Author: Japan Reacts Editorial

  • Switch 2 Is the All-Purpose Machine That Plays Everything — 5ch: “Isn’t PS5 the One Nobody Needs Then?”

    A thread went up on 5ch’s Hardware/Industry board (“Geha”) after a user who owns a Switch 2, a PC, and a PS5 Pro posted on social media that “in the end I only play Nintendo games on my Switch 2.” Other users fired back one after another with arguments like “Switch 2 is the all-purpose console — you can play Nintendo games, third-party games, and indie games” and “By that logic, isn’t PS5 the one nobody actually needs?” The discussion eventually spiraled into a comparison of actual sales for multiplatform titles like Pragmata, and a tit-for-tat over how Nintendo and Sony calculate unit sales and first-party sales ratios differently in their earnings reports — turning into an endless back-and-forth where both sides kept trading evidence and rebuttals.

    1AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:00
    紅城 蓮
    @kurenainoshiro
    What world is this person even talking about?
    5AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:00
    By that logic, isn't PS5 the one nobody actually needs?
    8AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:03
    If you're expecting AAA titles, why wouldn't you just go PC?
    57AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:31
    Re: #8
    Probably thinks saying "AAA" makes the Pro sound more worth it
    That one line is really the only point they're trying to make
    Also notable that PC gets lumped in as "indie titles and other stuff"
    25AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:11
    When you think about it, Switch 2 really is an amazing piece of hardware
    You get Nintendo games, most third-party games, and indie games too

    Meanwhile PS5 can't even run stuff like Chameleon or Suika Game
    37AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:17
    Re: #25
    Suika Game actually runs on it lol
    35AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:17
    So you limit PC to "indies only" and then go out of your way to play AAA on the underpowered PS5?
    Isn't that a bit weird?
    40AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:18
    Re: #35
    Can't be helped, PlayStation's indie lineup is weak
    41AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:19
    Pragmata (PS5)
    600 points over the past month

    Pragmata (Switch 2)
    1,000 points over the past month

    Capcom's not dumb enough to ignore this
    43AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:21
    Re: #41
    For older titles, digital sales are everything
    Leftover physical copies gathering dust don't matter
    44AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:22
    Re: #41
    Give it two years and that gap balloons to 40,000 units!!!!!!!
    48AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:24
    Re: #41
    Pragmata's lifetime totals on Switch and PS might end up about the same
    Went from 35,000 vs 15,000 in week one, and the gap's already closing from week two onward
    47AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:24
    People keep saying "just check the earnings report," but
    Sony's financials use US accounting standards, so they count third-party software sales at full retail value, right?
    Nintendo only counts its 30% cut

    As for unit counts, Sony counts each digital copy, add-on, and DLC as a separate unit sold,
    but Nintendo doesn't count digital DLC or add-ons in its sales figures at all
    58AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:33
    Re: #47
    Nintendo also excludes download-only titles from the unit counts in its earnings

    Packaged software → counted
    Digital version sold alongside a packaged release → counted
    Download-only software → not counted
    Add-on content (DLC) → not counted

    56AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:31
    Is console-war talk ("geha") trending on X now too?
    89AnonymousSep 14, 2026 01:06
    Re: #56
    The sheer number of "named" PlayStation accounts is insane
    It'd be one thing if they were just hyping up Sony, but all they do is trash other consoles — they even pile on Switch players just quietly enjoying Elden Ring
    59AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:33
    Re: #44
    For example, in Q1 they sold 43.27 million units of software
    and first-party titles made up 82.6% of software sales revenue
    Sales and unit counts differ because of discounts and such, but doing the simple math, that leaves roughly 7.53 million units for all third parties combined
    81AnonymousSep 14, 2026 01:03
    Re: #59
    > first-party titles made up 82.6% of software sales revenue

    That figure is a percentage of sales revenue, not of unit count
    Stop lying so confidently
    62AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:35
    PlayStation's share of the Japanese market has been rock bottom for nearly 10 years now with zero sign of turning around
    It's done nothing but shrink with every console generation, and it's already scraping the floor
    It's now in the danger zone, at or below the level of the Vita — a system Sony already gave up on entirely
    72AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:45
    Re: #62
    Even now software sales are a garbage-tier disaster, but honestly this is just the opening act — an even more miserable decline is still coming
    74AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:46
    On a revenue basis, third-party share is 17.4%
    Assuming first-party software averages ¥8,000
    and even pricing third-party software at ¥4,000, that works out to roughly 12 million units

    So third-party software sold on Nintendo hardware in Q1 lands somewhere above 7.3 million and below 12 million units
    84AnonymousSep 14, 2026 01:04
    Re: #81
    I already wrote that sales revenue and unit counts are different
    Even on a revenue basis it's not that different anyway Re: #74
    75AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:49
    What AAA titles is anyone actually playing on PS5 Pro, seriously?
    77AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:50
    Re: #75
    That Wolverine game — Metascore of 78, beatable in 13 hours, comes with a fart-cloud guideline and an obsessive amount of detail put into the arm hair
    76AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:50
    The reason multiplats like Pragmata or Onimusha still win out on PS is simply that a lot of people can't picture buying Capcom's photorealistic games on a Nintendo system
    Performance and specs are actually weak excuses here — it really just comes down to habit
    Put bluntly, the crowd still buying on PS is a fixed, aging demographic with no future in it
    79AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:55
    Re: #76
    It's because Nintendo's first-party lineup is so strong that buying third-party games just isn't a priority
    With first-party titles releasing constantly, money doesn't flow toward third-party games as easily — that's obvious from the earnings reports too
    85AnonymousSep 14, 2026 01:05
    Re: #79
    That's also just a matter of time
    The bigger the install-base gap gets, the more Switch 2 is going to win out on sales
    87AnonymousSep 14, 2026 01:06
    Re: #85
    That'll likely hold true for Japan at least
    Even right now, Switch 2 often wins the multiplatform matchup
    92AnonymousSep 14, 2026 01:08
    On last month's (August) PS Store download ranking,
    the fact that MGS — a title that sold only 12,000 physical copies that month — landed at #2 shows its digital sales can't be much to write home about either

    3rd place (new entry) PS5 METAL GEAR SOLID: MASTER COLLECTION Vol.2
    12,691 units (12,691 cumulative) / KONAMI / August 27, 2026
    https://www.famitsu.com/article/202609/86517

    August 2026 PS Store Download Ranking
    PlayStation 5
    Japan
    2. METAL GEAR SOLID: MASTER COLLECTION Vol.2
    https://blog.ja.playstation.com/2026/09/11/20260911-monthly-ps-store-ranking-s/
    94AnonymousSep 14, 2026 01:11
    Re: #92
    Even Honogurashi on Switch 2 — #2 in July, #1 in August — isn't exactly crushing it in monthly digital sales either
    97AnonymousSep 14, 2026 01:16
    Re: #94
    Switch 2 and Switch had Splatoon Raiders selling 90,000 units and Tomodachi Collection selling 70,000 units in August alone,
    and Honogurashi outsold both of those — that's exactly why its sales look strong
    96AnonymousSep 14, 2026 01:14
    It's almost inevitable that so many PlayStation people start console-war fights on X
    They're overwhelmingly hardware fans rather than software fans
    With Nintendo, that fandom branches out into Mario communities, Zelda communities, and so on
    but with PlayStation you almost never see a "Last of Us crowd" or a "God of War crowd," do you
    In the end the only way they can hype up their hardware is through the pretty low-brow tactic of comparing it to other consoles, and that's rough in more ways than one
    106AnonymousSep 14, 2026 01:29
    Re: #96
    True enough
    After the Zelda Direct, a ton of female YouTubers streamed watch-along reactions at the same time — women only tune in for the IP
    After the Fire Emblem Direct too, female YouTubers came crawling out of the woodwork
    And honestly, the guy saying "I only play Nintendo games on Switch 2" isn't buying every game out there in the first place
    He's only ever bought stuff that matches his own taste to begin with, and acting like he's covering every genre of game is just creepy
    99AnonymousSep 14, 2026 01:17
    Re: #97
    I'm talking about Switch 2 digital sales
    100AnonymousSep 14, 2026 01:22
    Re: #99
    Splatoon Raiders is a Switch 2 game though?

    Background and Key Points of This Debate

    Discussions like this tend to talk past each other because Nintendo and Sony count software unit sales differently in their earnings reports. Nintendo excludes download-only titles and add-on content from its unit sales figures, while Sony, under US accounting standards, tends to count these toward revenue as well — meaning a simple unit comparison isn’t starting from the same premise to begin with. Within the thread, posts pointing out this difference in accounting methods coexisted with posts calculating ratios while ignoring it entirely, and the exchange of figures dragged on without any real resolution. It’s also worth noting for readers that the claim itself that “Switch 2 can play anything” isn’t backed by any data showing how many people actually play things besides Nintendo titles — it remains a back-and-forth rooted in personal impressions and individual buying habits rather than hard evidence.

