QUIIIIIIIIICK NOTE...This is best read AFTER reading the manga story...
If you're reading this right now, I assume you're generally pretty bored and that's why you're reading the manga in the first place. Whee. Well domo arigatou from the bottom of my heart. I enjoy corrupting people with retarded comics. :D *okiiiii warai.* But there's more to the manga than two pretty boys faking romance. When you encountered my devious creation, jpop duo WINK, you fell into one of two categories. One: You have read lots of manga and are familiar with boy-boy friendship/relationship stories (not necessarily romantic), and already innundate yourself daily (or possibly hourly...That's between you and Japan.) with all things jpop and are familiar with the stage antics of duos (especially male) like the one in this manga. If you're in category one, you probably already know everything I am about to say in this...writing/essay...well it's hardly an essay. too dumb. But that's beside the point.......Anyway, chances are the only way you'll find yourself getting sucked into reading this is because you're bored and you're waiting for some Tackey and Tsubasa song or Boa video to download, or you want to sit there and read and congratulate yourself for knowing so much about the japanese music industry...So what the heck am I talking about, of course you're going to read this. Have fun and feel the yay because boy do we have stuff in common. If you're going to be bored, be bored with me! That's why I'm WRITING this in the first place! \^^/ Well, I am also admittedly writing this not just for bored people but also for *drumroll* Category 2: People in category two are people who A: Like manga but not so much Jpop/rock, and they are unfamiliar with the Japanese music scene. B: People who find the stage antics of Ji and Takun unsettling, have little or no experience reading manga of any kind, and who are unfamiliar with the odd world of Japanese pop. If you're in category two, rest assured, EVERYTHING is about to be made clear. Okay well...Clear as Tackey's english anyway. Oh yes...you don't have a clue what I'm talking about....eh heh...whoops. Well just READ darn it and I'll do my best to educate you. Sort of. Or at least just give notes on the bizarreness of this manga and why it's not as gay as I know you think it is...
Now, to start, as you already know, WINK is the pop duo consisting of Jiro Yamaji ("Ji") and Takeru Tanaka ("Takun"). If you don't know READ OR I'LL CRY ALOT! Ji, Takun, and WINK (and especially their screwed up flamboyant manager Yazawa) are not trademarks I stole or anything. They are in fact my own creation and don't exist in the real world. Their clones however, do, and they exist as idols in the japanese entertainment industry. All over it; tv, news, magazines, movies, stage shows, concerts, conventions, you name it. What does that have to do with anything? I'm getting to that.
But comparison is necessary because that's the way my sad little mind works.... The American entertainment industry has long-since understood the principle of marketability. People are always dying for some kind of music to idolize. The job of an American record company, in my non-expert opinion anyway, is to go dig something up and produce the heck out of it until it's the most popular thing in the world. The Japanese entertainment industry is similar to the point that it also exists to produce and market entertainments to a hungry public.
Yet, after some analysis, what I've come to conclude is that there is a fundamental difference between the American and Japanese pop music sectors. American producers will take a general look at the population's interests (what they will look at and listen to) and then, with that as a GENERAL guide what to do/not do, they create forumalted idols and they flood the scene with them until they are marketable. In other words, the producers themselves play the main role in determining what is popular and what is not. In effect, they formulate based on what is expressly not popular and therefore determine what to do based on what NOT to do (if my engrish-speak makes any sense). (This is interesting considering that the mindset of the American public tends to be one of individualism which should scorn the propensity of pop idol fans to go with the flow.) Idols in the American pop sector are popularized by the producers themselves. The general public THEN decides that what is being marketed is in fact BEING so energetically marketed because it IS popular. (Note this is just a GENERAL observation, okay? don't pick this for a research paper reference or anything...) Basically, what is made popular is made popular by being said to be popular and people accept that.
