#SundayTalk – JKT48 Basic 101

I missed a very important session of #SundayTalk where some local prominent social media figures who also loves JKT48 explained to the public about the fandom of JKT48 itself. Which somehow we all hope could act as a catalyst for new fans that getting interested with JKT48 without any prior knowledge to 48 group in general.

Luckily, Arara compiled some of the explanation in which we translated and recompile in this article.

So without further ado, the #SundayTalk -very small- summary.

@FxMario – Opening Topic: JKT48 Theater

I wanna tell you a story about why I love to visit JKT48 Theater, “Unit Song”. In their theater performance, they performed a number of songs which people referred to as “Unit Songs”. In this “Unit Songs”, only a few members sang the song, not all of those who present that night.

These “Unit Songs” are unique in their own rights since they will rarely sang that song outside of the theater. So if you want to hear it, visit the theater. “Unit Songs” will never be performed in a local music television show. The only exception is in their own concert like the one we got a couple of weeks ago.

So yeah, to enjoy those cool unit songs, you will have to see it live in Theater.

They also have a special session called “MC” in between breaks. And this is my most awaited session since in this session, the members will talk exclusively for a prepared topic which often ended up in hilariousity. We can see clearly the members public speaking ability in this session as well as how far their ability have grown since the first time I saw them.

So, an idol basic requirement is not only singing and dancing, but also their ability to speak in front of the public that they will never stop to learn through experiences.

@BadutRomantis – Main Topic #1 : JKT48 in General. Source Guest : @arupadhatu123

In today #SundayTalk we will talk about JKT48 from another perspective, not only music but also the packaging and the fandom itself.

Almost all Japanese animation and dramas fans in the 90’s to 2000 is very familiar with the music the girls sang. Poetic lyrics with upbeat songs that told about everyday life is full of optimism nuance to the listener.

But how come the phenomenon could attract so many people? this is a very interesting survey done by @Pitra

 
A music enthusiast, @widiasmoro have also talked about the phenomenal 70.000 copies of CD sold in this piracy era in Indonesia before (which translation you could read at this website too)

The physical release along with bonus merchandise has produced their own value and reason to buy.

“Storytelling” can be a very strong reason why we have what we called as JKT48 phenomenon and this is not all about the music and what the members can do.

So what is Vota/VVota ? It is a derivative term from Wota which means idol otaku/idol geek. We could interpreted the double V as “Very Very Wota“. This derivative term was created to give a greater accentuation to fans that is overly fanatics and/or judged to have a more “dedicated” role in the fandom.

JKT48 main advantage is their core fans or the otaku themselves. A. Yasushi decision to open up AKB48 theater in Akihabara for the first time was because he realized the business potential gotten from those who loved a hobby into a fanatical phase. The Japanese demography that can and would spends up their money for hobby is their main target.

So how this affect the formation of JKT48 in Indonesia? Basically JKT48 appeal is stronger to be accepted by these category of hobbyist : gamers, moviegoers or others. This is due to the Japanese pop culture that have a very strong root in game, anime and music that started to bloom in the 90’s. These nostalgic feeling is the main appeal, especially for those in their twenties or thirties.

Basing themselves on their worldwide-known Japanese idol group AKB48, JKT48 then formed to create their first wave attracting Japanese pop culture fans in Indonesia. Coincidentally, this root have a great link to creative minds that have their line of work in social media.

With two key to achieve their phenomenal status now : (1) Production Quality and (2) Emotional Engagement, they started their branding through social media that helped to create the second wave : Spreading JKT48 through social media. This happened in early 2012.

This is the reason why JKT48 fandom becoming so organic. There’s something that you can always share by utilizing the JKT48 brand itself as a part of the main story. Be it a story about a superhero, a story about a game development company or a story about the local music scene.

There’s a sociology analysis in regards to the shocking CD sales in this era of piracy. We can concluded that JKT48 main business venture is to create a load of junkie fans. Demography-wise, their main target is the escapists, middle class citizens that in need of a diversion from their daily repeated life. This group is easy to be caught by the appeal of emotional engagement. That is the main reason why, JKT48 doesn’t offer you a ready made stars but rather opted for teenagers with minimum-medium experiences in showbiz world.

Basically, what the fans enjoyed is the experiences. Brand experience is the most important factor for repurchase. The reason for the CD selling numbers. Every single person have their rights to be a JKT48 fan since what they sell is the complete package of entertainment experience. JKT48 don’t talk about heavy arts or cultural ideology, but they offer a superficial entertainment experience that everyone can enjoy with no regards to ages nor class.

