EXPLORE THE THEME
Merch & Events
Buying, displaying and showing up
From the merch you keep close to a special day at the venue. Learn how planning, taking part, storage and trading work, and how to enjoy it without overdoing it.
6 articles 13 podcast episodes
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How to explore this theme
For merch, start with acrylic stands and storage; for events, start with your first live show and flower stands. The podcast also covers the organizer’s side: random-blind sales, collab cafés and joint fan projects.
READ & DISCOVER
Articles and glossary terms
From the key words to real cases.
- 01Merch
Oshi Merch Storage Ideas: Three Rules for Displaying, Storing and Carrying
How to store ever-growing oshi merchandise: tips for button badges, acrylic stands, trading cards and ginte, 100-yen shop ideas, and basics for preventing damage.
- 02Glossary
What Is an Acrylic Stand (Akusuta)? Displaying, Carrying and Storing Your Oshi's Stand-In
Acrylic stands (akusuta) let your oshi stand on your shelf or café table. Why they're popular, plus sizes, photo tips, display, storage, cases and history.
- 03Glossary
What Is Random Goods? Blind-Box Merch in Japan: Odds, Box Buying and Smart Limits
Random goods are Japan's blind-box merch, where you can't choose what you get. Assortments, pre-purchase checks, trading duplicates and the shift to pick-your-own.
- 04Fan Culture
What Is a Flower Stand (Furasuta)? Costs, Ordering and Etiquette for Sending Flowers to Your Oshi
A beginner's guide to furasuta, the flower stands fans send to an oshi's show: typical costs, ordering, organizer rules, group etiquette and what happens after.
- 05Business
How to Plan a Collab Cafe: A 7-Step Guide to Fan-Friendly Character Cafes
A guide to planning a collab cafe in Japan: worldview, menu, reservations, bonuses, resale and food waste, operations and review, in seven steps.
- 06Business
How to Plan an Oshi-Katsu Event Fans Love: Goals, Flow and Safety
A practical guide to planning oshi-katsu fan events: goals, layers of participation, timing, venue flow, rights and safety, and how to measure success.
PODCAST STORIES
Go deeper with the podcast
English summaries, and every episode has English subtitles.
- #57
The Full History of Acrylic Stands: How Fans Turned a Material into a Medium
From clear plastic sheets to fan altars: how the acrylic stand went from shop signage to the go-anywhere oshi, and why prices and randomness now divide fans.
- #56
What We Learned Exhibiting at Oshi-Katsu EXPO Summer 2026
A bonus episode on our first booth at Oshi-Katsu EXPO: why we cut the message down to one idea, what we tracked, and how a trade show feeds our research.
- #55
The Dark Side of Collaboration Cafés: Reservation Battles, Resale and Waste
Collaboration cafés let fans eat inside their favorite story, but reservation wars, resale, service failures and food waste show how to run them responsibly.
- #51
Flower Stands for Your Oshi: The Light and Shadow of Fan-Funded Celebration Flowers
Fan-funded flower stands are big, shared messages at venues. How they are made, what they cost and why rules and money handling decide their future.
- #49
Disney vs. USJ: The Highs and Lows of Theme-Park Fandom
Tokyo Disney Resort and USJ both build deep immersion, but one is a world you return to and the other a world you chase. What each teaches about fan experience.
- #48
Chiikawa, Kura Sushi and Collab Backlash: What Makes a Fandom Collaboration Succeed or Backfire?
Fans notice every detail of an oshi collab. What separates a collaboration fans welcome from one that backfires, from settings and prices to random sales and scalping.
- #24
Why LABUBU Sold Worldwide: How POP MART Sells Discovery, Not Products
How POP MART grew from a small Beijing shop into a global character company by selling the joy of discovery through blind boxes, robo shops and collector culture.
- #20
From Bassist to Entrepreneur: Why I Started an Oshi-Katsu Business (PQuuut Balloon Support)
Ayano Yazawa explains how a pandemic-era ban on flower stands became PQuuut, a balloon service that makes fan support visible, and how her stage years shaped it.
- #19
Why Does Reselling Spark Backlash? Lessons From the Switch 2 and McDonald's Happy Set
Why limited goods and tickets spark resale and backlash in Japan, and how fair distribution design can protect fan enthusiasm without punishing fans.
- #17
Demon Slayer's Fastest ¥10 Billion: The Oshi-Katsu Behind a Revolutionary Hit
How Demon Slayer became a daily-life phenomenon, from episode 19 buzz and simultaneous broadcast to cinema opening days, convenience-store tie-ins and an ANA jet.
- #13
Can a Voice Actor's Acrylic Stand Sell for ¥150,000? Inside the Industry
A life-size acrylic stand at ¥150,000 (roughly $1,000) and a custom voice for a kitchen appliance: what fans are really buying, and where resale and safety risks begin.
- #11
Why 2.5D Spread: A History of Stage and Character Fandom, From Tenimyu to Demon Slayer
How manga and game characters came to life on stage, from Takarazuka's The Rose of Versailles to Tenimyu, and why 2.5D theater became a market of its own.
- #9
The Light and Shadow of Gacha: The Psychology of "One More Pull" and Healthy Design
From Edo-period lotteries to capsule toys and trading cards: why random rewards thrill fans, when they become a burden and what healthy design looks like.
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