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What ever account I am on just so you know you have a sister to holler to anytime I am available. I can be a guide just say the word and need for you no drugs just good ol food. It can be a fruity cake sometimes. Just be happy for me ok? Happy New year sis.
A question... That image that's full-screen for 10 seconds, 2.50-3.00... Is that who I think it is? Again at around 5.45- but this time I know because I recognize the kanji... And you mention her too... RIP gentle angel...
The contrast between Japanese and western celebrity culture is really dramatic. In the west, we pretty much have grown to accept that celebrities are decadent, severely flawed people and we aren't even phased when we hear a celeb has been arrested for whatever crime you can think of. Japan seems to still set a high standard for their celebrities. A scandal like this would barely make any difference in western countries, but it was enough to completely tank her career. There's pros and cons to each view, but the differences are what is most interesting.
@@thecurliest_fry And even there, we expect more to a western child/teen star to be more of an adult when they became, you know, adult (with all the flaws that came with it).
Idols, purest girls ever, no dating, no alcohol, no tobacco no nothing. one small mistake or rumor and your fame collapses One small rumor about you doing something like dating or consuming bad substances and your fame starts collapsing. One small scandal and your fame collapses faster than a sandcastle getting hit by a strong wave. It's scary, very scary, no wonder many decide to leave.
What upsed me the most is as a kpop fan. I saw a bunch of male assaulting women and even sharing private videos of female. They got a slap on the wrist by their fans but idols dating is a crime.
This is what sells in Japan. All about idols is to sell dreams. Nobody hides it. Being an idol in Japan is definitely tough job. But - nobody is coerced. It is like it is, Japanese like the image of natural beauty, innocence and pureness. They want in untarnished and spotless. They do not want to pay for anything that looks pretended or acted. Of course, they know it is all set-up, but until there are no clear proofs they take the advantage of doubts. If they have proofs of misconduct (like tabloid's photo taken by a paparazzi), the image becomes worthless, independently on how huge it was just yesterday. Idols mus remember, that they are safe only at home (an not at all times). Around idols there is always a group paparazzi group photographing and filming every their step while visible in public space. It's a game. One photograph taken in an (in)appropriate moment can be worth huge sum of money... In Japanese culture forgiveness is basically a foreign concept. To regain respect after surprisingly minor offenses of the community code, astonishingly huge effort is required, without any guarantee of success. This is scary in real life. But idols clearly know what they take under and what are risks. This comes from living on islands, that are haunted by frequent natural disasters. Japanese culture strongly emphasizes reliability and responsibility of all members of a community, because in case of a disaster, human life depends on perfect co-operation of community members and fulfilling their roles. Unreliable person is considered dangerous and worthless.
and so many decide to enter you think that new TV idols are walking into the industry without knowing anything Japan is an asian country, they have strong networking system among them, started long time ago when they're just small group of indigenous people on the island
@@maimoomaimoo457 sorry, but i believe that we should not be acceptable or calm about the injustice towards living people, no matter what kind of work they do.
I don't understand how people can enjoy idols with a clear conscious, anytime I hear about it I'm just upset and disturbed by how these people are treated. Like, they have mental breakdowns for having sex with their boyfriends because of a no dating policy?? That's just inhumane and cruel.
@calebokay9665 Doesn't make it any better, they're still idols, the second they slip live all their fans can turn on them and getting their contracts terminated for bringing in bad press to the company and starting drama. Some companies even encourage parasociality as a business gimmick, like Hololive does. Remember the Uruha Rushia drama? Her gimmick was to play the clingy anime gf trope to her audience, and the second it was revealed she actually had a male friend offstream (it wasn't even confirmed that it was her boyfriend, but she was talking with a man nonetheless) her "fans" became so hostile they were basically demanding her head on a plate for "cheating" and "lying" to them, as if gifting a random anime avatar some couple hundred of dollars already entitled them to be in a relationship with her. And she just had to take all the shame, the name calling and the insults and silently retire, cuz she committed the sin of being human off stream and "break the illusion". "Vtubers are healthier" my ass. Overly attached lonely weirdos and insidious company practices will always ruin everything .
Oh my god I completely forgot about Noriko Sakai's scandals. When I saw the title of this video, I figured it would be about Ami Suzuki getting blacklisted from the entertainment industry. Because of her parents rightfully sueing her management company who were paying her abysmally despite selling millions of CDs. Her story is a roller coaster ride, really looking forward to the next video. Randomly came across this video and now subbed.
As a 25 year Nori-P fan, I'm absolutely loving this video. Can't wait for part 2,i followed her downfall in as close to real time as possible (being in the UK and unable yo speak Japanese lol). I still love her too this day though
Fun fact: Ami Mizuno, Sailor Mercury was directly designed by Naoki Takeuchi after Noriko Sakai's appearance. Actually she said that if you wanted to know how Ami would look in real life, you'd just had to see Noriko's pictures
For some reason, this made me think about Ai Kago! She is a 4th generation Morning Musume member who got blacklisted by fans and even Hello! Project themselves because a picture of her smoking a cigarette while underage appeared in the tabloids. I love idols and want to become one myself, but I think I wouldn't be able to handle the pressure of being perfect...
The whole Kago situation was sad. They did give her a chance but the same happened again. Her life spiralled once she was cut from h!p, with multiple suicide attempts and some questionable career decisions (Adultism for example). That said, she appears to be in a good place now and has even performed with h!p again, so it's not all doom and gloom
I recalled this happening years ago. Her relationship with an older (18 years her senior) man also got exposed (I believe she was groomed since she was a tenn and a minor), and instead of giving her help, they punished her. Edit: This was around 2006-2007. Also, I'm happy that she turned her life around.
