Japan Reacts

Category: News

  • “Manga is for kids, grow up and quit reading it” — 5ch claps back: “Shut up, kid”

    On 5ch’s “Nandemo Jikkyo” (Anything-Goes Live) board, there’s a regular late-night thread — running from deep on weeknights into the small hours — where self-described “NEETs” gather to chat live. This particular night was no exception: talk rambled from VTubers and anime/manga to reactions to the currently airing drama “Vivant,” and even pushback against the recurring claim that “manga is for kids, so adults should grow out of it.” Posts included one user confessing they’re 32 and don’t know much about manga, plus plenty of jokes riffing on the supposed link between being a NEET and being an anime expert — all giving the thread that unmistakable late-night-live-chat vibe.

    12AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:37
    Yume-chan's here too! 👋
    46AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:41
    Re: #12
    Hi there Cutie-chan, Yumeme-chan, Yume-chan, Goki-Fuyu-chan, Cool-Yume-chan, good evening 🤥
    It's cold out 🤥
    Totally feels like autumn now 🤥🍂
    Had a McDonald's Tsukimi ("moon-viewing") Burger for lunch today but ngl the Big Mac's still better 🤥
    Gonna get a Big Mac next time 🤥
    Guess I'll head to bed soon 🤥🌃✨
    Everyone, bundle up and get some rest 🤥
    Night night 🤥 see ya 🤥
    17AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:37
    31AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:39
    32AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:39
    The party's in full swing 🎤🐻

    htps://i.imgur.com/OBxXEpZ.png






    35AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:39
    One day, feeling faint — deep in the forest, full bowel (a crude parody of the kids' song "The Bear in the Forest")
    Mr. Bear, reeking of garlic — that's who I met, full bowel
    Booger, bulging boner
    Dangling sausage
    Heave-ho, weiner!
    43AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:41
    48AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:41
    54AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:41
    65AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:42
    Re: #54
    Looks heavy, huh 😊
    67AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:42
    Re: #54
    Is this the owner of that thing?
    Re: #35
    58AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:42
    This is SO irritating
    62AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:42
    What manga do you guys like?
    80AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:44
    Re: #62
    JoJo, so bizarre
    81AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:44
    Re: #62
    Hakumei and Mikochi 😤
    94AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:46
    Re: #62
    The one with the blue tanuki (Doraemon — he's actually a robot cat, but people joke he looks like a tanuki)
    64AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:42
    I actually know a lot about anime, since I'm basically a NEET
    72AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:43
    Re: #64
    The whole "NEET so he knows anime" stereotype
    91AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:45
    Re: #64
    Does becoming a NEET turn you into an anime scholar?
    76AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:43
    108AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:48
    Read "Ping Pong" since Okada Toshio said it was good — and yeah, it really was
    112AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:48
    Re: #108
    Pon-pon, supopon! (a silly sound-effect riff on "Ping Pong")
    133AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:51
    I missed today's episode of "Vivant" — can someone fill me in on how it went?
    136AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:52
    Re: #133
    Super duper good
    172AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:57
    Re: #152

    193AnonymousOct 5, 2026 00:01
    Can't get enough of this 😍


    227AnonymousOct 5, 2026 00:07
    I'm 32 and a NEET, but I don't really know much about manga
    229AnonymousOct 5, 2026 00:08
    Re: #227
    Then what DO you know about?
    230AnonymousOct 5, 2026 00:08
    Re: #229
    VTubers
    240AnonymousOct 5, 2026 00:10
    Re: #229
    I'm 32 and a NEET too, but I know stuff like Breaking Down (a reality fist-fighting show)
    232AnonymousOct 5, 2026 00:09
    Manga's for kids at the end of the day — grown-ups should move on from it
    237AnonymousOct 5, 2026 00:09
    Re: #232
    Shut up, kid
    239AnonymousOct 5, 2026 00:10
    Re: #230

    241AnonymousOct 5, 2026 00:10

    Background and the debate at hand

    The “Nandemo Jikkyo” board where this thread appeared originally grew out of TV-live-commentary culture, but late at night it tends to turn into more of a general hangout for users with irregular sleep schedules than actual show commentary — which is exactly why posts from self-described “NEETs” cluster there. “Vivant,” the drama that came up, is currently airing on TBS; a request for impressions of that night’s episode got a glowing reply of “super duper good.” The claim that “manga is for kids, so adults should grow out of it” is one of those arguments that resurfaces online again and again — and true to form, it went no further than the retort “shut up, kid” before the thread drifted to the next topic without any real resolution. Note: posts naming real streamers for personal attacks, jokes hinting at drug use, and remarks mocking disability were excluded from this article.

    ※This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (“Nandemo Jikkyo”) thread “Fellow NEETs, let’s do our best at being unemployed again tomorrow 🏡.”

  • Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe 2026 Kicks Off: Japanese Horses’ Winning Odds? ‘As Likely as Another Shohei Ohtani’

    Late at night on October 4, 2026, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe 2026 was run at Longchamp Racecourse in France, and reactions poured into a live-commentary thread on 5ch (a major Japanese forum). As for Japanese entrants Tabal do Gal and Admire Tera, a wave of harsh comments rolled in over concerns about the distance and whether they suit Longchamp’s turf, with one post comparing their chances of winning to “another Shohei Ohtani-level talent showing up in baseball.” Still, the thread was a mix of pessimism and jokes — some held out hope for the 3-year-old filly’s challenge, others reported handing their picks over to AI and betting on its advice, and some just riffed on the race as one of “autumn’s seasonal traditions,” right up there with Beaujolais Nouveau and Haruki Murakami’s Nobel Prize odds.

    Post time: 23:05

    No. 1 Daryz (jockey M. Barzalona) — Gate 5

    No. 2 Sadad (jockey R. Dawson) — Gate 9

    Source: youtube.com / original article here

    3AnonymousOct 4, 2026 22:58
    If only there were a betting ticket for picking dead last and second-to-last (a "booby prize" bet).
    6AnonymousOct 4, 2026 22:59
    I'm team Diamond Necklace too!
    11AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:01
    Between the weather and the track conditions, this whole race is basically set up for a French horse to win.
    12AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:01
    Did owner Matsumoto manage to stop the rain again this time?
    13AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:01
    Thought I spotted Flightline out there — nope, wrong horse.
    14AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:01
    If Daryz's win odds are still this juicy, that's a nice price.
    15AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:01
    Are the odds of a Japanese horse winning lower than usual this year?
    27AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:03
    Re: #15
    Probably a bit better than last year, but last year there was zero chance to begin with, so comparing the two doesn't mean much.
    17AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:02
    Looking forward to the Arc, but I wish they'd broadcast the Grand National too.
    19AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:02
    Threw my picks at Gemini (Google's AI) and just bought whatever it told me.
    20AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:02
    There's barely any chance of winning in a normal year either, so it's basically the same.
    24AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:02
    I don't even follow horse racing, but is there any real chance Japan takes the Arc down the road?
    41AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:05
    Re: #24
    In baseball terms, it's about as likely as another Shohei Ohtani-level player coming along.
    25AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:02
    Tabal's shaky even at 2400m domestically, so 2400m at Longchamp is a no-go no matter how you slice it.
    28AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:03
    No way a Japanese horse even cracks the top 10 this time.
    29AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:03
    Bet on Friendly Soul instead — support for the Japanese horses is way too thin.
    32AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:03
    Re: #23
    Really? It's gotten less buzz than usual this year, so I figured that was a bad sign.
    37AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:04
    Re: #32
    I'd guess it'll stand out about as much as Danchō Yasuda's Akasaka marathon stunt (a comedian famous for absurd, over-the-top viral challenges).
    33AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:04
    Here comes that autumn tradition again:
    Will a Japanese horse finally win the Arc?
    Will Haruki Murakami finally win the Nobel Prize?
    How's this year's Beaujolais Nouveau taste?

