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  • FF7 Rebirth for ¥2,000 on Steam — 5ch: ‘A 32.8% Clear Rate Is Brutal’

    A thread went up on 5ch’s Hardware/Industry (Geha) board about FF7 Rebirth, which had gone on sale for ¥2,000 on Steam. It opened with an image praising the summon monsters’ 4K high-quality visuals alongside a post claiming “low-spec hardware can’t handle this,” but commenters quickly pointed out the image wasn’t actually from the PS2 — it was from the PSP remaster of Crisis Core. The discussion eventually expanded into a full-blown performance debate over PC, PS5, and Switch 2, with FF7 Remake’s 32.8% clear rate (compared to Witcher 3’s 22%) getting cited as ammunition, fueling a back-and-forth over where the “recommended spec line” really sits.

    The 4K max-settings summon monsters look so insanely powerful, it blew me away.

    Yeah, no way low-spec-pleb hardware can handle this.

    If you haven’t played it yet, you should grab it in this sale.

    Source: imgur.com / Original post here

    5AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:24
    Is this the PS2 version?
    14AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:30
    Re: #5
    The PS2 just keeps getting upgraded into a high-spec machine, lol
    16AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:32
    Re: #5
    Isn't this Crisis Core?
    44AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:51
    Re: #5
    Why'd you post a remaster of a PSP game, lol?
    17AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:32
    Well, there's no point deliberately playing a multiplatform title on a low-spec machine like the Switch 2, lol
    You're better off just playing it on PC anyway
    18AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:32
    Re: #14
    It was originally a PSP game, so comparing it to PS2-level specs isn't wrong
    21AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:35
    Re: #18
    No, this is the remaster though
    19AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:33
    FF games barely ever go on sale, so they must be pretty desperate
    86AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:25
    Re: #19
    They're probably betting on everyone who posted 'I won't buy it unless it's a single package' finally caving and piling in during this sale
    20AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:33
    But 'pasokon-ga' types (mocking slang, literally 'but-PC-guys') mostly have rigs weaker than a PS5 anyway
    25AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:38
    Re: #20
    For starters, 'pasokon-ga' is actually a slur for PS5 owners who have an inferiority complex about PC gaming
    28AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:39
    Looking at Rebirth's clear rate, sales for 'Liberation' (the next installment) are probably in serious trouble
    35AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:44
    Re: #28
    Let me compare it to Witcher 3 for you

    FF7 Remake clear rate = 32.8%
    https://steamcommunity.com/stats/1462040/achievements

    Witcher 3 clear rate = 22%
    https://steamcommunity.com/stats/292030/achievements


    Given Witcher 3's clear rate, Witcher 4 is probably going to have it rough too, lol
    41AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:49
    Re: #39
    Where exactly is the line for 'nice-looking graphics,' though? RTX 4090 or better?
    48AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:52
    Re: #41
    At the very least, whatever meets the recommended specs
    For FF7 Rebirth, that's RTX 2070 or better
    49AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:55
    Re: #48
    So the PS5 version, which is roughly equivalent to a 2060, is trash then?
    45AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:51
    I don't think I'd buy the FF7 Remake series even for 500 yen
    Just watching a bit of gameplay footage gives me a weird, creeped-out feeling
    53AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:59
    Re: #45
    Before that, you need to actually buy a PC
    61AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:11
    Re: #1
    Valve: 'The Steam Machine outperforms 70% of all gaming PCs'
    https://www.resetera.com/threads/1560352/

    Performance ranking: PS5 Pro > PS5 > Steam Machine
    Nearly 80% of PC users have specs below a PS5
    84AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:24
    Re: #61
    Also, I love this copypasta, but the source never once says 'gaming PC.' Someone just arbitrarily slapped 'gaming' on it and pulled that 70% figure out of thin air
    65AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:13
    Re: #64
    Well, I'm just stating facts, aren't I?
    67AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:13
    Re: #65
    No, that's not a rebuttal at all
    Which part is 'fact'? The part where you dodge and shift the goalposts? lol
    68AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:15
    Re: #67
    Well, required specs vary from game to game, don't they?
    70AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:16
    Re: #68
    Exactly, that's why there's no such thing as 'the line.' You're just drawing it wherever's convenient for you
    93AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:30
    Re: #70
    The line does exist
    Recommended specs for games keep climbing
    Lately a lot more games list an RTX 3060 Ti as the recommendation
    102AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:46
    Re: #1
    Honestly, you'd get more mileage turning this into a meme image

    'Rebirth Comedy Duo' (manzai-style joke images)



    Background and Key Points

    The PC version of FF7 Rebirth lists an RTX 2070 or better as its recommended spec, and the thread’s “line for good-looking graphics” debate was built around that benchmark. Meanwhile, the 32.8% clear rate cited in the thread comes from Steam’s achievement-tracking page — worth noting that not finishing a game often just means it’s sitting in someone’s backlog rather than reflecting difficulty, so it isn’t a direct measure of how good the hardware or software actually is. The image posted at the start of the thread was initially mistaken for the PS2 version, but replies corrected it to the PSP remaster of Crisis Core, illustrating the risk of judging a platform by looks alone. The back half of the thread veered off into a PC-vs-PS5-vs-Switch 2 performance comparison, turning into the kind of hardware slap-fight where everyone trades insulting nicknames for the other camp.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) thread “I tried buying FF7 Rebirth for ¥2,000 on Steam, and…“.

  • Love Live! New Manga ‘Ikizu Live’ (a pun blending “ikizurai,” meaning “hard to live,” with “Live”) Kicks Off — 5ch: ‘A New Era Has Begun’

    The first chapter of the new Love Live! series manga “Ikizu Live” has been published on KADOKAWA’s manga site “Comic Walker.” The work portrays the relationships between girls each struggling with life in their own way, and its departure from the franchise’s usual “school idol” formula has become a hot topic. On 5ch’s Love Live! board, posts have been buzzing about the words and actions of lead character “Polka,” along with jokes comparing other past characters with lines like “isn’t this one an Ikizu Live case too?” Reactions were split between fans who welcomed the new direction and those questioning the heavy expository dialogue and the artwork.

    It’s out now

    Source: comic-walker.com / Original article here

    2AnonymousSep 24, 2026 11:45
    Great, so it's another manga that's just gonna slap the plot together sloppily and then get cancelled?
    3AnonymousSep 24, 2026 11:50
    I genuinely can't see Polka as anything but unhinged.
    5AnonymousSep 24, 2026 12:40
    A new era begins
    7AnonymousSep 24, 2026 13:00
    Now that the story's actually gotten going, you can finally see each character's own struggle with life.
    10AnonymousSep 24, 2026 13:25
    For Superstar!!, that whole "music department" setting ended up not mattering at all.
    11AnonymousSep 24, 2026 13:27
    Yoshiko: let her chuuni phase spiral out of control and ended up with zero friends. Stopped going to school from day one.
    Rina: grew up half-neglected, can't communicate properly, can't even manage a smile. Zero friends.
    Himeme: both parents passed away. Her computer is her only friend.

