In Her Defense

Okay, I'm going to rant and I'm going to rant hard. Some of you will not like it and some people will agree. Others will probably be on the fence. But I would like to say that "enough is enough!". For what I'm about to write, I, for one, find that I shouldn't even havae to write out something like this. I would think that in this day and age people would have the intelligence and foresight to not even bother with this type of behavior, but unfortunately I am totally mistaken and grieved by the the fact that people still act this way. So, here goes.......*AHEM*

As a fan, I have no idea why other fans cannot just like a group for a group. Yes, there are favorites (everyone loved Paul from the Beatles, or Michael in the Jackson 5), but does that mean that if there is a favorite, then the fan can dump on the person that they do not like in the group?

I am biased, of course, because most of my favorite members in Morning Musume have always been the ones who were totally unpopular to begin with. Kei was not that popular, Yossy was not that popular, Makoto was not that popular, Ai (at the beginning) was not very popular, and Aika is not that popular. Now, for some dumb reason, fans equate popularity with worthiness and talent. I'm sorry, but that's just stupid. There are tons of talented and very worthy people who deserve to stay where they are even though they are not popular with the public (American Idol is the biggest example where popularity is held over actual talent).

Everyone now knows about Kei and Yossy and Makoto and Ai and they will say that the girls are popular; but during their stint in Morning Musume, there were not. Yossy just became popular once she lost a good bit of her weight and took on the cool role (and started hanging around Miki) and Makoto and Kei won their popular status AFTER they graduated from MM. Because, now they're former members (during the golden era) and so nostalgic fans swoon over them as if they were hot stuff while in Monring Musume when actually they were pretty much backgrounders (and even popular members like Yuko and Kaori were backgrounders as well, unfortunately).

I am a HUGE Aika fan!! I found her charming and cute when she first entered MM and she has just grown into a fine member. A worthy Musume. To me, she embodies the entire spirit of Morning Musume. Her resilience, her perseverance, her girl-next-door personality, her talent (in dance and voice), and her high work ethic, are all the things that the 1st generation held as members of Morning Musume. And that was why I loved the group as well as their music. That's also the reason why I listen to the older songs (1st and 2nd gen) and the more recent songs (8th gen to present) more than any of the songs in MM's discography.

Anyway, with an unbaised eye, I've seen Aika grow and change over the course of time; from her looks to how she carries herself, the improvement of her vocal and dance skills, her maturity (especially over some of her senpais), and so much more. Yet, in spite of all this, she is still despised, for no reason by other fans who, just out of sheer malevolence and evil, want to make fun or hate on someone to either feel justified, or elevate their self-esteem, or just to be devious. These fans cannot think or type logically and even when presented with facts (usually these facts will stump their feeble attempts to justify why they're doing what they're doing), they still rave and rant on things that are either untrue, a source of misinformation, or something totally misconstrued in action. Every little thing that she does (or doesn't do) is totally blown out of proportion and critiqued; yet another member can say or do (or not do) the same exact thing and it's either ignored, brushed off or seen as no big deal.

I've noticed that most people who do not like Aika for some reason or another are the same ones who have not been fans for a very long time. They were either fans since 7th generation and later, meaning:
*Most can't get over the fact that Aika won the audition (beating out his/her favorite) because someone in H!P made the decision that she was best suited for MM (and possibly the only one picked because H!P already knew that they were going to add LinLin and JunJun----which I believe those plans were already in place before the final auditions---how do I figure? Because paperwork of that nature takes a good bit of time to become finalized).