She was put on house arrest for a year from the smoking scandal, but literally right after her 1yr probation was over she got caught dating a MARRIED man in his 30’s. She got sued by the wife for ruining the marriage. Afterwards it spiraled from there. She’s been thru a lot but I’m so happy for her now because she seems to be better.
I love Sakai Noriko, too. Back then, when her drama "Hoshi no kinka" showed at my country, my mom and sister loved both the series and her songs. They always singed the theme song "Aoi usagi" a lot which make me love the song unconsciously. Now as a grown-up, I love listening to 80's and 90's J-pop song thanks to Sakai's songs.
This is crazy because I discovered her music around 2017, and love it. But the culture on how these idols are built are very tough on keeping the façade; especially when they become as popular as Sakai. So I’m anxiously waiting for part two, because this got me on a cliffhanger! 😅 hope you all have a swell holiday season✨
Hi! The pictures you showed in the video of Takaso surfing is not him. The guy in the picture is actually Kimura Takuya! He is the husband of Kudo Shizuka and used to be a part of a hugely popular jpop group SMAP :))
I’ve noticed this with K-pop culture as well and it’s a world I’d never want to be a part of…humans make mistakes and to be a part of something we’re if you like..sneeze wrong you’ll be blacklisted isn’t something I’d want even with the fame and money. People forget your literally a living breathing person and it’s just…ok. Also like I know the people in charge make sure they play into the fans that get so obsessed to the point of mania and stalking and play into fans with mental illnesses which is also sick. Like…you get fans who are convinced they’ll get with these idols but like?? Isn’t it well known their not aloud to date ever? And if they do they risk loosing everything? Not a fan of the industry and alot of the talent deserved way better
The Bollywood (aka Hindi cinema), Kollywood (aka Indian Tamil cinema) and South Tollywood (aka Telugu cinema) cultures are just as bad if not worse. Short Lived Bollywood Beauty Divya Bharti fell down (ow!) from her apartment and passed away about 3 decades ago, while South Indian icon Sridevi passed away from plastic surgery and health complications years ago.
Hope you do more of these videos on older Japanese musicians. Hope to see an Akina one as thats one hell of a rabbit hole and her recent return this year.
Thank you for covering my beloved idol and celerity. Her songs by Sun Music are memorable as period corrected as Sun Music could be. Her talent as actress and entertainer are cherish by many in Asian who grew up in the 90s. Thank your for the splendid research!
First off, I'm a big fan of your series! I really enjoyed this episode as well. When I originally saw the "Part 1" in the title, I was thinking this would be a new series covering blacklisted idols in Japan. I was like, "oh, I wonder if she'll cover Ami Suzuki then." I actually remember coming across Sakai's story one time and it is definitely interesting on what happened to her. I would also love to see you go into detail into some of the other topics mentioned in this video like the trendy J-dramas of the 90's or the "idol freeze out" that happened in the 90's.
what actually funny is that if she would have been arrested in Hollywood, she'd get a movie deal for a soundtrack or something. we love flawed people, its the celebrities who come off as "perfect" we get suspicious of and tend to stay away from. No one get famous without being a bit off
Ok, before I watch the video this can go one of two ways 1: Either she didn't actually do anything wrong and the idol industry is just puritanical and fucked up. 2: She actually DID do something monstrous and fucked up, but that thing about the idol industry is still true. EDIT: Hmmm, TBD
Are you okaY? The total amount of drugs came to less than a single gram. At one point they found 0.007 grams in foil, and said it was "carefully wrapped in foil" for later use. This is beyond outrageous treatment of any normal civilian. Jesus christ.
@@aidanrock8719 I don't know if you're actually refering to me specifically or just know this story better than I do but this video is the first that I have ever once seen her name before much less heard of her. If it was a drug thing like you describe then I agree, yea, totally fucked up. You're just kinda catching me with my pants down as far as context goes.
@@samwill7259 I mean fair enough, but 5 days since watching the video is a long time to drag click over the name, right click, "search Google", and read the paragraph on wikipedia if you watched a half hour vid to come to the conclusion "hmm, tbd" to the suggestion that she did something horrific
@@aidanrock8719 Maybe I was just waiting for the second part? Because I wanted to hear Sakura tell the rest of the story? Maybe I was just being a little patient? So thanks for the spoiler I guess, it's not that big a deal
@@samwill7259 the "spoiler" for a real life mistreatment of a human being, imagine treating this like a soap opera or slice of life anime or something, you are a trash person.
It's really crazy how mothers have to retire from being idols after they get married in japan. Meanwhile and most of the rest of the world you have artists literally performing with their own family and it's completely normal.
@@wr8137 It's an unwritten rule. If you are already married and have kids, you can't no longer sell a persona of an innocent and sweet girl. The Idol industry is not about music or art, its about selling a "Girlfriend" fantasy to lonely men.
TLDR: A rich lady used coke around 40 years old, her burnout husband narced her out hard, her life was more or less ruined and "Sakura" over here identifies and sides with the government on it.
I want to say there is a flaw with the Spotify example used in your sponsor. If you have Spotify premium, a VPN does not work on geo-restricted songs. I used to have Atlas and tried out other VPNS in the past and it didn't work on Spotify premium because Spotify uses the location of your payments, not your IP. If your banking info is located in the West, then that's where Spotify has your account located in.
I just got into her discography and was super-duper intrigued about her ever since i read her Wiki.This couldn't have came at a better time, Thanks so much for making a video on her! P.S. I can't stop humming ウィンクに染めて now...help
There was a lot of great info on Japanese popculture here. I'm so glad I found since I've been interested in that kind of stuff ever since I first got into anime back in the early 90's. Subbed, and keep up the good work!
