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And I'm not expecting anyone to read it. But if you do, I'll be happy.
Ai's graduation announcement has made me realize a few things about myself and my self-professed love for Morning Musume. I, like others who've been fans for a considerable amount of time, question the normality of my fandom for not just Morning Musume but Jpop in general from time to time. Is it strange that I've connected to foreign groups who I can't understand without the aid of subtitles or online translations better than I've connected to a group or soloists who I'm practically forced to hear whenever I step into a clothing store or a car? Would the fact that I've joined at least two forums as a result of my love for said groups seem strange if they were instead forums for the Pussycat Dolls or Justin Beiber or Beyonce? Would I even be asking myself these questions?
The answer is no. And if you think about it, the fact that any of us are on this forum isn't all that strange, and the fact that nearly 60,000 members exist on this board alone, most of whom have been active, is a testament to that. I'm not one of those people who's been "saved" by H!P, and I'd imagine that, had I not found out about Morning Musume I would have either stumbled upon something else or would have been hella bored on school nights when I didn't have any plans with my friends and lazy Sundays when I'm home most of the day. But most likely its the former, as I'm sure would have been the case for many others.
The reason this all came about is because just recently, I started school at a University. It made me realize that I've been a fan since I started high school, more actively around tenth grade. And even though I'm only 18 (I was pretty naive about the internet when I first joined, so I didn't list any real private information, including my age, on my profile), the fact remains that, give or take a year or so and some months in between when I lost interest/discovered other things to occupy my down time with, Morning Musume, H!P, and Jpop in general have been a major part of my life, as many American artists have been a major part of my peers' and family's lives. I call myself a fan because I go through the added trouble of signing up for said forums to find out more about my favorite pop group and to share the love with others with like interests. Its not all that different from people who join football or clothing forums. Regardless of how many H!P related videos I've favorited on Youtube or how many posts I've made over the course of four years, the fact remains that Morning Musume is still just one of the 250 artists on my MP3 player, and this forum an hour or so out of a slow day for me. Even so, they remain one of my favorite groups and favorite 'pasttimes,' if you will.
I just felt I had to write this because last night, someone wrote in the status update page that they couldn't believe what their first post was, and I realized that a lot of familiar faces around these parts seem to have disappeared. I wondered if I was the only one left when I stumbled across another 'senpai's' profile and her sole blog entry, about whether or not Morning Musume was becoming something too...something, in her life...I don't know, real? Huge? And I too wondered how terribly affected I'd be if something were to happen to Morning Musume. Like if Tsunku were to suddenly announce that the group was disbanding or something, what bad shape I'd be in. I'd be sad of course, but I honestly think I'd get over it. And thinking back to two years ago, I'd probably be a mess for a week or so, but even then I would have eventually gotten over it. And I wanted to share that because, even though Ai's graduating isn't completely devastating to me, I can't pretend I'm not affected by it at all. And I know that there are other users who probably go through this stage every once in a while, that stage where you wonder if you're in control of your fandom or, if without noticing, you've become one of the 'helpless wota' we've all made fun of at some point, and because revisiting my old posts and the Momusu thread have made be realize that there's always two or three members who try to convince you that you're some sort of mindless freak because you've allowed a foreign girl group you can't understand to become such an important part of your day. But I was equally affected when my favorite underground rap artist announced he was leaving the entertainment business, understandably saddened when Eri/Jun/Lin graduated, and I was devastated when I found out Michael Jackson died (in fact most of the world was), and these are people who, for whatever reason, profoundly affected my life and millions of other's lives without knowing any of us personally, without throwing our social and mental health out of whack.
So its not as unusual as people seem to think it is. And if my fandom carries me for another two or three years, I can honestly say I'd be okay with that. And I hope that a lot of you guys are happy enough with yourselves and your lives not to feel guilty for loving a kooky JPop/KPop/CPop/Whatever-Pop group, despite what others may say.
