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  • Stink Bugs Are Swarming Everywhere — Leave Them Alone and They’ll Call in Reinforcements to Overwinter: 5ch Reacts ‘Gross! Scary! No! It Stinks!’

    Stink bugs are turning up in greater numbers across town, earning a reputation as a “pest best avoided if possible.” According to the original article, leaving them alone risks them calling in reinforcements to settle in for the winter, so early countermeasures are being urged. On 5ch, the thread lit up with practical tips — theories blaming the rise on global warming or the spread of cedar and cypress plantations, observations that green individuals seem to be giving way to black ones, and removal methods using plastic bottles, packing tape, and mint oil.

    Right now, “stink bugs” are multiplying all over town.

    A green “pest” best avoided if you can help it — we looked into what can be done about it right now.

    “One dropped on me from above and I was like, ‘Gross!’”

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

    2AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:04
    Saw like 15 of them while traveling in Fujiyoshida the other day.
    42AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:17
    Humans are grosser and smellier than they are.
    5AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:05
    Lately it's all black ones, not green ones.
    15AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:09
    Re: #5
    Opposite here — I used to only see black ones, but the past few years I've started seeing green ones too.
    108AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:38
    Re: #5
    The green ones used to swarm back when fluorescent lights were everywhere. They'd sit in the pickup slot of vending machines and convenience store coolers, basically interfering with business.
    7AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:07
    Why don't people who can handle cilantro just eat them? (stink bugs are notorious for smelling like cilantro/coriander)
    77AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:26
    Re: #7
    That settles it then. Forget the plant nicknamed "stink bug grass" (a slang name for cilantro) — just have them eat actual stink bugs.
    9AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:07
    Stink bugs never used to be like this, right? Is this global warming's fault?
    16AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:09
    Re: #9
    They've always been around, honestly. There used to be lots of other bugs too, but now it's just stink bugs everywhere.
    83AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:28
    Re: #9
    Global warming, for starters.
    11AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:08
    Monsters that call in a ton of reinforcements are a jackpot in Dragon Quest.

    Back in the day you'd use a rapid-fire controller or just tape the button down, leave it running overnight, and rack up insane amounts of EXP.

    Of course you'd tune your attack power so you didn't wipe them all out.
    25AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:10
    ( ゚∀゚)
     (  ∩ミ Look, it's a turtle! (a pun — "kame" in kamemushi/stink bug means "turtle")
     | ω|
     し⌒J
    50AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:19
    Re: #25
          .
      _, ,_  .・(U)      Sp
     ( ゚Д゚).;;.;∵ヽ('∀' )  lat!
     (   .;..;''      Sq
     | ★";'.       /
     し⌒J       uish


          (U)  

    ( '∀')ノ   Gross! Scary! No! It stinks!
    26AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:11
    > "Gross!" "Scary!" "No!" "Stinks!"
    Huh? Are they talking about me?
    60AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:22
    Re: #26
    Nah, can't be you — you don't have any friends. (´・ω・\`)
    30AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:12
    One was stuck on my screen door this morning, so I froze it with Goki Jet (a roach-killer spray brand with a freeze function).
    34AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:14
    Re: #30
    They flatten their bodies out and squeeze in through the window.
    36AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:15
    I live somewhere fairly rural but never see stink bugs. Is this more of a city thing?
    78AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:27
    Re: #36
    Maybe you only see a lot of them near mountain forests or in truly rural areas? Even within the same prefecture, the number of "stinkers" (slang for stink bugs) is way different between city neighborhoods and mountain villages.
    38AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:16
    There was an assassin bug in my room 🥺 gross
    40AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:16
    "Gross!" "Scary!" "No!" "Stinks!" "Baldy!"
    49AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:19
    Re: #40
    There's stuff you're allowed to say and stuff you're just not. 😠
    41AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:16
    What's actually causing the stink bug boom? The weather?
    73AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:25
    Re: #41
    The "stinkers" have multiplied because of global warming plus more cedar trees and the like. I posted this in a stink bug thread before, but while doing light work in rubber boots I felt a sharp sting near my ankle, then heat, then itching. Took my sock off and found a yellowish stain. Looked it up with AI and apparently it's inflammation caused by stink bug fluid — there are supposedly cases of foot inflammation from the rubber-boots-plus-stink-bug combo.
    45AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:18
    There's the small round kind and the slightly bigger home-plate-shaped kind, right?
    67AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:24
    Re: #45
    As a kid I only knew the round ones, but after I moved somewhere else I learned the home-plate-shaped ones are actually the main type.
    46AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:18
    Is there no "stink bug eater" out there, like an anteater but for stink bugs?
    53AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:20
    That's a harsh way to put it. This article really shows human arrogance.
    58AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:21
    Re: #53

    Then go eat a live stink bug yourself.

    Say that after you've done it.
    54AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:21
    Osamu Tezuka's prophecy (famed manga artist whose name contains "mushi," meaning "bug")
    64AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:23
    Apparently stink bugs are also crazy high in protein. Might end up replacing crickets as the next big insect food.
    68AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:24
    Re: #64
    BS, those things are basically hollow inside.
    90AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:31
    Once I started growing mint, they stopped showing up.
    96AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:34
    Re: #90
    Apparently they hate that cool, minty smell.
    180AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:17
    I live way out in the boonies surrounded by rice paddies, so they show up all over the house. A plastic bottle opening is just the right size — I hold it up against wherever one's sitting and shake, and it drops right in. Fills up a 500mL bottle in a single season.
    191AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:27
    Re: #180
    Thinking about what you'd have to do with it afterward, there's no way I could copy that lol.
    196AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:29
    Re: #180
    As long as you don't touch its belly it's fine — stick its back onto some packing tape and toss it in the trash. I keep a roll of tape in every room this time of year and in early spring.
    195AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:28
    Too much cedar and cypress is why stink bugs have multiplied. It's because nobody's cutting the trees down.
    198AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:30
    Re: #195
    Also the fact that people stopped doing controlled brush burning.
    205AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:36
    Re: #195
    If it wouldn't run at a loss, I'd honestly love for someone to buy my family's ancestral forest land — I don't even know where it is. Once the registered owner passes away, you have to go to the Legal Affairs Bureau to update the registration for forest and wild land too, and it's seriously a hassle. If the national or city government would just take unwanted land off people's hands for free, it'd be such a relief for anyone with a family home out in the countryside lol.

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    Stink bugs become more likely to invade homes in autumn because they release an aggregation pheromone that draws in others of their kind while searching for a place to overwinter — the original article’s point about them “calling in reinforcements to overwinter” is based on this trait. In the thread, two theories came up for why their numbers have grown: global warming, and the spread of conifer forests (cedar, cypress) that increase the seeds they feed on. No evidence was given to settle on either explanation alone, so the two factors likely overlap. Posters also debated at length whether green or black individuals seem more common these days, but this comes down to differences between species, and no information backing up regional or generational differences was presented in the thread. For removal methods, posters shared practical tricks such as using plastic bottles, packing tape, and the repellent effect of mint oil.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (News Flash+) thread ““Gross!” “Scary!” “No!” “Stinks!” — Stink Bugs Are Increasing, and Ignoring Them Risks Them Calling in Reinforcements to Overwinter… What Should You Watch Out For.”

  • PS5’s New ‘Midnight Black’ Color Launches November 19 for ¥55,000

    Sony has announced that the “PlayStation 5 Digital Edition Midnight Black (Japanese language only)” will go on sale November 19 at a suggested retail price of ¥55,000 (tax included). Pre-orders open October 20. On 5ch’s “Hardware/Industry” (Geha) board, the thread buzzed about the simultaneous release of a matching black disc drive, as well as an official notice mentioned in the thread stating that “games released from January 2028 onward will be sold in download-only format.” Some posters also pointed out that despite the relatively discounted pricing, domestic sales have been sluggish, and opinions were divided over the narrowing weekly sales gap with the Switch2.