As much as I would love to, UA-cam would most definitely take that video down. I originally talked about that incident in detail in part 3 of my Do Not Search iceberg series and UA-cam took the video down because of that portion :/
@@SakuraStardust ugh UA-cam, though I understand where you’re coming from. I feel like so many videos on her are being deleted due to the guidelines. It’s such a shame since it’s basically ignoring her legacy
Someone already did a 3-part video about Okada's life, but they were all taken off YT. See KANASHII YOKAN: The Life and Legacy of Yukiko Okada by nemurenatta in another video platform.
@@SlapstickGenius23 I think she’s good… she has a regular weekend radio show on one of the main FM channels. Looks like the industry is pretty forgiving after a certain amount of time. Aska from Chage & Aska was locked up a few times and blacked listed for drugs but they recently allowed him to return to performing on TV recently. That one actually surprised me.
Nori-P was soooo famous in Taiwan!! We loved her sweet face. However, the later drug scandals simple ruined her...so sad. Btw, there were so many images of Seiko Matsuda at her prime (she looked like a doll) in this video. I love Seiko so much!! Great video, and the narrator did a great job. She knows her Japanese pronunciation well.
@@PREPFORIT Yes, the timing wasn't right. In the 80's and 90's, Asian stars were very difficult to break in the Western market. Plus her English was not that great. Akina Nakamori fared even worse. Her "Cross My Palm" album did not sell well at all in the US. Of course, Akina's English was indeed horrendous....
Don't know who she is, absolutely zero idea about this culture but I recently found your channel and I am obsessed with learning about anything you talk about. And this is so interesting! Cannot WAIT for part 2!
Ever since I found out she was the singer for the OP for Gunbuster and that she had a big scandal associated with her, I always wondered how exactly it went down, so thank you for making this video, can't wait to show it to a bunch of friends that watched Gunbuster because of me they're also gonna really enjoy this video :)
Seeing Yukiko Okada here makes me so sad. She was such a talented and beautiful girl corrupted by the entertainment industry 😢💜 her songs always make me happy. I hope she's resting.
What most westerners don't understand or realize is that there is a big distinction between pop star, actress and *idol*". In the west, we don't have idols. Not like Japan anyways. Pop stars and actresses can have boyfriends and have a life. Idols are a completely different profession. They usually cannot sing, dance or act (though they'll try with varying degrees of success) so instead their job is devote themselves to their fans. That's literally how they make money -- they are to be idolized by their fans. So it's a HUGE deal when they break contracts and date men or are seen out partying. It's akin to finding out your favorite singer was never singing any of their songs and was lip syncing (Manilli Vanilli anyone?) Westerner's hear that idols cannot date and are in an uproar. But that's cultural ignorance at play; their entire job requires them not to date, that's how they make money. It's like signing a million dollar contract to only be seen in public drinking coke products and then breaking that contract by only drinking pepsi products.
I find this interesting, namely because seiyuu Namikawa Daisuke slept with an underaged girl and literally got zero punishment, meanwhile if you do drugs or date as a girl….
Watched it till the end and I still do not know why she is a “Blacklisted” idol. Now I need to wait for part 2 as this is “only a prequel to her downfall”.
What’s amusing is when people try to educate people on other people’s country and culture despite not actually living there. Nori p was never blacklisted. To the contrary. Like many pop stars she took drugs. The judge rule that she was pressured into taking stimulants and was convicted for drug possession. She served 18 months and that’s it. After which she divorced her husband. She’s still a respected singer in Japan and far from blacklisted. That’s coming from someone who lives in Fukuoka, Kyushu (Japan’s main southern island)
As someone who use Spotify a lot, I'll just have to make a little note for the VPN: people with premium can't use the VPN trick. If you have premium (as I do), you can only switch countries by changing your payment method to match the country. And evn with just a free user, there's a snag... Japan hasn't gotten rid of the monthly free user limit. A free Spotify Japan user can only listen to music for some 15 hours a month.
I am always happy to see a new upload from you! Without question, it's always worth the wait. I'll be looking forward to part 2, but take care of yourself foremost.
If you look at some of the pop groups from the 50s and 60s in the west you notice there is some similarities to Japan/Korea pop groups on expectations and not being allow to be human. I really hope in the future it gets better for these idols
I intentionally kept the VHD, Gainax, and drama portions of the video because most of the audience likely isn’t an expert on Japanese media formats or popular tv in the early 90s. I elaborated on them to supplement the information relating to the idol herself
Awesome video and really excited for the next part. Never made the connection with Gunbuster before despite being one of my favorites. You always put out great content that shows me a lot about Japan I was unaware of, really appreciate it.
Great part 1. I always wondered if the characters of Ai Amano in Video Girl Ai and Mia Alice from Dangaioh were inspired by Noriko. Their looks are uncanny.
Your Videos are always fun to watch, I enjoy it very much. Could you make a video about the former J-Pop star Mariko Yoshida? I can't find any evidense what happened to her after 2002. She ended her career then but even it's hard to get information about her, what she had done between 1989 and 2002. But the most strange thing is there are no photos of her after 1994. It seems she totally disappeared out of sight after 1994/2002.
It was a much bigger deal than what Wikipedia makes it out to be lol. Japan has some very strict laws and cultural taboos that basically destroyed her career. I'll get into all that in part 2
Thank you again for a very informative video. I really appreciate that you have retained a sense of which subject items may not be readily understood by those outside of Japan/East Asia. I liked your "asides" about the weird media formats and ancient anime, and your commentaries about Japanese social norms ( like public announcements of private issues - sort of surprising since all Japanese people I know are VERY private ). And you have a good delivery with your slightly sarcastic but respectful humor. 🙂
Quite an interesting video! And can I say, how much I love hearing video game music throughout it? I was pleasantly surprised to hear Earthbound and Metroid music!
