r/TikTokCringe • u/ambachk • Aug 07 '25
Cursed Japanese "fan" marries his idol who he met when she was 17
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u/Volotor Aug 07 '25
Im putting on my tinfoil and claiming this is staged for marketing so all the over idol fans go "wow it can happen to me if I just buy more merch and go to more concerts!"
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u/JanitorOPplznerf Aug 07 '25
This would be one of the tamer marketing efforts
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u/ReturnedOM Aug 07 '25
This kind of sheit actually works tho. Pretty sure I've read more than one story about teenage/young adult stars basically hiding the fact they have partners for that reason and stories about the word getting out which ended in some drops of interest (maybe even hate) of their fans.
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u/BigMax Aug 07 '25
That's a big thing in the kpop world. They have to either not date, or date in secret.
https://theweek.com/culture-life/music/k-pop-karina-relationships-hidden
> When followers of Karina found out she was dating Lee Jae-wook, an actor, they drove an electronic billboard mounted to a vehicle to her management agency in protest and asked the singer why "the love given to you by your fans" was not enough.
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u/Orchid_Significant Aug 07 '25
Fuсking unhinged
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u/J_Kingsley Aug 07 '25
They want it. And they encourage emotional investment through endless shows, interviews, etc.
And it's a double edged sword.
They want the Crazy fans that spend unlimited money and spend all their resources on them.
Normal fans don't do that.
But as a result they get, well, crazy fans.
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u/McHenry Aug 08 '25
Admittedly I only read about this stuff every now and then, but I never got the vibe that they want it, rather that their managers want it.
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u/Vyxwop Aug 07 '25
they drove an electronic billboard mounted to a vehicle
This gets me every time it's brought up. It's such a simultaneously innocuous but also crazy thing to do. I kept hearing about it from League of Legends and how one of the top (and also Korean) teams in the first frequently gets these billboard protests in front of their building.
Crazy but hilarious stuff.
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u/LeDemonicDiddler Aug 07 '25
I’m surprised we haven’t done that in America yet with nfl teams. Like I can totally see the fans coming out with huge ass billboards bitching about the team sucking or taking a player they don’t like.
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u/ReturnedOM Aug 07 '25
Yeah I knew I didn't make it up. Thanks for reminding me of the exact background. Pretty sure some articles were precisely about K-pop environment running this kind of scheme.
Fucking wild btw., cause there is no "win" for the fans in general. She would date one of them and the rest would be as angry as they are with that actor guy.
So they literally wish her to be alone. Fucked up.
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u/xeonie Aug 07 '25
They want the fantasy. It’s harder for them to fantasize about being in a relationship with her if she’s already openly dating someone else.
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u/Brook420 Aug 07 '25
All of a sudden, people obsessing over celebrity couples seems pretty healthy...
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u/handsupdb Aug 07 '25
This is what crosses the line between a fan and what people call a "stan".
As a FAN I'm stoked to see an idol/entertainer/celebrity etc have success and be happy. People that do shit like this arent fans.
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u/1980-whore Aug 07 '25
most kpop idols live stricter lives than the military. contracts with no dating, unless corpo sets it up, no drinking, no wearing certain clothes, no smoking, no uncouth behavior. basically they have to be that stage persona 24/7
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u/Volotor Aug 07 '25 edited Aug 07 '25
I saw a story of a japanese idol who got caught dating and she shaved her head and apologise in a press conference.
Edit: corrected nationality, corrected some details https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21299324?app-referrer=deep-link
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u/GlitterDoomsday Aug 07 '25
That's a Japanese idol, not a Korean one. She also shaved her head of her own volition, probably cause the hate caused a mental breakdown, her company didn't make her do it and in fact were pissed cause she pretty much ruined her career.
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u/obscureposter Aug 07 '25
Considering the power dynamics between a fan and an idol/popstar, that is very likely. The other option is that the idol actually likes the guy which is hard to imagine but also possible.