    1AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:04
    We're releasing the "PlayStation®5 Digital Edition Midnight Black (Japanese language only)" on Thursday, November 19, at a suggested retail price of ¥55,000 (tax included)!
    Pre-orders open sequentially from Tuesday, October 20, at PlayStation® retailers and e-commerce sites across Japan.
    For more details ⇒ play.st/4ykYmw7
    20AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:10
    Hold on, if they're not releasing a black disc drive too, won't the look be unbalanced when you pair them?
    30AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:14
    Re: #20
    It says right on the site that it's coming out at the same time.
    24AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:13
    The fact that they can't even manage a GTA bundle shows just how rough things must be.
    26AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:14
    Re: #24
    Plus they're hiding how much storage you'd actually need.
    27AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:14
    Wow, they just slipped this in like it's nothing:

    [Important Notice]
    Starting January 2028, any newly released PlayStation games will be sold only in download format on the PlayStation Store and at retailers. Disc-based games released before January 2028 will remain usable as before.
    36AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:16
    Re: #27
    If they're spelling it out this clearly, there's no way they'd ever walk it back now.
    32AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:15
    I wish people would realize that slapping a "[Bad News for Switch Fans]" tag on this just drags down PS users' reputation too (5ch threads often get tagged "bad news for rival fans" as a mocking meme, even for unrelated news).

    It's actually good news, but I can't even enjoy it honestly, and it's put me in a bad mood since this morning.
    38AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:17
    Re: #32
    Well, that's because you're a Switch fanboy ("nishi" — 5ch slang for Nintendo diehards).
    41AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:18
    Re: #32
    Funny how threads titled "[Good News for PS]" barely get any replies at all.
    50AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:21
    Cheaper than the underpowered Switch2, lol.
    57AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:24
    Re: #50
    And yet it's still been losing to it in weekly sales this whole time, lol.
    56AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:24
    I think what PS really needs is a sense of security about the future. It's hard to picture what things look like after they kill off discs, so that makes consumers hesitant to buy in.

    I want something that can actually beat a PC, but can they do something about how weak their first-party lineup is?
    61AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:25
    Re: #57
    The gap between them is already down to like 10,000 units or so…
    65AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:27
    Re: #61
    That's just jailbreak demand padding the numbers — nothing to brag about, lol.
    64AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:27
    Same old variation-marketing trick, just changing the shell color.
    And on top of that, they're dumping more console stock onto shelves under a separate SKU.
    66AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:28
    Why don't they make skeleton (clear-shell) models anymore?
    68AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:29
    Re: #66
    Because only old guys get excited about those.
    71AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:30
    Re: #66
    Isn't it because the circuit board is sensitive to light?
    Though honestly, being able to see a leak would be handy, lol.
    75AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:32
    Re: #66
    It's covered in shield plates and heat sinks, so even with clear material there wouldn't be much to actually see.
    67AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:28
    Re: #56
    Once PS pulls out of hardware, you won't even be able to re-download your games anymore.
    Sony cuts things off fast.
    77AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:32
    Re: #67
    Didn't they stop selling the Wii U and 3DS pretty quickly too though?
    80AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:32
    Re: #77
    You can still re-download those, though.
    88AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:34
    Re: #77
    Oh, so you're not denying that Sony will pull out AND cut off re-downloads? lol
    70AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:29
    Given everything going on right now, it's actually really cheap.
    So the fact that it's still not selling domestically just shows how little anyone actually wants it.
    73AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:31
    Re: #70
    It's pricier than the original launch price, the games aren't that popular, and these days you basically need a monitor too.
    84AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:33
    Re: #80
    That was just as true for the PS3 and Vita, and they're still being sold fine.
    92AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:35
    Re: #84
    That's exactly why people are talking about a console pullout.
    86AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:34
    Six years in and they're finally giving us a black model (´・ω・`) <- so slow.
    Still better than doing nothing, I guess.
    Meanwhile Nintendo's got a three-pronged lineup: the Ocarina of Time limited edition, the pick-your-own-game bundle, and the Monster Hunter Wilds set.
    91AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:35
    Re: #86
    There's a Wolverine model too, lol.
    89AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:35
    Re: #88
    There isn't, though.
    100AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:39
    Re: #89
    The point is it's not selling because of that uncertainty.
    Nintendo keeps pushing forward for the next thing even at a loss,
    but Sony only cares about profit, hence killing discs.
    And even if Sony pulls out of consoles, they've still got anime, insurance, and movies to fall back on.
    105AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:41
    Re: #100
    Nintendo ditched the Virtual Boy and Wii U without hesitation too — what "sense of security" are you even talking about, lol?
    94AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:36
    Re: #92
    What do you mean "that's why"?
    97AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:37
    Re: #94
    Don't you get that the original point was premised on them pulling out?
    107AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:42
    Re: #105
    How many years ago are we even talking about here?
    110AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:43
    Re: #107
    If we're talking about now, SIE is doing great — what are you even on about?
    113AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:44
    Re: #110
    It's Sony overall that had the good earnings.
    SIE on its own is struggling.
    115AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:45
    They're still keeping the disc drive around, though.
    So what was all that talk about discs possibly disappearing?
    116AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:46
    Re: #115
    In reality, people are buying it bundled with the disc drive almost every time…
    Source: Amazon's sales figures.

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    The PS5 “Digital Edition” has been a disc-drive-less model since launch, and this release simply adds a black color option for the console body. Since a black disc drive is being sold separately too, commenters confirmed that the two can be paired for a matching look. Another key point raised in the thread is the notice that “games released from January 2028 onward will be sold in download-only format.” Previously released disc-based games will remain playable, so this doesn’t mean the entire PS5 lineup is going fully digital overnight — but it’s being read as a sign that support for new disc releases will gradually shrink going forward. Opinions in the thread were split over why domestic sales remain sluggish despite the discount, and over the narrowing weekly sales gap with the Switch2 — commenters disagreed on how to interpret those numbers (whether it reflects the console’s appeal or other factors). One point readers might misread: this release doesn’t mean the PS5 lineup as a whole is going digital-only — existing disc-based games and disc-drive bundle configurations remain available just as before.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry, “Geha”) thread “[Bad News for Switch Fans] “PlayStation5 DE Midnight Black (Japanese only)” Launches November 19 for ¥55,000 (tax included).”

  • Jin Akanishi Wants In on STARTO’s Countdown Concert — Could KAT-TUN Reunite?

    Former KAT-TUN member Jin Akanishi (42) has reportedly shown enthusiasm for appearing at the countdown concert hosted by STARTO ENTERTAINMENT. After watching last year’s show, he apparently said, “I want to perform too~!” and he’s said to remain in touch with the group’s core members. KAT-TUN has since disbanded, but some have voiced hope for a reunion. On 5ch, threads revisiting the circumstances of Akanishi’s departure and each member’s current activities leaned more skeptical than welcoming, with comments like “Is this actually going to happen?” and “Would the other members even accept it?”

    Jin Akanishi Wants to Perform at STARTO’s Countdown Concert! Growing Passion for an “Idol Comeback”… Could KAT-TUN Reunite?

    Former KAT-TUN member Jin Akanishi (42) is reportedly showing enthusiasm for an “idol comeback.” After watching last year’s countdown concert hosted by STARTO ENTERTAINMENT, he requested, “I want to perform too!”

    KAT-TUN itself no longer exists, but he remains in contact with the core members, leaving open the possibility of a reunion.

