ highlighting a gap between fan culture and everyday mainstream media consumption.

    *This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “[Great News] Runo Toyokaze: ‘Missing Tsubaki’s live is a loss for your life — and how big a loss, you ask? As big as not watching VIVANT.’“

  • Man City Found Guilty of Financial Fair Play Breaches — Premier League Expulsion Possible in Worst Case

    The Premier League’s Independent Commission has ruled Manchester City “guilty” on 114 of the 115 charges of financial rule breaches brought against the club. The charges include allegations that City failed to disclose the full amount of payments made to managers and players, among other things, and in the worst case the club could even be expelled from the league. On the forum, skepticism — “this has been said for over ten years, so the actual punishment will probably be light” — clashed with predictions that “this time it’ll really be a relegation-level punishment for breaking the salary cap,” while the 2020 precedent, when UEFA’s sanctions against City were overturned by CAS, also became a point of debate.

    England’s Premier League Independent Commission has ruled that Manchester City broke the league’s financial rules. Going forward, the club could face expulsion from the league in the worst-case scenario.

    Manchester City was charged with 115 breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules, including failing to fully disclose payments made to managers and players, and had been under investigation by the league’s Independent Commission.

    According to the sports news site The Athletic, the Commission found City guilty on 114 of the 115 charges.

    Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Read the original article here

    2AnonymousSep 26, 2026 07:39
    This has been said forever.
    When are they actually going to face judgment?
    8AnonymousSep 26, 2026 07:43
    If they're found guilty on all this, they might as well strip Man City of every club title — and the players' individual titles too — from this whole period.
    11AnonymousSep 26, 2026 07:44
    Not this again.
    Somehow some mysterious force always kicks in and they get off scot-free every single time.
    This one's gonna get swept under the rug too, just watch.
    12AnonymousSep 26, 2026 07:44
    Don't care.
    Japanese fans have zero interest in this.
    14AnonymousSep 26, 2026 07:47
    Back in 2020, UEFA hit City with a ban over a different financial violation, but they lawyered up with a dream team and got it overturned at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Think they can pull off the same trick this time?
    19AnonymousSep 26, 2026 07:51
    Re: #14
    Easy.
    They can bend it however they like — just like how the J.League (mockingly called the "tax league," since so many of its stadiums run on public money) fudges its own stadium criteria.
    43AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:15
    Re: #14
    That case only got thrown out because the evidence was obtained improperly and ruled inadmissible — the evidence itself still showed City's wrongdoing.
    15AnonymousSep 26, 2026 07:47
    So what was the one charge they actually got cleared of, huh?
    16AnonymousSep 26, 2026 07:48
    Is this gonna turn into an Armstrong situation? (the cyclist stripped of his Tour de France titles years after winning them)
    17AnonymousSep 26, 2026 07:49
    Where's Haaland gonna end up?
    He's on a long-term contract, isn't he?
    18AnonymousSep 26, 2026 07:51
    Does this affect the women's team too?
    20AnonymousSep 26, 2026 07:53
    From here it'll be appeal after appeal, and the final ruling probably won't land for another five years.
    21AnonymousSep 26, 2026 07:54
    If you rotate the C 180 degrees…
    66AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:33
    Re: #21
    Took me a second, lol.
    Oh — you mean it ends up looking like a rounded version of the katakana "コ" (´ ・ω・｀)
    80AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:42
    Re: #66
    👌 So, like this?
    22AnonymousSep 26, 2026 07:54
    A points deduction just light enough that they'd barely stay up even with one more loss to spare.
    23AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:00
    According to a Deloitte survey, Premier League clubs' pre-tax losses jumped 600%, reaching £948 million.


    https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jul/08/premier-league-clubs-pre-tax-losses-2024-25-deloitte-annual-review-football-finance
    The financial services firm expects revenue to flatten out over the next few years, and in some cases decline, with Bridge warning that simply adding more matches to an already packed schedule won't be a solution.