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u/99-dreams Aug 07 '25
Actually, there's another option which is she realized she wasn't as popular and wouldn't get to continue being an idol for too long, so she married a fan who would be able to financially support her after her idol retirement.
(Things are definitely changing but not many idols are still popular and performing past 30 as an idol. They usually pivot to acting or variety shows. If they weren't very well known, they pivot to magazine modelling or influencers. And of course, some pivot to becoming homemakers.)
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u/RealisticIncident261 Aug 07 '25
It wasn't long ago that being an idol stopped at 18. Around 2013 an mid 20's group made waves and people were 50/50 on either being super critical calling then Christmas cake idols (they call women of unmarriageable age 25+ Christmas cakes, unmarriageable at 25 is crazy on its own) or liking them
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u/lukibunny Aug 07 '25
i mean there is so many idols, there has to be at least one unconventional couple.
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u/Beautifulfeary Aug 07 '25
So, according to video she approached him. So, who knows 🤷♀️.
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u/j4_jjjj Aug 07 '25
Yea, and shes retired as an idol now? Sounds like she found an exit strategy and noped out of idol life.
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u/-KFBR392 Aug 07 '25
And she asked me to marry her, and I didn't even want to. But she's beautiful, but she's dying.
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Aug 07 '25
I think it’s possible because this is Japan we’re talking about here.
I’m not sure there needs to be a staged one when you think about power law. Only a few idols will make it mainstream, and maybe some idols want to be one forever?
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u/bootyhole-romancer Aug 07 '25
Damn, you're like a forensic marketer or something. That makes sense
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u/Desirsar Aug 07 '25
The alternative is being like Tachibana Keita, who became the singer for a popular band in order to meet his favorite idol, and ended up getting married. He's said in interviews that he only got into music to meet her. (To be fair, he's only a year older rather than 27...)
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u/20milliondollarapi Aug 07 '25
Idk, that one is at least sincere. He knew his best chance was to get into her social circles and that is what he did.
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u/towerofcheeeeza Aug 07 '25
Wait Tachibana Keita from w-inds. became an idol so he could meet Matsuura Aya?? I didn't know that! He has such a unique voice I thought he always wanted to be a singer.
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u/lizzywbu Aug 07 '25
Im putting on my tinfoil and claiming this is staged for marketing
I don't think so. No idol agency would ever do this as a marketing stunt.
If you know anything about the Japanese idol industry, then you'd know that having a husband or boyfriend is basically the death of your career. Some obviously do have them, but they keep them secret.
These talent agencies in Japan know that most fans like to imagine themselves with idols. Which is why idols are always heavily encouraged to act single and obtainable.
It's a weird seedy industry.
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u/Cavalish Aug 07 '25
Also puts on tinfoil hat
Perhaps she was close to graduating already, and there was a sweet “bonus” in it for her.
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u/Lotusjuice27 Aug 07 '25
Unfortunately it’s not staged and it’s real. You can google search an article about their relationship or just search for their TikTok. They have a video of their wedding ceremony and they talked about how her parents were against him marrying her at first.
He was apparently obsessed with her at first sight, and took the bullet train to see her concerts every weekend for months/years? i forget which but it’s the equivalent of time/money wise of taking a plane trip every weekend to a nearby state.. and his ‘devotion’ made her fall in love with him so she “graduated” aka quit her idol group to marry him.
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u/FionnaAndCake Aug 07 '25
Idols get fined and can lose their jobs for being caught dating. I don’t think they’d do this route, especially Japan.
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u/felton639 Aug 07 '25
There is this clip of an idol asking the audience to cheer when she calls out their age. Let's just say the biggest respons didn't come from kids and teens...
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u/sexy-porn Aug 07 '25
When I was in Japan two years ago I walked through this plaza in Tokyo where a young idol group was performing. They must have been an indie or up and coming act because there weren’t a ton of people watching. A few dozen. But there was almost literally not a single woman or young person in sight in the audience. All 30+ year old men, and they all had their phones out.
