Why We Fall For Our Oshi: Exploring Creative Work, the Person, and Shared Joy

At first, you only meant to listen to a single song, and before you knew it, you were watching footage from past live concerts. Or perhaps you came in through a creative work itself, only to find that listening to what the cast has to say and reading other fans’ impressions had become part of the fun too. The path of falling for an oshi—someone or something you enthusiastically support and root for—often shifts between the doorway that first brought you in and what you enjoy right now.

When you find yourself wondering, “Why am I so absorbed in this?”, before settling on a single cause, it helps to look closely at what kind of time and experience you are actually enjoying. Drawing on fan psychology research as a guide, this article explores that question from three angles: the creative work itself, the person behind it, and our connections with other people.

Falling in Love with the Work and Discovering More Ways to Enjoy It

Meeting an oshi does not necessarily begin with admiring the person themselves. Sometimes a single moment of expression—one phrase of a song, a play in a sports match, or a line of dialogue in a story—is what sparks your interest.

After that initial spark, you might watch another scene from the same work, read interviews with the people involved in making it, or go back through earlier releases in their catalog. As the range of what you know expands, the way you describe what you like changes as well. An initial feeling of “I like their voice” might gradually grow more specific and nuanced, turning into “It’s fascinating how differently they use their voice in this particular song.”

In Psychology World, a publication of the Japanese Psychological Association, researcher Eiko Koshiro discusses fan psychology in terms that encompass the appeal of the creative work and the person, as well as social connections. Koshiro’s overview (in Japanese) offers a helpful framework for understanding why becoming a fan cannot be explained through romantic feelings alone.

At the same time, using a framework like this does not mean we can neatly explain every single person’s reasons. Some people are completely satisfied just listening to the songs they love, while others enjoy reading appearance schedules and talking over their impressions with friends. Neither approach represents a “deeper” or higher-ranking kind of fan.

1. 01Encountering a single songA vocal tone or musical phrase catches your attention and makes you listen again
2. 02Spotting the differencesEnjoying how the expression changes across live performances or other works
3. 03Learning the backgroundReading official interviews and explanations of how the work was made
4. 04Expanding your own ways to enjoyChoosing methods you like, such as keeping notes, making fan works, or chatting

This flow is not a fixed sequence that everyone follows. It is completely fine to start halfway through, or to circle right back to simply enjoying that one favorite song.

Wanting to Know the Person Behind the Work

As you watch or listen to a work repeatedly, you may start wanting to know what kind of person created it or what thoughts they bring to their performance. Interviews and livestreams often serve as a doorway into that side of things.

For example, someone who usually only watches finished stage performances might learn about the preparation process through official behind-the-scenes footage. The next time they listen to that same song, they might notice details they never picked up on before. Moving back and forth between the creative work and an interest in the people involved in making it becomes its own source of enjoyment.

However, what we can learn from public posts and broadcasts is limited to what is shared in that setting. Watching someone over a long period of time is not the same thing as knowing every corner of their daily life. You can cherish a warm sense of familiarity without needing to fill in the unshared parts of their life with your own imagination.

If the feeling of “wanting to know more” starts pulling you toward searching into a performer’s private life, one practical step is to bring your focus back to the creative work itself and their official channels. Feeling close to someone and deciding how far it is appropriate to step into their personal sphere can be thought about separately.

Finding Joy in Putting Your Own Impressions into Words

Reading the impressions of someone else who watched the exact same scene can help you notice details that differed from your own perspective. And as you talk about the things you love, you often come to understand more clearly what you yourself found so compelling in the first place. Conversation sparked through an oshi can become a genuine part of the enjoyment in its own right.

For instance, if you and a friend each name the one song that left the biggest impression at a concert, your friend might remember the color of the stage costumes while you remember the instrumental interlude. Because people look at things differently, you get to revisit and savor the same performance all over again. Agreeing on the exact same impression is far from the only good thing about connecting with other fans.