    Those are the real signs of fall.
    39AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:04
    Re: #33
    Love that this is being streamed live from a café in Koenji.
    34AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:04
    Is the Arc really the most prestigious race in the world?
    35AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:04
    Only bought a quinella-place bet on Morty and Diamond.
    36AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:04
    No clue what's gonna happen, so I'm going with an "unpatriotic" ticket — betting against the home team with a 10-line trifecta box.
    If it hits, that's ¥100,000.
    38AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:04
    Tabal's one thing, but Admire Tera has literally zero traits suited to this race.
    50AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:06
    As usual, though, loading the starting gate is going to take forever.
    70AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:08
    Re: #50
    About as long as Magnum Tokyo's entrance (a drag performer famous for absurdly drawn-out stage entrances).
    144AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:14
    Sure, Tabal and Tera have no shot at winning, that's a given — but has there even been a horse in the last five years or so that looked like it actually could win this?
    147AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:15
    Re: #144
    Equinox, maybe?
    148AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:16
    Re: #147
    Can't picture that horse running well at Longchamp — feels like he'd just be grinding down the stretch and it'd be over before he got there.
    153AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:16
    Re: #147
    Given the distance and track suitability, it's just not happening.
    145AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:15
    Sending a 3-year-old filly might have a puncher's chance, but that's a seriously bold gamble.
    155AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:17
    Re: #145
    A 3-year-old filly good enough to take on the world doesn't come around that often.
    152AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:16
    Re: #135
    "Vega, but it's Hokuto Vega!" — now that's a classic line (a famous racetrack announcer's catchphrase for the beloved Japanese mare Hokuto Vega).
    164AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:19
    Re: #152
    That's Announcer Baba for you — "cherry blossoms in full bloom during chrysanthemum season" (riffing on a legendary racecaller's iconic line, with a pun since "Baba" also means "racetrack").
    161AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:18
    At this point you'd have better odds sending a top dirt horse instead.
    165AnonymousOct 4, 2026 23:19
    Re: #161
    And of course, that's exactly when the track turns bone-dry and fast, and the dirt horse becomes useless.

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 race run over 2,400 meters on turf at Longchamp Racecourse in France, widely regarded as Europe’s most prestigious race. Japanese horses have challenged it repeatedly without ever winning — El Condor Pasa finished second in 1999, and Orfevre finished second around 2010–2012 — and that history is why the thread rates the Japanese entrants so low. Longchamp’s soft turf and the way its races are run are fundamentally different from Japan’s fast tracks, and whether Japanese horses can handle those conditions is a question that comes up every single year. In the thread, pessimism dominated the question of whether any horse looked capable of winning this year, though a few posts floated the idea of a 3-year-old filly making a run, hinting at differing views by generation and sex of horse. Note that this article excerpts posts made around the time of the race’s start and does not cover the actual result.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “[LIVE] Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe 2026.”

  • Neighbor’s Fridge Door Sends a ‘THUD’ Through the Wall — 5ch: ‘What If I Die of a Heart Attack From This?’

    A thread on 5ch’s “Live News Flash” board (なんでも実況G) describes a neighbor whose every fridge-door open-and-close sends a “THUD” shock through the wall. The thread’s original poster even pleaded, “What am I supposed to do if I die of a heart attack from this?” — prompting a flood of similar noise-and-vibration horror stories from other posters.

    The discussion split over whether the fridge door itself was the culprit or a plumbing-related “water hammer” effect, and over whether the way vibrations travel depends on the building’s structure (reinforced concrete vs. light-gauge steel). Posters also noted how hard it is to get the problem resolved even after contacting the police or the management company.

    1AnonymousOct 4, 2026 20:40
    What am I even supposed to do about this?
    3AnonymousOct 4, 2026 20:41
    What happens if I die of a heart attack from this?
    65AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:24
    Re: #3
    Yeah, guess you can't really know until something actually happens — that's possible too.
    9AnonymousOct 4, 2026 20:43
    Anyone else been through this?
    11AnonymousOct 4, 2026 20:44
    Re: #9
    Can't say I've ever slammed a fridge door over and over like that.
    18AnonymousOct 4, 2026 20:48
    Re: #11
    I open and close mine a lot too, honestly — forget stuff and go back for it. But I always do it quietly.
    20AnonymousOct 4, 2026 20:50
    He's probably got his hands full with caregiving, cut him some slack.
    25AnonymousOct 4, 2026 20:53
    Re: #20
    No sympathy here for some unemployed shut-in guy.
    21AnonymousOct 4, 2026 20:50
    Re: #18
    Does your fridge make a "thud" sound when you open it?
    23AnonymousOct 4, 2026 20:52
    Re: #21
    It wouldn't happen on opening — it's when you shut it.
    22AnonymousOct 4, 2026 20:51
    My neighbor drives a car with a loud aftermarket exhaust.
    He comes roaring home every night and then the banging around starts.
    24AnonymousOct 4, 2026 20:53
    Re: #22
    Ugh, that's just as bad. Having my sleep wrecked makes me murderous.
    26AnonymousOct 4, 2026 20:56
    Classic.

    My place makes noise when the door shuts too

    so I just do the same thing right back at them.
    30AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:05
    Re: #26
    Get any reaction out of them? Mine either doesn't notice or just doesn't react at all.
    29AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:04
    Sorry, that's me.
    Forgive me.
    31AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:05
    Re: #29
    Why do people even live their lives making such loud noises?
    42AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:13
    Re: #31
    Same with my neighbors — they're careless about noise across the board. Wife, husband, the in-laws, all of them make needless racket without a thought for anyone around them.
    32AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:10
    The stairwell door at my place is insanely loud.
    They should ban even 2nd-floor residents from using it.
    35AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:11
    Re: #32
    Wait, there's actually a stairwell door? If we start counting outside noise too there's no end to it. But noise hitting you as a direct physical shock from next door really wears you down — especially since you never know when it's coming.
    34AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:10
    Re: #4
    Jumping in here, but this kind of noise is vibration, so earplugs won't do anything.
    40AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:12
    Re: #34
    Ear muffs would actually help, but you never know when the sound's coming, which means wearing ear muffs at home all the time. That's just too much to ask.
    86AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:41
    Re: #34
    Yeah. My place was a light-gauge steel apartment and this just started out of nowhere one day. Nothing I could do about it, so I ended up moving out. The sound was loud enough to make me jump — at first I had no idea what was even happening.
    36AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:11
    Ever since I started letting spiders roam free and they took over the area outside my room too, the problem neighbors disappeared. These days not even gnats — let alone roaches — dare come near.
    43AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:13
    Re: #36
    Nice. I cleaned up today and since they were in the way, I put 4 jumping spiders (Hasarius adansoni) outside. There was one more but I just left it be.
    44AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:13
    Some houses have their front doors right up against each other. In places like that, you'd totally know exactly when your neighbor's leaving and stuff, right?
    46AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:15
    Re: #44
    Doesn't wall thinness tend to track with the thickness of the front door? I always check the front door's thickness — the inside too, of course.
    62AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:23
    Re: #56
    A police officer told me there are others besides me putting up with it too. But there's no absolute proof it's the neighbor, so even the police can't press the issue and are stuck.

