Ako Hebikari 

I had decided to dedicate my entire life to him.

Up until then, Ako thought that nothing good had ever happened in her life. But y’know, it didn’t really seem like that was the case. That kinda mindset could change because of the smallest things, Ako got it then. He made her realize that.

It was the concert hall for the idol group “Frog Prince.” Today, Ako was once again at the very front of the stage at the dimly lit live house. Amidst the echoing cheers, a green light slowly faded into view. That’s right, it was almost time. His part was coming up soon. My heart was already fluttering like crazy even though it hadn't even started yet. My body started feeling lighter, as if I were in the dream world. The volume of the background music in the venue suddenly dropped. It’s coming. It’s coming. It’s coming!

“Three, two, one…”

The sweet, seductive tone speaking the countdown was Ako’s favorite voice. The number one voice I wanted to hear whispered in my ear while we were in bed someday!

“Iiiit’s showtime!”

Him and his unit-mates leapt in, carrying digital signage displaying fireworks.

Tsubaki-kun, the handsome, cocky guy whose red hair streaks were his charm point. Fuji-kun, the cool, handsome guy whose purple hair was so dark it was almost endlessly black. And then Ako’s oshi—Ren-kun, whose lovely green hair was as bright as a grassy meadow! Uuuu, no matter how long I stared, he didn't stop being so easy on the eyes…!

—My dreamy time came to an end in the blink of an eye.

But Ako was reveling in the dazzling sparkle of her oshi, the feeling showering over her body and energizing her enough to burst. Aah, was it okay to feel this happy? Was it not? It was okay!

Next up was the meet-and-greet. I didn’t have much in my budget this time so we could only talk for two minutes, but I’d make sure I would convey my heart pounding, sparkling passion completely!

The fan event started, but the line to meet Ren-kun, which is usually the longest…seemed practically empty? I regretted not being able to pay for extra laps, but I guess it was just one of those days, wasn’t it. Aaaagh…

Ako’s turn came very quickly. I couldn’t help but involuntarily grin and laugh like “ue~hehe” every time, so I had given up on holding it back!

“Yo, Princess Ako. Thanks for coming again today.”

Wasn’t Ren-kun’s smile peeeeerfect today, too?

“What’s wrong?”

Come to think of it, I felt like his voice sounded like it was echoing today.

“Heeeey?”

I couldn’t be doing this, it was stupid! My oshi was waiting for me! About ten seconds of those precious two minutes had already passed. Ako stared straight at Ren-kun. There stood the brightly shining, heart-throb inducing Ren—

Huh?

“RIBBIT”

—Prohibit? Huh? Why was he dissing me? I nearly lost consciousness instantly. But the reality in front of my eyes was way worse than what I imagined.

“Ren…ku…”

That was totally not Ren-kun?!?!

Eyes so far apart that it was impossible to fit on a human face. A mouth too wide for a human face. And that unique, slimy feeling. So, all of this was—

“RIBBITRIBBIT”

“Gyaaaaaah?!”

I couldn’t stand the chills running up and down my body. W-w-w-what was this?!

“Excuse me, are you alright?”

The usual staff member came running over to my aid immediately. Ah, this one was normal. What a relief.

“I’m okay, I just got a little startled. You’re so different from usual, Ren-kun…”

“Really? But this is how Ren always is.”

Mm? Ah? What’s going on? Isn’t this weird?

“That’s Ren-kun over there, isn’t it?”

“RIBBIT”

I pointed at his general direction to avoid looking as much as possible, and the staff member nodded, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Readying myself, I turned back around to face what I knew as Ren-kun. If I didn’t, I felt like my heart would break—

“RIBBITRIBBITRIBBITRIBBIT”

“I’M SORRYYYYY!!”

—It was impossible after all! Ako, Ako, you’re unfit to call Ren your oshi! It was so painful I felt incapable of even crying. All I could focus on was the current moment.

“Why does it have to be a frooooog?!”

Come encounter me,
When things go back in order,
Ren, my frog oshi.

—A heartfelt haiku by Ako Hebikari.

Ako Hebikari, 16 years old. Ako had been living a fulfilling life, but recently she had encountered a problem. That being—her oshi had turned into a frog. Sure, their unit name was “Frog Prince,” so maybe that was their end goal, but…no no, that definitely wasn’t it.

