Fan Theories and Fandom: Participatory Joy in VIVANT, ONE PIECE, and BTS

Right after finishing an episode of a TV drama, you find yourself searching for other people's reactions. After reading the latest chapter of a manga, you go back to earlier volumes. On the way home from a concert, you wonder what the order of the setlist meant. Even after watching or listening, your mind is still on the work or your oshi (favorite artist or character).

The theme of Episode 69 is fan theorizing (kosatsu, close analysis and speculation) and oshikatsu (fandom activities supporting one's favorites). Some people predict the next episode of VIVANT, others enjoy theory videos about ONE PIECE, and still others compare BTS's videos with their booklets. Because you love something, you want to know more about it, and when you notice something, you want to talk to someone about it. Fan theorizing is packed with those feelings.

Even if you watch a one-hour drama once a week, there is almost a full week until the next broadcast. During that time, you might rewatch a fleeting expression that caught your eye or try to guess the culprit with friends. Sometimes you read other people's posts and are surprised, thinking, "I didn't notice that." Even the week spent waiting for the broadcast becomes time to enjoy the work.

When you hear the word "participation," you might picture going to events or voting. But looking for clues yourself and putting your interpretation into words is also participation. Some people read other fans' interpretations and open the work again. Not only those who post their thoughts, but also those who take them in and savor the work anew, support this way of enjoying stories.

Broadly speaking, there are two ways to enjoy fan theorizing. One is the "mystery-solving type": the fun of predicting the culprit, the mastermind, or the meaning of foreshadowing, and checking the answers later. The other is the "reading-the-heart type": the fun of thinking in your own way about things that do not have a single fixed answer, such as why someone made that expression or why songs were placed in that order.

To the time spent watching a work, you add time spent thinking for yourself and talking it over with someone else.This is where the appeal of combining fan theorizing and oshikatsu lies. There is both the joy of reading detailed explanations from knowledgeable fans and the joy of talking about a single favorite scene.

As came up in our previous episode on manga, there is that conversation: "Did you read this week's chapter?" Once you catch up to the latest installment, you can talk with people who read the same scene about what might happen next. You might hear predictions you never would have thought of while reading alone, or talk about a character you love. Even after finishing a chapter, there are times when you just want to talk to someone.

With an original drama that has no source material, there is no way to read the book ahead of time to find out the ending. Viewers search for clues as they follow the broadcasts. Both long-time enthusiasts and first-time viewers can bring their predictions together toward an answer no one knows yet.

People who have already read the original work can enjoy seeing how it is depicted in the drama. On the other hand, with an original drama, viewers who do not know what happens next can talk to each other and say, "Maybe this is what will happen next." Every broadcast brings a chance to check the answers and sparks new questions. This week-by-week anticipation fuels fan theorizing.

According to an announcement by the catch-up streaming service TVer on August 4, 2026, Episode 1 of VIVANT Season 2 surpassed 8.87 million views in the eight days following the start of streaming. For a single episode across all programs over the same period, this was the highest record at the time of the announcement.

People who pay close attention to the fine details of a drama are sometimes called the "theory squad" (kosatsu-han) on social media. Someone picks up on a prop in the corner of the screen or a casual line of dialogue, and someone else responds to that observation. Even if they did not start out as an organized team, as they watch the same work, they become like companions pondering a mystery together.

You read someone's observation, realize "I missed that part," and watch the same episode again. When the next broadcast airs, you want to see whether your prediction was right. It resembles waiting for an idol's new post, looking closely at the photos, and talking about them with other fans. Sometimes not just a specific actor, but the work itself becomes an oshi.

When there is material to rewatch and an opportunity to share predictions, fans can participate even during the wait between broadcasts.For the production side as well, next-episode previews are not the only point of contact. Sharing what has yet to be revealed in the story can serve as a conversation starter.

In a long-running series like ONE PIECE, an earlier depiction can take on a different meaning much later. Some fans enjoy reopening earlier volumes themselves to connect characters' words and small details, while others encounter different ways of reading the story through theory videos.

