Janakya Mottainai is moving!

This is the last post I will be writing on this blog. And that's because Janakya Mottainai is moving over to a new blog. You can read more about it there.
Here's my new site url:

http://intlwota.com/janakyamottainai/

So, come on over to my new blog if you want. And if you want to read my posts in the future please update your links. :D

Blog hiatus

So, I woke up today and it said all of my bandwidth exceeded on photobucket. Now, I am completely horrible at computers, and had no idea what that even meant. And,  after some googling, apparently there is no way to change this or to fix this unless I upgrade my photobucket to pro. And since I don't have a job, or even a bank account, I have absolutely no way to upgrade my account. So, that means I now have to resave and rehost ALL of my pictures on my blog to a site that has unlimited bandwidth. Which is approximately 3,020 images. 3,020! Obviously this is going to take me weeks, if not a month, to do. And I honestly am not looking forward to it at all.

I am so completely upset right. Like on the verge of tears upset. (Whatever, I cry at the drop of a hat) So, yeah don't expect any kind of updates for a while.

My love-hate relationship with AAA

The title of this post pretty much says it all. And from that it should be obvious what this post is going to in entail of. Most of this post is my personal back story. So, if you could care less about that I suggest you skip this post. I think I might have already posted about some of this back story before, but I can't really remember. But even if I have it hasn't been written in such detail before. XD
By the way, this post is long overdue. Like, a lot longer than you'd think. But you know how I loved to procrastinate on this blog. Well, I procrastinate with these types of posts. With news posts I tend to try and post them the second I find out about it. XD

When I first got into Japanese music in September 2004 I was instantly in love with it. And because of that instant attraction I knew I was going to be listening to it for a long time. And I wanted to do something special to commemorate what was going to become a rather fond memory. Since I was only 12 at the time I decided to do so in the only way I could think of, through music. I decided the perfect way to commemorate the occasion was to find a group that had just formed and follow them from day 1. And as the years passed, and the group remained intact, I could fondly looked back and see how much the group had evolved. And inturn look at how much I had evolved as a fan of Japanese music. And also to see how far the group had come. So, that every time I listend to them it would make me think of how I had been following them since the beginning and to also think of the exact moment I became a fan of Japanese music. And I did just that, the group I picked was Hinoi Team. And I absolutely loved them. I emerged myself completely in them. I listened to all their songs, I learned about the members, I followed absolutely every move they made, and I also learned a few of their dances. I followed Hinoi Team just as closesly as I follow Hello!Project and Johnny's Entertainment now. So, that should give you a clear picture of just how much I loved them. As we looked back at the fate of Hinochi, I obviously shouldn't have put all my eggs in one basket. The whole Hinoi Team disbanding situation as a whole still makes me angry. Mostly because to this day Avex has never officially announced they broke up. You were supposed to just know because one of the members stopped modeling for the magazines that the Hinoi Team members were modeling for. I can't 100% remember which girl it was. But I'm like 70% sure it was Keika. And the song Please Forgive Me was supposed to tell you they were sorry for breaking up. But Avex never officially said that. And as a devoted fan I wasn't going to believe it until it was official. But after a year with no word about them, I finally accepted they broke up.

But what does any of this have to do with AAA? I'm glad you asked! Or, rather, most likely were thinking this as you just read a seemingly pointless paragraph. If you couldn't figure it out by now, I had every intention of doing the exact same thing with AAA that I did with Hinoi Team. I can still remember when the group AAA was first announced. I was extremely excited. I was beyond happy to add yet another group to commerate becoming a Japanese music fan. I can still remember the rush of excitment vividly. I was in such a euphoric state just because a new Japanese group had been announced.You can tell right from the beginning I was very passionate, and extremely into, Japaneses music. And that type of passion and excitment hasn't changed. It's actually intensified over the years.

