How Simping Can Save Lives

追加: 2026-05-06

[00:00:00]We were supposed to appear on a radio show as guests, and Mr. A would be the fan representative, but he never came and we couldn't reach him by phone or LINE messages. You know, he isn't the type to just go missing, but he was drinking so much yesterday and he was puking. I was worried. He has a heart condition, lives alone, and has no family. Maybe he got drunk and couldn't get home or maybe maybe he really did die. So, I asked around, but nobody knew his whereabouts. All we knew was just some bits and pieces of information about him. We gathered, somehow managed to find out where he lives, but he's not at home. Went to nearby hospitals, but there was no sight of him. One of my fans started crying at that point. What do we do? We were such good friends. I don't have any other friends besides him. We were all freaking out. We had no choice but to go to the police station.

[00:00:52]The police said, "You can't file a missing person report unless you are family member or someone close to the person, but he has no family. We are the only ones who know he's missing. He might be lying dead somewhere all alone.

[00:01:04]Are you just going to let him die like this?"

[00:01:07]This sounds like something straight out of a movie, but it's real. Bunshun actually did a whole interview with the idol, Takashi Nanase. Now, if you have been following my channel for a while, you know that I have some >> [clears throat] >> strong opinions about the idol industry.

[00:01:22]This idol story is wild, but unlike many crazy stories out there, I must admit this is rather wholesome and it kind of changed my view on the whole idoling thing a bit. So, what happened?

[00:01:36]Now, I generally don't dig too much into the background information, but her bio is already pretty dramatic and it explains quite a lot. So, please bear with me. She was born in Ibaraki Prefecture in 2005, so she's now 21.

[00:01:50]She's 168 cm tall, young, beautiful, and has a stunning figure. In 2024, she started to work as a race queen and she has already amassed an impressive following during the first year. People were like, "She knows exactly what fans want and she gladly gives." Thanks to this video, my eyesight has improved.

[00:02:10]She's gorgeous, very lovely with a huge smile. That's a nice butt, beautiful butt. The best part is how she looks directly at the camera and sticks her butt out right from the start of the video. So, this video has over a million views. I don't know if it's the official channel of Tokyo Auto Salon or whatever.

[00:02:29]It probably is because Takashi herself actually commented on it, but I wouldn't be surprised YouTube decides to just one day age restrict my video, but not the original one. So, forgive me for the blur. If you want to go full man of culture or whatever, just go look it up yourself. Anyway, so what's a race queen? A race queen is a professional promotional model for motor sports event like Super GT. I guess they are similar to grid girls or booth babes, but unlike just wearing glamorous, often revealing outfits, being eye candy, race queens in Japan are often highly professional competitive roles. Their duties include taking photos with cars, attending autograph sessions, and supporting team marketing. And you should know by now, just like Korea with their baseball cheerleaders, there's young and attractive girls, so Japan sees the opportunity to idolize race queens. In Japan, race queens have developed into a specialized profession with a much higher social status. They're often considered a type of female frequently holding the identity of gravure idols while serving as stepping stones in the modeling or entertainment industry. So, you may be thinking, "Yeah, she's attractive and sexy. Well, that's common. That's why she's an idol, right?

[00:03:45]Being an idol doesn't require any qualifications, so you just need to be good-looking. She's lucky. She must be one of those girls who are good-for-nothing and take advantage of men with her physical appearance." Well, not Takahashi. She's a high achiever.

[00:04:00]Apart from being a race car idol, she's also a student at Chuo University studying law and currently working as a real estate agent. She obtained her real estate license at the age of 18, fresh out of high school. When I was 18, I was a freaking potato. I mean, I still am, but I was an even bigger potato back then. And I did a bit of Google sleuthing. Turns out it's a national qualification with over 200,000 people taking it annually. It's a pretty demanding exam with a pass rate of around 15 to 18%. And after passing the exam, you must meet the required conditions such as having practical experience and register to receive your real estate transaction specialist certificate. So, a full-time university student, a successful real estate agent, and a race queen. It's crazy. How is it even possible? You wouldn't believe it.

