Idol, Burning

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Bestseller and winner of the 2020 Akutagawa Prize, Rin Usami’s novella’s a compelling exploration of fandom and identity in contemporary Japan. The prose is distant and restrained, and while I usually like this type of style, here it just compounded my disinterest. Akari has a hard time in her real life, not enjoying any kind of positive relationship with any of her family members, and frustrated at school where she can’t keep up with the others.

Akari is a high school student obsessed with “oshi” Masaki Ueno, a member of the popular J-Pop group Maza Maza. In some ways, I love that the message that Usami was trying to portray is that, there are no faults to them being born in that way, but its the faults of society that judges you harshly if you're slightly different from what the society standards of 'normal' is. She grows obsessed and spends all her time and money on following him, blogging about him and going to concerts. The book also vaguely gestures towards Akari’s mental health and possible neurodivergence, but never properly discusses it, which I found frustrating. Akari immediately begins sifting through everything she can find about the scandal, and shares every detail to her blog—including Masaki’s denials and pleas to his fans—drawing numerous readers eager for her updates.

Zabrakło mi więc personalnego połączenia z tematem, który Rin Usami prezentuje, jednak wiedziałam na tyle dużo, by oczekiwać, że książka powie mi coś nowego. Akari's dedication to her oshi consumes her days completely - until he disgraces himself and Akari's world goes into a tailspin. Podoba mi się, że pokazuje jak social media mogą pochłonąć oraz jak internet wpływa na postrzeganie świata przez młodych ludzi.

High school is a brutal world for Akari, the main character of Idol, Burning, where she doesn't excel. Bản thân mình không phủ nhận rằng những thần tượng đã đem đến sự tích cực trong cuộc sống của một vài người, giúp những người có cùng sở thích kết nối với nhau; thậm chí mình đã từng rất ngưỡng mộ một vài ca sĩ - mình sẵn sàng mua những gì họ đang dùng, muốn biết thêm các thông tin về họ (dù chỉ là tin nhỏ). cũng đã ghi nhớ mãi trong lòng Akari; đó cũng là ẩn dụ về chính bản thân Akari sau này, cô bé chẳng thể đối mặt với cuộc sống thực tế tàn khốc hơn bao giờ, thậm chí những người đồng nghiệp ở nơi làm thêm cũng mong Akari đừng quá mộng tưởng về thần tượng. Instead of finding a way to break free to save herself, Akari becomes even more fanatical about Masaki, still believing her idol is the only person who understands her.mà 偶像失格 khiến mình đồng cảm đó là những lo lắng của Akari, mặc cảm ngoại hình, khó khăn để tìm việc làm, mất khả năng giao tiếp. Akari, who finds it so difficult to fit in, is within her element when writing on her blog, corresponding with fellow fans.

However, gaving been drawn towards this book by the plot description, I was a little disappointed at how little plot there actually was. However, as the story goes deeper and progresses, it becomes clear that we are not to get what is happening without MC.Asa Yoneda is a literary translator based in Bristol, UK, whose work includes The Lonesome Bodybuilder by Yukiko Motoya and Dead-End Memories by Banana Yoshimoto.