Year-end reflection
I've only been into JE & the respective fandom for a little more than 6 months, and since the year is ending (COUNTDOWN IS SO CLOSE), I thought it was time for some reflection.
10 Things I've Learned from JE
10. If you are being a bitch, your friends will ignore you. (Kame, Summary backstage)
09. Even if you have no talent or looks or education, you can still achieve something through hard work. However, no matter how hard you work, someone with talent can still do something that you find hard to do, easier and better. (Kanjani8, Tegoshi, Shige)
08. I can honestly enjoy a performance even if I don't like the music; in fact watching enough such performances can make me like music out of my normal preferences. On the other hand, I can like a song but dislike the attitudes of the people who deliver it enough that it makes me dislike the music. (NewS live, KAT-TUN live)
07. I can like and accept someone even if I think they lack talent. (Shige)
06. People take on attributes of the people they admire and look up to, since what makes a person admirable depends on each person's own sets of values and history. So if people admire other positive people, they can learn to think more positively. However if you admire people who tend to squabble a lot, then you yourself squabble a lot. (JE fandom)
05. Positive people prefer thank you's to apologies. (Shige on Ryo, jweb)
04. It's important to work hard to achieve anything, think positively to make the most of a situation, and be grateful to be appreciative of your accomplishments. (Yamapi)
03. If you're going up a hill, it's okay to stop and take a break. (Yamapi, essay)
02. Friendship & love (aka member ai) is seen in kindness in the smallest actions. (Koyama, News)
01. Even if the days are slow and hard, it's still important to enjoy them. After all, the best way to make use of your time is to enjoy it. (NewS, weeek, Ryo, interview)
Is there any question why NewS is my favorite group?
And speaking of favorites...
Why Yamapi is still my favorite JE idol (or, 5 Theories I have on JE)
1. Growing up in the public's eye and as an older brother has made Yamapi extremely aware of his influence as a role model, and he tries to take this role responsibly. Fan letters that say various things --his smile makes them happy (letter in 6th grade that made him happy), his ear piercing makes them no longer a fan (letter in 2004/05 that upset him), his existence means that they don't need a boyfriend since they have him (his response to this was, he was happy they liked him but everybody needs somebody)-- maintains this awareness. So when he says things like, "I hope we can make everyone smile and dream", he means it because his fans have already shown him his influence over them. IT IS NOT IMAGE CONTROL SO MUCH AS BEING RESPONSIBLE.
2. Admirably, Yamapi still tries to be true to himself even though he IS a star, IS in the public eye, and has a lot of pressure on him-- like on the Heyx3 interview, when a 46 (42?) year old asked him what he thought of people her age. His answer was completely honest-- he said that while older women were sexy, he'd still find it a bit strange since his mother was younger. He could've easily just said the first part and left it at that, letting all 40-something year olds out there continue to fantasize about him, but by telling the truth and trying to stay true to himself, he risks losing a demographic population that makes up the people who determine his livelihood. Other examples: when he condemned fake smiles (NewS wo abake), his jwebs and essays where he's always saying how if he doesn't like someone, he just won't say anything to them (see his non-existent interaction with Kame in summary backstage). HE IS NOT FAKE.
3. Yamapi IS a good (or at least decent) actor. He tends to be type-cast as the same "cool" character, so it's hard to tell in his early dramas, but according to both the NwP special and his jwebs, Akira's weirdness were all added by Yamapi in ad-libs & improvs. NwP would've been such a terribly melodramatic and dull drama without him (AKIRA IS HOW I BECAME A FAN). Also see how well Kurosaki screams and cries in episodes 8 & 11 of Kurosagi (displaying a lot of raw emotion) or Yousuke's deep-rooted anger and resentment in Dragonzakura.
4. I believe Yamapi writes his Seventeen essays with his younger sister in mind. He started them when he was around 20-21, so his younger sister would be in the demographic of the magazine. He mentioned in his first Seventeen essay that she looks up his cd in stores to see if it's sold well or not, so chances are that she looks up his essays as well, and he knows it. So some of his more encouraging essays are actually directed to her, and the challenges that she and her friends go through in school. HE IS A GOOD OLDER BROTHER.
5. Yamapi's a very loyal person. He once wrote how he categorized people into different degrees of closeness-- mabudachi (Shirota Yuu, Jin) are really close friends that are almost like family, while nakama (other members of News) are people who he's headed in the same direction with, that he doesn't want to lose to. By categorizing them, Yamapi shows that he places values on his friends differently, and he's likely to choose the friend that he's close to over those that he just made.
So here is my take on Akamepi -- the reason he and Kame aren't better friends (despite the fact that Kame seems to really like him-- Kame gave him something for his birthday the year that Jin said he never got a present, Kame moved to stand next to him on a Countdown performance even though Yamapi was about to do a solo performance, Kame telling him to call him on the SCP video) is that at the time Yamapi and Kame could've become closer friends, Jin & Kame were split over ShuujixAkira, and Yamapi values Jin over Kame.