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

    13AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:37
    Who on earth got paid to write this article lol
    14AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:39
    Did the Eternal fans stop opening their wallets? (Eternal is KAT-TUN's official fan club)
    22AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:48
    Thought it was that guy — the half-Japanese guy who exposed Johnny's.
    30AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:54
    Re: #22
    Every time I see 'Countdown Concert' written out, it reminds me of that.
    78AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:40
    Re: #22
    Before that, there's the BBC documentary airing first.
    24AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:50
    He got kicked out for having such a terrible personality — I doubt even his former associates want anything to do with him.
    25AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:51
    Well, Johnny-san's not around anymore (´・ω・`)
    28AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:53
    If anything, Akanishi might get an even colder reception than the actual criminals, Tanaka and Taguchi — he's the one who trashed KAT-TUN the hardest on his way out.
    31AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:55
    They probably don't even want to reunite lol
    81AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:42
    Re: #31
    I don't think it's a real reunion so much as a one-time, limited reunion show.
    33AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:56
    >'Akanishi reportedly agonized right up until the last minute over whether to perform.'
    ↑
    So does that mean he got an offer and it was his call to make?
    34AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:56
    Do today's Johnny's fans even know who Akanishi is? Even if he performs, won't it end up like the whole Match thing? (referring to veteran idol Masahiko "Match" Kondo)
    80AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:41
    Re: #34
    Match is in a totally different league — his track record and tenure are on another level, so it won't get the lavish treatment Match got.
    35AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:57
    Running low on cash, maybe?
    38AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:06
    Out of money, huh
    (´・ω・`)
    40AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:07
    With two guys busted for drugs and one caught cheating at an Apa Hotel, a reunion's just not happening.
    42AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:08
    Having guys who aren't even with the agency anymore show up at the agency's own event is pretty messed up, honestly.
    44AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:11
    Wants to perform at SKATORO Inc.'s Poop-down Concert! (riffing on STARTO → "SKATORO," evoking the スカトロ/scat slang, and カウコン "Countdown Concert" → ウンコ "poop")
    66AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:17
    Re: #44
    It's spelled with a C, not a K.
    48AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:16
    No way the agency signs off on this. Anyone who did drugs is a non-starter. Akanishi got fired too, and Kamenashi's doing just fine on his own — it's not happening.
    49AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:18
    Re: #1
    Akanishi's on record saying he left because he didn't want to keep singing, dancing, and waving as an adult — so this has got to be fake news.
    58AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:53
    Re: #49
    Not sure when he said that, but once you hit around 40, that kind of thing stops mattering.
    51AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:21
    Who knew Kamenashi and Ueda would stay this serious about it to the very end.
    53AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:47
    T-T: "Because they couldn't just stay within the line… Ah~" (seems to riff on a KAT-TUN lyric, jabbing at Tanaka and Taguchi's drug arrests)
    57AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:51
    Kauan Okamoto, on Breaking Down. (likely the Johnny's accuser mentioned above, who has appeared on the Breaking Down fighting show)
    84AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:47
    Re: #57
    Different generation — that guy couldn't even make his debut.
    69AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:27
    I always figured reunions or one-night-only comebacks happen when people are hurting for work and money — what else would it be?
    75AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:36
    Re: #69
    You wouldn't go with a one-night-only comeback unless money was tight (a tour pays more) — so there's gotta be another reason.

    Background and Talking Points

    STARTO ENTERTAINMENT is the new name the former Johnny’s Office adopted after the 2023 sexual abuse scandal, and the year-end countdown concert remains an annual event bringing together the agency’s artists. KAT-TUN disbanded in 2023, and Jin Akanishi left the agency on his own back in 2010. What split opinion in the thread was the credibility of this “wants to perform” report itself, with many commenters skeptical given Akanishi’s own past remarks that he’d grown tired of “singing, dancing, and waving” as an adult. It’s also worth noting that whenever a reunion comes up, people tend to bring up the separate ups and downs each member has had since the breakup — context that may not be obvious to readers unfamiliar with the backstory of Japanese entertainment news.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Entertainment] Jin Akanishi Wants to Perform at STARTO’s Countdown Concert! Growing Passion for an “Idol Comeback”… Could KAT-TUN Reunite?“

  • What Would You Do If You Knew You’d Die Tomorrow? 5ch Weighs In After ‘The Moon Is About to Fall, Death Is Certain’

    In a freewheeling chat thread on 5ch’s “Nandemo Jikkyo” (Live Commentary) board, posters jumped between all kinds of questions and personal stories instead of sticking to one topic. The thread title jokes about being unemployed, but that has nothing to do with the actual content — it’s just a stock “running gag” headline common to this type of live-chat thread. The conversation ranged freely across work, baseball, and everyday curiosities: a story about not getting paid despite having already quit a job, a thought experiment about what you’d do if the moon were about to fall and wipe everyone out, and a question about why Shohei Ohtani alone seems to get singled out for media criticism.

    15AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:06
    What's the deal with people at work who ignore it when you say hello to them?
    16AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:06
    There are plainly worse people out there than Shohei Ohtani — Will Smith, or this 'Edo Otoko' guy (a separate controversial figure) — so why does the media only ever pile on Ohtani?
    19AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:06
    That whole 'Power Pro Kun Pocket' game series, man (a handheld spin-off of the Jikkyo Powerful Pro Baseball franchise)
    20AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:06
    Has that old internet culture of everyone enthusiastically playing along with an obvious lie completely died out?
    24AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:07
    AI-generated art (a wounded female warrior)
    27AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:07
    So I quit my job at the end of last month, and my final paycheck still hasn't shown up
    29AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:07
    If it became almost certain the moon would fall tomorrow and kill everyone, what would you do?
    30AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:07
    You know those washed denim jeans that have that sloppy-looking crease line scuffed across the crotch?
    31AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:08
    Turns out Ohtani is the one who taught us just how great Ichiro really was
    35AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:08
    Why is PlayStation loved even by people who don't normally play games?
    37AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:09
    Smart people don't go and recklessly jack up their standard of living just because they got rich, huh
    39AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:09
    How come there's so little romance between 'male comedians' and 'female comedians'?
    43AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:09
    Toyota's 360-degree camera monitor has such clean picture quality, you can practically see through the ground
    49AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:10
    Were you guys seriously doing this the whole time you were off work?
    52AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:10
    [Sad News] The only thing Japan still has to be proud of is basically Hololive at this point (the VTuber talent agency)
    https://nova.5ch.io/test/read.cgi/livegalileo/1791852780/
    79AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:35
    Even middle schoolers are out there working to save the world 😰
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FC9kQ6RacAACOxu.jpg
    82AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:41
    Re: #79
    That's just a drawing, though

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    The “Nandemo Jikkyo (Live) G” board where this thread appeared isn’t a board for deep discussion of a single subject — it’s a chat board where short posts fly by at high speed, and thread titles themselves are often just unrelated “stock” taunting phrases. This time’s “365 Days Off a Year 🤣 Home of the Dumb Unemployed Guy 🏡” is a typical case: the actual posts had nothing to do with being unemployed and were mostly everyday questions and anecdotes. Note that a serious topic like unpaid wages after quitting a job and a whimsical one like what to do if the moon came crashing down end up sharing the same thread simply because of how this board works — not because posters are building on each other’s points. Likewise, the posts questioning media coverage of Shohei Ohtani aren’t meant to put down any specific player or person; they’re written as general questions about how the media handles its coverage.

    *This article is composed as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “365 Days Off a Year 🤣 Home of the Dumb Unemployed Guy 🏡.”

  • Sony to Ditch Discs for New PS5 Games Starting January 2028

    On October 13, 2026, Sony announced on its official blog that “PlayStation games released from January 2028 onward will be sold exclusively as digital downloads.” Disc versions released before January 2028 will remain usable as normal. With reports already suggesting the next-gen PS6 won’t include an optical drive, discussion threads mixed reactions of “of course this was coming” with concerns that users in regions with unstable internet access could be left behind, alongside speculation over just how long third-party publishers will keep releasing disc versions.

    [Important Notice]

    Starting in January 2028, newly released PlayStation games will be sold exclusively as digital downloads through the PlayStation Store and other retailers. Disc versions of games released before January 2028 will remain available for use as before.

