Sho Getting Slammed
I watched the episode of Abunai Yakai that was aired on 27th October over the weekend, and felt annoyed yet again at the way Sho is portrayed on that bangumi. I know I've ranted and complained about this multiple times on both tumblr and twitter, but I somehow feel the need to detail my annoyance.
Context/backstory for people who are unaware (dating back to the point when I joined the fandom and became aware of this whole Sho slamming business) -
9th October 2014
The episode in Hawaii that revealed how he spent his personal time was the one that really highlighted the extent to which he was being put down to me... First by calling him ダサイ (along the lines of outdated, old-fashioned) because he likes wearing camo print. As if a man should be criticised for his liking of camo print?!
25th February 2016
And then going further to say that he and Jun are on bad terms. Yes I know that Sakumoto isn't the most clingy of ships, but the show seems to be suggesting that they're enemies or something and that they can't even stand the sight of each other, basically doubting the bonds that have definitely emerged in their many years of being together in the same group.
Ariyoshi then repeats himself again:
14th April 2016: "So it's true that you guys are on bad terms?"
Even going as far as to blame Sho and saying that it's his fault for the supposed "bad relationship" that they have.
They extended this accusation to Sho's relationship with Takki as well:
14th July 2016
There was even a board done up to supposedly trace the root of their bad relations...
Granted, Sho and Takki haven't been on the best of terms. In fact, as the bangumi progressed and Takki and Sho had their own corner to talk about certain issues they had between them, Sho acknowledged that there was indeed some tensions between them because Takki was expected to debut around the time that Arashi debuted; probably even supposed to be in Arashi himself. However, I don't think those are grounds to blame Sho for, and basically framing him as this utterly unfriendly person.
While I was watching the episode with Chinen guesting on it, I was then not surprised to see that they did the same thing. Sho nicely summed up the supposed number of guests on the show now who have "bad relations" with him:
Come on, even Chinen couldn't lie about it seriously. He's laughing as Sho's checking the list of people off. Not even sure how much of this is scripted but oh well.
27th October 2016
Even Sho's so done with this. I feel you Sho, I do.
I'm just curious - does slamming Sho give the show better ratings? Because I would boycott the show if all they did was put him down. Once again, if it's meant to be a joke, it can only be funny the first time round. Repeatedly using the same old "joke" from then on doesn't make it any funnier - it just becomes bullying. On national television. For an audience they assume is entertained by bullying Sho.
Of course, Sho's not perfect and he has his flaws (as do we all), but it's just so annoying to see his flaws - which is a problematic term as well because why is his love for camo print clothing a flaw, he's allowed to have personal preferences and tastes - being blown up way out of proportion while his merits get diminished. He's so much more than ダサイ, he's an amazing newscaster, actor, singer and idol. Why is it that they cannot capture the amount of professionalism he exudes and instead consciously choose to exaggerate his flaws? It just breaks my heart everytime someone puts Sho down like this. The spate of incidents relating to Sho getting slammed unfortunately confirms that I won't be watching any more episodes of Abunai Yakai any time soon...
Context/backstory for people who are unaware (dating back to the point when I joined the fandom and became aware of this whole Sho slamming business) -
9th October 2014
The episode in Hawaii that revealed how he spent his personal time was the one that really highlighted the extent to which he was being put down to me... First by calling him ダサイ (along the lines of outdated, old-fashioned) because he likes wearing camo print. As if a man should be criticised for his liking of camo print?!
25th February 2016
And then going further to say that he and Jun are on bad terms. Yes I know that Sakumoto isn't the most clingy of ships, but the show seems to be suggesting that they're enemies or something and that they can't even stand the sight of each other, basically doubting the bonds that have definitely emerged in their many years of being together in the same group.
Ariyoshi then repeats himself again:
14th April 2016: "So it's true that you guys are on bad terms?"
Even going as far as to blame Sho and saying that it's his fault for the supposed "bad relationship" that they have.
They extended this accusation to Sho's relationship with Takki as well:
14th July 2016
There was even a board done up to supposedly trace the root of their bad relations...
Granted, Sho and Takki haven't been on the best of terms. In fact, as the bangumi progressed and Takki and Sho had their own corner to talk about certain issues they had between them, Sho acknowledged that there was indeed some tensions between them because Takki was expected to debut around the time that Arashi debuted; probably even supposed to be in Arashi himself. However, I don't think those are grounds to blame Sho for, and basically framing him as this utterly unfriendly person.
While I was watching the episode with Chinen guesting on it, I was then not surprised to see that they did the same thing. Sho nicely summed up the supposed number of guests on the show now who have "bad relations" with him:
Come on, even Chinen couldn't lie about it seriously. He's laughing as Sho's checking the list of people off. Not even sure how much of this is scripted but oh well.
27th October 2016
Even Sho's so done with this. I feel you Sho, I do.
I'm just curious - does slamming Sho give the show better ratings? Because I would boycott the show if all they did was put him down. Once again, if it's meant to be a joke, it can only be funny the first time round. Repeatedly using the same old "joke" from then on doesn't make it any funnier - it just becomes bullying. On national television. For an audience they assume is entertained by bullying Sho.
Of course, Sho's not perfect and he has his flaws (as do we all), but it's just so annoying to see his flaws - which is a problematic term as well because why is his love for camo print clothing a flaw, he's allowed to have personal preferences and tastes - being blown up way out of proportion while his merits get diminished. He's so much more than ダサイ, he's an amazing newscaster, actor, singer and idol. Why is it that they cannot capture the amount of professionalism he exudes and instead consciously choose to exaggerate his flaws? It just breaks my heart everytime someone puts Sho down like this. The spate of incidents relating to Sho getting slammed unfortunately confirms that I won't be watching any more episodes of Abunai Yakai any time soon...