Latest from Japan

From our other sites

  • Chunichi Sets Attendance Record at Home Finale for 2nd Straight Year — 5ch: ‘Jeering the Top Brass?? lol’

    On September 20, the Chunichi Dragons played their final home game of the season at Nagoya Dome. During the pre-game ceremony, manager Kazuki Inoue apologized to fans for the team’s current standing, saying he was “resigned to” their position in the rankings — a moment met with a mix of applause and angry jeers from the stands. Meanwhile, total attendance for the season reached 2,533,782 across 72 games (an average of 35,687 per game), marking the highest figure for a second straight year since the team began reporting actual attendance counts. On 5ch, discussion ranged from the gap between the team’s poor results and rising attendance, to Seishiro Sakamoto’s home run, to the Central League pennant race involving the Hanshin Tigers and DeNA BayStars.

    1AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:13
    Previous thread
    Giants Acting Manager 145
    4AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:15
    Kudo
    HERE HE COMES━━━━(°∀°)━━━━!!
    5AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:22
    Vantelin Dome — home finale ceremony underway
    6AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:22
    The Dragons' final Nagoya Dome ceremony of the season is starting
    12AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:24
    Wait, the BayStars haven't won?
    14AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:25
    Remaining schedule for the top 3 Central League teams (as of Sept 20)


    Central League pennant race line (as of Sept 20)


    Hanshin's magic number situation for the 21st


    September Central League above-.500 trend
    41AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:31
    Re: #14
    Game over
    Hanshin 2-2 DeNA
    15AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:25
    They're bringing Reynolds out here?
    20AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:27
    The BayStars gave it their all — if they lose this one, it's over
    21AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:27
    Whatever
    The Giants are gonna lose at Koshien anyway
    22AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:27
    Ishida's been decent too — if they pull ahead, maybe it's Ishida's win
    23AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:28
    Chu-Dora [Chunichi Dragons] have a winning record at home, so no booing lol
    24AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:28
    Oh, Reynolds is starting? What happens if they take the lead?
    32AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:29
    Well, they probably want to bring him in against Sato and Oyama when it really matters
    35AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:29
    Nagoya Dome's 30th season
    Over 2.5 million total across 72 games
    Highest ever since actual attendance reporting began
    40AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:31
    Re: #35
    At this rate the club doesn't even need to win the pennant
    Fans aren't leaving even when the team's weak
    36AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:30
    Pinky's apology-and-thanks speech (a nickname used for the manager in the thread)
    38AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:30
    Manager Inoue's speech
    Once he goes quiet, you can hear the heckling loud and clear lol
    47AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:33
    Re: #38
    "Then YOU quit!"

    HAHAHAHAHA lol
    *clap clap clap clap clap clap*
    42AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:31
    [Chunichi] Total attendance sets a 'record high' for the 2nd straight year, announced at 2,533,782 (avg. 35,687/game)
    https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/8556880e0ffabad57dfaec4d2bb2e5a6a20dba34
    46AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:32
    Chunichi's roster could genuinely compete at the top if things click
    50AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:34
    Re: #40
    No, that's bad
    Newspapers and Monthly Dragons magazine won't sell
    TV and radio ratings won't go up either
    Everyone loses
    54AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:35
    Please keep Nanako Kurosaki out of this, she's definitely lurking around here lol

    75
    56AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:35
    Sakamoto's brutal slump was all just build-up for this at-bat lol
    58AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:36
    Seishiro, possessed by home-run fever thanks to Sakamoto's advice
    66AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:37
    Figured they'd bring in a pinch hitter if it came down to it — oh wait, Hanshin isn't even in this game
    67AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:37
    The man driven mad by home runs
    Seishiro Sakamoto
    77AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:41
    Chunichi Dragons pitcher Raynosuke Sakurai's entrance music is
    Sarah Brightman's "Time to Say Goodbye"

    Kind of an unlucky pick for a song right before you take the mound
    Though the original is
    a 1995 song by Italian singer Andrea Bocelli, "Con te partirò"
    Con Te Partirò
    meaning, roughly, "let's set off together with you"
    81AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:42
    Chunichi manager Inoue met with applause and jeers from the stands — apologizes to fans at home finale ceremony: "That we've settled for our current standing…"
    https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/132b91eab7c9cf15f530b99f0ea313a4d9471039
    98AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:46
    Re: #81
    Wait, they actually printed 'jeers' aimed at the top brass? lol
    83AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:43
    Pitchers who are just fast and nothing else blow out their shoulders quick
    101AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:46
    Re: #83
    You mean Ma-kun? wwwww
    86AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:43
    [Seibu] Kaima Taira pulled from the active roster under the infectious-disease exception after reporting a fever — several teammates already out with the flu
    https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/121470a4a954bcd3f0b026d6f3f5aeeb9891b697
    93AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:45
    Re: #86
    It's going around Saitama Prefecture right now
    87AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:44
    A flu outbreak at this point in the season is rough
    97AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:46
    Meanwhile COVID's going around in Okayama Prefecture
    100AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:46
    Most of Kudo's pitches would be called balls if you just took them — why swing at all?
    105AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:47
    His fastball's so quick that batters start their timing early and get beat

    Background and Key Points

    In recent years, NPB has shifted from reporting visually-estimated attendance figures to verified actual counts for each team, and Chunichi’s 2,533,782 is the highest figure recorded since that switch. The fact that attendance keeps climbing even as the team struggles in the standings illustrates how results and attendance don’t necessarily move together — the thread was split between an optimistic view (“fans aren’t leaving even when the team’s weak”) and concern that “if newspaper and broadcast numbers don’t rise too, it’s bad for the club overall.” At the final whistle, the Hanshin-DeNA game had ended in a 2-2 draw, drawing attention to the timing of Hanshin’s pennant-clinching magic number. It’s also worth noting that the exchange about Seishiro Sakamoto’s (Chunichi) home run could easily be confused with Hayato Sakamoto (Giants) — who shares the same surname and has been in the news for a slump — since the wording makes it easy to mix the two up if you’re not following the context closely.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Giants Acting Manager 146.”

  • Tsubaki Factory’s ‘Why Don’t They Sell?’ Debate Ends in a 5ch ‘Checkmate’

    On the Hello! Project subforum, a debate broke out over why Hello! Project group Tsubaki Factory isn’t selling better. Some praised the members’ visuals and talent, but plenty of others pointed to the group’s low name recognition and weak songs. What really caught attention was a strange reversal: regional shows keep selling out one after another, while Tokyo and Osaka venues can’t sell out even after opening a second round of ticket sales. Some suggested this might trace back to fewer regional stops on this summer’s tour and fans cutting back on travel due to rising prices.

    1AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:25
    Their visuals are great, though
    2AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:26
    Re: #1
    Looks alone don't sell in this business
    36AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:39
    Re: #2
    Nogizaka46
    Checkmate
    4AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:26
    Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Official@FightersPR