    ※This article was compiled by excerpting and summarizing the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) thread “A Switch 2/PC/PS5 Pro owner says: “I guess I don’t really play anything but Nintendo games on Switch 2…””.

  • Hybrids Now Dominate New Cars — 5ch Debates Why Pure Gas Models Are Disappearing

    An article noting that most new cars now come as hybrids (HVs), with pure gasoline-only models on the decline, became a hot topic on 5ch’s News Speed+ board. The thread ranged widely: worries about HV battery degradation and replacement costs, the cost-benefit math of whether fuel savings actually offset the higher sticker price, and pushback that gas engines are still genuinely needed in rural settings like farm equipment and mini trucks. The thread also cited data showing the average age of EVs in China is just 1.8 years, highlighting how differently cars are used there compared to Japan.

    Published 9/13 (Sun), 8:30 AM

    Toyo Keizai Online

    Look at the powertrains in today’s new cars and hybrids (HEVs) dominate overwhelmingly. A growing number of models don’t even offer a pure gasoline engine option anymore.

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

    4AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:31
    Even if regulations tighten further, just running HV engines on LPG would basically solve the environmental problem, wouldn't it?
    Besides, pull the engine out of an HV and you're basically already looking at an EV.
    36AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:01
    Re: #4
    Isn't that just e-Power? Or does it apply across the board?
    6AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:33
    It's a hybrid of muscle power and a motor, baby.
    71AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:33
    Re: #6
    My ride's a pure gas engine car — manual transmission, two-seater even… (^o^)/ boom.
    8AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:36
    With the Middle East as unstable as it is, who even needs pure gas cars anymore.
    12AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:44
    Re: #8
    Go say that to a farmer's face. Kei trucks, tractors, farm equipment, the whole lot.
    10AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:38
    What about diesel cars?
    15AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:48
    Re: #10
    Not bad, but automakers keep bailing on it. Volvo's diesel wasn't bad either, but it's gone from the lineup now.
    28AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:57
    Re: #10
    Sounds like a truck. That's embarrassing.
    18AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:51
    Japanese automakers must be sick of developing hybrids by now.
    47AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:08
    Re: #18
    That's just what's convenient for the automakers. Next they'll probably say 'we made it in time for the 22nd century' (a riff on the Prius's old ad slogan, 'we made it in time for the 21st century').
    20AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:51
    Motor drive is so smooth I can't go back to a car with just an internal combustion engine.
    94AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:57
    Re: #20
    Sounds like something a Nissan fan would say.
    29AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:58
    Gas cars are so noisy on startup. Hate that 'ka-ka-ka' sound the starter motor makes.
    49AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:09
    Re: #29
    I've got that turned off, though.
    51AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:11
    Re: #29
    Isn't that just a worn belt squealing, not the starter?
    58AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:17
    No idea about company cars, but for home use I'd think gas cars are more cost-effective — battery replacement costs way too much.
    73AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:35
    Re: #58
    How many people even keep a car long enough to need a battery replacement?
    80AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:43
    Re: #58
    True. People tend to overlook the auxiliary battery too.
    167AnonymousSep 13, 2026 23:09
    Re: #58
    If you don't drive much — mostly around town with the occasional trip or long drive — I think a pure gas car pays off better than an HV. Newer gas cars get something like 20km/L (~47 mpg) on the highway these days.
    59AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:20
    Drove a hybrid as a loaner once — hated how the engine feels like it's constantly kicking on.
    62AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:23
    Re: #59
    It kicks on way less than a regular gas car does…
    105AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:08
    Re: #59
    Do you even drive, or do you just ride trains? lol
    82AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:44
    Hybrid batteries are consumables too and need replacing eventually, right?
    So then I start thinking, why not just get an EV?
    Realistically
    Realistically it comes down to gas or EV — a hybrid is a genuinely awkward middle ground.
    If you're planning to trade it in aggressively every 1-2 years before the battery degrades, though, a hybrid might make sense.
    107AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:11
    Re: #82
    It'll easily last 10 years — maybe down to 70% capacity, but still going. If anything, EVs are the ones that are done for in 3 years lol.
    160AnonymousSep 13, 2026 22:57
    Re: #82
    Assuming you'll aggressively trade it in is the wrong premise to begin with.
    98AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:59
    There are all kinds of hybrids out there — why go out of your way to drive a Prius specifically?
    100AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:00
    Re: #98
    These days the Aqua is the mainstream pick.
    109AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:12
    Re: #98
    The Corolla series is what actually carries on the old Prius's role now — people who saw the Prius as just a practical, cost-effective tool have already switched over to that. But older folks who don't like the name 'Corolla' still insist on the 'Prius' name and keep driving one.
    103AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:06
    How many people actually break even on the hybrid price premium through fuel savings, I wonder?
    115AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:22
    Re: #103
    What matters is cushioning the blow if a disaster or Middle East crisis turns you into a 'gasoline refugee.' I'm not really counting on breaking even on the price difference.
    118AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:33
    Re: #103
    If we're talking cost-effectiveness, a compact gas car is really the only choice.
    154AnonymousSep 13, 2026 22:55
    Re: #103
    Pretty much nobody, honestly.
    104AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:06
    So many people think Suzuki's 'mild hybrid' (lol) is a real hybrid — it's not even funny.
    155AnonymousSep 13, 2026 22:55
    Re: #104
    Most European 'hybrids' (wink wink) are basically that too.
    177AnonymousSep 13, 2026 23:27
    Re: #104
    Which one's actually more of a 'real' hybrid, that or e-Power, I wonder.
    180AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:08
    If you're not paying attention you'll blow past 100,000 km before you know it, and then a battery replacement costing hundreds of thousands of yen wipes out all the gas money you'd saved.
    Feels like you'd have to become one of those users kept on a leash by the automaker, trading in every 3 years like it's a subscription.
    184AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:22
    Re: #180
    Drove my Prius 210,000 km and traded it in for 30,000 yen — never once replaced the battery.
    190AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:56
    Re: #180
    Apparently in China the average time before people trade in an EV is now just 1.8 years.
    > A report by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) and Hejun Consulting found that the average age of electric vehicles (EVs) in China is 1.8 years — far below the 8.2 years for gasoline cars.
    > This was reported by the Chinese newspaper 21st Century Business Herald.
    >
    > "Vehicle age" refers to years elapsed since new registration. According to the report, that's shorter than the span many people keep using the same phone.
    >
    > According to the newspaper, rapid advances in batteries, software, and semiconductor chips — along with falling used-car prices — may be behind this accelerating trend toward early replacement.
    > An EV's average resale value three years after purchase is reportedly 43.35% of the original price, lower than for conventional cars.
    ○ China's EVs average just 1.8 years old, under a quarter the age of gas cars — local paper reports, Bloomberg, 7/13

    Background and Key Points of the Debate

    Behind hybrids (HVs) becoming the mainstream choice for new cars lies not just tightening fuel-economy regulations and a worldwide push toward electrification, but also automakers trimming their pure-gasoline lineups to hold down development costs. Opinions in the thread split mainly over whether an HV’s price premium actually pays for itself in fuel savings, with some arguing that the less you drive, the more a gas car makes sense. There was also the point that Suzuki-style ‘mild hybrids’ work on a different mechanism than a full hybrid capable of running on motor power alone, yet both get lumped together under the same ‘hybrid’ label — a common source of confusion. The thread also cited a report that the average age of EVs in China is just 1.8 years, but that reflects a trend toward early replacement driven by rapid battery and software advances and falling used-car prices — a very different context from how cars are actually used in Japan.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “[Automobiles] New cars are all hybrids now… why are pure gasoline cars being discontinued one after another? The “2030 problem” and automakers’ thinking behind it.”

  • “Everything Coming Out Lately Is Boring” — Why? 5ch Debates the Cause

    A thread that started with the post “Anime, movies, games, music — literally everything lately is boring” caught fire on 5ch’s Nanademo Jikkyo G (an “anything goes” board). What began as a debate over whether creators’ quality has declined or viewers’ way of engaging with media has changed soon grew into a full critique session, with posters naming specific titles like Parieto, The Odyssey, Madoka Magica, and NHK’s Taiga historical dramas. One side argued that difficult, connoisseur-oriented works have simply gotten harder to communicate to audiences; the other countered that it’s really just otaku failing to do their homework, with content overload dragging down relative ratings across the board. The debate ran on without either side budging.

