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[chaobreaker]

From the BBC:

Mayu Tomita, 20, received nearly two dozen wounds to her neck and chest.

Police arrested Tomohiro Iwazaki, 27, at the scene. He is reported to have said he was angry because Ms Tomita returned a gift he had sent her.

The singer had reportedly complained to police about the fan last month.

Japanese media says she contacted police after Mr Iwazaki started posting obsessive comments about her on Twitter and other social media sites.

The price of being a female pop star in Japan. Beyond the shit wages and desposibility, they gotta be constantly on watch for obsessive fans and stalkers.

 

[ryan13ts]

Fucking crazy asshole. I really hope she'll be ok, physically and mentally. Being attacked like that is horrible.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

Two dozen stab wounds jeez...

 

[massoluk]

Wow, hope she gets better. What a fucked up situation

 

[strafer]

yeah fan my ass

 

[Black Republican]

Jesus, really bout that life huh?

 

[Savitar]

Some fans are always going to be out there and obsessive sadly enough, but yeah attacking someone like that says a lot about you.

Wonder what the gift was.

 

[dani_dc]

I will never be able to understand what goes through someone head to do something like this.

I can't even imagine what 20+ stabs are.
Hope she'll be able to survive.

 

[NEO0MJ]

She's resilient considering she's still alive after that attack. Hope she can recover.

yeah fan my ass

You're in a gaming form, you know how extreme some fans can be and how personal they take any action from their object of affection.

 

[rrc1594]

Sick fuck

You're in a gaming form, you know how extreme some fans can be and how personal they take any action from their object of affection.

Word that's how you really feel

 

[Data West]

I remember one of the wrestlers from NJPW got stabbed by some crazy female stalker fan a couple years back. Nuts.

 

[TUSR]

She's resilient considering she's still alive after that attack. Hope she can recover.



You're in a gaming form, you know how extreme some fans can be and how personal they take any action from their object of affection.

what

 

[random25]

Hope she survives. That's a lot of stab wounds, and are in critical areas.

 

[cameron]

Hope the victim recovers quickly.

When police arrested him after the attack, he is reported to have told them that he ambushed her at the station and asked her about the gift.

"I lost my temper because she didn't clearly answer," he reportedly said.

Crazy.

 

[Subpar Scrub]

Simply psychotic. This is what happens when people become obsessive and build relationships and characters in their heads that don't really exist.

 

[VeryGooster]

The Japanese girl pop group AKB48 cancelled their meet-and-greet events after an attack by a man with a saw

Jesus...

 

[mjc]

Absolutely insane. Reminds me of Selena getting attacked, and that bomb that almost got to Bjork. Crazy fucks.

 

[AquaWateria]

Just goes to show how insane some fans are.

Poor girl.

 

[Zelias]

Christ, that's insane. Hope she pulls through.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Fanaticism can be so disgusting and scary.

 

[Spiral Insanity]

Fanaticism can be so disgusting and scary.

The idol industry seems engineered to breed fanaticism... I hope this changes.

 

[SpaceWolf]

yeah fan my ass

"Fanatic" seems appropriate in this case.

 

[User 479360]

That's sad and disgusting. I don't know how anyone could do such a thing.

Hopefully she will pull through.

 

[Mental Atrophy]

I am surprised this doesn't happen more often--or maybe it does and I am just unaware of it. The whole pop idol thing has always come across as really strange to me, like it's an industry built on boys' fake girlfriend fantasies, and its broad net is bound to capture a few crazies who indulge in unhealthy ways.

 

[Mesousa]

The idol industry seems engineered to breed fanaticism... I hope this changes.

Why would it change? That is the entire business model.

Socially disturbed young adults who will spend all of their money buying merchandise, and buying whatever they spit out.

 

[F0rneus]

Disgusting.

A shame police ignored her concerns because it was just internet threats. I hope she pulls through. Horrifying shit.

 

[NEO0MJ]

Word that's how you really feel

what

What did I say wrong? I thought the poster meant that no true fan would attack whatever it is they're a fan of but there's a lot of example of how creepy and obsessive fans can be right in this forum.

 

[JaseC]

what

There are people here on GAF who said they were physically repulsed by the idea of "losing" PlayStation exclusives to the PC. Emotional attachment is a hell of a thing.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Holy shit, two dozen? I hope she pulls through.

 

[hazukash]

Why would it change? That is the entire business model.

Socially disturbed young adults who will spend all of their money buying merchandise, and buying whatever they spit out.

I'm an idol fan. Pretty sure I'm not a socially disturbed young adult, and I spend more on games than on idols. I bought less than 20 games last year and spent less than $200 on idols.

 

[Mesousa]

I'm an idol fan. Pretty sure I'm not a socially disturbed young adult, and I spend more on games than on idols. I bought less than 20 games last year and spent less than $200 on idols.

Then you aren't who they are marketing towards then. You are not the guy who will spend hundreds at an event just to get a handshake and picture. Doesn't change what the business model is.

 

[Crossing Eden]

Just found out about this and was about to make the thread. Hope she's survives. If she does it'll be an incredibly long recovery process..

 

[PdotMichael]

Then you aren't who they are marketing towards then. You are the guy who will spend hundreds at an event just to get a handshake and picture. Doesn't change what the business model is.