    Source: blog.ja.playstation.com / Original article here

    4AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:56
    Finally got a thread going for this.
    Well, we all knew it was coming,
    but once it's official, there's no turning back.
    5AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:57
    Sony pulling out of physical discs is confirmed.
    Confirmed!
    6AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:58
    It's
    all over now.
    You
    look so small (riffing on a classic anime villain-taunt meme).
    7AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:59
    PS6 won't even have a drive, so this was obvious.
    9AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:00
    Guess it's time to get used to digital-only now.
    10AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:01
    Buying a game at full digital price only to find out it's trash… that's gotta sting.
    11AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:01
    The PS5 just got its disc drive ripped clean out, lmaooo
    14AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:01
    Can someone explain the brain logic it takes to spin this into "bad news" for a party it doesn't even affect?
    26AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:05
    SIE's almost certainly going to copy the key-card scheme (like Nintendo Switch 2's "Game-Key Card" system) — it's the only card they've got left to play.
    30AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:06
    Re: #26
    There's already something called a "key disc," you know.
    35AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:07
    Re: #26
    It'd end up being some USB dongle or external authentication device, but if they're going that route, outsourcing Blu-ray disc pressing would be cheaper no matter how badly they get price-gouged for it.
    63AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:21
    Re: #26
    They'll probably slap on two card slots and do some dual key-card thing.
    31AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:06
    Is this seriously going to cut off rural users in North America?
    You often hear that the internet out there is so bad that discs are the only way to play, so that's rough.
    42AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:09
    Re: #31
    I can't picture people that deep in the boonies owning a PS5 or Xbox Series X.
    More like they're still on PS4, or still playing Mario Kart on the Wii.
    41AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:08
    The countdown's already started.
    16 months left, huh.
    44AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:10
    Re: #41
    There's still that much time left?
    I was hoping it'd kick in next month.
    60AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:17
    December 2027 is just the final cutoff for disc sales —
    I bet third parties switch to digital-only early next year anyway.

    Right now the Japanese Digital Edition is basically the only version selling,
    so there's no real reason to bother making discs anymore.
    70AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:27
    Re: #60
    Oh, the Digital Edition outsells it now?
    The disc-drive model used to sell better even at a higher price —
    heck, the disc-drive version was even a scalping target at one point.
    71AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:27
    Re: #60
    It stings because the Japan-only version is almost always bought bundled with the disc drive.
    64AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:21
    In an age of cloud gaming and high-speed internet, discs are outdated.
    69AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:26
    Re: #64
    Yeah, Sony should scrap discs ASAP — no need to wait until 2028, right?!
    67AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:26
    72AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:29
    Re: #70
    Shipments of the disc-drive model have basically stopped since around April.
    77AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:31
    Re: #72
    Oh, so that's what's going on.
    79AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:32


    This too, but
    realistically next March is probably the last point third parties can still ship on disc.
    Discs will probably keep trickling out after that,
    but only for big AAA titles from major publishers.
    90AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:36
    Re: #79
    FF7 Revelation, launching next April, is on disc.
    Well, I guess that counts as a major title.
    Also, if they go "code in a box" (just a download code inside the case, no actual disc) and still lose the multiplatform showdown to the Switch 2, that'd be a huge story.
    81AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:33
    Is this basically Sony finally snapping after retailers kept shrinking PlayStation shelf space, and axing discs is the fallout?
    85AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:35
    Re: #81
    Nah, nah, that's not it.
    They're killing it because optical discs have no future.


    They can't keep the format alive just for games.
    91AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:36
    Re: #85
    If that's true, doesn't what Re: #83 said sound off?
    Why would they keep making discs if there's no future in it?
    83AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:34
    Then why bother making a brand-new disc drive at all…
    89AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:36
    Game discs in the first place
    kind of started as a way to keep music-disc factories busy during downtime.
    It was never a business model where games alone could keep the whole factory profitable.
    99AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:39
    Re: #89
    Well, Sony is one of the companies that actually developed the disc format itself.
    Sony and other manufacturers created the standard, and they collected royalties even on movie and music discs.
    It's just that no successor format to UHD BD ever took off.

    Background and key points of this discussion

    Sony has long developed optical disc formats for music and video, and game disc production partly began as a way to put that same manufacturing infrastructure to use. This announcement only applies to new releases going forward — it’s easy to misread it as meaning existing disc-based games will stop working, but that’s not the case. Some in the thread pointed out an apparent contradiction — “if optical discs have no future, why bother making a new drive?” — but maintaining backward compatibility for existing users and pulling back from producing new discs are separate business decisions, and the two can coexist. Also, this announcement doesn’t set any fixed date for when individual third-party publishers will stop making disc versions — that’s left entirely up to each company’s own profitability calculations.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) thread “[Bad News for Nintendo Fans] Sony Reaffirms It’s Killing Off Discs!“.

  • Why Are Juice=Juice’s Antis Uniquely Unhinged? Hello! Project’s Strange Fan Structure Becomes a Talking Point

    A discussion kicked off on a Hello! Project-related thread with a post claiming, “Most people who go full anti are a bit off, but Juice=Juice’s antis are in a league of their own.” Replies piled up pointing not only to backlash against Juice=Juice’s recent strong run, but also to a structural quirk unique to Hello! Project — a kind of “village-society mutual-aid system” where, once a single group starts to pull ahead of the rest, it tends to get targeted. Some noted that BEYOOOOONDS, which has also been gaining popularity around the same time, has faced a similar reaction, and the discussion expanded into speculation that the antis might actually be longtime Morning Musume or Angerme fans.

    1AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:33
    He's been talking to himself this whole time.
    Can't hold a conversation at all.
    2AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:34
    Maybe it's because they're arguing from a predetermined conclusion?
    5AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:40
    Re: #2
    When you build your argument around a conclusion you've already decided on, you end up pushing crackpot theories or just flat-out lying.
    And when you've got nothing left to say, all you can do is spam threads into oblivion for a living.
    4AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:36
    Juice=Juice doing well is making them even more unhinged.
    7AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:43
    Whenever they're cornered, they retreat into parroting back what you said and copy-pasting.
    10AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:45
    I mean, they've been anti since the group's debut.
    No way someone like that is just a casual hater.
    11AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:46
    Being an anti is literally all they have going on in life.
    12AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:48
    Re: #1
    Because they're Angerme fans.
    That's really all there is to it.
    19AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:11
    It's a side effect of Hello! Project's mutual-aid union system.
    It's village-society socialism — the mindset that no single group is allowed to 'win' on its own.
    That's why you get these unhinged people casually telling new Juice=Juice fans things like 'you'd better respect the original members and the other Hello! Pro groups too.'
    20AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:13
    Re: #19
    That's not just an Ookami-board thing (Ookami = 5ch's Hello! Project board) — the same kind of people show up in YouTube and TikTok comments too, so I'd guess it's less about the board and more a mindset unique to Hello! Pro fans themselves.
    24AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:36
    Re: #19
    They're getting bashed because it's specifically Juice=Juice — I don't think any other single group pulling ahead would get bashed this hard.
    22AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:16
    They've been anti-JJ this whole time, and despite all that effort JJ's been doing great lately, so it's reaching Irritation ☆ Climax.
    28AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:48
    Re: #22
    Because nobody even reads the Ookami board, and it has less influence than some complaint account on X (Twitter), yet they're cringe old-man antis ("ankasu" — board slang for pathetic, washed-up antis) who genuinely believe that trying hard enough at being anti will actually tank the group's popularity.
    26AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:46
    Re: #24
    No, they do get bashed — actually, these anti-geezers bash everything except Morning Musume. They're fossils whose golden-age memories feel like yesterday, so Momusu is the only group they still accept.
    27AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:47
    Re: #26
    I've been watching the Ookami board for 11 years now, and no other Hello! Pro group gets anywhere near this many antis besides Juice=Juice.
    30AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:49
    Re: #27
    BEYOOOOONDS gets bashed in their threads too, ever since they completely overtook Angerme in popularity.
    33AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:56
    Re: #30
    With BEYOOOOONDS I don't get as much of that 'hate the monk, hate the robe too' guilt-by-association vibe.
    39AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:12
    Momusu fans fight bloody battles within their own group, but they couldn't care less about other groups.
    40AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:13
    Re: #39
    Maybe because they're self-conscious about never having gone viral themselves, they seem to swarm around "Fried Rice" (a nickname used on the board).
    48AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:31
    Re: #39
    So true lol. Anti-geezers always mistake Momusu for being on 'their side' — we hate them too, don't lump us in with you.
    45AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:27
    Someone even showed up with a long post styled like a news article, clearly trying to manipulate the narrative.
    46AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:28
    Re: #45
    Conversely, there's not a single Juice=Juice fan who's become a 'named' figure on the Ookami board, is there?
    47AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:30
    Re: #46
    There totally are — Kunio and the Haroato Professor (the OP and the thread regulars).
    49AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:31
    Re: #47
    Those guys don't even use Ookami as their home base, so it doesn't really matter.
    59AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:23
    Lost to the antis again and had to make a thread about it lol.
    61AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:25
    Re: #59
    I've never lost, not once.
    It's always the antis who lose, then flee in tears while spamming copy-pasta.
    63AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:28
    Getting wrecked by copy-pasta the whole time — honestly, pathetic doesn't even cover it.
    65AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:32
    Re: #63
    The groups whose Ookami threads get killed off by copy-pasta spam are, without exception, ones that don't depend on Ookami anyway — they already have conversations and communities elsewhere, so it's no problem even if their Ookami threads get wiped out.
    73AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:37
    Re: #65
    All that effort astroturfing on Ookami, wasted — now they're getting absolutely wrecked on X (Twitter) lol.