However, when I first heard BLOOD on FIRE I was completely turned off. I only ever listened to the song once, and then I completely washed my hands of them. I didn't give the song a second chance. And I didn't bother seeing if their next couple of singles were good. I was done, just completely done. And that snap judgement set the course for how I treated AAA over the years. I'm sure I had a good reason for not liking the song of course. It was probably because the style of music was so different from what I was listening to at the time. It was techo/anime sounding music with a hip hop vibe. It was also probably because there was rapping in it. Back in the day I thought rapping in Japanese was hilarious. And I could never take it seriously. Obviously I grew out of that. And I actually love Tanaka Koki's rapping. But I think it was ultimately because of how much I liked Jrock. Even though I did listen to Jpop back then, and most of it was pretty ubeat, a majority of the music I listened to and focused on was Jrock. I thought a lot of music that wasn't Jrock was inferior. Which in retrospect makes no sense. I must have been bipolar or selectively judgmental back then. Because on one hand I learned the dances to Hinoi Team's Super Euro Flash and Tamaki Nami's My Way, but on the other hand I was trying to completely be Visual Kei/Jrock and practically worshiped Dir en grey. I think it was probably mostly male singers that I judged side by side with Jrock. Because I can clearly remember, after such a fuss was made about them online, looking up Arashi and Super Junior. And then making fun of them a lot. Ironically, now I love both groups. But back then I viewed any male Japanese singer that wasn't Jrock to be too happy and girly for my taste. However, for some reason I really loved Miyavi. Even though his music, and style, has always been pop  with guitar rifts and sometime heavy music, he was always given a pass. Probably because he was still under the Jrock umbrella. And ironically my love of idol music now determines what kind of Jrock I listen to. Since the majority of Japanese music I listen to is idol music, I hardly ever listen to Jrock anymore. And the little Jrock I do listen to has moved from heavier music and  Visual Kei music to the lighter side of Jrock. Pretty much all I listen to is Oshare Kei because the music is happy and upbeat. It's the most idol like Jrock out there. Pretty funny, huh? But I'm getting way off subject now. Anyway, any of these reasons could be why I wasn't into AAA. I honestly can't remember anymore. It was 7 years ago, and I was 12, give me a break. XD

It was 3 years later when I was ready to give AAA another chance. Mirage had just come out and it was a pretty popular song. Well popular enough in Japan, it didn't really sell all that well. But for some reason it was pretty popular on the internet. Or it seemed to be anyway. So, I thought "Ok, people seem to really love this song. I should give it a try." And a try I gave it. But again I wasn't into the song. My reason behind not liking it is pretty hazy. All I remember is thinking "Why do people like this song so much? It has weird Indian music." Even though that was only 3 years ago I can't really remeber too well what I thought of that song and AAA. Mostly because the song didn't leave a big impression on me, so I saw no reason to remember every little detail about the song.

And yet again I washed my hands of them. It wasn't until about 6 months later I gave them another chance. I heard a group dub of Kuchibiru Kara Romantica. I thought the dub was so well done that it made me want to hear the original song. Which by the way, I had no idea was AAA. I was completely blown away by the song. By then I was completely engulfed with idol music. Both male and female. So, I was apparently ready to give them another chance. I then listened to Get Chu and got addicted to it immediately. But the next song I heard was Q. Which I thought was completely awful, and I became derailed again. The overly intense and weird music threw me off. I also lost interest because I didn't find any of the members attractive. However, today I think Nishijima Takahiro is adorable. In that "he's so odd/unique looking that he's cute." way. Nishi kind of looks like a duck to me, but he's still a cutie.  A couple of months later, by accident, I found the Kimono Jet Girl video. Which I also thought was awful. But after the 4th or 5th listen I was hooked. The repetitive nature of the song made it insanely easy for it to get stuck in my head. A complete ear worm!

Since then I've listened to a few more AAA songs. Some I've liked: Music, Dream After Dream ~Yume Kara Sameta Yume~, and Summer Revolution. And some I didn't: Jamboree, Hallelujah, and Aitai Riyuu. But at least thats's an improvement. At least I'm sort of making an effort now.

Well, that brings us up to date. That pretty much shows how I have a legit love-hate relationship with AAA. But AAA has always been an idol group that I've wanted to cover on my blog. Since they were a group I was midly interested in, and was sort of familiar with, I thought it would perfect to cover them. Since blogging would keep up to date on  the group, and because I would be blogging about them, I'd have to go back and learn more about them and their music to make decent posts about them. (The same thing with Kanjani, but I've been really lazy with them. XD) Back in 2009 when I officially turned JM into an idol blog, I put focus on how I was going to be covering AAA. However, since then I have yet to make one post about them. It was a perfect plan, but it just never actually happened. And the main reason for that is whenever I hear an AAA song for the first time I never like it. I am usually extremely underwhelmed with the song, and then lose all interest in it. And because of that I feel completely uninspired and skip writing about the single all together. It usually takes a while for AAA's songs to stick. But after they do I'm usually in love with them. Pretty much every AAA song I've ever heard I ended up liking later on. I had every intention to make posts about Paradise, Daiji na Koto, and No Cry No More. They were like the first singles I set out to write about as soon as they were announced. But I didn't like them enough the first 5-6 times I heard them to write about them.  But now I am completely in love with them. Well, I love the songs minus No Cry No More. But that's probably because that song is still too new. XD

After writting this post I'm not exactly sure what the point of this post is. It actually doesn't really have one. I guess I wrote it, more or less, to vent my frustation at myself for how I've been putting AAA on the back burner. This post turned into a rant more than anything. I don't know, I just feel really sad about my whole AAA situation. I'm actually starting to really like AAA. I mean, Get Chu and Music are some of my favorite idol songs of all time. It just feels like there's been a lot lot of wasted time. There was a good 6 years I could have spent being an avid AAA fan. Or at least 3. Instead I settled for indifference because of my own high expectations and intense scrutiny of everything.