[00:04:50]Her life is like the plot of one of those inspirational movies. Her tragic upbringing played a huge part in it. So, both her parents were doctors. They divorced when she was four. She grew up in a single-parent household and unfortunately her relationship with her mother was abysmal. You really can't find a more stereotypical Asian mother than her. She sent her to cram school since she was in kindergarten. She would put her in pretty much house arrest and she was violent. She wanted her to get into med school and would say things like, "You should go to the University of Tsukuba of medicine. That's the only path for you." As you can imagine, Takashi Nanase grew up studying all the time and hardly remember playing after school. She desperately wanted to get away. When she was a teenager, she was already planning to leave home for Tokyo to go to the university. She secretly took on a part-time job, which was forbidden of course, and earned money to take the entrance exam for universities in Tokyo herself. She worked as an underground idol and the manager of a corn cafe. And speaking of corn cafe, I made a video about it previously. It's a fairly interesting topic and there's some really unhinged stuff going on as well. Remember to check that out if you are interested. The link is in the description. So, after she got out of her mother's grip, or so she thought, it suddenly went full horror story. She was staying with an older woman she met through online games, but during that time she was constantly harassed by her mother getting messages saying things like, "I'm going to find out where you are and I'm going to hire a private investigator," which made her very anxious. In fact, she had strangers talking and taking photos of her on the street. Although it didn't really lead to anything, she sometimes wonder if it was someone her mother had hired. On the day of her coming-of-age ceremony, she received a LINE message saying, "Don't think you'll be the only one who can be happy." So, she went to her family home in Ibaraki Prefecture and found that the nameplate had been changed to someone else's. Later, she found out that her mother had passed away. I mean, I must admit, initially I saw the news and I came in to have a laugh, but oh boy, this is intense. A tragic childhood, studying diligently and working hard to get away from her mother only to have her mother actually gone forever and her father is pretty much out of the picture as well. She's now truly alone. Except, luckily, she has seven die-hard fans known as the seven. Not sure about the situation in other countries. It seems that race car events appeal to quite a lot of middle-aged men in Japan. So, naturally lots of Takashi's fans are quite elderly. How old? 40s to 60s.

[00:07:31]There are seven in particular who are very very passionate about her. They're famously and affectionately known as Shichinin-shu, quite literally the group of seven. I call them the seven. I think it's neat. The oldest member, 68 years old. Then there are two who are 58 and three who are 57 and the youngest is 46.

[00:07:52]They've been her fans ever since she was an underground idol. They meet up quite often as a group of eight. Now, I would be lying if I said I wasn't taken aback when I first heard about it. My dirty mind was like, "Something fishy here."

[00:08:06]But they seem to be genuine good friends and at the end of the day, they are just consenting adults, right? They do whatever the hell they want as long as it's legal, of course. She said it herself, she just prefers older men.

[00:08:17]Again, she said it herself, I'm not playing psychiatrist here. It's probably related to the fact that she grew up in a single-parent household. She thinks she has a complex about not having a father in her life. She's attracted to particularly those who aren't very successful, who lack energy and self-confidence. And a lot of the people who support her are like that. Now, I must admit, I really like the sincerity, how blunt she is. She also said in the interview that apparently she's very clumsy and often loses things. So, her fans always carry a pouch with them containing feminine hygiene and makeup stuff for her just in case. She thinks she's the happiest when she's interacting with her fans. And I happened to find a post on her Twitter, a really really interesting post. She said that she spotted one of her fans who's in his 60s on the street while she was alone. She was about to come over and hello hello, but she noticed his wife or girlfriend standing beside him.

[00:09:13]So, she felt a tad lonely and just walked away. It's not romantic or anything, but she totally understands the heartbreaking feeling of that could get over issues like the bond between the idol and the fans. She's talking about the idol secretly having a boyfriend or married, that kind of stuff as opposed. So, I was like, "What?" Usually it's the opposite. The fans are attached to the idols, maybe a bit too attached. This is like how the turn table scenario, or at least the feeling, is mutual. She genuinely loves and cares about her fans and vice versa, which brings us to the meat of this video, the mysterious disappearance of one of the seven. Mr. A and Takashi were supposed to be on a radio show. Mr. A was inexplicably missing and couldn't be contacted. Takashi was very concerned about his safety. It might sound like an overreaction, but kodokushi, literally lonely death, is a pressing matter in Japan. I also did a video talking about it. A brief tangent. Basically, due to an aging population and intergenerational disconnect, many old people in Japan have no friends or family. They are often found dead alone at their homes for weeks, months, or even years before being discovered. So, this was a legitimate concern. She then went full Detective Conan, pulling the information from the remaining six with other clues. "Oh, I know his car model.