    [Sad news] Juice=Juice gets massively hated at the festival lmaooooooooooooo
    https://kizuna.5ch.io/test/read.cgi/morningcoffee/1791719101/
    74AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:37
    Re: #73
    That topic's already old news on X.
    77AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:38
    Re: #74
    The feeling of having come to hate them doesn't just disappear though.
    81AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:41
    Re: #77
    It wasn't years of built-up resentment, just a one-off thing, so people basically shrugged it off as 'well, stuff happens.'

    Background and Talking Points

    The “Ookami” mentioned throughout the thread is the nickname for 5ch’s Hello! Project board, a long-running forum community that discusses topics across all of the agency’s groups. The “mutual-aid system” theory floated in the replies is speculation, not a verified analysis: fans of the various groups under the same agency are said to informally avoid alienating one another, and this supposedly backfires into resentment whenever a single group breaks away in popularity. Some pointed out that BEYOOOOONDS has faced similar backlash, while a separate thread about a festival incident shows how these 5ch conflicts can spill over onto X (formerly Twitter) as well — a detail that’s easy to overlook. Several posts flatly assumed the antis must be fans of a specific rival group, but it’s worth noting that none of those claims are backed by any actual evidence.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “Everyone who goes full anti is crazy, but why are Juice=Juice’s antis next-level unhinged“.

  • Cyberattack Hits Refrigeration Units at Hundreds of French Supermarkets, Temperatures Spike to 50°C, Food Dumped

    On the night of October 11 into October 12, France saw a cyberattack targeting the refrigeration and freezer systems of hundreds of supermarkets. The equipment’s temperature rose to as high as 50°C, leading to the mass disposal of fresh and frozen food. French authorities have opened an investigation. On 5ch, many posters expressed shock that supermarket refrigeration units are even connected to the internet in the first place, with opinions split between the labor-saving benefits of remote monitoring and the security risks it creates. There was also no shortage of speculation about the attackers’ motive — financial extortion versus a thrill-seeking prank — though nothing has been confirmed.

    Cyberattack Hits Refrigeration Systems at Hundreds of French Supermarkets, Temperatures Spike to 50°C, Causing Mass Food Disposal – ITmedia NEWS

    October 13, 2026, 10:20 AM [ITmedia]

    A large-scale cyberattack targeting refrigeration and freezer equipment hit French supermarkets on the night of October 11 into October 12 local time. According to reports, the equipment’s temperature rose as high as 50°C, resulting in the mass disposal of fresh and frozen food. Hundreds of stores were affected, and French authorities have launched an investigation.

    Source: itmedia.co.jp / Original article here

    8AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:31
    Re: #1
    Wait, you can actually crank it up to 50°C? lol
    70AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:38
    Re: #1
    Q: What's 50°F in Celsius?
    A: 10°C
    255AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:56
    Re: #8
    Apparently it's the defrost heater used for maintenance.

    Re: #70
    France uses Celsius.
    14AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:32
    So it's hooked up online so the manufacturer can monitor it remotely, huh.
    28AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:34
    Re: #14
    Usually there's a monitoring function, but changing the settings remotely shouldn't normally be possible.
    125AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:43
    Re: #14
    A TV Tokyo program said Panasonic (through Sanyo Electric, which it acquired) runs the same kind of business.
    246AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:55
    Re: #14
    If they'd stuck to just cameras, this wouldn't have happened.
    23AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:33
    Maybe it's about time we got serious about regulating AV (adult video content).
    232AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:54
    Re: #23
    Even if you regulate it, criminal states and organizations will just ignore the rules and keep developing it — we'd only end up unable to keep up.
    347AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:06
    Re: #23
    You can't regulate human desire that easily.
    32AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:35
    Cyberattacks that destroy infrastructure like this should carry the death penalty.
    The law is way too soft.
    163AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:46
    Re: #32
    At least make the penalty as harsh as arson — they're basically modern-day arsonists.
    348AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:06
    Re: #32
    This is flat-out terrorism, so yeah, death penalty.
    45AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:36
    Seriously, stay away from IoT from now on. I mean it.
    Even regular home appliances let you check on them remotely these days.
    Webcams are probably getting hacked left and right too.
    52AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:37
    Re: #45
    Sounds like vending machines are going to start dumping out products on their own next.
    227AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:53
    Re: #45
    I don't get people who put cheap webcams in their own homes.
    54AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:37
    Who'd have guessed the day would come when Japan — land of phone calls, personal seals, and fax machines — ends up winning…
    65AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:38
    Re: #54
    In the Middle East, pagers got swapped out for bombs, remember.
    66AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:38
    Re: #54
    The fact that it's not even meant as irony says it all.
    122AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:43
    Re: #54
    And it's just like Japan to be the one trying to put a stop to that too. Over in the West they legalized electric scooters, and now things are clearly heading toward tightening up on them — yet somehow Japan goes and legalizes them only now, just in time to rack up a wave of accidents. So very Japan.
    99AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:41
    What's even the point of doing this? Stock manipulation?
    124AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:43
    Re: #99
    It's a shakedown. 'Pay up if you don't want this happening to you.'
    168AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:46
    Re: #99
    If AI can pull this off, it's probably just trolls doing it for kicks — kind of like that Korean 'F5 attack' thing from about 15 years ago (a crude DDoS where people mass-refresh a page).
    133AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:43
    Hooking refrigeration equipment up to the internet is just dumb.
    Don't connect it just because it's convenient.
    156AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:45
    Re: #133
    Why only look at the downside lol. Ban remote control and we're back in the Showa era lol
    176AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:47
    Re: #156
    But combine AI with always-online and security turns into Swiss cheese, so yeah, we really are heading back to the Showa era.
    184AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:49
    Re: #156
    It's no joke — more industries than you'd think will probably end up retreating. AI's progress is never going to stop, so in the end there are only two options: humanity gives up the internet to keep AI from being weaponized, or a lot of industries pull out of the internet to keep it running safely. And we'll be forced to make that choice sooner than you'd think.
    170AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:46
    Wait, modern freezers are hooked up to the internet now?
    183AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:49
    Re: #170
    Washer-dryers too.
    185AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:49
    Re: #170
    Seems like remote monitoring is used to cut down on labor — apparently nobody logs temperatures by hand anymore.
    189AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:50
    Self-driving cars are absolutely dangerous, if you ask me.
    There are things you can hand over to automation and things you can't.
    212AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:52
    Re: #189
    Self-driving is fine as long as it's standalone, but cars whose OS can be updated over a network are done for — terrorists will exploit that.
    233AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:54
    Re: #189
    When it comes to cars, you can't ignore the fact that human driving is dangerous too.
    218AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:52
    Why would you even connect a fridge-freezer to the internet?
    It's not like the settings need changing that often.
    242AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:55
    Re: #218
    I'm not totally sure either, but once you're talking large-scale automated control, doesn't a PC end up involved on top of the machine itself?
    251AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:56
    Re: #218
    Apparently the manufacturer remotely schedules the defrost cycle for outside store hours, and runs it longer when there's more frost buildup.
    244AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:55
    Did it come with a switch between 'ice-cold~' and 'nice and warm~'? (classic Japanese vending-machine slogans for cold and hot drinks)
    267AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:58
    Re: #244
    Home fridges have that too — the defrost function. You just reverse the heat exchanger's cycle.
    Though for an actual hot-drink function, you'd need a heater running alongside it too.
    360AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:07
    Re: #244
    More like a switch between 'cheeeap~' and 'Mr. President~' (a nod to the shouty bargain-store commercial catchphrases).

