To Be A True Fukei...

Okay, I'm not about to try to come up a one thing that makes someone a "true" fukei, or even try to concoct some certain magic combination of things that will imbue you with Super Fukei powers. The fanbase of Babymetal/Sakura Gakuin is far too diverse, with people coming from all kinds of different means and backgrounds and corners of the world. We all do what we can. And of course some of us are just starting out and simply haven't had the opportunity to devote the time to do many of the things on an exhaustive list.

Okay, wait...I lied; there is probably one thing that everyone must conform to in order to be considered a true fukei, and that is to support our girls. That's why we are all here, after all.

That said, I've come up with a list of items that either I have done or know other people who have done them. If you have done at least some of them, you know the struggle and you can certainly be counted as a true fukei. Here goes:

1. You have devoted hours to learning all of the girl's names and can recognize them by face, or in some cases, just an ear or an arm

2. You've been confronted by worried family or friends about your interests

3. You've taken a job (or an extra job) to support your merch habit

4. You've sent merch or fan art to a friend you met through Babymetal/SG, but have never met IRL

5. You've met an online friend IRL specifically because of Babymetal/SG (concerts, conventions, etc.)

6. You still call Ooga Saki "Baby-chan"

7. You've started to learn Japanese

8. You've started a Facebook page, website, blog, or some other type of fansite


9. You've rearranged your work, school, or sleep schedule to watch LoGiRL

10. You've maxed out a drive or online storage account with Babymetal/SG videos & pictures

11. You've traveled to another country for a concert

12. You openly discuss your crying jags after watching RTGs

13. You've literally had to stay in bed the day after a Sakura Gakuin graduation

14. You've named a pet or child after one of the girls, or at least had a very loud argument about it

15. You know how many of the girls have never participated in Mezase Super Lady, and you can name all of them

16. You've turned off your Babymetal news alerts on Google because they only report stuff that you found out like a week ago

17. You have bootlegs of Chigau and Awadama Fever

18. You can talk to a stranger about the significance of the number 4 in Japan for at least 60 seconds non-stop

19. You've redecorated your room in a Babymetal/SG theme

20. You've had stickers, posters, or shirts custom printed

21. You've ever told someone "Tenso is so easy, I don't know what I was so worried about"

22. You refer to Shirai Saki as "one of us"

23. You can pick yourself or friends out of concert footage

24. You used to desperately want English subs and now you don't even care

25. You're already thinking about whether Sara or Mirena will be the next president (it will be Sara)

26. You read articles about Babymetal online and compose a mental list of glaring factual errors as you go along

27. You experienced the emotional rollercoaster of Honjo Day

28. You have Babymetal money

29. You've contracted carpal tunnel syndrome from non-stop kitsune-ing

30. You held serious discussions where you were seriously concerned about Moa's fitness for performing in a high altitude venue

31. You have ever offered a burnt sacrifice to Kitsune-sama or the Amuse Board of Directors

32. Your life has immeasurably improved since our girls danced into it

I'm sure I left out a ton of things. Let me know if you can think of any others...

Merch from Asmart, 25/09/2015

How To Not Wear A Shirt

Back when I fist became interested in Babymetal, merch pretty was hard to come by...mostly due to my inexperience with the Japanese e-commerce system. Navigating the Amuse/Tenso process would have been overwhelmingly disorienting, if I had even known about it - which I did not. With no English-language outlets such as we have today (such as mflstores.com, Hot Topic, GoMerch, etc.), the only place to turn was eBay. After a few days of searching out merch, it had become apparent that it would not come cheap.

The first shirt I ever got was the Red Moon T-shirt, sold only at the Makuhari Messe show on December 21, 2013. Cost me about 80 bucks American, because this was in March of 2014, just at the very beginning of the huge expansion in the fan base due to the 'Gimme Chokko' video; nowadays it will easily sell for more than twice that amount. That was a good time to be getting into the Babymetal game. (But remember: BABYMETAL IS NOT A FUCKING GAME!!!)

