When I updated my blog with a post regarding the desire to do a Q&A, believe me when I say that I didn't exactly expect anyone to send in questions! I'm the type of person with a negative outlook on how others view me, so I was surprised when, barely within 15 minutes since posting the article, I received two sets of questions! A little later on, I gained a third set of questions to Answer, and then even more after that, and I was really happy and buzzing that I was actually going to do a Q&A!
My first Question & Answers session, guys! And seriously, they're some amazing Questions! Thank you ;___________________;
I'm really excited actually, I've always wanted to do this sort of thing! I think it was a personal wish of mine when I started blogging, to see if anyone really was interested in what I had to say about... well, whatever you have asked! So I'm really pleased that those who have sent in questions decided to ask me something they had on their mind, whether it was about myself, my own blog or regarding the Idols I talk about.
Now, given that I have more than three sets of questions thanks to my post asking you all to submit anything you may want to ask (you can still ask, by the way! Just Read or comment on the original post or right here!) I have decided to separate the posts a bit so that it doesn't get too long, because I have a few long answers here. That, and I didn't anticipate more than three questions XD
So my blathering over and done with, I will get to the Q&A! Today's Questions have been asked by an Anonymous commenter, Thennary Nak and Shayna. Please enjoy! Well, enjoy as much as you can... XD
The following Questions have been submitted by Anonymous:
Q: Who's your favourite Idol or Idol group and why?
I don't know what it is about these two groups, but I really do like them. With Morning Musume, it's to do with their music and the girls in general. I didn't really intend to get into them at all when I first started following Idols, but as I watched more of their stage plays like Cinderella and Ribbon no Kishi, I really started to like them and felt like I could follow them more. I then became more invested in their music and videos, and whilst I don't like everything they do musically or visually, I think the group itself is charming and very endearing.
I do like the girls' personalities too, and I actually really like reading interviews that have been translated, mostly Kudo's and Masaki's. The girls have different personalities, and that's interesting to look at. Also, when I watch them perform it's really great because you see how hard they're working; that's a thing I do love about Morning Musume in live performances, that you can see how hard some or all of the girls are working, even if they aren't necessarily singing or dancing that well. It's fun to watch!
Houkago Princess is a group I've been a fan of since the start of their Idol debut, basically. When they came into the public eye in 2011 I just wanted to follow them because they were intriguing. A group that was made up of girls who would 'dress up' for their lives was interesting enough, and even in their awkward stages I really wanted to support them fully. I've had a few ups and downs with them, mostly when they went into major obscurity and only released Limited Venue singles (sad times), but the more I have persevered in learning about them, the more I like and love them, and I think that is what makes me favour them so much; that I have to work for information on them.
That, and their music is great to listen to for my ears. I really like some of their recent stuff, because musically they have grown, and to hear that improvement is wonderful. There! Another reason why I like them! xD
Basically, I like watching HouPri grow. I guess that's what happens when you start liking a group from the get-go, and I feel totally attached to them.
Q: What got you into Idols?
A: Anime. Kirarin Revolution, to be exact xD
I was really into Anime from the age of 13 until I was 16, going on 17, and at the time I found out about Idols I was really into shoujo Anime that included musical numbers like Mermaid Melody or Full Moon wo Sagashite, which eventually lead me to watch Kirarin Revolution. I fell in love with it, especially the lead character Kirari, and decided to investigate her voice actress.
Well, guess where that lead me?
I became a fan of Kusumi Koharu and basically watched every solo video she was in until I found out that she was a part of MoMusu, and then I watched those videos. Soon me and my sister realised that Buono!, a group who sang for Shugo Chara, were under Hello! Project, which housed MoMusu and Koha, so I started to research the other groups under that umbrella.
... And that is how I got into Idols xD
Q: Why do you even like Idols?
A: That's a damn good question, and I really have no clue how to answer it. But here's to trying!
