After the Showa era, when the mass media flourished, it has been 30 years since it entered Heisei. During this period, the structure of the media and the nature of idols also underwent tremendous changes. As the Heisei era drew to a close, the idol and artist researcher First Man & sociologist Ota Fukuichi conducted a detailed analysis of the change in the concept of idols.
Does the "idol winter" really exist?
Was the "Idol Winter Era" true?
The era names "Showa" and "Heisei" do not have the power to change the world in themselves. Incredibly, the transition from Showa to Heisei was accompanied by a variety of social changes. At the moment when we decide to change the era name soon, let's review what changes have taken place in the idol industry in the past 30 years.
The idols of the Showa era have an incomparably close relationship with television.
In the 1970s, "Flower-like Nakasansei" (Masako Mori, Junko Shichida, Momoko Yamaguchi), PINK LADY, Candies, Shin-Miyaya (Goro Noguchi, Hideki Nishijo, Hiromi Go) in the early 1980s, Seiko Matsuda, Tomoko Koizumi, Akira Nakamori's "Hana no 82 Group", Tsuyoshi Tashino (Toshihiko Tahara, Makoto Kondo, Yoshio Nomura) in the early 1980s... These idols would have been hardly popular if they hadn't been exposed through music programs such as "STAR Is Born" (NTV), "HIT STUDIO at Night" (Fuji), and "The Best 10" (TBS).
Momue Yamaguchi, Kyoko Koizumi, Ryoko Matsuda
In the late 1980s, this state of affairs changed dramatically. From showa to Heisei, "HIT STUDIO at Night" and "The Best 10" have been discontinued. This has been accompanied by a sharp drop in the exposure of idol singers in the media. From this time until the late 90s, the Good Morning Girls group. This period is known as the "Idol Winter Period". Showa idols centered on TV shows, especially female idol singers, acquiesced to its existence. In fact, the "cold winter" is not completely silent. Looking back on the past from now on, this period is also an era in which male and female idols explore their own new forms of activity and expand more possibilities and ways of activity. In this sense, it is true that it is impossible to say that "winter" has arrived in a generalized and thorough manner.
So, what happened in the early days of the Heisei era? The suspension of music programs mentioned earlier, and it is SMAP that accepts this status quo and changes it. In contrast to Hikari GENJI, a senior group that was born during the Showa period and set off a huge upsurge, SMAP officially debuted as a CD in 1991 (Heisei 3). That is, after the end of the mainstream music program at that time.
Light GENJI
SMAP
Just as Hikari GENJI's reference to "Hikari Clan" in the group name is reminiscent of the image of a prince, showa idols shine in a "fictional" image. This is true of Momoe Yamaguchi, Seiko Matsuda, and Akira Nakamori. They all interpret their existence through the "work" of "songs".
In contrast, the most important thing about Heisei idols is "documentary". The most eye-catching new look of SMAP is the realism of the idol.
Indeed, they also have infinite charm in performing songs, plays, and funny skits. However, such a style as Takuya Kimura's straightforward talk about love and sex in her talk shows has been carried out from beginning to end. Although there have been unexpected events such as the withdrawal of members from the group, the appearance of revealing true feelings in the live broadcast of "SMAP× SMAP " (Fuji) at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake is also full of stronger documentary.
Good Morning Girls. inheritance and innovation
Morning musume. inherited/innovated by
Documentary This feature is the good morning girl group that breaks the "idol winter period". Essential elements.
Like Showa Idol from "Born of STAR", good morning girls group. It was also born from the audition program "ASAYAN" (TEPCO). However, the early members of the Good Morning Girls group were the ones who lost the selection of the show. They started underground until they sold 50,000 CDs.
Good Morning Girls. First Generation (Phase I)
After that Good Morning Girls group. In the same way, the element of "documentary" is inherited through the form of frequent membership increases and decreases. Good Morning Girls. The membership is not fixed, and the graduation of active members, the withdrawal from the group, and the addition of new members need to face various things repeatedly.
Speaking of which, the popular Showa idol group Kitten Club in the second half of the 1980s also changed members repeatedly. But it lacks a certain sense of documentary. Look at the Good Morning Girls group. There are many elements of documentary. When new members joined the group, there was a sense of tension in the group, such as The then 13-year-old Makoto Goto, who was also selected as a Center, and the first single "LOVE Machine" (1999) after joining the group became a hit.