Of course, there is no requirement to talk with anyone else at all. Listening to music on your own, writing down thoughts in a private notebook kept just for yourself, or organizing photos are all rewarding ways to enjoy oshikatsu (fan activities supporting your oshi) without sharing anything publicly. The number of posts you make or the size of your circle of friends does not measure how deeply you care.

Even after going through a season where interacting with other fans was a lot of fun, you might find that right now you prefer to enjoy things quietly on your own. Changing how you interact with other fans does not mean you have to change how you feel about your oshi.

When an Oshi Opens the Door to Liking Something New

You might read a book recommended by your oshi and find yourself curious about other works by the same author. While getting off at a train station for the first time on your way to watch a match, you might discover a neighborhood shop you really like. Or after looking closely at a stage costume and thinking about how its colors are paired, you might try drawing something yourself. In moments like these, even when the starting point is your oshi, the enjoyment that stays with you afterward is not limited to a single thing.

There is no need to jump from this to the conclusion that practicing oshikatsu will automatically make you grow as a person. If you cannot finish the book you bought, or if a new hobby does not stick, that does not mean your support has failed. Nor do you need to treat the things you love as an exercise in accumulating useful skills.

Even so, it is worth noticing the small pleasures that have already been added to your life. Even on days when you do not check any updates about your oshi, the songs you came to love, the shops you discovered, and the joy of making things do not disappear. You can pay attention both to your feelings for the person or work you support and to your own lived experiences.

Joy Drawn Toward the Oshi or Work

• Wanting to watch the singing, acting, or athletic play again
• Wanting to hear stories about the production and performances
• Wanting to witness how their activities evolve over time

Joy Rooted in Your Own Experience

• Wanting to write down or talk about your impressions
• Wanting to enjoy newly discovered places and creative works
• Wanting to try making or creating something yourself

When “I Have to Keep Up” Starts Outweighing “I Love This”

Understanding why you fell for something and continuing to chase every single update are two very different things. As the variety of ways to enjoy fandom grows, the stream of notifications, appearance schedules, and sales deadlines grows too—and at times, you can lose sight of what you actually wanted to do in the first place.

When that happens, try calling to mind just one recent moment that genuinely felt good. Rather than telling yourself “I watched every single stream,” hold on to the specific content you actually enjoyed, such as “I was really happy to hear them talk about that song.” From there, you can choose whether you want to keep enjoying things in that same way next time, or whether a different approach fits you better right now.

Turning down notifications, picking in advance which broadcasts you will watch live, or sitting out the next merchandise release are all reasonable adjustments. You are always free to adapt your notification settings and purchasing plans to fit your current daily life. And when your feelings shift, you can choose a way of enjoying fandom that fits where you are at that moment. For specific situations and practical approaches, see our articles on Oshikatsu Fatigue and Finding a Healthy Distance from Your Oshi.

For Planners and Organizers: Don’t Judge Reasons by Activity Counts Alone

When companies and management teams look at fan behavior, view counts, purchase totals, and event attendance figures alone cannot tell the full story of what is actually drawing people in. Even when watching the exact same video, one person might be listening to the music, another might be studying the costumes, and someone else might be connecting the performance to memories from years ago.

When asking fans for feedback, it helps to prepare questions that invite people to talk about their experiences—such as “Which scene made you want to watch again?” or “What first brought this to your attention?” At the same time, avoid requiring every fan to respond, and make space to understand how people who enjoy content quietly on their own engage with it. That way, decisions about what all fans want are not made solely on the basis of whichever public reactions happen to be the loudest or most numerous.

For fans themselves, too, there is no need to boil your feelings down to “This single thing is the only reason I became a fan.” If you trace the things you find interesting right now one by one, you may well discover forms of enjoyment quite different from where you first began.

Related articles: What Is a Numa (Fandom Rabbit Hole)? / Finding a Healthy Distance from Your Oshi / What Is Oshi-gatari (Talking About Your Oshi)?