Category: News

  • Man Posts “I’m a Girl, at Tsurumai Park Right Now” — 5ch’s Verdict: “Suspiciously Timed, Middle-Aged Man”

    On 5channel’s “Live News (Anything Goes)” board, someone posted a photo from Tsurumai Park in Nagoya with the caption “I’m a girl, at Tsurumai Park right now.” Skepticism about the poster’s claimed gender quickly poured in, with commenters mockingly declaring it “the usual middle-aged man” — and the original poster fired back at each jab individually. The conversation eventually drifted into local trivia: Tsurumai Park’s heyday as a Pokémon GO hotspot, and how the once-beloved “strawberry bread” shop had closed and turned into a udon restaurant. What started as an unverifiable self-declaration turned into a thread with that distinctive “nanG” blend of teasing and hometown chatter.

    1AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:35
    How's it going
    2AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:36
    Made it all the way to Tempaku — let's hit Sports Challenge (an arcade/sports facility chain)
    6AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:37
    Re: #2
    Not going, but thanks
    3AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:36
    Is there some kind of festival happening?
    5AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:37
    Suspiciously timed middle-aged man, as always
    10AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:38
    Re: #5
    That's you, buddy, as always
    7AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:37
    Re: #3
    Pokémon GO
    11AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:38
    Re: #7
    Wasn't this place a Pokémon GO hotspot? Anyone still play there?
    13AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:38
    Re: #11
    Way fewer than the peak, but there's still a decent crowd
    14AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:38
    Let's do it again, like at Sekigahara (mixing in old-fashioned Nagoya dialect)
    16AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:39
    Re: #14
    What's this guy even talking about
    31AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:43
    The thread title sounds fun but the replies are looking pretty dull
    36AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:44
    Re: #31
    Hey, cut it out lol
    38AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:44
    Re: #31
    You're the dull one
    39AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:45
    Nagoya's great — the only park I know is one I haven't visited in ages
    44AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:45
    Re: #39
    You should come check it out
    48AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:45
    Didn't Tsurumai Park get a food court and cafes built in? Just remembered that
    56AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:47
    Re: #48
    The strawberry bread place went under
    60AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:48
    How many shiny-colored ones did you manage to get?
    67AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:49
    Re: #60
    Got 4 shinies
    80AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:51
    Re: #67 lol, sounds like you didn't even play that much
    Though I guess it wasn't really worth going hard on anyway
    83AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:52
    Re: #80
    Ran out of battery, only got an hour in
    77AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:51
    Re: #72
    But it's 700 yen, right?
    Don't you think that's a little steep?
    81AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:52
    Re: #77
    Not really
    128AnonymousSep 12, 2026 19:09
    My guess: OP's 27, looks maybe a 6.6 out of 10 — how'd I do?
    133AnonymousSep 12, 2026 19:12
    Re: #128
    Nah, ranked 30th, in their 50s
    129AnonymousSep 12, 2026 19:09
    Re: #123
    Funniest thing I've seen all year, gonna follow you now
    130AnonymousSep 12, 2026 19:10
    Re: #129
    Your 2026 is gonna suck
    138AnonymousSep 12, 2026 19:13
    Re: #137
    Was hoping for a slightly more serious answer
    139AnonymousSep 12, 2026 19:13
    Re: #138
    I am being serious

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    Tsurumai Park, located in Nagoya’s Showa Ward, was once nationally famous as a spot where rare Pokémon spawned in Pokémon GO, drawing large crowds of players during in-game events. The thread reflects this history, with users noting that the crowds are “smaller than the peak, but people are still there,” suggesting the park’s former buzz has faded but not disappeared. That said, the thread’s real focus wasn’t the park itself but the teasing over whether the poster’s claim of being a “woman” was true — following the classic “doubt first” pattern typical of this board. The poster’s actual gender and age can’t be confirmed from the thread, and it’s worth noting the whole exchange is really just the stylized back-and-forth typical of an anonymous message board.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Live News, Anything Goes board) thread “[Photo] I’m a girl, at Tsurumai Park right now lolllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll.”

  • Kojima Productions Announces Xbox Partnership, No Thanks to Sony — 5ch Reacts

    A release from Kojima Productions, led by director Hideo Kojima, announcing a new partnership with Xbox has stirred up discussion on 5ch after users noticed it made no mention of Sony, the studio’s longtime backer. Since leaving Konami in 2015, Kojima Productions has relied on funding and Sony’s proprietary game engine to produce the Death Stranding series, and the thread saw criticism along the lines of “not even a word of thanks?” clash with counterarguments that “the studio was never actually struggling to begin with.” The discussion gradually expanded to cover Death Stranding 2’s sales performance and updates on other creators who left Konami, such as Toshihiro Nagoshi.

    1AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:48
    It's the culmination of Director Kojima's career, so why…?
    2AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:49
    People hype this guy up way too much, but everything except Metal Gear is trash
    120AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:24
    Re: #2
    Hey!… HEY…
    4AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:50
    Stop casting famous actors —
    put that budget into the actual gameplay instead
    6AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:52
    Re: #4
    But if they did that, we couldn't lose our minds over the models anymore, right? ("んほる" is slang for swooning/gushing, often over hyper-realistic character faces)
    5AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:52
    Overseas fans are furious at Sony



    9AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:53
    Sony reached out and gave massive support for a whole decade when he was struggling after being cut loose by Konami,
    and he doesn't say a single word of thanks? I'm honestly shocked.
    Does this guy have no common sense at all?
    Kicking sand in the face of the people who helped him like that — I'm genuinely put off.
    26AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:57
    Re: #9
    Thought the same thing
    Setting aside who's right or wrong, at least a token word of thanks on the surface would've been nice
    43AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:03
    Re: #9
    Exactly this
    The "official Kojima Productions release" being talked about is the one posted on X and their website, right?
    Both of them just report the Xbox partnership
    Is there some separate post somewhere thanking SIE? Because I can't find one
    86AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:16
    Re: #9
    People want to frame it like he was in trouble, but
    he wasn't actually struggling after getting cut loose
    Sony backing him was already arranged before he even left Konami
    10AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:53
    Wasn't he already working on some new Death Stranding-related title? So why the split?
    19AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:55
    Re: #10
    There was an article saying Death Stranding 2's sales were underwhelming, and the new game they're making, Physint, is behind schedule and eating through the budget — that's apparently why he got cut
    12AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:54
    This guy has a serious movie complex
    He originally wanted to go into the film industry so badly that MGS4 had like 8 hours of cutscenes
    35AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:00
    Re: #12
    So that's why he has everyone around him call him "Director"
    22AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:56
    Gets allowance money from Sony
    ↓
    Uses it to wine and dine famous celebrities under the pretext of "motion capture"
    ↓
    Repeat
    ↓
    Allowance runs out
    25AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:56
    Re: #22
    Nagoshi got exposed for the same thing too — blowing money wining and dining Sony people back when he was head of development at Sega
    27AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:57
    Nagoshi included, Western publishers have gotten a lot stricter on money-guzzlers lately
    More and more companies are shutting down studios or doing mass layoffs too
    40AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:01
    Re: #27
    Comparing Kojima to Nagoshi, who couldn't even ship a game, is going way too far
    44AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:04
    Re: #27
    What's Nagoshi even doing these days?
    47AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:05
    Re: #44

