Idol, Burning

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Was mich jedoch trotzdem dazu verleitet 3 Sterne zu vergeben, ist der temporeiche Erzählstil und die gelungene Social Media Dynamik. There is indeed a lot to say about the loneliness epidemic and how it relates to entertainment culture (hello, David Foster Wallace). My first work from Rin Usami and my second work from Asa Yoneda, Idol, Burning not only talks about dependancy of humans to something as a coping mechanism, it delves into the toxic culture of the internet, the effects that it has on various people, and mostly, on being constricted to the societal standards of normal.

Akari reminded me a lot of Osamu Dazai’s nameless protagonist in his I-novel Schoolgirl, both are confused, alienated figures, overwhelmed by social conventions and expectations. W pracy jak zwykle było ciężko i kiepsko mi szło, ale gdy myślałam, że pracuję dla mojego idola, robiło mi się lekko na sercu. Usami's frank portrayal of a young woman estranged from society is a potent statement on the dangers of social media and fan culture. While the intensity of the fandom and what it entails may seem outlandish to some, it will especially resonate with readers familiar with real-life superfandoms. A few weeks ago, I read Sheena Patel's novel I'm a Fan and the digressions on philosophical aspects of fandom intrigued me.In some ways, I love that the message that Usami was trying to portray is that, there are no faults to them being born in that way, but its the faults of society that judges you harshly if you're slightly different from what the society standards of 'normal' is. And it was only on reading the Author’s afterword that I realised that I might not have been far off the mark. Ebooks fulfilled through Glose cannot be printed, downloaded as PDF, or read in other digital readers (like Kindle or Nook). We know that she has been suffering since she was very young, that she has gotten worse, and that she has a name for what she dealing with which she doesn't share with us, but you never get a clear picture.

The book also vaguely gestures towards Akari’s mental health and possible neurodivergence, but never properly discusses it, which I found frustrating. Wspomnienie o idolu sprawia, że przenosi się do innego świata w którym może być jeszcze dzieckiem oglądającym w teatrze “Piotrusia Pana”, w tych momentach rzeczywistość przestaje mieć znaczenie. The protagonist, a secondary school student, Akari, worships a J-pop group member, Masaki Ueno, who is a modern version of Peter Pan. I had the impression Usami was a follower of idols herself as she deftly portrays the positives of the culture as well as how it can get ugly. Stan culture is something that I think is difficult for people who have not experienced it or have not been a part of it can understand and I think this does a good job of diving into the obsessive nature of it and the mind of someone who also struggles with finding purpose in life.This is certainly the case with the novella Idol, Burning by Rin Usami, now available in an English translation by Asa Yoneda. I must confess I liked Sheena Patel's book more albeit there are things I enjoyed in Idol, Burning a lot: its subtlety, the melancholy atmosphere, the symbol of fire, the portrayal of Akari, the original subject matter. It would have been nice to see a deeper portrayal of a fan's life (not all of them suffer from untreated psychological problems). She gains a sense of purpose that is severely lacking in her daily life thanks to her dedication, and she has someone to whom she can attribute her dashed ambitions and dreams. Akari's obsession is fatalistic and intense, and Usami's prose (translated by Yoneda) renders it and the hold it has on her tenuous life ably and affectingly.

Personally, I can relate to that on how obsessed I can be with books and some comfort animes that I took pleasure watching day by day. Its good to stan someone (especially another fellow human) moderately, but I find that if it helps you to stay alive, just enjoy what you can .When rumours emerge about his assault on a female fan, social media becomes divided between his defence and condemnation. But despite my reservations, and a shaky start, I found myself unexpectedly engrossed, fully invested in Akari’s fate. The one thing that gives her comfort and that she feels like she succeeds in is being a fan of J-pop idol Masaki: She has turned this into her whole identity, her purpose of living. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.

My judgment only goes to the stalker (the ssasaengs) and those who will endanger others lives for their own gain.

Akari doesn’t really consider these allegations, saddened by the onslaught of haters on online spaces dedicated to Maza Maza.