Now admittedly, one COULD in fact easily make the argument that the Japanese pop sector is exactly the same, having acheived the place of the world's 2nd biggest entertainment industry, but in general, though the Japanese are guilty of overmarketing their pop idols, they are actually less likely to tell the public what it wants. The Japanese entertainment industry DOES, like the american entertainment industry, seek to capitalize on the forumulization of entertainment and idols, but rather than the formula being based on general observations and assumptions, they've gotten it down to an art. From what I see, producers in the pop sector, rather than letting the public base its pop trends on the stars, bases the idols on pop trends. Glances at both countires' pop sectors reflect this difference as subtle, but it makes for an extreme difference in the way pop idols are presented, what they wear, what they sing, how they act, what they do, and how they are marketed. The general trend in American pop music over the last ten years or so has been to introduce most pop artists with the aid of the radio. People will hear a song in their car or at home and then they will purchase the cd (or go and download the song so the RIAA can come and kill them...especially if they're old ladies or 5 year old kids who were playing with daddy's computer. Yes I hate record companies....). Most things, when thrust into the face of the american public enough, will become relatively popular over time. The fault of American pop, however, is not that it is pop, but that it is done to death and not perfected. The industry creates a generally acceptable image for the idol and then with the image, adds songs which are acceptable and relatively entertaining to the general audience, but lack a certain feeling. Now the fault here lies in the fact that most people fear that to step out of the mold/formula will turn disastrous and all marketing capability will be lost. What they fail to realize is that while what they have created is marketable, it lacks originality. The formulated songs, most of the time lacking the creative ingenuity of the idols themselves, become repetative and linear because of a fear of deviation from the mold. They may also try to increase the marketability of an idol with sensual dance movements if the idol is female, or perhaps the idol will act in one or several large-scale productions, such as a widely advertised movie. In the end, however, the industry exists sadly more for itself than to boost the creative aspirations of young singers.
The Japanese entertainment industry has for a very long time operated with formulas also, however it does so slightly differently. Idols in the pop sector have sort of an ultra-marketability, partially due to how closely the producers follow public trends. However, the reason the pop sector does not need to CREATE these trends is because of the influx of WESTERN trends into Japanese society. In effect, what ends up happening is that producers see that western culture is now widely popular and accepted, especially among the youth. Many trends among Japan's youth are generated by their (possibly very exageratted) take on Western trends. For example, visual kei bands (lit. visual "style") in the eighties looked at western bands they liked, such as KISS and various glam rock bands, and created a whole new brand of music based on their various interpretations of the visual style and the combination of western heavy metal and rock with the passion and energy found in japanese music such as kodo drumming. Japanese takes on western ideas tend to be creative and extreme, probably due to the fact that, though self control is highly valued, the Japanese feel things very very deeply. Also, according to many Japanese, the visual aspects of everything are extremely important, due to the fact that they, in effect, read, and therefore understand, in pictures (The Japanese written language consists of two syllablic alphabets hiragana and katakana, and also uses thousands of chinese characters: pictographs called kanji.). For this reason, movements, costumes, etc...are bold and bright. In my opinion, the Japanese tend to be relatively creative when taking off on western ideas and have definitely capitalized on the flow of western culture.
When thinking of examples of people who use formula in Japan, (and when thinking of all the fangirls who probably just finished my manga), the best one that comes to mind is Johnny's Jimusho. This is also my main focus here because I based the characteristics of WINK loosely on the characteristics of duos and pop groups produced by this company.
