The desperate efforts of NMB48’s 14-year-old Natsuko Akashi to escape her creepy fans have been causing a stir online, with opinions divided as to whether it is the poor girl or her pathetically short-changed fans who are more deserving of sympathy…
She was evidently less than happy about having to make the fake lovey-dovey snaps her fans have secured through their diligent patronage – though perhaps understandably:
AKB48 watchers are split between pitying poor little no-escape-Natsuko, or the creepy fans she was bilking with such a lacklustre performance:
“The ota are too pitiful…”
“That poor girl’s ‘please don’t come any closer!’ face is priceless…”
“Pretty harsh how badly she wants to get out of there.”
“Look at how far apart even the chairs are.”
“Sad…”
“Come on girl. It’s work so at least force out a pretend smile!”
“Why is she working as an idol if she doesn’t want to fake not being disgusted by her creepy fans?”
“I can’t really blame her for reacting this way though…”
“This is so obvious it’s funny.”
“To think they pay money for this!”
“She’s even like that with the women.”
“She is really not keen on these people at all is she?”
“That heart she is doing… she doesn’t want to make contact!”
“I think some of those otaku will actually be more turned on by the girl trying to get away like this though…”
“This is too harsh, poor girl.”
“She’s a sensible lass, at least.”
“If I had to get snaps taken with some hideous freak I guess I’d be the same way.”
“I quite fancy that girl she’s with though.”
“If she can’t put out for these specials properly she shouldn’t be offering them.”
“Quit being an idol, Natsuko.”
“This is just unprofessional. Her job is to pretend to like them.”
“She’s not suited to this line of work.”
“What a workplace…”
“She is getting paid for this so I’m not too sympathetic.”
“It’s sad what she has to do for this job. It’s sad what people are paying for here.”
“Blame Akimoto for making a hapless 14-year-old work in this sham-prostitution racket he has going.”
“At 14 I credit her with some ability to choose her destiny and it is not as if anyone is forcing her to do this.”
“Oh that heart…”
On the other hand, NMB48 does count consummate professionals like Aika Nishimura amongst its number:
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Yeah... making a two-hand heart really doesn't work when he's 2/3 of the way across and she's 1/4 over. She might find it unsavory, but I have no sympathy - it's easy big money. She's probably just too young to know real work, and wants to get paid for nothing. (Who doesn't? It just doesn't go that way for most...)
Damn... They just wasted their money on a bitch, but the other girl on the bottom pictures is a pro. Well done.
Agreed, Aika did a great job during the shoot.
I like-a Aika.
That's there fault not hers. If a grown ass man is stupid enough to by 100 cds. just to get a 2 second photo with a idol, then the blame lies in the retarded fan, not the Idol. and given that the idol has no freedom whatsoever, I cant blame the idol, only the stupid Otaku.
Yup you are absolutely correct. LOLOLOL
Lady Gaga would Huge a fat guy at a concert just because she is Lady Gaga.Natsuko Akashi is a shy 14 year old Japanese girl.
nmb48-aika-5.jpg
"Fandom."
There are plenty of other girls in AKB who are and have been younger and were capable of at least thanking their fanbase in person regardless of their looks.
And if anime taught me anything, it is that an idol should always at least smile.
Specially when being raped...
If anime taught me anything, it's that the loser always gets the girl/s, weak guys always have bursts of strength in dire situations, and never get into a harem situation because you'd never have sex.
Guys shirt in last picture: "AWESOME!"
His face says it all.
Its probably more a case of she just hasn't built up a tolerance for the stench imitating from the average unbathed otaku.
Sounds like you got experience. Referring to yourself?
Hmm, since I didn't call any one out, theres no reason for you to act defensively. Unless of course I hurt your feelings because you are one of the average unbathed otaku, in which case all I can say is, I'm sorry, now go take a bath.
Well played good sir lol
Well, at least where I come from, MOST 14 year olds are busy going to school and don't know much about "real work" (or going on fake dates with older men for money). And that's a good thing, I think.
I also doubt that she personally is seeing much of the money coming from those photo shoots. Since she's legally still a minor and thus not allowed to run her own business or even have her own checking account, most of it will most likely go to her management and/or her parents. If she's extremely lucky, there will still be some left of it when she turns 18 or so ...
She's 14. She's gotta be not yet used to meeting that many strangers, unless it's some ikemen.
Though I have to tell ya that Ted Bundy looked ikemen to his victims too.
Moral of the story? Blame her parents.
More like she's 14 and like all teenagers is incredibly shallow, with no understanding of who really pays her checks.
Possibly that or is just shy.
Or childish. Dumb bytch needs a shaft up her throat to learn.
"A shaft up her throat?"
Was that supposed to sound cool or edgy? All it really tells us is that you watch too much porn and have never had real sex.
Idols are queens of faking and pretending.
This girl sure have a long way to go. Just give her some time, her agency will correct this... Noob mistake.
