Platinum Blonde Inoo and his 10,000 Character Interview

OK SO THE RUMOURS ARE IN (again)! This time, fans said that Inoo has dyed his hair WHITE or GRAY or LIGHT BLONDE. At least we have a colour range this time. There's something about a mature hair colour and a fresh young face that makes for a cool contrast. 

Look at my extremely bad attempt at trying to create a picture of white-gray-blonde haired Inoo. (People you should know my paint skills are only at a certain level, lol). Well, you get the idea.. Sort of. =P 

And apparently Yama has blonde hair?! This is the perfect cue to bring back an old pic.

okonominikki

 YES?! I'm kind of super excited for this. Rumours say that it's curly too.. I don't dig the perm on Yama-chan but I hope his hair's still healthy after all this damage.

Moving on, Have you read Inoo's 10000 letter interview? I was looking forward to this so much. Inoo opened up about a lot of things. He talked about his loneliness in high school, shortcomings of being a good son, and frustrations of being a junior.

I'm sure many people can relate to his high school experiences. Even though I had friends in high school, I never felt close to them or rather I never really opened myself to them. I tried to be someone I wasn't and that caused lots of misunderstandings. TuT In several magazine interviews last year, Inoo talked a lot about his university experiences and his uni friends. It makes me happy to know he's finally got that place outside of Johnny's he's wanted.

whida

And not just that, but Inoo kind of covered what Chinen brought up: even though they might be in the entertainment business, they have insecurities and hardships that people outside the industry will experience. Everyone struggles to find their place, their friends,and their identity. Which brings me to another thing...when people talk about the entertainment industry, the idea of two worlds comes to mind: the celebrity world and the other world, which fans and other people live in. It's come to my realization that this is just due to the different situations (like appearing more in the media and so on) which create this barrier. There aren't really two worlds, just one.

"Really, I want to live as myself. (laughs)  I might not be accepted like that, but I don’t think about wanting to change myself.  And if you can come to like me as I am, I would be glad.  Because I would rather like our fans to smile when they look at us, more than I would like them to be moved." -Inoo Kei (Translated by hahaho7)

Inoo talked about how he'd get angry at his parents but they were still there for him. I'm glad he has this great support. :D Also, the fact that Inoo just barely made it into Hey! Say! Jump is a miracle. Just watching kids eat food on tv or talking to the president at the right time is a miracle. It's weird how little coincidences can snowball and result in a future we couldn't once imagine. But that's not to understate Inoo's hard work.

I'm looking forward to seeing new sides of Inoo (not just his new hair colour, lol). :)

The Jimusho and Idol Culture

There's a lot happening in my life right now and I'm struggling to deal with my problems. I swear I cause 99% of my own problems just by overthinking and overworrying. T___T Anyways, enough about that.

Ever since I've come back to the JE fandom, I've become more and more curious about learning more about Idol culture. In the past, I didn't even know many of the groups, let alone how the whole Johnny's agency operate. I blindly consumed and didn't really think about what lied behind the scenes.

Because of my love for JE, I've read a THESIS on my own will....(Never saw that coming! Refer to this post). I've also read a research book and many articles about Japanese Idol culture. They're really fascinating and I do recommend reading them! :)

The Jimusho System

• Separated into 4 parts
• Talks about blacklisting, control of rights, how indie agencies are really just part of larger agencies, and more!
• There are some interesting comments as well

Idols and Celebrity in Japanese Media Culture

• A mildly thick book about Idol Culture
• The link goes to Google Books. It cost around $60. T_T But if your university or institute is subscribed to this particular online library you might be able to read it for FREE here: palgraveconnect
• There's also a scanned snippet about Arashi floating around the net somewhere....but I won't link it. (You didn't hear this from me)
• The down part is that they didn't talk about Hey! Say! Jump that much (Excuse my bias)... They did talk about Arashi a bit and older female groups/idols I didn't really know about. 

There isn't much material that I've found, so I'm always on the outlook for more!

Let's Talk More About Keito

Now that I've calmed down....I want to write further thoughts on Keito and his girlfriend. 

There were A LOT of people who were angry, sad, and upset that our English Prince had someone special in his heart.(Apparently Keito went to fix his phone and his photos got stolen. Be more careful!!!)

