u/Unlikely-Lawyer-5683

Happy 15th anniversary my fellow Oregairu fans! 𐔌՞. .՞𐦯

The first volume of Oregairu was released in March 2011! Its been 15 years..... (╥ ᴗ ╥)

I just wanted to make a post detailing all the events announced in favor of celebration of the 15th anniversary. So if anybody is in Japan rn, try giving them a go!

First things first! Oregairu Ketsu / Yui's story returns with a 3rd Volume.

Next, Oregairu -koku- / -15th anniversary mook-, essentially a 15th-anniversary retrospective featuring previously unreleased early materials, creator interviews looking back on the series, special anniversary columns, and artwork celebrating 15 years of Oregairu.

~A JR Central × Oregairu collaboration featuring four original voice dramas written by Wataru Watari, accessible while riding the Tokaido Shinkansen and performed by the anime's original cast. From the website: "We will do it for a long time from 9/18 to 3/31!"

~Collaboration with Cafe Lish on the 1st floor of Shogakukan has been decided! Get an original charm and coaster! From 9/18 to 10/30! We are waiting for you at Shogakukan! ※Closed on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.

~Oregairu pop-up shop featuring new illustrations by Ponkan8 and exclusive anniversary merchandise. Held at department stores in Shibuya, Umeda, and Chiba from September through December 2026.

~An overseas Oregairu pop-up tour has been announced, with locations and further details to be revealed gradually.

~A stamp rally around Chiba City’s locations featured in Oregairu. Visit six designated spots that appear in the work, collect all the stamps, and receive a completion prize. Details will be announced gradually.

~Collaborations with Kteri Ramen Naritake and Patisserie Tarbe, featuring a special ramen, themed merchandise, and collaboration cookies. Running from November 21, 2026 to March 31, 2027.

~A talk show featuring Wataru Watari at Keisei Rosa, with further details about the event to be announced. Scheduled from November 21, 2026 to March 31, 2027.

~Full-length storage box is now available as a limited sale through Shogakukan’s LIFETUNES MALL. Two versions are offered: a box & book set, and the box only. The book set includes a signed, serial-numbered copy by Wataru Watari.

~An electronic book fair is being held at major e-book stores, offering the complete edition for ¥1,500 from September 17 to October 1 and individual volumes for ¥150 each from September 18 to October 2. Both offers are limited to 15 days, with details varying by store.

These are the 11 events (dubbed TOPICS) out of the 15 TOPICS announced right now for the anniversary. 4 more yet to be announced!

Oregairu has reportedly sold 15 million copies worldwide.

For more information visit the official site: https://gagagabunko.jp/special/oregairu/15th/

official PV: https://youtu.be/YpXSDbJcjnc

Art by Ponkan 8!

૮꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა ♡

Someone appears to be distributing the entirety of the Azumanga Daioh OST through RouteNote and DistroKid, and crediting the releases to himself, Josue Acosta (this is public information on the youtube description btw) under the alias of Bruh_Josue.

One example is “Sakaki!”, which contains “どういうことかな” (Douiu Kotokana) from the official 2002 Azumanga Daioh soundtrack. Older YouTube uploads are now being associated with these newer RouteNote releases: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VDC6jL7kDA (Uploaded in 2008)

It's just a matter of time until this person starts abusing the copyright system to takedown videos or even steal ad revenue.

For this reason, I ask you all to please report it by sending just 1 email and 1 message:

Send the following to "infringementclaims@routenote.com" and attach the following images:

"""
Dear RouteNote Infringements Team,

I am reporting what appears to be the unauthorized and fraudulent distribution of copyrighted music from the Azumanga Daioh soundtrack catalog through RouteNote.

This issue is not limited to a single song. The account appears to have distributed multiple recordings from the Azumanga Daioh original soundtracks under unrelated titles and artist names.