How cruel it all was. She, who was about to dedicate her entire life to him…her beloved Ren-kun…had become something inhuman, and only cried out “RIBBIT”...

“...Even being calm about it is ANNOYING me!”

Ako was furious. She was malding so hard that she could feel steam coming out of her ears. By the way, I had only ever seen that word on the internet, so I didn’t totally get what it meant. I was just going with it. On impulse.

“Uh oh, I’m getting all mentally ill…”

Well, it was kinda embarrassing to say it about myself, but my mental instability wasn’t anything new, y’know. This kinda thing had all happened before. The problem at the moment was what had caused this situation.

“What’s wroooong, Ren-kuuuun…”

I picked up my cheki photo album and flipped through the pages. What was held inside were the memories of Ako and Ren-kun’s love. I was embarrassed at first, so I used to try to avoid showing my face too much. But Ren-kun held Ako dear… And because of that, the distance between them only grew closer. Her most recent cheki showed them kissing on the cheek through a sheet of plastic film. Wasn’t one of the best things about underground idols the way you could get that much physical contact?

…Ah, no, that wasn’t it. That cheki was taken just last week. The person next to Ako was Ren-kun. Yes, it was Ren-kun. Surely, it was Ren-kun! And yet—

“THEY ALL LOOK LIKE FROOOOOGS!”

It was so over.

No, it wasn’t over yet. Wasn’t this a seriously fucked up situation? Wasn’t I heading toward delusion at full speed?

“...Hm?”

Then, she heard a notification ringing. Her phone said a new FipTop vid had been posted. FipTop was a godly app where you could watch short-form videos of the cool, cute Ren-kun. Normally I’d have been grateful for the content drop from my oshi, but…

“Aaaaaaa…”

I started up FipTop, and let out a senseless groan. I only followed Ren-kun, so I didn’t bother looking at the actual contents of the notifications. But before she proceeded, Ako closed her eyes.

“...Uu.”

It was scary. It was super scary. I wished what happened yesterday was just a dream. That’s all Ako wanted…

I frantically prayed, and with trepidation, peered at the screen with my eyes half closed.

“RIBBIT!”

“Gyaah?!”

Was👏that👏the👏sound👏of👏a👏frog?

I👏could👏hear👏that👏it👏was!

“Is this being streamed everywhere in the world…?”

I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it. But when Ren-kun sang and danced, he was clearly a frog.

A frog.

I didn’t care anymore. Careless, apathetic sort of feelings were about to overflow and spill out from within me.

“Wh…what?”

But then I noticed something terrible. The comments…weren’t they too normal?

Looking cute today, too♪ Your smile is shining~☆

It was all written normally or whatever. Could that potentially mean—

“IT’S JUST MEEEEEE?!”

Why did it have to turn out like thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis?!

Ako Hebikari visited a psychiatrist for the first time. The result—normal. Totally normal.

“WHAT THE HEEEELL! ARE YOU SOOOO FOR REAL?!”

There was nothing I could do about it. I got some medicine, but whether I took it or not didn’t matter, Ren-kun would still be a frog. In order for Ako to feel like Ako, Ako needed Ren-kun!

I could feel my heart’s blood vessels burst as I screamed from the innermost parts of my soul. I felt like I came up with a line you’d hear in some sorta novel.

“Alllllright, guess I got no choice. Nothin’ I can do about it.”

Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. 

I used a beautifying filter over my heart each time I said it. It was soooooo incredible, normal selfies could never beat it. Surely—no, I was totally sure that I was fine.

“Loop playback!”

It was a video from a meet and greet some time ago, where I whispered his name at him. That should definitely show him sweetly calling out Ako’s name. It’d be impossible to not hear his voice only calling me—because Ako was Ren-kun’s gachikoi TO (Top Otaku)!!

“RIBBIT”

Ren-kun.

“RibBIT”

Ren-kun!

“Ribbit”

Ren-kun!!

“Ako…ribbit…”

I…heard it?

“Ako…chabbit…”

I heard it!

“Ako-chan!”

I heard it!!

