Quantcast
games  anime  toys  movies
Japanator is anime news, community, videos & geeky J-stuff. Updated daily!   Sign up to comment or blog    |    Returning? Login

japanator logo

Does marriage threaten the careers of Japanese actors?
by Colette Bennett, 06/06/2010
Does marriage threaten the careers of Japanese actors? photo

Maybe not, if you aren't an ikemen. But if you are, apparently you need to watch out for falling in love in real life. A recent article on Gendai-Netto summarizes concern over that J-actor Eita (currently starring in airing drama Sunao ni Narenakute) will lose fans soon. Why? Because of his upcoming marriage to J-pop star Kaela Kimura (who is pregnant). Sound shallow? Read on...

Oki Naomi, who runs a pretty J-boy blog called Ikemen Hyoronka, commented on the situation, presenting some eyebrow-lifting info about the fans of these J-idols:

Women who are fans to ikemen and idols have a severe way of thinking. They worship their idol and give support as much as possible. On the other hand once their idol gets married, they would take them as a traitor. They have a conceited feeling because they've been supporting their idol even before they were popular, and also they have already spent some amount of money on that support. So they would get jealous easily.

Wrap your brain around this. I mean, I LOVE my idols. On the other hand, I expect them to also have lives, and the fact that they go home and cook dinner with their wives certainly does not invade on my perverted thoughts about them. Not even remotely. I mean, I'll never be able to hook up with these dudes, so why be jealous of their ladies?It's the equivalent of thinking I have a chance of hooking up with Jake Gyllenhaal in real life -- and not that I wouldn't like to -- but come ON, people.

The same article suggests that Mizushima Hiro was up for the main role in Fuju TV's upcoming getsu-9 drama  Natsu no Koi wa Nijiiro ni Kagayaku, but somehow lost it to Arashi's Matsumoto Jun -- who, mysteriously enough, does not have a girlfriend. Is it just gossip, or are Japanese female fans really this serious about their fandoms? 






About our new comments system

We're evaluating Livefyre, a new comments system that helps us fight spam, allows you to thread comments, get email notifications, and follow site-wide AND twitter/facebook conversations about our stories all from one page. If you love it we will integrate it into the site permanently so that your old comments and profiles sync up. During this test you can register a chat avatar and track your comments here. Let us know what you think! support@japanator.com

Embedding images/pictures: To help us fight spam/pr0n we only support images from Flickr, Twitpic, tinypic, and imgur for images. Just type in the URL and a thumbnail of the picture will show up. Supported video sources are vimeo and youtube.

Legacy comments:

fission2

Well the Japanese did bring into infamy the yandere style, I don't see why it's such a long-shot, and since commercialization and consumerism seem to be the Japanese forte, it's understandable that certain maniacs get angry after spending lots of money on their delusions. It's an extreme cult-following mentality I suppose.
 
slillibri

This isn't really that surprising. One common example is members of Hello!Project Wonderful Hearts are not allowed to have boyfriends, or at least date publicly, in their contracts. For example, look up Fujimoto Miki and Yaguchi Mari.
 
Manthai

Urg, this mentality pisses me off. It's the same with female idols too, they immediately have to look for a career change if someone finds out they have a boyfriend. I don't care how delusional you are, if you "love" an idol, don't force them to miss out on the basic human need of companionship.
 
Colette Bennett

I can't say I was surprised. I had gotten wind of it before. BUT it did really just make me stare at my screen and go "Really?" It's nuts. I wonder if Johnny's Associates boys have it written into their contracts that they cannot have public girlfriends. I would not be one but shocked.
 