One example currently appearing on YouTube is:

Title: Sakaki!
Artist: Bruh_Josue
Additional credited name: Josue Acosta
Displayed copyright/phonographic copyright: “℗ Me”
Release date: February 8, 2026
Distributor shown by YouTube: RouteNote

That recording appears to actually be “どういうことかな” (“Douiu Kotokana”), track 10 from TV Animation “AZUMANGA-DAIOH” Original Soundtrack Vol. 1.

The concern, however, extends beyond this specific track. The same uploader appears to have republished Azumanga Daioh soundtrack recordings more broadly, presenting them as their own releases and distributing them through RouteNote.

The official soundtrack material was commercially released decades earlier. For example, Original Soundtrack Vol. 1 was released by Lantis on June 26, 2002, under catalog number LACA-5111, JAN/barcode 4540774501113.

There is also a YouTube upload of “Douiu Kotokana” dating back to June 12, 2008:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VDC6jL7kDA

That older upload now appears to have the recent RouteNote-distributed release associated with it through YouTube’s music system. This raises serious concerns that these unauthorized releases may also be used for Content ID matching, copyright claims, or monetization of pre-existing uploads.

I have attached screenshots documenting:

The RouteNote-generated YouTube release and its metadata
The 2008 upload of the original soundtrack recording
Official soundtrack catalog information
Documentation identifying the original Azumanga Daioh soundtrack material

I request that RouteNote investigate the entire account and catalog associated with these releases, rather than reviewing only the example track above.

Please verify whether the uploader has legitimate authorization to:

Distribute any of the Azumanga Daioh soundtrack recordings
Register those recordings with YouTube Content ID
Monetize third-party videos containing the original soundtrack
Issue copyright claims against existing uploads
Represent themselves as the phonographic copyright owner using designations such as “℗ Me”

If valid authorization cannot be established, I ask that RouteNote take appropriate action regarding all affected Azumanga Daioh releases associated with this account, remove any improper Content ID registrations or claims, and review the account for additional unauthorized copyrighted material.

This appears to be a systematic issue rather than a simple metadata error: commercially released soundtrack recordings from Azumanga Daioh appear to have been republished under unrelated names, presented as newly owned material, and distributed through RouteNote decades after their original release.

Please confirm that this report has been forwarded for investigation and that the uploader’s full catalog and associated Content ID activity will be reviewed.
"""

And attach these images: https://imgur.com/a/S57o37e

2. Go to https://www.bandainamcomusiclive.co.jp/contact/form/report/ (Bandai Namco Music Live infringement report form) and paste the following in the text box:

"""
I am reporting suspected unauthorized distribution of music from the *Azumanga Daioh* original soundtrack catalog.

A YouTube account using the names “Bruh_Josue” / “Josue Acosta” appears to have distributed multiple *Azumanga Daioh* soundtrack recordings through RouteNote under unrelated titles while presenting itself as the phonographic copyright owner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0aO7tTNbcc

One example is “Sakaki!”, released February 8, 2026, which appears to be “どういうことかな” (“Douiu Kotokana”) from *TV Animation AZUMANGA-DAIOH Original Soundtrack Vol. 1* (Lantis, LACA-5111, released June 26, 2002).

This appears to affect multiple soundtrack tracks, not just one. An older 2008 YouTube upload is now associated with the recent RouteNote release, raising concerns about improper Content ID or monetization.

Please investigate these releases and take appropriate action.
"""

Click the red buttons (there will be another one after you press the first one) to send the message. Once sent, you should get a code like "REP-20260920101111-PbxdB". If you wish you can comment it here

There are also like 14 more songs that are being distributed by distrokid, but they are a whole can of worms when it comes to copyright. If theres enough interest and bandai-namco does not seem to do much, the next step would be to notify them as well.

The more reports all of these parties recieve, the less chances old azu content get deleted by copyright abuse.