“Ren-kun… Ren-kun…”

I hadn’t heard Ren-kun’s voice in so long that my tears started to flow. It was like a gaping hole in me started to fill back up. It felt kind of warm…

“AkRIBBIT… RIBBIT…”

Slowly, his voice reverted back to that of a frog’s. But, I got it then. Ren-kun was…definitely Ren-kun. I didn’t know what caused that. It must have been a curse—

No, these were trials and tribulations to put the TO Ako to the test! If that were the case, I’d overcome them! No matter how he looked, Ren-kun was still Ren-kun. ‘Cause I loved Ren-kun so much, duh!

“Ren-kun…Ako promises you.”

Through my eyes blurred with tears, I saw the depiction of a frog. But Ako wouldn't run away anymore. She wouldn’t even flinch!

“Ren-kun…Ako will get you back!”

I impulsively secured tickets for this weekend’s fan event. Why did they never have any free seats planned when I was dead broke?

My world revolved around Ren-kun, but the general world didn’t revolve around anyone in particular. I wasted five weekdays at school and my part-time job, then I completely erased those memories. I didn’t need anything other than the days I could be with Ren-kun. They say that humans forget the memories they don’t need first, and Ako thought that method’s suprarational. Ah, was I using “suprarational” right? Well, it was probably fine.

Anyways, it was Saturday, the day I could meet Ren-kun. I was dressed perfectly cute as always. I wanted my favorite oshi to see Ako as her cutest self.

“Please wait for me, Ren-kun.”

As Ako walked, people moved out of the way. The fans all understood. The front row waaaas: Ako’s usual reserved spot! Well, I actually just got a slightly more expensive priority ticket today.

I waited for a while. The live started with everything the same as usual. Even with full concentration, his appearance was still that of a frog’s, and his voice was still just “RIBBIT RIBBIT.” Ako would choose to erase her memories of all that, so don’t worry about it, Ren-kun☆

“We will now begin forming lines for the meet and greeeet!”
The venue started to buzz with excitement after the staff member spoke. As the line formed more loosely and slowly than usual, Ako heard something she couldn’t possibly mistake.

“I must be really tired today… I could’ve sworn I saw something like a frog singing…”

“Me too… I kept hearing something like ‘RIBBIT RIBBIT’ and I couldn’t focus at all…”

Huh? It was…contagious? It wasn't just Ako. It wasn’t just Ako…! Everyone was suffering…from their oshi undergoing frog-ification!

“Umm…”

Then, it was time to get some intel. The two people also dealing with the frog-ification were clearly full-fledged working members of society, or something like that, and appeared to be in the same generation as me. Ako spoke to the two of them.

“Excuse me, but does my oshi look like a frog to you?”

I asked the question straightforwardly. The two of them exchanged surprised faces at each other over and over.

“Oh, you too? Yeah, he does. Since he’s in Frog Prince and they’ve done a ton of projects with the theme, we figured it might be something like that… But how should I put it… It’s a little different this time.”

There it was! The same phenomena! Ako wasn't the only one! It wasn’t just Ako’s delusions!

“Right, so true! Also, do those three over there look okay too?”

I felt a little guilty over getting carried away. But I had finally found some likeminded people, so I’d hope you’d let it slide, Ren-kun.

“Fuji-kun looks like a purple frog…”

“Tsubaki-kun turned into a red frog, too…”

They looked totally shocked… Ako wondered if she made this kind of face, too.

Oh? Wait a sec, wait a sec?

“Ako, Ren-kun looks like a green frog to you.”

“Ah, does that mean—”

The three of us miraculously didn’t share oshis! In the blink of an eye, we started to get so much closer.

The talk we had there was somewhat relevant. Apparently, there was a rumor circulating among fans lately. That rumor being—the “Real FroPri Project.”

Two years of apprenticeship, one year since debut. Frog Prince had started their activities for a little over three years at that point. Sooner or later, Ako became a fan during her third year of junior high school, during exam season.

The following happened about a year and a half ago.

There was a point in time where I couldn’t imagine a future for myself and thought it would be better if I had just disappeared.

I found idols performing a free live at an Adoari Camera’s event space. They were named “Frog Prince.” It was how I first met Ren-kun. The song they performed back then resonated with me like crazy.

“I’ll always be with you, singing and delivering my songs to you, forever, even in your dreams”

That song, with lyrics that weren’t even directed at me, saved me.

I found salvation.

The empty box was jam-packed with a ton of twinkling light, and the world started to glimmer.