Please don't misunderstand....I'm still really happy for them. I still grin so hard and blush like crazy when I see their pics. XD However, that night, after writing my last post, I didn't listen to a single Jump song. Even though every night I usually listen to them before I go to sleep. Guess I wasn't as okay with the scandal as I initially thought. I wasn't upset with him having a girlfriend but rather I realized something that upset me.

I became sad because there's a side of Keito I never knew. This scandal reminded me there is so much we don't known about idols. It's ironic because I want them to have some privacy and I don't want to know everything about them. No need to tell me what kind of toothpaste you use, Keito. Being a fan is very conflicting, because I want them to be able to enjoy freedom and everything life has to offer BUT at the same time, I like learning more about them! T-T

Is it because of the American culture that I grew up with? In Hollywood, you usually know who's dating who and such. But in Japanese culture, specifically regarding Johnny's, it's different since part of  their popularity rides on the fact that they're the Ideal Boyfriend and if they're single, it's like you have a chance with them. I can't dismiss that there are some American celebrities who fall in the same category as Johnny's but I feel the idol culture is more intense and driven by a certain set of rules (You can't date openly,  You've got to release stuff on a constant basis, You HAVE to follow the rules of entertainment or else you're done etc ). That kind of mentality is changing now as fans become more mature and educated and different sorts of idols are appearing. Hopefully the whole culture of idols will change for the better. Where am I going with this?

Maybe I just want idols to be able to date and if they want, they shouldn't be afraid to date openly. 

Don't Underestimate Idols!

If there’s one thing that university has taught me, it’s to always ask “Why?”. Ever since I’ve entered back into the JE fandom, there are so many questions that keep popping up in my head:

•          Why am I so invested in people who live half way around the world?
•          Why do I listen to music that I don’t understand?
•          Why do I buy their CDs, magazines, dvds etc when there are *cough* other      methods?

                            Arama

Maybe the simplest explanation is that Hey! Say! Jump, Kis-My-Ft2, Kat-Tun, News and other groups make me happy. I feel happy when I listen to their music and watch their concerts. So I continue to listen and watch.

But there are a lot of things that make me happy: for instance, watching puppy videos on youtube, eating popcorn, and reading a good book.  Why is there a significant difference between these and Johnny’s? Why do I harbour such intense feelings towards these groups? When it comes down to it, I don’t just like JE because it’s entertainment....it’s a part of my life, my identity.

                                   mokutaro

Recently I read this very interesting thesis about Johnny's and reasons why people are interested in this particular form of pop culture: It's My Passion, That's My Mission to Decide, I'm Going Worldwide.... Pradhan suggests that by being invested in Johnny's, it allows people to escape their local culture and later this investment becomes a part of their identity.  You’d think that over 100 pages would be enough to read, but no- I wanted more. lol.

Here are some reasons she lists of why we love Johnny's:

• They're human beings with flaws and weaknesses 
• Since we're of similar ages or experiencing similar things, we see ourselves in them and empathize with them
• Their accomplishments become our accomplishments 

They don't come out as flawless ,perfect humans: They have problems with weight (Oh Takaki, you're fine the way you are), problems with height (Sorry Yamada, please don't get mad XD), problems with smoking (thank goodness Kame quit...). They are people who deal with issues we can relate to. And for the most parts, they're such loveable idiots. They do stupid and silly things, which creates gaps between their "images" and "actual personalities". 

                                jinoo17

I'm the same age as HS7, so I feel like we're going through the similar things. Whenever they talked about school work (well it's only Keito and Yabu in jump now), I would immediately think "Omg they must so tired from studying and working at the same time" or like "They don't have any eye bags even after pulling over nighters...Damn good genes".  Though it could be make-up.  

                                               yamathan29

Also, I find it interesting that we become so happy when they accomplish something! Like when a junior debuts (bakaleya6, we're waiting for you) or when Miyata became a prince for his butai (I was so proud!!!). We have this kind of parent relationship where we feel proud when our support has helped them achieve their goals. 

                                  ohmyychan

                                    

Johnny's makes me laugh, cry, and smile. They give us energy, happiness, and dreams. They're more than just idols. They're friends, family, and crushes lovers.  So....don't underestimate idols! 
edit: i removed the quote since i found out she has subbed videos on her account. she didn't specify no hotlinking but i don't want to cause trouble for the subbing community.