Idol relations: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Recently I was laying in bed and I was thinking about Kamei Eri and her sister. (Yes, I lay in bed and think of idols. It's completely normal and not obsessive) I was thinking about how much different they look, even though they are related. And from there it just kind of snowballed. I then thought about Yamapi and his sister. And that made me think of how all idols compare to their siblings and other relatives. Now, I orginally wanted to make this post back when pictures of Kamei Eri's sister first surfaced. Because, to put it nicely, I didn't really see the family resemblance. And because I didn't think anyone really cared about an entire post about Kamei Eri's sister I never made that post. And that post was just going to just focus on Eri and Rina. This post will encompass all of the idol relations that I know of. I'm sure there are way more then what are included in this post. But I really only know of the relations within H!P and JE. So, I'm sorry for that.

I want to give fair warning now that this post is completely shallow. Well, I should say, it can be perceived as being shallow. I actually think this post is honest, blunt, and pretty much telling it like it is. Celebrities are fair game for my judgement. If they didn't want the spotlight, and all the judgement that comes along with it, they wouldn't have become celebrities in the first place. I just thought I'd put up that little disclamer, because I'm sure I'll get greif from this post. Comments saying I'm a horrible and shallow person. And people like me are what's wrong with the world. And I'm not much to look at myself. And many other variations of that. And maybe I am a little shallow. But come on, we're idol fans. We'd be lying if we didn't admit we were shallow to some extent.

I'm mostly making this post to see if the idol genes run in the family. Or does lighting truely only strike once? While the final decision is debatable and based soley on personal preferences and opinion, I'm starting to think it really does only strike once.

Tanaka Koki and Tanaka Juri.

I think right off the bat Juri was kind of doomed because of my obvious Koki bias. I think I've made my love for Tanaka Koki quite obvious on this blog. It's not even so much a physical thing. Even though I think Koki is pretty adorable. It's more of a mixture of looks and Koki being completely awesome. I've know for a while that Koki's younger brother was a Johnny's Junior, but I never really knew what he looked like until recently. Mostly because I don't follow Juniors at all. But after watching Yan Yan Jump, I have been seeing him a lot more lately.  And I have to say, he is actually kind of cute. He has a completely different look then Koki. Juri seems to follow the male idol, pretty boy look. While Koki has spent practically his whole career trying to look the opposite. Obviously I'd have to say Koki is better looking. But Juri's not too far behind. Give him a couple years, and he may surpass his brother.

Kamei Eri and Kamei Rina.

Ah, the whole reason I made this post. First off, I want to say how absolutely gorgeous I think Eri is. She's like a perfect mixture of beauty and cuteness. I seriously think she was one of the most beautiful Musumes ever. Some tough shoes to fill right off the bat. After seeing pictures of Rina I actually find it hard to believe that they are related. It's not that Rina is ugly, because she's not really. She's more of average. It's just mind boggling that the same parents who made Eri also made Rina. You know the term "the ugly sister?" I think it's obvious who is who. Oh, is that too harsh?

Akanishi Jin and Akanishi Fuuta.

Ah, Akanishi Jin, quite arguably one of the most popular and most attractive idols in all of Johnny's. I personally find him incredibly attractive. Him and his boyish good looks. And his face that at the same time is innocent, adorable, and sexy. It's pretty cut and dry why he's so popular. And his brother Reio Fuuta actually looks almost exactly like Jin. I mean, just at first glance you can tell that they are related. However, the Akanishi features that work so perfectly for Jin, don't do Fuuta any favors. See, Jin has a huge chin farly large jaw. And the other features of his face somehow compensate for this. However, on Fuuta his jaw is pretty much all you notice. And the soft features that make Jin adorable/sexy make Fuuta look awkward and confused. He seriously looks like a deer sometimes.

Okai Chisato and Okai Asuna.

Am I seeing double here or is that really Chisa's sister and not Chisa herself? First off, I never really thought Chisato was really all that pretty. Until Bye Bye Bye she never stood out to me. Now, lately I do think she is looking very pretty. Probably the prettiest she has ever looked. Sometimes she looks very elegant and gorgeous. But in the grand scheme of idols, and the world, I still think Chisato is average looking. Perhaps slightly above average. But the type of person, if was walking down my street, I wouldn't give any more of a responce then, "Yeah, she's kinda pretty." That being said I feel pretty much the same way about Asuna. She's cute, but obviously less cute then Chisa. But I think both girls look pretty similar. Maybe about 50-60 percent the same. The type of girls you see and know right off the bat are sisters. They have the same nose, eyes, and mouth. They look a lot more similar then Jin and Fuuta. But Asuna's face is puffier and her teeth make her look more awkward.

Morimoto Ryutaro and Morimoto Shintaro.