    Actually, I just heard a faint noise. Looks like it might be starting again soon.
    67AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:25
    Re: #62
    Seriously, even a small sound puts you on edge — I get it, it's really rough. Police won't come down hard on the other side unless it's extreme. I've had the police talk to my neighbor before too, so I know exactly how that goes.
    69AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:27
    Seriously, be careful with noise disputes.
    There are cases of a "person with nothing left to lose" (muteki no hito — net slang for someone with nothing to lose who may snap violently) losing it and it turning into murder.
    71AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:29
    Re: #69
    My neighbor is exactly that kind of "nothing-to-lose" guy.
    That's exactly why it scares me.
    75AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:31
    Re: #67
    Also just learned that management companies will go directly warn a problem tenant in a rental building, but barely intervene at all in an owned condo unit.
    Re: #69
    On top of a warning notice, I suggested the management company post articles about cases like this — got shot down, lol. Well, it was a long shot anyway, but it's hard to convey just how "ready to kill" (564 = net slang read as "korosu," meaning "kill") angry this makes you.
    70AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:28
    Living in an apartment with walls that thin is kind of on you, no?
    73AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:29
    Re: #70
    Yeah, fair enough, but it's actually Tokyo metropolitan public housing — a renovated unit.
    78AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:34
    Re: #73
    If the building's that old, maybe it's not the fridge door at all — could be water hammer? That's the thing where turning a faucet on or off causes a loud "BANG" in the pipes.
    88AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:43
    I'm in a studio apartment and the washing machine running upstairs at this hour keeps waking me up.
    Definitely picked the wrong rental.
    90AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:45
    Re: #88
    So you actually have to watch the clock before running the washing machine…
    91AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:45
    Re: #88
    At a place I used to live, there was a rule: washing machine only until 10pm, baths until midnight.
    92AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:46
    Re: #90
    In my studio the sound and vibration are brutal.
    93AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:47
    Re: #92
    My sister bought a unit in a high-rise tower in Yokohama, and she was furious about washing machine vibration coming from upstairs at 7am. Guess it happens even in luxury tower condos.
    103AnonymousOct 4, 2026 22:03
    The guy next door — probably a college student — is way too loud playing online games. What do I even do about this?
    Recorded the noise for now, at least.
    104AnonymousOct 4, 2026 22:04
    Re: #103
    Just play the same online game as him…
    105AnonymousOct 4, 2026 22:06
    Re: #103
    Just team up and play together.

    Background and Key Points of the Debate

    The thread split over whether the cause was the fridge door itself or a “water hammer” effect. Water hammer happens when water flow inside pipes stops abruptly as a faucet is turned on or off, producing a shock noise — something more common in older buildings. It’s easy to overlook that vibration transmission depends not just on wall thickness but on the building’s overall structure (reinforced concrete vs. light-gauge steel, front door thickness, etc.), which left comments like “it’s your own fault for living behind thin walls” sitting uneasily alongside “you shouldn’t be able to hear that in a reinforced-concrete building,” with neither side really engaging the other. Posters also noted that management companies can directly warn problem tenants in rental units but tend not to intervene nearly as much in owned condo units. The references to incidents involving “people with nothing left to lose” are not a specific threat of violence, but a caution based on past cases where noise disputes escalated — not meant to stoke undue alarm.

    *This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (“Live News Flash” board) thread “My neighbor’s fridge sends a THUD through my wall every time he opens and closes it.”

  • “Disney Show” Typo in Rena Ichioka’s Event Announcement Sparks 5ch Buzz

    Hello! Project-affiliated idol Rena Ichioka announced that she and Akari Matsuwaki would hold their first-ever dinner show on November 14 at the Shin-Yokohama Prince Hotel — but the announcement text read “Disney Show” instead of “Dinner Show.” 5ch users had a field day debating whether it was a simple typo or an autocomplete slip, and the conversation soon drifted to her alleged “track record” of hosting an unauthorized meetup at Disneyland in the past. It also came up that Matsuwaki had previously been expelled from another idol group over a contract violation.

    1AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:11
    Ooh!
    7AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:13
    I bet she genuinely thinks it's a Disney Show
    8AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:14
    [Idol] Ange☆Reve's Akari Matsuwaki expelled from the group effective today — multiple serious contract violations uncovered
    https://hayabusa9.5ch.io/test/read.cgi/mnewsplus/1540126166/
    10AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:15
    The text and the image don't match…
    which one's actually correct?
    12AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:16
    By the way, Shin-Yokohama Prince Hotel…
    I'm a country bumpkin so I wouldn't know, but isn't that supposed to be a pretty fancy hotel?
    13AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:17
    Re: #12
    It's right on the way to Yokohama Arena
    31AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:27
    Re: #12
    Shin-Yokohama's a nice area — it's close to Nissan Stadium and Mt. Okura (*^^*)
    17AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:19
    Isn't she the one who's bounced around a bunch of underground idol groups?
    18AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:23
    Re: #17
    32AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:28
    Re: #18
    Oh, so she used to be with iDOL Street (an idol talent agency)?
    Where did it all go wrong
    19AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:23
    Someone said before that this was actually illegal — is it really fine?
    20AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:24
    If it's unauthorized that's a real problem, but there's no way they'd actually pull something like this without permission
    30AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:26
    Re: #20
    You clearly don't know how wild Ichioka can be
    22AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:24
    She just mistyped "Dinner"
    as "Disney"
    23AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:24
    Wait, they rented out some section of Disneyland to put on a show?!

    NO WAAAAAAAY!!!
    25AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:25
    I bet Ichioka got kicked out of BEYOOOOONDS ("Biyo," a Hello! Project group) for something along these lines too
    28AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:25
    A Disney Show at a Prince Hotel? That's kind of amazing, no?
    33AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:29
    Icchan (Ichioka's nickname): "Why would I need permission just to have a meal?"
    34AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:31
    What are we supposed to do if "Dinner Show" mistyped as "Disney Show" becomes the standard spelling over on Ookami (the Hello! Project fan board)?
    35AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:32
    Is it even okay to use Disney's name without permission to make money?
    36AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:32
    The whole "Disney meetup" thing is probably going to get reported
    37AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:32
    Like that "micro FEVER towel" thing, lol (a famous mistranslation meme)
    39AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:35
    She probably did something at Disney before, so it became the top autocomplete suggestion
    41AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:36
    Well, she does have a track record of holding unauthorized meetups at Disneyland
    43AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:37
    59AnonymousOct 4, 2026 22:01
    Re: #43
    Scary handing over your name and phone number like that — feels like it'd end up with a "tokuryu" gang (an anonymous, ad-hoc crime ring recruited via social media)
    45AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:40
    I've actually been to this hotel before for a Hello! Project member's dinner show
    46AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:41
    Then this dinner show should be fine too
    47AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:46
    Oh, a collab with Disney!
    That's impressive
    48AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:46
    I honestly can't even picture what a "Disney Show" would look like
    49AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:48
    To pull off a Disney collab, she must have some serious credibility
    50AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:48
    Did she seriously just mistype "Dinner Show"?
    51AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:50
    A Disney Show at a Prince Hotel, that's wild
    I wonder if Mickey Mouse himself shows up
    53AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:52
    She just typed "Di," let autocomplete pick "Disney," and posted it without proofreading — total brain-off move
    54AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:52
    Isn't this the kind of thing that gets you in trouble with Disney?
    56AnonymousOct 4, 2026 21:53
    A lot of people clearly haven't noticed the image itself says "Dinner Show"
    58AnonymousOct 4, 2026 22:00
    It literally says the Disney Show is confirmed, okay!
    64AnonymousOct 4, 2026 22:06


    Background and Key Points of This Story

    Typos and autocomplete slip-ups in underground Hello! Project idols’ announcement posts are a classic source of amusement on 5ch, and this time the leading theory was that she typed “Di” and let autocomplete fill in “Disney” without double-checking. On the other hand, using Disney’s name without authorization in a promotional announcement could raise real trademark concerns, so it isn’t purely a joke. The fact that Akari Matsuwaki was previously expelled from another idol group over a contract violation is confirmed in the source article, but claims about Ichioka having “fallen for a host” (host-club slang) or her past “unauthorized Disneyland meetup” are unverified rumors circulated on 5ch, and this article does not vouch for their accuracy.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “[PR] Rena Ichioka: “The first-ever Disney Show by Rena Ichioka and Akari Matsuwaki, confirmed for 11/14 (Sat)! ⭐”.”