    49AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:06
    Re: #47
    Wondered why this combo made sense, but then remembered —
    Nagoshi was the head of development at Sega back when Bayonetta and Vanquish came out
    48AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:06
    He made two Death Stranding games with Sony's money, and Sony was even generous enough not to slap its own name on it — yet not a single word of thanks? That's rough
    50AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:07
    Re: #48
    They put up that much money, gave him the engine for free, and even allowed a multiplatform release — an insanely good deal, and still nothing
    51AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:07
    Re: #48
    He even got to borrow the game engine — treated incredibly well — and yet there's not even a hint of gratitude. Leaves a bad impression
    61AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:10
    Anyone bringing up Concord over this whole thing is dumb
    They learned their lesson from Concord, and now games like Concord are just the ones getting axed
    66AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:11
    Re: #61
    Seems plausible that Concord got slammed so hard it triggered an overall review [of funded projects]
    80AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:14
    I'm playing Death Stranding 1 right now and it's fun… or is it not?
    83AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:15
    Re: #80
    Made me feel like I was a delivery driver for Yamato or Sagawa (major Japanese parcel courier companies)
    89AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:17
    Re: #80
    The thing is, partway through it just turns into a game where you drive a truck around…
    97AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:19
    Re: #80
    It's fun, but it feels like the hype set the bar too high
    85AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:15
    Are there any famous creators who went independent from a publisher and actually made it work?
    Sakaguchi and Nagoshi both seem stuck in obscurity, and Mikami got cut loose by Bethesda too
    91AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:17
    Re: #85
    Honestly, Mikami's doing fine just by having shipped Vanquish and The Evil Within
    And Kamiya made Bayonetta
    106AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:21
    Re: #85
    Well, realistically, one flop and you're done
    Once you start making an AAA title it's a once-in-a-lifetime gamble
    No creator bats a thousand
    121AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:25
    Re: #85
    Lumping them all together is completely wrong
    Mikami makes solid games and gets recognized for it, so he'll get another shot
    "Beard" (Kojima's nickname) keeps putting out work no matter what
    Nagoshi has nothing
    108AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:21
    Turns out there are surprisingly a lot of Kojima haters on NanJ (5ch's casual, meme-heavy "live news" board)
    110AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:22
    Re: #108
    I think a lot of people do like Metal Gear though
    113AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:23
    Re: #108
    Not a hater, but Kojima really hasn't changed since around MGS4 — and not in a good way

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    After leaving Konami in 2015, Kojima Productions produced the Death Stranding series with funding from Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) and use of Sony’s proprietary “Decima Engine.” What’s drawing attention now is that the studio’s release announcing its Xbox partnership contains no acknowledgment of Sony, sparking a clash on the thread between users arguing “no gratitude after ten years of support?” and others countering that “the studio was never actually in dire straits — Sony’s backing was arranged well before the split from Konami.” Poor sales for Death Stranding 2 and budget overruns on the new title Physint are cited in the thread as reasons behind the split, but these are unconfirmed claims raised within the discussion, not facts officially acknowledged by Kojima Productions or Sony — a point readers could easily mistake for confirmed fact. The word “severance” in the headline is likewise 5ch’s own interpretation; neither company has issued an official announcement of a relationship breakup.

    *This article is compiled as an excerpt/summary of the 5ch (NanJ) thread “[RIP] Director Hideo Kojima Reportedly Severs Ties with SONY for Real.”

  • Aquariums: Meant to Be an Easy Hobby, Ended Up a Money Pit — 5ch: “This Is a Rich Man’s Hobby”

    A thread about aquariums as a hobby heated up on 5ch’s VIP board. Right from the start, people were complaining “it costs way too much,” followed by tales of woe — like accidentally killing pet white cloud minnows (akahire) in a 24-liter bug cage, or the agony of waiting over a day for zeolite to settle with no filter. On the other hand, some recommended a “budget aquarium” approach — just tossing medaka (Japanese rice fish) and shrimp into a bucket left outdoors — or a “biotope” setup that only requires upfront costs. Opinions split over whether you can keep costs low if you don’t get too particular, or whether keeping any living creature inevitably racks up money and effort over time. One poster even shared a story of sinking a total of 100,000 yen (about $650) into the hobby, keeping the thread buzzing.

    1AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:14
    First things first
    This costs way too much
    7AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:17
    You can keep it cheap if you don't get picky about it
    Honestly, money's not the scary part — it's when the upkeep gets tedious, you stop maintaining it, and the whole thing collapses
    10AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:18
    Re: #7
    Low-budget is actually harder
    Trust me, I'm running an aquarium out of a bug cage, so I know
    You've gotta run the AC in summer
    And obviously it's cold in winter
    9AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:18
    At the end of the day, it's a hobby involving living creatures, so you can't just quit when you get bored — not if you've got a heart
    11AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:19
    Re: #9
    Exactly, you can't just casually quit either
    It's over for us
    13AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:21
    Wait, are you the guy who killed his white cloud minnows?
    14AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:21
    Re: #13
    Ah yeah, that's me
    Just bought a 24-liter bug cage and I'm currently living in hell lololol
    15AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:22
    https://imgur.com/a/zwqJ1HA
    No filter, so the zeolite particles are settling way too slowly
    I've been waiting a whole day already… (crying)
    17AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:23
    Re: #15
    What are you even doing here?
    18AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:23
    Huh?
    You killed your white cloud minnows too?
    That's rough
    You're just not cut out for aquariums
    19AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:25
    Re: #17
    Laid down zeolite, waiting for it to settle
    Re: #18
    It's just 2 fish in 3 liters… and yeah, I seriously might have no talent for this
    26AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:28
    https://imgur.com/a/TxtDjso
    Behold this paradise
    Easy to maintain, the water's crystal clear
    the white medaka are thriving
    plenty of room to spare
    this is the ideal budget aquarium
    29AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:31
    Guess you didn't have the resolve to become a true "aquariumeow" (a playful typo for "aquarist")
    30AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:32
    Re: #29
    Wait, isn't it "aquariumist"…
    Guess I really didn't have the resolve
    33AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:33
    Thought about just keeping shrimp instead, but they die without aeration
    36AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:34
    Re: #33
    I keep shrimp and they're doing totally fine without aeration
    I think it's thanks to the water plants and ventilation
    37AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:35
    I finally got rid of everything this year
    Once you get serious about it, even with "just" medaka you end up managing temperature and water quality for everything, even picking out the eggs one by one
    By the time I'd bred a few dozen fry, I was completely burned out
    39AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:36
    Re: #37
    How'd you get rid of them? Dumped 'em in a river? lol
    40AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:37
    I thought I was keeping costs down, but they just kept piling up
    I think I've spent a total of 100,000 yen (about $650) by now
    I even went fishing and threw some Japanese dace (ugui) in there too
    43AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:38
    Re: #40
    Whoa…
    Damn, that's a full-on serious aquarium setup lol
    Aquariums really are brutal
    At this point it's just brutal
    I think 3 liters is about the max you can handle
    Past 10 liters it starts getting sketchy
    24 liters? That's the start of hell, huh lol
    41AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:38
    Step 1: Buy a bucket
    Step 2: Fill it with tap water
    Step 3: Leave it outside for a day somewhere that gets morning sun and afternoon shade
    Step 4: Add water plants like hornwort or anacharis
    Step 5: Leave it alone for a week
    Step 6: Acclimate the medaka and shrimp to the water, then add them
    Step 7: Top off the water when it evaporates
    Step 8: Feed them occasionally
    Done
    44AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:40
    Re: #41
    What is this, an aquarium even more basic than mine?
    Is this an elementary school science project or something?
    51AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:43
    Re: #41
    If you bury that bucket in your yard, you've basically got yourself a little garden pond
    65AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:58
    The electricity bill's probably gonna be brutal too
    69AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:01
    Re: #65
    Exactly lol
    Aquariums are basically a rich man's hobby at this point
    Just admit it
    All us commoners can manage is
    https://imgur.com/a/uJaqXg9
    this
    83AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:25
    Figured medaka and shrimp wouldn't cost that much