    Fox Dance together with everyone from Tsubaki Factory
    🦊🌺

    After the game: special 〈AFTER GAME〉 live show🎤

    #TsubakiEscon @tsubakifac_uf

    #lovefighters
    https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/2101561765280743425/vid/avc1/1280×720/rD9RgIA-FLk4bQG7.mp4
    5AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:26
    Maybe people are avoiding them because of the group name?
    9AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:27
    Re: #5
    Nobody even knows them enough to avoid them
    11AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:27
    Re: #5
    They don't even know them, let alone avoid them
    7AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:27
    What if they were called 'Tsubaki Workshop' instead
    12AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:29
    Re: #7
    That's even lamer
    19AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:33
    For starters, nobody even knows they're a Hello! Project group
    Go outside and you'll see
    22AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:34
    Nothing nobody's ever heard of has ever sold
    24AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:35
    The real test starts once Onoda graduates
    If she's not going to, they need to cut her stage time way down
    25AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:36
    A jackpot talent on the level of 'Little Kame' (idol fan slang for a once-in-a-generation breakout star) isn't coming to Hello! Project again for a long while, and there's no reason to think one's headed for Tsubaki either
    26AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:37
    Saying the Hina'z have no talent means you haven't been watching Tsubaki lately
    All three bring something different to the table
    27AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:37
    Member for member they're honestly top-tier
    Such a waste somehow
    29AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:38
    So it really does come down to that 'gay bar otaku' fanbase connection, huh (slang for a niche subset of fans)
    30AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:38
    Skill-wise the Hina'z are the best
    Though it means nothing if they don't get singing parts
    32AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:39
    I don't think their visuals or skills are really as high as people say
    34AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:39
    'Skilled member, skilled member' — have you all forgotten Kishimoto could sing that well and still never got popular?
    For Tsubaki fans what matters is handshake-event charm, not singing
    35AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:39
    The Angler
    The Power Dancer
    The All-Rounder
    37AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:40
    Neither the members' visuals nor the songs are actually good
    Seems to land with the old-guy fans though
    Somebody needs to rethink that take
    38AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:40
    Re: #36
    The songs are good, and being on Sony means they get a push too
    Checkmate
    43AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:41
    Re: #38
    The songs are good? lol give me a break, that's just not happening
    39AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:40
    They don't have a key standout member
    Like OCHA NORMA's got Kirara and Momo
    Or Juice=Juice's got Danbara
    Tsubaki's got a decent overall level but no single strong ace
    That said they're probably selling better than before
    Recent tours sold out Fukuoka and Ehime
    They never used to sell out regional shows in the past
    Yet they're going with the wrong strategy of shrinking the tour anyway
    40AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:40
    They're idols — if the visuals aren't good, they won't sell
    45AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:41
    They sold out Hokkaido in spring too
    Yet they're skipping it in fall — what a mixed signal
    46AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:42
    Re: #45
    Spring was just easy to get to, that's all — there aren't many diehard fans, so fall isn't selling
    52AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:45
    Re: #45
    Dunno where they played, but it was probably Otaru or Penny Lane, right?
    Would like to see them sell out a venue in the 1,000-capacity range
    48AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:43
    It's not even a question of selling or not — there's simply no Hokkaido date on the fall tour
    that's the whole story
    51AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:45
    Re: #48
    Places that are easier to reach than Hokkaido are the ones not selling though
    61AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:51
    Same goes for OCHA NORMA — none of the regional shows need a second round of tickets
    Most of those shows sell out
    Meanwhile there's this odd phenomenon where Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya don't sell out even with a second round
    Sure, capacities differ, but even accounting for population, Tokyo and Osaka are underselling way too much
    Possible reasons:

    Summer Hello! dropped its regional stops, so there's less chance to see them there
    Lower-tier groups don't do full nationwide tours much anymore, cutting viewing opportunities
    Rising prices mean fewer people traveling from the regions to Tokyo/Osaka

    In other words, live shows have dropped sharply in the regions, so fans are flocking to what's left there, while rising costs are keeping people from traveling to Tokyo and Osaka
    74AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:59
    Re: #61
    Huh, that's pretty interesting actually
    66AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:53
    Bet on King — she can still rack up likes even on a low-attention post announcing second-round Budokan tickets
    https://imgur.com/lTIUJM7.jpeg
    73AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:59
    Bet on King — top of the group for likes whether she's got bangs or not

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    In recent years, Hello! Project has noticeably scaled back its summer nationwide tours and cut regional dates, creating a structure where fan turnout trends can diverge sharply between big cities and rural areas. Posters in the thread pointed out that major venues in Tokyo and Osaka fail to sell out even after opening a second round of ticket sales, while regional shows often sell out in the first round alone — a gap they attributed to rising travel costs and uneven opportunities to attend events. Opinions were split on the members’ talent and the quality of the songs: some praised the high caliber of the members, while others firmly held that the group suffers from poor name recognition and weak material. It’s worth noting that the turnout trends and sellout figures discussed here are based on posters’ personal impressions and anecdotal sightings, not officially published sales data.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “I don’t get why Tsubaki Factory doesn’t sell.”

  • FC Tokyo’s Yuto Nagatomo Set for Long-Term Absence with Torn Right ACL

    On September 21, FC Tokyo announced that defender Yuto Nagatomo has been diagnosed with a “right knee anterior cruciate ligament injury.” The expected recovery time hasn’t been disclosed, but a long-term absence appears unavoidable. Given the severity of the injury at age 40, reactions poured in on 5ch’s Geinou/Sports Breaking News+ board as soon as the news broke — a mix of worry over the impact on the Japan national team (the Asian Cup and November’s match against Brazil), calls for him to retire at season’s end, and pushback that it’s too soon to talk retirement. Some discussion also centered on the gap between Nagatomo’s own description of a “tear” on social media and the club’s official wording of “injury.”

    Sponichi

    [September 21, 2026, 14:29]

    FC Tokyo announced on the 21st that defender Yuto Nagatomo has been diagnosed with a “right knee anterior cruciate ligament injury.” Full recovery time hasn’t been disclosed, but he appears set to be forced into a long-term absence.

    Source: sponichi.co.jp / Original article here

    5AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:46
    If only this had happened a few months earlier…
    69AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:58
    Re: #5
    Guess we'll be seeing the national team player on crutches now.
    113AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:12
    Re: #5
    That's because the 'punishment game' for Endo was as brutal as Kazu's. (Kazu = Kazuyoshi Miura, the legendary striker still playing pro in his late 50s)
    6AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:46
    Just retire already. This is embarrassing.
    7AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:46
    Honestly good news — no need to keep going easy on the old guy anymore.
    12AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:47
    Seriously? Doesn't look like he'll make the Asian Cup.
    15AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:47
    Damn, seriously?
    If you were gonna get hurt, could've done it before the World Cup.
    16AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:48
    National team regular out long-term — FC Tokyo is done for. ("owata" — internet slang for "it's over")
    17AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:48
    So his last year's gonna end with him doing rehab, huh.
    18AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:48
    Good news, honestly — Moriyasu might've picked him for the Asian Cup otherwise.
    19AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:48
    He's just cheering from the bench anyway, so just keep him on the roster.
    20AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:49
    Well, now he's got a good excuse to retire.
    21AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:49
    Nagatomo: "Bravo!"
    Nagatomo: "This'll totally go viral, lol"


    ┐⁠(⁠´⁠ー⁠`⁠)⁠┌ (shrug — riffing on Nagatomo's own viral "Bravo!" catchphrase from the 2018 World Cup)
    23AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:49
    Damn, seriously?
    Hope he's back in time for the next World Cup.
    24AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:49
    He's already got his "legend" badge locked in,
    so he's set for life after retirement —
    probably not much motivation left anyway.
    27AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:49
    If he was gonna get hurt anyway, he should've done it before the World Cup…
    36AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:51
    Let him heal up slowly, and once the season wraps, give him a proper farewell match to send him off.
    Thanks for everything.
    39AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:52
    Can't exactly call this one "Bravo!"
    Mamma mia.
    41AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:53
    "Shockwave"??? He wasn't even playing in the match?
    54AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:55
    The air purifier just broke, lol
    116AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:13
    Re: #54
    Filter's probably clogged.
    58AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:55
    Isn't this the kind of injury that could threaten his career?
    73AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:59
    Re: #58
    It just says "injury," so it depends on severity — unlike a full tear, it might not be career-ending, but at his age, who knows.
    62AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:56
    What's the national team gonna do now?!
    67AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:57
    Re: #62
    Might actually be decent timing for a break, if he's aiming for the next World Cup.
    87AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:03
    Who?
    Isn't he one of those Yoshimoto comedians?
    97AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:06
    Re: #87
    Yeah
    He's in a comedy duo called "Inu."
    95AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:05
    Re: #73
    Different sport, but I've torn my ACL too — your performance genuinely drops like 20%.
    The knee instability makes your lower body tense up for no reason, so your first step gets thrown off and you lose all your spring.
    124AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:15
    Re: #95
    If it's just "injury" it might not be that bad, no?
    Sounds more like a full-tear thing.
    105AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:08
    How do you even treat an ACL injury like this?
    Not sure it heals on its own.
    123AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:15
    Re: #105
    Of course it doesn't heal on its own, lol
    There's a conservative approach that skips surgery on purpose, but that's usually for older patients.
    Nagatomo's probably getting ligament reconstruction surgery — it's a pretty major operation, and rehab takes a while too.
    107AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:09
    He's not gonna become a manager after retiring, right?
    I wouldn't want him climbing the ranks at the JFA either — honestly, I just want him to step away from soccer entirely and live his life as a TV personality or something.
    128AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:16
    Is he gonna make it in time for the Brazil match in November?
    133AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:17
    Re: #128
    This isn't like when you sprained your ankle, man, lol
    135AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:17
    And here he'd just gotten re-signed after being a free agent too…
    143AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:19
    Re: #135
    That kind of theatrics is exactly why people don't like him, but he just doesn't get it.
    138AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:17
    Nagatomo himself called it a "tear" on social media though — so which is it?
    141AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:18
    Re: #138
    "Injury" includes "tear" as a category.

