Silently Judging Other Wota

Some lingering thoughts on Seattle …

People people people WHOA WHOA WHOA.

Idol-chasing at conventions invariably means interacting with other fans. Some of them are nice. Some of them are … less nice. I have already openly expressed my disapprove_face.jpg about the ones who felt entitled to BOTH Berryz autograph sessions, even enlisting a relative/friend//homeless-guy-hanging-out-by-convention-center to stand in line for a 2nd Priority Ticket at the H!Store just so they could circumvent the “ONE PER PERSON” rule.

It’s like, yeeeeees I understand you love Berryz Koubou SOOOOO MUCH that you want to see the girls as much as possible, but when you double-book, you’re occupying a space in line that could have gone to a curious new fan. Aren’t you supposed to be recruiting new converts? Like someone who MAYBE just wandered into the concert last night and now wants to get to know them better? But now they won’t, because Mister or Miss Greedy is standing in line ahead of them.

BUT THAT’S NOT THE POINT.

What I meant to talk about was interacting with fans while waiting in line for things. LOL! Anyway, it struck me just how many layers of Berryz fandom there are. It’s like an onion … everyone smells kinda funny and after a while you just start crying. Okay, wrong metaphor. In any case, here is your Anthropological Field Guide to Berryz Koubou Fans IN AMERICA:

Jesus Christ wasn’t the only Resurrection on Easter this year

And now, after the smoke has cleared, the bags unpacked, and all the articles turned in …

… I write for myself.

Sometimes I still like to go back through TEH BLOG and laugh at my younger self, when I stormed New York on AKBquest and wrote everything down in this panicky, hummingbird-on-Ecstasy tone as if my heart were about to burst. And, to tell the truth, that really is how I felt at the time. But now, coming around to Seattle, the third time that I have had a personal interview with a Japanese idol group, I’m like …

… like …

…. God, please don’t let me ever get used to this.

This blog post = 7000 words

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? No, it’s Tokyo Girls’ Style

In this age of hyperbole, we are far too quick to label everything as “art.” But in the case of “Kodou no Himitsu” by Tokyo Girls’ Style, I think it legitimately applies.

* * *

Fans of Tokyo Girls’ Style have been familiar with this song for a while now, having seen it performed numerous times at livestreamed shows. But with this PV, “Kodou no Himitsu” finally comes into its own—not just as “Hey we made a video to go with the song,” but as a unique work of art, greater than the sum of its parts. Everything comes together to express something that could not have been done by hearing the song alone or just seeing it performed live. “Kodou no Himitsu,” as a four-minute video production, becomes complete.

As I may have mentioned in the past, I’m not one to bother much with lyrics, whether Japanese or English. Many of them are just placeholders for greater musical ideas at large and besides there are lyrically only 3 types of idol songs (1. Love is great, 2. Love sucks, 3. Do your best). So I’m not about to say whether the lyrics of “Kodou no Himitsu” have some grand meaning to them. From what I can pick out, they seem like Type 1.5, that bittersweet variation between 1. and 2. where you’re overcome by an aching longing and wish you could understand your own feelings. But THAT’S NOT THE POINT. The point is, now that the video exists, you don’t need the lyrics anyway, because the message is there for your eyes to see. And it is a message deeper and more thought-provoking than lyrics alone might be capable of.

Morning Musume’s Riho Sayashi traded to AKB48 for Yui Yokoyama

TOKYO – Riho Sayashi will be taking her talents to Akihabara.

The 12-year-old newcomer to Morning Musume, who wowed audiences with her confidence and dancing skills, has been traded to rival group AKB48 in exchange for rising star Yui Yokoyama and a kenkyuusei to be named later.

Yokoyama, who was promoted to AKB48′s Team K last year as a replacement for the graduating Erena Ono, is expected to begin training with Morning Musume in time for their Spring 2011 tour. Meanwhile, Sayashi will be learning Team K’s routines and is expected to join theater performances sometime after Golden Week.

Morning Musume producer and Hello! Project overlord Tsunku expressed his excitement over the deal, saying, “It’s a win-win situation. As an 18-year-old, Yui bridges that gap between the babies who just joined and the old biddies who are all in their 20s now. Meanwhile, Riho can show off her talents on the much brighter stage that is the Akihabara theater.”