    These guys are basically Ikizu Live material too.
    12AnonymousSep 24, 2026 13:29
    Yours truly → fat, bald, glasses, virgin, "never had a girlfriend for as many years as I've been alive," a NEET in denial about it

    This is Ikizu Live too, isn't it.
    13AnonymousSep 24, 2026 13:33
    The girl in the μ's-style stories was just an ordinary kid, but this time they brought out the real deal.
    14AnonymousSep 24, 2026 13:33
    This is basically "Mii-chan," but the mild version. (Mii-chan: a notorious extreme case that's come up on 5ch before.)
    15AnonymousSep 24, 2026 13:35
    She doesn't really seem like she's got it that hard
    It's gonna turn into a sparkly feel-good story in the end anyway, so the whole setup is pointless.
    16AnonymousSep 24, 2026 13:36
    It's interesting that Polka is aware that "some part of her is always sticking out from everyone else," while at the same time having a strong urge to wear the matching uniform — meaning she wants to be a normal part of the group like everyone else.
    This looks like it'll be a story about accepting your true self, approached from the opposite direction of Chika in Sunshine!!
    17AnonymousSep 24, 2026 13:52
    It actually holds together as a real story about a girl who seems genuinely burdened by life, and it's an easy read.
    Unlike that bunch who suddenly went around calling themselves "superstars," this one plays it straight.
    30AnonymousSep 24, 2026 16:14
    Too much of a hassle to read the manga.
    I'm not asking for a full anime, but at least give us a voice comic.
    31AnonymousSep 24, 2026 16:20
    I'm actually in the camp that dislikes voice comics — you can't read them at your own pace.
    166AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:16
    Is Ikizu Live's protagonist supposed to have ADHD?
    168AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:30
    Livestream starting at 8pm tonight📺
    #AguPonPonPon
    https://x.com/iris_official_/status/2103064403130364315
    169AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:38
    It's forgiven because she's a cute girl.
    170AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:49
    Read it, and yeah, it's got every one of Kimino Sakurako's bad habits on full display.
    Way too much expository dialogue, so naggy it got "ugh, enough already."
    Or is that on the artist's shoulders for not trimming it down when adapting the script?
    174AnonymousSep 24, 2026 20:09
    Where'd everyone who went to Keio Arena go?
    175AnonymousSep 24, 2026 20:09
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HS-B3sTaMAAZbWd.jpg
    176AnonymousSep 24, 2026 20:12
    Everyone's off playing the new BanG Dream! app or watching the Sakamichi group announcement.
    There's also the Project Sekai 6th anniversary program going on.
    178AnonymousSep 24, 2026 20:30
    Johnny's aside, isn't it just that the series' own fans caught on? Doesn't seem any different from last time.
    179AnonymousSep 24, 2026 20:33
    Johnny's is dealing with the arrests and disbandment, so it's rough for them right now…
    181AnonymousSep 24, 2026 21:18
    Everyone's talking seriously about the live show, one member at a time.
    The Liella! sports day livestream had more than half the cast looking like they weren't even into it.
    182AnonymousSep 24, 2026 22:19
    They read out something like 20 emails on the livestream.
    Not as bad as the "Hoshi" one last time, but still rough.
    Viewer numbers aren't gonna climb much with content like this.
    183AnonymousSep 24, 2026 23:56
    Every Ikizu Live livestream is the same — read some emails, make a few announcements, and that's a wrap.
    184AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:07
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HS-7adLaUAAHNnM.jpg
    https://x.com/aguponponpon/status/2103105618781630603
    185AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:16
    Feels like that's true of every group these days.
    They've probably already accepted this can only survive as a closed fandom for existing fans now (a "closed content" scene with no new fans coming in).
    Even if they try something new, it's not like new fans are going to show up because of it.
    And it's not just the livestreams — even the radio shows just plow through their segments flatly, with zero personal talk about what's actually going on inside the group.

    Background and Talking Points

    “Ikizu Live” appears to be a title conceived with existing Love Live! characters in mind. In the thread, posters brought up characters who already carry “hard to live” traits within the main series — like Yoshiko, who let her chuunibyou phase spiral out of control and ended up friendless, or Rina, who struggles with communication — framing this new work as an attempt to tackle those elements head-on. Some posts guessed the script was written by Kimino Sakurako, but that was one poster’s speculation, not an officially confirmed credit within the thread. Opinions split over the artwork and the amount of expository dialogue, and a handful of posts also mocked characters’ behavior by linking it to mental illness or developmental disorders — since that risks veering into discriminatory territory, those remarks have been left out of this article.

    *This article is an excerpt and summary compiled from the 5ch (Love Live!) thread “Ikizu Live Finally Begins.”

  • This Year’s ‘Gala of the Year’ Boils Down to a Superstar vs. Hasunosora Showdown

    On the 5ch “Love Live!” board, fans have narrowed the candidates for the so-called “Gala of the Year” — an unofficial yearly tradition looking back at on-stage mishaps and oddities from live concerts — down to two contenders: Superstar and Hasunosora. Opinions split between those backing Superstar for sheer frequency of incidents and those backing Hasunosora for the sheer size of a single blunder, with posters citing the Osaka and Sendai shows and even a sports-festival-themed event as points of comparison. No consensus was reached on which side deserves the crown, and some predicted the pool of “candidates” will only keep growing next year.

    1AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:26
    By gala count: Superstar
    By sheer impact: Hasunosora
    2AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:26
    This one's a tough call
    3AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:26
    Which one actually deserves this year's Gala of the Year?
    4AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:27
    We need to settle this properly
    5AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:27
    Fierce competition this year
    7AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:27
    Votes are gonna be split
    8AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:34
    Superstar's already a hall-of-famer
    9AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:43
    Let's just crown a top gala for every single year going forward
    10AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:01
    Gotta be Hasunosora, honestly, after that half-playback slip-up (leaning on the backing track mid-song)
    The Liella sports festival was pretty rough too, but you can still argue that one wasn't technically a real live show
    11AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:07
    The sports festival doesn't even count as a real gala though
    12AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:12
    What stood out at the sports day was just how visibly aged the crowd looked
    No wonder attendance keeps shrinking
    14AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:31
    [Starting soon!]
    Thursday, September 24, 8:00 PM –
    #大西亜玖璃 (Onishi Aguri)'s PONPONPONLIVE!! #11

    https://x.com/aguponponpon/status/2103061895112688055
    15AnonymousSep 24, 2026 20:08
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HS-B3sTaMAAZbWd.jpg
    17AnonymousSep 24, 2026 20:15
    Wasn't the Liella! Sendai show worse than Hasunosora's Osaka one?
    18AnonymousSep 24, 2026 20:44
    Hasunosora's kind of dumb for not learning from Superstar's gala
    There was already a hilarious precedent to learn from
    25AnonymousSep 24, 2026 22:10
    What about the movie theater gala?
    26AnonymousSep 24, 2026 22:14
    Superstar doesn't have a movie, so that'd be a default loss for them…
    28AnonymousSep 24, 2026 23:29
    Hasunosora's honestly only going downhill from here, so I bet we'll see even bigger galas
    29AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:07
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HS-7adLaUAAHNnM.jpg
    https://x.com/aguponponpon/status/2103105618781630603
    30AnonymousSep 25, 2026 02:44
    Re: #29
    Thought the one on the left was Nagi, but she's taller than Aguri, which seemed off — turns out it wasn't her