I impulsively bought a CD that came with a special benefit ticket, and was able to take my first ever two-shot cheki. That first memorial photo showed Ako stiff as a board, and Ren-kun smiling with a slightly embarrassed expression on his face. From that point on, Ako decided to live with Ren-kun by her side.

I had been acquiring past recorded lives and goods through flea market apps, and caved-in my saved New Year’s money to attend as many small and free events as I could. All of it for the sake of meeting Ren-kun. I couldn’t lie and say that I didn’t like any part of being a top otaku. But more than anything, he was the most precious thing to me.

I didn’t have too many previous videos that I needed to get my hands on, since two out of the five were from anniversary events. It always ended with the same sorta performance—one where they had to get the princess back to her castle before the bell tolls three times. But, this bell was also a symbol that we’d meet again. Every time they’d hold an anniversary live, they’d ring a huge bell. A lovely way to promise to meet again☆

That reminded me, fans sometimes had a suspicion. They’d say, “why is this unit themed around frogs?” Actually, there was an official explanation for it. I definitely remembered, they answered my totally genuine question to ease my mind after their debut live, during the talk segment…

“Why ‘Frog Prince’?”

They all gave me their responses.

“The best time is now! I’ll keep singing all year round!” Tsubaki-kun said in high spirits.

“I’m searching for a princess who will break the curse one day.” Ren-kun had the perfect smile at the end of him saying that. I had mentally preserved it for eternity♪

...No, it wasn’t like that.

I was sharing personal stories like that at a family restaurant. The fan event went smoothly and briefly, ending with a single cheki. The day’s main purpose was for info exchange, so even if I was reluctant to leave, I immediately exited the venue. I was worried that I might find doubles of the same oshi as me, so I’d avoided interacting with fellow princesses (oh, that’s our fan name by the way!) until then in fear of conflict. But it turned out to be more exciting than I had expected. I wondered if it was also a blessing from the frog. Nah, I didn’t wanna thank the frog right now.

As Ako and the others chatted loudly, a loud “thud” crashed against the window.

“Huh?”

What was there was Ren-kun’s face— nah, it was just a frog.

“Ahaha, you surprised meeee!”

Incidentally, I had a thought. If Ren-kun was truly the frog he was then, we could go anywhere together.

By the way, I totally forgot to mention the most important part of my story. That’s right—the Real FroPri Project. It was apparently a joke project from the early noob days, where they would pretend they had turned into life-sized frog princes. But eventually, that made rumors of an incognito, masked live performance happening circulate. Three unknown people in frog mascot heads, headed out into the city.

“Whether you wanna hear it or not, it’s definitely unrelated.”

Thinking about it calmly, it wasn’t even a matter of believability. It was totally impossible. I mean, even to begin with, they didn’t need to wear frog mascot heads during lives or events, and it was impossible to look like a frog. More importantly, what I thought was more relevant to the situation was—

“Are we all…gachikoi…?”

That’s what I had found out during our girls’ night out the other day. Huh? Ako’s a gachikoi? Hee hee, woooow~♪

The more of a gachikoi someone became, the less they saw their oshi as a real person. Wait. So, that meant…

“So it’s a curse that repels gachikooooi?!”

I didn’t believe it, it had to be a lie… The more I fell in love with my tender and kind Ren-kun, the more he started to look like a frog… Or something like that?

“No, no, that’s surely…not it. Wasn’t it?”

It was impossible for a phenomenon to make something look like a frog in the first place. If it made even a little bit of sense, it felt more okay. The more I thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

“Huh, this feels like some pretty vital info.”

Insane. That was definitely it. I threw Ako’s theory into the group chat I created with the two fans the other day.

“Seriously?! This…might be it!”

“Is that even possible…”

Well, that reaction was kinda expected. To break the curse, Ako and co. will surely have to change their ways.

“But to be so for real, frogs are a turn-off, aren't they?”

“If you’re still into them at that point, you’re totally delulu.”

Even though we got so fired up talking about our oshis, cruel reality loomed over me. What did it mean to be “delulu?” Did it mean that being a gachikoi was weird? But Ren-kun was Ren-kun… The love I kept in my heart was—

“...?!”

A sharp throb shot through me. It hurt. It was heavy. It was painful.

“I can’t…LOOOOOOOOSE!!”

