The year is almost over, so Google has released its global top-trending searches of 2023, and we can see plenty of otaku have been looking things up.
For instance, the fourth most Googled TV show of 2023 was One Piece, probably due to the Netflix adaptation. Meanwhile, “Idol,” the opening theme song for Oshi no Ko performed by YOASOBI, showed up in two lists. It is both the number one most searched song on Google in 2023, as well as the third most common “Hum to Search” song.
Looking at the list of “Most Googled Actors,” Japanese Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ennosuke was the third most searched person, following Jeremy Renner and Jenna Ortega. Ennosuke, who has acted in otaku-themed plays like the One Piece Kabuki play, was in the news this year not for his acting work, but for being arrested over the deaths of his parents. He is the only Japanese actor (and only one of two Asian actors, along with Indian actress Kiara Advani) to make the top 10 list.
HIDIVE is streaming the Oshi no Ko anime and gave this description for it:
Dr. Goro is reborn as the son of the young starlet Ai Hoshino after her delusional stalker murders him. Now, he wants to help his new mother rise to the top, but what can a child do about the dark underbelly of the entertainment industry?
VIZ Media publishes the original One Piece manga and gave this description for it:
As a child, Monkey D. Luffy was inspired to become a pirate by listening to the tales of the buccaneer “Red-Haired” Shanks. But his life changed when Luffy accidentally ate the Gum-Gum Devil Fruit and gained the power to stretch like rubber…at the cost of never being able to swim again! Years later, still vowing to become the king of the pirates, Luffy sets out on his adventure…one guy alone in a rowboat, in search of the legendary “One Piece,” said to be the greatest treasure in the world…
Source: Google
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.