Anyway, a long bit of background. Johnny's is an entertainment company started in the early sixties by Johnny Kitagawa, who was born in America, actually. Kitagawa discovered the perfect formula for creating and marketing sucessful pop stars, and has discovered the art of giving rather than telling the public what they want. He's perfected the formula, in the sense that it does make for marketability, but at the same time avoids being a creativity-confining mold. For this reason, those under kitagawa's instruction are amazingly successful long after their prime, as opposed to the relatively short-lived careers of most American pop stars following the year 2000. Johnny's Jimusho is a bizarre phenomenon that is, as far as I know, one of a kind. And you can probably bet that anything as bizarre as johnny's probably exists in only Japan. Basically, the company, which deals only with boys, is like some bizarre fusion of a talent agency, and a performing arts school. Boys are first picked from mail-in photos and backgrounds. Kitagawa seems to have a strange ability to determine how attractive a boy will be well into his future. This is (and you all know it, so don't try to lie...) one of the first steps in producing something that people will listen to. It's true. Most people on this earth are more likely to listen to something attractive. This is because the look of the person is their initial impression and if it turns them off, they are less likely to be impressed. Once again, because Japan is a visual culture, a visual impression is even more important than it is in America. Boys who are accepted are auditioned. Sounds a little like America, doesn't it? Only for those two steps. The rest is bizarre. Rather than being given a few voice lessons and then being recorded and marketed like American pop stars, Johnny's boys, once auditioned, enter the company and from then on, the name "Johnny's" will follow them till the day they die no matter what they go on to do. Basically, from the time they are accepted, they are under Kitagawa's instruction and charge and live in a special dormatory. They are not only given voice lessons but are also instructed in gymnastics and acrobatics, dancing, acting, instruments, and public speaking. They become well-rounded entertainers. Actually in my perverted thought process, I'm reminded of the instruction of Geishas, who, like Johnny's boys were brought up from their youth to be entertainers: attractive, and instructed in dances/movements, instrumental performance, etc... Yes you're weirded out now. Wow. Imagine Simon from American idol and a dormatory full of little lord fauntleroys all doing pretty little dances, etc....*shudder* Try spoon-feeding that to the American public...wonder what would happen? Anyway...The boys are trained and part of "Johnny's Juniors" from the time they are accepted to the time they debut as artists and "graduate" (become full-fledged Johnny's entertainers). However, by this time, the Japanese public has already become accustomed to seeing the boys. The main method of exposure to pop stars in Japan is not the radio, as in America, but is the television. Actually, it isn't uncommon for Johnny's boys to be introduced to the public through [Again! Notably visual methods alert!!!] daytime dramas or commercials years before they release albums as fully debuted artists. Often, they will also dance backup for debut Johnny's groups. (Actually, Johnny's seems to operate very closely to the way Disney operates; introducing kids on TV and then turning them into pop stars...Although I have to admit that Johnny's is SLIIIIIIIGHTLY *cough* higher quality. It's a general comparison). In this way, Kitagawa has helped along the "formula's" success by letting the audience watch these kids grow up. However, because the boys are trained in so many areas, when they become adults, they don't suffer the way American child stars usually do. People, having become accustomed to seeing these boys (and today, it's also knowning that they're Johnny's boys), expect them to simply enter a new phase of their career upon reaching adulthood. Now at this point, there is a complete and total split between American and Johnny's formulization. American formulization would continue despite the fact that the star has reached adulthood, however, Johnny's boys, though kept under strict contracts, are given a bit more creative leeway than American artists. Many artists (not just Johnny's) write their own lyrics, compose the music, and sometimes, even though they are "pop stars" play their own instruments. I was surprised to find that they will often do some of their own choreography and even design their own stage layouts and costumes. Some older Johnny's will also write and compose songs for Juniors to reherse and perform. The reason that they are kept under strict contracts is basically to keep their public image solid. They can be creative, but are not allowed to have girlfriends (publicly, due to the fact that boys who are avaliable are more marketable to women, the general target audience...Though this also increases popularity among other audiences too, because the boys have more of a child-like, playful image than a grown-up uptight image. A clean cut image is essential because that way they are marketable not just to teenage girls, but to entire FAMILIES of people.). They are also forbidden to engage in lewd, illegal behaviors (one johnny's boy was in fact suspended for a year when he was caught drinking under age.), etc...And finally, when the boys are...well...not boys. Like late 30's...They still do things like act or host TV shows because they are performers in several different areas. Kitagawa has constructed a bizarre, but impressive formula for not just generating income, but also for lifetime success for those in his charge.
Of course Kitagawa doesn't produce every pop star in Japan, but his are easily the most popular. The Japanese pop industry in general is more open to the creativity of its stars than the American industry is. So not only is the result the producer's takes on western ideas, but also the artists' takes on western ideas. Sometimes the music can fall into the pit of sameness, and artists do often rely on others to write their songs, but generally, the difference lies in the Japanese lacking the propensity towards over production. In other words, the market hasn't become too saturated with super-popular clones (at least not yet), and with the thoughts of artists as well as producers, and the influx of western thought, Japanese pop seems to keep itself relatively fresh. I could go on for hours (you: NOOOOO!!!!! STOPPPP!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGG!!!!!!!!) But honestly, at the time I wrote this short story, I was most fascinated with Johnny's Jimusho and the public image of the boys and despite the many bizarre facets of the Japanese pop industry, this is what inspired the story and caught my eye.