    Background and Key Points of Discussion

    The severity of an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear is hard to gauge from news reports alone. FC Tokyo’s official statement uses the word “injury” without specifying whether it’s a partial or complete tear. Nagatomo himself, however, described it as a “tear” on social media, and this gap in wording became a talking point on the thread (>>138, >>141). Generally, a complete tear requires reconstructive surgery and can mean six months to a year of rehab before a return — and being 40 years old only clouds that outlook further. The thread’s discussion split largely into two camps: one focused on the practical worry over the national team, namely whether he’ll be fit for the upcoming Asian Cup and November’s match against Brazil; the other centered on Nagatomo’s own future, with some saying he should call it a career this season and others arguing it’s too early to assume retirement. A few replies also offered firsthand accounts of how severe this kind of injury can feel — not medical authority, but a useful gut-level perspective from people who’ve been through it.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Breaking News+) thread “Shockwave hits FC Tokyo — DF Yuto Nagatomo suffers right knee ACL injury, tragedy on his 40th birthday, long-term absence unavoidable.”

  • Public Bathhouses: Over 80% Have Vanished in 50 Years — Aomori Tops the Nation Per Capita

    According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s fiscal 2024 sanitation administration report, the number of public bathhouses (sento) nationwide has fallen to 2,730 facilities — meaning more than 80% have disappeared over the past 50 years. By prefecture, Yamagata now has zero sento, while Aomori ranks first nationwide with 22.40 facilities per 100,000 residents. The article drew responses from a wide range of generations on 5ch, with users sharing memories of visiting bathhouses back when they had no bath at home, discussing how rising water and gas bills are squeezing bathhouse operators, and comparing regional differences in hot spring and bathhouse culture.

    Published 9/20 (Sun) 10:00

    Asahi Shimbun

    Neighborhood public bathhouses keep disappearing. According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s sanitation administration report (fiscal 2024), sento classified as “public bathhouses” number 2,730 nationwide — meaning more than 80% have vanished over the past half century. By prefecture, Yamagata has become a “zero-sento prefecture,” while Aomori, with 22.40 facilities per 100,000 people, can be called “Japan’s most bathhouse-loving prefecture.”

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

    2AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:15
    Bathhouse brawl, huh
    42AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:25
    For some reason Aomori bathhouses don't stock shampoo or body soap
    so apparently it's standard practice to keep your own bottles in the car
    6AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:16
    Apparently a lot of houses didn't have baths back in the day, but I honestly can't picture that
    13AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:19


    Re: #6
    There's a new-build apartment put up where an old machiya townhouse in the historic district used to stand — and unbelievably, it's shower-only, no bathtub.
    Honestly, my real thought is "you're paying 80,000 yen rent for THAT?" @a prefectural capital in the Kinki region
    8AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:16
    It stung that Tokyo made tap water free only for households, which made things relatively pricier for everyone else
    12AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:18
    Re: #8
    On top of that, my ward hands out gas and electric subsidies to every household
    Bless, truly bless
    25AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:22
    Re: #8
    Between water and fuel costs it just stopped being worth it
    but since prices are regulated as a daily necessity, there's no room to actually turn a profit
    meanwhile the pricier "super sento" spa complexes are actually doing well
    11AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:18
    Re: #6
    When I was a kid, it wasn't rare for our bath to break down and for us to end up at the bathhouse
    47AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:26
    Re: #11
    Wait, baths actually break down? Were they just more failure-prone back then?
    I'm in my 40s and I've never really heard of that
    15AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:19
    Back then even municipal housing made you buy and install your own bathtub, and when you moved out you had to rip it out and dispose of it yourself
    no wonder people went to the bathhouse

    I did the same thing when I was boarding during my student days — used the local sento
    54AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:28
    Re: #15
    First I've ever heard of that
    17AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:20
    Back in the Showa era it was 100 yen for adults, 50 yen for kids
    We had no bath at home so we'd go every 2-3 days
    That coffee milk after a bath hit so good
    34AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:24
    Re: #17
    Come on
    how old even are you
    you're past the average life expectancy at this point (lol)
    50AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:27
    Re: #17
    The hot spring I hit up in Beppu about 10 years ago was 100 yen
    20AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:21
    This right here is the real Japanese tradition
    https://1010.or.jp/menu/history/src_rekishi/rekishi04.gif
    24AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:22
    Bring back mixed-gender bathing and business would bounce right back
    113AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:43
    Re: #24
    That'd just mean more creepy guys lurking with just their eyes above the water ("crocodiles")
    176AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:05
    Re: #24
    My heart is that of a woman!
    41AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:25
    I get the appeal of super sento, but regular bathhouses I don't really get
    worst case they don't even have soap or shampoo
    61AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:29
    Re: #41
    Wait, isn't the whole point of a sento that you bring your own basin loaded with soap, shampoo, and a towel,
    with your change of clothes wrapped up in a bath towel?
    43AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:25
    Honestly, Japanese people barely bathe anymore
    even showering feels like a hassle
    49AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:27
    Re: #43
    That's nasty, don't hold up some outlier as your example
    45AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:26
    Re: #1
    51AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:27
    A bath full of perverts sounds terrifying, hard pass
    52AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:27
    In Hachinohe, Aomori, the bathhouses open around 5 a.m.

    A bath before work is just standard there
    57AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:28
    Re: #52
    Didn't know that was a thing
    59AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:28
    Regular sento are still fairly common within Tokyo's 23 wards
    but out in the suburbs it's a wasteland
    my parents' place is in some city out in Kitatama and there's only one bathhouse left
    73AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:33
    So 80% of them are gone, huh
    78AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:34
    Re: #73
    They could just deregulate the pricing, that's all it'd take
    but nobody's pushing for that law to change, so sento are probably doomed
    89AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:37
    Re: #73
    (Come on, you should've phrased that as "80 pah-sento" — a pun blending "percent" and "sento")
    84AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:36
    Yamagata's got day-trip hot springs everywhere
    wasn't it the case that literally every single municipality has one?
    about 300 yen and body soap and shampoo are included
    Yamagata's basically paradise
    90AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:37
    Re: #84
    Hokkaido's kind of the same. Except you need a car
    151AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:53
    A bathhouse straight out of that old Showa-era song "Kandagawa" takes some nerve to walk into (a 1973 folk hit about a poor couple's shared trips to the sento)
    156AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:55
    Re: #151
    Guess a super sento has a lower bar to clear (´・ω・`)
    159AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:55
    Re: #151
    That's the song about the worst boyfriend ever, leaving his girlfriend waiting outside in the dead of winter
    don't soak so long, man

    Background and Key Points

    Under Japan’s Public Bathhouse Act, each prefecture sets a price cap on sento admission fees by ordinance, meaning operators can’t just raise prices whenever they want. The thread’s suggestion to “just deregulate the pricing” is pointing straight at this structure — even as water and fuel costs climb, prices can’t easily follow, which is considered one driver behind the wave of closures. Also, Aomori’s title as “Japan’s top sento prefecture” is based on facilities per 100,000 residents, not on how popular any individual bathhouse actually is. Likewise, Yamagata having zero sento doesn’t mean bathing culture there has died out — day-trip hot spring facilities simply became widespread and effectively replaced the sento business model, a nuance the raw numbers alone don’t convey. The thread was also full of firsthand stories from an era when homes had no bathtub, reflecting how changing housing conditions are part of what’s driving people away from bathhouses.

    ※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Newsplus) thread “【♨】Bathhouses Down 80% in 50 Years — What Japan’s Top Sento Prefecture Reveals About Changing Bath Culture.”

  • “Wolverine” Europe Sales Reportedly Down 60% From Spider-Man 2 — 5ch: “No Wonder They Haven’t Announced It”

    Figures circulating on social media claim that first-week European sales of Sony’s action game Wolverine (developed by Insomniac Games) came in roughly 60% below the opening of its predecessor, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. The numbers set off discussion on 5ch’s Hardware/Industry (“Geha”) board†. With the title reportedly carrying a development budget of around $300 million and already facing criticism over its reception, the steep drop drew mixed reactions — some posters noted the tally may only cover physical copies in a market with a high digital-sales ratio, while others compared it to a separate report claiming Death Stranding 2‘s European sales were down 66% year-on-year from its own predecessor over the same period.