    Premier League clubs are bracing for a major drop in commercial revenue. Ahead of the 2026-27 season, when gambling companies pull out of shirt-front sponsorships, losses are estimated at £80 million ($107.5 million).
    This decline follows a voluntary agreement reached between the clubs and the UK government in 2023 to remove gambling-related branding from the chest area of shirts, set to take effect by the end of this season.
    https://www.yogonet.com/ja/%E7%B1%B3%E5%9B%BD%E5%A4%96%E3%81%AE%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8C%E5%90%84%E5%9B%BD/%E3%83%8B%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B9-a/2026/04/08/%E3%83%97%E3%83%AC%E3%83%9F%E3%82%A2%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B0%E3%81%AF%E3%82%AE%E3%83%A3%E3%83%B3%E3%83%96%E3%83%AB%E6%92%A4%E9%80%80%E3%81%AB%E3%82%88%E3%82%8A118461%E4%B8%87%E3%83%9D%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89%E3%81%AE%E6%90%8D%E5%A4%B1%E3%81%AB%E7%9B%B4%E9%9D%A2%E3%80%8180-202627%E3%82%B7%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BA%E3%83%B3%E3%82%92%E5%89%8D%E3%81%AB%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A3%E3%83%84%E5%A5%91%E7%B4%84%E3%81%8C%E5%89%8A%E6%B8%9B%E3%81%95%E3%82%8C%E3%82%8B

    The Premier League is finished
    Online casino sponsors are getting blocked, revenue's dropping
    Everyone's deep in the red, even Man United's carrying about 200 billion yen in debt
    29AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:05
    Re: #23
    Some Arab oil company will probably just buy them out.
    64AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:31
    Re: #29
    Saudi Arabia isn't pouring money into sports like it used to — they've got a war on their hands and other priorities now. They're even selling off their domestic football league to private buyers bit by bit.
    And just the other day a pipeline on the Red Sea route got blown up, so they're pretty rattled too.
    26AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:02
    In the end nothing's really gonna happen.
    Look at Barcelona, they're still cruising along just fine.
    27AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:02
    Good news for the relegation-zone teams — one spot in the drop zone just got filled.
    28AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:04
    This has been said for over ten years now and they've never actually gotten a real punishment.
    36AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:09
    What happens to Guardiola's legacy, then?
    Does he get knocked off his pedestal as one of the greatest managers ever?
    50AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:21
    Re: #36
    Bayern and Barcelona alone are already enough to call him one of the greatest ever.
    89AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:57
    Re: #36
    ・Bayern
    ・A Barcelona side with Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta
    ・A City side cheating with oil money and rule violations

    When you think about it that way, seems like pretty much anyone could've won titles there — not just Pep.
    49AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:21
    Wasn't it some Russian oil tycoon?
    52AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:24
    Re: #49
    That's Abramovich, the former Chelsea owner, you're thinking of.
    City is owned by the royal family of Abu Dhabi.
    67AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:33
    They'll drag this through the courts and fight it tooth and nail again, so it'll probably max out around a 20-point deduction.
    It's not match-fixing, so a punishment severe enough to actually relegate them isn't realistic.
    72AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:36
    Re: #67
    This is basically a salary-cap breach, so relegation is a very realistic outcome.
    If anything, it's a bigger deal than match-fixing.
    74AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:37
    Re: #67
    A record-breaking fine plus a points deduction just small enough to keep them out of the second division — that's the realistic outcome.
    71AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:35
    Announcing this after the season's already underway is pretty malicious, isn't it?
    There's a limit to how much you can harass a club.
    That's not fair.
    73AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:37
    Re: #71
    Look who's talking — this club's been pulling shady stuff for years.
    79AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:39
    Re: #71
    It was the club that kept dodging the investigation and dragging things out.
    If they'd actually cooperated, this would've been settled two years ago.

    Seriously a dirty club.
    77AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:38
    Juventus is on a whole different level — that was match-fixing and bribing referees.
    Serie A's finished if they don't get relegated for that.
    85AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:51
    Re: #77
    Wait, Juventus did it again?
    How is that club not disbanded by now, they're worse than the mafia.
    78AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:38
    Liverpool and Arsenal are amazing for winning the title race against a club that was cheating.
    90AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:58
    Re: #78
    Arsenal's been a big-spending club themselves ever since Kroenke took over.