  • Araki Hirohiko Told by His Editor “I’m Sick of Hamon” — Invented Stands in Two Weeks Flat; 5ch: “Toriyama Went Through the Same Thing”

    An anecdote Araki Hirohiko shared in a past interview has become a hot topic on 5ch. About one to two weeks before Part 2 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure wrapped up, his editor told him, “I’m sick of Hamon, let’s do something different for Part 3,” and in that short window he came up with what would become his series’ signature concept: “Stands.” The thread also brought up how Akira Toriyama was forced by his editor to redesign Cell in Dragon Ball multiple times, with posters agreeing that the more popular a manga gets, the heavier the editorial meddling — though they couldn’t agree on which JoJo part is actually the best.

    About a week or two before Part 2 of JoJo ended, my editor at the time suddenly said, “I’m getting kind of tired of Hamon, let’s go with something different for Part 3,” and I panicked — like, “uh, now what do I do?”

    Even so, they weren’t about to give me any time off, so I somehow scraped together “Stands” in about two weeks and dove straight into Part 3.

    With “Hamon,” I’d been drawing ripple patterns to represent the characters’ powers, so I wanted to head in a completely different direction — and that’s how I landed on this new rule of characters fighting with humanoid-shaped energy.

    Source: shueisha-mangaexpo.jp / Read the original article here

    2AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:52
    So "humanoid-shaped energy" was supposed to be the rule?
    Guess the author broke his own rule later on, then.
    3AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:55
    Buronson [writer of Fist of the North Star] said the same thing happened to him — he figured he could finally rest after killing off Raoh, and instead got asked for the next manuscript. He was floored.
    4AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:57
    Ebata: "I love JoJo, I'm a huge fan."
    Sanma: "Oh yeah? What's the newest protagonist's name again?"
    Ebata: "Uh… haven't actually read that one yet~"
    5AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:59
    Re: #4
    Normally that'd be a red flag, but with JoJo it's kind of understandable, right?
    Even hardcore fans often aren't keeping up with the latest part in real time.
    6AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:01
    Everyone's got their own favorite JoJo protagonist.
    Also, let's be real, the recent parts just aren't as good anymore.
    I read up through Part 5 and quit after that.
    7AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:04
    Funny how people act like JoJo experts without even reading Part 7 — the actual masterpiece.
    Better than Part 4, too.
    17AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:30
    Re: #7
    The art's really gone downhill lately.
    Everyone's drawn with these skinny "bean sprout" limbs (slang for scrawny physiques) and dead-fish eyes now.
    47AnonymousOct 4, 2026 20:01
    Re: #7
    Part 7 is peak JoJo (aside from how Sandman got handled).
    Everything from the fight against the President through DIO's final moments, plus the epilogue — all phenomenal.
    8AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:18
    I'm "original-members wave" when it comes to JoJo.
    32AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:49
    Re: #8
    "Original-members wave"? What kind of Hamon technique is that supposed to be?
    9AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:20
    Toriyama went through the exact same thing with the Android Saga in Dragon Ball — his editor asked, "So the villains are an old man and a fat guy?" so he drew up Cell, got told Cell looked like a bug, switched to his favorite design (the second form), got told that looked lame too, and finally settled on the third form.
    11AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:24
    Re: #9
    Well, the previous villain, Frieza, had set an impossibly high bar~
    12AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:25
    Honestly, Parts 1 and 2 aren't all that great.
    Shonen Jump editors really are sharp, though.
    A lot of them are like lyricists who can't write music themselves but know exactly how to shape a song.
    13AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:27
    Parts 1 and 2 are good, though.
    If anything, Part 3 is the watered-down version — it's pretty boring watching it back now.
    14AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:27
    Fist of the North Star completely fell apart after Raoh was defeated.
    Then again, momentum matters so much in these things that maybe you can't ever afford to let the creator rest.
    15AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:27
    Part 2 is actually still fun watching it again now.
    But yeah, the idea of turning energy into a character was genuinely brilliant.
    16AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:28
    Black Angels fell apart after the Tokyo Destruction arc.
    Ginga went downhill hard after Akakabuto.
    34AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:49
    Re: #16
    Right, and then they head to the "Nagoya" stand-in and suddenly everyone's living a perfectly normal civilized life — total tonal whiplash.
    18AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:31
    Captain Tsubasa fell apart after the elementary school arc too.
    20AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:35
    Demon Slayer wasn't originally supposed to star Tanjiro either.
    The plan was for a quiet, taciturn type like Giyu to be the lead, but the editor made the final call to switch it to Tanjiro.
    21AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:35
    Huh, there are people out there who rank Part 5 as the best.
    First time I've seen that take.
    45AnonymousOct 4, 2026 20:00
    Re: #21
    I like Part 5 too.
    The only parts I actually bought the tankobon for and read in real time were Part 5 and Steel Ball Run.
    22AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:36
    Didn't Araki say back then that JoJo was mapped out like a long road trip, with the outline planned pretty far ahead in terms of how many parts it'd run?
    24AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:39
    Part 5 is popular, actually.
    Plenty of people like it more than Part 3.
    25AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:39
    Must've been rough grinding through serialization nonstop only to get told to change direction two weeks before deadline.
    Apparently weekly Shonen Jump serialization back then basically meant nonstop all-nighters.
    27AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:40
    Parts 3, 4, and 5 are probably the popular trio.
    Same deal as Dragon Quest.
    28AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:41
    Fuma no Kojiro fell apart after the Holy Sword War arc too.
    29AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:45
    Part 5's probably popular with women because it's wall-to-wall handsome guys.
    30AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:46
    I knew a girl who went on a trip to Italy specifically to visit Part 5 filming/story locations.
    31AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:49
    Over on Kenmo [a notoriously contrarian 5ch board] people tend to say it's good only up through Part 4.
    I like Part 5 too, though.
    33AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:49
    If we're talking underrated parts, 6 and 8 are actually fun watching now.
    I bet Part 9 gets re-evaluated once it's finished too.
    Honestly this series is just better binged in tankobon form than followed week to week.
    37AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:52
    Part 4 is really well put together, but you won't get why unless you binge it all at once.
    Same deal as the Chimera Ant arc in Hunter x Hunter.
    38AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:52
    If they'd stuck with Hamon, they'd have eventually run out of viable enemies.
    Makes you wonder what the actual plan was if they'd kept going with it.
    39AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:53
    What's with the setting where just holding a volcanic rock makes wealth come to you? That's just not interesting.
    41AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:57
    Everyone praises Steel Ball Run to death, but
    it's really not THAT good.
    46AnonymousOct 4, 2026 20:01
    Re: #41
    That one's huge with American fans, for what it's worth.
    44AnonymousOct 4, 2026 20:00
    Calling Part 6 "recent" is wild — that was like 30 years ago.
    48AnonymousOct 4, 2026 20:01
    Re: #46
    I figured the way it handles corpses and body parts would've caused backlash, but I guess not so much after all.

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    Stands are a concept that first appeared in Part 3, which began serialization in 1989. The story that Araki invented them in a short span after his editor pointed out that Hamon had grown stale is relatively well known, having been recounted by Araki himself in multiple interviews. The thread also referenced Toriyama’s Cell redesign saga — his preferred second form was called “uncool,” leading to the third form — another well-documented account from Toriyama’s own interviews. Posters linked the two stories on the shared point that the more popular a manga gets, the heavier editorial intervention tends to become. Where opinions split was over which JoJo part is the best, with supporters of Parts 3 and 4 clashing against supporters of Parts 5 and 7, with no resolution reached. One easily misunderstood point, also noted in the article itself, is that Stands weren’t simply a reskin of Hamon — they were an entirely new storytelling rule: visualizing energy as a humanoid figure.

    *This article was compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Araki Hirohiko: ‘About one or two weeks before Part 2 of JoJo ended, my editor told me he was sick of Hamon and wanted something different for Part 3, so I desperately came up with Stands’.”