I gripped my smartphone tightly, trying to squeeze the pain away until it died. Ako’s gachikoi love was delulu. Him being a human or frog was irrelevant, Ren-kun was Ren-kun, and he was still the Ren-kun Ako wanted by her side! I’m not gonna be defeated by this kinda harassment. I’m not gonna lose! Ako would make sure of it at the next live!

I frantically moved my arms and applied for the next event. I felt a little sense of pride.

And so, the day of the usual live arrived. It was the last fan event for June. As a part of the June bride event, it was a special promotion where you could get a kiss-on-the-lips cheki taken for every ten CDs you bought.

“Ako…will not run away.”

With a fighting spirit in her chest that felt like she was facing up against a massive storm, Ako arrived in front of the event venue.

The wind was blowing. The indication of a raging tempest.

“So sorry to have kept you waiting for so long, Ren-kun…”

It had been two weeks since I last saw Ren-kun. Incidentally, the moment Ako pointed out that those two were gachikoi as well, they suddenly grew cold and started to become box-push type fans. Apparently as box-pushers, every member became recognizable, and had normal faces and voices.

“Ako-chan, come oooon. Why don’t you stop being a gachikoi for just one member and just enjoy pushing the whole group from now on?”

Ako was furious when she heard that. Because, because—

“That’s just ridiculous…”

If Frog Prince was truly cursed, wouldn’t it be just awful? Wouldn’t it be so painful? Wouldn’t it be lonely if you’ve never had someone that truly loved you? Wouldn’t it be mentally damaging?

“That’s why Ako won’t give up her gachikoi-ism…she refuses to give up!”

I'm saying it twice because it's important! I'm making a declaration of my resolve! I mumbled that to myself wearing my mask, and enjoyed the view from the very back row for the first time in a while. Was this what they called a “backstage girlfriend?”

“I’ll be with you forever~♪”

“RIBBIT RIBBIT~”

“Even if it never reaches you♪”

Once I got used to it, the sound of frogs didn’t really seem out of place anymore. How should I put it…it was like I could sense a definite harmony in the imbalance. Or something like that.

“...?!”

Did that mean Ako had achieved total victory?!

If you were truly devoted to loving your oshi, you would love them no matter what form they took… That was what it was all about, right?

“~~♪”

I hummed along to the sound of Ren-kun’s singing. It was a harmony that only Ako and Ren-kun could create together out of the whole venue. Basically, I had Ren-kun all to myself.

Somehow…Ako felt really happy?

“RIBBITRIBBIT”

I think he just said “yo, Princess Ako.”

“RIBBITRIBBITRIBBITRIBBITCROAKCROAKCROAK”

He seemed a little embarrassed…I think. Ren-kun most likely said something like, “kissing is a little embarrassing, y’know,” or at least that was what my intuition said.

“RIBBITRIBBITRIBBITRIBBITCROAKCROAKCROAK”

That wasn’t identical to the last one, right? Hold on, his facial expression was different… Or well, I think his voice was an octave lower from the start. It could be him saying “Ako might be the princess who could break the curse.”

“Uhuhuhu…”

Actually, recalling from back then, the flow of the conversation was going the same as the time I said “IIII caaaan heaaaar yoooou” at him. There was no mistake. My longing heart was whispering that.

“RIBBIT?”

Uh oh. I had been giggling uncontrollably from the adrenaline rush. Projecting my delusions when I didn’t understand the words being said was super useful.

And finally, the time came. Ren-kun’s green frog face was right there—merely separated by the sultry 0.3 millimeter thick plastic sheet between them. That somewhat slimy feeling it looked like it had was really like a frog’s… But no, it was still Ren-kun! R-E-N-K-U-N!

At that moment, it was my own inner demons to face. From then on, Ako would have a dream that she would never wake up from. Ako and the ferocious fight to the death with the curse!

“RIBBIT— Ako, chan…”

It was all becoming clearer. Yes, if one is faithful, they shall be saved. I read that in one of my textbooks, I think!

“Ren-kun… Ako’s coming.”

“Thank you for coming.”

Somehow, it was all so lovely. It didn’t matter if Ren-kun was a frog or not anymore. The person in front of Ako was Ako’s dearest beloved.