    Background and Key Points of the Debate

    “Gala of the Year” isn’t an official award — it’s an unofficial nickname fans use among themselves. Here, “gala” is community slang for audio glitches or on-stage mishaps during a live concert; it usually points less to a serious accident and more to a “mishap that lives on as a running joke.” The thread’s disagreement comes down to differing criteria — judging by sheer frequency of mishaps versus judging by the impact of a single incident — and since those two yardsticks aren’t really comparable to begin with, the debate was never going to reach a tidy conclusion. It’s also worth noting that terms like “half-playback” (leaning on the backing track for part of a song) may not land with anyone outside the fandom, and first-time readers will need extra context just to follow who “Superstar” and “Hasunosora” refer to.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Love Live!) thread “Why This Year’s Gala of the Year Has Come Down to Superstar or Hasunosora.”

  • Wild Arms Successor ‘Armed Fantasia’ Cancelled — 5ch: ‘3D Is Hard’

    Overseas outlet noisypixel.net reports that Armed Fantasia, which had been raising development funds on Kickstarter as a spiritual successor to Wild Arms, has been cancelled. 505 Games had come aboard as publisher, with the game planned for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC, but the project was quietly shelved after updates dried up. On the thread, comments piled up arguing that “trying to make a full-fledged 3D RPG without corporate backing was doomed from the start,” while discussion spread to comparisons with other crowdfunded titles like Eiyuden Chronicle, Ratatan, and Bakeru, as well as industry-wide issues like ballooning development costs and the risks of platform-exclusivity deals.

    Raised all that cash on Kickstarter and it ends like this

    Source: noisypixel.net / Original article here

    3AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:49
    \(^o^)/
    The dumbest part of this project is that they thought a '3D RPG' could be made without corporate backing.
    3D games are a struggle to develop even for big companies.
    They should've just played it safe with HD-2D.
    4AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:51
    Personally I loved WA1 and had high hopes, which makes this such a bummer (´・ω・`)
    One less thing to look forward to now.
    84AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:16
    The name alone is so bad it's funny.
    Re: #4
    That whole chained-stake weapon gimmick gets old fast — nowadays you even see it in amateur freeware games.
    5AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:53
    >505 Games later came on board as publisher, and Armed Fantasia was planned for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC.
    6AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:54
    There was so little follow-up news I figured something was off, but it's still sad to see.
    7AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:55
    Seriously?!
    They should've just gotten picked up by a publisher like Furyu and made it there.
    9AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:57
    If they'd scaled it down, it wouldn't have been impossible to finish, but the scope was on par with what a major studio takes on.
    Being a WA fan, this really stings.
    13AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:11
    Honestly the character designs looked so childish I never felt like playing it anyway.
    14AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:11
    Seriously, every game company that went all-in on PlayStation exclusives is dying off one by one.
    Shadow Hearts' successor might end up cancelled too.
    22AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:22
    Re: #14
    Development costs are just way too high.
    15AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:11
    Did the staff who worked on it just waste years of their lives, or was it frozen in limbo the whole time?
    17AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:13
    Did someone run off with the Kickstarter money?
    These 'spiritual successor' Kickstarters are rough, honestly — like Kenji Eno's project, or the spiritual successor to Suikoden.
    116AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:38
    Re: #17
    Eiyuden Chronicle, Ratatan, and Bakeru were all fun though.
    30AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:26
    Meanwhile Yu Suzuki, in his big comeback after all this time, actually delivered something that at least resembles a game — the man's a legend.
    34AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:34
    Re: #30
    I wonder what'll happen with Shenmue 4.
    If it goes to Xbox, they'd get that fancy mocap studio thrown in as a bonus.
    38AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:38
    Why do they always overreach instead of making something that fits their actual scale?
    There are tons of indie games that became smash hits.
    43AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:40
    Re: #38
    But there's an even bigger pile of corpses behind those hits.
    Game development itself is insanely risky.
    49AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:45
    Re: #38
    The only realistic shot at profit is slapping something together in two months, hoping it goes viral, and getting lucky — it's a razor-thin door that runs on shortcuts, guesswork, and pure luck.
    53AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:47
    Re: #38
    For every 10 hits, there are 10,000 games quietly dying off in the background.
    50AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:46
    I don't care if development costs are too high — just make what you can with the money you actually raised.
    60AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:51
    Re: #50
    Maybe showing off in-development screenshots early on, thinking 'we can probably pull this off,' was where their luck ran out.
    They should've waited until the funds were in and they had a real plan before starting.
    55AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:49
    I've said this before, but
    a lot of game developers are just plain dumb.
    Even as a Nintendo fan, if I were making a game I'd suck up to Microsoft first.
    I'd get it on Game Pass Day One and use that money to get by.
    Then once it sells, I'd betray them and jump to PlayStation or Switch.
    Seriously, people who go all-in on PlayStation exclusives are idiots.
    61AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:51
    Re: #55
    Says the unemployed guy.
    58AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:51
    Jiro Ishii got criticized for having some company backing him, for some reason, but it should be obvious that these days you can't make a decent game with the tens or hundreds of millions of yen raised through crowdfunding alone.
    In that respect, he's actually being pretty level-headed about it.
    64AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:54
    Re: #58
    And then he ends up clashing with the company over their pick of actor versus his original concept — so much for that.
    69AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:05
    Re: #58
    He's been dragging development out for four years now, so it's not level-headed at all.
    The company apparently judged that cutting it loose would hurt less than pouring in more investment to get it to release.
    In game development, where every extra month just bleeds more money, that kind of planning is way too naive.
    63AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:52
    They should be making a killing off Symphogear and have plenty of name recognition, so why do they need crowdfunding just to make a game?
    70AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:05
    Re: #63
    For this kind of spiritual successor, it's a way to gauge ahead of time how many fans are actually willing to pay.
    81AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:15
    Re: #63
    Kaneko was only involved as a writer — it's not like he's pocketing all the anime's profits or anything.
    88AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:18
    Did they run off with the money they raised?
    90AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:19
    Re: #88
    There's no way they're refunding it piece by piece.
    Gotta eat, buy clothes, hit the hot springs.
    95AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:23
    Why is it always 'spiritual successors' these days anyway?
    If it's good and would sell, why not just release it under the original IP?
    98AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:26
    Re: #95
    Sure, if the same dev team could stay at the same company for decades…
    101AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:29
    Did anyone actually back this thing? lol
    110AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:34
    Re: #101
    Right here! One backer present and accounted for!