    1AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:20
    Creators' quality has gone downhill
    3AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:20
    The audience's quality has gone downhill too
    6AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:24
    Re: #3
    It's because the audience's quality dropped that highbrow works don't land anymore.
    Something like Evangelion wouldn't even take off today.
    16AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:28
    Re: #6
    Huh? There was nothing highbrow about why that got popular.
    Might be different from the creators' side, though.
    22AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:31
    Re: #6
    More than "highbrow," I mean anime that requires you to savor difficult storytelling, art, and directorial detail — that's all done for now.
    Too many people only watch for the battles; even the Madoka Magica movie gets nothing but complaints that the fights are "meh."
    15AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:28
    Just go watch The Odyssey in IMAX already
    73AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:56
    Re: #15
    That's a movie Nolan didn't even need to make
    18AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:28
    There are more works pushing weird ideologies now, and we've reached a point where you can just say "the odd ones are odd because the creator sucks."
    These days, isn't everything just some work that a small clique worships like a god while everyone else calls it creepy?
    There's no more mainstream stuff that's mildly liked by everybody.
    20AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:29
    Re: #18
    Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In from last year was total mainstream crowd-pleaser material though
    26AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:34
    Nah, it's just that otaku have lost the ability to actually research things.
    Parieto and Mars Express were great but barely got talked about, right?
    The former's a completely original new work from Goro Taniguchi, no less
    28AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:35
    Re: #26
    Watched Parieto, it was trash lol
    Do you think finding that interesting is an old-man take that's out of touch with the times?
    39AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:41
    Re: #26
    It's less about research ability and more that we're gorged on entertainment.
    Same as with rice demand.
    33AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:37
    Re: #28
    Tell me specifically what wasn't interesting about it
    I liked the ballet dance sequences, the naginata sword choreography, and the girl-meets-girl coming-of-age story, plus the acting-driven direction worked for me
    36AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:40
    Re: #33
    It felt like a "beautiful world" dreamed up by an old person — so pretty it was almost funny.
    Young people won't fall for that, it's like "what is this, some new religion? A scam? A recruitment pitch?" that kind of vibe.
    Falling for something like that is exactly an old person's sensibility.
    37AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:40
    Go ahead and name the anime, movie, music, and game you personally think are the best?
    That'll pretty much tell us everything we need to judge
    38AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:41
    Re: #37
    Onyanko Club
    Yuyu
    52AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:48
    Re: #37
    Evangelion
    Haruhi
    Madoka Magica
    53AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:48
    Re: #37
    Megazone 23
    Songs by Yuyu and Onyanko Club
    40AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:42
    Re: #35
    Then don't go complaining about battles that people can enjoy without any extra effort.
    "The fights are awesome, and now I want to know more about this character, get immersed in this world" — that's how it's supposed to work once it clicks.
    I came here for curry, and you're telling me the pickled radish on the side is great — that's not what I asked for.
    49AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:46
    Re: #40
    Nah, the order is different for everyone.
    Plenty of works like Lain or Ghost in the Shell built cult followings where the atmosphere comes first, before anything else.
    There's no rule that says "battles have to come first" — that's just an excuse for not being able to enjoy anything besides the fighting
    41AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:42
    Re: #36
    Not really following your logic here, but if you only want to watch works that pursue pure realism, then something like Sister Act is nothing but a feel-good fantasy too — maybe that kind of story just isn't for you.
    Guess you should just stick to watching movies like Civil War
    43AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:43
    Re: #41
    If you don't get what I'm saying, that just proves it's an old man's sensibility
    46AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:44
    Re: #43
    You might not realize it, but right now you're doing the same thing as those otaku nitpicking that famous anti-war anime by going "that's not even a real bomber"
    51AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:47
    Re: #48
    I'm getting slapped with some label I don't recognize here, but
    at the very least I think your read on the work is off
    It's like watching "The Two of Us" and complaining that the caregiving methods shown are inaccurate
    56AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:50
    Re: #51
    You're the one who started with the labeling
    54AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:49
    Re: #52
    Was the Madoka Magica movie really that bad? I don't know that one
    89AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:02
    Re: #54
    Go see for yourself, dude
    Let's put a little money in the animators' pockets
    In M-1 comedy-competition scoring terms, Madoka Magica's a 99, Rebellion's a 96, and Kaiten's a 94
    55AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:50
    Yutaka Ozaki
    X Japan
    The Blue Hearts
    57AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:50
    Re: #52
    What about games and music?
    65AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:54
    Re: #57
    Music's covered in Re: #55

    Banjo-Kazooie
    Super Mario Bros. DS
    Pokémon Diamond/Pearl (DS)
    Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time
    Kid Icarus: Uprising
    Super Mario Galaxy
    61AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:50
    I hate the "things used to be better" mentality because it feels like giving up on thinking — but when it comes to Taiga dramas specifically, the old ones really were better.
    Why is that, I wonder?
    64AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:53
    Re: #61
    With Taiga dramas the datedness doesn't really bother you as much
    69AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:55
    Re: #61
    Part of it is that there was a much wider range of stuff you didn't have to worry about compliance-wise, so they could do whatever they wanted more freely.
    But honestly the bigger factor is that it was an era that benefited from Japanese acting being at its absolute peak
    70AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:55
    Re: #61
    Sometimes the old stuff is simply higher quality, plain and simple, but other times it's just that your brain got fried on a dopamine rush from having fewer things to compare it to back then
    68AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:54
    Re: #49
    Complaining about the battles and then turning around and saying "everyone's different" is just moving the goalposts.
    If everyone's different, then you should just shut up and take whatever rating people give it
    72AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:56
    Re: #68
    I'm not complaining and I do think everyone's different, but
    my point is that visual media is a comprehensive art form, and yet more and more people can only enjoy that one aspect of it — that's not a contradiction
    79AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:58
    Re: #72
    That's your own assumption too
    Doesn't seem like there's anything more to get out of arguing with you
    92AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:03
    Re: #79
    In the curry shop analogy, even if what comes out is pickled radish, the point I was making is that the radish is delicious in its own right —
    And especially with visual works, it's common for something to look like it's flying the "curry" banner but actually serve you radish instead. What I'm saying is there are more narrow-minded people now who go "it wasn't curry! garbage!" I'm not denying your taste, to be clear!
    87AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:02
    It's fun once you switch to being a creator yourself.
    I started composing music, and watching a track gradually turn into the one you imagined is a different kind of enjoyment than just consuming stuff.
    Plus when you share it and the play count goes up, it scratches that need for validation 🥺
    91AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:03
    Re: #87
    Might as well post it here then
    93AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:04
    Re:Zero and Mushoku Tensei are gross.
    Harem stories turning garbage the moment they lean into the harem angle has been a tradition since SAO.
    Give me Iron Wok Jan! any day
    101AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:09
    Re: #93
    That's not a recent work though, that's from over 10 years ago — so what you're saying is the old stuff was garbage too

    Background and key points of this debate

    The feeling that “things used to be better” is a debate that resurfaces every generation, and this thread is no exception — no single cause won here. Those pointing to a decline in creators’ quality clashed head-on with those pointing to a shift in how viewers engage with media, and neither side backed down. Part of the backdrop is that the explosion of streaming and subscription services has caused the sheer volume of available content to balloon, making it easier for the time and attachment people can devote to any one work to get diluted (the thread itself touches on this with the phrase “gorged on entertainment”). It’s also worth noting that the back-and-forth over real works like Parieto and The Odyssey tended to drift away from critiquing the works themselves and toward slapping labels on each other — “old man sensibility,” “narrow-minded” — based on differing reactions. And it’s worth keeping in mind, as a premise for this whole debate, that the older titles cited in the thread as “the good stuff” (Evangelion, Haruhi, Madoka Magica, etc.) weren’t universally beloved at the time either — their reputations solidified only in hindsight, years later.

    ※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Nanademo Jikkyo G) thread “Why is everything lately — anime, movies, games, music — so boring.”

  • Arino and Morimoto Leo Named “Accidentally Saintly” Celebrities — 5ch: “I Don’t Buy the Hate”

    A thread went up on 5ch’s Livejupiter board (a general “anything goes” discussion board) titled “Top 3 celebrities who seem accidentally saintly,” naming Yoiko’s Arino and Morimoto Leo. Posters swapped stories of Arino being kind even when the cameras weren’t rolling, and recalled comedian Mitsuura Yasuko once calling him “a good guy” — but others pushed back that Morimoto Leo isn’t quite the saint his narration work makes him sound like. The thread also drifted into gripes that hosts like Nakai Masahiro come off as domineering compared to Hamaguchi Masaru, splitting opinion on how much substance really sits behind celebrities’ polished “nice guy” TV image.

