When 'Oshi' Transcends Culture: What We See Between Borders and Algorithms

My previous 'Oshi-katsu' (fan activity) was...

One day, footage from an anime convention held in Bangkok, Thailand, appeared on my feed. There, young people dressed in cosplay of their favorite characters were gathered, holding up fans written in Japanese that said 'Oshi shika katan' (My favorite is the best).
On stage, applause was directed at life-sized cutouts of VTubers, and the merchandise stands were lined with T-shirts printed with 'mysterious kanji.' Many of them do not speak Japanese, but the term 'Oshi-katsu' had permeated their culture like a universal language.

Yes, 'Oshi' is an experience that transcends language barriers.
In the past, cultural export was predicated on 'localization.' It was an era where content arrived translated, dubbed, and 'adjusted' to fit the local market. But things are different now. It is accepted as an 'Oshi' even in Japanese, even with incomplete subtitles. Behind this lies the universality of emotion and the stateless nature of social media and algorithms.

The 'Oshi' is no longer just 'something Japanese.' Or perhaps, it was never 'something of a nation' to begin with.

YouTube, TikTok, Twitter (now X), and other timelines around the world are connected through 'Oshi.' Local IP (intellectual property) evokes global empathy, and enthusiasm is generated in an instant. This is what is known as the 'advantage of the platform's country of origin,' where Japanese-born characters circulate as 'emotional capital' on the structures built by GAFA.

However, what is happening there is not mere 'export.'

Globalized 'Oshi-katsu' also involves 'cultural mutation.'
Relationships described as 'toutoi' (precious) in Japan are sometimes labeled as 'toxic' overseas, and conversely, performances considered 'emo' (emotional) may be rejected in different cultural spheres.
Even so, people 'interpret' them, draw them into their own contexts, and reconstruct them into their own 'Oshi.' This flexibility is likely the resilience of the 'Oshi-katsu' culture and the source of its expansion.

Another shift to pay attention to is the 'automatic selection of Oshi by algorithms.'

Nowadays, the characters who become someone's 'Oshi' are presented by platforms before humans even discover them. AI, calculating view counts, search trends, click-through rates, and dwell time, suggests, 'You should support this character.'
The 'Oshi' appears not as an 'encounter,' but as an 'optimized result.' This is clearly a landscape different from the otaku culture of 20 years ago.

Yet, people want to believe they 'chose it themselves.'
Even if algorithms are working in the background, the moment their emotions are stirred, they believe it was 'inevitable.' Herein lies one of the illusions held by modern 'Oshi-katsu.'

Although 'Oshi-katsu' should be personal, it is structurally shared.
By spreading globally, 'my Oshi' becomes 'everyone's Oshi,' and individual emotions dissolve into collective intelligence. It is a kind of 'cloud computing of emotions,' and a process where 'what I like' is connected to the outside world.

Transcending nations, cultures, and even algorithms, the 'Oshi' traverses the world. But at that moment, who does the 'Oshi' really belong to?

An existence you once loved goes viral, becomes globally famous, and starts being discussed in languages you don't know. Sometimes, a feeling of being left behind remains. As if your 'Oshi' has gone far away, or is no longer 'yours alone.'

Even so, we continue to support them.

Because no matter how much the world changes, that moment when your heart was first struck was something that belonged to no one else.

Next time is finally the last episode. With the theme of 'The Future Painted by Oshi-katsu,' we will look ahead to what lies at the end of this endeavor, where individual emotions redesign the structure of society.

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