    113AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:36
    Re: #110
    Well, if it was only around 10,000 yen…
    107AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:32
    No wonder we're stuck with an endless parade of low-risk remasters and remakes at this rate.
    117AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:38
    Re: #107
    I thought the same thing —
    I used to complain about nothing but remasters coming out,
    but I guess companies can't survive any other way these days.
    Like Tales of… yeah, Tales of, for one.
    109AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:34
    By the way, I picked up Super Real Mahjong and it was actually better made than I expected.
    112AnonymousSep 25, 2026 07:36
    Re: #109
    Honestly the cost-to-value ratio isn't great, but that's what meeting real demand looks like.
    It's not like we're all dying to see something expensive-looking anyway.

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    Known informally as “Armed Wyrms” — that is, Armed Fantasia — the game was developed by Media.Vision as a spiritual successor to the Wild Arms series. It raised funds on Kickstarter, and 505 Games (Digital Bros) later joined as publisher, with the title announced for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC. In recent years, some crowdfunded projects — like Eiyuden Chronicle Rising and Shenmue III — have gone on to secure major-publisher backing and reach completion, but it’s rare for a project to be cancelled after a publisher has already signed on, as happened here. Opinions on the thread split into two camps over the cause of the failure: one blames the creators’ overly optimistic planning — a development scope too large for the funds actually raised from backers — while the other points to the industry’s underlying structure, where 3D RPG development racks up costs so high that even major studios struggle with it. It’s worth noting that how the funds raised from backers will actually be handled remains pure speculation on the thread, with no official explanation given.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) thread “Wild Arms Successor ‘Armed Fantasia’ Development Cancelled wwwwwwww.”

  • “Fake Your Own Replies and It’s Game Over”: Late-Night 5ch Live-Chat Thread Has Everyone Cracking Up

    In a thread on 5ch’s “Nandemo Jikkyō G” (Anything-Goes Live) board, chatter rolled on from the middle of the night into early morning. Early on, a job-listing site for people with disabilities got posted out of nowhere, leaving users baffled (“What is this?”), and moments later the line “It’s game over if you fake it” drew a wave of replies like “LMAOOO” and “what even is this, lol.” From there the thread drifted into people marveling at how early everyone was up and a steady swap of images, never settling on one topic as the night wore into dawn.

    11AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:42
    Job and career-change support for people with disabilities: "Clover Navi"
    https://www.clover-navi.com/

    Job listings for people with disabilities: "Web Sana"
    https://www.web-sana.com/

    #1 track record in career-change support for people with disabilities: "doda Challenge"
    https://doda.jp/challenge/

    Job site for people job-hunting or changing careers while disclosing a disability certificate: "Bab Navi"
    https://bab-navi.com/

    Job site for major companies actively hiring people with disabilities: "Recommos"
    https://www.recommos.jp/
    22AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:43
    Re: #11
    What
    is this
    15AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:42
    It's game over if you fake it (jien — posting under a fake name to hype your own comment)
    16AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:43
    Re: #15
    LMAOOO
    21AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:43
    Re: #15
    Looking again, this is seriously hilarious lol
    38AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:47
    Re: #15
    What even is this lol
    25AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:44
    Re: #22
    What do you think it is? *smirk*
    28AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:44
    Re: #25
    Nya? Are you doing a cat impression?
    29AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:44
    Glad I was born in Inzai City
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E5EU1EWVkAEtAof.jpg
    47AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:50
    My mobile-game screenshots kept piling up so I made an app that sorts them automatically with AI 🤗
    You can upload straight from mate too 🤗


    48AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:51
    🙅 Nope, it's "Musho Cross"

    53AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:52
    59AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:54
    Why is everyone up so early?
    61AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:55
    Re: #59
    That day, it was still "night" for me even though it was morning (never went to bed)
    64AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:55
    65AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:56
    【Nazukari Mirai】
    69AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:58
    70AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:58
    【Team Miroku】
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Exs0ahdUUAMSgJc.jpg
    71AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:59
    Double Punch 👊😅👊


    Cross Chop 🙅
    80AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:04
    Put 'em all on the ignore list — so comfy
    86AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:13
    Re: #80
    Is it okay to do that?
    85AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:13
    112AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:44
    Re: #85
    What's with these fangs
    Are they pointed so it can bite and infect you?
    111AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:44
    117AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:47

    Background and Talking Points

    The line “it’s game over if you fake it” plays on a long-standing, strictly enforced 5ch rule against jien — posting under a different handle to agree with or hype up your own comment. It’s less a random joke than a wink at the board’s unwritten law. The thread appeared on “Nandemo Jikkyō G” (Anything-Goes Live), one of 5ch’s commentary boards with no fixed theme, where disconnected topics get dropped one after another even in the dead of night. It’s not unusual, as happened here, for what looks like an ad for a job-listing site to suddenly turn up out of nowhere and leave users baffled. Because most posts are tossed off in the moment with little context tying them together, the thread never lands on a single topic — which is exactly the loose, drifting atmosphere this board is known for.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (“Nandemo Jikkyō G”) thread “Double Punch 👊😅👊 vs 🙅 Cross Chop’s 🏡.”

  • Idol on hiatus for poor health reveals hospitalization in locked psychiatric ward — 5ch reacts: ‘Just leave her alone’

    Yukimi Fukunaga, a member of the idol group LOVE Re:MiND who also works as a gravure idol, announced on September 17 that she would be taking about a month off due to poor health. On September 24, she updated her X (formerly Twitter) account to reveal that a worsening chronic condition had led to her being hospitalized in a locked psychiatric ward. On a thread on 5ch’s Geinou/Sports Express+ board, the ominous image conjured up by the term “locked ward” set off a flurry of personal anecdotes and misconceptions about what such wards are actually like. Some urged everyone to quietly leave her be (“just leave her alone”), while others took a more cynical view, suggesting she “just wants attention” — reactions were split. Posters who said they’d actually been hospitalized themselves offered accounts suggesting the environment isn’t always as strict as people imagine.

