More Than Just Anime: A Beginner’s Guide to the Japanese Entertainment Industry & Culture
: Even in business and entertainment, there is a strong emphasis on group consensus and social harmony. More Than Just Anime: A Beginner’s Guide to
This creates a unique cultural artifact: Oshi (推し), or "the one you push." To have an oshi in a group is to participate in a parasocial relationship that is highly commercialized yet deeply emotional. Critics decry the "rental girlfriend" economy and the draconian love-ban contracts idols must sign. Defenders point to the discipline, the charity work, and the sheer economic engine that drives billions of yen annually. the charity work