I like Idols because they make me really happy, basically. I like watching them perform, I like the music and how cheerful or cool it can be, and I like how a different Idol group can contrast to another group so differently. With Idols, it feels like some of the possibilities are endless when it comes to their direction and image.
Aside from bringing great joy though, Idols also bring a lot of hope to fans like me. A singer like Ono Erena has often made me feel like I can do anything if I put my mind to it, whilst someone like Yoshizawa Hitomi encourages me to act the way I want even if it doesn't fit with the image people think I should take on. The way Idols act or look can be powerful, and the messages they send to their fans through the lyrics of songs or how they portray themselves on a show can be very strong, so when I see an Idol who gives off such a strong message, I really want to support them or their group and enjoy them fully.
All that, plus their music is catchy!
Q: Anything about Idol fandom you would like to change?
Note: I don't know if this question is leaning towards the actual fandom we're a part of, or just Idols and what they do to cater towards the fandom. I am answering about the actual fandom and what I would change, however if I've read the Question wrong, feel free to correct me Anonymous. Thank you~
P.S. I take this sort of Question quite seriously, and I doubt I can say anything here that won't offend someone, even if the offence is unintended.
A: The Idol fandom itself? Well, that's difficult because we're all individuals, and no matter what, we'll fight or disagree on things... that said, I would like to change how people act towards each other. Sometimes, we can be downright rude to another person just because we don't like their opinion or because we think they're too 'jaded' in how they think or feel towards a specific group or Idol. Not everyone is like this, but it's something that is prominent in this sort of fandom.
As you may know, this fandom keeps getting younger, just like the Idols are; there are still plenty of older fans out there, don't get me wrong, but it's hard to deny that the newer fans who are a lot younger are multiplying within the international fandom for Idols and Japanese culture, and this is great, in fact it's fabulous, but it isn't without its own problems. A lot of the younger fans love these groups, to the point where they dislike and even deny negativity from the older fans. This isn't a good thing! We need to be more open at the prospect of criticism, negativity... things like that. Even if what a person says isn't good, we shouldn't forgo their opinion due to a difference in opinions. I've experienced this, and it's annoying, but also very rude as well. We don't have to agree, I just think that as a fandom in general we need to be less ignorant of what others say. We need to start respecting each other and we need to learn that just because we share the same fandom, we don't always share the same mindset towards the things we see; we're entitled to our opinion at the end of the day, so don't try and make a person change their views because they don't think the way you would like them to.
I would also like to try and get people to stop thinking that, just because a person is older and likes Idols, it is wrong; it isn't. Not every fan is a pervert like some people believe they are, and they aren't always looking at Idols in 'that way'. Some are, yes, but so are some younger fans - basically, you'll get a person who does that, but you shouldn't believe all older fans are like that either. It isn't fair on them, to judge why they are following a group who is really young when they themselves are older. That's like bullying them, actually. I've seen a few cases where someone has said 'you shouldn't say that, aren't you old enough to be their parent?' to an older fan who has been around a while, and it's annoying if I'm completely honest with you.
We're fans together, we appreciate and love a group together, and whilst I don't expect us to get along all the time, I do think we should put our prejudices regarding age and gender aside. It's unfair to try and call someone out for something you think is perverted or 'disgusting'. I'm pretty sure that if I did it to someone my age, they would have a bitch and a whine about it, so don't do it to others. We're entitled to speak our minds.
The following Questions have been submitted by Thennary Nak of Never Ending Music Power:
Q: If you could manage Sexy Zone what would you do with the group?
A: This obviously stems from the sudden new single controversy a lot of us SZ fans (and JE fans in general, I would like to believe) are facing, what with the two youngest members being pulled out of the release for no good reason. And yes, it does annoy me, as I made clear on Twitter xD
Anyway, if I was a Manager for Sexy Zone, I would probably make distribution in lines and solo shots for PV's a lot more even; I'm one of those fans who is pretty big on decent distribution, and given that neither Sou or Marius are really given a good deal of lines or screen time a good deal of the time, I would want to start with that. I would probably also give Marius and Sou a solo career each, just because I could xD I'm majorly biased towards Marius though, which is the main reason why I would give him a solo career...