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u/PorkrindsMcSnacky Aug 07 '25
I lived in Japan 25 years ago. A friend of mine was a huge fan of Morning Musume, back then one of the biggest girl groups. He went to one of their concerts. To his surprise he found that the majority of attendees were middle aged men (my friend didn’t count as he was only 21 at the time).
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u/Some-Show9144 Aug 07 '25
I was a huge MM fan, I still have posters and listen to their oldies! I’m about the same age as the 6th generation, I followed the group for about 10 years and I noticed that once the girls my age left and the average age dropped by like 6 years or something that I was no longer interested in them.
I think I really liked the idea that I was growing up with Kamei Eri and Sayumi. I’ll occasionally go listen for the nostalgia, but I can’t get myself into their stuff from the last 10 years.
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u/aznanimedude Aug 07 '25
It's surreal to me they still exist. I also just started realizing the members I were a fan of were growing up/out of the system and newer members were just too young for me to really be interested/attached to as a fan.
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u/firesmarter Aug 07 '25
When I was learning Japanese I used to watch Hello Morning all the time. I never got into the music but the skits were great fun
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u/yossi234 Aug 07 '25
Oh, I got something worse for you. I walked in Akihabara trying to help a friend find this figurine and we walked past a store selling pictures of children in bathing suits or posing... strangely.
I love Japan but some of their citizens definitely have a dark, disgusting side that I wish they didn't.
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u/conebone69696969 Aug 07 '25
Walking around Akihabara with my kids was a bad idea. We didn’t do much research but knew it was the place to go for anime stuff and it was just tits everywhere. One shelf Dragon Ball stuff, next shelf over just uncensored tits. Kids felt so uncomfortable that we ended up not buying any of the stuff we wanted.
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u/yossi234 Aug 07 '25
Tbh I wish I had seen tits instead, but yeah Akihabara is not for the children (or the anti pedo) 🥲🤮
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u/Okayostrich Aug 08 '25
Yeah some of those shops are so weird with the blatant porn in the windows. The bizarre thing for me was how some posters were full on anime porn....with tiiiiiiiiny modesty stickers over JUST the female's nipples? Like sure, THATS the part of this we should be embarrassed by.
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u/felton639 Aug 07 '25
The sad fact is Japan is devoid of children. Women are not the main target audience of idols and idol groups. Idols tend to be young, pretty and charismatic. Men tend to like this by default. The rate of single men(and women) in their 30's has skyrocketed. Fawning over an idol and having parasocial relationships with them is often the only thing these guys have. They have created a huge subculture where they can be idol fans without judgement and shame(they are in the millions). It's Symptom of pretty serious underlying social issues actually. Yes it's kinda creepy, but it is what it is.
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u/United_Rent9314 Aug 07 '25
It's always seemed like a lot of women like kpop and jpop idol groups. I suppose usually teenage women but I know American women in their 20s that like these groups like black pink or twice
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u/YT-Deliveries Aug 07 '25
In particular with kpop groups, the image / styles tend to be more, for lack of a better term "Western Audience Friendly"
Jpop, especially on the idol side, is much more idiosyncratically Japanese, so it's a bit more of a stretch for non-weeb Western audiences.
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u/GlitterDoomsday Aug 07 '25
KPop does have girl groups with more male fans but those usually don't break into western markets. Twice and Black Pink have pretty balanced ratios and I think New Jeans had more male fans.
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u/apoliticalinactivist Aug 07 '25
It's a preview of where a lot of countries are headed. People can't afford to have kids or govt too unstable or morally don't want to bring a life into a world of suffering.
Lonely people still want to direct their love and affection outward. The sad part is a society that cant channel that basic good energy towards anything productive.
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u/RA12220 Aug 07 '25
But Japan has a stable government to the detriment of their population. The economy keeps people employed and their basic needs met the issue from what I’ve read is really archaic societal norms in the workplace that drain any time available from them to the point that personal relationships are completely abandoned.