Consider this entry ramblings from a semi-wota.
Ai's graduation announcement has made me realize a few things about myself and my self-professed love for Morning Musume. I, like others who've been fans for a considerable amount of time, question the normality of my fandom for not just Morning Musume but Jpop in general from time to time. Is it strange that I've connected to foreign groups who I can't understand without the aid of subtitles or online translations better than I've connected to a group or soloists who I'm practically forced to hear whenever I step into a clothing store or a car? Would the fact that I've joined at least two forums as a result of my love for said groups seem strange if they were instead forums for the Pussycat Dolls or Justin Beiber or Beyonce? Would I even be asking myself these questions?
The answer is no. And if you think about it, the fact that any of us are on this forum isn't all that strange, and the fact that nearly 60,000 members exist on this board alone, most of whom have been active, is a testament to that. I'm not one of those people who's been "saved" by H!P, and I'd imagine that, had I not found out about Morning Musume I would have either stumbled upon something else or would have been hella bored on school nights when I didn't have any plans with my friends and lazy Sundays when I'm home most of the day. But most likely its the former, as I'm sure would have been the case for many others.
The reason this all came about is because just recently, I started school at a University. It made me realize that I've been a fan since I started high school, more actively around tenth grade. And even though I'm only 18 (I was pretty naive about the internet when I first joined, so I didn't list any real private information, including my age, on my profile), the fact remains that, give or take a year or so and some months in between when I lost interest/discovered other things to occupy my down time with, Morning Musume, H!P, and Jpop in general have been a major part of my life, as many American artists have been a major part of my peers' and family's lives. I call myself a fan because I go through the added trouble of signing up for said forums to find out more about my favorite pop group and to share the love with others with like interests. Its not all that different from people who join football or clothing forums. Regardless of how many H!P related videos I've favorited on Youtube or how many posts I've made over the course of four years, the fact remains that Morning Musume is still just one of the 250 artists on my MP3 player, and this forum an hour or so out of a slow day for me. Even so, they remain one of my favorite groups and favorite 'pasttimes,' if you will.
I just felt I had to write this because last night, someone wrote in the status update page that they couldn't believe what their first post was, and I realized that a lot of familiar faces around these parts seem to have disappeared. I wondered if I was the only one left when I stumbled across another 'senpai's' profile and her sole blog entry, about whether or not Morning Musume was becoming something too...something, in her life...I don't know, real? Huge? And I too wondered how terribly affected I'd be if something were to happen to Morning Musume. Like if Tsunku were to suddenly announce that the group was disbanding or something, what bad shape I'd be in. I'd be sad of course, but I honestly think I'd get over it. And thinking back to two years ago, I'd probably be a mess for a week or so, but even then I would have eventually gotten over it. And I wanted to share that because, even though Ai's graduating isn't completely devastating to me, I can't pretend I'm not affected by it at all. And I know that there are other users who probably go through this stage every once in a while, that stage where you wonder if you're in control of your fandom or, if without noticing, you've become one of the 'helpless wota' we've all made fun of at some point, and because revisiting my old posts and the Momusu thread have made be realize that there's always two or three members who try to convince you that you're some sort of mindless freak because you've allowed a foreign girl group you can't understand to become such an important part of your day. But I was equally affected when my favorite underground rap artist announced he was leaving the entertainment business, understandably saddened when Eri/Jun/Lin graduated, and I was devastated when I found out Michael Jackson died (in fact most of the world was), and these are people who, for whatever reason, profoundly affected my life and millions of other's lives without knowing any of us personally, without throwing our social and mental health out of whack.
So its not as unusual as people seem to think it is. And if my fandom carries me for another two or three years, I can honestly say I'd be okay with that. And I hope that a lot of you guys are happy enough with yourselves and your lives not to feel guilty for loving a kooky JPop/KPop/CPop/Whatever-Pop group, despite what others may say.
Consider this entry ramblings from a semi-wota.