    That's what I thought — 5 years ago
    85AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:27
    Re: #83
    If you go the biotope route, it's just the upfront cost and basically free after that
    86AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:27
    Re: #83
    The medaka and shrimp themselves are cheap
    but everything that comes with them adds up
    the tank, the food
    the electricity bill too

    It turns into a money-eating monster

    It's because you're keeping living creatures
    I can practically hear God laughing at me
    88AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:29
    This hobby's such a rabbit hole it could end with you moving to Nagoya
    90AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:33
    Re: #88
    That sounds pretty dangerous
    Yeah, this hobby really is a minefield
    But my 3-liter tank still has hope, so maybe it's too early for you guys to give up
    Water changes are super easy at this size, and laying down zeolite keeps the smell down to almost nothing (so far)
    Add shrimp and they'll clean up after themselves
    With water plants too, you don't even need aeration
    That alone is enough to enjoy it

    Though I think 2 shrimp and 1 small fish is about the limit
    Any more than that and you get a nasty smell and you're done for
    Source: me
    109AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:51

    This is what I pictured when I opened this thread, but it turned out to be nothing like that
    111AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:53
    Re: #109
    Honestly, that's what I want to do
    I mean, if I went all in, I probably could lol
    137AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:26
    I'm blowing almost 100,000 yen (about $650) a month on pachinko, so I want to start an aquarium instead and quit that
    138AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:28
    Re: #137
    With that 100,000 yen a month, you could pull off something like Re: #109
    110AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:52
    Would something like this be easier?
    They call it a "bottle aquarium" apparently, and I figured this kind of thing could just sit casually on my desk

    112AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:53
    Re: #110
    Go for it, as long as you can properly change the water every single day
    The less water there is, the more sensitive the water quality becomes
    113AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:54
    Re: #110
    Line the bottom with zeolite (it absorbs ammonia and stuff)
    add some anacharis-type water plants
    and I think you could manage with just one fish
    Personally though, I'd also want shrimp in there (they clean up droppings and such), so you'd be better off going with something a bit bigger
    114AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:55
    Re: #110
    With this
    you'd have to change the water
    the temperature seems like it'd spike easily
    and without aeration it seems like the fish would run out of oxygen
    seems really tough
    117AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:55
    Also, there's this round sphere-type setup
    I saw it on TV a while back
    apparently it's a self-contained environment like a mini Earth
    and supposedly the creatures inside never die even if you do absolutely nothing to it
    120AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:56
    Re: #117
    No way that's actually true lol
    122AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:03
    Re: #117
    You're probably talking about a "perfect aquarium," but that photo isn't one
    There are people who've actually pulled off a truly hands-off setup like that, but it ends up looking so rough it's not worth displaying
    There are plenty of "fake" perfect aquariums out there though
    125AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:07
    Vivariums are a different category entirely
    The one in Re: #117 has fast-growing plants in it, so if you don't tend to it, within a week or two the plants will spiral out of control into a jungle, or get overrun by algae
    Bottom line, keeping it looking nice takes work — or rather, rebuilding it periodically is just par for the course

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    Aquariums are a hobby centered on raising fish and aquatic plants in a tank, and even at a small scale, the need to manage water temperature and quality drives up both cost and effort. The more a “simplified aquarium” setup skips filters, heaters, and aeration, the more unstable the water quality tends to become — as seen in this thread, where posters described killing their white cloud minnows or struggling to wait out the slow settling of zeolite (an ammonia-absorbing material). The “perfect aquarium” discussed in the thread refers to attempts to create a fully self-contained ecosystem inside a sealed container; posters pointed out that even when successfully achieved, it tends to look messy and isn’t really suited for display, which differs from the popular image of a “zero-maintenance” setup. Meanwhile, the “biotope” method — putting medaka and shrimp in a bucket and leaving it outdoors — is said to be low-cost thanks to using hardy native species, though here too, the smaller the volume of water, the more sensitive it becomes to changes in water quality. The divide between the low-budget camp and those who’ve experienced costs spiraling comes down to the basic fact that keeping any living creature inevitably brings cost and effort somewhere along the line.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (VIP) thread “This ‘Aquarium’ Hobby Thing lololololol.”

  • Ebata Kisaki’s Photos Spark Praise on 5ch: “She’s Basically Divine Now”

    A thread titled “Ebata Kisaki’s miracle shot” went up on 5ch’s Hello! Project board, sparking excitement over a photo of her posted to Twitter (X). Replies poured in with praise like “she’s basically divine at this point” and “a once-in-2000-years talent,” with some comments referencing her recent “As You Like It” stage at TIF (Tokyo Idol Festival). The conversation didn’t stop at photo appreciation — it expanded into comparisons with other Hello! Project members, revealing how differently each fan base measures its idols.

    1AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:31
    Ebata Kisaki's miracle shot
    2AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:31
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HR_63CqacAAS8-z.jpg
    3AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:31
    She's basically divine at this point
    5AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:33
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HR_63Csa4AAenSH.jpg
    6AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:33
    Let's market her as a once-in-2000-years talent
    21AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:38
    Re: #6
    More like a once-in-5000-years talent, Eba ("half a myriad years" = 5000 in the original wordplay)
    7AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:33
    There are tons of cuter photos of her out there
    8AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:33
    For Ebata this is just an average shot — there are way better live photos out there
    9AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:34
    Every single photo is a miracle shot when it's Eba-chan
    10AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:34
    By that standard Mifuu had way more god-tier shots
    11AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:34
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HR_d40xbkAAAstB.jpg
    So cuuute~
    17AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:36
    Most recently, there was her 'As You Like It' stage at TIF26
    18AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:36
    Yep, she's a real talent alright
    22AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:39
    Eba… why not join Sakura Gakuin… (a separate Hello! Project-adjacent "idol school" unit)
    24AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:40
    Great personality
    Good on the mic/talk segments
    Good cook
    25AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:40
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HSAHyBAakAAipm4.jpg:orig#.jpg
    28AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:42
    36AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:47
    I wanna eat Eba's terrible homemade bread
    45AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:50
    Re: #36
    Tasty food's bad for you anyway
    38AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:47
    Eba and Mifuu together could totally join Morning Musume. (flagship Hello! Project group)
    41AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:49
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HSAP0_qaMAA6VR0.jpg
    42AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:49
    When she's in good condition she's unstoppable
    43AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:50
    This girl's visuals are just too good
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HR8PXUsbYAAH4N-.jpg
    50fusianasanSep 12, 2026 17:51
    Looks like the antis have finally resorted to outright slander (posted under "fusianasan" — a name 5ch users type when they want to signal they're posting without hiding their info, often used ironically or as a dare)