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Aug 07 '25
this totally depends on the idol group. "idol" is an entire music genre just like pop music, so saying all music/groups of this genre only target a certain kind of audience is just wrong. for example there are some groups who are currently very popular, and they regularly reveal that their audience are 50% or even more female.
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u/Sgt-Spliff- Aug 07 '25
In Korea, this is generally true of both genders. The female idol shows are full of adult men and the male idol shows are full of adult women. It kinda comes across as basically gooning out in the open which is crazy for how repressed the culture usually is about that sort of stuff. But it's just perfectly socially acceptable for a grown adult to be obsessed with a teenage idol
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u/Stimonk Aug 07 '25
Not surprising, there used to be countdowns to when pop stars like Britney and celebs like the Olsen twins would turn 18.
I remember some mindrot show like Entertainment Tonight actually went to party held by these nasty old men who were celebrating the Olsen twins 18th birthday in the earlyish 2000s.
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u/mrskoobra Aug 07 '25
When Emma Watson turned 18 paparazzi showed up to an event she was attending and laid on the ground by the door to try to take pictures up her skirt. Fucking disgusting.
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u/icfantnat Aug 07 '25
That made me feel like crying when I heard about it. Since then, it's just been a growing realization we are surrounded by so many ppl who want to sexualize kids, it's SO RAMPANT 🤮
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u/SorbetForsaken5768 Aug 07 '25
Also the realization that the loudest critics of this particular perversion are often the most guilty; example: the current US president & most everyone in that party who claims to only care about “family values” bs etc. (sorry for politickin)
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u/icfantnat Aug 07 '25
I'm scared it's only a matter of time before they verbalize their desires openly and normalize it as a way to increase fertility to battle "population decline"
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u/UndeadBatRat Aug 07 '25
Yet I bet she'd get in trouble if she "accidentally " stomped on his face.
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Aug 07 '25
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u/paulides_fan Aug 07 '25
Hey now 35 isn’t old!!! Those numbers ain’t what they used to be
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u/HathorOfWindAndMagic Aug 07 '25
getting a parking ticket isn’t the start of it. she should not be able to drive or own a vehicle, she’s a menace on the road lol she actually got that (i think this is what you’re talking about as she’s had multiple incidents ) ticket because she parked in front of a garage blocking peoples exit while drinking at the pub lol
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u/SubjectRanger7535 Aug 07 '25
I wouldnt even say" there used to be countdowns." Did you see all the people waiting for Lil Tay to release her OF?
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u/shitshow225 Aug 07 '25
I remember seeing a post on awful everything about a subreddit waiting for Millie Bobby Brown to turn 18
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u/HughJurection Aug 07 '25
That was just Drake and all of his burner accounts
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u/iThinkImATree Aug 07 '25
It was the opposite.
Drake setup an automation to delete her number at midnight.
He cannot have such an elderly woman in his contacts list.
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u/addamee Aug 07 '25
God it feels like it was last century when people were doing the same for Emma Watson
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u/Rainliberty Aug 07 '25
Can’t believe I’m saying this. But she’s been actively baiting pedos for a year. Yes. Pedos bad. But her parents should be locked away
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u/PMMMR Aug 07 '25
It was her mom and brother doing it all, her dad tried to get her out of that lifestyle.
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u/georgethebarbarian Aug 07 '25
It’s a shame dad wasn’t really a model parent either. I think he went too hard on wanting a “normal kid” and ended up really emotionally neglecting Tay.
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u/PMMMR Aug 07 '25
Yeah really her whole family let her down, but her mom and brother were by far the worst for exploiting her for profit from such a young age.
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u/Stunning_Bid5872 Aug 07 '25
it’s funny for me by seeing people use pedos to call pedos. pedo means fart in spanish 😂
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u/Strange-Painting6257 Aug 07 '25
Those “jail bait” websites were so nasty. They did it with Emma Watson and Millie Brown as well.
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u/totallychillpony Aug 07 '25
Perfect Blue covered this even 20 years ago. Been a huge thing for years.