The idol industry doesn't target just a handful crazy subjects. There is a wide-range of idol fans and most of them aren't fanatic.

 

[Daft Punk]

There are people here on GAF who said they were physically repulsed by the idea of "losing" PlayStation exclusives to the PC. Emotional attachment is a hell of a thing.

Let's not act like the other fans of gaming consoles aren't just as bad.

 

[Mesousa]

The idol industry doesn't target just a handful crazy subjects. There is a wide-range of idol fans and most of them aren't fanatic.

Give it the smell test though a grown man tells you he loves AKB48 what really comes to mind?

 

[F0rneus]

Maybe I misunderstand or something, but I just don't get why anyone would compare this situation to console gaming. A console is a console. It's a product. Of plastic, some solder and not much else.

Idols are flesh and blood. They are human beings marketed as a product. Fans become incredibly entitled, not of a gaming platform but of a person. Whom they think they know intimately because of variety shows, twitter accounts and videoclips.

I don't think console fanboys are the same.

 

[Brazil]

Two dozen knife wounds, damn. That must've been the scariest shit ever.

I hope she pulls through.

Give it the smell test though a grown man tells you he loves AKB48 what really comes to mind?

Nice sweeping generalizations there, buddy. Let's see how you deal with people being that judgemental about your hobbies.

 

[Stahsky]

My uncle got stabbed two dozen times in an attack many years ago. His wife died, but he survived. Hope this poor girl recovers.

 

[Permanently A]

Let's not act like the other fans of gaming consoles aren't just as bad.

...I don't think a gaming fan has ever stabbed someone in the gaming industry dozens of times

 

[F0rneus]

My uncle got stabbed two dozen times in an attack many years ago. His wife died, but he survived. Hope this poor girl recovers.

Goddamn. Awful to hear man. Glad to hear he's ok. Sad story all around.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

My uncle got stabbed two dozen times in an attack many years ago. His wife died, but he survived. Hope this poor girl recovers.

he was stabbed 24 times and survived? what the fuck

 

[PdotMichael]

Give it the smell test though a grown man tells you he loves AKB48 what really comes to mind?

You are just repeating your first post here. Is that one of the cases where whatever people write about the mainstream appeal of idol groups you will just repeat your one liner?

 

[Savitar]

They really need better security.

 

[stump sock]

quoting from the japanese music thread because I think it's worth pointing out. this isn't a commentary on idol culture, it's about a disturbed person with a sick obsession.

Looking at the flyer for the event, it seems like it was a very low-key type of thing that maybe only a couple dozen people attended and nobody would really expect to need security. It's also maybe a bit misleading that the media is calling her an idol. It seems she was briefly in an idol group that released one single a few years ago but at this point was a regular university student who did solo singer-songwriter stuff on the side. For some unfortunate reason she attracted the attention of a random psycho who apparently felt he was entitled to her just because he sent her gifts. It's a really tragic situation and so frustrating that the police are unwilling or unable to help people who come to them asking for protection from stalkers.

 

[Gattsu25]

Here's hoping she's able to make it and also make a full recovery. That fan is a sick fuck

Let's not act like the other fans of gaming consoles aren't just as bad.

Why the heck would he need to? It was a singular example, not an indictment on a console. lol

 

[JABEE]

I am surprised this doesn't happen more often--or maybe it does and I am just unaware of it. The whole pop idol thing has always come across as really strange to me, like it's an industry built on boys' fake girlfriend fantasies, and its broad net is bound to capture a few crazies who indulge in unhealthy ways.

It's weird how similar all types of fanaticism are. Whether it's Beyonce fans attacking women on Instagram, game fans sending threats, or basically any situation where there are celebrities.

John Lennon was murdered by a crazy person. A fan broke into George Harrision's house and stabbed him over and over again. The only reason he survived to die from cancer was due to Harrison's wife subduing the attacker.

Fans thinks they have ownership over people because they are famous. It's scary.

 

[Mesousa]

Two dozen knife wounds, damn. That must've been the scariest shit ever.

I hope she pulls through.



Nice sweeping generalizations there, buddy. Let's see how you deal with people being that judgemental about your hobbies.

Its actually brilliant marketing when you think about it. You can even see with Onyanko. Somebody figured out these girls don't even have to be able to sing or dance. Just line them up as a substitute pure girlfriends for those chasing an ideal that doesnt even exist in real life and people will give you money for it.

A lot of men got rich behind it.

 

[JABEE]

Its actually brilliant marketing when you think about it. You can even see with Onyanko. Somebody figured out these girls don't even have to be able to sing or dance. Just line them up as a substitute pure girlfriends for those chasing an ideal that doesnt even exist in real life and people will give you money for it.

A lot of men got rich behind it.

And really this is a model that is not new or unique to the entertainment industry.

Look at the Monkees. Look at the way all teen idols have been marketed. The template is as old as the music business. Young sexualized stars with varying levels of musical abilities attracting money from young, emotionally vulnerable fans.

 

[Gentleman Jack]

Let's not act like the other fans of gaming consoles aren't just as bad.

The broader point is about the unhealthy overlap between the things you consume and your own identity, such that an affront to one becomes a reason to lash out.

 

[guek]

I'm surprised she didn't have a body guard, but maybe she's not that high profile to usually need one.

Hopefully she pulls through but two dozen stab wounds...