An essential part of underground idols is their enthusiastic fanbase, the enthusiastic supporters who attend their performances and events! While we can all call them otaku, their personalities and behaviors vary greatly, from which of the seven idols they support to how they support them. This time, we'll introduce each of these idol otaku individually. Let's take a look at how they support Cham Jam!
Eripyo, Maina's Fan
The protagonist of this work, a long-time Cham Jam fan, and the only Maina fan! Her obsessive devotion to Maina intimidates newcomers, resulting in no one approaching her, creating a vicious cycle that stifles fan growth. In reality, Eripyo and Maina are in love with each other, but due to Eripyo's eccentric behavior and Maina's shyness and reserved personality, they have difficulty expressing their feelings to each other.
Eripyo Gives Her All
Eripyo devotes her entire life to Maina and doesn't care about her appearance at all. Every paycheck he receives is spent on Maina's CDs, concerts, and merchandise, leaving him no money for fashion and him wearing tracksuits year-round. Even his tracksuits aren't fashionable; he's the red jerseys he was given at his high school. (He basically wears gym clothes underneath, too.)
Kumasa is devoted to Leo
Kumasa, a Leo fan who's been a fan since Cham Jam was formed, is probably the longest-serving member! He's naturally a top Leo fan, and is in his mid-30s. His medium build and appearance make it clear he's an otaku. Even Eripyo can't match Kumasa's long history as a fan. After all, he was the one who first got Eripyo into Cham Jam.
The Ultimate Otaku in an Idol Otaku's Mind
In fact, Kumasa is a true otaku paragon, so much so that the artist himself has said that he portrays him as the embodiment of "the ultimate otaku in an idol otaku's mind." He's known by those around him as the longest-serving member, and his comments are sometimes met with envy from those around him.
Motoi, Still a Newbie
Motoi, still a newbie fan, often hangs out with top fans Maina and Reo of Cham Jam. While longtime fans buy dozens, sometimes even hundreds, of CDs, Motoi wasn't that into it at first, only buying one at a time. His favorite idol is the short-haired Sorane! When her issues with men came up, he was so depressed he almost collapsed, but he instantly recovered after receiving a response (a gesture given to a specific fan) from Sorane. Before I knew it, my CD purchases were in the double digits... I'm definitely getting sucked into the swamp.
Motoi might seem weak-willed, but he's got a lot of guts.
Motoi may seem wimpy and easy to get along with, but as he hangs out with Eripyo and Kumasa, he's become quite a big fan of Sorane among fans. When a release event was held in Tokyo, he was initially hesitant to attend, but before he knew it, he was taking an overnight bus to Tokyo with Eripyo and the others. After arriving, he collapsed from exhaustion and nearly died...
He has a sister who looks like his idol, Sorane
Motoi has a sister named Rena, who has short hair like Sorane. The two are so similar that Sorane's aforementioned problems with men were triggered when fans mistook Rena for Sorane. He sometimes finds Motoi's support of Sorane, who looks like him, creepy. Rena's idol, however, is none other than Maina! Eripyo is shocked but happy to finally find someone with the same favorite (a Maina fan), and they become friends.
Fumi-kun (Fumi-san), Yuka's Fan
Although he's a minor character who doesn't appear often, Fumi-kun is thought to be Yuka's biggest fan. He seems to be of a certain age, as younger fans call him "Fumi-san" with the honorific "san," but 16-year-old Yuka always treats him like a nobody. He's also a fan of other idols, and when Yuka finds out, she gets mad at him, but her attitude at the time makes him fall for her even more. Incidentally, during the popularity poll, he bought 50 CDs.
Maki & Yumeri
Although they're a little different from the average otaku, Maki and Yumeri are particularly close within Cham Jam, and you could almost say they're each other's otaku. Yumeri is happiest watching Maki from behind, and even when dancing in the front row, she insists on being in the back row because "she can keep an eye on Maki the whole time." Maki also buys a ton of Yumeri's CDs every time she shows up to see her so she can sit in the front row, suggesting their love is mutual.
Another Maki Otaku Idol: Natsumi
Maki is from Kagawa Prefecture, where her cousin Natsumi is also active as a local idol. She's a member of the idol group "Stellites," which is even more popular than Cham Jam, but Natsumi's biggest fan is her cousin Maki. Her obsession is so intense that she even looks up the agency and makes the effort to visit them. While she compliments Yumeri, who is close to Maki, by calling her "cute," she also sometimes harbors a competitive spirit.
Miyu the Anime Otaku
Miyu, one of Eripyo's few friends and coworker, was a completely unrelated otaku. However, after Eripyo asked her to watch a show featuring Cham Jam with her, she became an anime otaku. At first, Miyu thought Eripyo getting excited by herself was "disgusting" and "gross as hell." However, she quickly became obsessed with Fuyutaro from the anime that was airing, and immediately bought up all his merchandise and even attended his events.
A Summary of the Otakus Appearing in Oshi Budou
So far, we've introduced the otakus appearing in Oshi Budou. While they're often treated as minor characters, there are many other otakus appearing in the series besides the ones introduced here. While we haven't fully covered Eripyo and Kumasa yet, we'll be creating articles focusing on each of them, so we hope you'll check them out!