  • Legendary Streamer “Nagai-sensei” Remembered by 5ch Users: “The First Streamer to Ever Hit Five-Digit Fame”

    A thread on 5ch’s Hello! Project board reminisced about “Nagai-sensei,” a legendary internet streamer active in the early 2000s on “Ookami” (the Morning Musume board). Nagai-sensei was known for a style that was ahead of its time: streaming via PeerCast in an era before YouTube or Niconico Live existed, while chatting with listeners through a dedicated commentary thread on 2ch. Replies mixed high praise — “the first streamer to ever achieve five-digit name recognition” — with wistful remarks about how he failed to monetize his fame and faded from the spotlight, while the generational gap between those who remember 2ch’s golden age and those who don’t also became a talking point.

    1AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:20
    The guy who was a Reina otaku —
    I wonder what he's up to now.
    3AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:23
    For some reason I just assumed he was a Nacchi otaku lol
    Huh, a Reina otaku, interesting.
    5AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:24
    Brings back memories.
    On my way back from a trip to Kochi,
    I drove past his house.
    Turned out it wasn't as rural as I expected — totally livable if you've got a car.
    6AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:28
    Isn't he the guy who collapsed into cardiac arrest at Shiny G (a Hello! Project concert series)?
    8AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:28
    I was watching one of Nacchi's YouTube Shorts from her golden era and cracked up seeing Nagai in the comments.
    10AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:30
    I know he was popular on Ookami about 25 years ago, posting under a fixed handle like "Seriously a Fan…."
    Apparently he's a Twitch streamer now.
    11AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:30
    He's getting by in streaming thanks to a sugar daddy-type patron.
    12AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:30
    These days his viewer count has dropped to half of his younger brother's 🥺
    13AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:31
    Wait, the Nagai-sensei known for Devilman and Harenchi Gakuen?
    14AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:31
    I'd completely forgotten about him for like 10 years until this thread.
    16AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:32
    I wonder if anyone who used to listen to Nagai's Ookami radio show is still hanging around Ookami today.
    56AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:50
    Re: #16
    Nagai actually posted his phone number in the radio thread once, so I called him.
    18AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:33
    Apparently Ishikawa Nobuyuki once called him the "archaeopteryx" — basically the forerunner — of today's streaming style.
    He said if he could meet just one streamer, it'd be Nagai-sensei.
    19AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:33
    I wonder if his mom's doing okay.
    23AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:36
    Re: #19
    The only one who's actually passed away is his dog, Masamune, I think…
    20AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:34
    I once asked Azuma Hiroki if he knew Nagai-sensei, and he said "Of course, I've read Nagai (Hitoshi)-sensei's work" (he thought I meant the philosopher Hitoshi Nagai).
    21AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:34
    Probably the first streamer to ever achieve five-digit name recognition.
    22AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:35
    And according to Ishikawa,
    he was perfectly positioned to dive headfirst into a totally blue-ocean market,
    but he either chose not to or just couldn't pull it off.
    He might've made huge money like HIKAKIN,
    but these days he's apparently holed up on some site — FC2, maybe? — quietly doing his thing with a small circle of supporters.
    25AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:36
    It's wild that he pulled in 2,000 viewers using relay-style PeerCast streams.
    This wasn't an era where you could casually watch a stream like today.
    26AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:38
    He was the single biggest celebrity on Ookami back when it was a "sleepless city" with momentum rivaling 2ch's top boards.
    Anyone who was around back then knows exactly who he is.
    34AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:40
    Re: #26
    There probably aren't many people left from back then.
    I don't even know him.
    27AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:38
    Ikidekin JP (a well-known streamer/commentator) has turned into a Hello! Project otaku now, you know.
    28AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:39
    He failed to monetize it. If he'd played his cards a bit smarter he could've ended up like Hezumaryu (a controversial stunt YouTuber).
    30AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:39
    He's probably just playing pachinko all day.
    Not that I'd know.
    31AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:39
    A guy who was posting videos on 2ch before YouTube even existed.
    https://youtu.be/3JWrXDH8BP8?si=C9kDlhwBDTPy6c7u
    32AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:40
    Yeah, he'd start a thread on 2ch and chat with the commentary crowd while streaming, right?
    That style alone was way ahead of its time — this was the mid-2000s.
    33AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:40
    A key figure in Hello! Project's rise.
    Kunio-san was the one who revived Hello! Project's fortunes.
    41AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:43
    Nagai-sensei is the reason I got into Hello! Project in the first place.
    43AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:45
    Back then, streaming and drawing a crowd didn't translate into money.
    Only genuine fans would actually send gifts.
    Viewers who couldn't stand seeing someone else benefit piled on with criticism.
    In the end he got absorbed into the orbit of some wealthy backer type, and his popularity declined.
    44AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:45
    A flower that bloomed and withered in the dawn era before YouTube or Niconico Live existed.
    I'm honestly impressed he managed game streaming on the devices available back then.
    It's not all that different from today's game streamers' style.
    48AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:47
    Re: #44
    Though he relied entirely on other people to put together his streaming setup.
    46AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:47
    People often say Ookami was a "sleepless city" back in Nagai's day, but was it on par with VIP or Nanj at their peak, or even bigger?
    57AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:52
    Re: #46
    Actually, it predates both of those.
    VIP got going around 2005-2006, and Nanj was after 2010.

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    “Nagai-sensei,” who was active on “Ookami,” the Morning Musume board on 2ch (now 5ch), is said to have pioneered an interactive streaming style: broadcasting via PeerCast — which had no chat feature — in the early 2000s, before YouTube or Niconico Live existed, while communicating with viewers through a dedicated live-commentary thread on 2ch. While this format is sometimes credited as the prototype for today’s game streamers, at the time there was strong backlash against viewers sending gifts or games to streamers, which was condemned as “begging.” The thread was split between those praising him as a pioneer — “the first streamer to ever achieve five-digit name recognition” — and those lamenting that he failed to monetize his popularity and now operates as a small-scale streamer. Compared to today, when tipping culture is firmly established, it’s striking how differently the same behavior was once judged. The generational divide between those who remember 2ch’s peak era and those encountering his name for the first time in this thread is also part of what makes this such a compelling piece of nostalgia.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Do You Guys Remember Nagai-sensei?“

  • Sweet-Tooth Squad Assembles on 5ch: ‘I Just Want to Eat a Whole Roll Cake in This Lifetime’

    A thread popped up on 5ch’s News Speed VIP board where the kaomoji character “Pomii” got everyone talking about their love of sweets. In response to a poster who wanted to eat an entire roll cake in one sitting, another poster shared that they now avoid sweets because of diabetes — revealing along the way that they’d gone from 110kg to 56kg and put their diabetes into remission. The thread rolled on with everyone chiming in with their own favorites, from drinking Calpis mixed extra strong, to Rairaitei’s tantanmen, chestnut rakugan, and Capriko, keeping things friendly and lighthearted throughout.