And Sou would get one because, honestly, I feel like he has that potential; the real management of SZ seem to not see that, though. Idiots.
Q: As I go through my Morning Musume PV reaction video project on Youtube, what PVs do you think I should be excited to watch? Which ones should I dread?
Oh gosh, this is kind of a difficult Question to answer, mostly because how a person feels about a PV is vastly different from another persons opinion xD Still, I will answer as much as I can...
Personally, I feel like the videos you could be excited to watch are, if you haven't seen them yet, Happy Summer Wedding, Morning Musume no Hyokkori Hyoutan-jimi, Koko ni Iruzee!, Roman My Dear Boy, Naichau Kamo, Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa (etc), Bainstorming... PV's like that, not for the visuals at times, but for the performance aspect too. Like, Happy Summer Wedding and Hyokkori are really fun videos, so I think you would find them enjoyable to watch, same with Koko ni Iruzee!. For videos like Naichau Kamo, Roman My Dear Boy and Brainstorming, I really love the performance aspect for them. Kono Chikyuu is just pretty, so I think you might enjoy how pretty it is...
For videos to (possibly) dread, I can only think of One Two Three, but that's because I'm so against that song and video as a whole XD I find it so cheap and tacky as a video in general, but yeah, I would probably say to dread that one, and maybe Wakuteka Take a chance, only for how cheap those two are. Still, I think you should be excited for all the videos regardless of what I say, because you go in without knowing what my happen, and that's always exciting in my mind!
The following Questions have been submitted by Shayna:
Q: Who is your favorite Idol of all time?
A: This one's a no-brainer for me:
Gaki is magical. Gaki is Divine. Gaki is my Lord and Prince, and as Prince Christopher, I seriously fell in love with her and found someone to basically worship in Morning Musume. I fell for her acting and just how passionate she was as a member of Morning Musume. Seriously, she's my Ultimate Idol, and I will love her forever because she was the reason I continued to follow Morning Musume, the group she loved so dearly. Her love made me want to love the group, and she just brought me great joy.
Also, I want to marry her. She was one of my true girl-crushes... Aside from Koha, of course.
Q: Why do you blog?
A: To vent, rave and basically share my opinion xD Though I never wanted to blog, it just... happened. Most of my blogs that I have ever created were formed out of rage, an opinion I wanted to express angrily through my own words, and this blog was no exception, but continuing the blog was not something I expected... my original reasons for blogging, to rant and hate on things, well that all changed over a period of time. I fell in love with blogging, and it's that love for blogging, the love for the people who read it, my love for the Idols I follow, all these reasons are the things that make me blog now.
That, and I just love writing in general. Still, it's my desire to write, my love for Idols and their music, to share my thoughts and basically to talk to all of you through the written word that makes me blog now. I love sharing things with you, and I just love spilling things out onto these pages. It's fun!
Q: What Idol song do you listen to the most?
A: Koi ING!
When I first got into Morning Musume, I had a few friends in the Dubbing community who all expressed how good this song was, but I never listened to it. When I finally heard it, I wondered why I was so stupid to pass it over xD I love Koi ING so much, it's one of those songs that I listen to when I want to feel a lot of emotions; it makes me happy, sad, feel loved... so many varying emotions in one song. It's passionate and just so beautifully crafted, and thanks to the gorgeous lead vocals, it's really just a tremendous song.
It's my top song, actually. I don't think I could ever get tired of it! I love it so much, I can't even comprehend the love I have for Koi ING!
Q: What non-Idol artists do you like?