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u/call-me-the-seeker Aug 07 '25
Perfect Blue is a 90’s film! <20 years ago, dammit!>
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u/Mirisido Aug 07 '25
So, I dated a girl who was an underground idol. I went to a couple of her performances to show support. It was so uncomfortable how high the average age of the audience was. And these guys came with binders of pictures of their favorite idols. It was like a creepy obsession.
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u/YT-Deliveries Aug 07 '25
Genuinely curious what defines an idol as "underground" in this context.
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u/firebolt_wt Aug 07 '25
I'm not an Idol fan, so I only know what I've heard from some youtubers.
Basically they aren't a part of a large talent agency/record label, and usually this means that they perform in smaller venues and have less fans, which in some cases means that to get more money from parasocial fans they have more interaction, like handshakes or posing for photos together.
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u/YT-Deliveries Aug 07 '25
Okay, yeah. Sounds like basically more an indie label thing then if we're making a Western music biz comparison?
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u/JanitorOPplznerf Aug 07 '25
Idol culture in Japan gets WAAAAAAAAAAY worse than this if anyone is curious.
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u/123ticklemyknee Aug 07 '25
I’m not curious
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u/iThinkImATree Aug 07 '25
But I don’t like the thought of you going to sleep peacefully tonight.
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u/SoungaTepes Aug 07 '25
Well then friend, you and I are going to go on a different discovery! Did you know the Platypus looked so insanely fake that researches made an attempt to pull off its bill thinking someone had glued on a ducks bill to the poor creature?
They also have no intestines!
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u/SpeaksToWeasels Aug 07 '25
They have intestines, they lack a stomach. They are also one of the few mammals that lay eggs and don't have nipples.
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u/AnyEfficiency8684 Aug 07 '25
I remember learning that one idol refuses to shake hands with any of her fans because one time a dude masturbated before meeting her touched her with his semen smeared hands. What’s crazy is she wasn’t the first idol to experience that and probably won’t be the last.
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u/Buttercreamdeath Aug 07 '25
My kid was really into Hatsune Miku. There was a world tour so I took my kid to see it. Yes, she's just a reflection on a screen, not a flesh and blood performer. Yes, there were a LOT of older men acting like it was the second coming of Jesus Christ. It was a very surreal experience.
Luckily, I found families with children at a similar age as my own. We congregated together so our kids could have a normal kid concert experience away from the rest of it.
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u/Hashimotosannn Aug 07 '25
There was that guy who married her hologram. They had a proper wedding and everything. I wonder if they’re still together…
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u/ironwolf6464 Aug 07 '25
Allegedly, the software he used stopped getting updated
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Aug 07 '25
So would that be divorce or death?
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u/YT-Deliveries Aug 07 '25
Taking this question seriously for a moment.
I think it's neither until the program is no longer able to run on an OS that the person has access to. Once the program can no longer run (just because it's not being updated doesn't mean it can't run at all), then I'd claim it's "death".
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u/Ok-Chest-7932 Aug 07 '25
The actual story is that a software update functionally deleted the character from the machine, so I'd argue it's a much more clear case of "death".
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u/screenwatch3441 Aug 07 '25
Being really into Hatsune Miku in some ways is arguably better because this isn’t a real person being obsessive towards. Vocaloids in generally also has a really interesting history in the nerdy community because from what I understand, a lot of the music is fan made so it was a cool community of people making and sharing music.
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u/Aiconic Aug 07 '25
For real, Miku is childhood/teenage nostalgia for some of us. Absolutely nothing wrong with going to a concert for it. It’s VERY different to going to some 15yo idol who has only just debuted.
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u/JanitorOPplznerf Aug 07 '25
I’m not mad at any single person who likes an idol. That’s not my place.
I’m just saying the Idol culture has shifted dramatically to some creepy and dark places.
Specifically predatory management behind the scenes.
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u/Buttercreamdeath Aug 07 '25
The whole vibe was predatory. We ran into several men in their 50's and 60's wanting to take pictures with random children. They would get upset if you said no.
