Oshi-Katsu Chronicle 2021: The Buzzword List, Uma Musume, the Tokyo Olympics, INI and BE:FIRST
In 2021, with the coronavirus still shaping daily life, the Tokyo Olympics, postponed by a year, finally went ahead. Most venues, Tokyo’s included, stayed spectator-free, so fans cheered on the athletes through television and streaming.
In music, audition shows produced new groups, and in games Uma Musume Pretty Derby arrived. The word “oshi-katsu,” for supporting the people and works you love, also made the shortlist for the Buzzword of the Year awards.
The Tokyo Olympics, Mostly Without Spectators
The Tokyo Olympics ran from July 23 to August 8. As infections spread, the Tokyo area and other places admitted no spectators. Only a few venues took them, in Miyagi and Shizuoka, and Ibaraki held school-organized group viewing. Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s record of the Games (in Japanese)
The Japanese team won 27 gold, 14 silver and 17 bronze medals, 58 in all, beating its previous Summer Games record. Japanese Olympic Committee list of medalists (in Japanese)
- 27
- Gold medals
- 14
- Silver medals
- 17
- Bronze medals
- 58
- Medals in all
The total broke Japan's previous record for a Summer Games.
Source: Japanese Olympic Committee list of medalists (in Japanese)
Uma Musume: Raising Characters and Cheering Them Through the Races
On February 24, the smartphone game Uma Musume Pretty Derby went live. Players act as trainers and raise characters who inherit the names and other traits of real racehorses. Cygames’ announcement of the launch (in Japanese)
The launch images combine racing, dialogue and stage performance. They show training, story and concerts as elements of the same game, beyond the result of a race alone.
© Cygames, Inc.
- Training and story
- Through training and conversations, you learn the goals and personality of the character in your charge.
- Races
- You watch the character you raised run, in footage with play-by-play commentary.
- Winning Live
- The characters who ran in the race perform songs and dance.
The franchise had been rolling out through anime, music and live events before the game launched. Following the game’s hit, many players began looking up the racing records of the real thoroughbreds behind the characters and visiting or donating to ranches where retired racehorses live.
Ado and Yuuri: Songs from the Previous Year Still Widely Heard in 2021
Ado’s “Usseewa” (“Shut Up”), her major-label debut song, was released digitally on October 23, 2020. In 2021 the song title made the top ten of the Buzzword of the Year awards, and Ado herself received a special award at the Japan Record Awards. Label’s release information (in Japanese) / Japan Record Awards record (in Japanese)
The blue-toned illustration depicts a wide-open mouth, giving the song an expressive visual identity. Its 2020 digital release is distinguished from the attention it received in 2021.
Her style of releasing songs without showing her face, pairing a powerful vocal performance with illustrated music videos, spread rapidly among teens and people in their twenties on video sites and social media.
Yuuri’s “Dry Flower,” also released digitally in 2020, kept drawing long-running streaming listens and took first place on Billboard JAPAN’s 2021 annual overall song chart. Annual chart announcement (in Japanese)
Among overseas acts, BTS’s English-language single “Butter,” released in May, became a global hit and stayed near the top of Japan’s streaming charts as well. In domestic CD sales, Snow Man achieved million-seller status with both their third single “Grandeur” in January and their first album Snow Mania S1 in September, while the Grand Prix at the year-end Japan Record Awards went to Da-iCE’s “CITRUS.” 63rd Japan Record Awards (in Japanese)
INI and BE:FIRST: Debuting the Same Day from Different Auditions
On November 3, INI and BE:FIRST made their CD debuts. Both groups let viewers watch their selection process on air, but the projects behind them and their selection systems differed.
INI
- Born from PRODUCE 101 JAPAN SEASON2
- Debut focus track "Rocketeer" chosen by fan vote
BE:FIRST
- Born from THE FIRST
- Pre-debut song "Shining One" in August
Both let viewers watch the selection process before the CD debut.
INI, "A"
Born from the viewer-voted audition "PRODUCE 101 JAPAN SEASON2." The focus track for the debut release, "Rocketeer," was also chosen by fan vote.
BE:FIRST, "Gifted."
Born from "THE FIRST," hosted by SKY-HI. After the August pre-debut song "Shining One," the group made its CD debut in November.
Article on the choice of INI’s focus track (in Japanese) / BE:FIRST official release information (in Japanese)
NiziU released “Take a picture / Poppin’ Shakin’” in April and its first album, U, in November. Sony Music, Take a picture / Poppin’ Shakin’ (in Japanese) / Sony Music, U (in Japanese)
Shows Come Back Little by Little, and Streaming Continues
Pia Research Institute put the 2021 market for live entertainment held at venues at ¥307.2 billion (roughly $2.0 billion). That was a recovery from the previous year, but still 51.2% below 2019, before the pandemic. Pia Research Institute’s finalized figures (in Japanese)
- ¥307.2 billion
- Venue live market (roughly $2.0 billion)
- -51.2%
- Compared with 2019, before the pandemic
Better than 2020, yet about half of what the market had been.
Source: Pia Research Institute's finalized figures (in Japanese)
Meanwhile, the market for paid online concerts with e-tickets was ¥51.2 billion (roughly $340 million), up 14.4% from the previous year. Even as some shows began to admit audiences, watching by stream took hold. Survey on online concerts (in Japanese)
Arashi, then on hiatus, released the concert film ARASHI Anniversary Tour 5×20 FILM “Record of Memories” in November 2021, shot at Tokyo Dome in December 2019, drawing fans who wanted to experience the concert on a big screen with theater sound. Film official website (in Japanese)
Comic Market Returns at Year’s End, and Evangelion 3.0+1.0 and Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Reach Theaters
On December 30 and 31, Comic Market 99, the 99th edition of the giant fan convention known as Comiket, was held at Tokyo Big Sight. It was the first in-person edition since the end of 2019, about two years earlier. With advance ticket purchase and infection-control measures in place, total attendance over the two days was 110,000. Comic Market event history (in Japanese)
In theaters, Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time opened on March 8 as the conclusion to the four-part Rebuild of Evangelion series that had begun in 2007, earning ¥10.28 billion at the domestic box office and inspiring fans to visit real-world locations in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and Tenryu-Futamata Station in Hamamatsu.