There are many things I like about Japan! There are also many things about Japan that rub me the wrong way. This is how it started for me. BABYMETAL> Sakura Gakuin> Morning Musume> AKBingo> AKB48> Keyakizaka46> Hinatazaka46 and Nogizaka46. Being that I don't speak Japanese finding content with English subs wasn't easy. Many of my friends don't understand why I like Japanese entertainment but it is easy for me. Never having any children of my own I like watching them grow up. The idol industry isn't easy and the fact that it is run by talent agencies is questionable to me. Scandal is bound to happen for these girls and young ladies because they sign contracts. But being a celebrity in any country can be hazardous to oneself. I'm not sure where I was going with this but I like talking about Japanese idols, so I'll end it here.
This is why I don't support idols. Once you understand how these run behind the scenes, you normalize the abuse there. At least the other parts of Japan's music is pretty much more chill. Bands like Asian Kung-Fu Generation, L'arc en Ciel, Kana Boon etc were pretty much more chill, like their hip hop groups, even their old bands like Pizzicato Five.
The idol industry in japan left a disturbing taste of what the industry is feeling entitled to in my mouth. Growing up as a legitimately sane normal person is frowned upon and will be seen as a scandal when in fact it's not, it's just them living their lives??? They're not even seen as people, they're seen as objects. And that's just fucked up.
I literally just want to know why she was blacklisted but I got so many unnecessary informations. I think it's better to make it shorter w/ just discussing the important points relevant to the issue being discussed.
I like to add little pieces of Japanese culture and information throughout my videos. Most people aren’t going to know how popular she was at the time, or the landscape of that era of Japan, and I find it disrespectful to not take note of her accomplishments first before going through all her public scandal.
I remember how an idol who was ranked low ended up stepping away to get into JAVs to try to at least find something and her fans as well as others ridiculed her. I'm not sure whatever happened but I can only hope she's doing ok.
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What ever account I am on just so you know you have a sister to holler to anytime I am available. I can be a guide just say the word and need for you no drugs just good ol food. It can be a fruity cake sometimes. Just be happy for me ok? Happy New year sis.
A question... That image that's full-screen for 10 seconds, 2.50-3.00... Is that who I think it is? Again at around 5.45- but this time I know because I recognize the kanji... And you mention her too... RIP gentle angel...
The contrast between Japanese and western celebrity culture is really dramatic. In the west, we pretty much have grown to accept that celebrities are decadent, severely flawed people and we aren't even phased when we hear a celeb has been arrested for whatever crime you can think of.
Japan seems to still set a high standard for their celebrities. A scandal like this would barely make any difference in western countries, but it was enough to completely tank her career.
There's pros and cons to each view, but the differences are what is most interesting.
To me, there seems like a big similarity between Japanese Idol culture and the expectations placed on Disney Channel/Nickolodeon stars.
@@thecurliest_fry And even there, we expect more to a western child/teen star to be more of an adult when they became, you know, adult (with all the flaws that came with it).
Just imagine if kayne west was japanese and had all the drama he had his career would have died the second it began
I'm okay with the West adopting Japanese standards for celebrities. So many degenerate gross people we wouldn't have to put up with.
@@thecurliest_fry Not really. Ariana Grande had TONNES of controversies and yet she's still one of the most popular artists rn
Idols, purest girls ever, no dating, no alcohol, no tobacco no nothing.
one small mistake or rumor and your fame collapses
One small rumor about you doing something like dating or consuming bad substances and your fame starts collapsing. One small scandal and your fame collapses faster than a sandcastle getting hit by a strong wave.
It's scary, very scary, no wonder many decide to leave.
What upsed me the most is as a kpop fan. I saw a bunch of male assaulting women and even sharing private videos of female.
They got a slap on the wrist by their fans but idols dating is a crime.
This is what sells in Japan. All about idols is to sell dreams. Nobody hides it. Being an idol in Japan is definitely tough job. But - nobody is coerced.
It is like it is, Japanese like the image of natural beauty, innocence and pureness. They want in untarnished and spotless. They do not want to pay for anything that looks pretended or acted. Of course, they know it is all set-up, but until there are no clear proofs they take the advantage of doubts. If they have proofs of misconduct (like tabloid's photo taken by a paparazzi), the image becomes worthless, independently on how huge it was just yesterday. Idols mus remember, that they are safe only at home (an not at all times). Around idols there is always a group paparazzi group photographing and filming every their step while visible in public space. It's a game. One photograph taken in an (in)appropriate moment can be worth huge sum of money...
In Japanese culture forgiveness is basically a foreign concept. To regain respect after surprisingly minor offenses of the community code, astonishingly huge effort is required, without any guarantee of success. This is scary in real life. But idols clearly know what they take under and what are risks.
This comes from living on islands, that are haunted by frequent natural disasters. Japanese culture strongly emphasizes reliability and responsibility of all members of a community, because in case of a disaster, human life depends on perfect co-operation of community members and fulfilling their roles. Unreliable person is considered dangerous and worthless.
and so many decide to enter
you think that new TV idols are walking into the industry without knowing anything
Japan is an asian country, they have strong networking system among them, started long time ago when they're just small group of indigenous people on the island
アイドルはアイドル。アーティストはアーティスト。アイドルはアーティストじゃない。アイドルのイメージがある。ちなみにやるのもやめるのも自由。アイドルは歌が下手でもいい。
@@maimoomaimoo457 sorry, but i believe that we should not be acceptable or calm about the injustice towards living people, no matter what kind of work they do.
I don't understand how people can enjoy idols with a clear conscious, anytime I hear about it I'm just upset and disturbed by how these people are treated.
Like, they have mental breakdowns for having sex with their boyfriends because of a no dating policy??
That's just inhumane and cruel.