So of course I ended up ordering more - a lot more. Each time I received one of these authentic T-shirts, it was such an amazing and euphoric experience. I cherish each and every one. I tell people that I treat them the way that the Vatican treats the Shroud of Turin. I have literally used tweezers to remove dog hair from them at times, not wanting to cause excess wear on them by using a sticky hair removal roller thing. I've put a lot of thought into the obvious need to protect and preserve their integrity, but I still haven't found a perfect method. I'll run through my experiences on this subject quickly for you, dear reader:

HANGERS:  Using hangers to store your shirts has many advantages: it keeps the shirts flat so there is no folding/creasing of the printing; you can store a lot of shirts in very limited space; it is a fairly good method for their display, as you can quickly whisk through them as you show them off. This is probably the preferred storage method for most collectors.

But the problem I have with hangers is that they can disfigure the shoulders of the shirt, leaving it with pointy shoulders. I'm sure this sort of problem can probably be fixed with a little ironing or something, but that sort of maintenance isn't really in my wheelhouse. Plus I am scared of damaging the shirt with a hot iron.

FOLDING:  There is more than one way to fold a shirt, the most common being to fold them in half or in thirds.

 Looks great...until the ink starts to peel off :(

It's a very effective way of storing shirts. But the glaring problem with folding is that generally a folded shirt will have sharp creases; stacking them on top of each other will only sharpen the creases. And of course creases on printing will weaken the ink and eventually cause it to crack or even peel off. The pros would probably outweigh the cons more if this were an average shirt, but these Babymetal shirts are OUR PRECIOUSES!!! WE NEEDS TO PROTECTSES THEM!!!!!

So folding is a non-starter.

ROLLING:  Rolling is sort of similar to folding; it's a good solution if you will be storing your shirts in a drawer or on a shelf. Rolled shirts also have the advantage of taking up less space than folded shirts do - try it the next time you are packing for an extended trip. From my point of view, the main advantage of rolling vs. folding is that instead of a crease, you get only a gentle wide bend over the printing, so it is much easier on the ink.

The biggest problem I have with folding, though, is that it is the absolute worst in terms of display. On a rolled shirt, you can generally only see the top 6 inches of the printing.

Not particularly envy-enducing...

 

Personally, I have decided to sacrifice the quality of display and go with rolling in the interest of it being best for maintaining the integrity of both the cloth & printing.

 I do sometimes fold shirts if I have multiples of the same design

So, does anyone have any other methods for storing their T-shirts? I'd be very interested to know if anyone has a better way. Let me know in the comments!

How I Accepted Baby-chan Into My Life

My last post focused on the incredible amount of vitriol dedicated towards Notsu Yunano.  I mentioned that I was not innocent of some of this online ijime. I still do engage in some playful teasing every now and then, but my appreciation for her has deepened considerably as time has passed.

As I mentioned in my last video, Yunano is not the only SG girl to fall victim to the derision of the fukei; I've seen it also directed towards C-tan, Rinon, and Aiko. One person I mistakenly left of the list was the other Saki, Baby-chan. Which is an inexcuable omission on my part, because for a while there, she was my least favorite SG member.

I didn't really discover Sakura Gakuin until probably around May of 2014. I first learned of Babymetal on March 3 of that year, and my obsession with them inevitably led me to discovering their roots in SG. At that time, I was too awash in the abundant backlog of Sakura Gakuin videos (usually English-subbed) to pay much attention to the current 2014 nendo. At first, I focused only on material that contained Su, Yui & Moa. So Ooga Saki had long been a member by the time I was exposed to her - and I felt an immediate, visceral dislike towards her. I'm ashamed to admit that it was mostly prejudice based on her looks: she seemed too cloyingly saccharine, and I imagined her admittance into Sakura Gakuin was a cynical effort to find a replacement for Moi as they were growing older and maturing, AS IF THEY WERE REPLACEABLE!  There really wasn't any more to it than that.