As I stated before, with Johnny's, public image plays a HUGE role in marketing. The boys are taught how to portray themselves in a way that will sell. They look for what is intriguing to their audience and they'll dish it out. The audience will eat it up like fish eat bait. (This is usually what we call "fan service" by the way.) Because after all, if the boys didn't make Kitagawa any money, he would get pissed and yell at them. Then they'd be little crying Japanese boys and that would be sad. Yes...it's 6am right now and I'm half brain-dead....eh heh...sorry for the retard sentences. WOW I drank too much caffiene. Anyway. You never really know whether the person their portraying is their real self or their "stage" self. And you probably never will know. You don't know if their interviews are just made up answers to questions or if they're actually real. This idea was the basis for the story. I wanted to create a duo whose stage lives were completely opposite of their actual lives. I just unfortunately should have made the manga as interesting as this essay/blurb-thing....Yeah anyway...
Now for some strange reason, I've noticed over a number of years that Japanese women (most young and teens) are more likely to be interested in male duos/bands/groups if the relationships between the members are uncertain, meaning that they border on romantic. I don't know why this is. I've tried to analyze it and have not the slightest clue....Go ask a Japanese girl or something.... Anyway. When, in a guy group, the guys act like they're romantic towards each other, or act like they're more than friends, this intrigues female fans. (Also, for some reason, Japanese people don't seem to be phased by intimacy between men as long as they don't come right out and annouce they're gay. Yet, a man and woman publically demonstrating affection, in a way such as kissing romantically, would probably get stares of disgust.) Well anyway, this is quite common, especially with Johnny's boys, who will kiss or hold hands or otherwise demonstrate affection publicly, despite the fact that most of them are completely heterosexual. My take on it is this...In Japan, gay marriage is not an option, and gay relationships don't seem to be taken seriously. So for these guys to act like they like each other, appears to fans to be a sign that they're simply "not taken" by girls, thus increasingly their marketability. Does that make sense...?
The idea behind WINK is that they're something like a Johnny's duo. They are bound to a contract that requires them to keep to a tight public image. They began as two separate people auditioning. When chosen to join whatever company it was that I didn't make up because I was lazy that day, they were "assigned" to each other as a duo (WHoops. sorry, forgot to mention that part of Kitagawa's success formula is forming groups and duos with boys that will complement each other, usually he's right. In this manga, the person who paired up Ji and Takun was a little bit WRONG...). Anyway, the strict contract makes them miserable, but they have to be successful anyway. My main question when coming up with this ridiculous plot is: What if duos like Tackey and Tsubasa or Kinki kids (Both are Johnny's) act like they really like each other but really hate each other's guts? In this case, as WINK, Ji and Takun market themselves by appealing to their audience (teenage, female fans) by acting how their public expects them to act: romantically towards each other. They are slightly obscure about it, but portray this image, when in their everyday lives, they absolutely despise each other (which you already know since you've probably read the manga already). Their audience? Clueless. Absolutely clueless. They think Ji and Takun are something they're not...at least best friends, when really neither one even remotely likes the other and they hate each other. Good fun, ne.
Well that's the general idea, I just didn't want to leave it at that though! Hate is poo :(. So I made a way for them to be friends. I killed everyone else off!!!!! \**/ (um...did I mention the Japanese are also very tragic? eh heh..............) er.....yeah...............I'm a little scary on no sleep, I admit. It's the ideal resolution though. They also come to terms with their image. They strike a balance between despise and romance: close friends. Then their public relationship will change to reflect that also.
If I had made them Americans, none of that would have been possible. The public would soooo know their lives by day 2 of their career. And the american public would take their stage antics seriously. Also, I wouldn't have been able to make songwriting an issue either, and I wouldn't have had them filming promotional footage like they did...There are a lot of other areas I could have also gone into, but didn't because they really weren't necessary.
Anyway that was long-winded and mostly full of pointless, unnecessary background info. Just wanted to clear a few things up so thanks for reading and congratulations for making to the end! wooo i'm so going to sleep now. -,- .......
Did I mention that I have a bad habit of being wordy...?