    Background and Key Points of This Debate

    This case centers on the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR), and the 115 charges cover a wide range of allegations, including failing to fully disclose payments made to managers and players. Where opinions on the forum split was over whether this time will finally bring a substantive punishment — many voiced skepticism, pointing to the 2020 precedent in which UEFA’s ban on City from European competition was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). It’s worth noting, though — a point that’s easy to miss — that the CAS ruling didn’t declare City “innocent”; it overturned the ban on procedural grounds, because the evidence had been obtained improperly and couldn’t be admitted. Also, this is still only the first-stage ruling from the Independent Commission — the actual sentence (a points deduction or fine, or in the worst case relegation or expulsion) will be decided in further proceedings. This case is often confused with Juventus’s match-fixing scandal, but this is a financial rules violation — a different kind of case entirely.

    *This article is an excerpt and summary of a 5ch (Geisokuho+) thread, “[Football] Man City could be expelled from the Premier League in the worst case — ruled guilty of financial rule violations.”

  • Married Father of Two: “Too Many Singles on 5ch’s NanJ Board” — Users Fire Back: “You Just Don’t Talk About Your Wife”

    On September 26, 2026, a poster claiming to be a married father with kids started a thread on 5ch’s “NanJ” board (a general live-commentary/chat board) declaring “there are too many singles here.” It began as an innocent musing — “I don’t get why people don’t get married” — but quickly drew pushback: “You just don’t talk about your wife and kids, so you look single, that’s all.” With no real way to verify which group actually outnumbers the other, the thread spiraled into a pointless back-and-forth. The conversation eventually drifted into bragging about kids’ ages, extracurricular activities, and who does more childcare, before finally collapsing into a fruitless standoff demanding “post a photo from swimming lessons.”

    1AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:25
    I've been lurking here since I was a middle schooler 20 years ago, and I still don't get why people don't get married.
    8AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:29
    You just don't talk about your wife and kids, so you look single, that's all.
    9AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:29
    Re: #8
    Well, that's fine then.
    10AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:29
    Funny that a guy who talks this much trash about people actually managed to get married.
    11AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:30
    Re: #10
    So everyone who talks trash is single, like you? Lol
    You're being way too hard on singles.
    12AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:30
    We're separated, and we've decided not to have kids.
    15AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:31
    Re: #12
    Sounds like that's headed for an unhappy ending.
    19AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:38
    Poor kid, having a parent glued to NanJ first thing on a Saturday morning.
    20AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:40
    Re: #19
    You don't have kids, so you get to do whatever you want, huh? Lol
    21AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:41
    Lol, a single guy mocking singles.
    – The ones talking trash are single. Married people don't talk trash.
    – It's totally fine for singles to be glued to social media first thing in the morning.
    23AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:45
    Re: #21
    So does that mean OP, who's been trash-talking nonstop, is single?
    27AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:48
    Re: #26
    8 and 4.
    29AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:50
    Re: #27
    What are they up to right now?
    30AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:50
    Re: #27
    What lessons are you having them take?
    31AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:51
    Re: #29
    Finished eating, then off to swimming lessons.
    33AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:53
    Re: #31
    They go alone?
    41AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:57
    We're in an era where getting married is the minority choice now, you know?
    43AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:57
    Re: #41
    90% of the people around me are married with kids, though.
    45AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:57
    I'm a married dad too!
    Had work today, but I still changed the baby's diaper, fed them baby food, got them dressed, cleaned the bathtub, and folded the laundry before handing off to my wife.

    Pretty sure I'm an elite dad even by NanJ standards.
    47AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:58
    Re: #45
    I did the same as you until my kid was about 3.
    Took 6 months of paternity leave too, and switched to shortened flex hours after that.
    49AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:00
    Re: #47
    Nice work.
    Your wife must be really grateful, then?