Can I first point out how much their names make me laugh. Obviously their parents loved the whole taro name. It's pretty much the Japanese equivalent of having your kid's names rhyme. XD
Overall the Morimoto brothers don't really do anything for me. Since I've been a Hey! Say! JUMP fan I never really paid attention to Ryutaro. And for the longest time I always thought it was because he was 3 years younger than me. But it's actually not that. I mean, he's made me laugh a few times. But looks wise I could care less. Shintaro does nothing for me either. Since he's both Ryutaro's brother and a popular Junior he gets a lot of pimping in concerts and TV shows. But he's never come off to me as anything more than strange. Sometimes he looks oddly similar to Ryutaro and others he looks so far from him. But Shintaro just has this strange blank stare in photos and sometimes on TV. That's pretty much a "I watch you while you sleep" sort of look.

Yajima Maimi and Takeuchi Akari.

Yes, I do realize that Maimi and Akari are only cousins. But relation, is relation. So, it still counts. And I wanted to include cousins anyway.
Yet another set of huge shoes to fill. Maimi is hands down the prettiest member of H!P kids. I mean, she is drop dead gorgeous. Her beauty is absolutely breath taking. And all that jazz. But seriously she really is. She has this sort of effortless, airy, aura to her. Poor little Akari doesn't really match up to Maimi. Yes, I also realize she's only 13 and hasn't really grown into her face yet. But as of right now she's kind of lack luster. I think it's mostly because of her hair. That has to be one of the most unattractive hairstyles I have ever seen.

Nakajima Yuto and Nakajima Raiya.

Nakajima Yuto is my favorite member of Hey! Say! JUMP. I actually don't even think he's the most attractive member per se, but there's something about Yuto that attracts me to him. Probably because he's so absolutely innocent and adorable. Now, Yuto and Raiya are 6 years apart so they obviously can't look 100% the same. But their features are noticeably similar. They have the same nose and eyes. And Raiya even short of looks like Yuto did when he was younger. Obviously I'm not going to judge Raiya beyond that because he's, what, 12. I'm obviously not attracted to 12 year olds. Even judging 14 year old Shintaro was weird. XD

Abe Natsumi and Abe Asami.

I've never really understood the whole Nacchi hype. I always thought she was a little annyoing and her face always made her look older than she was. But I guess she is cute in a puppy dog sense. However, it is absolutely amazing and weird just how similar Nacchi and her sister look. I mean they are 80-90% similar. If you were in a dim lit room you might mistake Asami for Natsumi. Because of that I find Asami as pretty as I find Nacchi. Which isn't all that much.

Natsuyaki Miyabi and Fujie Rena.

Obviously since they are only cousins they don't look 100% similar. But I mean you can notice similarites. Personally, my mom tells me how I look more and more like my Aunt everyday.
I think both girls are actually quite stunning. If you look closely you can see that Miyabi and Rena have very similar looking mouths and eyes. And I think both girls have very strong features. Rena has a little bit larger eyes than most people and Miyabi has a little bit larger chin then most people. Either way, there's a pretty good gene pool in that family.

Yamashita Tomohisa and Yamashita Rina.

Yamapi is a pretty standard pretty boy. One of the best looking in JE. Which I always appreciate. He's not really my favorite NEWS member because of his lack of personality and his dead fish eyes in pictures. But he's one of my favorite NEWS member to look at. XD Rina looks almost exactly like Yamapi. You would think that would be a good thing, but it's just not. She pretty much looks like Yamapi with longer hair. You would think Yamapi's soft features would transfer to his sister as well, but they don't. Rina even has slightly heavier features than Yamapi. It's actually kind of funny that the brother looks prettier and softer than the sister. Rina is a fromer gravure idol. She obviously did the smart thing and quit her day job.

Tanaka Koki and Tsukamoto Airi.
It's a little hard to judge similarites between not onlycousins but between male and female cousins. I think I've already made it pretty obvious how I feel about Koki. Airi is actually a little pretty. But her makeup is so thick you can't really tell. I'm not really into her gyaru looking makeup. There is a small similarity between them. Their noses look almost identical. But other than that you'd never be able to tell they were related.

Nakayama Yuma and Yamada Nana.

It's incredible that Yuma and Nana look almost exactly the same. The only real difference is that one is a boy and one is a girl. Other than that they look the same. Same nose, same eyes, same eyebrows, and same face shape. However, Nana's lips are bigger, but that's to be expected since she's a girl. I think Nana is the better of the two. Even though the particular picture I chose of Nana is a little awkward, she does come off as really cute and bubbly in pictures. Where as Yuma comes off creepy in pictures, videos, and on TV. I think it mosty has to do with the color of his hair. When he has black hair he looks significantly better, sometimes down right adorable. But when he has lighter shades the terrifying features of his face become more apparent.
So, was this a pointless post? You decide. And most of you reading this will probably say it is. But I mainly made this post for my own enjoyment. And I actually had a blast writing it, if you can believe that.