    † “Geha” (ゲハ) is 5ch shorthand for the Hardware/Industry board, a notoriously combative forum for console-war-style sales discussion.

    1AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:54
    A 60% drop is brutal.
    7AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:56
    Well, when the game gets branded a piece of crap that hard, of course sales tank (´・ω・`)
    8AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:56
    $300 million — basically one whole Tokyo Skytree's worth of budget.
    Converting that to Skytree height:
    634 × 0.4 = 253.6m

    …and it still loses to Tokyo Tower by a mile (333m) 😭
    11AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:57
    Spider-Man 2 opened at 2.5 million units.
    If this is really down 60%, that's under 1 million by simple math…

    No wonder there's been no official announcement.
    12AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:58
    Re: #11
    Under a million at launch, huh.
    Explains why they were so desperate to push that rumor of "2 million sold" lol
    13AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:58
    Ah… if it's not much different from Death Stranding 2's -66% in Europe, someone's getting a pink slip…
    29AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:03
    Re: #13
    Basically neck and neck, but wait — Death Stranding 2 dropped MORE than Wolverine, a game this widely mocked? 🥺
    14AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:59
    Wait, wasn't Europe supposed to be Spider-Man's best-selling region?

    And THAT region is down 60%?
    What??
    16AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:00
    Re: #14
    Sounds like it's headed for a huge flop in Japan too — this could be bad worldwide.
    17AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:00
    Re: #14
    Hey, it kept 40%…!

    ‡ “クソして寝ろ” (“take a shit and go to sleep”) is a stock 5ch put-down meaning roughly “give up, there’s nothing left to argue.”

    41AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:07
    The defenders kept spamming threads about "high PS Store ratings!!"
    but all that ended up doing was torching the PS Store's credibility as a benchmark…
    42AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:08
    Re: #41
    Never once saw anyone say it was more fun than Spider-Man 2.
    70AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:19
    Re: #41
    After seeing all those bugs and the shoddy game systems, being told the store rating beats Spider-Man just doesn't land.

    § “Saros” appears to refer to a sales-tracking account/analyst cited as the source of the 300k-unit figure; not independently verified here.

    51AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:11
    Re: #46
    The digital ratio isn't going to swing wildly from Spider-Man 2's, though.

    Same PS5 exclusive, same Marvel lineup, same publisher, same genre of game.
    52AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:11
    Re: #51
    Too correct, lol.
    55AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:12
    Re: #51
    Yeah, it's not even a code-in-a-box release, no real reason for it to shift much.

    So… it bombed.
    64AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:16
    Re: #51
    Yeah, no reason for it to change.
    56AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:12
    Re: #26
    When Sony stays silent officially, that's a bad sign.
    61AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:15
    Re: #56
    They can't say it themselves, so they're letting fake numbers do the talking instead.
    71AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:19
    ■ Europe was Spider-Man 2's best-performing region
     → and it's down 60% there

    ■ Same PS5 exclusive, same Marvel property, same developer, so no real reason for the digital ratio to differ from Spider-Man 2
     → meaning it really is down ~60%

    ■ Reputation is terrible, so little chance of a sales rebound from here


    There's genuinely nothing left to argue — total flop 😄
    72AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:20
    Re: #71
    No room left to argue, it just bombed, lol.
    73AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:21
    Re: #71
    And a Japan flop is basically locked in too.
    74AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:21
    The open-world prototype version looked like it would've visualized scent trails as human-shaped figures — tracking where they led and what happened, kind of like Return of the Obra Dinn. That looked genuinely interesting.
    76AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:21
    Re: #74
    Wasn't the plan for the claws to be able to cut through literally anything?
    83AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:25
    Is there anything that could offset a 60% drop?
    Like, insanely high Metascore and user score driving steady long-tail sales, maybe? 😄😄😄
    85AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:25
    Re: #83
    Both are low, so honestly a slow-burn sales recovery looks unlikely too…
    89AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:27
    Time to cut Insomniac loose and recoup some cash.
    90AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:28
    Re: #89
    Sony would totally do that.

    Background and Key Points

    Opening-week sales figures for games are typically unofficial estimates compiled from European retail-panel data, and this “60% decline” figure is no exception — it originates from a screenshot circulating on social media, not a number officially released by Sony or developer Insomniac Games. In recent years, digital sales have come to account for over 70% of total sales for many major titles, so a tally covering physical copies alone captures only part of actual sales — a point worth keeping in mind. Within the thread, the dominant view was that since Wolverine shares a PS5-exclusive, Marvel-branded, same-publisher profile with Spider-Man 2, its digital sales ratio is unlikely to differ much — implying the real decline is close to the reported 60% — though this remains speculation rather than confirmed data. The also-discussed claim that Death Stranding 2‘s European sales fell 66% comes from a similarly unofficial tally, and it’s worth noting that comparing the two titles side by side is itself a comparison built on non-official data.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry, “Geha”) thread “Europe Sales: “Wolverine Down 60% From Spider-Man 2 — Total Flop 😭”.”

  • Man Shows Secretly Filmed Video to Ex’s New Boyfriend, Hoping She’d Come Back — 18-Year-Old Arrested

    In Fukuoka Prefecture, an 18-year-old female high school student reported that “it seems someone secretly filmed me naked,” leading to the arrest of her 18-year-old ex-boyfriend on suspicion of violating Japan’s law against filming sexual acts or exposed bodies. According to investigators, the man is believed to have shown video he filmed without her consent to the woman’s current boyfriend. His alleged motive — that showing the video would make the current boyfriend break up with her so she’d come back to him — drew a wave of “I can’t understand what he was thinking” reactions on 5channel. The thread was also divided over who the real victim in this case actually is.

    “It seems I was filmed naked” — 18-year-old female high schooler’s report leads to arrest of her ex-boyfriend, an 18-year-old high schooler, who allegedly said “If I show her boyfriend the (nude) video, they’ll break up and she’ll come back to me…”

    Mon, Sep 21, 13:18 JST

    RKB Mainichi Broadcasting

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

    3AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:39
    >The high school boy apparently said, "If I show her current boyfriend the (nude) video…"

    For a second I thought this was gonna turn gay lol
    120AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:12
    Re: #3
    Oh, so it's that kind of NTR (netorare — the "stolen girlfriend" trope) 🤩
    235AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:41
    Re: #3
    The premise here is that he secretly filmed a female high schooler naked. But I don't get it — I can't see how showing her current boyfriend the (nude) video would make them break up and bring her back to him. What kind of logic makes someone think "show the boyfriend the video → they break up → she comes back to me"?
    5AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:41
    So it's a crime to get filmed naked during sex?
    Even between classmates?
    11AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:42
    Re: #5
    This used to happen all the time back in the day
    69AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:59
    Re: #5
    As long as you don't use it to threaten anyone, it should be fine, no?
    160AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:21
    Re: #5
    Doing it without the woman's consent — of course she'd be pissed
    19AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:44
    "Show her the video and she'll break up and come back to me"…
    I have no idea what he's talking about
    161AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:22
    Re: #19
    I was totally lost at first too, but here's the deal — she had a current boyfriend, but agreed to sleep with her ex when he asked, he secretly filmed it as "proof," and then the ex figured: "show the video to the current boyfriend" → they "break up" → she "comes back" to him
    44AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:50
    All three of them are headed nowhere good in life
    Won't even get into a decent university at this rate
    56AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:53
    Re: #44
    The current boyfriend didn't do anything wrong here lol
    60AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:56
    Re: #44
    They're probably at some private university in Fukuoka
    49AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:51
    At 18 it wouldn't count as child pornography, right? So what was he arrested for — extortion?
    129AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:16
    Re: #49
    It says he was arrested on suspicion of violating the law against filming sexual acts/exposed bodies, so it's voyeurism — probably filmed while she was asleep or without her knowing
    213AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:36
    Re: #49
    Whether you call it revenge porn, defamation, or voyeurism, it's guilty either way. And what does "they're classmates" have to do with anything?
    67AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:58
    Stuff like this you're supposed to just quietly keep as a lifelong treasure, y'know
    84AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:03
    Re: #67
    Normally you'd just delete it…
    74AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:00
    Feels like it's mostly men who get obsessive over exes and former spouses — why is that?
    Can't they just move on to someone new?
    99AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:06
    Re: #74
    Women tend to move on more easily
    And it's almost always men who end up stalking and killing their exes too
    140AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:17
    Okay so I get that she let her ex into her room and they hooked up, but what kind of situation actually leads to that?
    Was she being threatened or something?
    148AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:19
    Re: #140
    If she'd been threatened, they'd have added a non-consensual sex charge on top
    Since they didn't, the sex itself must've been consensual
    187AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:28
    They're both high schoolers with smartphones, so… scary stuff