    Background and Talking Points

    “Miracle shot” threads are a familiar format on idol fan boards — a single photo shared on social media is enough to spark a wave of enthusiasm. The member at the center of this one, Ebata Kisaki, is active within the Hello! Project (H!P) family of groups. Comments like “she should join Morning Musume.” or “why not join Sakura Gakuin” are just exaggerated fan-speak used to express how highly she’s rated — not literal suggestions that she’s actually transferring or being scouted. That said, some replies in the thread veered into more sensitive territory involving her body and appearance; this article has been edited to leave out posts that amount to harassment or sexualized commentary about her. Shorthand nicknames like “Ebamifu” (a fan mashup of Eba and Mifuu’s names) are insider terms specific to the Hello! Project board and can be hard to parse for newcomers — worth keeping in mind while reading.

    ※This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Ebata Kisaki’s Miracle Shot.”

  • “Only a Top-Tier Company Will Do”: Inside a NEET’s Unshakable Pride

    A thread titled “I’m a NEET — how do I get high pride?” appeared on 5ch’s “Live News Flash General” board. The poster says they graduated from a lower-tier regional national university, are under 30, and have no work history. According to the poster, what’s keeping them stuck is being unable to accept that they can’t get into a top-tier company, and they revealed that the root of their pride lies in having been sent to national-affiliated elementary and junior high schools by their parents. Reactions split, with some saying “that’s not pride, you just have no motivation” and others asking “isn’t it fine not to be top-tier?”, while a string of harsher takes — factoring in the poster’s age and education — argued “you should already give up on a top-tier company.”

    1AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:30
    Right now my pride is so high I can't even bring myself to job hunt
    4AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:31
    The fact you can admit that is already a step forward
    7AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:32
    Re: #4
    I want to get further than that
    8AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:32
    It's not that your pride is high, you just don't feel like doing anything
    13AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:34
    Re: #8
    I do have motivation, but I have to accept that I can't get into a top-tier company
    Right now, I can't do that
    10AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:32
    The trick is not looking down on anyone, no matter who they are
    19AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:35
    Re: #10
    I'm not doing that
    12AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:33
    Pride can be your driving force, so better not to throw it away
    23AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:37
    Re: #12
    Then how am I supposed to move forward?
    21AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:36
    It comes down to what kind of life you actually want
    Even if you'd gotten into a top-tier company, do you really think you'd have ended up with the life you wanted?
    You might've burned out from overwork, or ended up running an abusive household of your own
    27AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:38
    Re: #21
    That's true, but even so, a top-tier company is everything to me
    22AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:36
    If you don't want to work under someone, just start your own business
    28AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:38
    Re: #22
    I don't mind working under someone
    24AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:37
    You're a 35-year-old NEET with no work history — what exactly are you so proud of?
    29AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:40
    Re: #24
    The definition of NEET
    It's ages 15 to 34
    26AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:37
    Re: #13
    Then it's hopeless for life, isn't it? Might as well give up
    32AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:41
    Re: #26
    I want to move forward but I can't
    That's what's so painful
    30AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:40
    I've got some weird pride too
    I get irritated when my boss calls me out
    And every time it happens, I'm disappointed in myself
    36AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:43
    Re: #30
    Well, if it's an unreasonable order, of course you'd get irritated
    33AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:42
    How did that pride of yours even get built in the first place?
    Sounds like there's an inferiority complex underneath it, so list it out point by point
    37AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:44
    Re: #33
    It all comes down to my parents putting me in national-affiliated elementary and junior high schools (prestigious schools attached to national universities)
    35AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:43
    Re: #19
    Aren't you already looking down on people by dividing everything into "top-tier" and "second-tier"?
    40AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:44
    Re: #35
    It's a distinction, not looking down on anyone
    38AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:44
    Re: #31
    Just give up on landing a top-tier company already
    I don't know your actual age, but if you're already in your late 20s, I don't think it's happening without a serious miracle
    42AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:46
    Re: #38
    For me it's: can't get into a top-tier company = being a NEET is the better option
    44AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:47
    Re: #32
    It's because you don't actually want to move forward — that's exactly what I mean by having zero motivation
    It's like saying "lol there's no point unless I'm Olympic-athlete level" and then not doing anything
    You think someone who talks like that and never acts actually has motivation?
    47AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:49
    Re: #44
    I don't really follow that comparison, but at least I do have motivation
    I have motivation — that's exactly why I started this thread to try to move forward
    54AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:51
    Re: #47
    Even a monkey can start a thread. That's not moving forward or backward
    Seriously
    106AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:09
    Re: #47
    I genuinely don't get it, so tell me
    What kind of bright future are you actually expecting from starting a thread like this?
    56AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:51
    Re: #49
    Right now, that's a tough one to answer
    57AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:52
    Re: #56
    Try explaining exactly what's "tough" about it
    62AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:53
    Re: #57
    A life guaranteed to be less than top-tier
    65AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:54
    Re: #62
    But if you stay like this, you won't even be third-tier, let alone top-tier — you'll be living below the bottom rung
    70AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:57
    Re: #62
    It's fine not to be top-tier
    Is there an actual reason it has to be top-tier?
    108AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:10
    Re: #106
    Some advice that actually clicks
    111AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:11
    Re: #108
    So far, what has actually clicked for you?
    114AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:12
    Re: #111
    All you can do is find your ambition and move forward step by step
    115AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:13
    Re: #114
    Do you even have that kind of time to spare?
    How old are you right now, and what's your work and education history?
    132AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:21
    Re: #130
    And the result of that is the shallow comment in Re: #114
    What a waste of time
    117AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:14
    Re: #115
    I'll keep my age hidden to avoid being identified
    As for education, I'm a graduate of a lower-tier regional national university
    121AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:15
    Re: #117
    What about work history?
    Nobody's identifying you just from your age — at least say whether you're over thirty or not
    123AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:16
    Re: #121
    Under 30, no work history
    127AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:18
    Re: #123
    Then you could still just barely make it work — do you really have time to waste like this??
    128AnonymousSep 12, 2026 18:19
    Re: #123
    I'm not trying to bully you here, but
    honestly, you should seriously give up on a top-tier company already
    It's at a level you could call flat-out impossible

    Background and Key Points of the Discussion

    In Japan’s official statistics, “NEET” is defined by the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as non-working people aged 15 to 34 who are not in school and not doing housework — a definition the poster themselves referenced in the thread. The split in opinion centered on how to take the poster’s self-diagnosis that “pride is what’s stopping me from moving forward”: some read it as plain laziness, while others felt it should be treated as the flip side of an inferiority complex about educational background. The poster’s claim that the root of their pride lies in “being sent to national-affiliated elementary and junior high schools by my parents” is likely to strike outside readers as an unexpected detail. It’s also worth noting that the poster withheld their exact age to avoid being identified, which led to some back-and-forth in the replies where the age question never quite got resolved.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Live News Flash General) thread “I’m a NEET — how do I get high pride?“

  • Merging after a stop sign: right or left turn signal? 5ch: “There’s no point signaling to the main road”

    A thread on 5ch went viral over an image posing a simple question: at a merge point with a stop sign, should you signal right or left? Legally, this spot counts as an intersection, so the textbook answer is a left signal — but plenty of drivers insist on the right signal because it’s easier for cars on the main road and oncoming traffic to see. Opinions poured in from people drawing on real-world driving experience. The debate never quite converged, partly because people couldn’t agree on a more basic question: who is the turn signal actually for?