Now, I didn't actually hate her or anything - I didn't even really spend any time at all considering why she was my least favorite member. It was just a feeling I always had in the back of my mind when she appeared on camera or in pictures. It certainly had nothing to do with either her talent or character, as she had done nothing I was aware of for me to disapprove of her on those grounds. She performed quite well, in fact. It's pretty embarrassing to look back on how I had such negative feelings for her - they were not strong feelings, but still - it seems pretty shallow of me.

Anyway, this whole thing was turned around in short order after I watched a couple of videos. The first one was Sakura Gakuin vs. Idoling (thanks for your work, Mr. Thomas Malone). The way she comes to the aid of her fellow members and beats up the mean announcer guy who was so mean to the other girls with his meanness pretty much forced me to do a 180. Seeing her leap to action, she melted my cold heart:

The other video, which I saw a little later, cemented my admiration for Baby-chan. In this MUJAK video, she tells of how she likes to do opposite-sex cosplay. It's adorable, and I love how she follows her passions wherever they lead her - that takes bravery!

And ever since then, she's been one of my favorites. I'm so glad I was able to come to my senses and see the true nature of Ooga Saki. I think her voice is one of the strongest in the current Sakura Gakuin lineup (which probably isn't really saying that much, but I'll get to that in another post). 

P.S.

As I spoke earlier of Yunano and my changing opinions of her, I would be remiss if I didn't advise everyone to watch her performance in this J-drama Hagane No Onna (Woman of Steel). She did a really, really good job...I'm so proud of her!!

Shy on Camera - We Need To Talk About Yunano

We Need To Talk About Yunano

One of the more interesting aspects of idol groups is how they are put together; assembled not with the goal of universal acceptance, but rather they are intentionally set up to be polarizing. This is true not only of the band/group itself, but also among the various members within the act. It is actually as very clever long-game being played by the management, the primary logic behind it goes like this:

If you are universally liked (i.e. 100% of the population loves you), you can probably count on a steady stream of sales, at least until the fans get bored with the group. However if, rather than enjoying a universal but ultimately un-fanatical support, a group can earn the rabid support of around 30% of the population, the enthusiasm of this minority will ensure far more sales.

Like, if everyone loves a band, most people will buy their album, perhaps see them in concert if they come to town, and maybe buy a T-shirt or other keepsake. People like us, though - we are different: we will buy each version of the CD put out, we will buy more than one of each style of shirt or other merch they put out (seriously, what is that Babymetal pyramid puzzle thing, even? I don't know, but I need one. Well, I need two, in case something happens to the first one. And maybe a third to keep in the original packaging...)

Even a group like Sakura Gakuin, where the girls are such good friends and the unity of the group is so often stressed (and is a big selling point for we fukeis), is not immune from this feature that is seemingly woven into the very fabric of the idol world. Despite them being all our precious members, we inevitably discover our oshimen, and sadly also find girls we are not so fond of. They are sometimes referred to as "cancer". Hey, idoling is a tough business.

For myself, for a while anyway, my least favorite SG member was Sugimoto Mariri. It was easy to hate on her (although 'hate' is obviously not being used in the dictionary definition sense of the word - more on that later). She left SG early - the only girl to ever do that. It seemed like she was almost a sort of traitor (the revelation that Nene-don very nearly quit had not come to light yet), and she was there so briefly that we hadn't ever really gotten a chance to know her that well anyway. But that unfamiliarity also had the effect that it was difficult to feel passionately about her one way or the other, support or oppose. And that is how Notsu Yunano backed into the role of most disliked member of Sakura Gakuin.

I am one of those who really did not care for Yunano - I'm not proud of it; I'm just acknowledging it. I first became familiar with her on the 2012 nendo test. She had the lowest score, and then cried. None of the girls cried over the test! Everyone else handled it in good humor and with appropriate dignity. This was my first impression of her, and like they say, it was a lasting one.

For whatever reason, the contempt and vitriol for Yunano seems to be felt in all corners of the fandom. Maybe it is her unconventional looks, maybe people don't understand or appreciate her self-deprecating humor...