Irothtin

Didn't something similar happen over *fictional* characters having boyfriends/girlfriends?
 
ittoujuu

I file this in exactly the same pile as the otaku who flip out when it's even suggested that their WAIFU character may have a relationship within the story; these guys who bought like 80 figures get rid of them all and pledge to never buy another one again. It's this fanatical polarity that, IMO, shits all over Japan's creative works - the most fanatical segment of the fandom also contains the biggest spenders, and that means these people have the industry by the balls. In terms of anime and manga, it negatively impacts the creative freedom an author may feel they can take, and in a live-action setting, it forces real people to act counter to the person they are just to fuel whatever image has been concocted for them. Makes me wonder which branch contains the more fictitious characters.
 
nortonantivirus

*Files under "Weird things Japanese people do*
I remember back when I was a kid, a friend of mine raged when Brittney Spears hooked up with Justin Timberlake. I think he was the first person to predict Brittney becoming a whore.
 
slillibri

Well, at the end of the day what agencies like Johnny's Associates and Up-Front Works are selling is image and fantasy. I know UFA pretty much controls everything about their idols, even down to hairstyles so I would be surprised if Johnny's was any different. Allowing anything outside their control into the mix would 'ruin' the product.

Of course, all that being said, I would still shiv a man to get Morning Musume or Buono! tickets.
 
P Marsh

Japanese men get just as delusional over idols so why not Japanese women?

 
Mari Hikiko

I don't see what the big hub-bub is about. I believe its fine to really like a person (idol) character w/e, and that's cool-- but to believe that you could possibly have a future with that person is a little-- um, yah, out there. I love Angela Gossow, but I know I'm never gonna be a part of her life...

I just can't understand how someone could think like that.

 
Mad March Harris

I thought that this happened everywhere. People who bank on their sex appeal (even partially) are told to keep their romances either non-existent or secret so that they can be sold as single. Not so much with marriages but anything less can be hidden for a while if someone will make money from it.

I could just be pulling it out of my ass though.

 
Mari Hikiko

@Mad March Harris

yeah, Japans not the only one...
 
Aiya

I keep hearing stories about Kpop fans they are plenty scary as well when they idols hook up with another female idol they tend to put hate mail and say hateful things to them as well. :(

Idols have it tough they also need a life of their own. These fans are just living in a fantasy world wishing that their idol is only for them and themselves.

It's hard to believe MatsuJun doesn't have a girlfriend, but then again I guess for some idols career is first.

I heard that Mai Kuraki had to break up with someone for her career to be better. D:

 
spring_snow

This article made me so mad. How are these guys short of work? Mizushima Hiro finished up "Tokyo DOGS" not too long ago and he's got a lead role in the upcoming "Beck" movie. Eita's marriage was just announced; we don't know how it's going to affect his career yet.

And really, shouldn't any person's career take a little slow-down when they have increased family obligations? I mean, I wouldn't want a husband (or a dad) with MatsuJun's schedule. Shouldn't we be hearing about how Hiro and Eita are AWESOME significant others? That news makes me more inclined to watch their upcoming projects--not less.
 
Gee-Man

I think it works both ways. I forgot who the character was, but a large part of a certain anime's fanbase went batsh*t INSANE when they heard that their beloved waifu was possibly not a virgin. Like, it was so bad that they sent death threats to the author and swore to never watch it ever again.

Then again, I think this insanity is universal. Just look at how well celebrity-relationship gossip sells here in America. If people didn't get so into it, the tabloids wouldn't cover it in the first place.

Or...maybe 90% of Japan's female population comprises of Yanderes and we're all doomed. :P
 
BoukenLou

It still amazes me how deep into their fantasy worlds some people, Japanese or otherwise, can get. It really shouldn't affect this guy's career if he happens to fall in love and wishes to get married.

Didn't they kick a girl out of AKB48 when they found out she had a boyfriend? Wasn't there also a rumor that SPEED originally broke up because one of the girls wanted to move to the States with her then boyfriend to go to college with him or something like that?

Now, if people get so uppity over their fave idol/actor/actress getting hitched, how would they react to one of them getting themselves or getting someone else pregnant? Would it matter to the idol's fanbase if said pregnancy happened in or out of wedlock? Would the super jealous hardcore fans start sending letter bombs and/or death threats to all parties involved?

Scary thoughts.


 
VinceA

This seems to be what's destined to happen when 'idol' is an actual job title of sorts. You're being idolized by delusional fans.

 
lyfeforce

I remember something along these same lines being said back in the article about the corruption in the Vis-Kei industry a few months back.