    1AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:52
    Who's the third one?
    8AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:55
    It's all about the vibe, so what they're actually like doesn't matter.
    If anything, being an actual saint would be a bad look.
    14AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:59
    Watch Arino on Fuji TV (CX) and you can tell he's kind of a sleazy character.
    15AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:59
    Leo only seems saintly because of his roles and narration gigs — he's pulled some pretty questionable stuff off-camera.
    20AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:02
    I've actually watched Yoiko film on location before, and
    Arino was kind even when the camera wasn't rolling, so
    I don't buy people talking bad about him.
    48AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:11
    Re: #20
    Whoa, lucky you.
    Mitsuura Yasuko said he was a good guy too.
    25AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:03
    Never knew Hamaguchi was like that 🥶
    29AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:06
    Re: #25
    Nah, that's been obvious for a while —
    he's the Okamura type: high-strung, dead serious, moody, and hard on anyone who seems unmotivated.
    42AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:09
    Re: #29
    Couldn't you say the same about TKO's Kinoshita?
    Also, Okamura's really trashed his own image lately on the radio.
    40AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:08
    The way you're all talking makes it sound like Arino actually did something.
    54AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:12
    Re: #40
    All I can think of is how catastrophically bad he was at Smash Bros — that was basically a broadcast disaster.
    47AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:10
    Never liked how domineering Nakai's hosting style was.
    Same goes for Aritoshi and most hosts, honestly.
    62AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:18
    Re: #47
    Right?
    They're crazy condescending toward the staff.
    55AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:13
    Re: #48
    Hamaguchi wandered off the moment the camera stopped rolling, but
    Arino would still do a bit for us —
    though it was so boring I don't remember a single thing about it.
    65AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:20
    Re: #55
    Lol
    Arino's funniest when he's ribbing Hamaguchi — though we probably won't see much of that anymore.

    Background and Talking Points

    “Gū-sei” (ぐう聖, literally “accidental saint”) is common 5ch slang for someone who comes across as saintly seemingly without trying, and threads like this one often dig into the gap between a celebrity’s polished TV persona and their off-camera reputation. Here too, posters offered several secondhand accounts — claims about behavior “when the cameras weren’t rolling,” or reputations relayed from other celebrities — but it’s worth noting these are all anonymous, unverified anecdotes and hearsay, not statements Arino or Morimoto Leo have made publicly themselves. It’s also worth flagging that the original thread drifted off-topic into posters accusing each other of samefagging (posting under multiple names to fake agreement); this article only excerpts the replies that stayed on the “saintly celebrities” theme.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and summaries of the 5ch (Livegalileo board) thread “Top 3 ‘Accidentally Saintly’ Celebrities: Yoiko’s Arino, Morimoto Leo.”

  • Live-Action “The Apothecary Diaries”: Who Plays Jinshi? Even the Original Author Gives It Their Seal of Approval as “The Real Jinshi”

    In the popular series “The Apothecary Diaries,” now confirmed for a live-action drama adaptation, Ashida Mana has been cast as the lead, Maomao — but casting for the other central character, Jinshi, has yet to be announced. With only the tidbit that the original author gave the casting a seal of approval as “the real Jinshi,” speculation ran wild on 5ch, with names like Machida Keita, Meguro Ren, and Nomura Kota (Sawamura Ikki’s second son, as reported by the tabloids) all thrown into the ring. The thread also veered into basic questions about why the original series is so beloved, and the story behind the manga version’s move between publishers — all adding up to a mix of anticipation and speculation ahead of the official cast announcement.

    September 13, 2026, 13:01

    Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries), the light novel by Natsu Hyuuga that originated on the novel-posting site “Shousetsuka ni Narou,” is getting a live-action drama adaptation. The original series boasts over 57 million copies in cumulative circulation and has already been adapted into a hit TV anime, but this marks its first-ever live-action adaptation. It was also announced that Ashida Mana will play the protagonist, Maomao. Since no cast beyond Ashida has been announced, there’s buzz over who will play the popular character Jinshi.

    (Omitted)

    Source: mantan-web.jp / Original article here

    3AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:09
    Machida Keita or Meguro Ren
    4AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:10
    It's not boring, but I don't get why everyone's pushing it so hard.
    Kind of like how I don't get why the Detective Conan movie broke 10 billion yen either.
    5AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:10
    Apparently Gaoshun is more popular with women than Lord Jinshi himself.
    9AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:12
    The tabloids already leaked that it's Nomura Kota.
    10AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:13
    The tabloids reported Nomura Kota (Sawamura Ikki's second son) for the role,

    but the fact that Sakurai Takahiro voiced him in the drama CD version is a "dark history" now lol (slang for an embarrassing past best forgotten — a jab at the voice actor's scandal)
    12AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:13
    So it means an actor famous enough that even my niece would know him?
    Like Okada Masaki or someone?
    13AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:14
    I don't think my niece would know who Nomura Kota (Sawamura Ikki's second son) is (´・ω・`)
    15AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:15
    Re: #13
    He's in Blue Lock too, you know
    65AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:11
    Re: #12 Re: #13
    You can't just assume he has to be an actor on the "my niece would know him" level.
    Maybe it's simply that whoever's playing Jinshi is super handsome, so "my niece kept smiling nonstop" is all that really meant.
    71AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:20
    Re: #13
    What's this about the niece knowing him?
    There's no mention of that anywhere.
    You doing okay?
    18AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:17
    Re: #17
    I was worried about the height gap, but if it's Ashida Mana the balance should work out fine.
    22AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:18
    In the original, Maomao's only wearing a wrapped cloth (in a certain scene), so please stay faithful to that.
    24AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:20
    If they were younger, Machida or Shizon would work, but they're too old for the part.
    25AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:21
    Why does everyone already know about this?
    What got people to start reading it in the first place?
    27AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:23
    Re: #25
    The illustrator got busted for tax evasion, which made it famous nationwide for all the wrong reasons.
    30AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:26
    Re: #25
    It stayed near the top of the "Shousetsuka ni Narou" rankings for a long time,
    the manga sells well,
    and the anime was a hit.
    32AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:28
    Re: #25
    The source material is classic shoujo-manga style, and it caught fire once the anime aired — same pattern as Demon Slayer.
    26AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:21
    I Googled Nomura Kota and he looks kind of soft/effeminate,
    but I guess that actually suits this character.
    39AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:35
    Re: #26
    Despite his looks, Jinshi is actually pretty well-trained and even something of a fighter.
    31AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:28
    Re: #1
    It's gotta be Yamazaki Kento, the usual go-to guy for every live-action adaptation, right? (lol)
    38AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:35
    Before it got popular, I remember wondering, "why are there two versions of this manga with different art styles?"

    Was it something like one sold well and the other one just ended?
    41AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:37
    Re: #38
    People distinguish them as "the Enix tax-evasion version" and "the Shogakukan tax-paying version" lol
    40AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:35
    Is this the "the original author already gave the seal of approval so don't complain" move?
    Even if people say the casting doesn't fit, he should just stand tall and prove them wrong with his acting.
    42AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:37
    It's gotta be Takeda Shinji for that role. How many times do you think he's read his own name backwards since he was a kid? (a joke about his name resembling "Jinshi" in reverse)
    47AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:40
    Re: #42
    Way too old for it —
    the character's only 18.
    43AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:39
    The author apparently said Jinshi is kind of an unlikable guy —
    so is calling someone "the real Jinshi" actually a compliment?
    48AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:44
    If only Dean Fujioka were younger…
    51AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:51
    Live-action adaptations of popular anime just never work out.
    If you're gonna do it, pick something with a minor anime that has no otaku following.
    70AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:17
    Re: #51
    The Look Back live-action film got huge promotion too,
    but I heard almost nobody's actually showing up to see it.
    52AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:54
    Where are they even filming this? The Forbidden City?
    53AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:54
    Soshina would be fine, right? (a comedian from the duo Shimofuri Myojo) I like Ashida Mana too.
    56AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:56
    I'm more curious about who's playing Xiaolan.
    63AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:07
    Re: #56
    Get a petite, pretty idol to play her.
    58AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:02
    Meguro Ren is the only choice, right?
    66AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:14
    Re: #58
    He's on the Johnny's "Kimutaku" track — he only takes lead roles, no way he'd take this.
    69AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:16
    Re: #58
    I think that's impossible since he's currently filming in Hollywood —
    he won't be back in Japan for a while.
    60AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:06
    They've hyped this up so much, I wonder how the cast announcement is even going to land.

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    “The Apothecary Diaries” is a hit series that began on “Shousetsuka ni Narou,” with over 57 million copies in cumulative circulation and a hugely successful anime adaptation. This live-action project marks the series’ first such adaptation, and while Ashida Mana has been announced as lead Maomao, the role of the popular character Jinshi remained unannounced as of this writing. The thread floated actor names like Machida Keita and Meguro Ren, while also noting that tabloids had reported Nomura Kota (Sawamura Ikki’s second son) for the part, mixing anticipation with skepticism. The discussion also touched on how the manga adaptation once switched publishers and restarted serialization (due to the illustrator’s tax evasion scandal) — a real, separately reported fact that readers should be careful not to conflate with the Jinshi casting itself. In short, the single phrase “endorsed by the original author” has taken on a life of its own, driving expectations higher and higher even before any cast announcement.

    *This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Entertainment & Sports News+) thread “Live-Action “The Apothecary Diaries”: Who Plays Jinshi? Even the Original Author Gives It Their Seal of Approval as “The Real Jinshi”.”

