I was planning to post this long, long thing about how I feel like fandom misunderstands, or... at least has to move away from the labels they put on Jun, and how Sho is way too over-exposed and fandom needs to stop worshipping the perfect, fail, ground he walks on. Instead i'm just going to summarize the whopping 1500 word essay I wrote.
For Jun. All this "princess", "diva", "kakkoii-ikemen", and to that certain Lj community "lesbian" stuff is really getting to me. I don't know if it's cause Jun is my favourite or what but he seems to be the member that has the most negative stuff said about him. He can't sing, can't dance, can't act like Nino can, he's not dorky, or fail, or funny, or cute. All he is is a "pretty face". It frustrates me, the amount of times I've seen "Jun used to be my favourite cause of HanaDan but then I then I realized Member-x was more funny/talented/good-looking/etc than him". Or how many times I've seen people say they think he's arrogant, or a drama-queen, or.. just... all that. I know some of these are said as endearments, like how Aiba is stupid, but they seem to be used just as much as negatives. A lot of people are saying "omgosh Jun is changing"... but I don't think Jun is changing. I think Jun is just being himself but no one ever took the time to notice anything past his Do-S persona. You really wanna say Jun wasn't dorky in the past? Remember that DnA where he shoved a clock down his pants?
Actually I used to be really nervous when admitting Jun was my favourite (yes Nino is also, it's complicated) because ... well... no one ever agreed with me. I would go on about how "nice" he is and his work-ethic and how I admire Jun because he tries so hard, really, really tries even if he's not that great and it's a trait that should be respected. And I feel like a lot of fandom doesn't see this part of Jun, or they don't acknowledge it enough. I don't mean that Jun should be everyones ichiban (because all the other members have equally admirable traits) but I wish people would just realize, more, that despite Jun not having any spotlight skills, behind the stage he deserves a lot of recognition that he doesn't seem to recieve.
and as for Sho. I hope I don't offend anyone but for the past year or so... how much I like Sho is rapidly falling. It's not like I don't like him. It's impossible for me to dislike a member of Arashi. But he is definitely lagging behind all the other members. Why? Two words. Sho Fail. You're probably confused. How can I dislike the one thing that everyone in fandom is absolutely crazy for? ... easy. Because it's so over-exposed it's ridiculous. I'll laugh at a joke once, twice, three times.. but when I see at least one Sho!Fail reference every other day - be it from fans, or through TV, or what.. to be honest? I'm getting sick and tired of it.
I don't want to blame Sho, it's not his fault, it's probably the directors telling him to do it but you know what? Could he stop being so obvious with his fail? Like if you're going to fail, do it the Aiba-way and be 'Tennen" about it. Don't do it so obviously with that face that is pretty much like "I know I'm failing, aren't I so funny?". Maybe it's just me who thinks it but when I watch Sho fail these days, there are the moments I laugh. Then there are the moments I kind of just want to be like "......no". I don't want to admit it but.. lately there have been fans complaining that Sho is looking arrogant and snobby these days........... I can see where they are coming from. I can, I really can. -_-;; I'm sorry. Sho!Fail - in Shukudai-kun it was funny because it was actually quite rare. Now? ...yeaaaah.. no. It's not cutting it for me anymore. For the rest of fandom, sure, obviously fans are still loving watching Sho fail, to me? It's just painful.
So yeah. there you have it. The summarized version of my rant. I hope I didn't offend anyone (especially with the whole Sho thing). If people wanna come running at me with pitch-forks or if you just wanna plain disagree go ahead, please don't try to change my mind though. I've had these thoughts for a while. I actually just didn't say them because.. to be honest... Arashi fandom kind of scares me. Sometime it feels like if I say anything remotely negative people will rip my head off. *shudders*
Actually lately it feels like I never have anything to say about fandom except for complaints and it makes me feel terrible, but then I realize that complaining about fandom is different than complaining about Arashi. I still love the boys, but somehow I feel like I can't fit in with the rest of the fangirls who seem to treat them like Gods who can do no wrong.