My heart broke a little when I saw this on LoGiRL...

 

And maybe this is because, as she softly lamented in her graduation interview, the amount of live activities in the 2014 nendo were greatly limited due to Yui & Moa's outside commitments. Maybe it was her sharp tongue.

But I sort of feel that the real reason is maybe it's because we never really got to know Yunano. It seemed that the more subtle and demure aspects that make up the strengths of her personality couldn't compete with the outsize likes of Yui, Moa & Hana. Her personality just never really seemed to emerge - it was hard to form an enthusiastic attachment to the Notsu enigma. 

And then she went and changed her name! It probably got her more attention and interest than anything she ever did at SG, but many fukei were left feeling confused, aimless, even somewhat betrayed. But it really should not have come as any surprise...she was telling us we had her name wrong all along.

I'm not Yunano! I'm Yunano!!

I have since grown to - well, not really 'like' Yunano, but at least appreciate her. Again, I think it's important to stress that none of us really, truly, in the strict definition of the word, 'hate' her. She is just an easy target to pick on, in some ways a victim of the success of her self-deprecating sense of humor. I'm certain that if anyone from outside the fandom started talking all kinds of smack about her, we would step up an defend her. Yunano just fits that role of universal punching bag that is sometimes needed in groups of friends.

All this is yet another reason in the long list of reasons why I desperately hope that the girls never google themselves.

Shy On Camera - Dress Code

Dress Code Violation

I realize I've arrived a little late to the party, but I guess it's finally time to weigh in on the whole midriff controversy. I mean, every one lost their minds for a bit there, and a lot of people are still not over it. Some people, seeing photoshops like the one below, threatened to set themselves on fire if things ever came to that.

That was me. It was me who threatened to set himself on fire.

I loathe this picture with all my soul. I'm only including it out of obvious illustrative necessity. Once this post is published, I plan to rent a chipper/shredder and go all Fargo on my computer. This is just the worst effing thing ever. It pains me to look at it, or even remember that it is a thing that even exists. So I try to pretend it never happened, to just shut it completely out of my mind, but the more you try to avoid entertaining a thought, the more that thought finds clever ways to insinuate itself into your every mental process. It's like, brah... here I am now, entertain me.

Some people seem to think this whole brouhaha came out of nowhere but the fevered, craven mind of the internet, but it actually stems back to a comment Yui made about American fashion. She noticed that in America, women tended to show more skin than in her native Japan, and then expressed some interest (how serious she is, it's hard to tell...) in maybe performing in outfits that expressed their midriffs. Su and Moa seemed far less enthused about the possibility:

And of course Moa talked about food...

Without even realizing it, Yui set off a huge, panic-enducing, firestorm in the fandom. And then Pale (one of the coolest artists alive) poured gasoline on it like some kind of reverse Smoky the Bear asshole guy or something...

twitter.com/pale216

Obviously, for a lot of fukei out there, the key is just that: they identify as fukei, or older males supporting and looking out for their imotous. Yui's comments really strike a nerve by playing on the subconscious dread that many fukei have of the girls growing up.

But, obviously, the girls are growing up. They are continually developing both as ladies and as artists. If they ever were to decide that's the direction they want to go, I'll support them, at least initially. But I think part of what makes Babymetal work so perfectly is the juxtaposition of the darkness and maturity the genre of metal imbues with their innocent and effervescent personalities. But that's just me...

The larger problem is that this whole midriff thing has also coincided with a deluge of upskirt shots from their performance at the Leeds and Reading festivals. These types of photographs are of course going to happen given the high stage on which they perform, as well as the energetic nature of their performance. And it's not like we haven't seen shots like these for years - that's why they wear safety shorts. But to me it just seems like these types of pictures are being posted a disproportionate amount of the time that people post festival pics. So it's not so much that they exist, it's the sudden flood of them that seems a little exploitative to me, especially in conjunction with this whole belly matter.

TOO MUCH, TOO SOON, GUYS!!!

In Defense of Rinon - Straight to Video