I can't really be too surprised at this. It feels like just another aspect of Otaku Culture, that these fans are "2-D guy"-ing the idols instead of dealing with reality. I wonder if these girls are as hard up for dates as guy Otaku are.
 
Lifesong

@Gee-Man I believe that was Nagi from Kannagi.

Hearing stuff like this(combined from what I have gleaned from my years watching and reading Japanese things) makes me think Japanese culture does seem more supportive of extreme "escapism addiction" (there must be a better word for that) but is stuff like this really all that different from what happens to our equivalent of "idols" in the US ? I honestly ignore American pop culture almost entirely but I have a hard time believing this is uniquely Japanese(or Asian as the case may be) even if it being taken to an extreme.

 
DokkanTom

Fame always has a price. But if someone is more important to them I guess it shouldn't matter.

 
Colette Bennett

@spring_snow -- I'm with you. I genuinely am happy to see these people find happiness in their lives, and I personally supported Hiro even more when I saw he married Ayaka. I thought it was a noble thing to do esp considering her condition.
 
nails

Marrage threatens everything in modern society, I say remove the institution completely from society.

 
Rank57

Marriage really threaten the career for people who rely on such crazy fandom. It's nuts and it really is wrong for fangirls and otaku to freak out about this, but it is also to be expected from the idol's part. It's a price to pay.

But at least male idols can enjoy success for a long period of time, while female idols lose a huge part of their popularity when they turn 20 and don't look like a high schooler anymore.
 
Kris

Don't the um...Morning Masamune girls (or one of those bands...) go through something similar? They're kicked out once they hit a certain age, aren't allowed boyfriends, etc.

Personally, if I'm crushing on an idol, I'd rather, you know, KEEP WATCHING the idol on TV and in films and whatever. Why would I want them to go away? Unless the turn over of idols in Japan is ruthless and incredibly fast...which I guess it might be.
 
Funkzillabot

That is just retarded. A person's on screen life and their personal life is two different things. And if a "Fan" cannot tell the difference, then I suggest that Fan freaking get to a shrink double quick.
 
Hatchuu

Poor idols >_< I can understand the fans and their love for a particular character, but that's just really extreme. It's their life.

Also, THANK YOU Colette for getting me into J-Drama from your posts, I am immensely enjoying Mei-chan no Shitsuji right now (it's hard for me not to when it involves butlers) :D
 
Kilkrazy

As long as so-called actors and actresses rely on their looks and implicit sexual availability for fans, they will get cut down when they lose one or the other.

Real actors who get work by being able to act do not have this problem.
 
beach_bum1303

Okay I'm not even going to lie- I saw this on the side as I scrolled down the main page and was like "when did I miss this?" and remembered my summer.. Which explains it.

As such, I would just like to say: Until RIGHT NOW I had completely forgotten Mizushima Hiro was married at all. So while yes, it probably does, if it's not something that's in your face all the time then you're probably likely to forget, like me.. (because I'm a total fangirl and shouldn't be forgetting these sorts of things)

Note: The above statement does not in any way pertain to Arashi.

 
vortexgods

Hmm, this reminds me of Mr. Me-Mania in Perfect Blue for some reason.

And now I'm sad.
 


Poor things. Oh C'mon people, they are human beings and thus need a romantic life, well, more like a life period. I really wish him the best in his marriage and I hope that "chastity, only for me" mentality changes soon. Am I being too optimistic?

 


  

Anime news got news? tips@japanator.com


Manga news

Community Blogs   + post a blog   view all














TEAM

Editor-in-Chief
Brad Rice

News Editor
Josh Tolentino

Reviews Editor
Hiroko Yamamura

Associate Editors
Dale North
Zac Bentz
Jeff Chuang
Pedro Cortes
Bob Muir
Kristina Pino
Marc Speer
Elliot Gay Chris Walden Salvador G-Rodiles Michelle Rodanes

Made by
ModernMethod





about us and privacy policy