You know what? I’ve realized we’re not sinking at all. Ya-Ya-yah can never sink or die. Not with all the beautiful memories they’ve given to so many people, and certainly not with such awesome fans as they have.
Some things just deserve to live on, and they live on even after their moment has passed. Ya-Ya-yah deserves to live on and I’m sure it will live on.
Quoting my reply to one of the comments on the previous entry, I'm convinced that if the group has disbanded it hasn't been because they were not good enough for a debut, but rather because of a cold-hearted, pragmatic business decision based on the success of an experiment called HS7. In business, if something you try succeeds, you’ll want to repeat that success, and that’s what I think JE has done. I understand it, but leaving aside corporative interests, it’s a shame that so many years of loyalty and hard work on Taiyô’s and Shoon’s part seem to have meant so little for them.
And I will never agree with those who have said that they haven’t worked hard enough, or as hard as this or that boy in HSJ has. People have different limits and different strong points, and some people are not gifted in a particular way others are, and that has nothing to do with working hard or taking their work any less seriously than others do.
Taiyô may not have Hikaru’s confidence on stage, for instance, or his versatility, but along this year, after years of being little more than a backdancer and a backsinger, he has improved extraordinarly and gained much confidence. It’s a shame he was not given some more attention and chances earlier. JE is not about your singing or dancing skills. Some debuted johnnys don’t have exactly great singing or dancing skills, yet people love them and buy their CDs and go to their concerts.
Similarly, Shoon has not been gifted with Yabu’s vocal qualities, but in my opinion he manages to do a pretty decent job in handling his voice, and —though I really, really, really LOVE Yabu’s voice— I don’t think the same can be said of Yabu at all times.
Personally I believe that a person’s value should not be measured by the talents they possess, but rather by what they make of them. If anything, when somebody has a particular talent, more will be expected of them.
However, there’s also something called ambition, and yes, some of the HSJ boys have spades more of that than Shoon and Taiyô have, which is something JE seems to value as much as or perhaps even more than talent and hard work. I understand it, because in the world of showbusiness you need to be ambitious, so I think that a lack of ambition, of wanting to be in the limelight, is the only thing Taiyô and Shoon could ever be “accused” of.
But then, I’ve also said here that I prefer unassuming people to ambitious people. Being ambitious is not a bad thing, but for some reason I like unassuming people better. I never wanted for Shoon to become a leader —he wouldn’t have wanted to, either, according to an old article I was reading the other day—, just for him to be given more chances, like he has had this year, because everybody deserves to have chances to improve and grow and show what they're worth.
Actually, I didn’t even want that much a Ya-Ya-yah debut. I mean, it would have been awesome if they had, but I would have been more than happy if they were still together as a junior group, like ABC or KMF2 or Question are.
But as usual I’m digressing. ^^;;; Back to the topic of this entry, no, we’re not sinking. If I used that metaphor it was because I was feeling a bit down after facing some of the hard truths Scribe wrote in her post. And when I said I’d decided to “go down with this ship”, what I meant was that I don’t want nor need to move on. It was Ya-Ya-yah and Ya-Ya-yah only for me from the start, and for me Ya-Ya-yah is not over, or dead, or anything like that. It has taken residence in my heart and it will live on there and through this blog.
Also, my friend Yungboy left a comment on the previous entry that I found very moving, and that made me see things from a different perspective: I don't think your ship is sinking. Rather that your blog is a lighthouse and that you are the keeper who keeps the light burning so that we Ya-Ya-yah fans can be safe, safe from drowning in their own despair. Being able to come here and talk to you and other like-minded fans has certainly saved me from 'going under'. Knowing that there are others who are sharing my pain somehow eases that pain, although of course it doesn't go away.
I feel very glad to know this blog has been of some help, because you certainly have helped me immensely through this. Whenever I feel down you cheer me up and make me want to stand up again and keep on fighting. As I told Yungboy, I’d much rather be the keeper of a lighthouse than the captain of a sinking ship. =]
Also, there’s much to be done and much to share to waste any time on sinking. Yesterday I received another batch of Ya3 clippings I’d won through the Yahoo!Japan auctions. Among those there’s the December pages of Taiyô and Shoon, which I very much wanted to scan at a higher resolution, especially for this cute and funny picture of diva!Shoon, and all the other small pictures in the Potato article, which are so much love. ^.^* There’s also a couple of pages from the 2005.09 issue of Kindai, which has a report of the Pride Summer Grand Prix episode, and a page from the 2006.11 issue of Wink Up that is a report of that episode in which Shoon and Taiyô went to the kindergarten. Yui scanned that some time ago, and I posted it here, but I can’t remember which entry that was, and I thought those who didn’t follow my blog then might like to have it. =] There are some truly adorable pics in that one.