A: AAA for Japanese artists, and the group Busted for any acts outside of Asia. I don't actually have 'favourite' acts outside of my interest in Japanese Idols, I basically like what I like. I was like this even as a kid, I was rarely ever fixated on a group like my friends were, with Busted as the only exception in my pre-teen days. I basically just listened to music and enjoyed it, free to listen to whoever the heck I wanted. That said, I did have some kind of love for S Club 7, but they were everywhere when I was a kid, so that was to be expected.
Still, Busted are a group I listen to constantly, despite the fact they disbanded way back when and broke my heart. I still regard them as one of my favourite non-Idol acts though.
This is Busted, for reference to those who care about a boy group from the era that was the early 2000's. They recently reformed (minus Charlie, that dude in the middle) and teamed up with McFly to become the mega-group that is now McBusted, which makes me think of McDonald's burgers. I was highly disappointed when McDiddly's didn't take this chance to create a burger for the sake of money and pawning off of the name McBusted. Shame, really.
Q: If you could create a Hello! Project unit, what would you call it and who would be in it?
A: Oh, the possibilities! What terrible name would I bestow upon these poor girls, and who would I shove in it? There will be no limits!!!
Knowing me, I would make a group based on Belly-Buttons and Ears, because I'm weird like that xD
That said, I would rather like a group made up of the *bigger* girls in Hello! Project (what Japan calls big, mind), and also a group with the bigger voices. Coincidentally, Maasa, Zukki and Risako all fall into either one of those categories, or even both. Surprisingly, I don't like either Risako's or Maasa's singing voices, but they're in here, which shows I'm not being a biased twit XD
As for their group name, it's difficult XD Marshmallow and Pocchari Girls have entered my mind as those typical sorts of group names for a group like this, though I wouldn't want that for them because... well, I find it downright rude. And I won't give these girls that name, but I also have no clue what else to call them, so regarding the name of the group, let's just call them the uninspired 3-4-GO! for the time being, kay? Why this sort of weird name? Because Maasa was born on the 3rd of her birth month, Risako the 4th and Zukki the 5th, with GO! obviously meaning 5 in Japanese. Amazingly enough, their birth dates are in the order of their ages, so it works. HURRAH!
I feel like a genius right now! HAHA!
Q: Do you still like AOA? ;)
A: Sadly I don't actually follow them any more, so I can't really say! That said, I actually really still love Get Out and showed it to a few people back when I was in College, because I had a few curious onlookers wondering what I was watching XD Because we were all film students, they found it interesting to see the Film references... that, and a few boys like the girls!
But no, sadly I don't follow them now, though I like Get Out still.
Q: Do you realize just how awesome you are?
A: Because you say it, I have to realise it, don't I? XD Thing is, as you know, I have those times where I feel so down and less-than-awesome, so I don't realise how people feel about me. But if I dare mention that I'm feeling useless or anything like that, I've had some people swoop in to tell me otherwise, and it makes me feel awesome again.
In short; I know I'm awesome because I have amazing, fantastic, spectacular readers who tell me I'm awesome and remind me that I'm loved. I feel blessed to have you guys, and guess what?
YOU'RE AWESOME! Every single one of you!
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For Vol. 1, this about wraps it all up in a nice Idol-like bow! I thought that for the first Q&A post, I would keep it down to the first three comments I received (I actually answered them all immediately, because I was still awake and raring to go!) but I will be getting onto the newest comments as soon as I can! Thank you for sending in your Questions, and I hope I answered them well enough! XD
I will see you all in the next Q&A post, which will be Vol. 2!
Much Love and hugs and all that cute stuff!
Chiima~
Wow, that was fast! Thanks for answering my questions!
ReplyDeleteI love your idea for the H!P unit, hehe. The name could use some work, though... ;)
I was too excited, so I wanted to answer when I got the questions! Also, thanks for liking my H!P unit XD When I told my sister the name, she surprisingly liked it. I actually like it, too... but it could use some work, or at least my creativity with names could use some work... XD
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