    Background and Key Points of the Discussion

    By way of background, commercial refrigeration and freezer units at supermarkets and similar businesses have increasingly been connected to networks in recent years, letting manufacturers remotely adjust defrost timing and temperature settings. This cuts down on manual, handwritten temperature logging, but as posters in the thread pointed out, a setup that allows not just monitoring but remote configuration changes also becomes a weak point that can magnify the damage from a cyberattack. Authorities have not disclosed who carried out this attack or their motive, so the theories floated in the thread — financial extortion, a thrill-seeking prank, state involvement — remain unconfirmed speculation. Note that the back-and-forth over Fahrenheit versus Celsius in some posts was a joke premised on the article’s ’50 degrees’ being Celsius, not an actual error in interpreting the figure.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “Cyberattack Hits Refrigeration Systems at Hundreds of French Supermarkets, Temperatures Spike to 50°C, Causing Mass Food Disposal.”

  • Minato Ward Condo Slashes Price by ¥20 Million — Still No Buyers; 5ch: “It Just Wasn’t Priced Right to Begin With”

    A report has surfaced about a high-end condo in Tokyo’s Minato Ward where, despite slashing the asking price by ¥20 million, no buyer has come forward. On the thread, discussion ranged widely over the reasons behind the drop — pointing out that “ten years ago this would’ve been a roughly ¥70 million new-build,” the heavy burden of large-scale renovation costs for tower condos, the behavior of Chinese investors, and the growing gap between land prices and building prices. Both a level-headed take — “it just wasn’t priced right to begin with” — and a more alarmed view — “an early sign of the bubble bursting” — stood out.

    Change hits “soaring” condo prices — no buyer found even after “¥20 million price cut”

    10/12 (Mon) 19:02

    TV Asahi (ANN)

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

    17AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:09
    Ten years ago this would've been a roughly ¥70 million new-build.
    161AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:57
    Re: #17
    They just got greedy trying to sell it high, and now it's not moving.
    21AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:10
    There's some tower condo in Shinagawa — like a 15-minute walk from the station, doesn't even have a convenience store nearby — and as usual the flippers tried to unload it at some ridiculous price, couldn't sell it, and ended up letting it go at the same price. Even so, it's apparently still too expensive to sell.

    Once places like this mountain shack start getting slapped with high prices, you've got to start factoring in a bubble collapse — that's what history teaches us.
    71AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:29
    Re: #21
    Tower condos should really just put a My Basket (a small supermarket chain) or convenience store on one of the mid-floors.
    94AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:37
    Re: #21
    And to think people were hyping that place up like crazy to buy lol
    45AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:22
    Kuroda Haruhiko's "unprecedented easing" is going to wreck Japan, so look forward to it.
    68AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:28
    Re: #45
    Re: #59
    More than BOJ Governor Kuroda Haruhiko (lol), it's really Abe Shinzo, who ordered it, that's…
    49AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:22
    The fact they could drop ¥20 million just like that shows how badly they were trying to rip people off.
    58AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:26
    Re: #49
    Agreed.

    It's like clothes that were supposedly ¥30,000 suddenly selling for ¥5,000 the moment there's a sale — what a scam business lol
    59AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:26
    If the bubble bursts, it's on Kuroda Haruhiko.
    62AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:26
    So even Chinese buyers have finally stopped buying? Who's going to be left holding the bag at the end?
    74AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:30
    Re: #62
    Probably some Japanese buyer who thinks "oh, it got cheaper!" and buys it.

    And the garbage media will push that along — "Condo prices are falling right now, down a whopping 20% from last year! (though still double what they were the year before that)"

    They're already doing that in the comments right now.
    81AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:32
    Re: #62
    Re: #63
    But it's actually a good thing that wealthy Chinese buyers are pulling out.

    Since they're a different nationality, they won't take responsibility if anything goes wrong — even though it's valuable real estate.
    70AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:29
    With that ¥20 million price cut alone, you could buy an entire condo in Hakata.

    It's a bit old, but it's within about 1km of both Hakata Station and the airport —
       ↓
    97AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:38
    Re: #70
    That's probably somewhere the locals wouldn't actually live.
    121AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:45
    Re: #70
    Isn't it kind of cheating that it's AI-edited lol
    72AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:29
    My mortgage payment is actually less than rent would be. I wonder how many of Japan's "subprime" borrowers are out there.
    112AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:42
    Re: #72
    Same here. If you factor in parking fees from when I was renting, even including property tax and my voluntary renovation reserve fund, I was still paying more back when I rented.
    145AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:52
    Re: #72
    My mortgage is easier on me too. I do get a decent housing allowance, but there's a cap on it.
    85AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:34
    Condo prices are falling but land prices are still soaring — what's with that gap?
    86AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:35
    Re: #85
    In Japan it's all about the land value — the building itself has basically no value.
    116AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:43
    Re: #85
    The prices are completely different. With ¥100 million you can buy a decent-sized plot of land in Setagaya, and even if you're picky about the house on top, ¥50 million will cover it. But with a tower condo, ¥150 million gets you either a crummy little unit or a used place out somewhere like Musashi-Kosugi.
    87AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:35
    Is there actually any benefit to living in Minato Ward? You'd send your kids to private school anyway, so the school district shouldn't matter.
    89AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:35
    Re: #87
    It satisfies your need for validation by letting you flex on people. That's it.
    109AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:42
    Re: #87
    Personally I don't think there's any real benefit. Take somewhere like Roppongi Hills — there's literally nothing around it.