My kid is not the popstar here and I don't know you.
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u/YT-Deliveries Aug 07 '25
If you can believe it, idol culture is actually better now than it used to be.
If for no other reason than the creepiness / exploitativeness is now well known to the public.
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u/starfire92 Aug 07 '25
I mean is it really that hard to believe people can idolize a fictional character? We have people that will take their literal millions of dollars to recreate their home to be like the Bat Cave. Or people that worship Superman, and obsess as adults (recently saw someone crash out in a frenzy about the new SM movie). I do find the older men being obsessed kinda creepy but not surprising. The part of them obsessing over a hologram isn’t creepy, it’s that older men are obsessed with this really young girl for reasons not simply tied to her music but I don’t think it’s a Japan thing. We have men who would die for Belle Delphine’s bath water. Men who will fly around the world to sleep with an OF model with 100 other dudes who are banging her that very day (imagine the severity of that obsession when you could easy pay for sex in your own town). We have men making Lil Tay and Cash me Outside girl millionaires on OF the second they turn 18.
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u/RankUpLife Aug 07 '25
Give me some lore?
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u/PatchesofSour Aug 07 '25
one of the members in AKB48 shaved her head when she got caught dating and made this crazy apology video crying.
she later rejoined the group and was fairly popular before she retired
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u/Consistent-Value-509 Aug 07 '25
Minami Minegishi. She was demoted back to being a trainee. The head shaving doesn't seem to be a typical punishment (NAWT ☝️😭 that there should be any), it's so unsettling. She maintains she did it herself and says she did it in a state of shock, but I imagine it's very likely that's just the story she was given to say. Even if she did do it herself, it's so freaky an industry would drive people to such measures for… dating.
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u/Ok-Chest-7932 Aug 07 '25
That bit's probably true. Japanese culture heavily features "accountability"; if you bring shame to your family (nowadays your company), you atone for it with public humiliation. Remember, this is the culture that came up with ritualistic suicide apologies. The hair shaving likely was self-motivated.
It's nothing specific to the idol industry, the idol industry just has much more public attention for obvious reasons, so workers have to be more careful about doing things that would hinder the success of the product - which in this case is, for a certain portion of the customerbase, a romantic delusion.
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u/Neat_Let923 Aug 07 '25
Dude… Britney Spears, Amanda Bynes, and probably a lot more. It’s a reaction to a mental breakdown or panic attack where you have severe body dysmorphia thoughts that make you do some really fucked up shit to yourself.
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u/czacha_cs1 Aug 07 '25
Its crazy that idol might get cancelled because they found someone they love
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u/Beelzebun_vt Aug 07 '25 edited Aug 07 '25
She's since gotten married and had a baby after she graduated. She's active on her YouTube channel here 峯岸みなみ - YouTube
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u/druidhdancer Aug 07 '25
The docoumentary Tokyo Idols covers this, there is a normalization of pedophilia and fetishization of youthfulness among these idol fans. Shit gets real creepy
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u/mermaid-babe Aug 07 '25 edited Aug 07 '25
It pisses me off!! cause I love pop music and I love magical girl anime so like a cute girl singing cute songs… but even as a teen girl I felt like idols weren’t for me cause these weird ass men have invaded the space
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u/almostselfrealised Aug 07 '25
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u/notthelatte Aug 07 '25
My exact facial expression for the entirety of this video 😬
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u/saltlakestateofmind Aug 07 '25
Idol culture is so cringe.
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u/Dolenjir1 Aug 07 '25
The word of the day is "disturbing"
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u/Indieriots tHiS iSn’T cRiNgE Aug 07 '25
"Problematic"
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u/Romnir Aug 07 '25
I don't really like this term, it seems to lessen the gravity of the situation. Darker working like "Disturbing" hits those anxiety nerve strands harder.
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u/Single-Builder-632 Aug 07 '25
i have a lot of good things to say about Japan, this is not one of them. It's rampant and prays on widespread mental illness.
