shrines
The friendly scribbles font by @kmlgames was used for the text in the gifs.
idol shrine
Idols have been one of the constants in my life. In a way, you could say they were my rock. People who know me nowadays might think of me more as being a real-life idol fan but it all started with a certain 2D franchise.
THE iDOLM@STER
I don't remember when I first encountered the iDOLM@STER franchise. Only that I was enamoured by their performances. There was something about the music and visuals that felt comforting yet exciting.
Out of all the idols of the original lineup, my favourite was (and still is) Kisaragi Chihaya. When I found out one of my fav songs from her was a meme in Japan... Angsty tween me would've been livid. Doesn't change that Me ga Au Toki is a masterpiece!!
Eventually, I got interested in the people behind the idols. And when I went to check out the live performances, I was struck by how normal everyone looked. Suffice to say, the seiyuu behind the idols aren't visually identical to their roles.
That wasn't a bad thing though. And my interest in Chihaya's voice is the reason why I ended up reading a certain sci-fi VN. As I'm writing this, I'm realising that it's no exaggeration to say this was probably a big factor for me getting into visual novels as a whole.
Anyway, the point is getting to know the real people didn't ruin idols for me. However, reading about how some fans harrassed Hase Yurina (Hagiwara Yukiho's original seiyuu) did wake me up to the fact that idols weren't separate from real life. Crazy revelation, I know.
48G & 46G
The timeline goes like this: AKB48, Nogizaka46, Keyakizaka46 (now called Sakurazaka46). At least in terms of seniority. Can't say I remember which one I got into first. Let's go with the likeliest answer that AKB48 was my gateway into real-life idols though. The thing about AKB48 is that they have the visuals. And they have plenty of personality. And perhaps also just plenty of opportunity to push that personality into the audience's mind.
I'll be frank. I bingewatched their shows like crazy. AKBingo was the air I inhaled. And the same went for Nogizaka46 and Keyakizaka46's shows. Considering I fell off from Gintama early on, I thought Japanese humour didn't fit my taste. Guess not.
Shoddily translated matome (selection of posts from 2chan threads) sites and Stage48 threads were the butter to that bread. I'd read matomes and watch shows. It was the most I'd ever been into a hobby until then.
Idol shows sure are crazy, huh. Wow, it's like the closet is transparent. Not sure how I was still in denial about being able to "cure" myself.
I'd put Keyaki pics here but I liked them more for their edginess and their kinda offbeat(?) variety show. By my standards, they (their songs rather) were pretty rebellious.
Keyaki was my first group that I got to see from the start. Either them or Nogi. And it was good while it lasted but I soon grew tired and went back to AKB and Nogi.
It was around this time that I started to really ramp up in learning Japanese. The thing about Japanese idols is that translations are sparse. Sometimes it's because the group simply isn't that big. And sometimes, it's because the company in charge of said idol group(s) is constantly on the look out to take down fansubs uploaded by international fans.
And learn Japanese I did. In time, I soon became able to watch full episodes unfettered by lack of subtitles. Yes, finally, I could watch Shiraishi Mai go talk to drag queens in a strip club! (This was, in fact, a real episode).
With too much power comes too much (self-imposed) responsibility. At the time, idols were experimenting with this livestreaming platform called showroom to gain fans and extra income.
Since I took idols way too seriously, I soon burnt out from trying to juggle livestreams and keep up with too many idols.
Now, I don't mean this to be derogatory in any way. I fully supported the idols I followed as much as I could back then. However, I never really had what people call an "oshi" (similar term to "bias", what K-Pop fans call their faves).
Hello! Project
For the record, I don't think Hello! Project idols are neccessarily better than other idols. Just look at my history so far! What I think gave them the biggest advantage in my eyes was the fact that I wasn't in denial anymore at this stage.
My acceptance arc miraculously coincided with discovering Hello! Project and their campiness.
Not only that, for the first time ever, idols didn't seem like adults to me anymore. The age gap between me and my fav idols was smaller.
Idols became human. Just like me.
These idols are cool too!
In between, I also got to know some other idols. They're no less charming despite what the numbers may say.
- Yana koto Sotto Mute (Now disbanded)
- The World Standard / Wasuta (Still active)
- NGT48 (If you know, you know. Still active though)