    1AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:35
    So which is it?
    2AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:36
    If you don't know, just put on both.
    7AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:37
    First, I want you to ask me where I bought those 3 apples…
    and then I want you to come buy the other 2 apples with me.
    8AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:37
    You signal right to warn drivers on the main road.
    The left signal is meant to notify the car behind you, but since there's no option here except turning left, it's not necessary.
    21AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:45
    Right works fine.
    Signaling left is pointless since the people on the main road can't see it anyway.
    What's even the point of a signal then?
    29AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:48
    Re: #21
    If I saw a right signal from the main road's perspective, I'd panic thinking they were driving the wrong way.
    92AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:10
    Re: #21
    There's no point showing it to the main road.
    26AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:47
    I saw somewhere that it's right, so it's easier for everyone else to notice.
    31AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:49
    Re: #26
    By that logic you'd have to signal right for an ordinary left turn at a normal right-angle intersection too.
    48AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:55
    It's a merge, so it's right, obviously.
    Do you signal left when merging onto a highway?
    51AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:56
    Re: #48
    Wait, a stop sign on the highway? Seriously?
    55AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:57
    Re: #48
    If there's a stop sign, it counts as an intersection — that's different from merging onto a highway or bypass.
    52AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:56
    Re: #8
    What do you mean there's no option but a left turn? They might turn right.
    56AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:58
    Re: #52
    Can't you see the arrow?
    62AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:00
    Re: #56
    Do you really think that arrow in the image is something every driver actually sees on the road?
    64AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:01
    Re: #56
    I don't think real roads have arrows like that, though.
    74AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:04
    Re: #71
    Who's that left signal even for?
    75AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:05
    Re: #74
    If it's one lane each way, it's for the oncoming traffic.
    77AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:06
    I'm scared someone's going to pull the "well it's a stop sign" line for cases like these too.


    90AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:10
    Here's your answer.


    If there's an acceleration/auxiliary lane like in Re: #77, use the right signal.
    87AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:08
    People keep saying stuff like "there's no point signaling if the car going straight on the priority road can't see it," but seriously…
    can you please stop driving like you expect someone to bail you out just because you flicked a signal???
    93AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:11
    Re: #87
    Do those people seriously think that if they signal and just barge in, everyone will magically get out of the way?
    94AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:11
    Re: #87
    That completely defeats the entire purpose of signaling.
    99AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:13
    Re: #87
    "Stop driving expecting others to sort it out" is a fair point, but on public roads I think you're better off driving as if unpredictable stuff can always happen.
    In this exact situation, which way you signal (or whether you signal at all) probably won't change much — it's more about that general mindset.
    89AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:09
    How would you feel if the car in front of you signaled right?
    91AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:10
    Re: #89
    I'd figure they're basically doing a U-turn to the right.
    If they're not swinging wide, I'd guess they're just going left.
    95AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:12
    Re: #92
    So who's it for, then?
    96AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:12
    Re: #95
    The car behind you, and oncoming traffic.
    98AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:13
    Re: #90
    What exactly counts as an "auxiliary lane" here anyway?
    103AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:15
    Re: #98
    If there's a stop sign, it's not an auxiliary lane.
    106AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:16
    Re: #99
    Mindset for what?
    Like "I'll just floor it and ram into you anytime" 💪 — that kind of thing?
    113AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:19
    Re: #106
    It's not about "I'm going to cut in dangerously" — it's that even if you're in control, other people out there aren't necessarily being careful at all.
    It's like driving at a speed where you could handle a kid suddenly darting out in a residential area.
    Sure, worrying about a worst case on a road shaped like this is extreme, but what if some car slips past your visual and mirror checks and comes flying in at crazy speed?
    108AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:17
    Left is technically correct, but in practice signaling right makes it easier for everyone around you to read the situation.
    115AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:20
    Re: #108
    Yeah, that's what you actually see more often on the road too.
    This is just a pointless argument for the sake of arguing.
    116AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:21
    Honestly, if someone's got their signal on at all, I'm already on guard — doesn't matter which side it's pointing.
    119AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:23
    Re: #116
    Exactly, that's why you signal right.
    At this angle, drivers on the main road can't see a left signal anyway.
    125AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:26
    Wouldn't a left signal be invisible to the car behind you too?
    126AnonymousSep 12, 2026 17:27
    Re: #125
    No, the car behind can see it just fine.

    Background and key points of this debate

    When a merge point has a stop sign, Japanese traffic law treats that spot as an “intersection,” meaning it’s handled the same as an ordinary left turn rather than a lane change onto a main road. That’s why driving schools teach the left signal as the default rule. In real-world driving, though, plenty of drivers use the right signal instead, since it’s easier for oncoming and following traffic to notice — and this gap between “legal principle” and “on-the-road habit” became the central fault line of the thread. The discussion was muddied further by a disagreement over an even more basic premise: who is a turn signal actually meant for? Those who see it as a message to the car behind them reached different conclusions than those who see it as a message to cars on the main road — an easy-to-miss detail buried in the arguing. Worth noting too: the “correct” answer can shift depending on whether an auxiliary lane exists and the exact shape of the intersection, so this isn’t really something that can be settled with one blanket “right or left” rule.

    ※This article is an excerpt/summary based on the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “[Image] A question only people with a driver’s license can answer wwwwwwwww.”

  • Hello! Project idol Yonemura Kirara puts soy sauce in the lid of her packaged sushi — 5ch: “This isn’t a seafood rice bowl”

    A thread noting that Hello! Project idol Yonemura Kirara pours soy sauce into the lid of her packaged sushi container while eating drew attention and became a hot topic on 5ch’s Hello! Project board. It’s a common enough sight when there’s no small dish available while out and about, but the thread split between people calling it “bad manners” and those saying “using the lid as a soy sauce dish is totally normal,” spiraling into a full-blown debate over sushi-eating etiquette. The conversation even branched out into whether or not you should dissolve wasabi into your soy sauce, and, surprisingly, it really took off.