    Nikkan Sports [September 24, 2026, 11:11 PM]

    Yukimi Fukunaga, a member of the idol group LOVE Re:MiND who also works as a gravure idol, updated her X account on the 24th, revealing that she is currently hospitalized in a locked ward due to a worsening chronic condition.

    On the 17th, Fukunaga had announced a hiatus, writing, “Due to poor health, I’ll be taking about a month off. I’m sorry for the sudden news. Please wait just a little longer until I can see you again with a smile.”

    Source: nikkansports.com / Original article here

    2AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:45
    In the smoking room of the locked ward
    9AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:53
    Re: #2
    There's no such thing as a smoking room
    14AnonymousSep 25, 2026 05:59
    A 'locked ward' (heisa byoutou) refers to a ward in a psychiatric hospital where the entrances are kept locked at all times, such that inpatients and visitors cannot freely come and go unless a staff member unlocks the door for them.
    42AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:23
    Re: #14
    It's a room, not a ward. I've been voluntarily admitted several times and it's not that strict — never been in an isolation room, but even though hours are fixed, there is a smoking room.
    23AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:07
    This is such a 'just leave her alone' situation
    29AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:13
    Even a locked ward isn't that different from a general ward unless you're in a private room — people are just going off appearances
    41AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:23
    Do they actually shock you with electricity or dunk you in water in a locked ward?
    43AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:24
    Re: #41
    My image is a straitjacket, an empty room, and getting shot up with sedatives
    45AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:27
    Re: #41
    So there's a building where you get admitted, it's built right next to a cliff, and every so often the cliff collapses and buries the whole building alive… something like that?
    71AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:41
    Re: #41
    In reality I don't think they have that kind of manpower or time to spare
    47AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:29
    Is a locked ward like something out of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?
    89AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:56
    Re: #47
    That's old lol
    Though it's a classic lol
    54AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:32
    If it's really a locked ward, that's no joke. Though people do get discharged pretty fast, huh.
    63AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:36
    Does someone who ends up in a locked ward really get out again in just a month?
    65AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:38
    Re: #63
    Once you're on meds and settle down, sometimes you can be out in about 2 months
    75AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:44
    Regular hospitals are basically like locked wards too these days — the COVID infection-prevention rules are still in effect, so even seeing family is a high bar
    77AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:46
    Re: #75
    I was hospitalized back when they were saying no visits due to COVID, but I could freely go to the convenience store outside. That's not how it works in a locked ward.
    85AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:53
    Doesn't 'locked' mean you can't get in from outside? Sounds dangerous if some unhinged person shows up
    90AnonymousSep 25, 2026 06:56
    Re: #85
    You can't get in or out without someone unlocking doors that are double- or triple-locked, both from outside and inside

    Background and key points of this discussion

    A locked ward refers to a ward where the entrances are kept locked at all times, and patients and visitors cannot come and go freely without a staff member unlocking the door. The degree of restriction depends on the type of admission (voluntary vs. involuntary medical-protection admission, etc.), and posters in the thread shared firsthand accounts such as “unless you’re in an isolation room, it’s not that different from a general ward” and “some hospitals even have smoking rooms” — suggesting that associations with electroshock or straitjackets don’t necessarily match reality. Fukunaga has only disclosed that a “chronic condition worsened,” without revealing a specific diagnosis or symptoms, so it’s worth noting that the thread’s various speculations remain just that — speculation. It’s no longer rare for celebrities to publicly disclose their own mental health struggles, but the fact that reactions here split between sympathy and skepticism reflects a broader gap in public understanding of mental illness and psychiatric hospitalization.

    ※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Express+) thread “Idol on hiatus for poor health reveals she’s ‘hospitalized in a locked ward’.”

  • New Hololive VTuber Turns Out to Hold a PhD in Physics, Sparks Buzz on 5ch

    A newly debuted virtual streamer who joined Hololive turned out to hold a doctorate in physics, sparking discussion on 5ch’s News VIP board. Commenters kept asking “why get a PhD only to become a VTuber?”, with some pointing to the harsh reality that postdoc contracts are easy to lose and that there are far more PhD holders than there are university faculty positions to absorb them. Others pushed back in her defense — “might as well cash in while you can,” “the lab is way more brutal than this” — and the thread evolved into a broader comparison of working conditions in academia versus the VTuber industry.

    11AnonymousSep 24, 2026 20:39
    Does she actually understand stuff like Lebesgue integration and kinetics?
    26AnonymousSep 24, 2026 20:44
    Re: #11
    Manifolds, vector analysis too —
    hell, she's probably using Hilbert spaces like it's second nature.
    19AnonymousSep 24, 2026 20:41
    Why would ex-AKB members or real-life idols even bother becoming VTubers?
    20AnonymousSep 24, 2026 20:41
    Re: #19
    Rumor has it she got scouted.
    21AnonymousSep 24, 2026 20:42


    Huh?
    Even Pekora has a kindergarten and nursery-school teaching license, you know!?
    24AnonymousSep 24, 2026 20:44
    Feels like a waste to become a VTuber with that background, but if she gets popular this pays way more than academia ever would.
    55AnonymousSep 24, 2026 21:07
    Re: #24
    She can probably "reincarnate" (debut under a new persona) later if she retires, or just go back to her original field — so it's more like "earn what you can while you can."
    28AnonymousSep 24, 2026 20:45
    Is a PhD actually that impressive? Explain it so even a middle-school dropout like me gets it.
    33AnonymousSep 24, 2026 20:50
    Re: #28
    Same rank as Professor Oak.
    45AnonymousSep 24, 2026 20:58
    Re: #28
    4 years of undergrad → Bachelor's
    2 more years of grad school → Master's
    3 more years on top of that → PhD

    By the PhD stage, you're the one grading undergrads' homework.
    75AnonymousSep 24, 2026 21:22
    Re: #28
    If you don't get a paper accepted by an academic journal, you get kicked out of the program.
    46AnonymousSep 24, 2026 21:02
    Why go all the way to a physics PhD just to become a VTuber? Seems pointless, no?
    53AnonymousSep 24, 2026 21:05
    Re: #46
    Probably got her postdoc contract cut. There are barely any job openings in physics — about as scarce as museum curator jobs.
    62AnonymousSep 24, 2026 21:09
    27 Reposting to affiliate sites is prohibited (Wacchoi W e24c-DTOX) 2026/09/24(Thu) 20:33:38.54 ID:EvMB7d380
    Looked it up but couldn't find her doctoral thesis 😢
    https://imgur.com/XGUUE93.png
    65AnonymousSep 24, 2026 21:10
    43 Reposting to affiliate sites is prohibited (Wacchoi W f603-7lb5) 2026/09/24(Thu) 20:37:29.68 ID:+FsGEe7K0


