As an Anthropologist her focus is Japanese social issues such as parasite daughters and herbivore men. Recently she showed me an interesting mini sub-culture going on in the realms of Nico Nico Douga (ニコニコ動画) where some people like to do live streams well into the night inviting people to skype call them and do funny things for our entertainment.

Surprizingly these aren’t your typical Otaku either most that I have found are just students with alot of time on their hands and only one that I have meet so far has had more than a passing interest in Idols and Idol music.

But getting into this world has shown me three things in relation to idols:

Get used to it guys…..

   Morning Musume isn’t long dead and forgotten, but just very very dated. Using my very limited Japanese (with help from my friend, hey girl hey!) I requested a  Momusu song using this kanji, モー娘。 At first the guy hosting the stream (and it is mostly guys with a few exceptions) said “モー娘。知らない” (I don’t know Momusu) but then he proceeded to launch in to the key dance moves to Ren’ai Revolution 21 with the song playing in the background for its full duration. That song came out in the year 2000. So all hope is not lost but in order to stop being seen as dated H!P has to find something new and perhaps the 9th and 10th gen are just that? That would explain why their generations were so close together.

       Every group has their signature songs. I think this isn’t a very revolutionary thought but I think it bears some thinking, especially since the AKB48 Best 100 Set List upset. So we all know old or dated groups have their signature songs - like MM。 and RR21 or Love Machine or SweetS and Love Like Candyfloss - but what about groups that are popular now? For example Kyray Pamyu Pamyu is everything I like in an Idol: Interesting, Has a personal style and is independent. Her break out hit PONPONPON was a run away success and her major debut Tsukema Tsukeru did well… kinda. Well it did well in money terms but it wasn’t a cross over hit like PONPONPON.  In every live cast I was able to find the host either kinda liked Kyary or LOVED HER and it became increasingly clear that for all of them Kyary = PONPONPON.

   Now about that AKB48 upset… since it’s inception the major releases released closest to the event have ranked the highest or at least all in the top 5. This year a song from last year, Heavy Rotation, won and some of the major releases from this year that all sold more than Heavy Rotation only just made it into the top ten. At all the end of year shows it seemed to be a selection of songs and Heavy Rotation. No song apart from their major debut Aitakatta has a song for AKB48 been so long lasting in the Japanese public memory. It struck me that Heavy Rotation is gonna be AKB48’s signature song.

   Otaku and the like can be anyone. Now it is not like I didn’t know this but my NicoNico experience merely reaffirmed this view. I was kinda surprized by how, for lack of a better word, normal every one of the Japanese hosts were and stylish and how much they all smoked (well maybe not that one but it was quite alot). My friend and I were just like like all of these guys except a little less exhibitionist. Being in the Idol fandom you think you know alot about Japan but really we are very divorced from what is really going on over there.

So yeah thats what I have been up to lately.