    2AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:03
    She dissolves the wasabi in it too lolololololololol
    11AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:06
    This is just common sense, isn't it? / You guys do this every day too
    12AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:06
    Some single middle-aged dude: / "Hey Kirapoyo~, this isn't a seafood bowl, don't go mixing wasabi into your soy sauce"
    14AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:07
    Lol, such an old-man move / "Don't you dare deny me" lol 😭
    15AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:07
    Sometimes you flip the lid over and it turns into a total disaster
    16AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:07
    This is exactly the kind of thing that shows your everyday habits, huh
    19AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:08
    I hate it when you use a big lid — the soy sauce just spreads out everywhere
    20AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:08
    Wait, so the people saying they don't do this just dump soy sauce straight onto the sushi? / Also… "good news"? really?
    23AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:10
    When it's a boxed lunch provided for work and no other plate is given, this is the only option / Don't lump me in with you guys whose moms will hand you a plate the moment you ask
    25AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:10
    Proper etiquette means always carrying your own soy sauce dish around, just in case someone hands you packaged sushi
    26AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:10
    The agency should provide her with a proper plate / Don't let your own talent show off such tacky habits
    27AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:11
    Most of the time I pour it straight on the sushi, but sometimes I use the lid as a soy sauce dish and dip it in / It's completely normal
    28AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:11
    At home you can grab a small dish, but out and about this is the only option
    29AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:11
    It's a nice surprise when the lid has a little soy-sauce groove built in, but you don't see that much these days
    31AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:11
    Kirara probably just mixes it all together in her mouth anyway, come on 😡
    32AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:11
    Especially when eating at home, I don't want more dishes to wash lol
    33AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:12
    You end up using too much or dropping the topping, so it's not really practical
    37AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:12
    Re: #33 / Isn't that just because you're bad at dipping?
    36AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:12
    I personally use a Hasami-yaki soy sauce dish (a traditional style of Japanese pottery)
    75AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:21
    Re: #36 Nice try, Marin fanboy
    39AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:13
    Apparently the "correct" etiquette for women is to soak a makeup-brush-like tool in soy sauce and dab it onto the sushi
    42AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:14
    Re: #39 / What kind of fancy sushi is that lol
    41AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:14
    If it's cheap packaged sushi, it's packed in tight so it probably won't fall apart anyway
    47AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:15
    Is that whole "don't dissolve the wasabi, dab it straight onto the fish" bit of trivia originally from the manga Oishinbo?
    53AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:15
    Re: #47 / Even back then I thought, just do whatever you want
    48AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:15
    I honestly wish they'd just design the lid with a built-in soy sauce well
    49AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:15
    You're out and about, so this is the only option / It's not the same as eating at home!
    51AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:15
    The self-proclaimed connoisseurs brush it on with the pickled ginger, right?
    54AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:15
    If you pour the soy sauce on first, the topping gets soggy, right? / Dipping it right as you eat really does taste better
    59AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:17
    Re: #54 / I eat fast so it doesn't bother me much, but it's no surprise slow eaters would feel that way / / Go ahead, just do the lid soy-sauce thing
    56AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:16
    People still pool soy sauce in a dish to eat, huh
    57AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:16
    Put a tissue underneath and tilt it a little — works great
    62AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:18
    That's how someone used to eating sushi in Ginza ("Zagin de Sushi," posh reversed slang for dining in Ginza) would do it
    63AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:18
    Anyone who dips the rice itself in soy sauce has no sense of taste
    65AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:19
    If it were a girl, I'd have wanted her to put a little wasabi on each piece and drizzle soy sauce onto each one individually
    70AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:20
    Re: #65 / A girl like that would be way too much lol

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    Whether to use the lid of packaged sushi as a stand-in soy sauce dish is a perennial debate that resurfaces on 5ch from time to time, and this round was sparked by a Hello! Project idol’s behavior. Behind it lies a practical reality — “at home you can bring out a small dish, but on the job or out and about, the lid is your only option” — and defenders of the practice were actually in the majority in the thread. What split opinion instead was the etiquette of eating sushi itself: whether to dissolve wasabi into the soy sauce or dab it straight onto the fish. The claim that “dissolving wasabi is bad form” is a popular notion that spread from the manga Oishinbo, not an officially established rule of etiquette. What readers can easily get wrong is that, while this kind of thread looks like it’s buzzing with criticism over “bad manners,” most of the replies are actually casual chatter and “oh, I do that too” anecdotes about eating habits rather than pointed accusations of an actual etiquette violation.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “[Good news] Yonemura Kirara puts soy sauce in the lid of her packaged sushi lolololololololololololololololololololololololololol.”

  • Grew Up in a National University’s Feeder School, Still Ended Up a Jobless College-Grad NEET — 5ch: ‘Guess I Can Blame My Genes, Right?’

    The original poster was enrolled by their high-school-educated parents in an elementary and junior high school affiliated with a national university, but now, after graduating from college, they say they’re unemployed — a NEET (“Not in Education, Employment, or Training”). Most of their classmates went on from elite universities straight into top-tier corporations, and when the poster asked 5ch’s “Nandemo Jikkyo G” board (a general chat/live-discussion board) whether it was fair to chalk the gap up to “genetics,” it sparked a lively debate. Most replies pushed back with “it’s environment, not genes” and “it’s effort, not environment,” and a string of posters shared their own stories of getting into elite universities despite having only high-school-educated parents. The original poster, however, refused to budge to the end, insisting “my parents putting me in a national school is the root cause,” and kept blaming environmental factors for striking out completely in job hunting. Even when others suggested research work or grad school, they brushed the ideas off as uninteresting, and the debate stayed at a standstill.

