>>29880361In idol culture it refers to people that have *serious* romantic feelings for the idol. What we would call a parasocial relationship. It is usually used to refer to the ones that drop tons of cash on their oshi, but anyone who genuinely thinks they are in love with them actually qualifies, not just the whales.
Gachikoi are similar but different from unicorns, and the terms should not be used interchangeably. Unicorns demand absolute purity and would prefer you to not even know that men exist(aside from themselves of course) or they will turn on you, much like the unicorns of legend. Gachikoi are more willing to overlook things like talking to a male coworker on twitter about business-related shit and are frankly more level-headed despite their feelings. Normal people don't flip out if their crush talks to a male cashier at the convenience store, right? Same deal. Gachikoi are like the "relatively" sane goslings who just want to be Ame's boyfriend. Unicorns are the ones who would consider her a slut if she ever even spoke to anyone in Tempus.
In a way you could compare it to true love vs selfish love because gachis would only drop someone if they were found to be in a relationship and therefore know they have no chance themselves. While unicorns will immediately turn on their supposed love interest without a second thought when given any hint they might be less than their ideal. Both are still mentally ill, but most people are nowadays.
