My thoughts on Idols, Real and Fictional
Okay, This is a really controversal subject for myself personally. I really like Japanese music. I think that anime albums are amazing and also, despite what people say, I do like the catchy songs of Jpop.
So clearly I couldn't go on continuing this without anything negative at all, right?
I actually first got into Idols with my long-time favourite anime, Aikatsu! And if anyone knows Aikatsu is that in the universe they live in, romance is forbidden. While some people say that this is crazy, ridiculous and unrealistic, It is actually very true.
In Japan, there are many Jpop boy and girl idol groups. One of the most famous groups is AKB48. It is so famous in fact that an anime would later be made based off of the group. AKB48 is one of the largest groups in Japan, with over 90 members. They are orginised with a bunch of smaller sub groups, Group 14, etc. (I honestly do not know all the groups names).
I personally am not a huge fan of AKB48 but I do enjoy one of their sub units, French Kiss.
When I was still new to the concept of Jpop, I decided to look up to see if there were any idols that were dating. (I honestly thought that Yasaka Saori was in a relationship.) And I came across a website that had an article of a young woman in AKB48 who had been caught in a scandal.
Minegishi Minami was an Idol in one of the smaller groups of AKB48. She was caught in a scandal that she was in a relationship with another popular music artist. She was downgraded and in a fit of panic, she shaved her head. Now somewhat offtopic, but for my Aikatsu friends out there; remember Akari's hair cut? In Japan a major haircut symbolises a new start, or rebirth. Minegishi did this as an apology to her fans.
Now why would dating actually be so bad? Well, it's very loosely explained in Aikatsu, where Ran says that an Idol has to love all her fans equally. That is a really innocent way of putting it. More so, Idols have to seem perfect and someone that you would want to be with. And if they are already with someone, it ruins the fantasy. Idols have images of cute innocent perfection that they have to keep up. When Yurika got into her scandal, she was thinking of quitting, but in real life she would've been punished by whatever company she was in (Starlight School, if it were real).
All these restrictions are inhumane, so when I see people saying that "Romance in that (idol) anime is so stupid!" I feel that whoever says that doesn't quite know the hardships of real life idols. It's okay to have opinions but it's better to see every side before making a judgement.
Now, are all Idol and Jpop groups bad? No of course not. The world is just very corrupt, and it's sad. I really lover SUPER☆GiRLS, and I find that the behind the scenes are also really sweet. IdolStreet in general is also pretty good. I have yet to find anything corrupt in it, of course anything can happen though. With my knowledge, no member of SUPER☆GiRLS has been kickout or downgraded. And I do love their music.
Many people will have differing opinions on Idols. Some say they are fake, which is an understanding of some sort. AKB48 actually created a fake "perfect" human combining different member's features
But other than that, we have to remember that no matter how famous a person might be, they are still people with feelings and morals. And it's always best to respect that.
Love~
Future Independent Idol (JK) , Miyu Takashiro.