Seventh Moon - Oshikatsu

"Oshikatsu" is a portmanteau of "oshi" (favorite) and "katsudou" (activity).

Nominally, it's about having something of your favorite character to bring with you everywhere.

But there's something more to it than that.

As you continue on the endless odyssey of oshikatsu, your love grows stronger, your delusions deeper.

So here follows my log of all the fun things I've done, cool places I've gone, with Ciel-senpai.

Here's my Senpai plush in her travel case. It's got enough room for her, her backpack, and any costume she might be wearing.

On one side of the case, I have this official Ciel can badge I got from the Cospa store, and the nice matching ribbon from an oshikatsu shop in Ikebukuro.

Assorted keychains attached to the case. My contact information is stowed in the back sleeve on a matching Senpai post-it note I got from Mandarake, on the off chance I ever forget her somewhere.

Oshikatsu accessories. The small acrylic stand can be taken apart to fit inside her backpack. The curry spoon lives in the back of her travel pouch.

I also got a can badge of Tohno Shiki that's perfectly sized for her backpack. Now Senpai is doing oshikatsu too!

This Ciel-senpai is from the "Pitanui Magnet" line-up of plushes, and was the last one at Kotobukiya's Akihabara store in October 2024. The Pitanui lineup is seemingly discontinued, but you can still find costumes and accessories for them if you know where to look.

At a showing of "Voltes V Legacy" in Kiba, Tokyo.

At a fancy cafe in Ikebukuro with a slice of mont blanc. This was shortly after I bought the nice clear carry pouch for her at the oshikatsu section at the nearby Animate.

Eating a 7-11 curry bread at Diver City Tokyo.

Holding a completed Unicorn Gundam stamp rally postcard. The short-lived Pitanui Magnet subline had magnets in their hands to clasp them together, as seen here.

At the Volks store in the Radio Kaikan building in Akihabara. With some very nice, and very expensive, Senpai dolls.

With a massive banana-flavored confection that I very nearly couldn't finish.

With the life-size VF-25 Gerwalk from Macross Frontier, on display in Tokyo Skytree.

For scale next to a chocolate parfait at Denny's in Ikebukuro.

I believe this spaghetti was from a fancy Italian place inside Yodobashi Camera, also in Ikebukuro.

In front of the Tower of the Sun, the highlight/mascot of the 1970 Osaka World Expo.

With a plush of Myaku Myaku, the mascot character of the then-upcoming 2025 Osaka World Expo.

At the Tsuyuno Tenjinsha shrine in Umeda, Osaka.

A big plate of curry (her favorite!) for our last sitdown meal on my first Japan trip.

Back at home in the USA. Pictured with the Decepticon dinosaur/citybot, Trypticon, and the child-size Ultraman shirt I bought for him abroad.

I got this Santa Pitanui costume a few years before I got this plush but it suits her so well.

With a Christmas cake from the local Japanese bakery.

A friend of mine who loves to bake unique confections made "this chair is an eyesore" cupcakes for a holiday party I was hosting.

Eating a shrimp tempura.

With a recently customized gashapon Z'Gok from Gundam.

Enjoying a karaage bowl.

Gaming.

What kind of gaming? Melty Blood? No, Meltyblend.

At an American superstore.

With the ATM-09-ST Scopedog. Wearing a nautical costume I had rediscovered that I had bought for a different Pitanui.

With some taiyaki ice cream from the nearby rotating sushi restaurant.

I always have Senpai close at hand for mahjong nights with the fellas. My special riichi mahjong ability is the knack for getting suu ankou (four concealed triplets) much more often than most players.

In a local Japanese restaurant's "Curry Corner"

Wearing the "Suica Game" hairclip that I packed so well for the return trip from Japan, that I didn't find it for months.

With a plate of some favorite nigiri.

About to dig into a big bowl of gyudon.

I have a lot of fun taking Senpai out to the movies.

At a local diner with a mug of hot chocolate. My favorite spots to go out and eat are either Japanese restaurants, or classically styled American diners where you can order pancakes all day.

Celebrating my birthday with some friends.

In a Keroppi mug.

Another big bowl of curry rice.

Speaking of curry, as an active Dance Dance Revolution player, I always try to hit this marker during my sessions.

Wielding the King of Braves's Dividing Driver. Much like her Gothic Fort, it's a tool that bends space.

With a friend's extra-large Hakurei Reimu fumo.

I like the sunflower hairclip I found for her, but I don't use it too much. Sunflowers are Kohaku's, after all.

With the coming of spring, it was finally seasonally appropriate to have Senpai wear the bunny hood seen in my very first photo of her.

Hanging out with a big fluffy Cinnamoroll I won from a crane game.

The nearby Japanese restaurant I frequent most often started serving curry udon just in time for Senpai's birthday.

I also got her another slice of mont blanc.

And of course! More curry bread.

With all kinds of nice flowers I saw around town.

This is where that small acrylic stand comes in handy, it sticks between her and her backpack to keep her elevated.

