The Power Of Idols

Sorry that I accidentally went on a months hiatus. I began to have writers block for a while there but after taking a breather, I'm back.

Today I am going to write a article about what idols mean to certain people and how they can connect not only fans of different generations but also around the world. 

As a idol fan in the United States, you kind of get frowned upon and sort of shoved into a niche group of people where others think that you might be a perv for looking at idols. 

You might have family members who think that you liking such things will ruin your future, may it be financially, emotionally, or even starting a relationship. 

Yet to those people who enjoy idols such as myself, we work hard in order for that to not take a toll on those certain aspects of our lives.

Some of us work at minimum wage or above jobs working 40+ hours a week in order to make sure we can support these groups or members we are extremely fond of .

Other times we work those jobs to be able to afford to go to Japan ourselves and get to witness the idol culture in all of its glory. 

That is the power of idols.

Whenever we come across groups that we have no idea who the heck they are, we research until life's end, may it be on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. We shell out countless dollars in order to show our support even from abroad. 

The power of idols can not really be described in certain terms. 

Whenever you first become a fan of a certain group, you think that you are the only one who likes that group in your country or even in Japan itself because you see how many views they get on YouTube or how many Twitter followers they have.

As time goes along and you get to know the group better, you begin to see more fans spring up from nowhere and you start to realize you are not alone.

I have been there where I thought I was the only fan of a certain group and then coming to find out that I was never really alone in my fandom. 

The same can be said with your favorite members.

Idols bring people together, no matter what age, race, religion, or geographical location. 

I have met so many people from around the world while being a idol fan. From Indonesia and Australia to Malaysia, Japan and even in my own state. 

Once you begin to find those people, you can actually get to sort of bond with that person over your favorite groups and members. You get to share your experiences with them if they are planning to go to Japan to see idol groups and become sort of a travel guide. 

When you go to concerts of your favorite groups in Japan or even in the States, you get to be involved in that culture.

A few of my favorite experiences include the idol group Kamen Joshi. Their fans are so kind to foreigners it surprised me on my first trip and even the one a few months ago. They love to interact with you, get you involved in fan chants, choreography and other things so don't be afraid to get involved with those kind of fans. 

Another experience is seeing a multitude of groups in one evening and that group having a few fans in attendance and the others are still supporting that group and they help with the stuff I mentioned in the paragraph above. They always say thank you after the set is over to express their gratitude for those fans of other groups. Who knows, you might like them as well.

Idols can make your life a rainbow after a thunderstorm.

Let's say that you are having a completely down in the dumps day. Everything has gone completely wrong from the moment you woke up. Maybe you got yelled at by your boss at work or you are having a argument with friends and need a way to get away from it all.

Turn to idols.

As soon as you turn on one of your favorite music videos of theirs or listen to one of their albums, it makes you relax and you can smile. 

If an idol group has a behind the scenes kind of YouTube channel, turn that on for a couple of hours and just watch with enjoyment.

Maybe you have a certain favorite member of a major idol group. Jump onto their blog or their Facebook fan page(s) and look through the photos and videos and share them or even go back to YouTube and try to find dramas or variety shows with them on and watch them.

It really helps when it comes to stress to do the things above.

Idols can make you go to war for them.

What I mean by that is if you find something offensive toward a certain group or member, you will fight for their honor, like a white knight coming to the rescue of a beautiful princess.

In this day and age of the idol warring period (not the Japanese history lesson on the warring age), you begin to notice antis pretty well. Antis are people who completely hate on certain groups and certain members of that group because they don't like them. May it be of what kind of music they perform or what they do in their personal life, there are always going to be Antis. 

One obvious case are the Antis against the 46 groups (Nogizaka and Keyakizaka) from the 48 Group fans. There have been many a times where a majority of fans on both sides have had some pretty interesting conversations about why they don't like the other. 

A reason could be the fact that one group gives off more of a sexy image, performing gravure and such while the other gives off the innocent vibe.

Now admittedly, I have to say I am a anti of one person. That person would be Matsui Jurina of SKE48. For some reason I can not stand her whatsoever. 

Their is also another war that many idol fans face a majority of the time and that is explaining to non-fans what idols are and why you like them.

That war is almost like a draw, neither side will win.

You will try to explain with all your might what they are and even then the opposite part will walk away without any more knowledge than when they started to conversation.

I have been in that situation so many times. It helps to just give a brief overview and then if they don't understand, just take it, you are never going to reach them.

 Idols can turn into crushes.

Now this is the part where things start to get a little strange. As you begin to like certain members and shell out money for their merchandise, you being to feel like you truly like them not as a fan.

For starters, you begin to watch their videos only and not any other with different members in them, or you may watch live videos on YouTube and only focus on that member.

Their is a line to be drawn and that line is when you feel like you can't live without them. 

When you get to that point take a look deep inside yourself and come to the realization that you will never get to actually be with that person. 

Some of us fans have that feeling. We begin to like certain members and maybe, unlike me, you are good looking enough for them to be attracted to you and you hope one day they will depart from that group and fly to wherever, take a train to wherever you are and live happily ever after. 

Believe me, you know that will never happen. Just understand that you are only a fan of that certain member and nothing will come of it.


I discussed a variety of topics of the power of idols from bringing people together to liking them as crushes. Their could have been a lot more but I decided to leave it at that. 

I honestly hope you enjoyed this article and if you did feel free to leave a comment below or you can follow me on Twitter. I honestly don't mind either way. 

*And as always, Have A Fantastic Day No Matter Where You Are!!