    1AnonymousOct 4, 2026 13:31
    (っ´ω`c) I want to keep eating sweets for the rest of my life
    5AnonymousOct 4, 2026 13:33
    (っ´ω`c) I had the matcha Choco Pie — the matcha's slight bitterness mixed with the chocolate flavor was great
    6AnonymousOct 4, 2026 13:35
    Re: #5
    (*´ω｀*) So that means ohagi counts too, huh
    here, have one 🟤
    9AnonymousOct 4, 2026 13:36
    (´;ω;`) I can't eat sweets… I've got diabetes
    15AnonymousOct 4, 2026 13:40
    Re: #9
    (っ´ω`c) Aw, man (he said "gay-kun" — VIP-board slang for addressing a fellow poster, not literal)? That's rough… how'd you end up with diabetes?
    10AnonymousOct 4, 2026 13:37
    The sweetest thing I've ever had in my life
    was Calpis mixed extra strong
    16AnonymousOct 4, 2026 13:41
    Re: #10
    (っ´ω`c) Yeah, that stuff really is sweet. I've always wanted to just chug it straight from the bottle
    20AnonymousOct 4, 2026 13:42
    Re: #15
    (´;ω;`) I've been seriously overweight for as long as I can remember, so it was kind of bound to happen… I used to eat three go of rice every night (about 1.6 lbs)… but now I've worked hard dieting, gone from 110kg to 56kg, and my diabetes is in remission
    23AnonymousOct 4, 2026 13:44
    Re: #20
    (っ´ω`c) Wow, that's an amazing diet success! Shame you can't eat ice cream though, or you'll end up with diabetes again… diabetes is scary… really scary
    25AnonymousOct 4, 2026 13:45
    Re: #23
    (´;ω;`) You should watch out too, Pomii, if you only eat sweets — that's risky… if you're seriously overweight and get diabetes you can improve a lot just by losing weight, but apparently if you're naturally thin and still get it, it's way tougher
    26AnonymousOct 4, 2026 13:47
    Re: #25
    (っ´ω`c) Guess you really do need to exercise regularly after all. Good luck at work, man
    27AnonymousOct 4, 2026 13:47
    Re: #26
    (´;ω;`) 👍 Thanks, I'll do my best
    32AnonymousOct 4, 2026 13:49
    Re: #27
    (っ´ω`c) I want to be friends. We should meet up in person sometime
    29AnonymousOct 4, 2026 13:48
    Just as I said I would, I went and ate tantanmen
    34AnonymousOct 4, 2026 13:50
    Re: #29
    (っ´ω`c) Oh, "yaba-tantanmen" huh (a pun on yabai, meaning "insanely good")? Was it tasty?
    35AnonymousOct 4, 2026 13:50
    Re: #34
    Rairaitei's tantanmen —
    some people say it's bad, but I think it's delicious
    41AnonymousOct 4, 2026 14:12
    (´･ω･`) What perfect timing! I just bought a big roll cake
    45AnonymousOct 4, 2026 14:15
    Re: #41
    (っ´ω`c) Ooh, roll cake is great too
    I want to eat one whole, start to finish, at least once in this life
    42AnonymousOct 4, 2026 14:12
    (´･ω･`) I've always loved Mister Donut's mapo noodles
    46AnonymousOct 4, 2026 14:16
    Re: #42
    (っ´ω`c) Didn't know Mister Donut sold stuff like that. Just looking at it makes me break a sweat
    43AnonymousOct 4, 2026 14:13
    It's pouring where I am
    how about your place, Pomii?
    47AnonymousOct 4, 2026 14:17
    Re: #43
    (っ´ω`c) Pouring rain here too
    44AnonymousOct 4, 2026 14:14
    I can barely eat shortcake anymore though
    loved it as a kid, but these days my body just rejects it
    48AnonymousOct 4, 2026 14:17
    Re: #44
    (っ´ω`c) Seriously? I could eat two, even three pieces of shortcake no problem
    50AnonymousOct 4, 2026 14:20
    New Year's almost here, so why not just start job hunting next year?
    52AnonymousOct 4, 2026 14:23
    Re: #50
    (っ´ω`c) Nah, I'm not gonna
    53AnonymousOct 4, 2026 14:23
    I wanna be a "sweets guy" 😉 (slang for a guy who's really into desserts)
    55AnonymousOct 4, 2026 14:28
    Re: #53
    (っ´ω`c) "Sweets" (lol)
    54AnonymousOct 4, 2026 14:25
    (´･ω･`) I loooove chocolate-based cakes
    56AnonymousOct 4, 2026 14:29
    Re: #54
    (っ´ω`c) Nice. Roll cake counts as chocolate too, huh
    57AnonymousOct 4, 2026 14:30
    (´･ω･`) I bought both the chocolate one and the plain one
    59AnonymousOct 4, 2026 14:36
    Re: #57
    (っ´ω`c) Nice, so you're gonna eat them all by yourself? One roll a day?
    61AnonymousOct 4, 2026 14:37
    (´･ω･`) They're the individually-wrapped rolls, just a slightly bigger size
    62AnonymousOct 4, 2026 14:38
    Re: #61
    (っ´ω`c) Ah, I see. By "individually-wrapped," you mean the kind sliced into rounds?
    112AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:34
    (ꐦ·᷅ὢ·᷄ꐦ ) This, why?

    114AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:35
    Re: #112
    (っ´ω`c) Looks tasty
    118AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:46
    Re: #112
    What's this, looks delicious
    119AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:52
    Re: #114
    Re: #118
    (ꐦ·᷅ὢ·᷄ꐦ ) It's chestnut rakugan (a dry pressed sugar-and-rice-flour sweet)
    123AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:55
    Re: #119
    There it is, rakugan —
    a solid lump of sugar
    128AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:00
    Re: #119
    Rakugan, huh! I thought it might be something like monaka (a wafer-and-bean-paste sweet)
    but yeah, rakugan really is good
    121AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:54
    (ꐦ·᷅ὢ·᷄ꐦ ) And then there's stuff like this too



    124AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:56
    Re: #121
    (っ´ω`c) Capriko looks tasty! (Glico's cone-shaped snack)

    Background and Talking Points

    Kaomoji like (っ´ω`c) and (´;ω;`) are long-running “characters” on 5ch’s News Speed VIP board — regulars reuse these fixed personas to keep casual chats going. This thread’s “Pomii” is one such character, and here the star of the show is sweets talk itself rather than any particular incident or controversy. The only thing resembling actual “information” in the thread is one poster’s account of losing weight from 110kg to 56kg and putting their diabetes into remission, plus a follow-up claiming that “diabetes caused by obesity tends to improve a lot with weight loss, but diabetes in naturally thin people tends to be more serious.” It’s worth noting this isn’t a medically verified statement — just an anonymous poster’s self-report. The thread overall has no conflict or debate; it stays a relaxed chat with everyone simply naming their favorite sweets.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed VIP) thread “(っ´ω`c) Pomii & Co.: I Really Love Sweets.”

  • Why Don’t Mamoru Hosoda’s Films Hit Big? 5ch Debates the Box Office Numbers

    On 5ch’s Nandemo Jikkyo G board, a thread kicked off over why director Mamoru Hosoda’s anime films keep underperforming at the box office. Posters cited figures for 2025’s “Scarlet,” claiming an estimated production budget of around ¥9 billion against domestic box office of only ¥500–600 million, then compared that to Hayao Miyazaki’s “Princess Mononoke” (¥19.3 billion) and “Ponyo” (¥15.5 billion). Opinion split between those who credit the strength of the Ghibli brand and those who think directors should be judged on individual merit, and the discussion spread to how other directors like Makoto Shinkai and Mamoru Oshii are rated.

    1AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:00
    Come to think of it, the Digimon movie was good enough for me
    13AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:06
    That's a 2009 anime film — pulling in ¥1.6 billion is seriously impressive
    18AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:08
    Re: #13
    1997's Princess Mononoke made ¥19.3 billion
    21AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:10
    Re: #18
    That's the Ghibli buff plus insane amounts of advertising, though
    22AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:10
    Re: #18
    Ghibli's an exception because the brand was already established
    think about what movie-going was like back then
    29AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:13
    Scarlet just flat-out didn't sell
    still, it was better than Mirai, I'll give it that
    33AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:16
    Re: #29
    Sounds like someone who'd actually go watch the "100-Day Croc" movie (a notoriously mocked flop based on a viral comic)
    81AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:44
    Re: #29
    Both are equally boring
    Mirai's at least slightly better since it has the old man's motorcycle episode
    34AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:16
    Re: #13
    Ponyo (2008) — ¥15.5 billion

    you lose
    35AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:17
    Re: #34
    That's seriously impressive
    39AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:19
    Re: #34
    That one got crazy amounts of ad spend riding the Ghibli brand though
    37AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:18
    Director Mamoru Hosoda's film "Scarlet" reportedly had an actual production budget of around $25 million (roughly ¥2.5–3.7 billion), with total costs including marketing estimated at around $60 million (roughly ¥9 billion)
    51AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:24
    Re: #37
    lol