In May 2025, Seiya of the comedy duo Shimofuri Myojo said on the radio that he had had stepped back from theorizing about ONE PIECE, and the impression spread that "the author might dislike fan theories." Afterward, some theory YouTubers also announced that they would stop their activities. It was an episode in which uncertainty spread among theorizers over how the creator felt.

Meanwhile, the theory channel Drop the Pizza announced that it would continue as before. Even among people who loved the same work, some stopped theorizing and others continued. That is how much people who theorize care about how their activity is received by the creator.

In manga and anime, there is also an urgent kind of theorizing known as "confirming an oshi's survival." In a battle manga, a favorite character falls into danger. Was an earlier line foreshadowing that they will survive, or a sign of farewell? Rather than wanting to guess the right answer, fans simply want them to be safe. With that feeling in mind, some people open the pages with a pounding heart every time a new update arrives.

In fan theorizing, the desire to know the truth overlaps with the desire to watch over someone you love.While curious about the answer to a mystery, fans also want the characters to be happy. Because of that feeling, they pay attention to casual lines and feel drawn to reread earlier chapters. Both the relief when a character is saved as hoped and the surprise of an unexpected turn are tied to the time spent following a beloved character.

In music, too, there is fan theorizing beyond just listening to songs. In the BTS Universe, commonly called BU—a story world spanning BTS's videos and related materials—a narrative unfolds around characters based on the members. Because the release order of the music videos and the chronological order of the story are not the same, watching just one video does not reveal the whole picture. Fans think about the characters' relationships and events by comparing different videos.

The 2017 album LOVE YOURSELF 承 'Her' came with a booklet titled "The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: The Notes," which depicted fragments of the story in the form of character diary entries. Each of the four versions—L, O, V, and E—included a 20-page mini-book. In addition to music videos that can be watched for free, the story was also tucked inside the booklets included with the CDs.

Something that caught your attention in a music video might connect when you read the booklet. Thinking that makes you want to pick up the CD not only to listen to the songs, but also to find out what happens next in the story. What makes this approach interesting is how a music product took on the added role of source material for fan theorizing.

Even with the same product, fans do not all pick it up for the same single reason.Whether through the music, photos, packaging design, or story, fans can engage starting from the part they like best. You can enjoy listening to the songs, and those who want to know more can read the story. Being able to choose your own entry point for deeper involvement is another appealing part of this combination.

The fun of reading meaning into a concert setlist may feel even more familiar. Why was this song placed first? Why these lyrics right now? Meanings that you did not notice when listening to songs one by one can sometimes come into view when you think about how they are arranged.

When you love your oshi so much, everything can start to look like it has a special meaning. Fans sometimes jokingly call this having an "oshi filter" or "hallucinations." Thinking, "Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it would be wonderful if that were true," and talking about the setlist or lyrics also becomes part of the memories of a live show.

There are also works designed so that audiences enjoy the process of investigating itself. A mockumentary presents a fictional story in the format of reporting records or a documentary. It offers the fun of comparing documents and footage to figure out for yourself what happened.

In The Strange House (Hen na Ie), unnatural points in a floor plan catch your attention; in About a Certain Place in the Kinki Region (Kinki Chiho no Aru Basho ni Tsuite), you compare articles and message board posts. In Looking for Ishinaga Kikue (Ishinaga Kikue wo Sagashiteimasu), you watch a work of fiction formatted like a missing-person television program while thinking about what is really going on. Precisely because the format is familiar, small details that feel off stick in your mind. After finishing them, you want to look up other people's impressions and ask, "What was that all about?"

An ARG, or "alternate reality game," is a puzzle-solving experience that uses real-world objects and the internet. Someone's Wallet (Hito no Saifu) by Daiyon Kyokai (Fourth Boundary) is a product where you buy a fictional person's wallet complete with its contents. When you read the student ID and receipts inside and search for the words written on them, you find websites connected to the story. Players investigate with their own hands while thinking about what happened to the wallet's owner.

You investigate for yourself, and scattered pieces of information suddenly connect—that moment is what makes it fun.Rereading the materials in your hands and discovering a connection you had missed—and wanting to share that discovery with someone—is another rewarding part of participating.