“Mm…”

I could hear the background music from some soap opera playing in my head. I knew it was me just hearing things, but my excitement kept building up. Everything must have all been a punishment game—the episodes necessary for a couple to be brought together by their true feelings.

“A…ko…”

There. Those cute, big, round eyes waited for Ako.

Ako had her first kiss through a plastic sheet. It left a cool sensation on her skin.

“Bleeeeeegh!”

My first kiss tasted of PVC and stomach acid.

——

————

On that day, the “Ako” that caused a shocking incident was ordered to be banned from the premises. The oshikatsu activities that I had put my entire life into were forcibly brought to an end. I didn’t remember a single thing after that.

Before I knew it, half a year had passed.

Having lost my purpose in life, “I” wandered around aimlessly, and made it a habit to peek into Adoari Camera’s event space every week. I had the lingering hope that I might experience the thrilling, heart-pounding feeling I had when I first met Ren-kun once more.

But such an encounter never happened again.

Having faced rejection, Ako Hebikari realized that “she” was nothing more than a run-of-the-mill high schooler. She could never go back to being “Ako,” the girl who shone brightly and supported her oshi with everything she had.

“Hey you, the cute girl over there.”

Oh, a man called out to me. Lately, I had been the kinda girl who wore glasses and a neat uniform, like a class president. The kind that looked like they’d pretend to completely ignore someone, and just respond with “uh-huh” and act all coldly when spoken to.

But…I turned around. Because that was a voice I could never forget.

“A…Are you talking to…me?”

“Yeah, I’m talking to you. I’m gonna be doing a mini-live and then sell CDs here later, you wanna come?”

With a smooth movement, a flyer was placed in my hand. But it wasn’t forceful—it was somehow gentle. I shifted my gaze from my hands and looked at his face.

“Ah…”

No way… You’re totally joking, right?

“The curse…has broken…”

He laughed with his mouth wide open like a frog’s over the dumbfounded words that spilled out of me.

“Yeah, FrogPri disbanded. We’re starting over as a different unit. So, can I selfishly ask for you to support us again, Ako-chan?”

Huh…that quickly? No, I didn’t care about what happened to FroPri at that moment. I wasn’t the same Ako that I was back then.

“How did you remember…?”

“There’s no way that I could forget you. We took so many cheki photos together. Do I seem like a heartless person to you, Ako-chan?”

Ren-kun laughed with an embarrassed look on his face.

Even though I looked different, my oshi recognized me. My oshi was so precious that I OD’ed on it, and my heart felt like it was gonna implode. I had to tell him how I felt then and there!

“L-L-L…!”

“L… What?”

“Like, of course I will! After all I…I’m Ako!”

Because I loved Ren-kun.

I wanted to be his biggest fan and support the person I loved the most in the world.

Ako’s story contains a plethora of references in Japanese idol, or wotaku/wota, culture. Many terms and references were kept intact to preserve their meanings and act as “cultural fanservice” for English-speaking readers who consider themselves idol otaku.

These translator’s notes are especially long because the translator themselves is a big wotaku and oshikatsu-er. Please accept my wealth of knowledge and wotagei wisely.

STORY-SPECIFIC

• Although the term is not mentioned in-verbatim in the story, Ako’s design is that of a “ryousangata wota” (量産型ヲタク, lit. mass-produced wota). These fans dress in the Girly-Kei and Jirai-Kei J-fashion styles as they go to fan events, and often partake in oshikatsu to match their outfits to their oshi’s colors and themes. There tends to be so many people that engage in this behavior and dress similarly that they look similar in groups and when they flood venues, giving this archetype of fans the nickname of “mass-produced.”

• Also, Ako’s transformed art “Ren-kun is the Absolute Best!”, originally uses the phrase “--しか勝たん！” (--shika katan!). This is a wota term in which you slot in your oshi’s name to essentially say “my oshi is the absolute best in the whole world, no objections accepted!”.

• The members of Frog Prince are all named after specific flowers:

  • Ren-kun (蓮くん) is named using the kanji for the lotus flower.

  • Fuji-kun (藤くん) is named using the kanji for the Japanese wisteria flower.

  • Tsubaki-kun (椿くん) is named using the kanji for the Japanese camellia flower.