    If it were me, I'd pick a town with a big shopping street, like Kichijoji or Koenji.
    136AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:49
    Re: #87
    The ward government is rich, so subsidies for all kinds of things are absurdly generous. Also, people often mention the embassies — since embassies aren't targeted even in an emergency, buildings nearby or condos that house embassies are said to be safe.
    110AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:42
    Another headwind: a lot of tower condos are hitting their large-scale renovation period all at once, right in an era of inflation and surging materials, labor, and fuel costs. The people who can't keep up will be the first to leave, and as vacancy rates rise, the management and renovation fees fall even more heavily on the residents who remain. More and more often it's not just renovation items getting cut, but the renovations themselves getting postponed entirely — which drags property values down even further.
    117AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:43
    Re: #110
    Cases of "sorry, we can't repair the elevator because the parts have already been discontinued" are going to pop up all over the country.
    124AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:45
    Re: #110
    Apparently large-scale renovations are extremely difficult for tower condos — what are they going to do 20 years from now? They might end up as ruins in the middle of the city.
    146AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:53
    Re: #110
    Tower condos really are just winging it, aren't they…
    133AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:47
    So this went from about ¥180 million down to ¥160 million? It just wasn't priced fairly to begin with. Though ¥160 million is still way overpriced.
    138AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:49
    Re: #133
    There's no such thing as a "fair price" for real estate you keep paying property tax on forever — you get charged money just for owning it.
    163AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:58
    The older you are, the more it makes sense to live in the city center.
    174AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:01
    Re: #163
    Elderly people are better off living somewhere with a hospital and supermarket within walking distance. The city center is actually inconvenient for daily life.
    179AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:03
    Re: #174
    Somewhere like around the Aeon Mall in Musashimurayama, maybe?
    196AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:09
    Re: #174
    Though if your nearest supermarket is a Kinokuniya (upscale grocer) and your nearest hospital is Keio University Hospital, that's inconvenient in its own way.
    183AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:04
    For how expensive they are, today's condos are pretty shabby.
    186AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:07
    Re: #183
    Probably because materials and everything else have gotten so expensive, but they really skimp on the interiors…
    189AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:08
    Re: #183
    The building itself is basically bulky trash — almost all the real estate value is in the land.

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    Condo prices in central Tokyo have kept climbing, driven by soaring construction material and labor costs, demand from overseas investors, and a prolonged low-interest-rate policy. At the same time, tower condos reach their first major large-scale renovation somewhere between ten and several decades after completion, and with materials costs having spiked, more cases are emerging where renovation costs run far above original estimates — leaving the future cost of upkeep as a cloud over these properties’ asset value. Opinion on the thread split between those who see this price cut as simply “correcting a price that was overinflated to begin with,” and those who see it as “an early sign of a genuine downturn driven by fading overseas demand.” Note that no concrete purchase data was presented regarding Chinese investors’ behavior — the thread’s comments on that point remain speculation.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “[Real Estate] Change Hits “Soaring” Condo Prices — No Buyer Found, Tokyo’s Minato Ward “¥20 Million Price Cut”.”

  • Oda Sakura’s Graduation Concert Broadcast Sparks Hulu vs. SkyPerfecTV Showdown

    Morning Musume’s Oda Sakura is graduating from the group, with a graduation concert scheduled for December. The thread kicked off with a request for “SkyPerfecTV, please” for the broadcast, but opinions quickly splintered — some said Hulu (even without the ability to save footage) was fine, others pushed for Hikari TV for its picture quality. With Juice=Juice specials and streams of their Pia Arena show rolling out through October and November, Hello! Project fans are laser-focused on exactly when and on which platform Oda’s graduation concert will air. There was also a wave of nostalgia for the old days, when BS SkyPerfecTV carried free broadcasts you could record — before sagging viewership numbers pushed things toward today’s mostly paid-streaming model.

    1AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:48
    Please, anything but Hulu — you literally can't save the footage
    2AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:51
    Not like I'm buying the Blu-ray anyway
    3AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:55
    Blu-rays don't sell for any group except Juice=Juice anyway
    5AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:59
    I'm Team Hulu
    Though honestly, paid is fine, just put together a proper special too
    6AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:00
    No antenna here, so cheap Hulu works for me
    Not like I'd ever rewatch it anyway
    8AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:03
    Re: #6
    Funny how you'd want to rewatch Juice=Juice's shows, but not the other groups
    7AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:01
    Hulu's got the better picture and sound, that's the one
    Two weeks of catch-up streaming is plenty
    10AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:08
    Re: #1
    The fact that you can't save it just means you don't know how (lol)
    12AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:11
    Hulu's better anyway since you can save it in high quality
    16AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:13
    Not really interested in Oda, but I'd love to see the other members
    17AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:14
    Re: #16
    Except nobody but Oda is actually popular
    18AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:14
    Even if I'm never going to rewatch it, I still want to keep a copy
    28AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:18
    Re: #18
    That's the classic "yatteru-kan" (the satisfaction of feeling like you did something, whether or not it's actually useful)
    So very Japanese of you
    21AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:16
    You can download the stuff that gets reposted on Bilibili (Chinese video platform),
    but you can't do that directly with Hulu
    Apparently it's possible with the phone app, but I don't want to install something just for that
    I want to watch on my PC
    27AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:18
    Re: #21
    You can do it on PC too, lol
    32AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:19
    Hulu's all-you-can-watch plan is better since even the DDs can watch it (DD = a fan who likes everyone in the group, not just one member)
    37AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:23
    Re: #32
    Actually, in terms of Japanese subscriber numbers, TV Asahi Channel apparently has almost double the members
    42AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:28
    October: Juice=Juice special
    November: Juice=Juice special & Juice=Juice's Pia Arena show
    December: Oda's graduation concert
    …so there's a real chance they stretch this out on Hulu for three months straight
    45AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:29
    Re: #42
    Sounds like they're timing Oda's graduation concert to land right before the Juice=Juice Pia Arena catch-up stream window closes
    47AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:33
    Saving stuff off Hulu is more on the shady side of gray-zone legality, so I'd rather go with SkyPerfecTV where you can save it with a clear conscience
    49AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:34
    Re: #47
    TikTok aside, there are people shamelessly reposting Hulu footage straight to YouTube too
    51AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:37
    I resubscribed on 10/8 for the Juice=Juice special,
    and I'm planning to cancel again by 12/7
    so I won't even be able to watch it on Hulu, will I?
    54AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:37
    Re: #51
    Personally it all depends on how long the Juice=Juice Pia Arena catch-up stream stays up
    62AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:48
    Um…
    Hikari TV would be fine too, you know
    I reluctantly bought the tuner for it back in the day
    74AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:00
    Re: #62
    Wasn't the last one Sato's graduation concert?
    Hikari TV hasn't carried anything since then
    63AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:50
    Hello! Project fixes up the pitch and any mistakes whenever they release the official product anyway
    At Hina Fest 2018, the part where Sayashi's voice cracked was cleaned up so well it sounded like a studio CD
    Same with Tsuji's pitch, which was pretty badly off
    65AnonymousOct 13, 2026 10:51
    Re: #63
    That's what you get for being a fan of a group that can't sing
    75AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:02
    It's her last one with the group, so they should really go all out
    76AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:03
    Re: #75
    Her last performance and they're only booking Yokohama Arena? Kind of underwhelming
    79AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:06
    Blu-ray releases for the regular Hello! Con shows have stopped, so there's a real chance the Blu-ray for the tour finale at a big venue could get axed too
    80AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:08
    Re: #79
    They'll keep releasing it as long as it sells
    Hello! Con and the Countdown Concert (the New Year's Eve show) just stopped because the sales data kept coming back bad
    82AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:14
    Back in the day you could watch all of Hello! Project's shows for free on BS SkyPerfecTV and record them
    I even signed up for a foreign-movie channel just to get access to BS SkyPerfecTV
    83AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:15
    Re: #82
    And that's exactly why it stopped making money and turned into a closed-off, pay-to-play scene squeezing a small core fanbase
    Though Juice=Juice has loosened things up a bit these days
    84AnonymousOct 13, 2026 11:17
    Re: #82
    It was only a few years ago and it's already nostalgic
    They even used to air full-length songs back then

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    Hello! Project concert broadcasts used to air for free on BS SkyPerfecTV, with recording freely allowed, but as monetizing that model got harder, recent years have shifted mainly to paid catch-up streaming on Hulu. Hulu offers strong picture and sound quality and a relatively low monthly fee, but has no official way to save (download) footage — and that gap is exactly why the “can you save it or not” debate kept resurfacing in the thread. SkyPerfecTV and Hikari TV, by contrast, let viewers keep a copy at home if they have the right tuner, though that comes with the hassle of signing up for a plan and buying equipment. The thread also included some disparaging remarks about Oda Sakura’s long tenure and appearance, which have been left out of this article. It’s also worth noting that, as of this writing, no official broadcast platform for the graduation concert has been announced — the thread’s discussion is purely fan speculation and wishful thinking.