Masaki Goto joined the big hit single "LOVE machine"
The emotional fluctuations of the members in the course of this series are actually recorded. Including the unassuming member Kei Hoda, the process of gaining popularity by "bullying" people on the show "UTABAN" (TBS) is also full of fun.
AKB48 Fan-written stories
AKB48 and the story of fans
In late 2000, the big red AKB48 brought "reality" to the public.
AKB48 phase I
The most intuitive example is the annual "AKB48 Selection General Election". In this campaign to select members for the single, who will win the first place, which newcomer will be among them... It's a lot to watch. In addition, not only for the entire group, but also for the members themselves, it also has the meaning of the results of the past year's activities.
At the event, the speech after the announcement of the ranking of each member was also the climax. For example, Atsuko Maeda, who won no. 1 place in 2011, famously said, "Even if you hate me, don't hate AKB." Not only for her as an idol, but also for the AKB48 group that created a "legendary story".
Atsuko Maeda
Not to mention the most critical - the fans who participate in the voting, they hold the "key" to open the door to the "story". The fans who are set up on this occasion are not only the members who should help themselves and AKB48, but also the decision-makers of the entire "story" direction. When fans are in such a position, it shows that the way Heisei idols are active is fundamentally different from Showa.
AKB48 is best known for its formation in 2005, and at this point it has been associated with the SMAP and Good Morning Girls group, which is based on television programs. There's a big difference.
AKB48 Theater
This approach is not limited to AKB48. In the trend of "switching from television to LIVE", groups called "LIVE Idols" and "Local Idols" have been born, such as Perfume, which was once a local idol in Hiroshima.
Perfume
The AKB48, which has only 7 audiences for the first time, is also based on fans watching the performance directly, and the general election is also established by the accumulation of such daily performances.
The interweaving of documentary and story creativity makes AKB48 uniquely appealing.
However, there is a tension between documentary and storytelling. The reason is that the story itself is "something created", and the relative "true record" cannot add too many artificial components.
But that's not to say that this strained relationship is negative. If you can grasp the balance between the two and write a "story" just right, you will create a "reality show" with a different charm. For example, it is pointed out that Li Nai was once exposed to love scandals and did not deliberately conceal it, and this correspondence has gained support. Sudden accidents turn into positive effects, and this never-before-seen idol form is also an important story element of AKB48.
Rino Sashihara
Peach Lucky Grass Z also has similar parts. They made their fortune with LIVE on the road, achieving their goal of starring in the "NHK Red and White Song Club", and experienced an unexpected departure of members in the process. In 2012, when she finally stepped onto the long-dreamed red and white stage, she sang the original debut song that included the members of the group, which triggered a discussion. From the unexpected events, a different kind of touching feeling was also derived.
Peach Lucky Grass Z
In other words, Heisei's idols have become a way of survival. Let them express more than just songs, TV series and other works.
After the collapse of the bubble economy, it began to enter the Heisei society, and the communities and organizations (families, schools, and enterprises) that supported the post-war economic revival gradually weakened, and individuals were prone to isolation. Heisei idols evolved into personal companions who pinned their emotions on each other and worked together.
The Age of the Maker = creator
Producer = The Age of The Story Author
At the same time as the "companionization of idols", there are also discussions about the form in which idols should continue to exist. Although "art ability" is not everyone is qualified to comment, "life" can be equally participated in by everyone. The verbal battles about idolism by AKB48's various art critics and countless commentators are still fresh in my mind. Another example is the emergence of idols such as Shoko Nakagawa, who are constantly talking about the "idol house system", which was also unprecedented in the Showa era.
Shoko Nakagawa
The characteristics of Heisei idols are the idol group portraits presented in the controversy that has been drawn into the idol's point of view.
After the 90s, we not only focused on idols, but also on the producers behind them. Because fans who stand on the perspective of idol theory regard the producer as a symbol of their own development extension line, they become the object of criticism.
Tetsuya Komuro, who worked for Tomomi Wagahara, Namie Amuro, Yami Suzuki, and others; Good Morning Girls' Group. Junjun behind Ami Matsuura and others, as well as Yasushi Akimoto, the producers who created AKB48 and Nogizaka 46, are all names that can immediately associate idols with them. In addition, Kitagawa of Janis & Associates has been engaged in this business since the 1960s, and his excellent production and operation methods have only begun to attract attention after entering heyaki.
