Your Oshi's Graduation Concert, Supporting Next-Gen Members... How to Turn a Turning Point into an Advantage

Introduction

When someone you cherish as your "oshi" announces their graduation, it is a major turning point for a fan. While you may feel like it is an end, it is also a departure toward a new future. Those feelings are complex, a mix of sadness and anticipation. In this article, I would like to discuss how to embrace the flow of "going through a graduation concert and then supporting next-gen members" as a single positive story, from the perspective of a supporter.

1. Graduation is a "Turning Point," Not an "End"

Do not view your oshi's graduation only as an "end," but see it as "the first step toward a new stage."
Graduation is a farewell, but it also creates new possibilities. It is also a time for you as a fan to re-evaluate your own style of support.
Respect your oshi's decision and send them off with feelings of "Congratulations" and "Good luck on your journey."
With this attitude alone, you can connect the weight of graduation to hope.

2. Enjoying the Graduation Concert to the Fullest

A graduation concert is a "final grand stage," but it is also a place to etch memories. That is why you should prepare to express your gratitude.
Write a letter, or organize your thoughts and put them into words on social media or note.
On the day, don't just cry; make it a time to ruminate on memories and feel a heartfelt "thank you."
If you can go to the venue, design your own way of "witnessing" it: the experience differs depending on whether you are in the front row, the middle, or the back.
Keep a record so you can look back on photos, videos, and audio later (though be mindful of photography etiquette).

3. Organizing Your Feelings and Expressing Gratitude

From the graduation announcement to the day of the concert and after it ends, your emotions will fluctuate.
You might feel confused and unable to accept it at first.
However, putting your feelings into words (letters, notes, fan art, group messages, etc.) will help you organize your heart.
Convey your "thank you" specifically.
Share how you changed because of your oshi and what moments supported you.
Let them know that your feelings will not disappear even after they graduate.

4. Tips for Supporting Next-Gen Members

Turn your attention to the members who remain in the group after your oshi graduates, and to the new members who join.
The concept of "oshi-mashi" (adding an oshi) rather than "oshi-hen" (switching your oshi): cherish your feelings for your graduated oshi while nurturing a new oshi.
To get to know new members, the following approaches are effective:
Follow their social media and streams.
Visit live shows and events (continue attending the scene even after the graduation).
Take your own notes on the members' statements and activities to re-experience their "stories."
Utilize the community: keeping your motivation for support alive by getting excited and talking with other fans.
5. Changing/Evolving Your Support Style
Use the graduation as an opportunity to renew your form of support. For example:
From venue-centered to emotional-support-centered (streams, social media, notes, etc.)
From collecting merchandise to recording mental states and memories (notebooks, diaries, scrapbooks)
From the "oshi" themselves to resonating with and supporting the culture and values they built
Take a bird's-eye view of your own "oshi-katsu" and adjust your stance so that you feel it is "fun" and "meaningful."

6. Linking It to Your Own Life

Memories with your oshi are a part of your own life.
What you learned through your oshi, and the moments you changed.
The strength, courage, and realizations you gained through supporting them.
Turn those into energy for your future self.
Look back on the memories of the graduation concert as a turning point in your own growth.
Supporting next-gen members symbolizes your own "new beginning."

Conclusion

Your oshi's graduation is certainly lonely, but it is not an "end," it is a "turning point."
What we can do as fans is not just to be sad, but to accept the new future and continue our own way of supporting.
And watching over the growth of next-gen members will also become a new joy.
May you be able to turn this turning point into a positive milestone in your life as a supporter.