Have the same feeling about the kpop industry
@Caleb OKAY Same but there are some who's fans bases get that get just as obsessive
@calebokay9665 Doesn't make it any better, they're still idols, the second they slip live all their fans can turn on them and getting their contracts terminated for bringing in bad press to the company and starting drama. Some companies even encourage parasociality as a business gimmick, like Hololive does. Remember the Uruha Rushia drama? Her gimmick was to play the clingy anime gf trope to her audience, and the second it was revealed she actually had a male friend offstream (it wasn't even confirmed that it was her boyfriend, but she was talking with a man nonetheless) her "fans" became so hostile they were basically demanding her head on a plate for "cheating" and "lying" to them, as if gifting a random anime avatar some couple hundred of dollars already entitled them to be in a relationship with her. And she just had to take all the shame, the name calling and the insults and silently retire, cuz she committed the sin of being human off stream and "break the illusion".
"Vtubers are healthier" my ass. Overly attached lonely weirdos and insidious company practices will always ruin everything .
@@consensus688 yeah I don't know much about kpop but I've heard bad things. Pretty similar to idols as far as I know
@@nopizzawithoutpineapple the music industry world wide is pretty exploitative especially to women. Japanese idols, TLC, Loona, etc
Please do a video on how Japan handles scandels in general please!
Ive definitely been considering this!
The same way they dealt with their war crimes.
@@angelofthedeath2433 funny how they are the biggest distributors of porn , so much for their "honor" and "respect" huh
@@georgebriseno Why do you think they shamed her and the youngsters? Because it's honor before reason. You fucked up, you either tried....or die.
@@angelofthedeath2433 it's a weird culture, people think Japan is cool because of anime and video games but their actual society is weird asf
Oh my god I completely forgot about Noriko Sakai's scandals. When I saw the title of this video, I figured it would be about Ami Suzuki getting blacklisted from the entertainment industry. Because of her parents rightfully sueing her management company who were paying her abysmally despite selling millions of CDs.
Her story is a roller coaster ride, really looking forward to the next video. Randomly came across this video and now subbed.
Ani Suzuki is a topic I plan to discuss in the future, actually!!
I thought the same. Ami Suzuki!
Ami's story is legit annoyingly sad.
As a 25 year Nori-P fan, I'm absolutely loving this video. Can't wait for part 2,i followed her downfall in as close to real time as possible (being in the UK and unable yo speak Japanese lol). I still love her too this day though
Fun fact: Ami Mizuno, Sailor Mercury was directly designed by Naoki Takeuchi after Noriko Sakai's appearance. Actually she said that if you wanted to know how Ami would look in real life, you'd just had to see Noriko's pictures
That really worked, because when I first saw Noriko, I thought: "Wow, she looks like Ami!"
For some reason, this made me think about Ai Kago! She is a 4th generation Morning Musume member who got blacklisted by fans and even Hello! Project themselves because a picture of her smoking a cigarette while underage appeared in the tabloids. I love idols and want to become one myself, but I think I wouldn't be able to handle the pressure of being perfect...
The whole Kago situation was sad. They did give her a chance but the same happened again. Her life spiralled once she was cut from h!p, with multiple suicide attempts and some questionable career decisions (Adultism for example). That said, she appears to be in a good place now and has even performed with h!p again, so it's not all doom and gloom
@@bulmasman Yeah, she's doing really good now! I'm glad that she is! :3
I recalled this happening years ago. Her relationship with an older (18 years her senior) man also got exposed (I believe she was groomed since she was a tenn and a minor), and instead of giving her help, they punished her.
Edit: This was around 2006-2007. Also, I'm happy that she turned her life around.
@@myuudee they actually tried to support her, but she did the same thing again. I love Ai Kago, but in her case, she was young and foolish.
She was put on house arrest for a year from the smoking scandal, but literally right after her 1yr probation was over she got caught dating a MARRIED man in his 30’s. She got sued by the wife for ruining the marriage.
Afterwards it spiraled from there. She’s been thru a lot but I’m so happy for her now because she seems to be better.
I love Sakai Noriko, too. Back then, when her drama "Hoshi no kinka" showed at my country, my mom and sister loved both the series and her songs. They always singed the theme song "Aoi usagi" a lot which make me love the song unconsciously. Now as a grown-up, I love listening to 80's and 90's J-pop song thanks to Sakai's songs.
Noriko
I saw her in a drama when I was young, have always wondered why she just disappeared.
This is crazy because I discovered her music around 2017, and love it. But the culture on how these idols are built are very tough on keeping the façade; especially when they become as popular as Sakai. So I’m anxiously waiting for part two, because this got me on a cliffhanger! 😅 hope you all have a swell holiday season✨
saying Idol industry in Japan is interesting is to generous.
Lol I could get into it further, but that would be it’s own 30 minute video 😅
@@SakuraStardust I would watch it! :D
This just really underscores all of the critiques of idol culture in "Perfect Blue" to me
Hi! The pictures you showed in the video of Takaso surfing is not him. The guy in the picture is actually Kimura Takuya! He is the husband of Kudo Shizuka and used to be a part of a hugely popular jpop group SMAP :))
I’ve noticed this with K-pop culture as well and it’s a world I’d never want to be a part of…humans make mistakes and to be a part of something we’re if you like..sneeze wrong you’ll be blacklisted isn’t something I’d want even with the fame and money. People forget your literally a living breathing person and it’s just…ok. Also like I know the people in charge make sure they play into the fans that get so obsessed to the point of mania and stalking and play into fans with mental illnesses which is also sick. Like…you get fans who are convinced they’ll get with these idols but like?? Isn’t it well known their not aloud to date ever? And if they do they risk loosing everything? Not a fan of the industry and alot of the talent deserved way better
The Bollywood (aka Hindi cinema), Kollywood (aka Indian Tamil cinema) and South Tollywood (aka Telugu cinema) cultures are just as bad if not worse.
