It's time I officially moved out of the KAT-TUN fandom. The old stuffs on my LJ are still here for everyone to grab, but you shouldn't expect me to release any more KAT-TUN graphics or translations. I might translate some KT lyrics if, and only if, there is a request, but the chance is slim. That's why, if you have friend-ed this LJ only for the KT-related updates, you can de-friend me now.
I will continue to listen to KAT-TUN's music and support them as one of my favorite J-pop acts. There's no way to deny that those Keep the faith, Rescue, Bokura no machi de, and many more are among the top records of my ranking. Sadly, music, and old music at that, is about the only thing that keeps me from forgetting the name KAT-TUN altogether. I can no longer consider them my idols. Idols, from my point of view at least, should be someone who could make my heart beat faster, yet in KT's case, the last time I found myself really excited about something they did was more than a year ago. Reasons are many and varied.
First on the list is music. My interest in KT was sparked by music, and now their songs have lost the charm. I don't know if KT's music is going to change for the better in the future (I sincerely hope it would), but for the time being, I'm lamenting the epic and the unique flavor which, once, captured my heart completely in Queen of pirates and Break the records. The trademark sound of KT seemed to have died out with Rescue. In their later singles, all I managed to catch was generic and dissonance. Sad, but understandable, since their best singer is gone (it didn't help that said best singer, even when he was with the group, never showed much motivation), and the remaining five voices just clash.
Second, it's about style. These days, I'm at a loss as to why it is so necessary for Kame to never maintain an upright posture on stage, or for Ueda to look like a girl ten out of ten times he appears on TV, or for Koki to incorporate so much sex into his performance. And for a long time, now, I've been wondering why the members can invest so much into their solos, yet for the large part of the remaining concert, I can never see a single song performed in harmony.
Third, not that much relevant, certainly not the guys' fault, but the KT fandom recently has turned, more like deteriorated, into utter chaos. Browsing
kattunlove has never been less fun, what's with all the bitterness and troll and spam and immaturity to top. Now I completely understand what
jadeswallow feels when she refuses to tolerate under-18s.
I can list about a dozen more of different reasons, but, oh well, let's just face it, the last, unpleasant factor: Arashi. I took a peek at the world of Arashi, ironically enough, to kill time in a period when KT didn't have much activity, and from that innocent peek, it has developed into something of a no-return nature. Before I got to know Arashi, it seemed to me quite natural that the members of an idol group should be unfriendly with each other, that the songs would be out of tune and the dance would be a mess whenever they're not in PVs and CDs. After I got to know Arashi, the standards have changed. I tried, and tried hard, not to make any senseless comparison, but it was impossible not to, who told those two groups to be under the same management and do practically the same jobs anyway? Before I knew it, from times to times when I returned to the KT fandom, I started to resent the awkward atmosphere and forced smiles, the absence of harmony, support, and genuine effort, the cheers reserved to only one or two members, and the lack of individuality.
It is not without lingering feeling and slight regret that I leave, but seriously, I've had enough and it's time to let go.
*wave to real friends I know from the KAT-TUN fandom* I won't forget that, by becoming a fan of KT, I have been able to meet many, many of you wonderful girls. Pray that we still can be friends, if not fellow fangirls.