The Worst Type Of Idol Fans

I need to talk about something that has been in my mind for several months now.  It's been bugging me a lot lately, and I need to get this off my chest.  I've come across certain people who claim to fans of Japanese idols that seem to be very close-minded.  These people are what I refer to as "elitist mainstream idol fans".

Elitist mainstream idol fans are those who only listen to mainstream groups and nothing but these groups.  They are the ones you'll find that say "I only listen to Hello! Project groups" or "I only listen to the *48 family groups."  Some of these fans may also listen to other mainstream groups such as Momoiro Clover Z or BABYMETAL, but they are ignoring many indie and underground idol groups. Now it might be because they haven't heard of some of these indie and underground groups, or it might be because they have an extremely bad attitude and just plain won't acknowledge them. These fans are some of the most close-minded people who are listening to music.  But it gets even worse sometimes.  I have read comments along the lines of "I wish this girl would leave her current group and join Hello! Project."  Now that is the most horrible type of comment an idol fan can make!  Don't understand why?  Let me explain.

If you say you like a certain idol singer in a indie or underground group, and you really want them to leave this group, then you are wishing this group would not be successful and possibly break up.  If you actually got your wish and your favorite singer in an indie group left to join Hello! Project or the *48 family, then the group she was originally in will have a steep decline in popularity and this will anger many of the fans of the group.  They will resent the girl who left and caused this decline in popularity.  If the group breaks up because the most popular girl left, this will cause even more anger in some fans.  Even if some fans follow her to the H!P or *48 group she ends up in, they still might wish she would return to her original group so things will go back to the way they were before she left.

If you really love an indie or underground singer or group, please show it by supporting this singer or group.  Purchase their compact discs or other merchandise, if possible, and tell people how much you love the singer or group and why.  Be a proud fan and tell your friends about this non-mainstream idol you love and share their YouTube videos (or videos on other websites).  Spread the good word about these idols instead of wishing that the most popular member would leave the group to join a mainstream company.  Being an elitist, close-minded and mean-spirited mainstream fan just isn't very smart.            

Candy Zoo Welcomes A New Member!

Indie idols Candy Zoo officially welcomed new member Katayama Yuara to the group on May 17, 2015, which was one day before their second anniversary.  Yuara actually made an appearance on stage on April 25 for the joint birthday celebration for Candy Zoo members Yamamoto Himiko (who turned 13 on April 19) and Nishisato Rina (who also became 13, but on April 28).  However, she did not perform with the group that day.  Yuara wrote in the Candy Zoo blog for the first time on May 18.  A photo posted on Twitter shows the current lineup of the group.  Yuara is the Green Meerkat of Candy Zoo.    

Sakura Gakuin 2015 President And New Members Announcement!

The announcement of the new Student Council President of Sakura Gakuin and the new members of the group appeared on the Oricon Style website earlier today.  Sakura Gakuin are back to twelve members again!  What makes me even more excited is Isono Rinon is the new President of Sakura Gakuin!  I have been a big fan and supporter of Rinon since she joined Sakura Gakuin, and with the addition of six new members bringing Sakura Gakuin back to form, this could be a very exciting year for the group.

Below are the names of the new members.  Click on a name to go to her official Amuse profile.

Kurosawa Mirena - Born on May 22, 2001 in Tokyo.
Okazaki Momoko - Born on March 3, 2003 in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Aso Maaya - Born on November 4, 2003 in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Hidaka Marin - Born on December 1, 2003 in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Yoshida Soyaka - Born on June 14, 2004 in Osaka.
Fujihara Kano - Born on August 28, 2004 in Chiba Prefecture.

Sakura Gakuin graduated member (and my all-time favorite) Miyoshi Ayaka paid a visit to her former alma mater and shared this awesome photo taken with the new girls on her Instagram.

Although I'm late in reporting this, in other Sakura Gakuin member news, Sugimoto Mariri started a new blog on April 1, 2015.    

Congratulations to Rinon for being selected the fifth Student Coucil President Of Sakura Gakuin, and best wishes to all the new members!  

  

SunRisa - Overflowing With Talent!

SunRisa is a four member Kansai-based idol group created by SPROUT Entertainment and Dream Girls fashion magazine.  The group debuted on April 13, 2014 with five members.  The name of the group is a play on the Spanish word "sonrisa" which means "smile". While I am not sure about this, I believe the two oldest former members, Kozai Sakura and Kumada Rena were brought in to help the younger members to learn how to dance.  They seem to be working primarily as teen fashion models now.  Imamori Manaka was originally a candidate and then promoted a full member on August 22, 2014.    

When SunRisa performed at an event known as Fanfare on April 4, 2015, the group released two singles.  Live performances of these singles with both former and current members (some of them fan videos) have been on YouTube for a while now.  Today SunRisa released their first studio video for the song "OVER FLOW".  This is the song that caught my attention a few months ago and it sounds pretty good with the current lineup.  I do miss Sakura and Rena, but I am very supportive of all the members!

"OVER FLOW" 

"Fashionable" (live) 

All links go to their official SPROUT Entertainment profiles. 