The poster lines up figures beside sea and sky. Its screening-period wording identifies the March 2021 film campaign, distinct from the television series and the 1997 film.
At year’s end, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 opened on December 24 and took in more than ¥2.6 billion (roughly $17 million) in its first three days. It is a prequel to Jujutsu Kaisen, which was already known from the TV anime, and its theatrical run continued into 2022. Record just after release (in Japanese) / Film official website (in Japanese)
The film visual foregrounds Yuta Okkotsu and its own cast. It identifies a distinct story rather than substituting an image of the television series’ protagonist.
© 2021「劇場版 呪術廻戦 0」製作委員会 ©芥見下々／集英社
Key Events of the Year
- Feb. 24"Uma Musume Pretty Derby" launchesGames
- Apr. 7NiziU releases "Take a picture / Poppin' Shakin'"Idols
- July 8It is decided that venues in the Tokyo area will hold the Tokyo Olympics without spectatorsSports
- July 23The Tokyo Olympics open (many venues without spectators)Sports
- Aug. 8The Tokyo Olympics close, with 58 medals for JapanSports
- Aug. 16BE:FIRST streams "Shining One"Music
- Nov. 3INI releases their debut single "A"Idols
- Nov. 3BE:FIRST debuts with "Gifted."Music
- Nov. 4"Oshi-katsu" is among the 30 nominees for the Buzzwords of the Year awardsMedia
- Nov. 24NiziU releases its first full album "U"Idols
- Nov.A live film recording Arashi's 2019 concert opens nationwideMusic
- Dec. 1The grand prize goes to "Real Nitoryu / Show Time"Media
- Dec.Yuuri's "Dried Flower" takes No. 1 on the Billboard annual chartMusic
- Dec. 24"Jujutsu Kaisen 0" opens in theatersAnime
- Dec. 30At the Japan Record Awards, Da-iCE's "CITRUS" wins the grand prizeMusic
- Dec. 30–31Comic Market 99 resumes (110,000 total visits over 2 days)Fan works
- Uma Musume launchesRaise characters and cheer their races
- NiziU's singleTake a picture / Poppin' Shakin'
- Tokyo Olympics openMostly without spectators
- INI and BE:FIRST debutSame day, different auditions
- NiziU's first albumU
- Jujutsu Kaisen 0 opensOver ¥2.6 billion in three days
- Comic Market 99First in-person event in about two years
The Year’s Buzzword Awards
- Grand PrizeReal nitoryu / Show Time ("real two-way play")
- Shohei Ohtani
- Top 10Usseewa ("Shut up," hit song by singer Ado)
- Ado
- Top 10Oya-gacha ("parent gacha," the luck of the draw in which parents you are born to)
- Recipient declined
- Top 10Gonzeme / Bittabita (skateboarding commentary: "attacking all out" / "landing it perfectly")
- Ryo Sejiri (professional skateboarder)
- Top 10Gender equality
- Yuko Yoshino (President, Japanese Trade Union Confederation, Rengo)
- Top 10Jinryu ("flow of people," crowds and their movement during the pandemic)
- Shuichi Teramae
- Top 10Sugimura Rising (named after boccia player Hidetaka Sugimura at the Tokyo Paralympics)
- Hidetaka Sugimura (Japan boccia team, Hi no Tama Japan)
- Top 10Z-sedai (Generation Z)
- TOKYO MX "Hori Jun Morning FLAG"
- Top 10Bottakuri danshaku ("Baron Rip-off," a nickname for IOC President Thomas Bach)
- Kyodo News Foreign News Department
- Top 10Mokushoku ("silent dining," eating without talking)
- Shinobu Mitsuji (owner, Masala Kitchen)
“Oshi-katsu” was one of the 30 nominated words. It did not make the top ten or win the grand prize, but the act of supporting the people and works you love was taken up as a word capturing the mood of the day. That does not mean the word or the behavior first appeared this year. 2021 record of selections (in Japanese)
The grand prize went to “Real Nitōryū / Show Time,” a phrase for Shohei Ohtani’s play as both pitcher and hitter. “Usseewa” made the top ten and “Uma Musume” was among the nominees.
The following year, shows with audiences recover further. On to Oshi-Katsu Chronicle 2022.
FAQ
Did "oshi-katsu" win the 2021 Buzzword of the Year award?
It was one of the 30 nominated words but was not chosen for the top ten or the grand prize. The grand prize went to "Real Nitōryū / Show Time," a phrase for Shohei Ohtani's two-way play.
Were all the Tokyo Olympic venues closed to spectators?
Most venues, including those in Tokyo, had no spectators. Miyagi and Shizuoka admitted spectators, and Ibaraki held school-organized group viewing.
Was Ado's "Usseewa" released in 2021?
It was released on October 23, 2020. In 2021 the song title made the top ten of the Buzzword of the Year awards, and Ado received a special award at the Japan Record Awards.
Did INI and BE:FIRST debut on the same day?
Yes, both on November 3, 2021. INI made its CD debut with "A," and BE:FIRST with "Gifted."
When did Comic Market resume?
Comic Market 99 was held at Tokyo Big Sight on December 30 and 31, 2021. It was the first in-person event in about two years, and total attendance over the two days was 110,000.