    Back in our day it was camcorders, so filming itself would've been a lot harder
    192AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:29
    Re: #187
    People filmed stuff just fine back then too
    188AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:29
    Wait, so who's actually the victim here?
    194AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:30
    Re: #188
    The current boyfriend who got cheated on lol
    195AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:30
    Re: #188
    Victim or not, the one who really got screwed over is the current boyfriend
    197AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:30
    Re: #188
    It's the woman — she's the victim, and she probably got put through some kind of secondary victimization by the police on top of it
    196AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:30
    Re: #187
    The image of a camcorder just cracked me up lol
    What is this, a kid's field day? lol
    207AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:34
    Re: #196
    Well, before smartphones existed, camcorders were all you had
    Those things make it super obvious you're filming a sex tape, so I figured it must've been tough to pull off… lol
    218AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:38
    Re: #207
    Nice, isn't it~
    237AnonymousSep 21, 2026 16:41
    Re: #207
    Smells like lavender (a stock 5ch in-joke line dropped for ironic effect)

    Background and Key Discussion Points

    At issue in this case is Japan’s “Act on Punishment of Photographing Sexual Acts, etc.,” which took effect in 2023 — a law that criminalizes non-consensual filming itself, with no threats or extortion required for the offense to hold. Since the age of adulthood was lowered to 18 in 2022, both parties are legal adults; the terms “female high schooler” and “high school boy” simply reflect their status as students, not minors, so this isn’t a case handled under the Juvenile Act. Where the thread split was over “who’s the real victim” — legally, the woman who was filmed without consent is the victim, but much of the commentary leaned toward viewing the current boyfriend, who found out about the affair, as “the biggest victim.” The article itself doesn’t clarify whether the sexual encounter was consensual or coerced, and speculation over that point is what’s driving the thread’s momentum. The full circumstances behind the filming and the real nature of the relationships will have to wait for follow-up reporting.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Newsplus) thread “[Fukuoka] “I was filmed naked” — report by 18-year-old female high schooler leads to arrest of ex-boyfriend, 18, who allegedly said “If I show her boyfriend the video, they’ll break up and she’ll come back to me…”.”

  • 5ch Grills a Nagano Local With Questions About Home Turf — “No Way I’m Riding That, I’d Die”

    A thread titled “I’m from Nagano Prefecture, ask me anything” popped up on 5ch’s Nanademo Jikkyo board, and a poster claiming to live in Suwa City fielded a stream of questions from other users. Topics ranged from local food culture to the realities of a dangerous festival — rumors about a rivalry between Nagano City and Matsumoto, why salad gunkan-maki (a vegetable-topped sushi roll) is so popular locally, and firsthand experience with the Onbashira Festival. One reply stood out: asked whether they’d ever ridden the felled logs at Onbashira, the local said, “I’ve made it a rule never to ride it — I could die,” revealing just how dangerous the Shinto ritual really is, with an actual history of fatalities. There was also a reply speculating on how the Linear Chuo Shinkansen might affect Iida City. Overall, the thread built up steadily through simple questions and matter-of-fact answers from a local.

    1AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:10
    By the way, I live in Suwa.
    12AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:14
    Wait, is that even a real prefecture in Japan?
    14AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:15
    Re: #12
    YOU. LIKE GENSHIN? (written in stilted all-katakana for a deliberately robotic, broken-Japanese effect)
    15AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:15
    Re: #12
    It's in Kyushu, obviously.
    19AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:16
    Is the Nagano City–Matsumoto rivalry actually real?
    21AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:17
    Re: #19
    They don't actually hate each other — it's all just for show, like pro wrestling.
    22AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:17
    Re: #19
    Well, honestly, they're both genuinely nice places — they just like to one-up each other.
    23AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:18
    Re: #14
    Genshin, the game? I don't play it, so I don't really have an opinion either way.
    25AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:19
    Re: #23
    OK. UNDERSTOOD. (same stilted all-katakana delivery as before)
    27AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:19
    Why do you like salad gunkan-maki more than salmon or tuna?
    30AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:21
    Re: #27
    Well, we're landlocked with only freshwater here, and the vegetables are genuinely good. That said, Shinshu salmon (locally farmed trout) is tasty too.
    35AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:22
    Re: #27
    Salad gunkan-maki actually originated in Nagano.
    29AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:20
    Once the Linear Shinkansen is finished, will Iida City see more development?
    31AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:21
    Re: #29
    Probably, yeah.
    37AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:22
    Re: #29
    Though honestly, I have a feeling it'll end up being a pretty modest bump in development.
    33AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:22
    OP, where in Nagano do you actually live?
    40AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:23
    Re: #33
    I already said Suwa City.
    36AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:22
    Have you ever ridden the log at the Onbashira Festival?
    41AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:24
    Re: #36
    I've made it a rule never to ride it — I could die. Seriously, that festival's dangerous enough that people have actually died doing it.
    44AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:29
    The ski resorts are basically dead from lack of visitors — doesn't that worry you at all?
    47AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:30
    Re: #44
    Not really, doesn't worry me much. When I actually go skiing, I usually head out to Niigata anyway.
    46AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:29
    Didn't you just say "Suwa"? They're asking which city or town within the Suwa area, right? 🤔
    48AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:31
    Re: #46
    Sounds like something a certain pink-haired, Kansai-dialect-speaking Voiceroid (a text-to-speech character popular in Japanese commentary videos) would say: "Fair enough, my bad — but when you say Suwa, obviously you mean Suwa City!"
    49AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:32
    I wouldn't want to live in Suwa — the ground's too soft there. Even a big truck driving by makes the place shake.
    51AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:33
    Re: #49
    Fair point. Also, Lake Suwa's kind of known as a haunted spot — apparently spirits tend to gather near water.
    53AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:35
    Re: #49
    But I own a house here, so honestly, I don't want to leave.
    52AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:34
    Re: #50
    Suwa isn't part of Nanshin (the southern Shinshu/Nagano region), you know.
    79AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:54
    Re: #52
    Don't tell me you moved here recently. You wouldn't get that wrong if you'd actually grown up in Suwa — you'd have competed in the Nanshin regional tournament for school clubs, so normally there's no way you'd mix that up.
    82AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:56
    Re: #79
    For the record, I moved back to Nagano when I was at Shinshu University — I lived in Matsumoto back then. And yeah, I'm 29 now.
    86AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:59
    Re: #79
    Also, funny enough, I actually wasn't born in Suwa.
    55AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:38
    There's a really old Daiso near Lake Suwa, right?
    57AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:40
    Re: #55
    You mean the Suwa Shiga store?
    58AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:41
    I heard Nagano locals love a fish cake called "Vitamin Chikuwa" — do people in Suwa eat it regularly too?
    59AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:41
    Re: #58
    I don't really eat it much.
    65AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:45
    Re: #59
    Thanks for the answer ("サンガツ" — forum slang for "thanks"). One more question: for local events like the Onbashira Festival, does literally everyone living in the Suwa area have to take part? Or is it fine to skip it if you're not in the neighborhood association?
    69AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:47
    Re: #65
    It's not mandatory or anything. I mean, forcing people to join a festival dangerous enough to kill people would be insane anyway.
    67AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:46
    Built a log house out in a village — I'm basically half a Chino City resident now. Got friendly with a nearby bakery, gelato shop, tofu shop, and some local farmers. So much great food around here, I really love it.
    70AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:48
    Re: #67
    Glad to hear it.