Current Members: 

Matsuo Fuka - Born on June 24, 2001; 144 cm  

Shimada Mayuka - Born on September 30, 2002; 146 cm 

Imamori Manaka - Born on July 1, 2003; 140 cm  

Okamura Minami - Born on October 20, 2004; 135 cm 

Candidates: 

Morigami Aiko - Born on August 9, 2003; 135 cm  

Hiura Nao - Born on October 15, 2003; 134 cm 

Maia - Born on January 30, 2005  

Former Members: 

Kozai Sakura - Born on April 24, 1999; 155 cm  

Kumada Rena - Born on May 24, 2000; 150 cm  

Kawasaki Sakura 

SunRisa Profile

SunRisa Blog

SunRisa Twitter

Fuka's Twitter (Protected) 

Mayuka's Twitter

Manaka's Twitter

Minami's Twitter

     

Si☆Stella's First DVD!

Si☆Stella are releasing their first DVD on May 3, 2015.  Fans of these cute young idols will certainly want to get a copy.  

You might also want to pick up "Japan Idol File 2", which features the CD debut of the song "St. Bonapro School" by the group of the same name.  Si☆Stella, of course, are the reorganized version of St. Bonapro School with four former members of that group.

Candy Kiss Release Their Debut Album!

Yesterday on April 12, 2015 Candy Kiss members Sakurai Maya (the leader of the group) and Shimoda Kaede graduated.  The report of this event along with several photos can be found in the last article of Candy Kiss's blog.  No, this does mean the group is breaking up.  It simply means that the group is starting their next chapter as a trio with an all-new blog!  The Candy Kiss Facebook page changed their header and profile photo to reflect the current lineup.  If this isn't enough, just 40 minutes ago from the time I am typing this now the Candy Kiss YouTube channel uploaded a new promo video for their upcoming first album, titled "Parfait"!

According to the info in the description for the video, the album will have thirteen tracks, none of which have been released before!  Even if you have the four singles they have already released you will still be getting an album of all-new songs.  Yes, these include all the songs that Candy Kiss have been performing live for over a year now.  Four tracks are labeled "Interlude-1" to "Interlude-4", and I'm not sure what these might be.  The album will be released on July 29, 2015, so save up your money and be sure to support these girls!  

Even More Bad News

It seems like my blog is nothing but a compilation of reports on idol graduations lately.  What's worse is I have discovered something that has really angered me too, which I'll also discuss.

I completely overlooked in my previous articles on Japanese idol graduations the fact that the entire Smile Gakuen project has been disbanded.  I heard back on February 22, 2015 that the four current (and remaining) Smile Gakuen members would graduate.  There was the question of whether or not the "Tryout Members" would form a new Smile Gakuen, but as it turned out, they were also graduated by the management.  This was confirmed on the Smile Gakuen Facebook Page on March 23.

I first took an interest in this group last year when I went to Idol Matsuri in Silverdale, Washington. My friend Chibineko was selling some CDs he didn't want, including a couple by Smile Gakuen.   Eventually he decided to give away for free a few of them and I picked up the first two Smile Gakuen singles from 2011.  Since then I was trying to catch up with the group, only to discover that there were many lineup changes and subunits formed.  Of all the songs I heard from this group, the subunit Smile Kiss Gumi had the best song.

    

Peekaboo is one of those idol groups really off most fans' radar, although I listed their song "Kosoku Ihan" as one of my favorite idol songs of 2014.  March 31, 2015 was the graduation concert for two members, the single-named Momoka and Kikuchi Reina.  Here is the official video for the retro-rock "Kosoku Ihan". 

 

Today I learned of the sad news of three graduations from the group Sakuran Bom Bom, alerted to me by Chibineko.  Miu, Rio and Kii will all graduate on April 26, 2015.  I have been a fan of Sakuran Bom Bom since around January 2014 and I was the first to bring them to the attention of many idol fans outside of Japan.  I have always liked these three girls, and I consider Kii to be one of the best singers in the group.  All three will be sorely missed.  

When I became a fan of Sakuran Bom Bom there were nine members.  Ami, who went "on hiatus" last year to study to be a voice actress, still has not returned.  At this point I doubt she will.  I guess what makes this tough for me personally is that the group will be reduced to four members from now on.  Here is a video edited by Chibineko for the song "Bom Bom World☆".          

Finally, I would like to get something off my chest regarding idol blogging and article writing for idol websites.  I have discovered three examples in a little more than a week of fan-created idol websites, blogs and Facebook pages that have copied and pasted various things I written in my blog.  Actually, this is not the first time I have discovered such examples of plagiarism.  I have been plagiarized for at least four years now by a variety of people, including former friends.  I know I am not the only idol blogger being plagiarized either, because I came across a foreign website that had six of my articles copied and pasted on it as well as several articles about idols written in a variety of other languages!  (I tried to find the website again, but I can't for some reason.  It's possible it's been deleted since I made a complaint against it.)  Now all of the Facebook pages and groups that have copied and pasted what I wrote in the past few years aren't any more "official" than my blog, but if you are going to use information taken from my blogs (I have two currently on the internet), my website Sensational Idols or my Facebook page Young Idol Singers, how about giving me some credit?  I think those people who are doing this are very young and naive and probably don't have a clue what the word "plagiarize" means.  Perhaps some of them are foreigners who have English as a second language and can't write very well in English.  This still does not give you the right to copy and paste me or anyone else.  Real writing involves coming up with your own words and ideas.  If you do not have the intelligence or skills to do this, please stop pretending you are a writer right now.  Apologize to those whose hard work you stole and then delete your website, blog or Facebook page or group.  If you feel the need to say something there are always forums, other people's Facebook groups and YouTube videos that offer places for your comments.  Something tells me, though, that none of the people who are plagiarizing me or other legitimate writers will ever confess that they have done anything wrong.  I have never gotten a sincere apology from anyone who copied my words.