AKB48 breaks a record, but do they deserve it?

AKB48's new single, Everyday Kachuusha,  has just broken the record for a single's best first week sales. They broke the record in just 5 days beating the previous number one single, Mr. Children's Namonaki Uta. And I am actually really angry by all of this. I think AKB48 is completely undeserving to break the record and to hold such a high honor.

And don't go thinking I'm bitter because AKB48 broke the record and not my favorite idol group, because that is absolutely not the case. I don't think ANY idol group should break a record like this. Not Morning Musume, not NEWS, and certainly not AKB48. I think this coveted position should be held by a legit artsit who deserves it. Not an arist who was only picked because they danced around in bikinis and are the newsest flavor of the week. Yes, I realized their popularity is HUGE and has been for years. I simply mean that eventually people will move on to some other idol group. And that new idol group will be the "it" group and the new flash in the pan. And years from now when no one cares about AKB48 anymore people will be saying, "I can't believe such and such established artist can't beat that has been idol group. And sadly that's most likely going to happen.

And to anyone out there who thinks AKB48, or any idol group, actually deserves to win you are lying to yourself. AKB48 didn't win because the song is that amazing, beautiful, or meaningful. They won because they are insanely popular and they made a suggestive PV. (I can hear the people crying, "The PV is innocent. Bikinis aren't suggestive. I can't think of anything more innocent then dancing and parading around in bikinis." Right, because only obvious sexual behavior is suggestive.)
It just makes me angry. I heard and read the translation for Mr. Children's song today. It's beautiful. The singing is actually kinda bad, but the lyrics are really pretty and sweet. And I can completely see why they held the top spot. It's a song about being there for the person you love. No matter what happens, no matter how difficult things get, you'll always be there for them. AKB48's song on the other hand is a mediocore pop song about it being summer. And basically mundane things you do when it's summer such as running in the seas breeze, having the sun beat on you, etc. And of course it's the typical idol lyrics about loving someone from a far, and blah blah. The lyrics are just ok. They aren't heartfelt, they aren't even the best lyrics or best song by AKB48. If Beginner or Keibetsu Shiteita Aijou won, I still wouldn't like it but I'd get it more. There was just absolutely no reason why this song won.

I would love to hear a fan try and defend this situation, because they can't. And any fan that can't realize that they are undeserving takes idol music and idols far too seriously.
If I'm being honest here I don't think either songs were amazing enough to win. If I had it my way Uemura Kana's Toilet no Kamisama would win. That song is so heartbreaking, it makes me cry every time I hear it.

I don't know, I love idols and all but I don't really like it  when they start beating legit artists for things. It kinda makes me angry.

The stigma of being a fan

So, I wrote this blog post mid April, right after I got my JE calendars and expected to make this post shortly after. However, everything always gets pushed back. But regardless of when I made this post, I really wanted to make it to get all this frustration off my chest. It's just basically what I go through and feel on a day to day basis, just from being an idol fan. I also hope that in some small way people will relate to this post.
But anyway, disclaimer over and on to the real post.

I'm sure everyone out there who is a fan of idol music has faced some sort of judgment or mocking for liking idols. Especially the fans that live outside of Asia. Since wota are usually around 30 years old, I'm sure lots of people would question why someone that age listens to teenage girls singing about love. Or question if liking idol music is as innocent as it seems. But since I'm not a 30 year old man, and never will be, I of course can't say for sure every fan has experienced or will experience this. But one can assume this is how people would react if they have no idea what idols are.
However, if a male fan were to like an idol group like AKB48 or SDN48 I'm sure people would react differently. Since both groups take a lot of revealing and sexy photos, people would understand the appeal more and accept it more. Even if they didn't accept it they would at least understand it better.

And because of that male idol fans have it much easier than us female fans. I never really realized just how hard it is for a female fan until recently. I found out because as I started to get idol merchandise, and my family became more aware of idols as a whole, they have voiced their opinions on it several times. And I found myself not only being slightly ashamed and embarrassed, but also pretty angry. There seems to be a real stigma for being a fan of idol music. And that stigma is even greater for female fans.

As a female fan I think there's a stigma right off the bat for being a female idol fan because apparently by default if I'm listening to a female singer I have to have the hots for them, or I wouldn't listen to them. Which is absolutely ridiculous because no one would assume that if I was listening to an American female group. I think that logic stems from 2 reasons. The first being, I'm choosing to listen to that type of music. I would have a lot less grief if I choose to listen to regular legit Jpop. And the second reason being the type of music they make and the way they present themselves. Since female idols are mostly marketed to male fans everything they do reflects that. The PVs, the photo shoots, the photobooks, and to some extent the lyrics. And when you choose to like something like that, there's some automatic judgment in that. Even when I say I like the music because I'm a girl and they are girls. They are singing about things girls relate to, therefore I like it. It doesn't really make much of a difference or change anything.
And because of that I usually downplay my love for female idols around my family. I usually only mention liking male idols because that's easier to accept. So, then I also don't ask for, or buy, much female idol merchandise. I can't imagine the backlash if I asked for a photobook. Obviously I'm ok enough in my own sexuality to say such and such looks adorable. Or such and such looks sexy in that outfit, without physically being attracted to that person. However, most people do not feel that way. I feel a little ostracized because of it.