You will notice that each character depicted fits a specific archetype. Japanese idol groups (especially ani-idols) tend to consist of typical tropes and color iconography, along with specific member hierarchy. No matter how big a group may be, there will always be a “main” unit, or sub-unit, with three members of the following colors:

Red/pink are the “center” of an idol unit, and often have a confident or wholesome personality. Blue/purple are the cool, and sometimes mysterious members, and are oftentimes the vocal powerhouse. Yellow/green are the wildcard members, known for being genki or otherwise are an outlier—anything can go with this color.

• The scene of Ren’s initial transformation contained an untranslatable Japanese pun. “Gero” (ゲロ) is both the sound a frog makes in Japanese, and the word “vomit”. Ako initially confuses the frog sound as Ren calling her sickening. It’s hard to find rhyming words that can convey the same meaning, but I chose to rhyme “ribbit” with “prohibit,” as to say “your presence is prohibited.”

• Ako uses the term “Gekioko punpun maru” (激おこぷんぷん丸) once to describe her anger, which is slang that had popular use in the Gyaru/Gal subculture. In 2013, a Twitter user coined the “six levels of Gal anger” which contained a list of ways to express levels of anger with a few words. "Geki oko" is a Gyaru term meaning "very angry." "Punpun" is an onomatopoeia of expressing anger, such as steam coming off of one's head. "Maru" is a suffix for formatting terms to classical names. [wiki]

  • …This was localized to “malding,” which is slang from around the same era meaning “getting so mad you become bald,” from stress and/or hair-pulling. [wiki]

• “FipTop” (フィップトップ) is a parody name for TikTok.

• “Alllllright, guess I got no choice. Nothin’ I can do about it.” is a localization choice from “よーし、もうしゃーないかー。しゃーないよね” in which Ako uses Kansai dialect rather than standard dialect. Much of the time English translations of this dialect use US-American southern accents upon localizing, so that’s what I chose to do here.

• “Real FroPri Project” (originally リアルカエプリプロジェクト, Riaru KaePuri Purojekuto) is a reference to the multimedia male idol project Uta no Prince-sama, or UtaPri for short.

  • In addition, the concept may be a reference to Pierre from THE iDOLM@STER SideM, a frog prince themed character that sometimes dons a frog prince mascot suit. Also of note, Pierre has a card in the SideM game in which he has green hair the same as Ren.

• “Adoari Camera” is a parody of Yodobashi or Bic Camera stores in Japan. They’re mega-stores with floors upon floors of mainly electronics, but some locations also have other stores within, restaurants, collaboration cafes, and you guessed it—underground idol live venues and events.

• “Delulu” is a localization choice from “ホンモノ” (honmono). This word is used as slang to describe “genuinely mentally ill” people online. The usage intent is to distinguish the average internet troll’s ramblings from someone “authentic,” and is often used to harass other people with. It’s discriminatory in the way of ableist slurs. The other possible localization choices aren’t exactly great…

• “OD’ed” is a shortened form of “overdose,” which was taken from “過剰摂取.” In wota and general fan terms, it means an excessive amount of something “too good.” It’s a complimentary term.

WOTA TERMINOLOGY & DEEPER EXPLANATIONS

1a) Underground idols/groups, or “chika idols” (地下) are idols that have a small audience that perform in small venues, and are often not assigned to any agency or label. They’re often young, inexperienced, and doing it just for fun and the love of idols. Chika idol groups often have very devout fans that follow them extensively for several reasons; some being because they love the group and its members, some being to financially aid their activities, and some being for the camaraderie of being with other likeminded otaku.

1b) The opposite term is above-ground idols/groups, or “chijo idols” (地上), who are signed to major labels or are otherwise mainstream.

2a) “Oshi” (推し) is a term that simply means “favorite,” but the word comes with an immense culture and long history. With the popularization of “oshikatsu” (推し活, “daily life with my fave”) culture, this term is likely familiar with the general otaku audience, but it was born from wota culture.

Generally, someone calling an idol their “oshi” means “their absolute favorite,” and it comes with the connotation of deep fondness, love, and adoration for said idol—and the majority of the time, a sense of “commitment,” though it’s not intended to be romantic. An important part of the term is that the oshi must be from a group or cast of characters of some kind, and that someone can only have one “true” oshi out of the cast. (More than that falls into Daredemo Daisuki, which is detailed below.)

The term has been watered down due to the influx of people new to wota culture, but the general principles remain in place amongst dedicated otaku.