    Background and Key Points

    “I’m from [Prefecture], ask me anything” threads are a staple format on 5ch, usually centered on asking a local about regional geography, culture, and food customs. This thread was no exception, running through Nagano-specific topics like the Onbashira Festival, salad gunkan-maki, and the relationship with Matsumoto. Onbashira is the common name for the Onbashira-sai, a ceremonial event held at Suwa Taisha shrine, where the biggest highlight is “kiotoshi” — sending massive logs sliding down a steep slope while riders cling to them. It’s a genuinely dangerous Shinto ritual with an actual history of fatalities. Participation is generally organized by neighborhood association, so the thread’s claim that it’s “not mandatory” broadly matches reality. As for salad gunkan-maki, one theory holds that because landlocked Nagano has no access to the sea, vegetable-topped sushi rolls caught on there more than raw-fish ones, and some locals even claim the dish originated in the region. The supposed “bad blood” between Nagano City and Matsumoto reflects a light rivalry rooted in their different standings — one as the prefectural capital, the other as a former castle town — rather than any serious conflict. The Linear Chuo Shinkansen is currently under construction between Shinagawa and Nagoya, with a new station planned near Iida City, though the article doesn’t mention that the opening timeline remains uncertain due to delays in the Shizuoka section. Rather than sparking disagreement, the thread mostly consists of simple questions met with matter-of-fact answers from a local, making for an enjoyable read about regional trivia.

    *This article is compiled as excerpts and a summary from the 5ch (Nanademo Jikkyo board) thread “I’m from Nagano Prefecture, ask me anything.”

  • Detective Pretty Cure: Every Side Character Rallies to Prop Up Ruruka — 5ch: ‘Even Isekai Web Novels Have Less Favoritism Than This’

    The 32nd installment of 5ch’s “anti-thread” for Toei Animation’s latest Pretty Cure entry, “Detective Pretty Cure!,” has gone up — commonly called the “Unchi Thread” (“poop thread,” a play on “anti” used to dodge search filters). This time the poop nickname came from a typo in the thread title, and it kicked off a wave of complaints that the surrounding characters keep being conveniently maneuvered just to hype up the lead, Ruruka. Posters also discussed a theory that the thread count looks inflated because trolls are flooding it with spam, disagreed over why the currently-running movie is doing well at the box office, and expressed surprise at the crossover with the fighting game “Street Fighter 6.”

    ↑ Put these two lines at the top when starting the thread.

    This is the [ANTI-THREAD] for the latest Pretty Cure series entry, “Detective Pretty Cure!”

    ■ “Detective Pretty Cure!” Official Site

    Source: toei-anim.co.jp / Original article here

    2AnonymousSep 21, 2026 05:41
    Refuge thread

    ■ Detective Pretty Cure! Anti-Thread 23 Refuge
    https://jbbs.shitaraba.net/bbs/read.cgi/anime/11205/1789850326/
    3AnonymousSep 21, 2026 05:42
    Toei Animation Official   https://www.toei-anim.co.jp/tv/precure/
    ABC Pretty Cure Official https://www.asahi.co.jp/precure/
    Pretty Store       https://www.toei-anim.co.jp/ptr/precure/store/
    Toei Shop        https://shopping.toei-anim.co.jp/product/healingoodprecure
    Pretty Cure Garden     https://www.toei-anim.co.jp/ptr/precure/
    4AnonymousSep 21, 2026 05:42
    Movie Official     https://www.precure-movie.com/pc/
    Musical Official  https://www.hikosen.co.jp/precure_s/
    Toy Official    https://toy.bandai.co.jp/series/precure/
    Pretty Cure Live Info    https://www.marv.jp/special/precure_live/
    5AnonymousSep 21, 2026 05:43
    Messed up the title, but it's the anti-thread so it works
    7AnonymousSep 21, 2026 05:44
    This thread honestly could've gone on a bit longer
    8AnonymousSep 21, 2026 06:03
    If calling it 'poop' keeps the copy-paste spam trolls away,
    I'm fine with this name
    10AnonymousSep 21, 2026 07:47
    Re: #1, thanks for the thread
    Having the characters around her spout lines that just happen to favor Ruruka doesn't actually make Ruruka more appealing
    The staff probably think they're doting on her, but it's not doing the character any favors — it feels like watching a bad parent in action
    They're setting things up so it looks like Ruruka's getting an unfair boost ("putting her in platform shoes," i.e. rigged advantages) and then just gushing over her without a second thought — that's just the writers' self-satisfaction. Even non-diehard fans of the Arcana side have said this feels uncomfortable
    11AnonymousSep 21, 2026 07:55
    Thanks for the thread, bumping it to keep it alive (anyone still here?)
    The title got a chuckle out of me, guess it really was just a typo
    12AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:02
    Saying 'it couldn't be helped' while pinning the blame on your accomplice is less of an apology and more of doubling down
    14AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:06
    Shiruku:
    'You probably didn't steal it'
    'It was that guy who took it (Gouemon)'

    The Curator:
    'That one was a fake anyway'
    'Thanks to you, I found the courage to display the real one'

    Re: #12
    If Ruruka's letting Gouemon take the blame too, she should stick up for him
    Staying silent is basically agreeing with 'Yeah, it's all Gouemon's fault!' lol
    13AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:06
    Well, it IS crap (unchi) as a piece of fiction, so I guess the thread title checks out
    15AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:13
    Come to think of it, this is actually the first time Kurea and Shiruku meet face to face,
    but there's zero reaction from her
    Kurea already knew who Shiruku was,
    and this is set in an era when TV was still king of media,
    so meeting an actress in person should be a bigger deal
    Well, Kurea's just a 'funnel' for Ruru-trash (Gundam slang for a drone that acts purely on its master's behalf — i.e. she only exists to hype up Ruruka), so I guess that explains it
    16AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:24
    They even got the item stolen from the Curator wrong — it's obvious the staff isn't even trying anymore, this show is paper-thin
    17AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:52
    More like a weak excuse than doubling down
    If you're gonna lean on an excuse that flimsy, you should've just not done it in the first place
    18AnonymousSep 21, 2026 09:53
    Every single character is turning into set dressing just to prop up Ruruka
    If they'd at least used this nearly month-long stretch of hand-holding to touch on the mystery surrounding the two leads and set up a hook for the next arc, it would've been more tolerable, but instead it's endless Ruruka, Ruruka, Ruruka
    Even a Mary Sue-tier web novel has less favoritism than this
    19AnonymousSep 21, 2026 10:25
    How long has it been since the actual protagonist got bumped out of her own protagonist spot?
    She even gets shafted with her transformation sequence airing dead last
    25AnonymousSep 21, 2026 11:42
    Re: #19
    She was still acting like a proper protagonist right up until Éclair's true identity was revealed

    Things started going downhill from that reveal
    After that, her detective skills basically got nerfed
    and she turned into a yes-man just going 'Amazing~!' at everyone
    20AnonymousSep 21, 2026 10:33
    It says 32, but isn't it really more like 21?
    Feels like someone's fudging the count to inflate the numbers
    21AnonymousSep 21, 2026 10:59
    Yeah, threads 20 through 31 all got buried under spam flooding, so that's right
    22AnonymousSep 21, 2026 11:09
    The thread title fits way too perfectly lol
    23AnonymousSep 21, 2026 11:31
    Thanks for the thread

    So according to the devoted fans, it's the antis panicking over the movie's success who are self-flooding threads to pad the numbers?
    Give me a break (there's wordplay here: the Japanese phrase for 'are you out of your mind' has 'Ruruka' hidden inside it)
    24AnonymousSep 21, 2026 11:34
    Then again, couldn't it just as easily be the fans doing the trolling?

