MM Brain Scan ‘07: Takahashi Ai

Sigh, where to begin? I’ve been drafting the intro of this post on paper for nearly three weeks, and still I’ve been rewriting ever since. So I decided to start with a topic I touched on very lightly two posts back.

MM Over Everything

There’s a reason why I will always favor MM over every other J-Pop group or solo artist. MM is what changed my critical perspective on the J-Pop world into something completely different. I can no longer see idols as perfect, unreachable figures, but rather I see them as who they are, and MM is as girl-next-door as you can get. Girls who can sing well are great, girls who can dance well are great, and as for girls who can sing well and dance well? Even better. However, there’s nothing in these girls that is more attractive to my eyes than genuine, authentic personalities. It’s because I love them that I would naturally want to accept their shortcomings and poke fun at them; it’s because I love them that I would naturally feel disappointed if they get involved in a heavy scandal.

Ai is Love, Literally, and All of the Above

Usually, I have to get wordy when it comes to explaining my favorites, but I’m thinking you would probably hate to read a reiteration of the same exact stuff you have been reading on International Wota for the past few weeks, so I’m not going to make a list of reasons to love. I’m going to throw you an OPV that caught my attention right-on as soon as it began to play.

To tell you the truth, when I figured it was entirely composed of PB making-of clips, I didn’t expect much. But there was something about this OPV. She captured my undivided attention from the start. I wish I could deliver exactly how I was feeling as I was watching it, as I thought non-Ai fans would probably feel something different, or nothing at all, but I really don’t know how to start. I sensed a conglomeration of emotions gathering, slowly, and everything I feel about Ai-chan was coming together. It was like water being drained from the tub, with the last few liters immediately passing through the hole and making that sound, except in slow motion.

So I thought I could probably explain my feelings by answering my own question, “What is it about Ai-chan that makes you love her so much?”

…Then I realized that’s almost like trying to answer “what is it about your mom that makes you love her so much.” I just don’t know how to do it.

This is weird because I can answer that about Gaki-san and even Kame-chan (the next and final one in this blog series). I thought I might receive some inspiration by watching the OPV a couple of times, but all it did was leave me speechless. Sometimes I get a writer’s block, but I know this time that words just won’t do the deeds. Wu-san once wrote to me, “Sometimes, keep it simple.”

Perhaps I’m beginning to learn my lesson: Just leave it to that OPV up there! Nah, I didn’t mean that exactly…but what I’ve been meaning to say without sounding biased is, I love everything about her. I see her face, and it makes me look like an idiot smiling at my own monitor screen. It’s because I love her that I don’t mind her shortcomings – she admits them and tries hard. And what’s better than poking fun at bokeboke Ai? (poking fun at bokeboke AiEri, maybe)