Jun 04 2008
The Trouble with LinLin
There is a lot of evidence to suggest that LinLin is currently the least favored member of Morning Musume. Consider the fabulous and far-reaching poll at Hello!Blog HERE and HERE
You’ll notice that LinLin ranks last overall as well as in almost every individual category. This makes me wonder, what is so wrong with LinLin? Why is she so universally disliked? Well, it’s not that everyone dislikes her, but she clearly has significantly less support than any of the other Musumes. There have been far worse singers and dancers to grace Momusu’s ranks over the years, so it can’t be that. She’s not exactly gorgeous, but she’s far from ugly, so I don’t think it’s that either.
The easy explanation is that she’s Chinese, and racial prejudices are inhibiting her popularity. Unfortunately, she joined at the same time as a certain JunJun who has been much more successful in gaining fans despite being just as Chinese as LinLin, so that kind of debunks that theory. I’ve heard complaints that she comes off as “fake” or that she’s “trying too hard”, and I’d agree with that, but then again, haven’t we heard the same complaints about popular members such as Reina and Sayumi? Why does it bother us so much more when we see LinLin acting in a way we perceive as fake? I’d say that we just haven’t gotten used to her yet, but it’s been a year, and if anything, her popularity has only been decreasing in that time.
I think one of her main problems is that within an entire year’s time she has yet to develop a real idol personality. I feel like I’ve gotten to know JunJun and Aika, to a certain extent, since they’ve joined, but LinLin is still kind of a big question mark. I still don’t really know what to expect from her, aside from lots of enthusiastic nodding, and that bothers me. It seems like she hasn’t been making herself vulnerable to the camera at all, and whoever her “real self” is, it’s hidden behind a lot more layers of protection than your average idol. I think she’s so worried about doing this idol thing right that she’s just being too careful not to mess it up. She’s acting how she thinks an idol should act: cute, very enthusiastic, constantly smiling, and energetic, but the viewers can sense that there’s something too forced about the whole thing, and its off-putting. She’s trying sooo hard that it’s exhausting to watch her.
Another subtle contributing factor is the way she interacts with the other girls. Watch Momusu interact for a little while, and it becomes clear that none of the other girls are really that fond of LinLin. Sure, they’ll pose with her for pictures and whatnot, but you can sense their wariness around her. If you look a bit beyond the surface, at the averted eyes, the forced smiles, and the subtle body language, you’ll see that the apparent friendship is just an act for the camera. While JunJun seems to be fitting in beautifully with the others, especially Eri and Risa, LinLin just isn’t. Everyone seems to regard JunJun with affection, but LinLin with veiled annoyance. I’m not saying that they hate her or anything, but I get the impression that they still don’t really consider her to be one of them. Such subtle cues from the rest of the Musume are bound to rub off on the audience as well.
I really hope that LinLin can work things out, because I can only imagine how hard all of this must be on her. She is a strong and determined young woman to leave her home country, deal with all the criticism she has faced, learn a new language as well as a myriad of songs and dances, and try to navigate the social minefield that is a group of teenage/early 20s girls. My personal favorite, Gaki-san, was once the least popular member of the group, so I do think there’s still hope for LinLin, and I’ll try to continue to support her.
Bacchiri Desu,
~Celestia~
being one half of the original stop the babyeater movement
I think its safe to say that
if the babyeating stopped…
NO JUST KIDDINGSRSLY.
I think that, I try to be a linlin fan, but there’s not ANYTHING I can find that I like about her
She’s not bad looking, but she’s not as good looking as the rest in mm
she’s not a bad singer, but there’s people who are way better
(also, I have to point out, it CAN’T be the chinese thing. Junjun is MORE chinese than Linlin, yet she is pretty popular)
It’s unfair of me to be so hard towards linlin really, but I don’t actually hate her
its just..
a long-running inside joke.
-Misa-
Two weeks ago, there was a interview article of MM’s members. I only read translation of Risa’s interview. The one which said that Linlin is a kankaroo baby inside a mother pouch. Risa comments that Linlin is very independent. (So it must different kind of independent of Koharu which many of them admires.)
I guess that she is/was independent from other members. So she has less supports from others. May be she hasn’t submitted to the group psyche yet. When Junjun or Aika made some mistakes, the support on screen from sempai and advises off screen are worth in gold (and camera shots).
wow. what an in depth analysis on linlin. i quite like linlin and her singing is not bad.
I totally agree with all your points there Celestia.
I agree with what you mean about Linlin “trying too hard”. I watch the concerts and these little shows and yeah its somewhat true to a point that she tries too hard. But Ai sweats like a pig (if sweat is a sign of how hard one is trying) and she is loved by a lot of fans. So I honestly don’t know what is wrong with Lin. Maybe she needs a makeover, a new haircut? Who knows.
And she still yet has to find a “personality” or she has to break through her thick skin, like you said, and get over her “idol must be like this and this” ways. Break through the norms and don’t conform.
I feel the same way as Misa.
BUT IT’S NOT ‘CAUSE IM THE OTHER HALF OR ANYTHING.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
I feel really bad.
But then again, I make fun of ALL the Musume.
Because I make fun of everything.
Even Gaki-san who I find perfect in practically every way.
I just make jokes about Linlin more without noticing.
I really do feel bad.
Really. ;-;
I enjoyed this read, Celestia.
I honestly think you’ve spent a good amount of time on each possible reason for LinLin’s low universal ranking, enough so that each idea sinks in and makes sense. The third paragraph really made it for me, though.
While she is also on the bottom of my list, I don’t really “dikslike” her. Like you, I’m hoping that there’s still hope for LinLin.
I’m going to be stupid and immature (because I actually quite like LinLin, you see, I like her voice and the way she dances) and say that Morning Musume has gone to hell.
If they hated other members before, it was all hidden under a fairly decent facade. Now, all I hear about these girls is that they’re becoming bitchier and bitchier, Reina saying that she’s hated by everyone, Aika making JunJun crying (and nobody comforting her… although IMO it’s pretty stupid to cry over a game like that…), forced smiles and the such aroun LinLin….
Everybody and their dog loves JunJun, I personally CAN’T see for the life of me what’s so good about her…. and then everybody hates on Lin and I can’t understand why they fail to see how talented the girl is…
Anyhow, it doesn’t really matter, and it’s an outsider opinion beause it’s been a LONG time since I watched anything Momusu releated, so that must be why I get talll of these “wrong” impressions….
[...] Trouble with LinLin Posted in June 4th, 2008 by admin in Uncategorized The Trouble with LinLin I feel like I’ve gotten to know JunJun and Aika, to a certain extent, since they’ve joined, but [...]