Thought this was cool

body text

obligatory kakyoin lero lero lero meme

This is purely a discussion thread, so let’s not attack people just because we disagree with their opinions. Healthy discussion is always welcome, let’s just keep it respectful and handle things with some tact, so we can all be proud to say we’re part of this community.

Having seen only the mainstory of the game via livestreams, and their being no posts except gacha and character designs for awhile, I decided to make this Endgame discussion post.

I will be borrowing some points from this video as I haven't played CBT1/2, and only watched livestreams.

The major concern here is that, CBT1 had a roguelike gamemode where you get to explore the city as well as beat mobs. While this doesn't exist in the CBT2, instead we have the familiar spiral abyss-esque timed gamemode in a room where a we have to beat a swarm of enemies.

I agree that the spiral abyss like gamemodes become repetitive, and require the players to either spend on latest units to clear it and get the rewards. It doesn't encourage strategy / understanding boss mechanics. It ends up learning certain fixed rotations of meta characters keyboard mashing.

The endgame being too hard for the average player should be considered too. Keeping the rewards exclusively at lower levels of the endgame, which makes it easier for casuals​ to ​​​​not to feel FOMO and still featuring a hard level for the maniacs who love it would be as balanced as it can be.

I know that the CBT2 just ended and that there will be another beta test, I hope to see something different than the norm from the game, as it will help it establish itself in this vast sea of 3d gacha games.

Also I would like to hear what the beta testers wrote in their surveys about the endgame.​

Found this while scrolling through r/gachagaming

It lists 2025 employee counts for major Chinese gacha developers, based on social insurance/company filing data. Not sure if it's legitimate or not. Take it with a grain of salt. (The +429 etc numbers are for increase in employee counts from 2024 to 2025)

The fourth company on the list is Happy Elements (乐元素). You can clearly see the Silver Palace icon (Alf) next to it. I'm not sure of the other one. It's Ensemble Stars!

Happy Elements started as a casual mobile game developer, but its biggest global recognition comes from Ensemble Stars!, which turned it into a major anime/idol IP company. The company is headquartered in Beijing, with branches in Shanghai, Japan, and other locations.

What's interesting is the scale of their expansion. According to this chart, Happy Elements has 1,036 employees (+429 YoY), putting it among the larger Chinese gacha/game studios (although still far behind companies like miHoYo, Kuro Games, and Hypergryph). Honourable mentions would be Hotta with 500 employees, with its new game NTE.

I'm sure they have recruited even more in 2026, also according to note 10 (see below), the specified numbers are only from specific cities, so there are more employees than listed here.

Note 10:

CN: 乐元素、西山居、英雄游戏的人数是标注城市的人数，并非公司全部人数.

EN: The headcount listed for Happy Elements, Seasun Games, and Hero Games represents only the staff in the specified cities, not the total number of employees for each company.

I'm hoping Silver Palace can find its place in the vast sea of gacha games and carve out its own success. Fingers crossed.

Edit: Ensemble Stars! is a idol franchise game. It was developed by ​Happy Elements K.K.’s (Japanese branch of Happy Elements) Kyoto-based Cacalia Studio. The original game was Japanese-only for many years. It has since expanded into a massive multimedia IP with anime, manga, music albums, concerts, stage plays, and multiple games. While Enstars was primarily a Japan-focused idol franchise, Silver Palace appears to be a more globally positioned project, with Elementa handling international publishing/licensing efforts in Singapore and a broader CN-backed development structure.

Edit2: thank you u/Pheonixinfinty for the info!

This chart lists Happy Elements’ employees in Shanghai Only which is where the developers for Silver Palace (Silver Studios) and V Project (iv Studios) are based. 1k+ employees for two unreleased games is honestly insane

V Project is also a Idol Simulator similar to Ensemble Stars developed by iv Studios

Additional info: the report the chart was from also states that there are multiple Research and Development Teams for Silver Palace around the world. I would not surprised be there are some stationed in the Japanese Branch (Cacalia Studios/Grimoire Studios).