    The mysterious VTuber who was collabing with literally everyone


    !? 😳
    72AnonymousSep 24, 2026 21:20
    Impressive, but it also makes me wonder if society's okay when physics PhDs end up as VTubers.
    74AnonymousSep 24, 2026 21:22
    Re: #72
    I mean, in physics, if you don't land a university faculty position, all that's left is non-regular (temp/contract) work anyway.
    76AnonymousSep 24, 2026 21:22
    Re: #74
    Rough world we live in.
    77AnonymousSep 24, 2026 21:24
    Re: #74
    That's just talking out of your ass (エアプ, gamer slang for "clearly never actually done it"). At least physics and math grads are in high demand for regular corporate jobs too.
    97AnonymousSep 24, 2026 22:23
    A PhD is basically what people get when they don't want to join the workforce.
    Naturally they end up flowing into VTubing — the poster child for social misfits (社不, slang for "unfit for society").
    99AnonymousSep 24, 2026 22:27
    Re: #97
    Nah, that's not quite right.
    However you slice it, the lab is way more of a black workplace (Japanese slang for abusive/exploitative jobs) than a regular one.
    So in terms of tolerance for brutal conditions, you gotta give her credit.
    103AnonymousSep 24, 2026 22:56
    If the person behind the avatar (the "naka no hito") is this high-spec, it's bound to poke at middle-aged male viewers' inferiority complex.
    105AnonymousSep 24, 2026 23:01
    Re: #103
    Middle-aged guys' urge to teach some clueless kid who doesn't know left from right can just be covered by other members, right?

    Raden and Bancho already proved that having some kind of special skill makes you strong, so I bet we'll see more girls like this going forward.
    108AnonymousSep 24, 2026 23:14
    Re: #103
    As someone who only finished high school, she's so high-spec that it's less jealousy and more just "I don't even get it."
    All I can say is "wow, impressive."
    106AnonymousSep 24, 2026 23:03
    Re: #45
    Grading undergrad assignments is something even a master's student working as a TA can do 🥺
    107AnonymousSep 24, 2026 23:05
    Re: #106
    Now that I think about it, yeah, that's true.
    Master's students were the ones babysitting experiments too.
    113AnonymousSep 24, 2026 23:25
    Re: #107
    In my lab that was the postdoc's job.
    I remember feeling this silent pressure like
    "don't you dare steal what little pay we've got!"
    Ah, memories.
    116AnonymousSep 24, 2026 23:39
    Re: #113
    TA pay isn't even a fixed salary, and on top of that postdocs have that much free time?
    114AnonymousSep 24, 2026 23:26
    Actually, hold on —
    isn't her avatar design ("gawa," the visual model/skin) a bit off?
    She doesn't really give off a "PhD" or "teacher" vibe, does she?
    117AnonymousSep 24, 2026 23:40
    Re: #114
    If she gave off too much "PhD vibe" she'd overlap with Gabo's image,
    and too much "teacher vibe" and she'd overlap with Choco-sensei's,
    so maybe that's why they toned it down?

    Kind of like how in HoloX it's Nomu… I mean Zuno, or whatever.
    120AnonymousSep 24, 2026 23:52
    A PhD graduates from grad school only to end up… doing VTubing?
    Wait, or is it the other way around — even going straight through, she'd be 27 by graduation, so maybe there's just no job waiting for her.
    121AnonymousSep 25, 2026 00:04
    Re: #120
    I guess that just shows how much slack Japan has.

    There are way more people earning PhDs
    than there are academic positions universities and companies actually need filled.
    129AnonymousSep 25, 2026 00:49
    Why bother bragging about your qualifications, though?
    130AnonymousSep 25, 2026 00:52
    Re: #129
    Because a lot of VTuber fans are suckers for authority lol

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    When it comes to Japan’s PhD programs, it has repeatedly been pointed out that there’s a structural problem: permanent faculty positions at universities are scarce, so PhD holders often end up stuck in fixed-term postdoc contracts. The thread also laid out how the degree system works (bachelor’s → master’s → PhD) and how PhD holders often end up working as TAs supervising undergraduates, making for an accessible explainer even for those unfamiliar with what a doctorate actually involves. At the same time, some pushed back, arguing that “physics and math grads are in high demand even at regular companies” — in practice, employment outcomes vary widely by field, university, and individual choice, and can’t be generalized from a single thread. Note: posts attempting to identify the streamer’s “previous life” (a prior persona/identity) may involve information she hasn’t disclosed herself, so this article does not cover them.

    *This article is compiled by excerpting and summarizing the 5ch (News VIP) thread “[Image] Hololive’s rookie VTuber turns out to have a physics PhD wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.”

  • Gravure Idol’s Promo Photo Looks Nothing Like Her in Person — 5ch Cries ‘False-Advertising Scam lol’

    Gravure idol and cosplayer Awa Minami updated her official X account on September 23, reporting that despite appearing at an in-store event, not a single fan approached her. Alongside an apology, she self-deprecatingly analyzed the cause, writing that she “can’t rule out the possibility of some discrepancy between the poster and the real thing” — a comment that’s since gone viral. On 5ch, many found the gap between her promotional photos and her actual appearance amusing, while others took a cooler view, suggesting the whole thing was a deliberate publicity stunt, and some pointed out that this kind of “packaging-photo scam” isn’t unusual in the gravure or adult-entertainment industries.

    Awa Minami, a talent working as both a cosplayer and gravure idol, updated her official X account on the 23rd. She revealed that although she appeared at an in-store event, the “gap” between her and her promotional poster was so big that no one recognized her — and the revelation is drawing a big reaction.

    Awa reported: “Today, even though the store was kind enough to prepare a large poster for me, I currently find myself in the harsh situation of having been approached by zero fans…”

    She apologized, saying, “I deeply apologize to the store and everyone involved for the great concern I’ve caused,” and went on: “After thinking it over in my own way, I’ve reached the conclusion that I can’t rule out the possibility of some discrepancy between the poster and the real thing.”