    Mine told me that because I help out with childcare, the postpartum period actually ended up tougher than she expected — but the way things are going, she might consider a second one. ☺
    51AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:00
    Re: #49
    My wife works full-time too, so it was just taken for granted that I'd pitch in. If anything, I got scolded that since she's the one who gave birth, I as the husband should be committing even more to childcare.
    59AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:07
    Re: #49
    Lol, "ended up tougher" — not easier.
    57AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:05
    I'm married myself, but a married guy wouldn't bother making a thread like this just to stir things up.
    Sounds like someone with a serious complex about something.
    58AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:06
    Re: #57
    Well, it's been his routine for 20 years now.
    61AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:10
    Re: #58
    Lol, "routine."
    Given he's getting scolded by his wife, this reeks of a marriage that came out of desperate konkatsu (organized spouse-hunting).
    68AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:14
    Re: #58
    A self-proclaimed married guy who's been trolling singles for 20 straight years might want to rethink his life choices.
    67AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:14
    It's raining nationwide, and you're… washing your car? Lol
    69AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:14
    Re: #67
    Rainy days are actually better for washing your car — you can skip the wiping/drying step. Didn't you know that?
    81AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:17
    Re: #67
    If anything, it's the perfect chance to wash your car.
    87AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:18
    Re: #67
    Re: #81
    You probably don't even own a car, lol
    83AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:17
    Re: #76
    Do you go to the same swimming school? Post a photo to prove it.
    89AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:19
    Re: #83
    Sure, once you post first.
    Or even a photo of your imaginary Alphard key will do, lol (Alphard: a Toyota luxury minivan — implying he doesn't actually own one)
    92AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:19
    Re: #89
    Since you're the one who proposed it, common courtesy says you post first, right? Hurry up.
    93AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:20
    Re: #92
    Lol, dodging the question wwww
    Bet he doesn't even have a car.
    Or if he does, it's probably a kei car, lol (kei car: Japan's smallest compact vehicle class)
    103AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:23
    Re: #93
    Still not up? What's taking so long? A swimming-lesson photo should be quick to post.
    95AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:20
    Re: #93
    Don't run away.
    Post it.
    102AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:23
    Re: #95
    Here ya go.
    Waiting on you, Mr. Aging Single, lol
    109AnonymousSep 26, 2026 09:25
    Re: #102
    All I asked was for a swimming-lesson photo.
    Don't post a picture of your dirty shoes.

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    “NanJ” is one of 5ch’s anonymous boards where live-commentary and casual chat mix together, and one of its recurring features is periodic “one-upmanship battles” over married-versus-single status. This thread followed the same pattern: it started from a subjective impression that the board “feels” like it has a lot of singles, then drifted into personal attacks over appearance, car models, and whether posters have kids. It’s worth stressing that this isn’t based on any actual data — it’s simply an exchange within a single thread. Even within the thread itself, some pointed out that “you just don’t talk about your wife and kids, so you look single,” and the counterargument that visible posting habits don’t necessarily match actual marriage rates remains persistent. What readers can easily misread is that this kind of board-based “gut feeling” doesn’t reflect real-world statistics — aside from the childcare-bragging exchanges, there’s no statistical backing for this topic whatsoever.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (NanJ) thread “I’m married with kids, but doesn’t this board have too many singles?“

  • Nadeshiko Japan Reaches Final Four with 4-0 Rout of Philippines, but 5ch Reacts to Crowd of Just 1,084: ‘That’s Just Bullying’

    On September 25, Nadeshiko Japan (the Japan women’s national team) cruised to a 4-0 win over the Philippines in the quarterfinals of the Asian Games women’s soccer tournament, advancing to the final four. The team went undefeated through the group stage with a perfect 3-0 record, scoring 20 goals and conceding none — but at the match venue, Ecopa Stadium (capacity 50,889), the announced attendance was a mere 1,084, and on 5ch the sparse turnout became the main talking point rather than the win itself. Users compared the draw against the men’s national team’s box-office pull, debated the competitive level of women’s soccer and venue choices, and looked ahead to the semifinal matchup against South Korea.

    Next up in the semifinals: South Korea

    On September 25, the Japan women’s national team, led by manager Norihisa Kano, faced the Philippines women’s national team at Ecopa Stadium in Shizuoka Prefecture in the Asian Games quarterfinals (the first round of the knockout stage).

    Nadeshiko Japan, who went undefeated through the group stage with 20 goals scored and none conceded, opened the scoring just two minutes in. Yuho Shiokoshi’s corner kick was met by Yuki Seno’s header, and Saori Takarada pounced on the rebound to find the back of the net.