[00:10:35]I know the nearest train station to his house. I had received a gift from him through my Amazon wish list, so I know his postal code." That's how they figured out that he lived in a city in Kanagawa Prefecture. She urgently rallied the gang to launch a search mission. Then they whipped out their phones and conducted a thorough search of the city in Kanagawa Prefecture using Google Street View. And miraculously, they must have found the car or whatever and subsequently pinpointed where he lived. It's an old apartment building, very common in Japan. They talked to the landlord. "We can't get in touch with him. Please open the door for us. We aren't family. We're not even colleagues. We are just an idol and fans, but he might be in danger." And they actually managed to persuade the landlord. And when they opened the door, "Oh, no. It's thanks.

[00:11:25]Garbage piled up everywhere. Cockroaches scurrying around. A pigsty is an understatement." It scared the hell out of them. They searched, but he's nowhere to be seen. It's back to square one. On the bright side, however, they didn't find his body.

[00:11:43]A fan who was with him on the way back from the bar event yesterday suddenly contacted them saying that they parted ways in Shinjuku. So, the gang went back to Shinjuku from Kanagawa. After searching nearby hospitals with no success, Takashi Nanase and co. went to Shinjuku Police Station. Initially, the police officers refused to take the case because they were not related by blood, but under the strong insistence of the group, "Only we know he's missing and that it's a matter of life and death."

[00:12:12]Finally, the officer said, "All right, all right. One moment."

[00:12:17]Then to everybody's surprise, they found Mr. A just trudging out of the detention cell from the back of the police station.

[00:12:24]The moment they saw his face, they all cried out, "There he is!" and burst into tears. What happened? Turns out, after getting drunk at the bar event, on his way home, he got into a fight with another dude, a drunk guy. He injured the guy and it was subsequently taken to jail. What's more, it happened on his way home from her event, so he was still wearing a t-shirt with her face printed on it, a fan t-shirt. He wore it the whole time, even when they took his mugshot at the police station. And when Takashi told Mr. A about how they spent the whole day searching for him and going all the way to his apartment, Mr. A, tears streaming from his eyes, "I'm over 50 years old and I've never imagined a woman would go to such lengths for me. I can only continue to support her for the rest of my life."

[00:13:16]This incident shocked the Japanese internet. If they go that far, even to the police to track you down, you should be happy that you have such good friends. You've supported the right idol. It seems the fact that Takashi holds a real estate broker license helped getting into his apartment. Not exactly sure how, though. This is a great story that will get adapted into a movie, but don't think you'll have a chance of getting a young girlfriend if you're old. Emotional devotion doesn't imply romance.

[00:13:44]Crazy that they actually managed to convince the police officer. "Oh, so it's just a story about calling the ATM back, huh?" This is the ideal idol/fans relationship. The fact that it's a true story is amazing. In this day and age, when human connections are so thin, these seven people who can act with such deep care for each other are great. And honestly, my opinion on idling has changed a bit as well.

[00:14:10]It might be a bit of an exaggeration to say that she saved his life because he wasn't in imminent danger or whatever.

[00:14:17]He wasn't rescued or anything. However, she gave him a purpose to live. Bro has no attachment to the world. Frankly, he's just waiting to die. She's essentially providing a mental health service here by being an idol. She said, "I think I have a strong need for recognition. That's why I became an idol. I also often wonder if there's even one person who will love me forever. My father left me and I don't think my mother's love was healthy. I really just want to experience being loved by someone. In that sense, interacting with my fans is a source of motivation for me to work hard. Thanks to my fans, the wounds of the past have almost scapped over. She heals people with her smile and she, too, lives every day while being healed by her fans.

[00:15:02]Takashi also stated that although getting too close to fans might be risky, she hopes to build a unique idol-fan relationship in her own way.

[00:15:10]And I would say this really transcends the usual idol-fan business relationship. After the incident, at the next event, when Takashi was singing on the stage, the lyrics went, "No matter where you are, I will find you."

[00:15:24]pointing at Mr. A, causing him to break down in tears again. And although Mr. A was short of money after paying the settlement, he then immediately bought 100 Polaroid photos, which cost 100 to 200,000 yen to show his support. Now, I'm not going to go full cynic mode or Nirvana fallacy here. "Oh, of course they are her ATMs. That's why she cares about him. If they are real friends, why is there money involved, huh?" I find that silly because we don't live in a perfect world. And in a society like this, with a lack of love, idoling or chasing idols might not be the ideal solution, but it certainly has its value, at least in this case.

[00:16:03]Thank you, Cameron Bou Bert, for being our new member. And let's test battalion for the two months. By the way, it took me a lot of time and effort to make the art asset and animation despite them being bland and sketchy. Actually, my art is brilliant. Your support really helps. It makes it worthwhile. And I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week.