    1AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:01
    So I'm a NEET after graduating college.
    BTW, pretty much all my classmates went elite university → top-tier company.
    I can blame this on genetics, right?
    4AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:03
    Most people at top-tier companies are just cookie-cutter types anyway.
    I don't think it's genetics — I think it's because your parents, being only high school grads, just didn't know any better.
    6AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:04
    Re: #4
    They're high income though.
    Their future's bright.
    They've got social credibility.
    5AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:04
    Isn't it usually the case that most people just go with the flow and end up at some no-name company anyway?
    Or did you think you were the main character and slack off out of spite?
    12AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:09
    Re: #5
    I don't care about anyone besides me.
    9AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:08
    Sounds like you just slacked off, plain and simple.
    My parents are both high school grads too, but I got into Tokyo Tech, and a friend of mine — also raised by a high-school-grad single parent — got into Meiji University and is doing great.
    13AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:10
    Re: #9
    That's because your parents, despite not being highly educated, are actually sharp.
    11AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:09
    The part of intelligence that comes down to genetics is tiny.
    Most of it is decided by what kind of education the parents gave the kid — in other words, it's on the parents and on your own effort.
    15AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:13
    Re: #11 It's genetics AND environment.
    17AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:15
    Re: #15
    Between genetics and environment, environment has a massively bigger impact.
    Rich kids don't get into good universities because they're genetically smart.
    They get in because their parents set them up with a good environment.
    18AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:17
    Re: #17
    My home environment was bad.
    Everyone around me had it good.
    54AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:37
    Re: #17
    Apparently there was a case in Japan a while back where a rich family's baby and a poor family's baby got switched at birth — the one raised rich ended up a college grad, and the one raised poor ended up only a high school grad.
    19AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:18
    Looking at this, the person who screwed up the most here is clearly the guy himself.
    20AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:19
    Re: #19
    No way.
    Everyone who became an elite had good genetics AND a good environment.
    24AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:23
    My parents only finished middle school and a correspondence high school, but I studied hard and became a researcher.
    Sure, since I had to teach myself everything, it took me longer to build up cultural knowledge than classmates from other households (they'd been exposed to high-brow literature and music as a matter of course since childhood), but it just goes to show effort can get you anywhere.
    25AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:24
    I wanted to go to a national junior high too.
    I think I would've gotten in if I'd taken the exam.
    30AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:26
    Re: #25
    If you've got what it takes to become an elite, a national school's probably the better bet.
    26AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:24
    Struck out at every top-tier company in job hunting.
    I'm a NEET now.
    No idea when I'll start working.
    Gonna take a while to make peace with not landing a top-tier job.
    28AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:25
    Re: #26
    What university did you go to?
    56AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:38
    Re: #26
    A second-tier company should be a breeze then.
    29AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:25
    Re: #24
    I get that things can work out if I put in effort from here on, but landing a top-tier company job just isn't happening.
    37AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:30
    Re: #37
    Top-tier companies aren't the only definition of success.
    I'm in research, and I know plenty of people who went to grad school around age 30 and ended up hitting it big.
    Put in effort from here on and you can become anything.
    46AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:33
    Re: #37
    Isn't becoming a success outside of a top-tier company way too much of a gamble?
    47AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:33
    Re: #37
    No way people like that actually exist.
    32AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:26
    Re: #28
    A lower-tier regional national university.
    41AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:31
    Re: #32
    Then that's got nothing to do with your parents, does it?
    Sounds like the kind of school you wouldn't want handling nuclear engineering.
    No wonder a top-tier company's out of reach.
    67AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:44
    Re: #32
    If it's regional, not getting into one of the old Imperial universities (Todai, Kyoto Univ., and the like) already seals you as a loser — checks out.
    33AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:27
    Even if genetics plays a role, your parents aren't NEETs, so this one's on you.
    34AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:29
    Re: #33
    Being a NEET is my parents' fault too.
    Them putting me in a national school is the root of everything.
    36AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:30
    Same story here — public high school, national university.
    Got rejected by just two companies during job hunting, my spirit broke, and I became a NEET.
    Making about 6 million yen a year now (roughly $40,000), so I've turned things around somewhat, but it's still not proportional to what my parents invested in me.
    44AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:32
    Re: #36
    Job hunting's brutal, huh.
    40AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:30
    Re: #34
    If your parents were NEETs at some point too, maybe it is their fault.
    49AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:35
    Re: #40
    Nope.
    Still their fault.
    They put me in a national school.
    Then raised me in a bad environment.
    70AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:45
    Just go back to university already.
    79AnonymousSep 12, 2026 15:51
    Re: #70
    Isn't it kind of pointless to go now?
    Won't help my chances at a top-tier company anyway.
    95AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:01
    Re: #79
    Job hunting might be tough since you're not a fresh grad anymore.
    Go back to undergrad again, or head to grad school.
    Then straight into a research job or a foreign firm.
    98AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:04
    Re: #95
    Not interested in research though.
    99AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:04
    Re: #95
    Isn't a research career basically impossible for humanities majors?
    106AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:09
    Re: #98
    Saying flat-out "not interested" just sounds spoiled.
    Re: #99
    That mindset's normal for humanities majors, I guess, but even in the humanities, research means creating your own subject of study.
    107AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:11
    Re: #106
    Nah, there's basically no such thing as humanities research.
    109AnonymousSep 12, 2026 16:11
    Re: #106
    I'm only interested in landing a top-tier company job.
    So there's no point going to grad school.

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    Elementary and junior high schools affiliated with national universities were originally set up as training sites for student teachers, and admission is usually decided by lottery or aptitude test — they aren’t necessarily “elite feeder schools” directly tied to the university itself. Even so, as commenters pointed out, it’s a well-established idea in the sociology of education that one’s surrounding family environment and level of educational drive strongly shapes one’s path. What divided the thread was the classic debate over whether “genetics” (innate intelligence) or “environment” (parents’ educational investment and one’s own effort) determines outcomes — with voices favoring the latter winning out, while the original poster stood apart by sticking to “it’s my parents’ fault” right to the end. The “rich and poor babies switched at birth” story mentioned in reply #54 appears to reference an actual newborn mix-up case in Japan, in which the child raised in the wealthier family went on to graduate college while the one raised in the poorer family only finished high school — a case that later went to trial and is fairly well known. While a statistical correlation between education level and income does exist, it’s a common misconception that an individual’s job-hunting results can be explained by environment alone.

    *This article was compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “My high-school-grad parents put me in a national university’s affiliated elementary/junior high school, and here’s how it turned out.”

  • Hello! Project’s Rika Shimakura ‘Ran Out of Cash on Solo Morocco Trip’ — Baffled Taxi Driver Paid Off in Canadian Dollars

    An episode from a solo trip to Morocco, recounted by a Hello! Project member on her own YouTube channel, has become a hot topic on 5ch. To make her return flight, she needed to travel a two-hour car ride to the airport, but she was short on cash — at one point the driver nearly put her out of the taxi partway through, leaving him flustered. She says she ultimately settled up using Canadian dollars and everything worked out. On the thread, some praised her resourcefulness and nerve, while others pointed to her careless handling of money or even questioned whether it was really a solo trip, leaving reactions split.

    So, um, at first it was a solo trip to Morocco, and,

    Morocco was, um, pretty rough too. My flight home was coming up, and,

    How many kilometers was it? I had to get back on a road that’s a two-hour drive, and partway there, the taxi driver tried to put me out,

    Source: youtube.com / original video here

    3AnonymousSep 12, 2026 12:46
    Maybe she just got mistaken for a kid because of her baby face
    4AnonymousSep 12, 2026 12:46
    Re: #3
    People helped her out because she looked like a kid
    16AnonymousSep 12, 2026 12:55
    Seriously, things could've gone way worse for her — that's too dangerous
    17AnonymousSep 12, 2026 12:55
    Knew she was careless, but not THIS careless
    20AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:00
    Wouldn't be shocked if she starts claiming she accidentally crossed into Ukraine next
    22AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:01
    Bumping the thread with that zero-swap trick again to fake engagement? (a 5ch move where you tweak a digit in the thread ID to dodge auto-sage and self-promote)
    24AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:04
    Shimakura: "I think I, like, ended up in Ukraine or something — and there were, like, a ton of things flying around that looked like RC toys—"
    25AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:05
    Going on a trip this dangerous all alone??
    No way that's for real, right?
    Sounds like a made-up story
    26AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:06
    Relying on the credit card saved on your phone and then forgetting the phone itself — that's a classic move
    28AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:07
    Re: #26
    She didn't forget it
    She threw it away
    27AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:06
    They time these garbage threads for exactly when the dumb posts are most likely to roll in
    32AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:08
    Re: #27
    Lol, you got curious, opened the thread, and complained in it anyway
    30AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:08
    Surviving the streets of the world
    31AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:08
    "I'm an Asian woman — you're really gonna turn me down?"
    33AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:10
    Turn "Letter from Canada" into a parody
    and sing a version for every single country she's visited (referencing the classic 1970s duet "Kanada kara no Tegami")
    35AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:17
    Morocco's relatively safe as far as Muslim-majority countries go, but there are still armed groups around
    Her agency needs to draw the line somewhere
    36AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:17
    Dunno if it's true, but is Shimakura really this adventurous?
    46AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:25
    She's got some serious survival skills
    Her guts are off the charts
    63AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:37
    Lucky she didn't get kidnapped
    81AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:47
    Would that currency even work over there without any connection to it?
    86AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:51
    Re: #81
    Of course it would — touristy spots have a ton of currency exchange booths anyway
    Been to Italy and Egypt, same deal there