Comments are very much appreciated if you take them, even if it’s only a ^___^ or ♥♥♥. All image links below open in a new window. If you want to post them somewhere else it's okay as long as you credit me for the scanning. No need to credit if you want to make icons, graphics, or translations. And please no hotlinking. Thanks. =]
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Some things just deserve to live on, and they live on even after their moment has passed. Ya-Ya-yah deserves to live on and I’m sure it will live on.
Quoting my reply to one of the comments on the previous entry, I'm convinced that if the group has disbanded it hasn't been because they were not good enough for a debut, but rather because of a cold-hearted, pragmatic business decision based on the success of an experiment called HS7. In business, if something you try succeeds, you’ll want to repeat that success, and that’s what I think JE has done. I understand it, but leaving aside corporative interests, it’s a shame that so many years of loyalty and hard work on Taiyô’s and Shoon’s part seem to have meant so little for them.
And I will never agree with those who have said that they haven’t worked hard enough, or as hard as this or that boy in HSJ has. People have different limits and different strong points, and some people are not gifted in a particular way others are, and that has nothing to do with working hard or taking their work any less seriously than others do.
Taiyô may not have Hikaru’s confidence on stage, for instance, or his versatility, but along this year, after years of being little more than a backdancer and a backsinger, he has improved extraordinarly and gained much confidence. It’s a shame he was not given some more attention and chances earlier. JE is not about your singing or dancing skills. Some debuted johnnys don’t have exactly great singing or dancing skills, yet people love them and buy their CDs and go to their concerts.
Similarly, Shoon has not been gifted with Yabu’s vocal qualities, but in my opinion he manages to do a pretty decent job in handling his voice, and —though I really, really, really LOVE Yabu’s voice— I don’t think the same can be said of Yabu at all times.
Personally I believe that a person’s value should not be measured by the talents they possess, but rather by what they make of them. If anything, when somebody has a particular talent, more will be expected of them.
However, there’s also something called ambition, and yes, some of the HSJ boys have spades more of that than Shoon and Taiyô have, which is something JE seems to value as much as or perhaps even more than talent and hard work. I understand it, because in the world of showbusiness you need to be ambitious, so I think that a lack of ambition, of wanting to be in the limelight, is the only thing Taiyô and Shoon could ever be “accused” of.
But then, I’ve also said here that I prefer unassuming people to ambitious people. Being ambitious is not a bad thing, but for some reason I like unassuming people better. I never wanted for Shoon to become a leader —he wouldn’t have wanted to, either, according to an old article I was reading the other day—, just for him to be given more chances, like he has had this year, because everybody deserves to have chances to improve and grow and show what they're worth.
Actually, I didn’t even want that much a Ya-Ya-yah debut. I mean, it would have been awesome if they had, but I would have been more than happy if they were still together as a junior group, like ABC or KMF2 or Question are.
But as usual I’m digressing. ^^;;; Back to the topic of this entry, no, we’re not sinking. If I used that metaphor it was because I was feeling a bit down after facing some of the hard truths Scribe wrote in her post. And when I said I’d decided to “go down with this ship”, what I meant was that I don’t want nor need to move on. It was Ya-Ya-yah and Ya-Ya-yah only for me from the start, and for me Ya-Ya-yah is not over, or dead, or anything like that. It has taken residence in my heart and it will live on there and through this blog.
Also, my friend Yungboy left a comment on the previous entry that I found very moving, and that made me see things from a different perspective: I don't think your ship is sinking. Rather that your blog is a lighthouse and that you are the keeper who keeps the light burning so that we Ya-Ya-yah fans can be safe, safe from drowning in their own despair. Being able to come here and talk to you and other like-minded fans has certainly saved me from 'going under'. Knowing that there are others who are sharing my pain somehow eases that pain, although of course it doesn't go away.
I feel very glad to know this blog has been of some help, because you certainly have helped me immensely through this. Whenever I feel down you cheer me up and make me want to stand up again and keep on fighting. As I told Yungboy, I’d much rather be the keeper of a lighthouse than the captain of a sinking ship. =]
Also, there’s much to be done and much to share to waste any time on sinking. Yesterday I received another batch of Ya3 clippings I’d won through the Yahoo!Japan auctions. Among those there’s the December pages of Taiyô and Shoon, which I very much wanted to scan at a higher resolution, especially for this cute and funny picture of diva!Shoon, and all the other small pictures in the Potato article, which are so much love. ^.^* There’s also a couple of pages from the 2005.09 issue of Kindai, which has a report of the Pride Summer Grand Prix episode, and a page from the 2006.11 issue of Wink Up that is a report of that episode in which Shoon and Taiyô went to the kindergarten. Yui scanned that some time ago, and I posted it here, but I can’t remember which entry that was, and I thought those who didn’t follow my blog then might like to have it. =] There are some truly adorable pics in that one.Comments are very much appreciated if you take them, even if it’s only a ^___^ or ♥♥♥. All image links below open in a new window. If you want to post them somewhere else it's okay as long as you credit me for the scanning. No need to credit if you want to make icons, graphics, or translations. And please no hotlinking. Thanks. =]
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