  • Article on Countermeasures for ‘Dopamine-Addicted Brats’ Sparks Reaction on 5ch: ‘Feels Like It Was Worse in the Old Days’

    A Shueisha Online article about the term “dopagaki” — meaning “dopamine-addicted brats” — sparked discussion on 5ch’s News Express+ board. The term refers to young people whose attention spans have shortened from constant exposure to stimulating content like short-form videos, and the article featured experts discussing countermeasures. While the thread saw plenty of relatable examples, like kids who “throw tantrums in stores without a smartphone” or “watch anime at double speed,” there was also a steady stream of pushback arguing that “even the 1960 Crime White Paper shows the old days were more vicious” and that “things were worse before smartphones existed.” Opinion was split on whether today’s kids are really uniquely bad.

    Published 9/13 (Sun) 8:30

    Shueisha Online

    In recent years, the term “dopagaki” — meaning “dopamine-addicted brats” — has started appearing on social media. It’s mainly used to describe young people who binge through one piece of highly stimulating content after another, such as short-form videos. Concerns have been raised about resulting drops in concentration, so we asked an expert what countermeasures actually work.

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

    6AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:20
    Re: #1
    Just gotta brainwash kids into thinking being a "dopagaki" is a bad thing — tell 'em it's not cool.
    20AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:26
    Re: #6
    Knowing them, they'd try to watch the brainwashing propaganda at 2x speed too.
    8AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:21
    It's not just "dopagaki" kids, though.
    Look around — even people in their 30s and 40s are walking around like zombies, mouths hanging open, necks craned forward, staring at their phones.
    132AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:03
    Re: #8
    This.

    It's not about age or gender anymore.
    Those poor souls who've had their minds sucked into their phones
    look absolutely ridiculous from the outside.
    17AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:24
    Smartphone zombies walking in China
    https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/2089710252522418176/vid/avc1/720×720/FZ_Lg8KNXJpAI-0L.mp4
    41AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:33
    Re: #17
    There's probably been deaths from this too…
    18AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:25
    Parenting fail right there.
    My 9-year-old nephew kept begging for a Switch 2 every time I saw him, so I finally bought one and brought it over — he broke it almost instantly.
    My sister handed the busted thing right back to me.
    That's just how it goes.
    149AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:11
    Re: #18
    Your sister sounds awesome.
    19AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:26
    A lot of parents are glued to their own phones and don't even engage with their kids.
    25AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:28
    Re: #19
    Yeah, you see it all the time at family restaurants and food courts — mom and dad glued to their phones while the kid's absorbed in a handheld game.
    45AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:35
    The 1960 Crime White Paper's description of juvenile crime traits back then (i.e., today's "old geezers"):

    Impulsive: acting immediately and without planning to satisfy urges, without thinking things through — a result of immature adolescent minds.
    Pleasure-driven: crimes used to stem mostly from economic hardship, but from the late 1950s onward the motive shifted heavily toward the pursuit of pleasure.
    Group-based: guilt from committing crimes gets diluted through peer solidarity.
    Aggressive: strong defiance toward adults and authority.
    Excessive: killing people or animals even when just taking money would've been enough.

    And here's the actual juvenile crime numbers since the postwar era
    — the late 1950s stick out sharply.
    And it's mostly sex crimes, too — so it's not about economic hardship.
    ↓
    53AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:37
    Seriously, way too many parents at family restaurants just stick a screen in front of their toddler the whole time.
    59AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:39
    Re: #53
    It's because so many adults instantly snap the moment a kid cries or makes noise —
    adults are the ones indirectly manufacturing "dopagaki" kids.
    98AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:51
    Re: #53
    And they're so busy chatting the whole time that they don't even notice when their kid gets bored and wanders off.
    54AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:38
    Feels like things were worse before smartphones even existed, lol.
    Compared to the Showa era, kids these days are pretty tame.
    63AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:40
    Re: #54
    No question, kids used to run wild and be way worse-behaved back in the day.
    When were the people saying "today's kids are the problem" even born?
    70AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:43
    Re: #63
    Sure, kids used to act up, but they'd get smacked by their dad or yelled at by some random old guy and settle down. Now nobody disciplines them, they just let it slide, so it's a zoo.
    And the kids know it, so they do whatever they want.
    81AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:48
    Re: #70
    Plenty of parents back then were just as neglectful.
    You're romanticizing the past way too much.
    84AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:48
    Re: #70
    Feels more like parents are the ones being held hostage by their kids these days.
    89AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:49
    And now summer homework gets outsourced to AI, lol.

    Kids just keep getting dumber and dumber lmao.
    95AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:50
    Re: #89
    These days answer keys get handed out and kids grade their own homework at home, so copying the answers straight is faster than bothering with AI.
    122AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:58
    Ever notice how conversations on internet forums just don't sustain a back-and-forth anymore?
    Ask a question, someone gets angry. You get a hostile reply. They only accept agreement.
    Even when you get a reply, it doesn't function as a real conversation — it veers off into something totally unrelated.

    This kind of pattern has become way more common, hasn't it?
    124AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:00
    Re: #122
    Yeah, it's definitely gotten more common that it's not even a proper flame war anymore —
    it's like people are just replying on pure reflex.
    127AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:01
    Re: #122
    That's probably not kids doing that, lol.
    With smartphones becoming so widespread, huge numbers of elderly people have flooded onto the internet.
    If you look at the real world, kids are actually getting calmer year by year.
    Older people, on the other hand, are just as quick to snap as they always were.
    185AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:38
    Re: #122
    If you want to rebut something, your rebuttal should actually address what I wrote — but a lot of people just ignore all that, change the subject, and argue anyway.
    138AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:05
    Watching at 2x speed is the smart choice.
    143AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:06
    Re: #138
    At that point you should just stop watching it altogether.
    146AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:08
    Re: #138
    From what I can tell, your comprehension drops to less than half.
    You barely grasp what's actually going on.
    162AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:25
    I'll watch anime I'm just half-paying-attention to at 2x speed, but I don't speed up the ones I actually want to watch properly.
    163AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:27
    Re: #162
    If you're just half-watching anyway, why not normal speed?
    I don't get the point of lowering your comprehension even further when you're already not paying full attention.
    173AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:35
    Re: #162
    There's just too many anime, so I speed through them, and in the end I'm not even looking at the screen — half the time I'm not even listening to the audio.
    202AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:47



    This, exactly…
    210AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:51
    Re: #202
    Studying 2 hours every day and still getting that score? Isn't that kind of bad?
    203AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:47
    They should just make content with the assumption people will watch it at 2x speed.
    208AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:49
    Re: #203
    There's definitely robotic-sounding audio out there that's brutally hard to understand.
    I try slowing it down, but it's still hard to make out, lol.
    211AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:51
    Re: #203
    Also, there's content that's only barely watchable AT 2x speed to begin with.

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    “Dopagaki” is slang that’s spread on social media over the past few years, mockingly describing the drop in concentration that comes from continuously binging on intense stimuli like short-form videos. As with the 1960 Crime White Paper quoted in the thread, laments about young people’s “decline” are nothing new — it’s an argument that recurs generation after generation. What stood out in this thread was that it didn’t stay confined to a simple “kids these days are hopeless” narrative. Opinion split between those who called watching at 2x speed a “smart choice” and those who argued it means “failing to actually understand the content,” and some pointed out that the parents who let their noisy kids run wild are themselves addicted to their phones. On top of that, a poster who criticized young people got called out and attacked as an “old geezer” in return, so the generational back-and-forth ended up playing out within the thread itself. Reading the “dopagaki” phenomenon as a problem unique to children misses this dynamic.

    ※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (News Express+) thread “[Is your kid a ‘dopagaki’ too?] “They throw tantrums in stores without a smartphone,” “They watch anime at 2x speed” — the ‘changes in kids’ parents fear, and the countermeasures experts recommend.”

  • Samurai U18 Japan Blanked by Korea on Just 1 Hit, Settles for Runner-Up — 5ch: “It’s the Talent Pool Gap”

    In the U18 Asian Championship final held at the Taipei Dome in Taiwan, Samurai U18 Japan was shut out 0-2 by South Korea, missing out on its first title since 2016 and finishing as runner-up. Japan’s lineup was held to just a single hit, coming within a whisker of being no-hit. With this marking Japan’s second straight loss to Korea after also falling to them in the Super Round, threads on 5ch buzzed with debate over the cause of the defeat — some commenters credited the Korean starter’s sheer skill, while others pointed to Japan’s shrinking pool of youth players and a coaching culture overly focused on practice hours.

    ◆14th U18 Asian Championship — Final: South Korea 2, Japan 0 (Sept. 13, Taipei Dome, Taiwan)

    Japan’s high school national team was shut out by South Korea in the final, finishing as runner-up. It was Japan’s second consecutive loss to its archrival Korea, following defeat in the Super Round, and the team fell short of its first Asian title in ten years, since 2016.