Short Lived Bollywood Beauty Divya Bharti fell down (ow!) from her apartment and passed away about 3 decades ago, while South Indian icon Sridevi passed away from plastic surgery and health complications years ago.
hell this video is about to be a ride
update: i was right, you never disappoint sakura, waiting for part 2 🤙
If these videos where a ride, part two would be the part with the big Splash Moutian-sequel drop I assure you :p
Hope you do more of these videos on older Japanese musicians. Hope to see an Akina one as thats one hell of a rabbit hole and her recent return this year.
Thank you for covering my beloved idol and celerity. Her songs by Sun Music are memorable as period corrected as Sun Music could be. Her talent as actress and entertainer are cherish by many in Asian who grew up in the 90s. Thank your for the splendid research!
I’d love a series on idol controversies 😊
First off, I'm a big fan of your series! I really enjoyed this episode as well. When I originally saw the "Part 1" in the title, I was thinking this would be a new series covering blacklisted idols in Japan. I was like, "oh, I wonder if she'll cover Ami Suzuki then." I actually remember coming across Sakai's story one time and it is definitely interesting on what happened to her.
I would also love to see you go into detail into some of the other topics mentioned in this video like the trendy J-dramas of the 90's or the "idol freeze out" that happened in the 90's.
An idol series sounds interesting! I’ll consider that!
She was the main character in Ju-On: The Grudge 2. That was where I first saw her.
It's a great film, concluded the Ju-On Trilogy (Curse 1 & 2 are basically one movie to me) on a high note.
what actually funny is that if she would have been arrested in Hollywood, she'd get a movie deal for a soundtrack or something. we love flawed people, its the celebrities who come off as "perfect" we get suspicious of and tend to stay away from. No one get famous without being a bit off
Ok, before I watch the video this can go one of two ways
1: Either she didn't actually do anything wrong and the idol industry is just puritanical and fucked up.
2: She actually DID do something monstrous and fucked up, but that thing about the idol industry is still true.
EDIT: Hmmm, TBD
Are you okaY? The total amount of drugs came to less than a single gram. At one point they found 0.007 grams in foil, and said it was "carefully wrapped in foil" for later use. This is beyond outrageous treatment of any normal civilian. Jesus christ.
@@aidanrock8719 I don't know if you're actually refering to me specifically or just know this story better than I do but this video is the first that I have ever once seen her name before much less heard of her.
If it was a drug thing like you describe then I agree, yea, totally fucked up. You're just kinda catching me with my pants down as far as context goes.
@@samwill7259 I mean fair enough, but 5 days since watching the video is a long time to drag click over the name, right click, "search Google", and read the paragraph on wikipedia if you watched a half hour vid to come to the conclusion "hmm, tbd" to the suggestion that she did something horrific
@@aidanrock8719 Maybe I was just waiting for the second part? Because I wanted to hear Sakura tell the rest of the story? Maybe I was just being a little patient?
So thanks for the spoiler I guess, it's not that big a deal
@@samwill7259 the "spoiler" for a real life mistreatment of a human being, imagine treating this like a soap opera or slice of life anime or something, you are a trash person.
It's really crazy how mothers have to retire from being idols after they get married in japan. Meanwhile and most of the rest of the world you have artists literally performing with their own family and it's completely normal.
Incorrect! there's no such rule in Japan
Why do you write such a biased comment?
@@wr8137 It's an unwritten rule. If you are already married and have kids, you can't no longer sell a persona of an innocent and sweet girl. The Idol industry is not about music or art, its about selling a "Girlfriend" fantasy to lonely men.
@@excalibro8365 No such thing
you have very little knowledge of Japanese showbusiness
@@excalibro8365 there are many female idles, singers, actresses , who continue their activities after marriage or childbirth, in Japan, from long ago.
@@wr8137 I’m guess he’s thinking of south Korea where idols ain’t normally allowed to date openly
TLDR: A rich lady used coke around 40 years old, her burnout husband narced her out hard, her life was more or less ruined and "Sakura" over here identifies and sides with the government on it.
I love this new series! I would love to see similar coverage of other idols careers like Ai Kago
I want to say there is a flaw with the Spotify example used in your sponsor. If you have Spotify premium, a VPN does not work on geo-restricted songs. I used to have Atlas and tried out other VPNS in the past and it didn't work on Spotify premium because Spotify uses the location of your payments, not your IP. If your banking info is located in the West, then that's where Spotify has your account located in.
I just got into her discography and was super-duper intrigued about her ever since i read her Wiki.This couldn't have came at a better time, Thanks so much for making a video on her!
P.S. I can't stop humming ウィンクに染めて now...help
The way you pronounce Hitotsu Yane no Shita sounded so good oml
There was a lot of great info on Japanese popculture here. I'm so glad I found since I've been interested in that kind of stuff ever since I first got into anime back in the early 90's. Subbed, and keep up the good work!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I hope Noriko is doing alright
She's still doing music now.
Love the video!!
I know this subject might be a big taboo, but could you please do a video on the life of Yukiko Okada.
As much as I would love to, UA-cam would most definitely take that video down. I originally talked about that incident in detail in part 3 of my Do Not Search iceberg series and UA-cam took the video down because of that portion :/
@@SakuraStardust Didn't you say you were planning on doing a video on her for Patreon? I would be willing to donate to be able to see it.
@@SakuraStardust ugh UA-cam, though I understand where you’re coming from. I feel like so many videos on her are being deleted due to the guidelines. It’s such a shame since it’s basically ignoring her legacy
Someone already did a 3-part video about Okada's life, but they were all taken off YT. See KANASHII YOKAN: The Life and Legacy of Yukiko Okada by nemurenatta in another video platform.