    That said, if the antis start fudging the count too, they're just as much garbage (bottom line: both the fans and antis can drop dead this year)
    26AnonymousSep 21, 2026 11:50
    Even if you strip out the spam-flooded threads and reset the numbering, nobody's gonna care either way
    The main thread's nothing but blind devotees who approve of everything, that's exactly why we split off into this one
    27AnonymousSep 21, 2026 12:00
    Back in the day, Pretty Cure ○nti threads (censored for search-evasion) used to have joke-contest-style titles
    I remember seeing 'Oh No, Pretty Cure 5, Boo Go Go' (a pun on the real series title 'Yes! Pretty Cure 5 GoGo!')
    28AnonymousSep 21, 2026 12:04
    Protagonist Ruruka gets gushed over the whole episode, then right at the end they toss in a bit-part character, Anmiku, to deliver some big summary line and paper over it all — that's hilarious, stop it
    I get that doing this makes things easy, since people go 'see, she's still totally the protagonist!' and hype her up for it
    30AnonymousSep 21, 2026 12:42
    Re: #28
    Meanwhile Anmiku just keeps getting shipped off to crossover events
    29AnonymousSep 21, 2026 12:34
    I think the movie 'doing well' is just people who needed to see it before the typhoon hits moving up their plans, nothing more
    31AnonymousSep 21, 2026 12:48
    A crossover with a genuinely dominant game like Street Fighter 6? That's seriously impressive for 'Tanpuri' (fan shorthand for Detective Pretty Cure)
    32AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:30
    I actually play Street Fighter 6, so hearing about this crossover gives me mixed feelings.
    If it were a good season of Pretty Cure, fine, but of all seasons it had to be this boring one…
    34AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:17
    Street Fighter 6 is a real competitive fighting game, treat it with some respect
    35AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:24
    Poop 💩 Pretty Cure!
    166AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:51
    Poop's heeere~
    271AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:02
    Anti or poop, whatever,
    someone start the next thread please
    318AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:09
    They probably want to turn on IP display to fight the flooding trolls and just let the thread go quiet, right?
    I see it now, that's the answer! lol
    684AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:44
    Wait, isn't this a fake thread?
    1001AnonymousOver 1000
    This thread has gone over 1000 posts.
    Please start a new thread.
    life time: 10 hours 32 minutes 42 seconds

    Background and Key Points

    “Detective Pretty Cure!” is Toei Animation’s latest entry in the Pretty Cure series, a spin-off-style installment built around a detective theme. On 5ch’s anime board, it’s customary to call “anti-threads” (critical discussion threads) “poop threads” as a way of dodging search filters, and this time a typo in the thread title happened to lock in that nickname for good. The main criticism centers on a scripting complaint: that the characters around the lead, Ruruka, keep being conveniently arranged just to make her stand out, with some comparing it to the kind of protagonist favoritism seen in amateur web novels. Meanwhile, there’s an analysis suggesting the thread numbering looks inflated because of spam flooding by trolls, alongside a view from fans that this flooding is actually self-inflicted sabotage by the anti crowd. Opinions were also split on why the movie is performing well at the box office — whether it reflects genuine quality or just moviegoers rescheduling ahead of an approaching typhoon — with no clear consensus reached. The crossover with “Street Fighter 6” also drew surprised reactions, though it’s worth noting this represents individual posters’ opinions rather than a consensus on the work as a whole.

    *This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (anime board) thread “Detective Pretty Cure! Poop Thread 32.”

  • Murakami Draws 3 Walks/HBPs, Batting .202 with .809 OPS as White Sox Close to Within 1 Game of First — 5ch: ‘Guess Your Average Doesn’t Drop Without a Hit lol’

    The Chicago White Sox won 8-1 over the Tigers at home at Rate Field, despite a roughly four-hour rain delay, taking their three-game division series. They’ve now closed the gap on the division-leading Guardians to just one game. Munetaka Murakami, starting at cleanup and first base, went hitless but reached base three times via walks and a hit-by-pitch, driving in one run — his average held at .202, while his OPS stayed at .809. On 5ch, users debated why batting average doesn’t drop in a hitless game, questioned the rule that credits an RBI on a walk, complained about the confusing shorthand team abbreviations “Ho-gun” (White Sox) and “Ga-gun” (Guardians), and speculated on the wild card race.

    White Sox Cruise to Win in Game Delayed Nearly 4 Hours by Rain, Close to Within 1 Game of Division-Leading Guardians — Murakami Draws 3 Walks/HBPs, Drives in 1 Run

    ○ White Sox 8–1 Tigers ● (Local time, September 18, Rate Field)

    The Chicago White Sox took their four-game division series against the Detroit Tigers. Infielder Munetaka Murakami (26) started and played the full game batting cleanup at first base, reaching base three times and driving in one run.

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

    6AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:46
    Please don't dip below .200
    86AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:47
    Re: #6
    2023 Kyle Schwarber: 'Who cares if it's the .100s'
    https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/mlb/player/2101244/year
    7AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:46
    Wait, they'd fallen this far behind this late in the season…
    8AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:46
    No way the White Sox are actually legit contenders — that's the problem right there
    9AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:47
    Murakami fading in the second half was totally predictable
    11AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:49
    An RBI on a walk is ridiculous
    He didn't even hit the ball, why's he getting an RBI?
    14AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:50
    Impressive that his OPS is still over .800 even with a .200 average
    30AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:03
    Re: #14
    He draws a ton of walks so his OBP stays decent, and a good chunk of his rare hits end up being home runs anyway.
    82AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:29
    Re: #14
    His 'walk-begging' skills (drawing free passes) alone are major-league top class
    16AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:50
    I've gotten used to 'Ho-gun' but 'Ga-gun' just doesn't click for me
    Can we please retire this shorthand already
    18AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:51
    Cleveland just won't lose… ugh, man
    22AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:56
    Re: #18
    Shouldn't the wild card be fine though? The Astros and Blue Jays aren't pulling away.
    26AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:01
    Re: #22
    No, I really want them to win the division no matter what — given how last year went, it'd be huge.
    28AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:02
    Re: #22
    Didn't expect the Astros to be this underwhelming
    Even with Alvarez actually staying healthy for once
    19AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:52
    Didn't realize his OPS had dropped that much already
    Hope he can hang on to .800 somehow
    21AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:55
    One more win and the wild card's basically locked up, right?
    23AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:57
    Guess your average doesn't drop that much even without a hit lol
    35AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:08
    Re: #23
    Walks and HBPs don't raise your average, but they don't lower it either
    32AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:04
    Abbreviations like 'Re-gun,' 'Ka-gun,' and 'Ma-gun' each overlap with two or three teams (e.g., Rangers/Reds/Rays, Cardinals/Royals/Rockies, Marlins/Mariners/Mets)
    Why did this vague shorthand even become the norm
    34AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:07
    He's been a mess since the second half started
    Can't hit homers and his average keeps sliding
    36AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:08
    Re: #28
    I don't really want to say it, but Imai is genuinely the one to blame
    He's getting paid a big salary, so he shouldn't have switched teams so casually like some prospect
    44AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:14
    Re: #28
    The team has completely peaked and is on the decline now
    This year they were only in the race because the Mariners stumbled on their own — nobody actually thought they could contend for the division
    45AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:15
    Impressive that his OPS is over .800 with that batting average
    46AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:16
    If his OPS drops below .800 it's really gonna be bad
    47AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:17
    Finishing the season in the .100s would actually be more memorable
    56AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:32
    Re: #47
    Schwarber did that and nobody remembers it
    49AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:18
    Getting walked even with the bases loaded lol
    58AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:34
    Re: #49
    The opposing pitching staff was just terrible
    They gave up 9 walks/HBPs in today's game alone
    62AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:36
    MLB's 'we're playing this game no matter what' attitude
    Just waiting around for it is exhausting
    What are they gonna do if global warming makes the weather worse and it just keeps raining?
    Are they planning on running triple-headers or something?
    Cut the number of games already
    89AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:50
    Re: #62
    Won't every team just end up with a dome stadium eventually?
    68AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:41
    Neither 'Ho' nor 'Ga' clicks for me instantly
    70AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:49
    Back in the day, for things like the All-Star Game, people normally said 'Central League squad' and 'Pacific League squad' using '-gun' too.
    74AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:58
    Re: #70
    Back then a lot of team names actually had '軍' (gun, meaning 'corps/army') built right in.
    Tokyo Kyojin-gun (Giants), Hanshin-gun, Hankyu-gun, Nankai-gun, Kinki Nippon-gun, Nagoya-gun, Nagoya Kinshachi-gun, and so on.
    88AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:49
    Optics-wise, I feel like dropping below .800 OPS just won't be forgiven
    90AnonymousSep 21, 2026 15:52
    Re: #88
    .200 average, .798 OPS
    .200 average, .802 OPS

    The impression is completely different
    The first one just screams 'total garbage'

    Background and Talking Points

    MLB rain delays have no time limit, so waiting nearly four hours to resume, as happened here, isn’t unusual. The shorthand terms “Ho-gun” and “Ga-gun” used on 5ch are a holdover from the days when Japanese pro baseball teams like the Tokyo Giants (Kyojin-gun) and Hanshin (Hanshin-gun) used “-gun” (“corps/army”) in their names; posters now loosely apply the same convention to MLB teams, though several complained it’s hard to parse at first glance. The gap between Murakami’s .202 average and .809 OPS reflects that he racks up his on-base numbers largely through walks and hit-by-pitches. Batting average uses at-bats as its denominator, which excludes walks and HBPs, so a hitless game doesn’t actually lower it. Under MLB’s standard rules, a walk that brings a runner home still counts as an RBI, so it isn’t unusual for a player to get credited with an RBI without a hit. Some posts in the thread singled out pitcher Imai as the one “to blame,” but that’s one poster’s personal take, not a definitive explanation for the team’s slump.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[MLB] White Sox Cruise to Win in Game Delayed Nearly 4 Hours by Rain, Close to Within 1 Game of Division-Leading Guardians — Murakami Draws 3 Walks/HBPs, Drives in 1 RBI, .202 Average, .809 OPS.”