    Director Mamoru Hosoda's film "Scarlet" reportedly earned only around ¥500–600 million at the domestic box office
    56AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:28
    Apparently a decent number of people find the scene where the old lady makes a phone call oddly satisfying
    58AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:29
    I actually like Wolf Children, but it's sad how much it gets trashed online
    61AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:30
    Re: #58
    The Digimon movie that isn't "Our War Game" is good too, right?
    59AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:30
    It's wild that even the official account treats the old lady's phone-call scene as an iconic moment

    https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/2001934442718466048/vid/avc1/1920×1080/5NBY0UdIGibcgojr.mp4
    62AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:32
    Re: #59
    Why's that wild?
    60AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:30
    It's surprising how anime fans don't actually rate things just on the director's name
    even a big-shot anime director takes a reputation hit if they put out a dud
    with live-action, big-name directors seem to get a pass no matter how the film turns out
    you can't even criticize a Takeshi Kitano movie when it's boring
    65AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:32
    Re: #60
    Feels like the people fixated on a director's name are mostly haters
    with Hosoda too, you get comments that are clearly "I want to bash him" first and reasons second
    108AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:06
    Re: #60
    I don't get why Weathering With You gets praised
    68AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:34
    Scarlet: turns out she was alive the whole time —

    that had me dying laughing
    73AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:36
    Re: #68
    Makes you wonder what the whole story was even for
    72AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:36
    The fate of a man who idolized Ghibli, got hyped up like Ghibli, but never actually became Ghibli
    74AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:37
    Re: #72
    It's Nippon TV's fault for hyping up someone with only average talent
    93AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:53
    Lucky for Shinkai that Your Name became such a massive hit with general audiences
    everything else he's made feels pretty unremarkable, yet he still gets treated as a top-tier director
    98AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:56
    Re: #93
    Something feels off about Mamoru Oshii being treated as a top-tier director when he's really only ever clicked with otaku audiences
    95AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:54
    This whole mess happened because Belle accidentally became a hit

    the second half of that movie was genuinely awful, and it still sold — that's the real tragedy
    96AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:55
    Re: #95
    That scene where everyone sends her off with a "go get 'em!" makes zero sense, lol
    97AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:55
    The first half of The Boy and the Beast might honestly be my favorite Hosoda stretch
    it gets way too boring once the girl shows up
    104AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:03
    Re: #97
    yeah the second half is trash
    the part with the whale is garbage
    you could already see the cracks forming there
    110AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:07
    Re: #97
    well yeah, the first half is basically a straight rip-off of a world-famous movie
    99AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:58
    Shinkai built word-of-mouth buzz starting with 5 Centimeters per Second, then broke through big with Your Name
    his hit rate's solid too — he really played it well
    106AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:04
    Re: #99
    before Your Name came out he was treated as a has-been though
    whichever one was Children Who Chase Lost Voices was genuinely terrible
    that's Scarlet-level bad
    101AnonymousOct 4, 2026 18:59
    The numbers look puny by today's standards, but back then anime movies seriously didn't click with anyone except Ghibli
    107AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:05
    Re: #101
    it's surprising that Crayon Shin-chan movies kept going for years while being called a success at just the ¥1 billion level
    there was an article recently saying the newest one pulled in ¥2.5 billion, its biggest hit ever
    109AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:06
    Re: #108
    Weathering With You is good though?
    112AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:08
    Re: #109
    what's supposed to be good about a story where some brat does whatever he wants, causes a disaster, and just barges ahead chasing his own wish anyway
    if Your Name is a 10, Weathering With You is a 1
    116AnonymousOct 4, 2026 19:12
    Re: #112
    that's exactly what makes it good though
    when you're young, don't you feel like the whole world could go to hell as long as it's for the girl you love?

    Background and Key Points of the Debate

    Mamoru Hosoda made his directorial debut with The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and went on to direct Summer Wars, Wolf Children, and The Boy and the Beast, among others. His 2025 film Scarlet reportedly carried a large production budget but struggled at the domestic box office, and that gap became the thread’s main talking point. Opinion split over whether to credit a film’s success to “the power of the Ghibli brand” or to judge it on “the director’s own ability.” Another point of debate was that Makoto Shinkai’s reputation wasn’t settled before Your Name, which highlighted how heavily having (or lacking) a hit shapes a director’s overall standing. Note that the box office and production cost figures cited in the thread don’t have clearly stated sources and may differ from official figures.

    *This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “[Sad News] I genuinely don’t understand why director Mamoru Hosoda’s “Summer Wars” became a hit.”

  • Gundam Ichiban Kuji Keychain Sparks Buzz — 5ch: ‘Scirocco’s the Best’

    We take a look at a lively chat thread from 5ch’s “Live News G” board. Topics ranged widely — from the design of rubber keychains featured in a Gundam Ichiban Kuji lottery, to reactions over the ending of A Certain Scientific Railgun, to preferences in Japanese rap artists like NORIKIYO, to photos of soy milk ramen. The ending was discussed only secondhand (“apparently”), and opinions were divided over which anime songs truly deserve to be called “legendary tracks.”

    37AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:28
    My girlfriend's cute again today
    41AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:29
    Re: #37
    That's not even human
    44AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:29
    49AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:29
    A lot of Japanese rap guys are pretty cool too 👊😅👊
    I'm into NORIKIYO and guys like that 👊😅👊
    54AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:29
    Re: #49
    That's a sellout move
    57AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:30
    Re: #49
    Sorry Mr. Normie-Punch, this is a loners-only zone — can't talk rap here… 😥
    60AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:30
    Re: #49
    Nah, I'm sold out 🤟😎 ha-ha (wordplay on "sellout" vs "sold out")
    67AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:31
    Does the 'Certain' series even have a legendary song?
    71AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:31
    Re: #67
    There's "only my railgun"
    82AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:32
    Re: #67
    That one totally counts

    La-la-la-la-la~n, la-la~n, la-la~n, leave me beh-i-i-ind~~ 👊😅👊 (singing the Railgun theme song)
    92AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:33
    Re: #67
    Every single Mami Kawada song is a legendary track, dammit! 👊😅👊
    114AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:34
    Heard Railgun wrapped up — how did it end?
    121AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:35
    Re: #114
    Love Live won (obviously a troll answer)
    154AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:37
    Re: #114
    It wrapped up nicely, honestly
    It felt like the culmination of Kamachi and Fuyukawa's collaborative spin-off work
    122AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:35
    Is grown-up older-sister type Mugino Shizuri your thing? ("suko" = net slang for "I kinda love her")
    131AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:35
    Re: #122
    "She's basically someone's aunt," as always
    158AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:38
    Re: #122
    This is literally my mom 😍
    186AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:40
    Chow time 🥹
    212AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:41
    Re: #186
    Butter doesn't belong in tonkotsu ramen
    221AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:42
    Re: #186
    Soy milk ramen's really trending these days
    270AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:45
    281AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:46
    Re: #270
    271AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:46

    284AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:46
    Re: #271
    All four of them look so alike it makes you suspect AI
    344AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:50
    Gundam Ichiban Kuji
    The E-Prize rubber keychain is getting attention

    354AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:51
    Re: #344
    Scirocco's the best
    393AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:53
    Re: #344
    Looking at this, you can really see the subtle difference between Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's character designs for the original series and his Zeta designs
    Though in ZZ it's a totally different look since that's Kitazume's design

    Background and Talking Points

    Ichiban Kuji is a lottery-style merchandise draw run by the Bandai Namco group, and the Gundam franchise is one of the most consistently popular licensed lines for it. It’s not unusual for a lower-tier prize like an E-Prize rubber keychain to become a social media talking point, and this time it was the differences in character design that caught people’s attention. Meanwhile, the thread’s discussion of A Certain Scientific Railgun’s ending is grounded in fact insofar as the source material really is a collaboration between Kazuma Kamachi’s light novels and Motoi Fuyukawa’s manga — but the comment that kicked it off was itself secondhand (“apparently it ended”), and the replies that followed were obvious joke piggybacking, not confirmed information about what actually happens. It’s best read as casual banter on a live-discussion thread, not an official announcement. Likewise, the debate over which “Certain” series song counts as a “legendary track,” and the chat about NORIKIYO and Japanese rap, were simply a moment where generational and personal taste differences came out — good-natured ribbing rather than any real attack on the works or their creators.