@@emirvmendoza if anyone does check that out, be warned that it has a lot of graphic imagery
I guess they’ve forgiven her… they showed a long clip of her performing Aoi Usagi on NTV (日テレ) during Prime Time last night (28 Dec 22).
Although Noriko’s not a saint (she’s a human with big ups and downs), hopefully a steady subversion is coming through..
@@SlapstickGenius23 I think she’s good… she has a regular weekend radio show on one of the main FM channels.
Looks like the industry is pretty forgiving after a certain amount of time.
Aska from Chage & Aska was locked up a few times and blacked listed for drugs but they recently allowed him to return to performing on TV recently. That one actually surprised me.
Nori-P was soooo famous in Taiwan!! We loved her sweet face. However, the later drug scandals simple ruined her...so sad. Btw, there were so many images of Seiko Matsuda at her prime (she looked like a doll) in this video. I love Seiko so much!! Great video, and the narrator did a great job. She knows her Japanese pronunciation well.
I feel bad that Seiko failed to become famous in the West. I like her.
@@PREPFORIT Yes, the timing wasn't right. In the 80's and 90's, Asian stars were very difficult to break in the Western market. Plus her English was not that great. Akina Nakamori fared even worse. Her "Cross My Palm" album did not sell well at all in the US. Of course, Akina's English was indeed horrendous....
Don't know who she is, absolutely zero idea about this culture but I recently found your channel and I am obsessed with learning about anything you talk about. And this is so interesting! Cannot WAIT for part 2!
There are so many adverts in this that it is barely watchable.
Start video ADVERT.. 30 seconds in ADVERT ad ends and I get in video sponsor ad.. sponsorship ends ADVERT
😑
Thank you for the Christmas gift!
Ever since I found out she was the singer for the OP for Gunbuster and that she had a big scandal associated with her, I always wondered how exactly it went down, so thank you for making this video, can't wait to show it to a bunch of friends that watched Gunbuster because of me they're also gonna really enjoy this video :)
Seeing Yukiko Okada here makes me so sad. She was such a talented and beautiful girl corrupted by the entertainment industry 😢💜 her songs always make me happy. I hope she's resting.
What most westerners don't understand or realize is that there is a big distinction between pop star, actress and *idol*". In the west, we don't have idols. Not like Japan anyways. Pop stars and actresses can have boyfriends and have a life. Idols are a completely different profession. They usually cannot sing, dance or act (though they'll try with varying degrees of success) so instead their job is devote themselves to their fans. That's literally how they make money -- they are to be idolized by their fans. So it's a HUGE deal when they break contracts and date men or are seen out partying. It's akin to finding out your favorite singer was never singing any of their songs and was lip syncing (Manilli Vanilli anyone?) Westerner's hear that idols cannot date and are in an uproar. But that's cultural ignorance at play; their entire job requires them not to date, that's how they make money. It's like signing a million dollar contract to only be seen in public drinking coke products and then breaking that contract by only drinking pepsi products.
I find this interesting, namely because seiyuu Namikawa Daisuke slept with an underaged girl and literally got zero punishment, meanwhile if you do drugs or date as a girl….
Such a cliffhanger. Cant wait for part 2.
Very interesting video, I have no idea who this lady is but I’ll watch your video anyway. Thanks for educating me about this particular topic 👍✌️🙏❤️✨
Watched it till the end and I still do not know why she is a “Blacklisted” idol. Now I need to wait for part 2 as this is “only a prequel to her downfall”.
I wanted to do her actual career justice before I got into the messy scandal that wrecked all that
Gotta love the lake theme outro Congrats on 100K! Well deserved
What’s amusing is when people try to educate people on other people’s country and culture despite not actually living there. Nori p was never blacklisted. To the contrary. Like many pop stars she took drugs. The judge rule that she was pressured into taking stimulants and was convicted for drug possession. She served 18 months and that’s it. After which she divorced her husband. She’s still a respected singer in Japan and far from blacklisted. That’s coming from someone who lives in Fukuoka, Kyushu (Japan’s main southern island)
I watch your videos occasionally. I'm really fascinated with these kinds of videos. Please keep on creating them
She debuted on VHD. She was on that sigma grindset.
As someone who use Spotify a lot, I'll just have to make a little note for the VPN: people with premium can't use the VPN trick. If you have premium (as I do), you can only switch countries by changing your payment method to match the country. And evn with just a free user, there's a snag... Japan hasn't gotten rid of the monthly free user limit. A free Spotify Japan user can only listen to music for some 15 hours a month.
HOW MUCH LONGER DO WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR PART TWO?!? 😭😭😭
She was born on my birthday and I’m trying my hardest to not read up on her so I can watch PART 2 😂😭😂
Part 2 will be out this month
We are still waiting :c
Ah, we watched a few episodes of Tokyo Love Story when I was taking elective Japanese classes in university.
I am always happy to see a new upload from you! Without question, it's always worth the wait. I'll be looking forward to part 2, but take care of yourself foremost.
I was curious when the downfall part was going to come than later I saw that it was the first part.
Wanted to do her career justice before I got into that mess lol
thank you for awesome japanese content, I love it! 🙌🏽💗
Glad you enjoy it!
If you look at some of the pop groups from the 50s and 60s in the west you notice there is some similarities to Japan/Korea pop groups on expectations and not being allow to be human. I really hope in the future it gets better for these idols
I live for the deep dives i can only get from this channel
This video is longer than it needs to be
I intentionally kept the VHD, Gainax, and drama portions of the video because most of the audience likely isn’t an expert on Japanese media formats or popular tv in the early 90s. I elaborated on them to supplement the information relating to the idol herself
Very interesting video ! Congrats on 100k !