    Source: soccerdigestweb.com / Original article here

    4AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:04
    Don't even bring up the attendance numbers lmaooo
    21AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:19
    Re: #4
    When the broadcast zoomed in on the big screen showing '1,084' in the stadium, I thought, 'TBS is straight up bullying them at this point.'
    5AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:04
    It's probably just Japan that takes women's soccer seriously anyway.
    6AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:05
    Men's team = Nogizaka46
    Women's team = Boku ga Mitakatta Aozora

    That's the kind of popularity gap we're talking about (comparing a top-tier idol group to a much smaller sister group).
    7AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:05
    The only players I even know are Tanigawa and Hasegawa, and they're not even on the squad…
    8AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:06
    Honestly boring.
    The New Year's high school soccer tournament has more energy.
    Watching this slow, powerless soccer feels like watching everything at 0.5x speed.
    But I doubt this problem is limited to soccer.
    10AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:07
    Honestly the level is too low to watch.
    Playing on the same size pitch as the men just doesn't work.
    11AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:08
    It was so empty it looked like only the players' families had shown up.
    12AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:10
    Next up is South Korea, and the intensity is on a totally different level from the games so far, so they might struggle.
    19AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:17
    Re: #12
    A semifinal 'sister derby,' huh… *sniffle* ("pien" is cutesy internet slang for a whiny, teary reaction)
    13AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:10
    There weren't even 1,000 people there.
    They inflated the number.
    14AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:11
    It'd be more fun if they used a pitch two-thirds the size.
    15AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:15
    Back in the day, women's games used to be the curtain-raiser before the men's, like at what's now the E-1 Championship —
    you got to watch two matches, which felt like a good deal.
    18AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:16
    Ecopa Stadium — capacity: 50,889
    25AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:22
    There's no need to hold it around Aichi anymore.
    Nishigaoka [a smaller Tokyo stadium] would do just fine.
    26AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:23
    Is 'onee-chan' calling in the 'Keishi Yujin Pair'-chan? (reference unclear)
    27AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:24
    You can hear the manager barking out instructions so clearly~ ♪ (a jab at how empty and quiet the stadium was)
    28AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:26
    The WE League Cup is going on too,
    so there's no time left to go watch the national team.
    29AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:26
    If they're playing in Shizuoka, do it at Jubilo's or Shimizu S-Pulse's stadium.
    Ecopa's way too big for an unpopular Nadeshiko team.
    30AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:26
    The women's team won the World Cup so easily that it sapped the fans' motivation to keep cheering.
    If that's what led to the sorry state we're in now,
    then in a way it's actually a blessing that the men keep endlessly stumbling over the Round-of-8 wall and the 'first knockout match' wall.
    35AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:31
    Re: #30
    Motivation might be part of it, but honestly, once people actually watched seriously, it became clear the games are just boring — a strictly inferior version of the men's game, so people just end up thinking 'I'll watch the men instead.'
    38AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:32
    Re: #30
    Women's soccer is a different animal now compared to back then, since Europe's top men's-soccer powerhouses have only recently started investing seriously in it.
    31AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:30
    Re: #1
    Still drew more fans than a baseball game, though.
    42AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:35
    Fewer viewers than some random YouTuber's livestream, apparently…
    52AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:43
    Re: #42
    Don't compare it to YouTube's concurrent-viewer count — anyone can watch that for free, whether at home or out and about.

    If we're talking free live streams, no YouTuber in Japan tops soccer's peak of 10 million concurrent viewers: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/expert/articles/5604baed1502919d7e39a541023b1ce415f13647
    46AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:39
    Even this number probably got padded.
    55AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:45
    Re: #46
    The Asian Games organizers have no reason to fake the attendance for a one-off event with no next edition —
    faking it would be all risk, no reward.
    54AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:45
    Why does women's soccer use the same rules/pitch size as the men's game?
    Basketball and volleyball both have women's-specific standards.
    66AnonymousSep 26, 2026 08:52
    Re: #54
    Half the match length would be plenty.
    Right now it's clearly beyond their capacity, and it's just boring.
    Even elementary school boys could probably put on a faster-paced game.