    Source: sirabee.com / Original article here

    9AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:23
    At least put in the effort to dress the same as in the poster.
    11AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:23
    This is obviously a deliberate stunt for publicity, right?
    42AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:28
    Re: #11
    They've been running this same gimmick for pachinko-parlor promos for years now — everyone's long since sick of it.
    13AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:24
    I hope this thread's OP grows up to be the successor to "the Chilean guy" (an old 5ch in-joke about a legendary thread-starter).
    18AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:25
    This is wild…


    I've actually met Masami Nagasawa in person, off-camera.
    24AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:26
    It's not that she looks different from the poster — isn't it just that nobody knows who she is to begin with?
    27AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:26
    This kind of overly calculated stunt is just boring.
    34AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:27
    This had me cracking up lol ("草生える," literally "grass is growing," = LOL)
    Though it was probably staged on purpose.
    35AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:27
    Feels so forced.
    She's clearly marketing herself with that gap as her whole gimmick.
    36AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:27
    Guess she's just on a different level (and not in a good way).
    I see people who look just like her all the time on X.
    37AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:27
    It's not really the photo, it's the outfit that does all the work lol
    This is clearly intentional.
    38AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:27
    There's been a lot more of this ever since Joyman (a Japanese comedy duo famous for this kind of exaggerated bit).
    47AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:29
    She's getting complacent just because she's decent-looking.
    49AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:30
    This is literally her whole shtick, she's doing it on purpose.
    For some reason she keeps joking that it's her mom who shows up to these events.
    50AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:30
    She looks like some lady who wandered out in her house clothes to take out the trash.
    51AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:30
    Us older guys don't actually mind girls like this.
    54AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:31
    Is "zero fans showed up at the pachinko parlor" some kind of trend now?
    56AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:31
    This is just a regular customer you'd see hanging around a pachinko parlor.
    57AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:31
    Gravure idols can sometimes look way too different between their own DVD covers and
    a bit part they play in some TV drama….
    59AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:32
    She looks like some frumpy lady in a baggy T-shirt
    heading out to the supermarket, doesn't she—
    62AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:33
    At this point, the poster and the real her together are basically the complete work of art.
    77AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:35
    To a divorced woman, about "back then" —

    "Exactly the same / basically the same"
    or
    "Totally different / like a whole different person"

    which one am I even supposed to say?? lol

    Background and Talking Points

    “Packaging-photo scam” (パケ写詐欺) is slang mocking the gap between promotional photos and the real thing, a term also used in gravure, mail-order shopping, and job ads. In this case, she spread the story herself with an apology-style post on X, and several 5ch commenters speculated it was staged for publicity. This kind of self-deprecating joke has become a common promotional tactic in recent years, aimed at generating goodwill rather than backlash, and using it at in-store events isn’t unusual. Meanwhile, some replies made baseless claims about her body type or career history, but since these can’t be verified, this article does not cover them.

    *This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread “Gravure idol looks so different from her promo photo that fans don’t recognize her… “I’m the one standing right here” / “There may be some discrepancy between the poster and the real thing…” — claim goes viral“.

  • YouTube Ads Are Too Long and Too Frequent, Users Complain — 5ch Thread: ‘Even 5 Seconds Is Too Much, I’d Rather Pay ¥1,000’

    A thread titled “On the Problem of YouTube Ads Getting Too Frequent and Too Long,” posted on 5ch’s Nandemo Jikkyo (Live) board, drew a wave of complaints about back-to-back unskippable ads. Commenters split into three camps — those sticking with free, ad-supported viewing, those who switched to a paid Premium subscription, and those relying on ad blockers — and the debate escalated into mockery over each other’s financial situations. The discussion spread to cover ads on newspaper sites, TVer, Abema, and radio commercials, exposing widespread fatigue with online advertising in general.

    1AnonymousSep 25, 2026 00:59
    Way too many cases now where three ads play back to back in a row. And you can't even skip them.
    3AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:00
    They're way too desperate to push everyone into Premium.
    47AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:19
    Re: #3
    People actually memorizing the ads just to avoid paying — that's desperate on a whole other level.
    5AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:00
    Just pay the ¥1,000. No more stress, and you stop wasting several minutes of your life every single video.
    7AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:01
    Re: #5
    No way I'm paying. The whole point is that it's free.
    11AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:03
    The entire internet is ads, as always.
    13AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:04
    Re: #11
    What really pisses me off is newspaper sites. Close the ad and another one pops right back up — you can't read the article at all.
    17AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:06
    Re: #13
    Nobody's reading it anyway, so no problem.
    12AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:04
    Didn't ad-block sites get cracked down on or something?
    14AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:05
    Re: #12
    The old ones got shut down, but it's just a cat-and-mouse game.
    18AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:07
    Is there even a point to running that many ads, though? If an ad's long or plays over and over, I make a point of never using that product.
    21AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:08
    Re: #18
    Exactly. Pushy, repetitive ads feel like they'd backfire on the advertiser.
    23AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:09
    Re: #18
    You weren't gonna use it anyway. And look — you remembered to say "I won't use it!" The ad's clearly working on you.
    19AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:07
    Still, YouTube through those block-sites is a pain to watch. Picture quality's bad too.
    20AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:08
    Re: #19
    What's this "block-site" you keep going on about? You don't know about browser extensions?
    24AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:09
    Re: #20
    I've used both Brave and AdGuard.
    25AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:10
    I'd let it slide if every single ad could be skipped after 5 seconds.
    27AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:11
    Re: #25
    Even 5 seconds is too much. I'd rather just pay the ¥1,000.
    29AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:12
    Guess YouTube isn't making much money either — Premium subscribers just aren't growing.
    32AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:15
    Re: #29
    With semiconductor and memory prices skyrocketing lately, server costs must be brutal for them. I mean, it's still free to watch even with the ads.
    35AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:16
    If they're gonna do that, they should demonetize the scammy channels instead.
    54AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:20
    Re: #35
    Someone's jealous of people actually making money, lol.
    46AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:19
    Do online ads even work? I've never once thought about buying something because of an ad. If anything they just breed resentment.
    67AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:27
    Re: #46
    That's the sleeper effect (a psychology term for when you forget the shady source but the message still sticks).
    56AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:21
    Re: #54
    Why are you replying to me so desperately?
    58AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:22
    Re: #56
    It's an ad — feel free to skip it, you know?
    60AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:23
    Nah, it wasn't like this before. It's suddenly ramped up recently.
    64AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:25
    Brave is so smooth it's hilarious. Turns out I never needed to pay for Premium at all.
    79AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:35
    Abema's the worst — sometimes you wake your device up and get hit with 5 commercials in a row right off the bat.
    81AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:38
    Re: #79
    If you watch Abema in picture-in-picture mode, the ads don't show up.
    82AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:39
    TVer is basically "content you cannot escape ads on." Honestly impressive they've locked it down that tight.
    88AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:45
    Re: #82
    Use AdGuard or uBlock and they don't show up.
    90AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:48
    Way too long. I was listening to a radio show and before I knew it some insanely long commercial had started without me noticing — I was thinking "man, this is a boringly dull topic" and it turned out to be an ad.
    92AnonymousSep 25, 2026 01:51
    Re: #90
    Was that the "Corporate Nippon" segment on ANN? That's technically treated as a regular segment within the show, not a commercial.