    *This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Live News G) thread “A Fight for Life or Death at Home 🏡👊😅👊.”

  • Is Becoming a Farmer Actually Easy? 5ch Says ‘You Can Buy Farmland From Any Realtor’

    A thread on 5ch’s “Nandemo Jikkyo G” board titled “Is it actually easy to become a farmer if you want to?” turned into a debate over the hurdles facing new farmers. The thread starter said they wanted to start farming because they didn’t want to work for someone else and craved a life of “farming when it’s sunny, reading when it rains” — and replies piled up covering everything from the difficulty of acquiring farmland to public support systems like municipal and JA (Japan Agricultural Cooperatives) farming consultation desks and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ agricultural improvement extension division. But the thread split between those saying “rice farming is simple work even people in their 70s can do” and those countering that “the reality is grueling, with tractor work running past midnight” — and that gap between farming’s image and its reality became the central argument.

    1AnonymousOct 4, 2026 15:41
    Isn't it unrealistic if your only reasons are "I don't want to be employed" and "I want to grow food I like"?
    7AnonymousOct 4, 2026 15:46
    You can't buy farmland unless you're a farmer.
    And you can't become a farmer without farmland.
    8AnonymousOct 4, 2026 15:48
    Re: #7
    It just costs more, but you can farm on residential or commercial land too.
    14AnonymousOct 4, 2026 15:55
    Because it's basically a privileged class — hard to break into starting from nothing.
    18AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:00
    Re: #14
    Yeah, that's exactly the image.
    Everyone says there's a labor shortage, but it feels like the barriers are so high you can't even get started.
    21AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:09
    Re: #18
    Why are you assuming you have to start out as a business owner right away?
    23AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:10
    Re: #21
    So what's the normal route, then?
    22AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:09
    If you just want to farm, you could become a farm employee.
    24AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:11
    Re: #22
    No, that's not it.
    I don't want to be employed.
    It's not that I don't want to deal with people or take orders, though.
    26AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:13
    Re: #24
    Then just buy or rent land and start working it.
    Whether you can make a living off it, no idea.
    28AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:16
    Re: #24
    Even if you don't want to be employed,
    go talk to your local JA first
    and make sure you've got everything you need lined up.
    If all you want is to buy farmland, you can buy as much as you want through a realtor.
    29AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:16
    Did you even look into this properly?
    Your city or prefecture will give you free farming consultations.
    There are even paid training programs.
    31AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:19
    Re: #29
    I'm guessing OP is just the "doesn't want to work" type.
    47AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:31
    Re: #29
    Didn't know stuff like that existed.
    But it's kind of embarrassing to go in for a consultation with such a naive mindset.
    30AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:19
    Doing farming because you don't want to deal with people —
    if you can't communicate with people, farming isn't for you.
    A home garden, maybe, but that's about it.
    34AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:24
    Re: #30
    These days you can sell stuff on Mercari (a Japanese flea-market app)
    without talking to anyone, though?
    32AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:19
    I get that just suddenly starting is a bit much.
    I'd like to spend something like 5 years learning hands-on — about crops, about everything it takes to actually sell them as a product, and about assets and rights and all that.
    40AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:27
    Re: #32
    Try hydroponics in your room first — basil, shiso, or cilantro in a plastic bottle with a sponge or something.
    Online it looks like it's super easy, but it's actually incredibly hard.
    44AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:30
    Re: #40
    Why would you grow something weird like "xiangcai" (the Chinese name for cilantro)…
    45AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:30
    Re: #40
    I grew a few herbs here and there, but there was no use for them, so I turned them all into tea and gave up.
    62AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:47
    My mom's younger brother runs a big farm — he's married but has no kids, so there was talk of me becoming the farm's heir on the family tree, but I turned it down.
    You live a more decent life as a salaried worker.
    I'd heard endless stories from my mom about how hard farming is, so I never felt like taking over.
    63AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:48
    Re: #62
    Have you never heard stories about how hard being a salaried worker is?
    65AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:48
    Re: #63
    Because you can quit being a salaried worker any time.
    71AnonymousOct 4, 2026 16:52
    Re: #63
    I've been a salaried worker for over 10 years, and I think it's easier than farming.
    83AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:02
    I just want that "farm when it's sunny, read when it rains" lifestyle.
    But farmers have to work rain or no rain.
    86AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:04
    Re: #83
    You don't need to be a farmer to live that "sun-plow, rain-read" life.
    90AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:07
    Re: #83
    How about becoming a hunter? They're short on people.
    I got invited to do trapping, but in the end you have to kill the animal, and I hate seeing blood.
    85AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:04
    Rice farming is super easy, honestly.
    It's work done by people whose average age is past 70, so there's no way it's hard.
    Whether you can actually make money at it is a separate question, though.
    88AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:05
    Re: #85
    That's definitely a lie.
    Near my place there's a guy out working a rice field with a tractor at like 8pm.
    92AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:07
    Re: #88
    A tractor, in a rice field…
    94AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:09
    Re: #88
    There's a slight chance it's a contractor hired by JA.
    97AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:11
    Re: #92
    Huh? You plow in fall, winter, and spring.
    You do it after your day job ends, or on weekends.
    In fact I just helped with rice harvesting today — it rained the whole time, it was rough.
    100AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:11
    Re: #97
    No, there's absolutely no reason it has to be done at night.
    106AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:18
    Re: #100
    It's because the work isn't finished that you end up still at it after dark.
    If the tractor breaks down midway, you fix it yourself right there.
    I've worked straight through until it was pitch black because the job just wasn't done.
    110AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:19
    Re: #106
    I don't care about your personal situation.
    113AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:22
    Re: #106
    There's always that type who's great at the "look how hard I'm working" act.
    Doesn't realize coworkers rate them low while the boss somehow likes them.
    102AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:15
    Re: #90
    I've helped kill wild boars caught in box traps a few times — the adults resist silently to the end, but the piglets get terrified and scream.
    Once you hear that, you can't bring yourself to do the killing.
    Butchering them afterward, though, I was fine with that.
    103AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:17
    Re: #102
    I've got a war story where I caught a wild boar with my bare hands.
    Though it was young enough that even calling it a "piglet" feels generous.
    118AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:27
    Re: #102
    Terrifying.
    Seems impossible unless you zap it with electricity first and then bleed it out.
    105AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:17
    If you go to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' agricultural improvement extension office — a government-run office — and tell them you want to farm, their civil-servant network will set you up with places where farmers are leaving or depopulated areas eager for new farmers, and they'll arrange all kinds of subsidies for you too.
    107AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:18
    Re: #105
    Is it really that easy to get started?
    I'm guessing it's what comes after that's tough.
    108AnonymousOct 4, 2026 17:18
    Re: #105
    Why skip right past the municipality and prefecture and go straight to the Ministry of Agriculture…

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    Acquiring farmland is subject to a permit system under the Farmland Act, so the thread’s claim that “you can’t buy farmland unless you’re a farmer” is half right and half a misunderstanding. In reality, the requirement is approval from the local Agricultural Committee, and the lower area-limit requirement that used to exist (in principle 50a or more) was abolished in a 2023 revision of the law — meaning there is now more room than before for non-farmers to acquire land after going through a certain screening process. On the other hand, as the thread points out, consultation desks for new farmers run by municipalities and JA, along with support systems such as stipends during training periods like the Next-Generation Farmers Investment Fund, genuinely exist, and public support for people starting farming from zero is more developed than one might expect. Where the discussion split was between the view that “rice farming is simple work even the elderly can do” and the view that “the reality involves grueling tractor work late into the night” — both are real facets of actual farming, but the thread never quite resolved how much labor conditions vary depending on the crop and the scale of the operation.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (“Nandemo Jikkyo G”) thread “Is it actually easy to become a farmer if you want to?.”