Hi again, people. So, let’s play a game called “guess which Research Student (aka SEED) was added to which Team?” Well, let’s not play that, because I seriously have no idea of who is who, regarding SEEDs, I only now that there’s a gorgeus one named Chisato somewhere, and am crossing my fingers so that she ends up in Team K-ickass (and yes, I do know that she’d be perfect for Team A, but screw them :P)

So, this girl named Nito Moeno was added to Team B! Yay! Apparently, she looks a lot like prominent B member Kashiwagi Yuki, this is a fact that has been stated by many people anyway, I, on the other hand, think that she looks freaked out in all of the pics Congratulations to her, anyway!

Ok, so with those news out of the way, let’s head to the reason why I made this post. The AKB48 girls have already publically stated (in a Hey!Hey!Hey! appearance) that Akimoto has told them that they can’t have boyfriends. This is nothing new to all of us idol-wota people, and even though H!P has a rate of 2 - 3 boyfriend scandals each month ever since last year, AKB fans remained peaceful and cozy in our comfy little idol niche, until these news surfaced…

Meet lovely Team B frontgirl, Kikuchi Ayaka, also known as Ayarin.

Isn’t she adorable?

Apparently, little Ayarin, 15 years old, has found out about the greatest thing a 15 year old can find out about, that is: Boys, of course. Her alleged boyfriend is this unknown guy who posted a purikura of them, surrounded with lovely pink hearts, and which candidly states that they’ve been together for 3 months. (Ah, I remember back in the old days, when 3 months meant SO much in a relationship…) So here’s the pic, for future reference, I do think that they look pretty cute together, but I’m a sucker for romance and all that crap women love.

The guy isn’t all that cute though, poor Ayarin…

This news had been out for a while now, but for some reason (probably due to denial, or to the reaction of UFA to all of the Kid’s scandals these days) I assumed that nothing would happen to her, that she’d be performing like nothing had happened, especially because a few days ago it was announced that she was going to be transfered to famous agency “Ogipro” along with other Team B front girls, Nacchan, Mayuyu and Harugon. Ayaka would also be one of the most pushed-to-the-front members, considering how Team B’s sole representation in any single is constantly Mayu. However, she’s been in 2 singles, which is way more that some poor Team A or K members (not to mention her fellow B’s) (Of course, I’m not counting BINGO! or Sakura no hanabiratachi 2008, because those included all of the members, but really few were actually featured in the PVs)

This is bad news for Ayarin, because apparently she hasn’t been performing often in Team B shows lately, and also, SEED Nito Moeno was suddenly added to Team B, which now has 18 girls. People are speculating whether she’ll be silently thrown out of the group, considering how Team B girls aren’t really the busiest with other kinds of work and usually attend shows regularly…

My personal opinion on all this is that I’m tired of this crap. I’m really tired because ultimately, this was the reason that drove me away from H!P, and I don’t want it to happen again, because AKB is a very important part of my life. Everyone has already stated their opinion on the “no boyfriend” policy, seeing how frequent this type of scandals are becoming, especially among the younger girls. My POV is that although that rule is crap, it does make sense, considering what the idol image is all about. I seriously don’t think that these girls don’t ever go out with guys, I don’t think that all of them are virgins (I mean, look at Ohori, she’s clearly none of that XD) I don’t care if they are or not, because this whole idol thing is an act they put up with for the fans, I appreciate that, and I would also appreciate a little bit of… common sense when it comes to handling their personal lives.

I don’t know if I’m talking BS here, but paparazzi in Japan seem nowhere as wild and suffocating as the US ones, I don’t blame the girls for their stuff getting posted in newspapers and the such, because they are entitled to their privacy and it’s really none of our business, but if you already know the rules, then you can play the game without any problems. I don’t know if I’m making my point clear (because I have a bit of a hangover, so I’m dying here…) but what I mean is that it’s been proven before that idols actually do date people (like Iida Kaori and Tsuji Nozomi), and they don’t always get caught, you know, because you have to know how to handle it. Of course, it sucks to have to hide and go to small places to have fun just because some crazy guys with cameras are interested in getting you kicked out of your group, but this wasn’t the case with poor Ayarin, she was sold by her own boyfriend. Ouch.

That reminds me of the Kamei non-scandal. Which I think was true to a certain extent, because we all know that she’s too hot to not have a boyfriend. Ayarin should probably tell her future dates that when your daily work consists on putting on frilly pink costumes and singing girly pop to a crowd of grown men with glowsticks who dance along with you, you probably need to keep your date under the radar. Ayarin is only 15, so of course, she shouldn’t be blamed for this. I’m sure that if this scandal doesn’t get her kicked out, she will learn how to deal with this annoying “no boyfriend” situation, and not exactly by not having a boyfriend (like all wotas believe their pure innocent idols do) but you know, the old fashioned sneaking out and hiding.

Now, what if she does get kicked out? Well, personally, I’d be sad (because I’m always sad when an AKB girl leaves) but Kikuchi isn’t really one of my favorite members. I’m glad to see all of the support she’s getting, because I do give her credit for always trying so hard at everything she does, even though I don’t really like her voice all that much and I’ve stopped hoping that “those guys from agencies realize that this is a stupid policy, and finally remove it and then all of us will be happy and no girl will ever get kicked out and W will reunite again yay!”, because I’ve learnt the hard way that to agencies, idols are pretty much disposable, regardless of how big their fanbase might be. This is of course, partially due to the fact that an idol is a very VERY manufactured product, and while all of them bring something fresh and original to the table, they can be easily replaced by someone pushed to the front for long enough, regardless of her charm, talent, beauty or whatever.

Bottomline (because I really need to get some sleep) is that as long as an idol group keeps being labeled as one, girls who belong to said group must hide their boyfriends or get the boot. It’s that simple. I’m with all of you people who say that she’s a teenager, she should go out, enjoy the life of a normal teen and whatever, just… you can do all of that and not post it in your blog when you know your gf is going to be fired because of it. Or maybe the guy didn’t do it on purpose? God knows that people are capable of such a good natured stupidity at 15…

So, people, support Ayarin, and Team B. They are amazing, and she’s a very good idol who has earned everything with hard work and a huge charming smile.

Bye bye!