*Some are still mad because she said that her rival was going to be Koharu (most of the girls when they become new members already have someone in mind that they are going to be rivals with already in the group----but to most fans that seemed to be a decleration of war)

*Some are mad that Aika beat JunJun in a memory contest (JunJun cried out of frustration---and Aika kept going because she thought the contest was still on. No one told her to stop and no one told her that JunJun was crying. In a competition, you're not worried about the other person, you keep going so that you don't break your stride....most people who are athletes know this)

*Some say she has no personality (they obviously haven't seen backstage clips, anything dealing with Guardians 4, and the times where she has snapped on other members during interviews. Just because she didn't act hyper for no reason----unlike someone else I won't mention----doesn't mean that she doesn't have any personality. Acutally, these same fans say the same about Aichan)

*Some say that she hasn't improved while being in MM (again, people are not watching concert clips and actually listening to her voice. She has become one of the prominent dancers in the group----especially after watching her audition and she has better control over her voice and breathing---better than Sayumi, Koharu, LinLin, and JunJun. She doesn't have pitch issues like Sayumi does, and Koharu, KonKon, and Rika did. Even Reina sometimes has pitch issues live----pitch meaning not hitting the actual note but going either sharp or flat--singing just above the note or below the note)

One thing I would like to mention as well, is that she pretty much charms the pants off anyone that she works with. And yes, that includes the Kyuukies. There have been many times where they've said "sugoi" or "kawaii" when watching Aika. And, most people who are scolded and basically told the truth of what is expected, are held in higher respect than those who just sit back and is always nice. A few good examples would be Yuko, Rika, Yossy, and Miki. I'm kinda tired of people using their own "non-experience" to make false assumptions. If anything, the Kyukkies are given a good example of how to be professional from Aika right now because she is still performing and staying commited to her duties while being hurt and staying positive about it. Aika's good example of this very thing probably came from Ai-chan when she still performed while injured. And possibly other members when they come to practice and perfrom sick and with fever.

I'm going to make a generalization and some people are not going to like me for it. Now, this doesn't fit everyone, but it sure seems like it fits many fans here on H!O.
They have no idea what it would even take to become an idol or do anything like this because they've never been challenged in their lives. They've never stepped in any situation that would be remotely competitive or have done something where they had to push themselves to the limit (both physically and mentally). They are also socially awkward. Many have never sang or danced or performed in front of a crowd of strangers, nor are they motivated to perfection. These fans are the ones who are proned to unintelligeble posts and nonsense, nor can they debate on an intellectual level. They just argue non-facts and imaginable stats in a mob-like fashion.....meaning whoever makes the most noise or makes the most excuses without making any sense will win. And saying that something is your opinion and that it is the internet so you can write whatever you want is the main key word used for douchebags who have no life. You're just saying "I have no idea how to handle situations like this in real life, so I'll do it on the internet where no one knows who I really am, and I'll be excused for it because I have no accountability".

This rant was mainly for Aika, but it could be used for any of the girls who have a some point in time been dumped on or hated on because of some stupid reason or another....mostly because she was not the favorite for that fan. I have one person in H!P that I'm not a big fan of but I won't tear her down. I know that, despite of the things that bugged me about her, she worked hard and put in a lot of effort to acheive what she achieved and I'm not going to be the one to take that away from her just because of a few personal issues that I have. All these girls work their butts off to entertain us and some of us can't even enjoy that simple fact. And these girls do not deserve that kind of behavior. If you don't like a girl (for whatever trivial reason you can come up with), then you don't have to like her. Not everyone is going to fall in love with every girl, but you should at least acknowledge that these girls were picked for a reason, have fulfilled the reason they were picked and that's why they're still doing what they are doing. Your thought on what they're worth doesn't mean a hill of beans. If you want to critique, I suggest you turn that magnifying glass around and look at yourself and your life.

And please spare me the "well, people are going to like who they like and dislike who they do not like". DUH!! I know that. Most people with a brain knows that. But just because someone is not your favorite doesn't mean that they should automatically be hated. For example, if you like Morning Musume, then you must automatically hate AKB48 or vice versa. NO, that's completely foolish. If you think in terms like that, you live a sad life and I feel really sorry for you.

To close, this is really in defense of the girls who have ever been dumped on. For the times when some troll comes on another members topic and just spews crap just to spew crap. These girls don't deserve it at all. It doesn't matter what the sales are or where they lie in popularity. They are all a part of a group of one kind or another and they contribute to the group in a huge way. Regardless if they are pushed up front or are always in the background. They do their best, either way. And what they do, far exceeds anything that any fan can do or imitate.