I'm an Otaku, and I Tried Sewing My Oshi.

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What it means to 'Oshi' (support someone)

What is 'Oshi'?

This world is overflowing with people who have an 'oshi,' even if the 'likes' themselves differ.

In other words,people might be born as otaku.

To those of you thinking, 'What is she talking about?'

This might be written with a bit of exaggeration, but I want you to think about it carefully.
It's not something you can say is wrong.

We were born from our mothers, and we are born as'Mommy otaku'.Feeding them milk, changing diapers, stopping them from crying, carrying them, and giving them piggyback rides.
That popularity mothers often enjoy when babies are in their early stages.
On the flip side, what's up with how much fathers are disliked?(Though it depends on the family)

From there, we grow up repeating'oshi-hen' (switching favorites)and'oshi-mashi' (adding favorites).

No, to those of you who are seriously dumbfounded, thinking, 'What is she talking about?'

You've said, 'When I grow up, I'm going to marry Mommy (or Daddy)!' haven't you!

You've taken your favorite stuffed animal, Plarail, or Tomica with you wherever you went, haven't you!

You've written pictures or letters to a cool boy and given them to him, or picked flowers from around the neighborhood and given them to a cute girl, haven't you!

If you are currently supporting someone, you should understand.
Nothing has changed about being an otaku, has it?

To say that one is born an otaku might be a bit of an exaggeration.
Standing, walking, talking, learning, and then ”supporting”. Perhaps it is a power that everyone cultivates as they go through life.

Supporting an oshi is different for everyone.

It seems there are many different ways to support an oshi.

Otaku who go to the venue (live concerts, public recordings, etc.).
Otaku who go to special events like handshake events, send-off events, or two-shot photo sessions.
Otaku who make their own videos or draw pictures to promote their oshi.

Well, if there are as many oshi as there are stars in the sky, then there are countless otaku. Everyone has their own way of liking someone, and everyone has their own way of supporting them.

My oshi is Nonoka Kazami from Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku.Nonokamaru.

As a broke person living in the countryside who doesn't even live on the same continent (Honshu), I seem to fall into the category called ”stay-at-home” otaku. I just listen to songs, watch YouTube, and think, 'My oshi is so cute today.' Going to the venue is a dream within a dream.

Once I started Twitter and was able to share my own 'likes,' supporting my oshi became more fun than ever before.

Alright, let's start something!

Of course, I don't have an Anywhere Door, so I can't go to the venue right now, and money doesn't fall from the sky, so I can't spend a fortune.

Supporting an oshi is different for everyone. Even writing this note is a form of supporting my oshi.

I want to walk with my oshi.

I first looked up what kind of ways there are to support an oshi.
The one that caught my attention the most was carrying goods around and taking pictures.” In short, it means taking your oshi's acrylic stand, raw photos, or keychains with you while you go for a walk in a cafe or park, or visiting MV filming locations, live venues, or places posted on Instagram (sacred sites) together.

The memory that your oshi was in that place, and the record that you stood in that place. Even if the place isn't a sacred site, there's the excitement of 'I'm out with my oshi right now.'
It makes it so easy to ”walk together” with an oshi you can only meet once a year.

And, I am a dog.
A walk with Nonokamaru and me.
A walk with Nonokamaru and a dog.
Isn't that Nonokamaru's own words...!
(If you thought this person is crazy, please read my previous note)

But however. This can't start without goods.

That's right.

That's how it was...

This is completely meaningless without merchandise. Going by myself is just a walk. It wouldn't be 'oshi-katsu' (supporting my favorite), it would just be exercise. By the way, the merchandise I have is a penlight I bought at last year's spring tour, a bag, three sets of raw photos, and

chopsticks.

I want to tell myself from a few months ago. Why did you only order the chopsticks online...

There were so many other things like member-color goods or birthday festival goods (towels)! Why didn't you buy those instead of chopsticks...
(You were the one who prioritized practicality for the sake of your family over cuteness. You should have just bought them honestly...)

If. If I were to go for a walk with this.

I would definitely look like a weirdo.

Walking around with chopsticks and tweeting, 'I'm at the park! Nonokamaru!!'
The kids who don't know me would surely stare, and their mothers would definitely pull them away, saying, 'Don't look.'
Even if it were a fellow otaku, they'd probably be a bit put off.