    Sports Hochi

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

    10AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:25
    Team picked based on Koshien results
    Aluminum bats
    Japan won't win until it drops both
    14AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:26
    Re: #10
    The roster's actually set in spring, so it's skewed toward the Spring tournament (Senbatsu), not summer Koshien
    16AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:26
    Re: #1
    • Korea: light 1-2 hour practices
    • Japan's high school ball: baseball eats up most of the day

    Baseball fans love throwing around words like "player development," but they're mostly creepy nerds who never touch on stuff like this
    112AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:40
    Re: #16
    Like Uehara (former MLB pitcher Koji Uehara) once said
    apparently nobody in America's dumb enough to grind through practice like that either
    instead of practice, they just play real games

    Japanese baseball is just endless, pointless drilling repeated over and over
    no wonder the team's weak
    19AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:27
    Total blowout, no excuses
    The effects of the youth player pool shrinking by half are really starting to show
    25AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:27
    Re: #19
    Korea's birth rate crisis is even worse though
    it's simply a gap in star talent
    28AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:28
    Re: #19
    This

    the impact of the player pool halving is brutal
    it's becoming visible now
    even if they lit up the summer Koshien, that's just being a big fish in a small pond (lol)
    27AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:28
    Morgessoyo (a Korean-origin internet meme meaning roughly "dunno")
    34AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:28
    Re: #27
    GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
    37AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:29
    Re: #27
    lol, the Korean flag's been planted again


    just kill off "baseballll" already (mocking spelling used by baseball haters)
    57AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:32
    Re: #27
    I can just picture Japanese baseball nerds (derisive slang "yaki-buta," lit. "grilled pork") getting all misty-eyed lol
    31AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:28
    For some reason Japan's always weak in this tournament
    33AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:28
    Korea's just too stacked
    they've basically ditched soccer entirely and gone all-in on baseball
    48AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:30
    Re: #33
    Korea's a baseball powerhouse too, after all
    hope they keep learning from Japan and doing their best
    38AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:29
    The youth player pool is less than half what it was when Ohtani was in 9th grade
    not saying every kid has to be an Ohtani, but of course the odds of great talent showing up drop too
    49AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:31
    Re: #38
    normally that'd be true, but the baseball world's been in denial with this bizarre theory that "it's fine because the elites stick around anyway"
    40AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:29
    Re: #31
    maybe they lost motivation once Koshien ended
    still, that's way too weak though
    46AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:30
    > "The team fell short of its first Asian title in ten years, since 2016."

    are they even trying?
    63AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:33
    Re: #46
    Japan's just gotten weaker — they've won this 5 times before
    this makes Korea's 6th title
    56AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:32
    They lost at Premier12 too — some people just want to pile on, but it's not that simple
    59AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:32
    https://image-tm.s2mr.jp/i/original/1789302703886.jpeg

    current high school seniors were in 1st grade back in 2014
    that's right when baseball's player pool started collapsing
    so it's about time the on-field decline starts becoming visible
    89AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:36
    Re: #59
    delete it, delete it, delete it, delete it, delete it

    but somehow losing to Korea in U18 baseball doesn't sting at all
    if Japan lost a U17 World Cup soccer qualifier though, I'd be furious
    I wonder how much attention Koreans even pay to this tournament
    a few years back there was a U17 soccer match with a shady call that cost them the game, and that got a million YouTube views with everyone losing their minds, so clearly there's real attention for that sport
    107AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:38
    Re: #59
    2010 World Cup: Keisuke Honda shines!
    2011: Nadeshiko Japan wins the Women's World Cup, Homare Sawa wins the Ballon d'Or!

    Yep. Naturally, that's the result.
    66AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:33
    Re: #9
    there's not even a hint of soccer here, and yet here come the "well in soccer…" guys
    96AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:38
    Re: #66
    whoever wrote that haiku is a genius lol
    68AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:33
    U18, seriously? 😂
    how much more is "baseballll" gonna copy soccer
    77AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:35
    Re: #68
    the "tax-funded league" (derisive nickname for Japan's pro league, NPB) copies the Home Run Derby and calls it a "Derby" lmao
    73AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:34
    Honestly, Korea's starter was better than Oda, so it is what it is
    lefty, 195cm, tops out at 153km/h, with excellent control
    79AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:35
    Re: #73
    though apparently he'll get crushed once he's in the KBO (Korea's pro league)
    88AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:36
    Re: #73
    195cm is insane
    taller than Ohtani
    131AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:43
    Is the Korean pitcher just that good, or is Japan's lineup just that weak?
    132AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:43
    Re: #131
    the Korean pitcher is just that good
    139AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:44
    Re: #131
    honestly both
    but losing at this age level isn't unusual, and Japanese players tend to develop more in college and the pros

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    The U18 Asian Championship pits under-18 national teams from member countries and regions against each other, and while Japan has won the title multiple times in the past, it has now lost to Korea in the final in consecutive recent appearances. This time the result was a 0-2 loss with just one hit allowed, a scoreline that undersells just how dominant the pitching performance was. Opinion in the thread split between two camps: those who argued the Korean pitcher’s skill level was simply outstanding, and those who blamed Japan’s shrinking pool of youth players and a coaching culture that overemphasizes long practice hours. Worth noting these arguments sit on different levels — the former points to a single matchup, the latter to a structural issue. Readers should also keep in mind that a single-game shutout loss can hinge heavily on how a team happens to match up against one particular pitcher on a given day, so linking it directly to long-term data on the declining youth player pool is a bit of a stretch as evidence.

    *This article is compiled as excerpts and a summary from the 5ch (Geisports Sokuho+) thread “[Baseball] U18 Asian Championship: Samurai U18 Japan Suffers Humiliating 1-Hit Shutout Loss to Archrival Korea, Settles for Runner-Up — Came Within a Hair of a No-Hitter.”

  • Streamer Daisuke Hori Vowed ‘I Won’t Cut the Stream’ — Then Took a 2-Hour Break After a Call With Dr. Kanya Takasu

    Streamer Daisuke Hori is in the middle of his ongoing ’30-minute sleep’ endurance livestream project. Despite repeatedly insisting he ‘wouldn’t cut the stream,’ he abruptly reversed course after a call with physician-YouTuber Kanya Takasu, announcing ‘I’m cutting the stream for 2 hours’ and admitting he’d take a nap. The sudden about-face became a hot topic on 5ch, drawing reactions from every angle — whether he’s really a short sleeper, how much money the project is bringing in, and what to make of his exchange with fellow participant Hosoi, who’s also on scene.

    9AnonymousSep 13, 2026 23:59
    LOL they only clipped the split-second he closed his eyes
    11AnonymousSep 13, 2026 23:59
    Hasn't this whole week basically turned into an 'endure not sleeping' contest?
    He's lost his usual edge
    13AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:00
    He's basically admitting he's about to lose his mind lol
    14AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:00
    He was asleep, so he doesn't even have a sense that 2 hours have passed
    15AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:00
    Seeing them standing side by side, this Hosoi guy really is skinny lol
    Meanwhile our boy Horidai is ripped and sturdy, so proud of him
    Guess short sleepers really are built different
    16AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:00
    LOL that 2-hour nap made him weirdly full of energy
    18AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:01
    100k concurrent viewers, huge success
    He's probably pulled in tens of millions of yen off this project alone
    108AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:30
    Re: #19
    Nah, with 1,000 concurrent viewers a 3-hour stream brings in about ¥3,000, so at 100x that concurrent count, even a rough calc over a 168-hour week easily clears ¥10 million
    20AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:02
    The whole point of the livestream was to prove the '30-minute sleep' claim — if he stops streaming for more than 30 minutes a day, it doesn't prove anything anymore
    31AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:06
    Didn't watch it, what happened?
    Did he fake a stream outage to sneak in some sleep or something?
    42AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:10
    Re: #31
    Video call with Kanya Takasu in the afternoon
    ↓
    Hori: 'I'm at my limit… I never actually said I'd only sleep 30 minutes…'
    ↓
    Takasu: 'You've always been the type to take naps too, haven't you, Hori?'
    ↓
    Hori: 'Yeah… the rules are brutal.'
    ↓
    Takasu: 'If it's dangerous, let's change the rules and finish this safely!'
    ↓
    Hori: 'Okay! Naps are allowed then! I'm cutting the stream for 2 hours starting now!'
    47AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:10
    Re: #42
    Don't care if the rules are tough lol
    33AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:06
    Daisuke Hori suddenly struck a 'KBTIT'-style pose lol (an obscure meme reference to a defensive stance)
    Bet he's totally intimidated by this Hosoi guy
    38AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:08
    Re: #33
    LOL he's barely saying anything now
    Seems super nervous right now
    63AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:16
    Re: #33
    He's only picking up comments that hit exactly where he doesn't want to be touched, so he's on guard
    39AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:09
    'Dragon' Hosoi
    Went from Shibumaku (an elite prep school) to Chiba University's med school, used to be a gyaru-o (flashy tanned pretty-boy type), and it's all natural, no plastic surgery — a genuinely elite guy
    Types like Hori or 'Edger' probably can't handle a guy like that
    41AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:10
    Re: #39
    Doesn't he lose outright to Horidai in terms of physique?
    I thought Hosoi would be more built than that
    44AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:10
    Re: #39
    Then again, Hori might be so far gone at this point that nobody knows what he'll do, so they're probably both keeping their guard up
    51AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:12
    Re: #39
    Who's 'Edger'?
    62AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:16
    Who is this bearded guy who looks like Hiroyuki (the 2channel founder)?
    66AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:18
    Re: #62
    He's a doctor
    The guy who's always acting tough on 'Reiwa no Tora' (a business-pitch reality show, like a Japanese Shark Tank)
    83AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:23
    How much is he actually making off this, really?
    97AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:27
    Re: #83
    The Super Chat donations are insane
    92AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:26
    Looks cool, like an action movie star
    https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/2085633368247652352/vid/avc1/464×280/iQMFeEwOKWZ3A1HB.mp4
    96AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:27
    Since it's Kanya, he can't just brush him off, so he keeps getting cornered
    99AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:28
    Takasu's probably sick of it too, since the chat's been going on like that the whole time
    121AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:33
    He's earning our entire annual salary in a single week — no wonder he can't stop laughing lol
    131AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:37
    Re: #121
    He's got staff to pay and probably sank a lot of money into all the setup, so what he actually pockets isn't that huge
    There's Super Chat and everything, but once this wraps up people probably won't even bring it up anymore — once the novelty wears off, it's over
    124AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:34
    Not sleeping is supposedly his normal life, yet somehow not sleeping is the challenge
    126AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:36
    Re: #124
    Let's keep saying this no matter what, forever
    125AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:36
    So, in the end, is Daisuke Hori actually a short sleeper or not?
    132AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:37
    Re: #125
    Apparently he only slept 2 hours, so yeah, that checks out
    133AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:38
    Re: #125
    No idea if it's really 30-minute sleep, but he's definitely a short sleeper
    146AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:44
    So what ended up happening with the microsleep thing?
    148AnonymousSep 14, 2026 00:45
    Re: #146
    Just now he doubled down: 'I slept! Because it felt good! Isn't a head spa basically for sleeping anyway?!'