    Background and Key Points

    In recent years, YouTube has been inserting unskippable ads back-to-back with increasing frequency, a trend widely attributed to diversifying revenue streams and rising infrastructure costs. The thread split into three camps — those sticking with free viewing, those who switched to a paid Premium subscription, and those using ad blockers — and the disagreement notably escalated into jabs about each other’s financial situations. The “sleeper effect” mentioned in post 67 is a psychological concept describing how information from a low-credibility source can grow more persuasive over time; it was invoked here to suggest that even resentment toward an ad can stick in memory and still function as advertising. The thread also touched on how avoiding ads has become increasingly difficult across streaming services in general, including TVer and Abema.

    *This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo board) thread “On the Problem of YouTube Ads Getting Too Frequent and Too Long.”

  • 17-Year-Old Shin Ohashi Wins Double Gold with World Record 2:04.83 in 200m Breaststroke

    At the Asian Games underway in Aichi and Nagoya, 17-year-old Shin Ohashi set a new world record of 2:04.83 in the men’s 200m breaststroke, capturing his second gold of the tournament. The time stands out even compared to Kosuke Kitajima’s world record from his competitive days, which was in the 2:07 range, and 5ch lit up with astonished comments like “This is like something out of a manga.” At the same time, many pointed to Akihiro Yamaguchi and Kyoko Iwasaki of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics — both of whom set world-class marks as teenagers only to struggle afterward — raising concerns about his future development, making for a thread mixing excitement with worry.

    Sports Nippon

    [ September 24, 2026, 17:28 ]

    Aichi/Nagoya Asian Games, Day 6 — Swimming (September 24, 2026, Tokyo Aquatics Centre)

    Source: sponichi.co.jp / Read the original article here

    2AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:38
    Watching Showa-retro exploration videos on YouTube is way more fun than watching Peace-kun from Omiya Park (a mascot at the park's zoo) anyway.
    4AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:39
    Whoa, a world record, that's amazing~ (´^ω^`)
    Olympic gold's basically locked in already~
    5AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:39
    "I've never been this happy in my entire life."
    9AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:41
    This is the "Asian Games" (lol) for you
    Japan just dominates the moment they get even slightly serious
    11AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:42
    A high school record that's also a world record? This is straight out of a manga.
    15AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:44
    Re: #1
    Forget that, it's Ohtani we should be talking about!
    Base hit right after his comeback!
    18AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:47
    Making this big a deal over a new high school record is way overkill
    This place is full of idiots
    19AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:47
    Swimming's got itself a new hero.
    20AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:47
    Swimming's been kind of flat for like 5 years, so this is great, right?
    22AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:48
    Wasn't there a guy named Yamaguchi who also set a world record in high school and then just fizzled out afterward?
    Hope this kid doesn't repeat that and grows into his talent safely.
    34AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:56
    Re: #22
    Yeah, he was insanely fast for like 3 months there.
    23AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:48
    Just peak for the Olympics, please.
    24AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:49
    Yeah… Kyoko Iwasaki too…
    27AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:49
    Why is it that younger swimmers tend to be stronger?
    Meanwhile Daiya Seto was out here trying to turn his affair scandal into motivation.
    38AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:59
    Re: #27
    For women it's pretty clear-cut — once the body matures, i.e. fat increases, it becomes a disadvantage, so they compress as much as possible with high-tech swimsuits.
    But I wonder about men
    Does it really have that much of an effect?
    30AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:51
    Kosuke Kitajima's world record back in the day was in the 2:07 range…
    2:04 is just absurd ( ・ω・)
    31AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:52
    A star is born.
    Swimming's been kind of meh lately, so this'll get things exciting.
    33AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:55
    "On TV the cheers for China sounded louder, but in person the cheers for Japan were actually louder."

    If that's true, that's a real problem.
    35AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:58
    Breaststroke is this weird stroke that basically only Japanese people do anyway.
    39AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:59
    17 years old, huh
    At that age I was at the arcade playing KOF (King of Fighters) every single day.
    40AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:59
    This is no fluke, not even a little!
    41AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:59
    Posting a great time at a regional meet doesn't mean much
    It's only worth remembering if you do it at the Olympics.
    42AnonymousSep 24, 2026 17:59
    In the end it all comes down to whether he can peak for the Olympics.
    43AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:00
    Apparently Japanese people are good at breaststroke because they're "flat" (a pun on 平泳ぎ/breaststroke, literally "flat swim").
    44AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:00
    Feels like it's been a while since swimming had a new rising star, huh?
    49AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:03
    Re: #44
    The 200m breaststroke actually gets its world record broken pretty often.

    Guys like Akihiro Yamaguchi and Ippei Watanabe, for example.
    47AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:01
    World record's impressive and all
    but he'll probably lose at the Olympics anyway.
    51AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:03
    Guess holding swimming events in Tokyo was the right call after all
    It's got flair and no mistakes.
    53AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:03
    Whoa, no way
    a world record at the Asian Games?
    Hurry up and wrap the table tennis broadcast so they can show this already.
    59AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:08
    Re: #53
    Nagoya's a pool where good times come out, after all.
    57AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:07
    But swimmers always seem to get cocky and screw up their personal lives — that's the only image I've got of them.
    60AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:08
    At the Olympics, winning (gold) comes first, and records are more for meets like this one, or so I thought — but swimming does have peaking, though pacing/tactics don't really factor in much, huh.
    63AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:11
    A 17-year-old setting a world record — does that mean the competition level isn't all that high?
    69AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:16
    Even though it's a world record, this thread's barely growing.
    Guess the Asian Games just doesn't get much attention.
    70AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:17
    Re: #69
    TBS's exclusive broadcast deal was a mistake.
    73AnonymousSep 24, 2026 18:21
    Re: #69
    Well, it's breaststroke.
    If you think of freestyle swimmers as dolphins, this is a frog, right?
    While the dolphin swims 100m, the frog can't even make it 10m.

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    As posters noted, the world record for the 200m breaststroke stood in the 2:07 range even in Kosuke Kitajima’s era, so 2:04.83 is a standout figure by any historical measure — and for a high schooler to reach it is itself extraordinary. There is precedent for concern here: swimmers like Akihiro Yamaguchi and Kyoko Iwasaki also produced world-class results as teenagers, only to struggle in the years that followed. The thread’s mix of excitement and worry reflects those precedents rather than being baseless. Some also pointed out that because the Asian Games draws less attention than the Olympics, a world record here generates less buzz than it otherwise might — though the record’s official status is the same regardless, and the focus now shifts to whether he can maintain or improve on this time at the World Championships and Olympics being held in Tokyo. The headline’s reference to “correcting his form in solo practice the night before” comes from the original article and indicates he was adjusting his technique right up until the event, though the thread excerpts don’t go into further detail.

    ※This article is compiled as an excerpt/summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Asian Games] 17-Year-Old Shin Ohashi Wins Double Gold with a Stunning World Record of 2:04.83 in the 200m — Corrected His Form in Solo Practice the Night Before“.