It keeps her out of the dirt here, but even when I'm placing her on a surface that's not noticeably dirty, I'll still use the stand.

At an anime convention, trapped inside a mimic.

Another night out at the movies, also featuring SHF Ayase Momo, and a friend's plush, the rabbit from the hugely popular Chiikawa.

When teaching mahjong at events, if we're short a player, I'll play two hands and have Senpai as my representative at one seat. She won this game with a baiman! (Riichi, tsumo, tanyao, dora 1, aka 1, ura 3)

That previously mentioned teaching session directly inspired
this drawing seen above. (From @drkotobuki.)

With that awful cat she hangs out with sometimes.

The first picture I took of Senpai on my second trip to Japan, after an incredibly long day of travel.

This second trip was with family, and without me even asking her, my younger sister bought me a curry bread at her first trip to the conbini. She knows me so well.

The main motivation for going back to Japan after less than a year was to go to the Osaka World Expo 2025. But even without going to the Expo proper, it was being promoted all over the place.

My first big bowl of curry rice on this second trip, was at the exact same place where I had my last one on my first trip.

On the Character Store floor at the mall on top of Umeda Station. You've never seen so many 1/12 scale Gundam statues in one place. This one is the new variant of the original Gundam, designed especially for the World Expo.

And here's the GQuuuuuuX, from the (at press time) latest TV Gundam anime.

With the more classic version of the original Gundam, the RX-78-2, from the first 1979 TV show.

With the GAT-X105 Strike Gundam.

I also got her another slice of mont blanc.

With a wall decal of Haro, Gundam's classic mascot character. This is the GQuuuuuuX version of Haro, with his signature beanie. If you look closely, you can see the JPEG artifacts! He was strangely low-res.

With Goku in his Dragon Ball Daima child form.

At the Kyoto Railway Museum. A wide variety of exhibits, many that even have English translations, make this place fun for all ages.

The Railway Museum has a lot of fun interactive displays. Here's Senpai at their mockup of a Showa-era train station store.

With one of those legendary train bento boxes. (Doctor Yellow inspired, if you're curious.)

With another curry bread, and a cute hair clip I bought for her at a station store.

The year is 202X, and Kenshiro, master of the Fist of the North Star assassination art, stands by peacefully in the mall.

Senpai and the original Ultraman from the 1966 series.

Senpai, very excited to revisit the Tower of the Sun. (The frog costume seen here, I purchased the previous day at the Kotobukiya store in Shinsaibashi.)

Senpai at the Soup Store.

Back at the Tsuyuno Tenjinsha shrine in Umeda. My favorite shrine I've visited, it's tucked away between buildings in such a way that the hubbub of the surrounding city disappears. A peaceful and relaxing spot.

Senpai with that cat that points at things and goes "YOSH!"

Senpai at the Detective Conan pop-up store that we unexpectedly discovered near Osaka Castle.

With a standee of Mari from Evangelion, another famous anime girl with glasses.

At Osaka Castle. Here, I made use of my most recently obtained oshikatsu support item, a clear support stick made to hold up your plushes.

With a limited-time big curry bread from 7-11, a small plush curry bread that I got from a gashapon machine, and Senpai's new curry rice hairpin.

With one of the world-famous Nara deer. You really can pet these fellas like you would a cat. One of them took a big bite out of our map.

We didn't actually eat at this restaurant but I had to get a picture of the curry produced by Ciel.

With a big size super-deformed Zaku, the eternal rival of any Gundam.

This restaurant called this confection a "Chocolate Croffle" and while I don't think I love that name, it was tremendously tasty.

An official Godzilla plush hoodie that fits Senpai just right.

Senpai at the Osaka World Expo 2025, in front of the 1:1 scale Gundam on display at the event.

Ciel-senpai pls come to Brasil.

With a big light-up Myaku Myaku.

At the Expo's closing event for each evening, the water and light show "Under the Midnight Rainbow." We had to stick around to see this, no matter what.

At the Osaka International Airport.

With a small figure of Daitetsujin One-Eight I bought at Nakano Broadway.

Senpai with a big plate of curry at Tokyo Big Sight, after a long day of walking around the Type-Moon hall at Comiket 106.

At a cafe in Ikebukuro after Comiket.

With a small plush football out of another gashapon machine, full of stereotypically American landmarks and objects.

Yes, that's true!

At the movies on our last day of the trip. There were promotions and posters for the new Demon Slayer movie everywhere, so naturally, we went to go see the new Crayon Shin-chan film.

Senpai in NYC, less than a week after getting home from Japan.

With (a large poster of) anisong supergroup, JAM Project.

Sickos Senpai.

Senpai with a big ol' slice of New York pizza, and garlic knots to share.

Senpai at yet another anime event, with a fitting convention badge ribbon.

Senpai and an Arceuid cosplayer who was gracious enough to hold her for a picture.
(If this is you or someone you know! Please let me know so I can credit you/them properly.)