Jun -- Yasushi Akimoto
Johnny Kitagawa
The task of the producers is not only related to the song and stage, but also how to show the documentary nature of Heisei idols is also controlled by the producers. Attaching importance to documentary means that we must bear the consequences caused by unstable elements such as members' graduation, withdrawal from the group, and scandals. How to properly handle unexpected situations is also one of the important tasks of producers.
The producers themselves are in the midst of waves. For example, Junjun will personally announce the holding of a selection event in a surprise, and Yasushi Akimoto will perform the shuffling and reorganization of the 48 series combination. Breaking the previous stability, on the other hand, there will be a new dramatic scene born. In this sense, the Heisei idol producers who are the extension line of fans are also the authors who write the "story".
The meaning of virtual idols
What virtual idol means
Further confirming the fan-producer phenomenon is the birth of virtual idols. The idol virtualization that accompanied the progress of science and technology in the Heisei era has also become a sign of the times.
In 1989, Ijiin Hikari's "Fangga ゆい" created in his own radio program is the originator-like existence. This person is completely alternate, a character that Iseiin discusses with the audience, assuming that there is such an idol called "Yoshiga ゆい", and her performance when she appears on the radio, sings, photo albums, and participates in handshakes. This is also a big symbol of "fan = producer".
Since then, more virtual idols have appeared one after another, such as Shiori Fujisaki, a character in the simulated love game Heartbeat Memories, and Date Apricot, a virtual idol who debuted under a well-known art studio. However, because they are already finished products, they have not fully met the expectations of fans as producers.
Shiori Fujisaki
Developed in 2007 based on Yamaha's VOCALOID series speech synthesis program, Hatsune Mirai perfectly fulfills this demand of fans making it themselves. She provides only material, and users can make their own virtual idols according to their own preferences, and then share them through video websites to gain fans. In this way, the average fan has transcended the realm of producers to become "creators".
Hatsune Mirai
The development of idol virtualization also reflects the psychology of fans who want to get a sense of peace of mind.
The live-action idols of the Heisei era survived the disturbances of the real world. As a result, fans can often experience the feeling of heartbeat, and on the other hand, they are also very wary of facing unpredictable events, and they have always been in an uneasy mood. The only things that give peace of mind in this situation are the animated characters and voice actors.
"Sword Dance" stage play
The Black Deacon musical
This type of idol, which can also be said to inherit the true colors of the "fictional" Showa idols, is a special embodiment of the current era.
The diversity of idols
Diversifying Idols
What is interesting about the Heisei era is the diversity of idols, and the positioning of idols has become elusive.
For example, variety idols are commonly known as "バラドル". Although we all know that SMAP has created a path for idols to devote themselves to variety shows, the same is true for female idol singers. From the Showa period to the Heisei period, Akiko Matsumoto, Miyuki Imori, Yamase, and Hiroko Moriguchi also began to appear on variety shows.
It was around this time that the idols commonly known as "グラドル" began to receive attention. In the mid-1990s, actress Akiko was a rudimentary actress, after which Yuka, Hoshino Aki, and Eiko Koike appeared. In the 1970s, there were also photo artists such as Agnes Lum, who were very popular among young people. However, the photo idols of the Heisei era not only made photo albums, but also starred in variety shows and TV series, which is very different from the past.
Agnes Lum
The idol = singer stereotype has also been overturned. The Showa era said that idols were basically singers, and the impression mentioned at the beginning of this article due to the end of mainstream music programs also collapsed. In its place were SMAP, the Good Morning Girls group. , AKB48, Peach Lucky Grass Z and other new idol singer models with documentary and storytelling.
In contrast, variety idols and photo idols are independent of the singer's world. They will "masochistically" by using the "idols that don't look like idols" and become the object of "bullying" in the show to survive.
Variety show hanging idol Kikuchi Yami
In other words, such "idols" exist without substance, like signs. This kind of idol itself has to be aware of this. Variety idols are treated rudely but laugh and say, "People are obviously idols ~" is the best example.
The phenomenon of the proliferation of idols will not only stay in the field of show business.
In the Heisei era, all beings that appeared on media such as television could be called "idols." Although it is not a pure idol in the formal sense, it is an entity that is very close to the idol and is "idolized". As a result, the definition of idols has become increasingly blurred.