    Background and Key Points of the Discussion

    Ecopa Stadium has a capacity of 50,889 — nearly 50 times the actual attendance of 1,084. The thread split between those who saw the gap as evidence of “women’s soccer’s inherent lack of popularity” and those who argued it was simply “a case of the venue being far too large for the occasion.” The comparison some raised — the roughly 20,000 fans who turn out for the men’s U-21 team — may not be a fair one, since the tournaments differ in positioning and conditions. Nadeshiko Japan did see a temporary spike in attention after winning the 2011 World Cup, but attendance at national team matches tends to fluctuate depending on the opponent and how the tournament is positioned. It would be premature to judge the popularity of women’s soccer as a whole from this single figure of 1,084; the turnout and conditions across the tournament as a whole need to be considered too.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread “[Soccer] Nadeshiko Japan cruises into the final four en route to a three-peat! Group stage: 20 goals scored, 0 conceded → beats Philippines 4-0! Crowd: 1,084.”

  • New BanG Dream! Game Tops 1 Million Pre-Registrations, but Launch Flops: #8 in Downloads, #39 in Sales

    A new BanG Dream! smartphone game launched service on September 25, and despite touting more than 1 million pre-registrations, it stumbled out of the gate — sparking discussion on 5channel’s Love Live! board. It only managed #8 on the App Store free ranking and #39 on the sales (revenue) ranking, failing to beat “Touken Ranbu Puzzle de Giri,” which launched the same day. On the thread, some defended the game, arguing the server errors and maintenance right after launch were simply what dragged the numbers down, while others took a harsher view: that an IP only propped up by popularity in China just doesn’t work in Japan. Complaints also flared up over the gap between the free and paid gacha-stone exchange rates.

    1AnonymousSep 25, 2026 10:28
    Sales ranking looks straight-up pathetic
    2AnonymousSep 25, 2026 10:30
    Service launched last night, and it was barely connectable — of course it's gonna look like that
    3AnonymousSep 25, 2026 10:30
    Yeah, but even so…
    Hololive's game (fans call it "Horodori," playing off "BanDori") did way better
    47AnonymousSep 25, 2026 17:57
    BanDori had CyberAgent involved, so they were doing self-purchasing (buying up their own gacha to prop up the ranking)
    Do the same thing without self-purchasing and the sales ranking just won't climb
    Re: #3 Horodori has CyberAgent involved too, that's why its sales ranking is high
    Pretty obvious once you see it, right?
    4AnonymousSep 25, 2026 10:55
    If Horodori also launched at night, sure, but if it didn't, comparing the two is meaningless
    5AnonymousSep 25, 2026 10:59
    The fate of an IP that mistook a fleeting internet meme for real popularity
    7AnonymousSep 25, 2026 11:01
    It's an IP that got propped back up by popularity in China, so this is about what you'd expect in Japan
    10AnonymousSep 25, 2026 11:36
    Everything about it runs heavy no matter what you do, kills all motivation to play
    11AnonymousSep 25, 2026 11:40
    Re: #1
    Launched at 8pm yesterday, then it was an error-fest until about 3am today, followed by maintenance until about 5am
    How exactly is the sales ranking supposed to grow in that situation?
    12AnonymousSep 25, 2026 11:45
    Yesterday they ran a livestream around the same time as what people mockingly call "Ikizura-Live" (a jab at Love Live!, punning on "a Live that's hard to live through"), but the concurrent viewer count was pathetic
    I already had a feeling this thing might flop
    13AnonymousSep 25, 2026 11:49
    Those fans deify "MyMujica" (the MyGO!!!!! x Ave Mujica fandom) way too much
    14AnonymousSep 25, 2026 11:52
    Surely it won't rack up a massive 30-billion-yen loss though
    15AnonymousSep 25, 2026 12:14
    Huh? It's already broken 1 million pre-registrations, you know?
    That means a million people are gonna spend money
    Scared?
    20AnonymousSep 25, 2026 12:23
    Re: #15
    Even worse than the sales ranking is that with that many pre-registrations, it's currently sitting at #8 on the App Store free download ranking
    For a mobile game with even a bit of name recognition, taking #1 should be automatic — but it's not even #2. In fact, the current #1 is "Touken Ranbu Puzzle de Giri," from Our Notes, which launched the same day
    19AnonymousSep 25, 2026 12:19
    They killed off School Idol Festival for this sorry showing?
    23AnonymousSep 25, 2026 12:48
    Re: #19
    Wasn't it a first-anniversary celebration immediately followed by the shutdown announcement?
    Bushiroad really is the worst
    28AnonymousSep 25, 2026 13:00
    Re: #23
    School Idol Festival 2 died before even reaching its first anniversary (funeral held 3/31), and "School Idol Festival Day" — which they specifically created for April 15, the release date shared by both games — was never once properly celebrated before it vanished
    86AnonymousSep 26, 2026 07:32
    Re: #23
    It hadn't even been a year, you know…
    22AnonymousSep 25, 2026 12:46
    Honestly, "Maigo" (MyGO!!!!!, punning on "lost child") is the only thing that ever caught on — everything else is trash
    26AnonymousSep 25, 2026 12:53
    Re: #22
    The MyGO compilation movie two years ago was so empty it dropped out of the top 25 by its third day (a Sunday) — even back then I found the whole "MyGO was a hit" narrative dubious
    They've got a new Ave Mujica movie coming next month, and it'll almost certainly be just as empty
    41AnonymousSep 25, 2026 17:01
    The pickup banners are only for Maigo (MyGO!!!!!) and Mujica characters too
    Isn't giving every character an SSR right at launch just standard practice? (boomerang straight back at School Idol Festival ALL STARS lol)
    43AnonymousSep 25, 2026 17:14
    Re: #41
    Don't trash-talk Link! Like! Love Live! — it gave every character an SSR and still turned Megu-chan-senpai into garbage
    49AnonymousSep 25, 2026 18:29
    They're repeating the same mistake as keeping School Idol Festival ALL STARS alive while also putting out School Idol Festival 2
    50AnonymousSep 25, 2026 18:34
    Re: #49
    Ah, that's what you meant…
    62AnonymousSep 25, 2026 21:59
    Poor Ui-sama, getting talked about this badly
    68AnonymousSep 25, 2026 23:13
    Honestly, when it comes to relying on China, Girls Band Cry has it worse than BanDori
    70AnonymousSep 25, 2026 23:29
    The new band's popular, huh
    71AnonymousSep 25, 2026 23:39
    #39, huh

