Comments by "Zarintyr" (@muajin) on "Japan's Toxic Idol Industry" video.

I was once at a new idol convention in Akihabara. Most of the people there were adult men between 30s-50s. They pay for photos, buy cds...ets. Some of the girls were as young as elementary school lvl. I taught that grade level at the time and talked to a few of them. One girl was jumping around and excited a foreigner was there, she shook my hand. A few creepy looking guys got angry er something cause the girl did that. lol Parents need to stop letting their little girls into these groups. :((
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@Bones12x2 Sadly..almost all of their fans are guys in 30-40. You also have to hold the parents accountable too. They're allowing their daughters to be idolized by creepy guys usually much older than their daughter. People like Akimoto know all too well the $$ idols generate from fans. It's quite sad his thinking. He's married to an ex-idol as well.
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Don't forget about the westoweebos :P
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@DJ_Black_Tourmaline AKB has groups like SKE etc that have younger aged idols. I
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@daniel_ding48 None taken. I think both terms are just stupid. If you like a culture..you like it. No need for stupid terms. Japanese culture is rich in many things, not just anime or manga. People be stupid and ignorant is all.
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@vivoslibertos It's the same as a weeb..just instead of Japanese culture, it's western culture. *add westo, refering to the west*. :D Some of my Japanese friends came up with the term in retaliation to the term weeb(o)
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It's all about saving face. That's why. Even if they did nothing wrong..they apologise to their fans. Fans are the ones with the power in the industry, not Akimoto or anyone else. The industry knows what fans want. Fans + idols = industry change i'm sure. :D
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@vivoslibertos You're leaving out the westoweebs :D Do you think nobita is a westoweeb?
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Well you have the execs etc sleeping with members of AKB in hotels etc. You don't have to dig much to find out stuff like this. Most of the female idols are not allowed to date, while the male ones usually date more. Prime case of this was the girl that had to shave her head. Her bf at the time didn't really defend her she couldn't date..but he was allowed to Japan's idol industry is just as toxic as Korea.
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@daniel_ding48 It's all good. :D People want to be stupid and ignorant is all. If you really like a culture, you don't give it some stupid name like weeb :P
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There are girls that have superstar status that could use that to overcome and band together. Instead of building the courage to do something like this, they take the easy way out and commit suicide. Like that megastar idol in Korea, she had fans in the millions. You know darn well that if idols banded together in Japan to get things done, things would get done in the industry. Instead..they stay silent and compliant...and perform/collect their paychecks. A force of many = a force of change. Sadly that won't happen.
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@bluemuppet6 thats the price for wanting to be famous. there are better contracts with different agencies, but they chose the one that limits their lives the most.
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@bluemuppet6 i know that some go into the soap land industry, some become gravure idols. You also have to blame the parents for allowing their daughters to do this at a younge age, they know fairly well the type of guys that are in Japan..yet still allow them. So any harm that befalls them is the parent's responsbility too. I've seen first hand at dudes in their 30-40s gawking at them as young girls. ive been to new talent meet events where groups come to Akihabara and promote themselves So in essence, Japanese idols do this do themselves. They go into the industry knowing all too well what it's like to be an idol.
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@bluemuppet6 there are gravure idols under 18, i won't get into more info. but there definitely are. soap lands are places u go to get clean the girl rubs her body on you with soapy bubbles..cleans you up and usually other services are included. depending on the price. easy to find more info on the net though. lol and yes..idols would never fly in the states, there would be lawsuits all over the place. :D
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@bluemuppet6 but yes..few ex idols become soap land girls as a side job along with say deli heru or delivery health. they can charge a high price because of them being former idols.
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@vivoslibertos In this case..customer being fans. These girls give apologies to their fan base. Then are scorned/deranked appropriately. Not all agencies have the same contract terms. Akimoto's company has one of the worst contracts stipulations for almost any idol company in Japan. Go figure..when that SMAP member had a baby with his gf *now wife*, his fan base didn't decrease..and he was one of the most popular members of the group. I think that's very rare though in the JPOP industry.
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@elpacho6173 Actually it has nothing to do with attention seeking it was to apologise to the fans for supposedly causing trouble. Fans make or break an idol's career in Japan. If you're in the top, fan wise, you're in that top bracket. If your popularity falls, you get knocked down ranks. That's why akb48 has a ladder system
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@zzBaBzz True they have the final say but they have events often that determine the popularity of what member. Even the most popular member can get knocked down due to a scandal etc. like the case of the girl that shaved her head
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@temujinchannel8584 A bit...yea.
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@vivoslibertos Most welcome. I love Japan and just bout everything about it. I lived there for 7 years..studied various aspect of their culture. I even tried to get celebs to form a boost the population concert. Didn't go well. :(
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