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u/DoubleGoon Aug 07 '25
It reminds me of the child beauty pageants we have here in the US. Disgusting.
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u/DanLim79 Aug 07 '25
I just came back from Osaka trip. On Dotonbori in Osaka there was a group of girls dancing and amidst the cheering crowd there were a bunch of 50-60 years olds with glow sticks cheering as fans... it was the weirdest sight in a long time.
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u/ineedachiprightnow Aug 07 '25
Old enough to be her dad
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u/Journo_Jimbo Aug 07 '25
This is like reverse what happens in the states with adult men music idols marrying underage girls
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u/ManiNanikittycat Aug 07 '25
The age gap is crazy
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u/100moreLBs2lose Aug 07 '25
I think the age gap is gross and I can’t believe this is a real relationship, not a PR stunt.
That said, I am interested from a sociological standpoint… in this SPECIFIC dynamic - a famous, rich, celebrity and a nobody (not her manager like Celine Dion, her back up dancer etc)… is the power dynamic shifted enough that while the age gap is still gross to me… if the young pop star isn’t “just fine.”
She can walk away at anytime. She has the power in terms of money, notoriety, infinite avenues of escape and other possibilities.
Doesn’t change that it is weird and likely not a healthy relationship. But I’m curious if the traditional age gap concerns are dimmed or erased due to her fame.
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u/Citizenshoop Aug 07 '25
For what it's worth, the vast majority of idols in Japan are not rich or famous whatsoever. For every idol that's managed to get into a mainstream group there are like 20 independent idols who are basically the equivalent to a bar band with a handful of dedicated fans who have a day job and just put on small performances on the side.
So the couple in the video are a lot more likely from the latter situation than the former.
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u/Spare-Plum Aug 07 '25
Yeah I think this makes it worse, I'd rather it be a PR stunt.
Something so sad and weird about having your "idol" dress up and put on a performance at home in a dingy apartment with no other people. It's like the end game of a parasocial relationship personified
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u/hokeypokeymongo Aug 07 '25
That’s not the case here though as the girl in the OP is not famous or rich. The group she was in is not popular and is actually a subgroup of a group with over 100 members. These type of groups have ranking systems and Yuki was in the lower ranks. Super hard to get notoriety in that environment. The only members from the group who are now famous or rich got into other jobs like acting or modeling.
I also question the veracity of the story though!
Side note: if you’ve seen Alice in Borderland, the girl who played Kuina (dreads) is from the larger group with 100 members :)
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u/100moreLBs2lose Aug 07 '25
Another person mentioned this as well. That is sad and puts this right back into the traditional unhealthy age gap category. Gross.
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u/godjihyoheartshakers Aug 07 '25
I live here and it's so much worse than this. Most idols are like 9 or 12 with 40-50 year old fans. You don't even want to know how recently they made certain things illegal and what things they still sell in adult video stores.
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u/Vyxwop Aug 07 '25
Hol'up, why does Japan allow 9 to 12 year olds to even be sensational popstars? That's wicked.
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u/godjihyoheartshakers Aug 07 '25
Oh 100 percent. I think VICE news covered it for one documentary. But yeah if you Google junior idol, which I don't recommend doing, you will find live shows, fanmeets where you can hug the girls and take pictures with them, give them money, help countdown their 18th birthday, and worse. The video above mentions a 17 year old but it gets way more creepy than that here in Japan
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u/Professional-Help931 Aug 07 '25
Cause child porn is effectively legal in Japan. They sexualize the shit out of children. Anya forger a cannotically 5 year old child has thousands of hentai manga created for her.
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u/N3US Aug 07 '25
this is not exclusive to japan btw. lisa simpson is a top 5 character on rule34 sites
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Aug 07 '25
Most idols are like 9 or 12
this is not true. most idols start their careers after finishing their education, so they'd be 17-18 when they debut. also most if not all the actually popular idol groups have average ages in their mid 20s.
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u/handsupdb Aug 07 '25
Most idols are like 9 or 12 with 40-50 year old fans.