Being right is not the only reward of fan theorizing. Even when a story takes an unexpected turn, looking back often reveals clues that were there all along. That surprise can deepen your interest in the creator. Missing a prediction is not the end; going back to reread opens up a different kind of enjoyment.

Even when you know it is fiction, holding an actual wallet in your hands with receipts inside makes it feel as though the owner could really be out there somewhere. In a conversation between television producer Tokio Omori and horror writer Nashi, they also discuss creating a lifelike texture while clearly presenting the work as fiction. There is a distinct appeal in how events on a screen draw closer through everyday objects.

Even if you want to talk about your impressions right after a broadcast, your friends might not have watched it yet. Because of work or family commitments, some people catch up on the weekend. If you have ever opened social media only to learn the ending immediately from a theory post, it can become harder to open social media before watching a show.

While worrying that you must not miss any foreshadowing, you might find yourself unable to enjoy the story itself. Or you might feel that you cannot keep up with the conversation unless you watch every theory video. Even with something you started out of love, keeping up every single week can become exhausting. "Theory fatigue" (kosatsu-zukare) is tied not only to the work itself, but also to the constant stream of information arriving on social media.

In her book Young People Who Theorize (Kosatsu Suru Wakamonotachi), critic Kaho Miyake discusses the popularity of fan theorizing through the desire for "rewarded consumption" (mukuware shohi)—the feeling that because you invested time in watching a work, you want to be rewarded by arriving at the "correct" answer. Miyake contrasts "criticism" (hihyo), which presents ways of reading that even the author may not have considered, with "theorizing" (kosatsu), which solves mysteries planted by the author, drawing attention to this desire for a single right answer.

In the conversation between Tokio Omori and Nashi, the closeness between fan theorizing and conspiracy theories also came up. Nashi noted that while some people enjoy thinly supported theories as a joke, others might believe them to be true. Omori likewise pointed out the difference between predicting what happens next from the flow of a story and jumping to the conclusion that a single detail holds a hidden meaning. In situations where people speculate about an oshi's private life from their social media posts, this point feels close to home.

"Suki-stainable," announced by Hakuhodo's Hen'ai Kaigi (Passionate Fandom Council) in March 2026, is a portmanteau combining suki (liking/loving something) and "sustainable." It is the idea of continuing to love what you love for as long as possible without getting overly consumed, while taking care of your oshi, yourself, and the people around you. If you engage with fan theorizing at a pace where you can talk about it enjoyably, the time spent waiting for the next installment becomes something to look forward to.

You can enjoy a work you love without keeping up with every fan theory.Even on days when you do not post, or when your impressions differ from other people's, your love for the work remains the same. Simply sharing a single thought like "I really liked that scene" is enough to start a conversation.

Works that do not explain every last detail leave viewers with things they keep wondering about even after finishing. What did that expression mean? Was that scene connected to an earlier episode? You want to think about it yourself and talk about it with someone. When those conversations spread on social media, they can also inspire people who do not know the work yet to think, "If it's that interesting, maybe I'll watch it."

There are mysteries inside the work, and there is also a place where fans can think about them together. When official teams prepare materials or special projects, one person's discovery sparks another person's reaction, and everyone can share in the excitement. Fans want not only to receive information, but also to participate themselves and talk with fellow fans. Fan theorizing clearly reflects that desire.

Some people are good at coming up with answers quickly, while others enjoy reading everyone's discussions. When planning fan engagement, both types of fans can be kept in mind. Someone points out something you had not noticed yourself, and you watch the work again. Detailed theories from knowledgeable fans can thus connect to the enjoyment of first-time viewers as well.

Going forward, AI may help organize past dialogue and clues. While misreadings and mix-ups are possible, the task of searching through a long story for related scenes will likely become easier than it is now. AI may even become faster at finding the answers to mysteries. Even so, it cannot experience on your behalf what you felt when you watched that scene.

What you felt in that expression, and why you cannot forget it—you are the one who puts that into words.Even in the same scene, what stays in the heart differs depending on each person's experiences. As people say "Here is how I felt" and "I hadn't thought of looking at it that way," the things they love about the work grow. That brings a kind of happiness distinct from getting an immediate answer.