2b) “Oshimen” is the name for the fans that exhibit this behavior, though this term has generally phased out of favor with the popularity of oshikatsu culture flourishing.

2c) Also tied into this is the term “TO / Top Otaku” (トップオタ), which are the subject’s most dedicated fans. They have encyclopedic knowledge of their oshi, likely boatloads of merch, go to every live (concert), and are most likely the longest lasting, first fans of their oshi.

3a) “DD / Daredemo Daisuki” (誰でも大好き) is a term and fan archetype meaning “I like the whole group/multiple members, not just one.” People using this term tend to be a specific type of fan that oshimen fans don’t associate with/get along with. They see them as flaky and unknowledgeable, and oshimen fans often use it as a diss, saying “You’re so noncommittal with your oshi, you’ll move onto the next without a care, and turn DD!”

3b) Hako-oshi (箱推し, lit. “box-push”) means “I like the whole group.” It’s similar to DD, but it means truly all members, rather than the “sometimes yes sometimes no” that the DD label has. To some, being a hako-oshi fan implies a deeper level of dedication and knowledge, compared to the perception of DD fans having surface level knowledge.

I believe in Ako’s context, they meant to use DD, but they instead chose box-push in the original Japanese. I kept it as box-push for preservation purposes.

4a) “No one shares my oshi” is localized from “推し被りナシ” (oshi kaburi nashi). This is a phenomenon that exists in both Japanese and western fanbases, and requires some explaining.

“同担拒否” (dōutan kyohi) or “same-fandom rejection” is fan behavior in which fans of a character, person, ship, etc. do not wish to encounter or interact fans of the same subject. This can be for a plethora of reasons, including indulging in the fantasy of being romantically involved with said subject. This is commonly referred to as “yumeshipping” (abbreviated as “yume”) or “self-shipping” in the west.

The English terminology for terms such as these include “doubles” and “sharing,” and they all carry generally the same intent, but the actual reasons for usage (such as for yumeshipping or platonic fan activity) depends per person.

4b) “Gachikoi” (ガチ恋) is a term combining the Japanese words gachi (serious) and koi (romantic love)---and the meaning is precisely that. Commonly used in idol and VTuber spaces as both a noun and adjective, gachikoi fans harbor genuine romantic feelings for their favorite idol that go beyond simple oshi-dom. Gachikoi are mostly fans of real idols or VTubers and generally wish to be romantically involved with their oshi in real life. Oftentimes gachikoi are known for their toxic behavior and “parasocialism,” and are almost exclusively dōutan kyohi. In VTuber spaces, the term for a “non-sharing gachikoi” is “unicorn.”

Gachikoi are different from yumeshippers in that yumes place themselves into the fictional world of their subject, whilst gachikoi take their subject out of their fictional/real world contexts and into their own personal, real lives.

5a) A “live” (ライブ) is the Japanese term for an idol concert. This term is also popular for non-idol concerts and miscellaneous stage shows.

5b) A “live house” (ライブハウス) is a very small, sub-100 person capacity concert venue similar to a bar or club in other parts of the world. Most underground idol lives are held here.

6) “Cheki” (チェキ) are instant camera photos that you take of/with your oshi at events for a fee. These operate identically to Instax brand camera photos. Sometimes the idol will write on them and further personalize them. They’re seen as highly sought after collector’s items, and their prices help sustain the group’s finances.

In recent years, franchises and corporate idol groups have capitalized upon this trend and have created pre-printed cheki for purchase, though this competes with the similar “photocard” trend.

7) “Content” of idols and oshis is generally referred to as “供給” (kyōkyū, lit. supply). This is a phrase that is borrowed from supply and demand in economics. You’re very likely to see waves of “thanks for the official supply, management!” when idol or character content drops.

8) “Goods” (グッズ) is the colloquial Japanese term for character/idol merchandise—shortened from the English term “promotional goods.”

9) “Backstage girlfriend” (後方彼女面, koho kanojomen) translates to “acting like a girlfriend from the back of the venue.” The meaning is exactly how it sounds—fans that act like they’re romantically involved with their oshi, even if they are not. They often act out their fantasies in front of other people and even their oshi themselves, causing discomfort all around. Its meaning is mostly used with a negative connotation and is used to harass others.