boredsatellite posted:

tbh this is more of the classic paparazzi stuff than something isolated to idol stuff.

Endorph posted:

it really depends on who your market is, how the execs handle it, and how you portray yourself, and akb48 is like peak catering to that crowd

Ytlaya posted:

I enjoy this series, but there's something I've noticed about it and other "realistic idol" stuff. Feel free to ignore; this is just something that has gradually started bugging me and this is the most recent series in which it's come to mind.

Stories like this often have a superficial message of "the idol industry is problematic because the businesses and fans are often bad," but the actual message seems to be "idols are good and the only problem is that some businesses/media/fans are bad." It's less an "anti-idol" message and more just a "gritty pro-idol" message. The answer is never "perhaps this industry shouldn't exist" and is instead "the businesses and fans should be nicer." Instead of "idols are good because they're pure, etc" (the message of real life idol-related marketing) you get "idols are good because they're skilled professional entertainers," which is sort of superficially "empowering" but ignores/downplays the fact that these are still children being exploited by adults who should never have become "skilled liars" or whatever to begin with (and the reality probably involves *far* less agency in like 95+% of situations).

While it's certainly better than the alternative of just directly reflecting real world pro-idol marketing, it's also not exactly opposed to the industry so much as it is individual actors related to the industry, with little thought given to "perhaps there's something inherently wrong about an industry of underage sexualized performers." It also seems like there's often less focus given to how poorly the idols themselves are compensated, unless it's in the context of the entire agency struggling. In Oshi no Ko, for example, the small agency Ai was involved with is portrayed in a more-or-less sympathetic light. They are a small "mom n pop" agency you see, not like those faceless big agencies. The criticism also usually focuses on the way others treat the industry/performers, like tabloids or social media, rather than the the actual business itself and the fact that the performers are often literal children with no real agency. Crazy fans who get angry at idols for being in relationships, or tabloids who violate their privacy, are correctly condemned, but less attention is paid towards the fact that this is an obvious consequence of an entertainment industry focused on sexualized teenagers (and something that industry is responsible for).

Julias posted:

Been waiting for this one

Endorph posted:

personally i dont want the two people who first met as a 30 year old and a 10 year old and then met as siblings to be in love

Super Jay Mann posted: