Dear Ryutaro…
Although I’m seriously tired and kinda sick. I sincerely feels that I should write something after reading all the stuff on the internet. This post is not exactly a post written as a letter/note/or whatever shit for Ryutaro but more for anyone who actually bothers to read it because of Ryutaro. Therefore, here goes…
Ryutaro has been my favorite since HSJ started. I actually regretted not knowing him earlier as I never get into the habit of watching the Johnny’s Juniors much. However, when HSJ debuted, my attention had been immediately captured by the cute little boy of the mere age of 12 years old and it has always been so even to this very day. Just imagine, how many kids in elementary school would have the chance of being on the big screen, even if it’s with 9 other people? The answer is obvious, not much. Elementary school kids are supposed to be in school, happily playing with their classmates at the playground, hating and making fun of the opposite sex and just being kids. However, this young boy, had been taken out and put in front of the camera and working his ass out instead of really doing that. I’m not saying that Johnny’s had deprived him of anything (considering he had been pretty happy about being in HSJ) but I feel that there is a need to see the bigger picture and consider what things would be like in his shoes (and training at Johnny’s is definitely not a breeze either).
“But the other Juniors/HSJ are doing fine and NOT smoking,” I may hear you say. However, do we really know what is happening behind that big bulky camera? Ask yourself sincerely, DO YOU?? I can immediately admit that, Nope, I don’t know a thing. Johnny has always tries to be as transparent as he could be with the artists under him with J-Web, magazine interviews about private life and such. But, how transparent can he be? He isn’t them and the things he could do/control is actually limited. We had gone through many a times when we get seriously upset about an artist/idol because of a scandal that we truly cannot believe s/he would be in. However, how many fans did learned the lesson that no matter how much you think/believe yourself to know that artist/idol, you never really truly know him/her. There is a need to understand reality from perception regardless of how difficult it could be because it’s dangerous to mixed them up. Which is what happens in this incident.
Indeed, from what we could see, he seems more than happy enough with what he has and what he’s doing. However, who seriously knew what is going on other than him himself? Humans are good at masking, idols are trained professionals at masking. Therefore, is what we are seeing, hearing and saying exactly true? I will not try to defend him in the smoking matter because he did actually confess to doing it and it’s unmistakably and legally wrong and I do hate smokers (no offence). On the other hand, isn’t there a need to understand what triggers the act? Without much doubt, this will never be known to us. Even with the “smoked out of curiosity” excuse having been given, what exactly is the underlying motive may, occasionally, not even be recognized by the person him/herself. You may find this ridiculous but it is the truth in the psychological point of view.
I swear I am and will forever be a fan of HSJ and Ryutaro, and he would indefinitely be my ichiban in this group (because my love goes to Massu of NEWS). Still, I do not find Ryutaro innocent in this situation as he had undoubtedly done the act and nothing can be said or done to undo it. Nevertheless, I believe that the more important thing is to understand what has gone astray and how it can be fixed. I cannot understand people calling themselves “fans” could start bitching about things when it happens or people who just supports blindly without thinking about how it would help Ryutaro (no offence again). Yes, I do support Ryutaro, but not at the moment as I truly believes that he definitely needs some alone time to reflect. Thus, wouldn’t it be better to support him after some cooling off period and not just trying to make Johnny-san make a decision now because that would never happen. Certainly, you can start supporting now (and I sincerely thank all those out there supporting) but please do not try to rush into things. Johnny-san is only making a decision that every other discipline master in a school would do, just on a bigger, brighter scale.
The existence of a group/band is not by the number of people in it but by how we see it. If HSJ is 10 members in our heart, even if there is gonna be 9 members on stage, it would still be 10 members for us. Consider times when HSJ split up to do different things, don’t we still see them as HSJ and not just individuals? If so, is there really a need to be so persistent about numbers? There is no doubt that the other members were affected, but just calm down and think, if they could make it through, why can’t the fans do so? If there is really no chance in having Ryutaro back, is HSJ gonna die? Of course not. Take a look at NEWS and you’ll get a real-life example. NEWS continues on from 9 to 8 to 6 members. They went through so much for so long with people (including themselves) thinking that it’ll never work, but, what do you see now? A successful group (not counting the recent Yamapi issue) with wonderful members. Although Uchi is still a Junior, isn’t his success pretty straight forward?
Times like this, fans should work together and stay strong for their idols as that is what they needed most and not more whining or issues. Let’s face it people, Ryutaro is out and he shall stay out for the moment but if we really do support and love him, give him some time to think through and just pray for him. Regardless of whether he’s a HSJ or not, Ryutaro will stay Ryutaro and HSJ will stay HSJ.