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    Daisuke Hori appears to be running an endurance livestream project built around sleeping only 30 minutes a day, and this thread is live commentary on how it’s unfolding. The replies show that while he initially declared he wouldn’t take any naps, a call with physician-YouTuber Kanya Takasu led to a proposed rule change, and Hori ended up allowing himself a nap by framing it as ‘cutting the stream for 2 hours.’ Opinions in the thread are split over whether this reversal was a sensible call that prioritized his health, or whether it undermines the entire premise of the project. It’s also worth noting that the earnings figures being thrown around are estimates users worked out backward from the concurrent viewer count — Hori himself hasn’t disclosed any actual numbers, which is easy to mistake for fact. Likewise, the comments about Hosoi’s background and physique are unverified claims from the thread and should be treated with caution.

    ※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5channel (Nanademo Jikkyo G) thread “[Great News] Daisuke Hori Starts Claiming He ‘Didn’t Cut the Stream for 2 Hours’ lololololololololololololololol.”

  • How Far Should You Go With Motorcycle Safety Gear? 5ch: ‘I Want to Value My Life for My Family’s Sake’

    A thread on 5ch’s Newsspeed VIP board claimed that riders who always choose a full-face helmet, no matter the situation, have been “too influenced by things they’ve read online.” The thread’s creator argued that switching helmet types based on use case is “normal,” and questioned whether always going full-face reflects a kind of ideology — but most replies pushed back hard. Commenters pointed out that choosing a full-face helmet for safety and forcing that choice on others are two different things, with comparisons to professional riders like mail carriers and traffic police also cropping up. In the end, the discussion never quite converged, running on in parallel tracks.

    1AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:38
    Normally you switch gear depending on what you're riding for, you know.
    2AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:39
    The reason to wear a full-face is so your family can still see your face one last time if you die.
    3AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:48
    Re: #2
    For touring, I mainly go full-face for comfort when I'm on highways and bypasses too.
    6AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:54
    Wait, did you make this thread now because you were still salty about the daytime thread?
    7AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:57
    Re: #6
    The daytime thread had already died, that's why.
    I don't really get the "salty" framing, but it made me realize there are people out there who only know things from what they've read online and don't seem to see reality clearly.
    8AnonymousSep 13, 2026 18:58
    It's not about being "influenced by the internet" —
    I wear a full-face because it's simply the safest option.
    9AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:02
    Re: #8
    I'm not saying choosing a full-face itself is being influenced by the internet.
    10AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:02
    Re: #9
    So what's your actual point?
    11AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:04
    Re: #10
    My point is that it's normal to switch gear depending on the bike, destination, and purpose.
    Also, if you're that obsessed with safety, just get off two wheels altogether.
    12AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:07
    Re: #11
    I don't really get that.
    Whether it's a moped or a big bike,
    whether I'm going somewhere close or far,
    I think the risk is about the same once you're on public roads.
    That's why I go full-face no matter where I'm headed.
    You seem to have the wrong idea — riding isn't something only reckless people who ignore safety do.
    I take safety seriously because I want to keep enjoying it for a long time.
    Is something wrong with that?
    14AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:09
    Re: #12
    Do you actually understand that full-face helmets have downsides of their own?
    They're heavy, not great for frequent on-and-off, and so on.
    Look at mail carriers — none of them wear full-face helmets, right?
    16AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:11
    Re: #14
    Being heavy and a hassle to take on and off — that's the "danger" of a full-face?
    Both traffic police and mail carriers would probably wear full-face too
    if they didn't need to interact with the public.
    It's their job, so it can't be helped.
    23AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:35
    Well, I don't really care what other people do.
    If you're fine wearing a half helmet and not regretting it even if you crash and wreck your face, that's your call.
    Personally I hate that idea, so I wear full-face — and if it's too hot, I just take the car.
    26AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:38
    Re: #23
    "I don't care what other people do," "you worry too much about others" —

    funny how the people who post replies like that tend to keep arguing purely from their own standard anyway.

    I've noticed that pattern for a while now, too.
    25AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:38
    Comments like "riding is dangerous anyway, so
    safety gear doesn't really matter"

    are just plain stupid.
    27AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:39
    Re: #25
    That's extreme.
    Just pick whatever's best for the situation each time.
    32AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:42
    Re: #27
    How much you value your own life is up to you.
    People who take it lightly can do whatever they want.
    But don't go criticizing other people who take their lives seriously.
    35AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:44
    Re: #30
    Hey, you're the one who wrote "just pick whatever's best" in Re: #27.
    You're all over the place now.
    28AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:39
    Re: #26
    I think you're the one who keeps arguing from your own standard here.
    Maybe think it over.
    30AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:42
    Re: #28
    You think so?
    I'm just saying you should pick based on the situation and use case each time.
    I'm not forcing it on anyone either.
    33AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:43
    Re: #30
    Go back and reread the thread from the start.
    29AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:40
    Wow, so "conscious."

    I don't ride thinking about all that stuff.
    31AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:42
    Re: #29
    Basically people just gear up for comfort so the ride feels good, right?
    41AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:47
    "It's normal to switch gear depending on the bike, destination, and purpose"
    → Sure, but I choose full-face because I don't want to die.

    "If you're that obsessed with safety, just get off two wheels"
    → That makes no sense.
    Are riders not allowed to care about safety?
    45AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:52
    Re: #41
    If you also wore a full-face helmet while driving a car, like a race car driver, then what you're saying would actually carry some weight.
    47AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:53
    Re: #45
    ………?
    I seriously cannot understand what you're saying.
    What are you even talking about?
    50AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:55
    Re: #45
    Uh…
    a race car and a regular car on public roads are completely different things…
    51AnonymousSep 13, 2026 19:56
    Re: #50
    But if you're someone who prioritizes safety above all, wouldn't that logically follow?
    58AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:00
    Re: #51
    No it wouldn't…
    Do you wear a bulletproof vest when you ride a bicycle?
    59AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:00
    Re: #58
    The whole reason I made this thread is that there are people out there who've turned it into that kind of ideology.
    63AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:04
    Re: #59
    Wearing a full-face helmet ≠ excessive safety precaution.

    I can kind of get the argument that wearing full-face just to pop into a supermarket or convenience store is overkill, but
    comparing it to wearing a bulletproof vest on a bicycle → that level of "excessive"
    makes no sense to me.
    Personally, I think of it like shoes.
    97AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:28
    A comment like Re: #94 is exactly what I meant
    in Re: #59, by the way.
    65AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:06
    Re: #63
    I never said it was excessive.
    The main point is about the mindset that you "must" do it that way.
    75AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:12
    Re: #65
    Sorry, I genuinely don't understand what you're saying.
    I don't get what this "mindset" thing you're talking about even is.
    Switching helmets by use case and always going full-face for everything aren't mutually exclusive, you know?
    It's weird that you're stubbornly treating "always full-face" as excessive.

