The Aidoru! The Ardent Fans' Perspective

Japanese idols, or aidoru, are different from how the West defines idols. Aidoru are popular media personalities in Japan and the aidoru business has been strong for over 40 years. Female aidoru are usually in their teens, whilst male aidoru seem to have no age restriction, but both are pressured to stay “pure” by the media, and install good values. Aidoru do not only enjoy huge popularity in Japan, but they also have many fans outside of Japan, who are just as affected and influenced by them. The fans contribute amongst each other with fan related media and to the aidoru, by buying their merchandise. There are many fan communities online that are dedicated to particular groups. The current thesis is based on the results of a questionnaire, aimed to explore foreign fans’ perceptions of aidoru. Fans can make or break the aidoru’s career; they depend equally on fans, for they could not exist for a long time without a trusty fan base that supports them. The focus of this research was the fan communities of aidoru in general, and how the international community perceives the aidoru