And since I'm a girl you'd think liking male idols would be easier, but it's just as bad. It might actually be worse. And that stems, of course, mostly from the way male idols look. In America, and most countries outside of Asia, the aesthetics are completely different. What the West sees as flamboyant, girly, or in a sense "gay", Asia finds normal and the most appealing. And when you show someone photos of male idols, and they don't understand the aesthetics of Asia, they are obviously going to judge it, and you, based on what they've been taught to be "normal." So, I obviously hear a lot of, "OMG, how is that not a woman?" But whatever, I think Asian guys are attractive, even if people find them to be quote unquote girly. But that's mostly because I like a lot of pretty boy American celebrities. And some American celebrities who are actually gay. (What can I say, I'm weird I guess.) But I like a wide range of different appearances. From Chace Crawford to Jay Baruchel to Lil Wayne. However, none of that seems to matter. And I am still judged for liking Asian guys who are too girly for American standards. I'm sure most of it comes from the logic that, "If she likes guys that look like girls, she must be into girls." Which is obviously not the case. And therefore is the dilemma.

Another stigma is the fact that they are idols. And since the West doesn't have idols, they are compared to the closest thing we have to idols, boy bands and girl groups. Even though that's what idols basically are, they are also completely different. And the whole idol thing in Japan is way beyond boy bands and girl groups. Idols often become widely popular and accepted groups. Because the whole culture of Japan is different. Back in the 90's boy bands and girl groups were for tweens and teenage girls. And any self respecting person who didn't fit into those 2 categories would never dare listen to them without facing massive amounts of mocking. So, of course with that mind set, and it being the general consensus, a person unaware of what idols are all about is going to completely make fun of and look down on it. Which is why I don't tell anyone I like idols. My friends don't really know I listen to idols, they don't even know I have this blog. And it's all because of ignorance and close mindedness.

I also get the stigma because of ages. Both their ages and my own. My age because by American logic is, I'm starting to be too old to listen to idols. My family thinks me liking idols is something 12 year olds do and I should basically stop. Do they care about the average age of wotas? Or that the biggest JE supporters are women in their teens and 40's? Of course not! If they knew that, would they even care? Of course not! Because they've been feed their whole life what is normal and what is not. And to go beyond that is both outrageous and ridiculous. I'm probably going to listen to idols for as long as I like the music. Which is probably years or even decades. And who's to say I can't? No one, really. Yet, that stigma will always be there.
And of course when I say their ages I mean the idols who are young, or young to American standards. Right now I'm 19 and most idols are my age or very close to my age, so it's hardly a big deal. But for some reason my family still thinks it is. Since half of Hey! Say! JUMP are younger then me, my sister thinks it's stupid and immature to listen to them. She doesn't care that 5 JUMP members are older than me or that 4 members are just one year younger than me.
Yet, she listens to the Jonas Brother and thinks it's fine. They are absolutely the closest America can get to idols, music and looks wise. Yes, my sister is 23 and likes the Jonas Brothers. Do you see the hypocrisy and irony in that? Whenever she gets grief for liking them her logic is: "since I'm the same age as the oldest member it's not weird." But me, who is nearly the same age as all of HSJ, am immature. That's just horrible logic. And it's based on nothing more than ignorance. I'm really not looking forward to seeing what will happen when I start to become a little older than my favorite idols.

Obviously, I shouldn't let general ignorance bother me or effect my love for idol music. And I pretty much don't let it. But hearing things like this constantly will take its toll on anyone. Especially someone like me. I like to think of myself as extremely sensitive and I hate being made fun of. Besides that, I am also very defensive and slightly opinionated. So it's pretty obvious why things like this upset me so easily. I just really wish people weren't so close minded all the time because it's absolutely frustrating. And it makes me feel like this stigma of being an idol fan will never go away.

My latest gets

This post is extremely overdue. I've been wanting to make this post since the end of April. But I was lazy and put the post off, and then my computer crashed. And now this post is a month late. XD I'm pretty excited to make this post because it's the first time I making a post about all the idol themed things I got. I've made posts in the past about my Morning Musume CD and Hey! Say! JUMP CD, but that was only one item. This time I have 6 things. Which isn't really a lot. But hey, I'm a poor idol fan and only buy what I can afford. Which is hardly anything. XD




First things first, my NEWS CDs.

