Mrs. Watanabe is outdated! Bloomberg Column: FX Warrior Kumomi is a new symbol of Japanese retail forex traders

Bloomberg column points out that the traditional “Mrs. Watanabe” image is outdated. In “FX Warrior Kurumi,” Kurumi is poised to become a new symbol for Japanese retail forex traders. The work depicts the brutal reality and knowledge of high-leverage trading in a hard-edged realistic style, sparking interest among the younger generation.

From Mrs. Watanabe to Kurumi, a new face of Japanese retail forex traders

Over the past few decades, “Mrs. Watanabe” has been synonymous with Japanese retail forex traders. According to Nomura Securities, it describes Japanese housewives who manage household finances, trade forex during their husbands’ working hours, and exchange yen for foreign currencies to invest in overseas high-yield assets. Watanabe is a common Japanese surname.

However, Bloomberg columnist Gearoid Reidy points out that the stereotype of “Mrs. Watanabe” is long outdated. The Japan News also notes that as the proportion of dual-income households in Japan gradually surpassed that of full-time housewives after the 1990s, traditional full-time housewives have become increasingly rare in modern Japanese society.

Reidy believes that Japan’s forex market needs a new retail trader symbol, and the female college student with pink hair, “Fukuga Kurumi,” is the new face of this era.

Sudden wealth or sudden debt: The hard-edged realistic trading world of FX Warrior Kurumi

“Fukuga Kurumi” comes from the recently announced anime adaptation of the manga “FX Warrior Kurumi,” written byでむにゃん and illustrated by炭酸だいすき. This manga does not romanticize trading behavior but faithfully depicts the thrilling process of high-leverage forex margin trading.

At the beginning of the story, Kurumi’s mother committed suicide after losing 20 million yen in the 2008 financial crisis due to forex investments. To recover her mother’s lost 20 million yen, Kurumi entered the market as an adult, facing issues such as rigid forex prices, margin calls, and her own susceptibility to addiction.

Since the original creator,でむにゃん, has investment experience in forex and other markets, they naturally include explanations of long and short positions, currency pair terminology, and depict high-leverage forex trading as a high-risk gamble that can lead to instant wealth or ruin, rather than just investment and finance, which is a distinctive feature that Reidy appreciates.

Image source: FX Warrior Kurumi anime trailer. “FX Warrior Kurumi” does not romanticize trading behavior but faithfully depicts the thrilling process of high-leverage forex margin trading.

Why is Kurumi popular among young people?

Why does the character Kurumi resonate with young audiences? Reidy initially speculated that it might be because she reflects the surge of interest among Japanese youth in forex trading, especially since in Japan, where online gambling is illegal, FX has become a kind of gambling substitute.

However, according to a survey by Nihon Keizai Shimbun, from 2009 to 2024, the proportion of individual traders under 30 has sharply fallen from 50% to 17%. The SMBC Consumer Finance survey also indicates that the most interesting investments for young people are index funds, stocks, cryptocurrencies, etc., with forex ranking seventh.

Actual investors participating in the forex market are also quite different from the image of Kurumi or Mrs. Watanabe; most current participants are older males.

Further reading:
Can’t afford a house, wages not rising! When effort is not rewarded, Generation Z turns to cryptocurrencies to turn things around

Kurumi’s creation is a continuation of the “cute girl doing cute things” genre

If not reflecting market trends, what does the birth of “FX Warrior Kurumi” really represent?

Reidy analyzes that this demonstrates the astonishing breadth of themes in the Japanese anime industry. From baking bread, camping, to fishing, Japanese manga can turn various topics into dramas. Just like the classic manga “King of Games” transforms the black-and-white chess duel into tense storytelling, “FX Warrior Kurumi” uses the fluctuations of candlestick charts and high-risk leverage to create dramatic tension.

Reidy believes this proves that even in fields with low youth participation, Japanese creators can still extract compelling stories.

From the author’s perspective, “FX Warrior Kurumi” combines adorable girls with brutal forex trading scenes, also showcasing Japan’s trend of creating “Cute Girl Do Cute Things” works (Cute Girl Do Cute Things), and after works like Puella Magi Madoka Magica, which pair cute girls with brutal plots, this is another attempt to combine moe characters with specialized themes.

Image source: Aniplex 2011 Japanese original TV anime “Puella Magi Madoka Magica”

After all, financial and investment knowledge remains somewhat complex for the general public. By pairing cute girls with intense plotlines, “FX Warrior Kurumi” significantly lowers the barrier for young people to engage with finance.

Mrs. Watanabe is no longer relevant

Although “FX Warrior Kurumi” depicts the brutal side of high-leverage forex trading, which might deter some viewers who dislike harsh stories, Reidy views its influence positively.

He states that, just as the volleyball manga “Haikyuu!!” sparked a volleyball craze among children, this anime has the potential to bring new support to the dull trading world.

Regardless of how the “FX Warrior Kurumi” anime performs after airing, Reidy believes that it is ultimately a good thing for more young Japanese to get involved in trading, since the “Mrs. Watanabe” label’s relevance has long since expired.

Further reading:
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