Review Summary: Adulthood. It rarely comes as a gift or an instant quality acquired when one reaches the legally accepted age of 18 or 21.
Freshmen students of marketing may get indoctrination on how marketing covers existing needs and won’t create them from scratch. Though to a big chunk of the anti-consumerism movement or sceptics it may seem as a pro-marketing approach, trying to tackle notions about the above--non hard or non science at all--being the vanguard of consumer manipulation, truth may exist in both parties: a balance point.
Japan is full of contradictions. Contradictions between the individual and society, contradictions between what is considered and revered as private and what is equally revered as public. In Japan it’s considered rude to kiss or to blow your nose in public, yet it is perfectly accepted for a 55 year old CEO to read a hentai magazine amidst a packed subway: magazines depicting themes far transcending kissing or nasal secretions. The approach/belief of Japanese people, backing down on individuality in favour of collective advancement creates a unique field for marketing with regard to the introductory sentence of this review. It seems like a uni-japanese constant resembling a benign and effective bipolar approach that evens out the cumulative rules, deep culture, rituals, tradition on one end with the complete opposite--fantasies, artistic freedom, private habits bordering/superseding obscene or modernisation. The same individuals travel both extreme poles daily creating a balance point in the middle: moderation… from that single point stems the extract of Japan. In Japan balance and moderation provide stability and order, not stagnancy. They could argue that their formula getting ‘em there is effective.
Westerners not knowledgeable about the above intricacies should keep in mind that borders framing “norms” are a direct result of the culture surrounding the individual; a person willingly being stung by bullet ants may be considered as a prime candidate for institutionalisation in western societies, yet in some parts of the world that is considered an initiation ritual to adulthood. I'm 100% sure Amuse, Inc. marketing department had all the above variables taken into consideration before building up this project; what I am not sure about is if they were so smart to have considered collateral gains of the western kind, or if they just got lucky.
What I further know is that when these three girls will be initiated into adulthood some years from now, they may feel like bullet ants stung them and took away their teen appeal Japan's pop scene is so infatuated with. Nonetheless, they are Japanese so I guess that they won’t show any pain. Moreover, their native audience will find new daily trips down the other pole after a hard day's work, in a new product amuse or any other Inc will launch to cover their needs. They won't treat it with more or less respect than it deserves; they know that it will be just a minor, replaceable piece in the puzzle. They have other parts worthy of elevating to classic proportions, and they also have shady pieces in their past not being forgotten, still hurting; these are not excuses to render them stagnant though. Yes, Japan is an adult society.
Now, for those who see the sun rise several hours later each day, biting their asses off, swearing or loving their newest binary toy made in Japan... when Babymetal’s over they will have to disguise their malignant bipolarity into new 'love or hate' endeavours. For some it will be 'cause they are true clinical cases who happen to like music; for some it will be sincere consumer tangible or downloadable dissatisfaction/satisfaction. For the vast majority though it will be out of fear… Trying to delay the impending pain--moderation and balance or the goodbye impulsiveness--which accompanies a journey into adulthood; it rarely comes as a gift or an instant quality acquired when one reaches the legally accepted age of 18 or 21.
The graph on the top right of the screen plus what keeps going over music blogs, with regard to Babymetal, may not provide a sufficient statistic sample that could render current charts--with numbers pertaining to bipolars, compulsives or borderlines--obsolete, but it can certainly make me think that a good chunk of music blog users long past the age of Suzuka, Yui and Moa are still more immature than them. Amusement corporations might have been able or lucky covering our stagnant needs before. Let us hope, that will not be the case next time.