If she have the talent she soon will smile at any fan as if she really care about them.
Then she shouldn't be there in the first place. It only shows how desperate her employers are to milk her.
Ha! Tell that to Akimoto and see if he's willing to give away such a wonderful money magnet scheme(manipulation of youths).
These guys have been doing this for years. They are protected by every dirty shit imaginable, from the Yakuza to the highly incompetent, greyzone-filled, applicable-when-convenient laws. Just like Johnny's before them, they are not getting away unless this fad dies on its own.
At least Johnny's SMAP members are all getting old. AKB's members are frequently refreshed with young girls every year. We'll be in this shit for a loooooooooooong time, buddies. lol
but she barely gets any money
I remember a episode of Hayate no Gotoku when one of the maids were talking about the ability to fake a smile for your job and the money. I guess she never learned this...
You mad bro?
I don't really think she does big money in this yakuza run enterprise.
She's 14. Give her 40k yen cash in her hand and that's an iPhone complete with accessories waiting to happen. Doesn't matter if herself and what she does is worth much more than that. She's just a kid.
Law? What law? Kids are under 20 by their definition and they are supposed to be banned from formal workforce so there ain't no law to protect them during employment. They are just entertainers. lol
Doubtful. Rino claimed she already has enough earned to retire for life, which makes sense too because idols make all of their money while they're young & desirable. You don't see a bunch of seasoned 40somethings in AKB for that very reason.
@04:36
True, but you'd be surprised what some of these celebs earn. At the height of her career, Britney Spears reported 34 million dollars on her income tax statement.
Now the idol market is noway near that large, but it does have a rabid bunch of losers, whom buy everything related to their favorite idol and in certain cases, buy said items infinitely over. You know, the key to hand shake events and other CD selling gimmicks.
She's the type that likes to talk tough though. I won't believe everything she says.
Another retard who only thinks about money.
another entitled retard, who has never worked in their life
Yeah... I forgot, they all do this because of their love for the fans! Haha!
You obviously don't understand that money will not help if she is feeling uncomfortable or insecure. You also forget she is only 13-14 who probably hasn't reached sexual maturity and she is sitting next to men who objectify her as a sex icon. Also, Vulnerability has nothing to do with work ethic.
If she didn't want to be objectified as a sex icon, maybe she shouldn't have gone into the "objectification as a sex icon" trade.
You're assuming that the average 12-13 year old would-be idol is even aware of the darker side of being an idol or has the cognitive skill necessary to rationally consider the implications of being objectified as a sex icon, even if they are aware of it.
I suspect most young girls who dream of being an idol think its all about singing and dancing on stage while wearing cute clothes. I doubt any of them even consider the fact that they will be forced to interact with "fans" that under normal circumstances they would run away from screaming from, with good reason.
I also suspect that the companies that run the idol industry happily promote the delusion that young girls are under and make no effort to warn would-be idols of the seedier side of the idol industry until they're already locked into contracts.
NAILED IT.
Yeah... but in Japan they don't have the same tendency we do to try to trick kids into thinking sex doesn't exist until they get old enough to figure it out for themselves. Granted, if they started at age 10, they probably wouldn't understand it, but they would surely know about it from seeing all the sexualized archetypes and pervy guys leching over them.
@Conduit
Oh, come on. Given the usual setup of japanese porn she should expect no less for being a schoolgirl already.
Somehow the bias against idols persists.
No excuse for her lack of emotion. Yes, these type of people are very hard to deal with and get way over excited. But they look up to you and worship you. The least you can do is force a 1 minute smile. As this would make their entire week.
What a shit personality she has.
ok AKB48 has a wide range of different types of girls, some play the fan service game very well but some refuse to, why? beacuse it helps make them stand out from all the others. The idea is to try and find a way to stand out from the other 150 odd girls in the AKB group of bands.
"oniichan" are you fucking retared or what, why are you blaming her, It's not her fault that the retarded otaku is about her parents age. It's not her fault that the retarded otaku bought over 100 cd's just for a 2 second picture. And giving the fact that she's only 14 years old, dealing with obsessed fan's that think they are the idol's boyfriend would be quite disturbing.
What a fucked up personality you have
Business is business, no excuse. If she can't handle it, then get out of the business. As you put it, these otaku spent good money for 2 seconds. They could atleast get a nice smile and a fake atmosphere of caring and moe.
You cold heart faggot
If she can't really stand her creepy fans, maybe she's in the wrong line of work.
Re: title: If she’s 14, isn’t she a JC?
Yes, but she could be the creepy otaku here, you see.
...or behind the Mihama-Miyamoto line.
Different education system, they start the middle school around 11, and high school around 14.
No, usually at 12–13 and at 15–16.
Doesn’t show the comments I posted when logged in for some reason. (inb4 triple post)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Japan#School_grades
Even if she started school at 6, she’s in chuu-san now.
Of course, exceptions do happen and she might be one of those.