    ＼(^o^)／ (throwing its hands up)
    74AnonymousSep 25, 2026 23:58
    Re: #71
    They handed out SSR selector tickets and stuff, so the real sales are still to come
    81AnonymousSep 26, 2026 01:03
    Re: #74
    Too late already
    With an opening like this, people get spooked about a shutdown and go cold on spending
    72AnonymousSep 25, 2026 23:56
    Yomogi x Saki are so cute, I'm telling you, Yomogi x Saki












    73AnonymousSep 25, 2026 23:58
    After all that trash-talking, this is the disgraceful result lol
    Why are they even storming into the Love Live! board in the first place
    85AnonymousSep 26, 2026 04:14
    Re: #73
    Because affiliate-blog leeches and conflict-baiters have taken up residence here
    82AnonymousSep 26, 2026 01:50

    Free stones… one gacha pull costs "200P"
    Paid stones… one gacha pull costs "2000P"

    Background and key points of this topic

    Sales rankings (revenue rankings) swing heavily based on first-day spending, so a string of server outages and maintenance right after launch tends to produce unflattering numbers. Pre-registration counts, on the other hand, are just a free sign-up metric — they don’t guarantee actual spending or long-term retention. Opinions on the thread split between “this is an IP only being kept alive by its popularity in China” and “it’s just being unfairly judged because of the glitches,” but it’s worth remembering both are personal takes, not official analysis. There’s also history here: School Idol Festival 2 ended service before even reaching its first anniversary, which has made people quick to eye a new title from the same operator with suspicion at launch. Since rankings can still shift over the following days or weeks, judging the game purely on its opening numbers may be premature.

    ※This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary from the 5channel (Love Live!) thread “New BanDori App — Is This an Epic Flop?“.