    *This article is compiled and summarized from excerpts of the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread 「Please Broadcast Oda Sakura’s Graduation Concert on SkyPerfecTV」.

  • Dragon Quest Snubbed From RPG Tier List, 5ch Debates Whether Story Should Even Count

    On 5ch’s “Hardware/Industry (Geha)” board, a poster’s self-made “RPG tier list” sparked controversy. The ranking didn’t include a single Dragon Quest title, prompting doubts in the original thread about whether the poster lacked experience or just had narrow tastes. Commenters also pointed out that Pokémon was missing, leading many to suspect the poster mainly played Final Fantasy and the SaGa series. The list was also said to exclude storytelling as an evaluation criterion, splitting the thread between those who think RPGs should be judged on narrative and those who think gameplay alone should decide — turning it into a full-blown debate.

    1AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:03
    Made an RPG tier list!
    >Wow, it's rare to see someone with tastes this different from mine.
    I've barely played any of these — seriously, why isn't there a single Dragon Quest game on here? Isn't that way too little experience to be making an RPG tier list?
    2AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:05
    Dragon Quest's target audience is basically people in their 40s and 50s at this point.
    3AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:08
    People pointed out Pokémon's missing too.
    Dude's just a Final Fantasy fanboy.
    4AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:08
    Being a SaGa fan is already a red flag in itself.
    66AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:17
    Re: #4
    SaGa fans are an even more niche crowd than Dragon Quest or FF fans.
    5AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:08
    The real problem isn't some Dragon Quest geezer losing it, it's how garbage this tier list is.
    6AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:10
    Square fanboys vs. Enix grandpas, duking it out. (The two companies merged into Square Enix, but old rival-fanbase jokes live on.)
    7AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:10
    Well, this kind of blatantly-opinion-based tier list is basically just 'my personal ultimate ranking I made up' —
    stuff he dislikes or hasn't played just doesn't make the cut.
    8AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:11
    Most of what's listed looks like stuff you can still play on current consoles, so maybe he's actually young.
    In that case he wouldn't have been able to play Dragon Quest.
    12AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:17
    Wild that he leaves out storytelling, which is basically the whole point of RPGs, lol
    That's like making a beef-bowl tier list and ranking it purely on how good the rice tastes lol
    18AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:23
    Re: #12
    Nah, story isn't really what people look for in RPGs.
    Good proof of that: the best-selling RPG in the world is Pokémon.
    21AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:28
    Re: #18
    That's not proof of anything at all, lol😂
    53AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:07
    Re: #18
    Pokémon's story focus has actually been increasing more and more, though.
    14AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:18
    This is just a Square-loyalist's list with the occasional time-killer he bought thrown in.
    Stuff like this wouldn't blow up if he didn't blow it up into some grand statement about RPGs as a whole.
    24AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:31
    Re: #14
    I don't even think he's a true Square loyalist.
    Even just within FF and SaGa the ranking is way too bonkers — he probably just padded it with titles he's never actually played ('air-play,' 5ch slang for faking experience with a game) to pad the numbers.
    32AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:41
    I mean, it's fine to judge by something other than the story — games like the SaGa/Romancing SaGa series can be fun purely for the combat, not the plot.
    That said, even granting that, you still have to wonder about ranking Seiken Densetsu as S-tier, or rating FF10 high while FF12/13 are low.
    34AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:46
    Re: #32
    But there are games like Grandia that get praised specifically for their characters and story,
    so with that mindset, you have to wonder what he's even playing these games for.
    47AnonymousOct 13, 2026 08:59
    Re: #44
    I don't really get what counts as 'normal' here.
    I'm also the type who doesn't care much about story —
    if you want quality storytelling, you can just get it from some other medium.
    49AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:04
    Re: #47
    What you evaluate just depends on the game.
    Don't judge gameplay fun and story/characters all by the same yardstick.
    For Dragon Quest III, for instance, it's the fun of replaying it over and over;
    for Glory of Heracles III, it's the quality of the story.
    The point is you look at what's actually good about each specific game, not judge everything on the same scale.
    50AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:05
    Haven't seen the list myself, but was 'whatchamacallit 33' on there?
    51AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:06
    Re: #49
    Then 'normal' isn't the right word to use there.
    57AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:09
    Re: #51
    Why not?
    If you play a lot of different games,
    you'd normally realize that some of them do treat story as important.
    63AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:15
    Re: #57
    This is just a simple point that different games have different selling points — but you keep using a loaded word like 'normal,' which is why it's turning into an argument. If you don't get that, there's no point continuing, so forget it.
    68AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:19
    Re: #63

    I don't get what you mean.
    I only said that OP leaving story out of the evaluation seemed off,
    since normally, if you've also played RPGs with good stories, you wouldn't exclude it from the evaluation —
    is that really so weird to say?
    67AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:18
    Oh, so this is a 'JRPG-loving guy' story.
    It is kind of surprising Dragon Quest didn't make the cut there.
    69AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:19
    Re: #67
    That's exactly why — he might be deliberately snubbing Dragon Quest without even trying it, just to be contrarian.
    72AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:21
    Is everyone basically saying 'Dark Souls and The Elder Scrolls aren't RPGs'?
    78AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:24
    Re: #72
    Same deal as Monster Hunter not being an RPG —
    say that in Japan and people will just laugh at you.
    73AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:22
    Honestly, if you want good storytelling, I don't get why you'd bother with something as tedious as an RPG.
    Novels or visual novels (ADV) deliver way richer, higher-quality narrative.
    79AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:25
    Re: #73
    Multiple endings are something only games can really do, though.
    81AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:26
    Re: #73
    That's really just down to personal taste at that point.
    74AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:22
    Jumping on someone's personal opinion over every little thing is kind of a childish move, honestly.
    85AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:30
    Re: #74
    Lately there are YouTubers who go 'this sucks, that sucks' as if it's some universal consensus,
    and then people jump on the bandwagon, which makes it worse.
    84AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:28
    The real issue with this list is that it's clearly off even if you judge purely on gameplay.
    Ranking the early FF titles above FF12 or 13 — what criteria is that even based on?
    87AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:31
    Re: #84
    Maybe he just prefers the harder ones?
    90AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:32
    Stuff like 'the characters are great' or 'the story is great' stopped landing with anyone but hardcore otaku types in the early 2000s.
    King's Field was an RPG, and Oblivion was released as an RPG too — the 'open world' genre label only caught on afterward, didn't it?
    95AnonymousOct 13, 2026 09:37
    Re: #90
    That's a take you hear a lot, but it doesn't explain the popularity of 'Ante' (apparent shorthand for a specific title) if that's the case.

    Background and Key Points of This Debate

    “Tier lists” are a format popularized on YouTube and social media for ranking games by personal preference — by design, they reflect the poster’s own play history rather than aiming for comprehensive coverage. This particular list appears to be based on titles the poster actually played, which is likely why Dragon Quest and Pokémon — both among Japan’s best-selling franchises — ended up left out. The thread split over whether an RPG’s evaluation should factor in storytelling at all, with support on both the story-focused and gameplay-focused sides. The debate also branched into a broader argument over “what even counts as an RPG,” with disagreement over whether to count Dark Souls, The Elder Scrolls, or Monster Hunter as RPGs — reflecting a divide between the Japanese (“JRPG”) conception of the genre and the Western one. The fact that the list itself mixes different evaluation criteria (combat, story, freedom) from game to game was also a major source of criticism.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch “Hardware/Industry (Geha)” thread “Made an RPG tier list! ←No Dragon Quest?! Thread erupts lol“.