/ot/ - off-topic

>I know its creepy to a degree but it seems so innocent. And other than making money & mass marketing, its about entertaining fans and making them feel energized & happy.

We had something like that anon. It was called youtubers and twitch streamers. But then they all had to turn into cows. No one makes it in western society unscathed.

I've wanted to be an idol for 10 years now. I got into Morning Musume in 2007, then AKB48, onto Love Live and IM@S finally. I'm far too old to be an idol now (even though in IM@S Cinderella Girls they have 30+ year old idols but that's anime)… Anyways, I'm not so sure there is much of a market here in the west for cutesy, energetic entertainment personalities. The west loves to focus on sex, gossip, and the personal lives of celebs which is the exact opposite of Japanese idol culture (they like gossip but scandals over ANYTHING will ruin your career in Japan and that is doubly so for women in the industry). I have many issues with idol culture. Idol otaku can be very "problematic" for a lack of a better term. If a female idol is caught on a date with a boy her career is almost guaranteed to be over. Dating is not allowed. Being a human being is not allowed. It's like putting up an act 24/7. That's why I mostly focus on anime idols nowadays. Shows like Love Live give me the fantasy I wanted and still want today. A group of girl friends aiming towards the common goal to be idols, singing catchy songs, wearing adorable outfits, and above all enjoying youth and school life.

Seeing as things like "boy bands" and Fifth Harmony aren't really popular anymore, I don't see the idol-culture being huge in the US. I think for now, the only places you'll find anything idol like is conventions and dance competitions…?? I mean Japan slowly evolved into it, it would be really hard for the US to evolve into it since even just turning on the tv and reading magazines the women are in their 20'-30s, dressing modern and tumblr like. Pastel isn't a fad anymore, so there's no super cutesy look in the media.
Although idols are starting to preform more(example: AX Walkure, Aqours, CGSS preformed so I guess that's something.)

Aside from that I've always dreamed to be in a dance group, uploading covers online to popular anime shows, j-pop, or im@s games. Even a cosplay cover group would be amazing. /cgl/ has a thread about idols and people always post about wanting to make a group, or the falling out of their group because _____ reason.

I think that one time a Japanese female idol shaved her head in apology for getting caught going on a date and made an emotional plea sums up why the Korean and Japanese idol industry is fucked up and emotionally/physically traumatic. You basically become a slave to the industry and to your insane fans.

I know some girls in their mid twenties who are "idols" in the us its a bit cringe to watch in the states. I get the teens being idols since they are young and are trying to find joyful activities. I just find the whole idol thing a bit cringe at times, you see these american girls trying to speak japanese and pretending to look japanese (squinting their eyes and wearing round contact lens to look like their fav idoru) but oh man oh man the neckbeards and the weebs eat them up. I get japan and their idol industry but doing the same thing here in the west seems to be just asking to be made fun of or ending up on lolcow. I wonder whats gonna happen to those girls when they are in their 40s all they learned to do is to dance and look "kawaii" no other set of skills or anything that makes them a productive member of society.

I think our western equivalent is, like the other anon said, youtubers. Also instagrammers and other social media influencers. Most of them spits the same cute kawaii energetic happy positive vibes uwu shit anyway. They also have hords of teens after them, maybe with more freedom since no agency forces them not to date or stuff.
I don't think it's hard for a girl to get a big insta following and become some sort of an "idol". The quickest way is to wear very heavy glam makeup and take lotsa closeup selfies lol.

>>202971
>and wearing round contact lens to look like their fav idoru
Anon, circle lenses are to make your eyes bigger and cuter, and AFAIK japanese idols don't even wear them anymore. It's out of fashion over there now.

>but doing the same thing here in the west seems to be just asking to be made fun of or ending up on lolcow
Nobody ends up here just for posting kawaii dance videos, people end up here because of drama and being poorly dressed pieces of shit. That's why we have a thread on Jillian but not one on Kammie, LL sunrise or other people who engage in weeb culture.

It's silly to assume that just because someone does this shit on their free time they're not going to college or don't work. A lot of them do. It's fine to think it's cringe, but it's not something that equals lolcow, nor does it equal no life.

I always liked the sweet idol look, being an idol isn't worth it, your job is to please and pander to older men and be a weird stereotype to fit the fantasies of said older men.

>>203068
idoru

>>203068

are you kidding me id love to harvest that power

I do like the basic concept of idols, cute girls putting on a cute performance, and I wish that I could be a cute girl who does cute things and is admired and adored for it. If the majority (or entirety) of the audience in this pic >>203068 were girls, this would be my dream tbh.

Many aspects of idol culture are problematic but so's the entertainment industry in general.

>>202963
Here's a few older idols for you, anon.
20-25 year olds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyUHWzhLkhk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwCpVXtRRY4

25-30 year olds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOfQf16q6tY

~53 year olds (they debuted in the '70s when they were like 17 and this was an anniversary tour)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3Zt9jdWZ3U

I frequent the net idol threads on /cgl/, and the best net idol groups have older (20+) idols.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ae-1O7VFGg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q7k6Tre_6Y

>>203075
American Aidoru

The real-life idol industry seems rough but I'm obsessed with some groups from otome and mobage games, like SideM and Ensemble Stars. I guess it's a little better that most of the characters are voiced by older seiyuu instead of exploited teenagers?

>>203147
That fucking Naruto jacket. I swear to Christ, Naruto attracts more autists than any other anime. Just why?

>>203147
A friend of a friend dated her…

>>203147
Aw that video makes me miss 2000's innocence.
That chick is still pretty much the same. I'm glad she is still happy and doing her thing.

does anyone remember that crazy tumblr blogger who shits on western aidorus, jrcach or something? he picked apart a lot of their appearances for not fitting certain standards.

>>203210
Since when, What happened to her?

>>211189
That was the dude who got turned on by cats right?

>>211189
I found his blog kinda entertaining but I never quite believed his identity as a middle-aged Japanese insider in the idol industry was real.

>>211206
yep that's the one lol.
>>211232
I feel like every weeb aidoru kissed up to him despite his identity being unknown and how ~knowledgable~ he was for "critiquing" idols

Remember those twin idols, Ally & Sally? Apparently they're holding auditions for a Canadian sister group to the Japanese idol group that they're a part of.
https://twitter.com/moe_twinstyle/status/922344430299889664

>Do you dream of joining a Japanese idol group? Even if you don't understand Japanese, aren't in your early teens, aren't female, you still can! The number one thing we're looking for is heart and dedication!
>Our ultimate goal is to get an original song created specifically for Seishun Youth Academy by producer SHUN, who has written songs for famous TV shows "Minna no Uta" and "Viking", as well as idols such as AKB48, Lovely☆Doll, Ange☆Reve, Hiiragi Rio, and many more!
>While auditions will be conducted by founding members in Vancouver, all decisions are decided by Japanese management.

Any Canadian aspiring idols getting in on this? I'm curious to see how a group like this will work out.

>>211292
those lucky canucks.

i'm not your greatest canada expert, but i feel like it might work out? hopefully it expands to the usa.