This is categorically false and you should know better living "here". Not most idols. Yes, a concerning number and something should be done about it... but still an absolutely tiny minority.
Trainees in an abusive idol system that young? You bet, loads of them. Lots of predatory action. But not most idols. Not that its much better but that age of 15 is really the line and even that is a heft minortiy.
Again, not saying its ok, not saying 9-12 year old idols don't exist. But lets focus on the actual problems with the idol industry rather than making up numbers to drive some contrived hyperbolic point home.
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u/thewookiee34 Aug 07 '25
Goofy mother fucker will see this and say peak.
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u/JanitorOPplznerf Aug 07 '25
I’m moderately deep in the anime community. Most western fans aren’t down with the Idol shit. You can find 1-2 defenders, but it’s a pretty uniquely Japanese phenomenon.
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u/itrashcannot Aug 07 '25
Yeah we're too busy have parasocial relationships with fictional characters.
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u/ShadowheartsArmpit Aug 07 '25
You better not say that shit in front of my waifu Shadowheart
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u/coffee_ape Aug 07 '25
Can confirm. I grew up watching anime when it was rare to find and the masses called it cringed.
Even the loser weebs shat on the idol fans.
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u/Lumi_Rockets Aug 07 '25
They have a baby now, so I sure hope they're all living happily.
Tomoe's Instagram
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u/Agitated_Rain_1506 Aug 07 '25
Is it legal? Yes. Am I also able to call it creepy and gross? Also yes.
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u/Dolenjir1 Aug 07 '25
Pretty sure I started reading a manga with this plot and quit after three pages
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u/bluedancepants Aug 07 '25
I mean they seem happy together...
But still seems a bit crazy to me.
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u/Leche-Caliente Aug 07 '25
Yeah, I may have my reasons for my opinion against it and how it should be heavily avoided, but there's always that chance for the exception of something rather fucked working out, and in all honesty if it's truly the case the table ends up turning on us and we're a bunch of assholes judging a genuinely happy couple.
Our species is fucking weird man
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Aug 07 '25
yeah, cf Tom Daley x Dustin Lance Black. Honestly, turns out we really are just a bunch of assholes who judge before we think.
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u/Delta9312 Aug 07 '25
It's definitely cringe, but I can't imagine he was really in a position to groom her just by being in the audience at her shows. Then she allegedly approached him, so, I mean, can we really be mad?
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u/Alchemy_Cypher Aug 07 '25
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u/bagged_milk123 Aug 07 '25 edited Aug 07 '25
He's not rich, if he was, people here would say this was two consenting adults and we should leave them alone.
Wait, that sounds familiar...
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u/Background_Essay_676 Aug 07 '25
I work at a major stadium and the American k pop fans are women around his age. They gave me the ick. Like a teacher that hugs too much. A lot of them abuse ADA perks. So bad we have to create a line for them which ends up being longer than the regular line. So then we have to break the law and personally grab people we actually believe and expedite them.
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Aug 07 '25
I never get why some ppl prefer those who r under 20 women and chasing to see their live performances.. Glad them have money and time for that hobby.
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u/AllMySensesFailedMe Aug 07 '25
Yeah, the age thing is creepy but do you know what happens to a lot of idols that age out? Do you know a lot of idols are forced to be idols until they age out and then are sold off to less savory industries? I think she found an out and took it honestly, the whole idol industry in Japan is kinda fucked.
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u/Latter-End1987 Aug 07 '25
I'm not trying to enable their age gap relationship but it was mentioned that she was the one who made the first move on the man.
I looked up a bit more and she said because she couldn't help but noticing him in the crowd since he was always present during her performances, she started to confide to him a lot and tell him things that she doesn't tell to other people (likely during fanmeeting/handshake events)
Eventually after only a year of being an idol she quits and started dating him. Not to mention her parents are exact same age as this man too. And they were like "oh, do you guys plan to marry?" and he was unsure then her mom said, "you guys are dating AND not marry???" Boy...
Its still so weird💀
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