I got Pacific and Color for my birthday. Color is limited Edition which is amazing, by the way. I would preferred LE Pacific since it's my favorite NEWS album, but I can't really complain. And since I got those 2 CDs I had to buy Live since I was supposed to get it when it was released in September. I opted for the regular edition because it has the bigger booklet and I have no need for a DVD that I can't watch. Oh, and can I add that all my CDs are either Taiwan or Hong Kong versions. Start calling me a bad fan now, but there's no way I'm shelling out $50 for Japanese versions when I can get the overseas for about $20. Especially since the CDs are exact duplicates.


Oh, and speaking of my birthday check out my awesome cake.

It's a mint chocolate chip cheesecake. XD


Next I got my Hey! Say! JUMP calendar.

I was pretty bummed when I couldn't get their calendar last year, so I made sure I got it this year. But it was pretty expense at either $40 or $45. Which is kind of ridiculous for a calendar, but whatever. I really wanted this because calendars are the closet JE gets to photobooks. HSJ's calendar was actually the most bang for your buck. It came with like a 30-50 page booklet, and then had a little mini calendar which is basically picture cards with the dates on it.

But the pictures are awesome. Especially Yuto's.

And they are doublesided! There's also a way to make this mini calendar stand, but the instructions are in Japanese, so I can't use it. XD


The photos in the booklet are mostly bathingsuit and beached themed.

But there are also a few sexy suit looking pictures.

Surprisingly I think Yabu looks the cutest in this booklet.

The booklet also has giant pictures of the members faces, which is kinda weird. But I guess also cool.

 

 

The next thing I got was a NEWS calendar.

 

This was even more expensive than the HSJ one. I think NEWS's was $50.  But for a more expensive price you get less stuff. It's pretty much just a photobook. It's something like 60 pages though. But since NEWS is my favorite JE group I had to get this.

 

I mostly got it because Yamapi looks super hot in it.

 

The calendar is more of an agenda calendar, where you're supposed to write in what you're doing that day.

I think it's funny because they already have each member's birthday's written in. XD

 

The calendar came with this tape looking stuff that says NEWS. I have no idea what it's for. My mom says that it looks like it's temporary tattoos, but I'm never going to use it so I'll never know. XD

 

The booklet is filled with a lot of cute pictures.

 

It also has like 32 shop photos with it. But they are attatched to the calendar, so of course I'm never gonna rip them out. But it's awesome that they were included.

 

On the back of the shop photos each member wrote messages, too bad I can't read them. :/

 

 

I do love my NEWS calendar but I think it's a bit of a rip off.

 

It's nearly the same size as the Hey! Say! JUMP one.

 

And nearly the same exact width. But it's $10 more and you get less stuff. :/

 

 

The last thing I got was my prizes.

 

I recently came in second place in International Wota's I Wonder What Idol Flesh Taste Like contest for my Kusumi Koharu soufflé. I won a signed copy of I Wonder What Human Flesh Tastes Like and a $30 YesAsia gift card. So, I decided to buy Morning Musume's All Coupling Complete CD. It was the most bang for my buck, I picked it up for $25. It was the Korean version though, but who cares. I really wanted to buy the Maji Desu ka Ska single, since I absolutely love that song. But I wasn't spending $15 for 2 songs. I guess I'm cheap and a bad fan. But I will never spend $15 for 2 songs. When I can get an American CD for $10, and I got 42 songs for $25. I guess I'm just a terrible fan. But I probably won't care as much when I actually have a job. XD

 

I was also super excited to get Justin's autograph.

 

I never had a book with the author's autograph before, so I am beyond happy I have one now.

 

He also included some purikura pictures, which are really cute.

Why don't I listen to SKE48 more?

Lately I've been getting into AKB48 a lot. I'm pretty much a full fledged fan. Besides the fact that I don't know the girl's personalities yet. Which is a work in progress. And since I've been focusing a lot on AKB48, I've pretty much been lazily following the sister groups. But now I see that I've been completely wrong in doing so. And because of this, I feel extremely stupid for neglecting them. Well, when I say them I mean SKE48. I've been following SDN48 closer than SKE48 because they are newer and easier to keep track of. And I'm sure you're also wondering what I mean by, "because of this."

Well, I'll tell you exactly what this is. But first I want to start by talking about how I've been following SKE48. It's not really following at all. I first became aware of SKE48 when they opened their official youtube channel. Mostly because everyone was making a big deal about it. I was intrigued so I wanted to find out exactly what they were about. So, I watched the Gomen ne, Summer PV and pretty much called it a day. I ended up liking the song, but have only listened to it a handful of times. Then a couple of months later I randomly found Tsuyokimono yo on youtube. I liked that song a little more and listened to it a couple of times every few weeks. Then when 1! 2! 3! 4! Yoroshiku! came out I actually wasn't impressed with it. But a few months ago it got stuck in my head, and I've been in love with it ever since. But that's pretty much the extent of what I listen to SKE48. I mean, when I heard about Banzai Venus I didn't even bother listening to it.