Alright, I'll buy more.
There was a restock recently, wasn't there... no, there wasn't.
Out of stock and outside the ordering period. I thought, 'Oh well, I'll check Mercari!' but even if it's not impossible to buy, it's expensive. As a student, even a few thousand yen is a blow.

In that case.

Couldn't I just make one??

That's it!
I remember there were plushies in the Akita Branch School (a concert held in Akita every year) merchandise. I wonder if I could make one of those. I have the sewing kit I used in middle school, so maybe I can do it? (Though it probably won't be that easy.) I can probably get the materials at a 100-yen shop.

I'm writing this like 'Actually, I'm super handy!' but I am absolutely not that kind of person. I'm just way too impulsive.

I'm not good at sewing, and I haven't touched a needle since I graduated middle school. The handle of the tote bag I made in class looked a bit gross because I backstitched too much.

Even though I can't do it at all, I decided on a whim to make a plushie of my favorite idol, commonly known as 'Oshi-nui.' I didn't know at the time that I was about to enter a living hell.

Making a plushie of my favorite idol

Having said that, I have absolutely no experience making one. In fact, I've never even made a stuffed animal before. My greatest masterpiece to date is a plain apron I made in middle school (which was just following the instructions).

Drawing my favorite idol

First, preparation for making it.

To make it, I can't move forward without first thinking about what it will look like when finished. This is the rough design draft I drew up.

The outfit is based on the one from the "Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku New Style Daigakugeikai ~run in our ebichu family~" held in December 2022. Yes, this was the hardest part.

Even looking at the photos in the report by the esteemed Natalie, there aren't many full-body shots (they kindly provide great close-ups of the upper body, which I'm grateful for when just looking), and you rarely see the back. In the end, although I drew it as a design here, I changed it little by little while making it.

For the back, which I couldn't see, I repeatedly slowed down and paused the live footage of "Te wo Tsunagou" that I think was taken during a fan club event, and made it while straining my eyes.

As for the face, well. I can't do any better than this. Since I can't draw cute pictures, I researched and researched, and somehow managed to get this. My best effort. My own version of cute.
Even if it doesn't look exactly like them, I think I've managed to capture their features somewhat, so please forgive me.

Plushie savings fund

Since I basically used materials sleeping at my parents' house and my school sewing kit, the material costs (in yen) are

• Costume fabric (white) 100

• Felt for hair x2 200

• Embroidery thread 100

• Ribbon (costume color part) 200

• Fabric for skin 650

• Reinforcement fusible interfacing 100

for a total of 1350 yen (since I'm starting from zero, it's surprisingly expensive). It's still much cheaper than buying merchandise and paying for shipping, so it's okay.
I couldn't find the right fabric for the skin at the 100-yen shop, and I thought a fabric that stretches more than felt would be better, so I bought it separately online.

Design and materials. No sewing machine. Everything is hand-sewn.
This isn't just making a plushie, it's making a "Nonokamaru" plushie. I build the body, dress it, and stuff it with cotton. If I fail, my favorite idol's body will be distorted and head toward extinction. Human transmutation. A sense of tension as if I am entrusted with a human life.

The time has finally come to hold a needle and thread for the first time in two years.

Sewing my favorite idol

I'll say it one more time, I am not at all dexterous.

And I have no knowledge.
This time, I'm using black felt to make the hair and shoes. I only knew that "it's used for some kind of sewing." It's completely different from regular fabric. It's hard. Too hard. I should have just bought regular fabric.
(Since I'm using it in combination with regular fabric, I ended up having a lot of trouble...)

Making a plushie, something I've never seen or done before. My only source of information is YouTube. While watching the videos, I go from cutting the fabric to embroidery, and connecting the pieces of fabric together.

I thought I could basically get by with a running stitch, but of course, that's not how it works. Apparently, if you use a running stitch for everything, the cotton will pop out from between the fabrics or they will tear.

Usually, I would just do it half-heartedly, thinking, "Well, as long as it lasts a little while, it's fine," but I can't do that here.

This is my favorite idol, Nonokamaru.

I'll say it again because it's important.

This is a plushie of Waka Kazami.

Thinking that helped me do my best.
For those of you wondering how that could possibly motivate me, think of it as the same youthful effect as when you can do your best at sports day because your crush made you a headband.
That's basically where an otaku's energy comes from.

