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.