I guess I should get back to why any of this is important. Recently AKB48 performed a medley on Music Japan, which I of course watched. While I was watching their performance I noticed how SKE48's performance on Music Japan was a related video. I decided to watch it on a whim because I like 1! 2! 3! 4! Yoroshiku! and felt like listening to it. That was probably the best decision ever because after I watched the performance I basically instantly became of fan of theirs. The performance was absolutely incredible. It was so high energy and engaging that I was pretty much mesmerized. The performance was so awesome, half because both songs are my favorite type of idol song: heavy music, super upbeat, energetic, and cutesy. And half because both songs have insanely amazing dances. They both look pretty intricate and some what difficult. Which makes them fun to watch. I just found the whole performance completely engaging from start to finish.

All this really did was show me I need to start paying closer attention to SKE48. Because honestly, if they keep releasing songs like their last 2 singles I'll probably end up liking them more than AKB48.

Here's their Music Japan performance for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

9th gen official member colors revealed!

After being part of Morning Musume for 3 months now, the 9th generation's official member colors are finally revealed. Obviously because the 9th gen's debut concert tour is starting up we finally get to see their shirts and see their colors. I had my suspicions and hopes of what each member's colors might be, but I was completely off.

The colors are as follows:

Mizuki is hot pink, Erina is dark purple, Riho is red, and Kanon is dark green. I'm a little dissapointed by the color choices. As it is now every member besides Ai, Reina, and Riho share a color. They should have seriously gave someone orange. I don't know why Eri's color was basically off limits, but they jumped to give Koharu's and LinLin's away. Also, because of this I guess Sayumi shifts to being just pale pink, Aika shifts to lavender, and Risa stays at her regular green. I know there are a limited amount of colors and obviously some member's colors are going to overlap. But they didn't have to overlap so much. If they made Kanon orange and changed Mizuki from hot pink to peach, only the two purples would overlap.
But I actually don't expect these official colors to last for long. This fall when Ai-chan graduates her yellow will be up for grabs. And because of that I think the whole color scheme will change.

Follow me on twitter!

I've finally given in. After years of saying how I would never get a twitter, I finally have. Mostly because all the cool kids are doing it. Except not really. XD I actually decided to get a twitter because after seeing some blogger's twitters it actually looks like fun.


But you know, I was surprised by who's on twitter. Twitter is supposed to be the coolest social network site for celebrities. But I looked up like 30 American celebrities that don't have twitters. Makes me kinda angry actually. Now I have hardly anyone to follow.

I've officially joined the twitter revolution. You can following me by clicking here. Of course my twitter name is AimxAim. XD Eventually I'm going to add my twitter stream to my blog, but I'm too lazy to mess with coding now.
 
So, there you have it my twitter. Follow me, tweet me, tell me how much you hate my blog, or whatever. I'm going to use my twitter to post blog updates like posts. But since this is the only twitter I have, I'm also going to post random things as well.

Site updates

With the recent events unfolding in Japan I took some time off from blogging in respect for Japan. But in my blog's down time I decided to do some behind the scenes work on my blog and give it a few updates.


The first update being the navigation menu. I don't know if anyone remembers, but the old layout of my blog had links on the top of the blog to click to home, about, and contact. But after I switched to my new layout for some reason the code didn't take with the new layout and automatically created a links section on my side bar. Since the links section worked just as well, I didn't really feel like messing with it at the time. Instead I always kept in mind that I needed to fix it. Of course I always put it off because I am terrible at HTML, and I have to find a premade HTML code. But it's extremely difficult to find I premade code that is actually nice looking, and that I can easily manipulate. But I finally found one that matched my layout and was fairly easy to adjust the colors. Also, for some reason my blog's name is written across the nabigation menu, and I ave no idea how to fix that. If anyone knows a way to get rid of that, that would be a huge help.


And of course the second update I did was add more banners. I'm like addicted to making banners. Because they are cute and set my blog apart from other blogs. With the ones I just made it now brings me up to 35 banners. You think that a lot, but I'm not where near done. I still have to make a new Momusu one featuring the 9th gen, and after I know more about a few other idol groups I want make banners for them. And I eventually wanted to make Morning Musume generation banners as well as Team banners for the 48 groups. The banners I made now were subgroups, and groups I've been putting off making because I don't follow them that closely.
So here are the new banners:

Watarirouka Hashiritai

no3b

Not Yet

Mano Erina

NYC

SDN48

YuiKaori

Kanjani8

These aren't even all the updated I have in mind. Eventually I'm also going to add twitter because a lot of other blogs have twitter. I actually already made an account but I haven't done much else to it, so I'm not posting it yet. XD


And I also wanted to say that I have officially returned to blogging. Since a majority of bloggers have returned as well. And even Japan seems to be getting back to the swing of things with Music Station making its return. So, my next post will be my return post. :D