It would be nice if I could just draw the face with a pen, but embroidery pens were expensive.
I gave up and tried embroidery for the first time using embroidery thread. It's a task that requires patience and concentration. I pass the thread according to the design I drew, sewing so it doesn't go over the lines or bend strangely.
Most of the eyes are black, so I have to make the thread thick. And the way of sewing is a little different too.

A face that isn't even that big. Even so, it took two full days to embroider.
Why didn't they teach us embroidery in middle school...

The costume.
This was difficult not so much because of the sewing, but because of how to represent it.
If you look at the costume the person actually wears, you'll see that the fabric for these colored parts is hard to find. Plus, it's expensive! I couldn't just go out and buy it.

So, I used ribbons as a substitute.
I picked up some tiny ribbons from the craft section and just kept sticking them on. I checked the structure of the costume over and over to make it as close as possible. Since there wasn't much color variety, I layered two different colored ribbons together to change how the color looked.

This was incredibly detailed work. My hands got sticky with craft glue, and I had to be careful not to let the small pieces of fabric shift.
The costume alone took over three days. It was mind-numbing work.

That's when I realized.

When I didn't want to think about anything anymore, I realized something.

What I'm doing here is no different from what Ebichu does.

I'm making a 10cm plushie, but the real person is a middle schooler over 160cm tall. They perform live at Pacifico Yokohama and Makuhari Messe, and when they hold free concerts, over 1,000 people show up.

They design, cut fabric, and sew costumes while considering things like ease of movement, cuteness, weight, and safety.
They do makeup and hair to make them look cute, and send the members out.
They go through repeated lessons, always smiling, and dance on stage.

So many people are connected to create that stage.
I'm about to give up over a mere 10cm plushie, so isn't Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku, who makes thousands of family members smile on a scale billions of times larger than this, just amazing?
Aren't the Ebichu members and their staff just incredible?

I was about to reach a state of nothingness, but I just ended up crying.
Supporting someone, being supported... I decided to support them with all my heart.

While pricking my fingers lightly with the needle a few times. While not caring about such things.
Stuffing with cotton, sewing, gluing...

Done.

I wonder how many days it took...
My study desk and the floor beneath it were scattered with thread and fabric scraps, and my mother got mad at me.
For a first attempt, isn't this a pretty good job?
(I do regret that the hair ended up a bit small and looks like a helmet)

Anyway, I finished it.
I actually finished it. Someone like me. Someone as clumsy as me. I really finished it.

I suppose it's better to just buy merchandise. The quality would be much cuter, and above all, buying it supports Ebichu.

Even so. I'm glad I made it.

There are as many ways to support an oshi as there are people. My allowance is small, so I'm a bit stingy, but I'll do what I can while enjoying it to the fullest!
This is my own way of supporting, and it's the most I can do to "support" right now.

#Nonokamaru'sDogWalk
I decided to update Twitter with this hashtag.

Nonoka Kazami's birthday live is called "Nonokamaru 'and' a Dog Walk."

Well, since I'm the dog, it's just a dog walk.
(This is the second time I've mentioned it, but if you think this person is crazy, please read my previous note.)

I put it in my bag and go out. It makes me feel a little bit better.

Going for walks, going shopping.
Secretly taking it along on a trip with a friend (so, effectively, there are three of us).

I think I'll write about it on Note again. I also went on a pilgrimage to the sacred sites.

Today, as always, I walk with my "oshi."
They're probably rehearsing for the spring tour... I have to do my best too.

Why don't you all try enjoying your own oshi activities too?

(The top image was borrowed from Natalie.)

Bonus

Here is the YouTube video I used as a reference.

My savior, Takute.
I think you'll understand if you watch it. This person is pretty wild. Even though their sewing skills and clarity of explanation are top-notch, for some reason, just watching them makes me laugh. Even now that I've finished making it, I sometimes rewatch the video seeking Takute's humor.

By the way, Takute is a middle school girl sewing idol (that's the premise). Since I usually watch Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku, I accepted it without any resistance. This is probably a sense of familiarity I shouldn't be feeling.

Thanks to that, the sewing I was bad at became fun before I knew it, and I managed to sew it without giving up and without any major injuries.
Thank you! Takute!

Just an otaku, Shimamaru