Female anchors are examples. The idolization of female anchors such as "Fuji TV 3" and Nippon Television's "DORA" was formalized in the early Heisei period.
The entertainment of TELEVISION programs is the premise
"Variety of TELEVISION" in the background
The most fundamental reason is the entertainment of television stations led by Fuji TELEVISION. Take the early 1980s manga show "If You're Not Happy, It's Not TV" (Fujifilm) as an opportunity.
Since then, the idolization of female anchors is still the same today. It can even be said that the dividing line between female anchors and idols is gradually disappearing, such as the Good Morning Girls Group. Former member Asami Cyano, etc., changed from idol to anchor is proof of this.
Former Good Morning Girls Group. Member Asami Cyano Transformed into a female anchor after graduation
The same is true of the idolization of sports athletes. Like Figure skater Janet Lynn at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, this phenomenon has already occurred in the 1970s. In the heisei period, not only live sports events, but also the gradual increase in sports variety shows has also enhanced the closeness of athletes and gradually entered the idolization. Ai Fukuhara and Masayoshi Asada have often appeared in variety shows since childhood, enjoying idol-like treatment. In addition, on the live broadcast of volleyball matches, Janis artists appeared to help, and the distance between sports athletes and idols was also greatly reduced.
Ai Fukuhara, an athlete who is also popular in China
What female anchors and athletes have in common is that they have clear skills. After releasing oneself in some aspects other than skills and showing a different kind of charm to the world, one is regarded as an idol. Of course, this is not to say that you need to specify the charm points in advance. For example, last year's popular shogi player Kato Ichiji-san, who had the nickname "ひふみん", is proof of this.
Will personal idols "make a comeback"?
Is there any restoration of solo idols?
At this point, we review the history of idols in the Heisei period from the perspective of documentary and diversity. These two elements are not unrelated, but also intersect.
In recent years, the number of idol groups has been large, and depending on the setting, various highlights have been added to the documentary section. The multi-national K pop idol group TWICE, which stood out from the audition program, is a typical example. In addition, BABYMETAL, a heavy-money rock group that began to develop from the Sakura Academy 's "club activities" to "conquer the world", has become a rare example of its personality setting.
TWICE
BABYMETAL
On the other hand, documentary plays an important role in diversity. Athletes such as Ai Fukuhara and Masayoshi Asada, and child stars such as Ai Ashida and Honiko Honda.
However, there is also a blank part in this – there are no personal idols. There are no people like Momoe Yamaguchi, Seiko Matsuda, and Hiromi Go in the Showa period. Even individuals outside the entertainment industry are just similar to the existence of "idols".
That is to say, as "idols" spread, the more such personal idols will disappear.
。 The successive appearances and frequent activities of many young actors such as Shoko Sugata and Jun Arimura are the characteristics of this era. Although they have different styles from showa idol singers, they also exist in the "fictional" world. Reina Noh's 2013 NHK morning drama Haeno, starring, is a masterpiece that blends Showa and Heisei idol singers within a fictional framework.
Sugata Shoko, Yuki Mura
In the 1990s, Riki Miyazawa and Ryoko Hiromitsu, who transformed from an idol to an actress, transformed herself from an idol to an actress. Similar to this at the moment is the new Yuki. Performing "Love Dance" in the 2016 hit TV series "Escape Shameful but Useful" (TBS), some people will probably recall the dance in the snack CM that made her famous.
Niigaki knots
Recently, I can also see the signs of the "revival of the Showa style" by idol singers.
The current popular idol group Nogizaka 46 is full of "pure" atmosphere in costumes and music style. There is no such event as a general election. Ubiza 46, a group from the "Sakamichi lineage", has a dramatic performance style led by Center Heizu tori Na, and has a sense of air that hitherto heisei idols have not had.
Nogizaka 46
Keyakizaka 46
But even if the wind is like this, it is not certain that there will be another personal idol in the future. During the Showa period, when individual idols were the mainstay, the idols of that time were supported by the flourishing television programs.
Just like the new group "New Map" formed by former SMAP members, the way idols exist in the future will certainly be greatly affected by changes in the medium of communication.
This article is from the May issue of GALAC by tooyokeizai. Original translation by Hujiang Japanese, reproduction without permission is prohibited.