    You claim you never said "excessive," but that's exactly what your argument amounts to.
    Lines like "if you value safety that much, don't ride," "just take a car instead," or "well, if you wore full-face like a race car driver all the time…" are all completely off base.
    86AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:21
    Re: #65
    If there were some trend saying "everyone must wear full-face," then sure, "I'll do what I want" would be a fair response.

    But here someone's simply decided to wear full-face themselves, and outsiders are butting in with a bunch of noise about it.
    94AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:26
    I ride because I love bikes, but
    I want to value my life as much as possible for my family's sake
    so at the very least, I take proper precautions…

    This really isn't something outsiders should be lecturing people about.
    Everyone can decide their own approach.
    Full-face helmets and body armor are perfectly reasonable choices.

    Background and Key Points of This Debate

    Japan’s Road Traffic Act requires helmets when riding a motorcycle, but the choice between full-face, open-face (“jet”), and modular/flip-up (“system”) helmets is left up to the individual. The point of contention in this thread wasn’t safety itself, but where to draw the line: is always choosing full-face, no matter the situation, behavior shaped by things read online, or simply a consistent safety mindset? The thread’s creator supported switching helmet types by use case, while those pushing back argued that risk doesn’t really change based on distance or destination, so consistent gear makes more sense. Both sides shared the same premise — “it’s for safety” — yet never reached a shared conclusion. What’s easy to miss is that this thread wasn’t really about comparing helmet performance, but a circular argument over the motives and attitudes behind people’s gear choices.

    ※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Newsspeed VIP) thread “Isn’t there this type of biker out there who’s like “I’m safety-conscious because I wear full-face 😤” but is clearly way too influenced by stuff they read online?”.

  • Men’s Volleyball Clinches LA Olympics Berth With 3-0 Rout of Iran — Fastest Qualification in 76 Years

    In the final of the Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship, Japan defeated Iran 3-0 to secure a spot in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. It’s the earliest Japan has qualified before an Olympic year since 1976. On the forum thread, some praised Iran for enduring a grueling schedule, while others — recalling Japan’s collapse against Italy at the Paris Olympics — warned the team “don’t choke when it counts.” Others pushed back, citing Japan’s third-place finish in this year’s Nations League (VNL) as proof they’re plenty strong, leaving opinions on the team’s true strength divided.

    Sponichi

    [Sept. 13, 2026, 21:02]

    Men’s Volleyball Asian Championship Final Japan 3-0 Iran (Sept. 13, 2026, Kitakyushu City General Gymnasium, Fukuoka)

    Source: sponichi.co.jp / Original article here

    2AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:07
    Credit to Iran for putting up with this packed schedule.
    11AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:08
    Re: #2
    Wait, was it only Iran dealing with that?
    3AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:07
    Congrats! Let's aim for #1 in the world! …just kidding (kind of)
    4AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:07
    Every set was tight, but great that they pulled through and closed it out.
    6AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:07
    Iran's coach was furious — said the schedule was way too packed.
    85AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:35
    Re: #6
    Every country's under the same conditions though. Soccer's the ugly one — teams play on 4 or 5 days' rest between matches.
    9AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:08
    Nice, good for them. Hope they can win it when it actually counts too.
    10AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:08
    Now I can watch Bivan with no worries.
    12AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:08
    Please, no more hyping them up as unbeatable right up to the Olympics only to choke when it matters. I'd rather they look like total scrubs right until the end and then actually pull it off when it counts.
    33AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:13
    Re: #12
    They were world No. 3 in this year's VNL. That's plenty strong.
    26AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:11
    Ball sports where Japan can actually win globally:

    Baseball, rugby, volleyball, badminton, table tennis

    Ball sports where Japan is hopeless globally:
    Soccer (lit. "ball-kicking" — a dismissive nickname used by anti-soccer posters), basketball
    52AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:18
    Re: #26
    Baseball got crushed by Venezuela though
    27AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:11
    It's a men's sport, but there are no male fans.
    30AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:13
    Re: #27
    They've kept up that strategy for over 20 years and it's worked reasonably well, so why not?
    34AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:13
    Re: #27
    I'm a middle-aged guy, but I'm enough of a fan to go watch matches in person. Just don't know anyone else like me around here.
    40AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:15
    Wait, had they not made it to the actual Olympic tournament in decades?
    42AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:16
    Re: #40
    They played Italy in Paris and had it down to match point, but then blew it with a huge comeback loss — I remember them in tears.
    53AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:19
    Instagram follower counts

    Soccer
    670M Ronaldo
    510M Messi
    240M Neymar

    Cricket
    270M Kohli
    50.53M Dhoni
    46.44M Sharma

    Basketball
    150M LeBron
    57.11M Curry
    21.79M Westbrook

    Tennis
    21.12M Nadal
    16.72M Djokovic
    8.74M Alcaraz

    American Football
    16.54M Beckham
    15.53M Brady
    6.46M Mahomes

    Baseball
    10.82M Ohtani
    2.48M Tatis
    2.36M Yamamoto

    Volleyball
    2.47M Takahashi
    2.04M Ishikawa
    1.91M Souza
    77AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:30
    Re: #53
    Volleyball's got fewer followers than baseball, huh lol
    57AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:19
    The women's team lost in the semis so Fuji TV must've been pretty deflated (Fuji TV is the network that heavily promotes volleyball broadcasts in Japan), but good for the men's team.
    67AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:23
    Re: #57
    The women's Olympic qualification looks hopeless now.
    60AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:20
    Men's volleyball is seriously strong right now, just like yesterday's match against South Korea.
    87AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:36
    Re: #60
    Yesterday's Korea match, Japan was basically just goofing around lol
    61AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:20
    Season attendance
    7.73M J1 (soccer, top division)
    4.84M B.League (basketball)
    2.91M J2 (soccer, 2nd division)
    1.28M J3 (soccer, 3rd division)
    0.66M SV League (Japan's top volleyball league)
    0.50M Volleyball Serie A1 (volleyball's top league worldwide)


    Even the world's top volleyball league draws smaller crowds than soccer's J3 or basketball's B2. Salaries for even the best volleyball players in the world are dirt cheap too.
    79AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:32
    Re: #61
    Think about the size of a soccer pitch versus a volleyball court. Then think about stadium capacity too.
    62AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:20
    Is this medal-guaranteed level already?
    64AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:21
    Re: #62
    If Ishikawa stays consistent, they're strong.
    70AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:23
    Korea was way too weak this time.
    93AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:39
    Re: #70
    Korea's not that bad though — they went on to win bronze in the third-place match after that. It's just that Japan is a cut above the rest of Asia.
    81AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:32
    Soccer players' Instagram followers
    #1 Ronaldo (660M)
    #2 Messi (510M)
    #3 Neymar (230M)
    #4 Mbappé (130M)
    #5 Salah (65.58M)

    Baseball players' Instagram followers
    #1 Ohtani (10.83M)
    #2 Tatis Jr. (2.48M)
    #3 Yamamoto (2.36M)
    #4 Trout (2.22M)
    #5 Judge (2.06M)

    Volleyball players' Instagram followers
    #1 Güneş (3.92M)
    #2 Carvalho (3.55M)
    #3 Takahashi (2.44M)
    #4 Valdés (2.33M)
    #5 Altynbekova (1.14M)
    *All except Takahashi are women
    86AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:36
    Re: #81
    So Japanese soccer players don't measure up globally in skill OR social media popularity, huh. Meanwhile baseball and volleyball at least have a few Japanese names in there.
    82AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:34
    Ishikawa's done. No way he makes it to the Olympics in two years. Time for him to retire from the national team.
    90AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:37
    Re: #82
    The commentators were working hard to defend him, but surprisingly the announcer showed no mercy.
    100AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:41
    Even being this strong, they still can't get a medal once it's actually the Olympics.
    109AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:48
    Re: #100
    Volleyball's popular worldwide, so the competition's fierce. Not quite on soccer's level, but the US, Russia, and Europe — Italy, France, Poland, plus a bunch of smaller countries — are all pretty strong. Brazil and Argentina too.
    101AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:41
    Fukatsu probably doesn't think he'll actually be at the Olympics himself. Feels like he sees getting Japan there as his final job.
    103AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:42
    Re: #101
    Really? That's rough.

    Background and key discussion points

    Olympic qualification for men’s volleyball is decided through results at the Asian Championship and world rankings, and clinching a spot before the Olympic year itself is the fastest Japan has managed since 1976. The thread split over whether the team’s current form will actually hold up when it matters — memories of the come-from-ahead loss to Italy at the 2024 Paris Olympics collided with confidence built on this year’s third-place VNL finish, producing both bullish and cautious takes. Comparisons with J.League and pro baseball attendance and social-media follower counts also came up, highlighting how the sport’s name recognition doesn’t always match its on-court strength. Worth noting as backdrop: the women’s national team was eliminated around the same time and is considered all but out of Olympic contention, a stark contrast to the men’s success.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Volleyball] Japan men clinch LA Olympic berth! Rout Iran, secure spot before Olympic year for the first time since 1976 / Final: Japan 3-0 Iran”.