You here! Hahah
Havent finished the video yet but its already a banger like your others! keep it up
thank you for sharing i love your videos they are always high quality and the research that goes into this is amazing
Awesome video and really excited for the next part. Never made the connection with Gunbuster before despite being one of my favorites. You always put out great content that shows me a lot about Japan I was unaware of, really appreciate it.
2:29 Heading that Candies were idols from FIFTY YEARS AGO was kind of like taking a bullet 😅
Interesting recommendation by UA-cam. Luckily you have uploaded part 2, 4 days ago, so I can now watch it straight away instead of waiting
Can't wait for part 2.
When is part 2 comming out??
Great part 1. I always wondered if the characters of Ai Amano in Video Girl Ai and Mia Alice from Dangaioh were inspired by Noriko. Their looks are uncanny.
She's the one who sang the ending song for Pikachu and Pichu short movie. The movie is my childhood.
FINALLY SHE CAME BACK, SAKURA STARDUST CAME BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK
i really like that channel intro. it's really nice!
Your Videos are always fun to watch, I enjoy it very much.
Could you make a video about the former J-Pop star Mariko Yoshida? I can't find any evidense what happened to her after 2002. She ended her career then but even it's hard to get information about her, what she had done between 1989 and 2002. But the most strange thing is there are no photos of her after 1994. It seems she totally disappeared out of sight after 1994/2002.
I could certainly look into it!
@@SakuraStardust Wow, thanks! That would be so cool, indeed!
Epic I'm early, your videos are very good I've been watching them since last year!
Me: googled what happened....
It was a much bigger deal than what Wikipedia makes it out to be lol. Japan has some very strict laws and cultural taboos that basically destroyed her career. I'll get into all that in part 2
That manufactured idol industry is so bizarre to me. It feels as wrong as a child pageant to me.
Thank you again for a very informative video. I really appreciate that you have retained a sense of which subject items may not be readily understood by those outside of Japan/East Asia. I liked your "asides" about the weird media formats and ancient anime, and your commentaries about Japanese social norms ( like public announcements of private issues - sort of surprising since all Japanese people I know are VERY private ). And you have a good delivery with your slightly sarcastic but respectful humor. 🙂
Thank you very much, friend! My favorite topics to cover are ones like this specific video that go into other niche Japanese topics 😊
Heard a rumor that ami mizuno of sailor moon was inspired (visually) by noriko sakai.
After the part 2 video could you please do a video on the idol group Wink.
I love Wink! I’ll think about that :)
@@SakuraStardust You too! What's your favourite song?
Quite an interesting video! And can I say, how much I love hearing video game music throughout it? I was pleasantly surprised to hear Earthbound and Metroid music!
Noriko-san already changed these days. She is now a business woman.
She also would perform again on stage.
There are many things I like about Japan! There are also many things about Japan that rub me the wrong way. This is how it started for me.
BABYMETAL> Sakura Gakuin> Morning Musume> AKBingo> AKB48> Keyakizaka46> Hinatazaka46 and Nogizaka46. Being that I don't speak Japanese finding content with English subs wasn't easy. Many of my friends don't understand why I like Japanese entertainment but it is easy for me. Never having any children of my own I like watching them grow up. The idol industry isn't easy and the fact that it is run by talent agencies is questionable to me. Scandal is bound to happen for these girls and young ladies because they sign contracts. But being a celebrity in any country can be hazardous to oneself. I'm not sure where I was going with this but I like talking about Japanese idols, so I'll end it here.
Weird upload time but fortunately I’m awake for it
😼👍
I remember "Oshin." RPN-9 (now CNN Philippines) picked that up for airing here in the Philippines before settling with Japanese animation again.
Really epic story and I hope your we'll make more story of japans creepy dolls!? And marry Christmas to you too!?
Was planning on talking about that doll that grows hair at some point actually XD
13:38
that building altho renovated is still there in Harajuku if i'm correct.
Nice Vid, can't wait for part 2! Those abruptly cut off jokes always gets me 😂
Also Happy Holidays to you as well! Hope you gave a good one
This is why I don't support idols. Once you understand how these run behind the scenes, you normalize the abuse there. At least the other parts of Japan's music is pretty much more chill. Bands like Asian Kung-Fu Generation, L'arc en Ciel, Kana Boon etc were pretty much more chill, like their hip hop groups, even their old bands like Pizzicato Five.
I like Asian Kung Fu Generation too!
Where is part 2?
The idol industry in japan left a disturbing taste of what the industry is feeling entitled to in my mouth. Growing up as a legitimately sane normal person is frowned upon and will be seen as a scandal when in fact it's not, it's just them living their lives??? They're not even seen as people, they're seen as objects. And that's just fucked up.
I literally just want to know why she was blacklisted but I got so many unnecessary informations. I think it's better to make it shorter w/ just discussing the important points relevant to the issue being discussed.
I like to add little pieces of Japanese culture and information throughout my videos. Most people aren’t going to know how popular she was at the time, or the landscape of that era of Japan, and I find it disrespectful to not take note of her accomplishments first before going through all her public scandal.
i dont understand, why is she blacklisted?
I learned something new here in particular what trendy drama is! thanks!
I remember how an idol who was ranked low ended up stepping away to get into JAVs to try to at least find something and her fans as well as others ridiculed her. I'm not sure whatever happened but I can only hope she's doing ok.
Man, will she be okay for a long time?
Damn Spotify once randomly recommended me one of her songs and it’s been in my playlist for years now and I had no idea who she was
had to turn on notifications, your videos are the best Sakura !
thank you so much for making this
You're so welcome!
U deserve more views because these videos r high quality and interesting to watch
Great your back I love this channel you need 1 million subs
I can't wait for part 2!! :0
Thank you so much for your videos, I always learn something cool.
another 10 out of 10 Video! Thank you for your hard work🤘