An interesting note is that sometimes the fanaticism the fans shows still have no borderline. We can sometimes see for ourselves a narrow fanaticism with a spice of aggressive behavior from the fans. Something that sadly, we can’t avoid in any kind of fandom.

@NathanSuwanto, @arms87 feat @FxMario, @inestjokro, @frauassenava – Intermezzo Topic : The Downslide of JKT48 Fandom

There are a lot of good fans as well as their counterpart.

It is well known that JKT48 fandom is already regarded as a bad fandom in the general public opinion. As a benchmark about how bad the fandom name: Even a joke about trading the members’ food leftovers was being regarded as a serious notion about how freakish the fans nature in the general public opinion.

What make it worse is that those who think seriously about the joke was being laughed at and called names by some of the irresponsible fans.

I honestly want people to think of this fandom as a better place for newcomers to learn the trade about JKT48, not being laughed at.

A lot of my friends decided not to ever visit the theater again not due to how bad the girls performing their songs, but rather, they were traumatized by the fans itself. The smell, the yelling and the barbarian behaviour of fans that is far from what I’ve known as ethics.

To make matter worse, some even commented that as “Your loss man.” No, it is not their loss. It is: the staff, the members, JKT48 as a whole entity loss for losing a load of potential customers.

It seems like a lot of fans just doesn’t care anymore about how the fandom will go, about how to help the girls to reach further. All that they care about is just how to get the members attention. Some of the fans is currently dying for recognition.

The way to choose your favorite member is now have shifted from pure support to “I will support you if you acknowledged me. Without me you are nothing” attitude.

Perhaps this is due the “culture shock” since this is the very first time Indonesia got this kind of entertainment concept. The media these past years doesn’t help much too in giving out a perfect information and kind of lazy to dig further about the group resulting in a shift in fans category from your casual fans into those with a completely different attitude.

But no matter what kind of analysis we did or done or will do, The worst fandom is a fandom that reluctant to accept new fans in their small enclosed circle and driving them away much further with an exclusive, ignorant, abrasive and aggressive nature.

@BadutRomantis – Main Topic #2 : JKT48 and Fans. Source Guest : @pipis

It is reasonable and really unfortunate that general public only knows about the militant fans that is NOT in anyway represent the general demography of fans. And I’m talking fandom in general, not only JKT48. JKT fandom is a newcomer in Indonesia showbiz, and allow me to say, even the world. It is just as expected if it came under various “controversies”

Especially when the fandom itself came from Japan that have a very different culture with Indonesia. But that is the most interesting point in it. How the locals adjust themselves according to the local cultural norm.

The reason why one love or supported JKT48 is a very subjective matter. Doesn’t mean that there’s no root to it though. For me personally, what interesting about them is their concept. A group of teenagers with different background and characters with their own dreams and stories, but with one single vision.

The difference between AKB and JKT48 lies on their main language and how they represent themselves on their photoshoot and/or promotional materials such as videos mainly. In Japan, it is normal to wear a bikini, a very big contrast with local Indonesian norm.

Their influence outside of Jakarta is a very interesting topic by its own rights. But for short, the fans knows them through TV or Youtube, but this doesn’t hinder them not to fall in love with the girls. For an example the recent direct selling where they could buy the CD directly from the members. That is a new experience for them. So it is normal to see the fans from outside of Jakarta have their own dreams of visiting the theater. They save their money, collectively, and went to Jakarta just for JKT48.

The enthusiasm for the 5 city concert was overwhelming, proven by various fancam which actually, is forbidden for the fans to took.

Fans can see the members directly at the theater almost every day. Currently they have two shows : Renai Kinshi Jourei by team J and Boku no Taiyou by Team KIII. Each shows offer 16 songs with different “sensation” when you compared them with their performance in TV or any kind of off air event. Although they perform almost everyday with the same shows, I can guarantee that your watching experience will be different each and every day. You can clearly see the members development on stage.

In every shows, the fans will see that it will be performed by 16 members. Currently JKT48 have 51 members divided into Team J, Team KIII and Trainee

The talks get much further than what it is summarized here and getting more and more detailed as the talks went by. But for a first time 101 about JKT48, hopefully this will be more than enough to cover the base for those who’ve just recently getting interested in JKT48 without prior knowledge of any 48 groups.

Thank you @badutromantis, @pitra, @pipis, @arupadhatu123, @NathanSuwanto, @arms87, @FxMario, @inestjokro, @frauassenava and everyone else that involved in the tweet exchange and @juaranasional for chirpifying the story.