    Background and talking points

    This episode originated from the idol’s own account in her YouTube video, and 5ch has no way to independently verify the details. Since the only source is her own one-sided telling, it’s only natural that skeptical reactions have surfaced — “Was this really a solo trip?” or “Isn’t she exaggerating?” That said, Morocco is, as tourist destinations go, an area where security is relatively stable in many regions, and with currency exchange services widely available, the idea that she could eventually settle up even without having the right currency on hand isn’t far-fetched. Some posts in the thread bring up her past social media posts, suggesting she’s someone whose overseas travel mishaps have repeatedly made headlines, not just this once. At the same time, posters have flagged the real risk in getting into a taxi alone without enough cash on hand — so the thread reflects both admiration for her boldness and concern over how reckless it was.

    *This article is an excerpt and summary based on the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “[Sad News] Rika Shimakura: “Demanded to Be Driven to the Airport Despite Having No Money on Her Solo Trip, Leaving a Moroccan Taxi Driver Baffled — Let It Slide for Canadian Dollars…“

  • Favorite Restaurant Closed, So He Went to Hama-zushi Instead — 5ch Says ‘Just Lick the Soy Sauce’

    The poster originally planned to visit a Lanzhou beef noodle restaurant, but found it closed when he arrived. As a fallback, he settled on Hama-zushi, a conveyor-belt sushi chain, and started live-posting from the spot in a thread. Responding to requests from fellow thread readers, he ordered one dish after another — negitoro (minced fatty tuna), salt-seasoned pork belly, nozawana (pickled turnip greens) gunkan rolls, mallard duck nigiri, fresh whitebait, and “wasa-Venus” (a wasabi-topped roll) — posting photos as he went. Beyond the food itself, the thread also debated whether it’s appropriate for a lone diner to visit a chain known for family customers, and noted that the character voicing the in-store announcements had changed.

    1AnonymousSep 12, 2026 12:56
    Made it!
    2AnonymousSep 12, 2026 12:56
    The Lanzhou beef noodle place I wanted to go to was closed, dammit

    3AnonymousSep 12, 2026 12:56
    Starting off with negitoro
    9AnonymousSep 12, 2026 12:57
    Re: #3
    Okay lol
    4AnonymousSep 12, 2026 12:56
    What should I order?
    7AnonymousSep 12, 2026 12:57
    Salt pork belly!
    27AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:01
    Re: #7
    No way they've got that lol


    Oh wait, they actually do lmao
    8AnonymousSep 12, 2026 12:57
    So you went with Hama-zushi huh
    Guess you'll just have to lick the soy sauce then (a jab meaning "make do with less")
    17AnonymousSep 12, 2026 12:59
    Re: #8
    Soy sauce lick incoming

    16AnonymousSep 12, 2026 12:59
    If you're going for sushi, go somewhere a bit nicer than Hama-zushi
    Why's a middle-aged guy going there solo when he's not even got a family in tow
    41AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:05
    Re: #16
    Sounds like someone who'd lose it with envy just looking at an AEON mall food court
    95AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:15
    Re: #16
    It's a nice little treat, that's the whole point
    Kinda like going to a fancy public bathhouse
    20AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:00
    Woohoo~
    26AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:01
    Re: #20
    Hold on, where's the anka? (the reply-number order request)
    24AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:00
    That's just cheap negitoro loaded with vegetable oil, typical for conveyor-belt sushi
    32AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:02
    Re: #24
    Honestly the texture wasn't great lol
    But that's the point — it's only 100 yen
    29AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:02
    Re: #12
    I really wanted to go for Lanzhou beef noodles 😢
    But it was closed, so Hama-zushi was my backup plan 🤗
    33AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:02
    Re: #29
    If you're gonna start a sushi thread, take the anka requests properly
    34AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:03
    Re: #31
    That looks amazing
    38AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:04
    Salt pork belly doesn't show its true potential without grated daikon
    42AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:05
    Re: #38
    You could've told me that beforehand lol
    But it's still tasty
    55AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:08
    Eat the nozawana gunkan roll
    56AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:09
    Re: #55
    Done and done lol
    60AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:10
    Re: #56
    Every time I go, I eat that
    58AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:09
    Did you have the mallard duck nigiri?
    That one's the best by far
    63AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:10
    Re: #58
    Honestly curious about that one
    76AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:12
    Not gonna lie, I'm curious about this one too
    Fresh whitebait
    86AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:13
    Is Hama-zushi still using Tanjiro's voice for announcements?
    92AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:15
    Re: #86
    You can switch it to "Empress Ogata" (fans' nickname for voice actress Megumi Ogata)
    93AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:15
    Re: #86
    Can't hear the voice at all
    94AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:15
    Re: #86
    You can pick something other than Tanjiro
    Apparently it's Shinji now
    88AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:14
    Re: #80
    WAAAAAAAAH
    I love you guys 💋💋😘
    91AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:14
    Nozawana
    Honestly underestimated this one, but it's good
    99AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:15
    Re: #91
    What's the seasoning like?
    105AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:16
    Re: #100
    Okay lol
    107AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:17
    Whitebait's here~
    108AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:18
    Wasa-Venus (wasabi-topped roll)
    120AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:20
    French fries
    124AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:21
    Re: #120
    Okay
    134AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:24
    Re: #130
    Okay
    143AnonymousSep 12, 2026 13:26
    Hearing that the Chiikawa collab was cancelled and a 10% discount kicked in, a Kenmomen (poster from 5ch's "Kenmo" news board) rushed straight to Kura Sushi

    He carelessly posted a photo showing the order tablet's QR code, and tragedy begins

    Other Kenmomen start ordering on their own

    Corn hell

    In the end he finished all 5,425 yen worth without leaving anything, giving the Kenmomen crowd quite the show

    Background and Talking Points

    In recent years, it’s become standard practice for conveyor-belt sushi chains to temporarily switch their in-store ordering announcements to anime character voices, and Hama-zushi is one of them. In the thread, posters mentioned the voice had changed from Tanjiro to another character, showing that these voice campaigns remain a recurring talking point among customers. On 5ch, “live-report threads” have also settled into a recognizable format, where the original poster reports from the scene while taking order requests — called “anka” — from other readers; the comment telling the poster to “do the anka properly” reflects this established custom. What sets this kind of thread apart is that it’s not just a string of food photos but an interactive exchange with reader participation — at first glance it might look like a simple meal report, but it’s actually two-way content rooted in message-board culture. The divided reactions to a lone diner visiting a chain known for family customers also show how conveyor-belt sushi is perceived very differently depending on generation and individual — anywhere from a “casual little treat” to something “a bit sad.”

    *This article is compiled and summarized from excerpts of the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “[Sad News] Made It to “Hama-zushi” lol.”