  • After Ohtani’s Return, He’ll Be an ‘Easy Out’ Says US Media — 5ch Fires Back: ‘We’ve Won Back-to-Back World Series Since He Got Here’

    As Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani works his way back from the injured list, US outlet Dodgers Way reporter Katrina Stebbins has drawn criticism for a harsh assessment: “If the slump he was in before going on the IL continues, he’ll be an easy out for postseason opponents.” On 5ch, the fairness of that take sparked a debate that pulled in stats like WAR and OPS. Commenters compared his decline to Ichiro’s, traded conflicting stats from the 2024 and 2025 World Series batting lines, and the discussion spiraled into whether the Dodgers are actually a better team without Ohtani.

    Shohei Ohtani being blasted over injury-related slump!? US media’s harsh verdict: “An easy out for opponents…”

    Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is progressing toward a return from the injured list (IL), though his current condition is described as “close to normal.” Even once he’s back, he may not immediately be the player he once was, according to Dodgers Way reporter Katrina Stebbins.

    Regarding Ohtani, who was already struggling before landing on the IL, Stebbins said: “He’ll likely bat leadoff again once he’s back. But if he looks the way he did right before going on the IL, postseason opponents will be happy to take the easy outs he gives them early in games.”

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

    3AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:33
    Stuff like this never gets reported by Japanese media, huh.
    16AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:36
    Re: #3
    Isn't Yahoo Japanese media though?
    6AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:33
    Why did he suddenly become washed up like this?
    33AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:40
    Re: #6
    You can kind of see his personality in it — doesn't listen to anyone and just keeps repeating the same mistakes.
    18AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:36
    Re: #16
    Thinking about it normally, isn't this referring to legacy/old media given the context?
    22AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:37
    Re: #18
    Old media is out of their minds — they reported Ohtani as the mastermind during the Mizuhara illegal gambling scandal. Anything goes as long as it gets ratings.
    29AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:39
    Re: #22
    Seems like a perfectly reasonable point to me.
    19AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:37
    This year's Ohtani >> Ichiro's career high, so that's not it.
    21AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:37
    Re: #19
    His WAR is garbage though, what are you even talking about?
    23AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:37
    Can't really help it, there's an MVP race going on, no?
    25AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:38
    Re: #23
    That's already out of reach, but he'll lose the HR count to Murakami, Okamoto, and Suzuki, so he's got to play no matter what.
    31AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:40
    Re: #21
    Ichiro was washed up too — not just OPS, his WAR was garbage as well. Even within the team, only Pages and Muncy have a higher WAR than Ohtani.
    36AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:41
    Re: #31
    What is this guy even saying — Ichiro was still racking up 200 hits at 32.
    38AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:41
    Re: #25
    A casual who only looks at home run counts. What about Murakami's and Okamoto's WAR then? If low WAR is disqualifying like with Ohtani, huh?
    41AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:43
    People keep bringing up OPS and WAR, but the reality is the Dodgers win more without Ohtani. That's true now, and the Dodgers were winning more before he even got there too. Those numbers mean nothing.
    46AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:45
    Re: #41
    Are you a casual fan or what?

    Before Ohtani: regular-season specialists, knocked out in the postseason.
    The moment Ohtani arrived: back-to-back World Series titles.

    They don't waste effort piling on weak teams in the regular season — that's exactly why they can win in the postseason.
    49AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:47
    Re: #46
    Meanwhile, 2024 World Series: .105 average, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .385 OPS.
    Meanwhile, 2025 World Series: ERA over 7.
    56AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:49
    Re: #49
    Can't bring up his 2025 batting stats, huh? That's exactly why nobody trusts you — cherry-picking only the convenient stuff and hiding whatever's inconvenient.

    2025 postseason OPS: 1.096.
    58AnonymousSep 21, 2026 13:49
    Re: #49
    LMAO, "better off without him." I think what he's trying to say is that Ohtani was basically functioning as a lucky charm. He just can't accept what's actually happening on the field.
    82AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:06
    Ichiro had a playing style that aged well, so he was fine, but Ohtani's the type where age-related decline hits directly — the next few years are going to be a horror show.
    85AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:09
    Re: #82
    Ichiro started declining and became dead weight around age 31. He just looked better because he was on a team with nothing riding on the postseason — really he just dragged on with trash stats.
    92AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:12
    Ichiro was playing 160 games a season even in his age-40 year, but Ohtani has never once played 160 games. I know someone's going to say "just show up to games then," but a player who can't stay on the field a lot ultimately can't have a long career.
    97AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:16
    Re: #92
    Unlike Ichiro, he's not chasing individual records. Last year too, he was in the home run title race, but once the division title was clinched, he sat out and gave up his shot at the HR crown. The Dodgers especially aim everything at the postseason, so they rest guys appropriately during the regular season and aren't even competing for regular-season win totals.
    93AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:12
    Everyone was making a huge fuss about how the deferred-salary deal helps the team and Ohtani's a saint! But now that it's come to this, it's backfired, hasn't it 😅
    98AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:18
    LOL, he's not even chasing individual records and yet he's apparently disliked on the team and making things awkward.
    104AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:20
    Re: #98
    I doubt the people around him actually see it that way.
    106AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:20
    Re: #98
    Are you talking about Ichiro? Because Ohtani's well-liked enough that teammates bring him up even when he's not around.
    102AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:19
    Is there anyone who looks at Ohtani right now and actually thinks "team-first player"?
    105AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:20
    Re: #102
    He's literally trying to play through injury for the team's sake though?
    107AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:24
    Re: #85
    At 31 he was batting around .370 and setting a new hits record. He didn't start declining until after 35.
    111AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:29
    Re: #107
    Batting average, huh… If his OPS were high, fine, but a high average paired with low OPS and low on-base percentage doesn't translate to wins. He was just forcing his hit total up, and his OPS was declining at a faster pace than Ohtani's.
    110AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:28
    Betts in September, freed from all the suffocating pressure —

    Batting average .373 (his first .300 of the season), 6 HR (season high), 20 RBI (season high), OPS 1.215 (season high; August was .706)
    112AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:29
    Re: #110
    Honestly, when it comes to Betts, it really does seem like he doesn't think much of Ohtani.
    113AnonymousSep 21, 2026 14:30
    Re: #110
    If this were Ohtani, you'd say he only started hitting in meaningless games after the postseason spot was already clinched. That's the thing about haters — their story conveniently changes to fit.

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    It’s worth noting that this article is based on an assessment piece by a reporter at the US outlet Dodgers Way — not a statement from Ohtani himself or an official team announcement. Ohtani has not yet returned from the injured list, so no verdict has actually been reached based on real pitching or hitting performance. The main point of disagreement in the thread centered on how to interpret the all-encompassing metric “WAR.” Because it factors in defense and baserunning in addition to batting average and home runs, a player who stands out in batting average can still show up low in WAR — and the handling of this number fueled repeated, talking-past-each-other comparisons to Ichiro. Commenters on both sides also cherry-picked conflicting data — Ohtani’s batting slump in the 2024 World Series (.105 average) versus his strong 2025 postseason (1.096 OPS) — and readers should keep in mind that each is only part of the full picture. There was also a reference to the illegal gambling scandal involving Ippei Mizuhara that surfaced in 2024, but Ohtani’s own involvement was denied from the start, and the thread discussion proceeds on that assumption.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “[Sad News] Dodgers-focused media outlet: “If Ohtani comes back, all he’ll do is give away easy outs”“.