I can think of several reasons why Japan is a better breeding ground for idol groups. For one, a more repressed culture needs more safe outlets for imagination and vicarious existence. Sounds harsh, but I say that as a die-hard idol group fan. There are people in every culture that will respond to this, but those people don’t necessarily make up the largest percentage of their peer groups. For another, Japan is a very we-focused country, whereas America, for example, is very me-focused. We relate better to individual pop stars because we’d rather be individually recognized and validated.

But I digress.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 7 months ago by  MomoIro.

@マーク・ウェーバー – Sorry to offend. I felt like you said I was wrong in my observations, then you kind of confirmed my observations. I’m a bit confused about that. I’m sure it’s me though.

Anyway, I must confess it wasn’t my intent to go into my whole thesis, I was trying to stay brief on those points. I suspect part of the confusion may be related to that. Sorry.

I will say that you did drill down on things I wasn’t sure about, and I really appreciate your insights.

I’m a bit confused how my questions are off topic though. I read the OP, and it said:

“Anything can be taken up here, and take it more like a sub-forum at a forum, but please try to stay on topic and keep related to idols. If you are not familiar with what Idols are, this is NOT the thread to as that question, and I will encourage you to read”

It sounds like we took those statements to mean two different things. I heard “everything related to idols is on topic. If you don’t know what an idol is then read this link.” I read that link then commented. It sounds like you heard “everything related to idols is on topic expect defining idols.” A subtle difference in the meaning, but I suppose an important one. Again if I read that wrong then I’m sorry.

If I am the one who misread the meaning of that can someone clarify why that is not on topic? It seems like an important concept that would help bring new people into idols. It seems like you’d want to help people new to the idea understand it more.

Additionally, the focus of my post was intended to be my personal experience with the idea of an idol, and trying to gain clarity on what it means. I wasn’t trying to say “Hey what’s this idol thing?”

Again, sorry if my first post or this post is off topic or offends anyone. That’s not the point. I was just curious.

I didn’t find your comment offending at all. Sometimes when on the internet I just write whatever I would say, and it can seem harsh. Sorry about that ^^ To start off, I actually don’t mind having this conversation, you seem like a down to earth guy, and aren’t trolling so it is fine by me. Also, me and missing only use this for the occasional chat, but we chat so much on skype that this is really just a place to catch each other when we are not online lol – so why not have a discussion about this here and thereby give the thread a meaning? ^^
To clarify what I meant on p1,(which clearly can be misunderstood, or just understood different depending on who you are) was that this was a place to share idols. Discuss what they do, new info, study methods regarding idols etc etc – and not discussing why idols are here, etc etc. Sorry if this is vague once again, but I can’t think of a better way to put it :b.

Now to the actual discussion at hand!
So, what you said originally was that Japan is the only place in the world where idols could be this popular. This I do not agree with, as I see a rising interest from China, and an already established interest in Korea. So to me it could just as well be one of those countries, or some other country for that sake. What momoiro made an argument about, is that Japan is a good place for idols because of the repressed culture. This I agree with, but I think this also exists in other countries. I do also agree with the second thing momoiro pointed out, which was related to the US being very egocentric, which caused people to not care for groups. I agree with that as well, but this is a thing which is specific to US, and ain’t as big in many European countries for example. So to put it in other words. I agree with the argument momoiro made, but I do believe these factors also exist in other countries, so while Japan is indeed special, I still think other Asian countries has the potential for becoming just as “idol-happy”.

Is this more understandable? Also, thanks for being so chill, I hate when people get all upset, it leads to nothing good.

Btw, I am glad you read the article^^ – have any idols you like?
Same for momoiro, which is you fav member? you have only given the group away.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 7 months ago by  マーク・ウェーバー.

Well, for me it was a case of watching AKBingo(variety show with AKB members). After watching a few episodes of this hilarious TV-show one member caught my attention – 横山由依. This sparked an interest, and I searched around looking for videos. This lead to a lot of different youtube videos(like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wfrb5OGHiyw) which made me more interested in her personality, and thus starting to follow her on shows etc. This then led to starting following her on google plus, and from there I started to notice a lot of different, thus finding more members which I liked. At this time I would say there are 2 members fighting for my vote at next senbatsu, but all members I follow on google plus are members I think are cool. Also, getting in to idols is really good training for your Japanese! atm I am watching Akbingo & 自動車部 on a weekly basis, and a load of other programs on and off. And then also reading 20-40 updates on google plus a day. ^^

If you search, then you should be able to find some old episodes out there with subs. I remember ep 73 being pretty good ^^

You have a little less than a month to decide who you want to vote for, so still plenty of time. :P

@Mark Did I give the group away? :D I’ve actually never listened to Momoiro Clover, nor had I heard of them before Missing mentioned them. The handle is a coincidence. I’ll have to check them out, though!

To be honest, I’m old. I’m a Momusu fan from a decade ago, and no one else has managed to steal its place in my heart, despite the fact that it’s sort of fizzled out. I’m listening to SNSD now, but I’m up for any suggestions. I need some new stuff, for real.

Forgot to say, re: Momusu, was favorite is (was) Yoshizawa. I’m so old…

総選挙 official guidebook is here! Sadly the scan doesn’t have all the middle pages >_< still good though.