THE iDOLM@STER > Characters
The Idols' Ages??
TTB:
--- Quote from: Elixir on May 13, 2012, 11:47:44 am ---I would prefer if they all were 25 or older, looking 25 or older. The target demographic wouldn't change at all... I thought they'd slowly release titles progressing each year, since the sequel is set a year ahead, but it seems unlikely at this stage.
--- End quote ---
The first idea is curious, they would all be Christmas Cake (jk) :3
The second idea is fascinating! That would be a great thing to see the idols grow! But very risky and not guaranteed to be lucrative... :(
--- Quote ---The age discrimination in Japan is off-putting though, where anyone over the age of 30 is "old".
--- End quote ---
It's not just in Japan. I'm in NYC, my little sister is 15 and her sweet 16 is coming up soon. I caught her sighing before and asked her what was up, she said she's getting "old". I told her "I know what you mean", I'm in my 20's and lament my aging, having to worry about my health and what I eat now, no shaving cream with alcohol it dries out the skin and can cause wrinkles, use whitening toothpaste, whiter teeth is associated with looking younger, thank the powers that be I still look young given my general appearance, I could even pass for an 18 or 19 year old as soon as I lose a few more pounds, or look my actual age if I dress with some decorum.
As a guy I'm VERY thankful that we are not cursed with the unjust and unrealistic standards imposed on women by most societies of the present day. And not having to put on make-up or pluck eyebrows or any of that other stuff that takes up so much time.
Anyway as for your last line about perceptions of over 30 being old, I would adjust those numbers of what societies are thinking to -
America:
Female =
Baby 1-4
Girl 5-12
Teen 13-16
Young Lady 17-21
Lady 22-25
MILFriend 26-39
Ma'am 40-59
Grandma 60+
Male =
Baby 1-4
Boy 5-14
Teen 15-19
Guy 20-29
Man 30-64
Gramps 65+
Japan:
Female =
Baby (Youjo) 1-4
Girl (Bishoujo) 5-12
Teen (Josei/Oneechan) 13-15
Woman (Onna) 16-23
Why is she not married yet... *suspicious* (Ke-ki) 24-26
Wonder how much prettier she was when she was young... (obasan) 27-32
Invisible unless you're family (Kusobaba) 33+
Male =
Baby (Otoko no Ko) 1-4
Boy (Shounen/Boku) 5-15
Guy (Seinen) 16-23
Salaryman (Ossan) 24-39
Gramps (Ojisan) 40+
Again this is not what I personally think, but my feeling of where the societal boundaries are at approximately; it's a distinct double-standard and widely prevalent and horribly unfair. As for the U.S. numbers being lower, my little sister and her friends are stylish and smart, and this is their attitude pretty much, the numbers are getting smaller.
P.S. the lady in your avatar is really sexy, what is her name :3
RoninatorMarx:
Sorry. I've structured my reply that you get one big answer if you piece them together. Anyway...
--- Quote from: TTB on May 13, 2012, 11:02:33 am ---How can anyone have an age preference that goes to single digits? If a fan likes an idol and see they're a year or two or three above or below any number are they going to like them less? Isn't it the case that it's 99% how the idol looks and acts? What amount of change would could a number do to those two factors? There are many characters that look young but get slapped with an "18" or "actually 700 years old" tag.
So if Miki looks like she could be 16 or 18, why deliberately choose 14?
--- End quote ---
Age preference that's of single digits? Simple. Lolicons. That, or young players. Like 10-12 young.
In retrospect, not a lot of people care about age. At least, it doesn't stop them from their usual fan-tasies. [/lame pun] But if I have to guess, Miki's age was set to 14 just to reinforce the gaijin-are-fast-growers thing she marketed since debut.
--- Quote from: TTB on May 13, 2012, 11:02:33 am ---As I wrote in the OP, physical traits don't absolutely correlate to any specific age number when everyone involved is growing up and going through puberty anyway. And yes the idols' characterization contains many well-known tropes, but none of those tropes are number specific.
--- End quote ---
Exactly. None of those tropes are age-specific. Hence the age thing is just more of making it sound convincing to the audience than anything else.
--- Quote from: TTB on May 13, 2012, 11:02:33 am ---What theme is that? Please elaborate.
--- End quote ---
Sorry. I should've said "themes". And by that, I mean the traits and stereotypes.
--- Quote from: TTB on May 13, 2012, 12:43:44 pm ---P.S. the lady in your avatar is really sexy, what is her name :3
--- End quote ---
Reiko Takahashi, a Cinderella Girl. (Look again in your chart- She's at top)
TTB:
--- Quote from: RoninatorMarx on May 13, 2012, 01:42:18 pm ---Sorry. I've structured my reply that you get one big answer if you piece them together. Anyway...
--- End quote ---
I'm not sure what you're posting sorry for, but I appreciate the thought! Thank you! :)
--- Quote ---Age preference that's of single digits? Simple. Lolicons. That, or young players. Like 10-12 young.
--- End quote ---
Um... I thought we could get banned for discussing such things... hopefully I've misunderstood...
With regards to persons with such chronophilias, does the number really matter to them (down to a specific age, not tolerating a deviation even more than a single year)? Do you truly believe that these executives/directors sat around a boardroom table reviewing and finalizing the details of this production and the key data for the characters that will sustain their multi-million dollars invested project and this dialogue happened:
Executive Producer: "Just checking but, Miki looks at least 16, why is the number 14 being put next to her name again?"
Chief Marketing Consultant: "Remember we have customers for 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 and so on, each number has to be represented to cover all our bases."
Executive Procuer: "Oh right, I forgot that our operating principles included: 1. That a not insignificant number of the target customers will care about such minutiae. And 2. That in recognition of these... precise... preferences... we will be changing details to address such... concerns... Thank you for reminding me, otherwise a large number of potential Miki fans would have been lost if the number next to her name had been 16 or 18 instead of 14."
Art Director: "The only ones who will fret over such details are those who are intimately concerned with the specific numbers. Everyone else who notices any discrepancies will just shrug and forget about it. It's a safe way to hedge our bets."
Intern thinking: "lol my glorious Nippon... what happened to you...?"
/EndScript
Why would younger players care about age? Is a 12 year-old boy going to lose his crush for Chihaya if she's 16 instead of 15? Kids that age don't generally think that deeply about such things as the fantasy age of a fantasy character in their romantic fantasy... right?
--- Quote ---In retrospect, not a lot of people care about age. At least, it doesn't stop them from their usual fan-tasies. [/lame pun]But if I have to guess, Miki's age was set to 14 just to reinforce the gaijin-are-fast-growers thing she marketed since debut.
--- End quote ---
Ahh! Gaijin grow fast and have ample bosoms! I had forgotten about that trope! Yes that makes sense! And you just reminded me of a line from Ep 1 where one of the girls says to Miki after she goes "afu" and plops on the couch asleep again: "nerukko wa sodattsu ne" "They say sleeping girls grow faster"
--- Quote ---Exactly. None of those tropes are age-specific. Hence the age thing is just more of making it sound convincing to the audience than anything else.
--- End quote ---
Hmmm, what do they need convincing of? Does the number somehow affect the appearance personality or character of any of the idols in some way? I suppose you're stating that the designers of the game operated on the principle that a number of their customers think it would indeed have an effect...
It really seems like a constructed and unrealistic detail to be concerned with... In other words that the number doesn't really have any kind of definite effect.... that Chihaya for example wouldn't necessarily be a different character just because the number 16 instead of 15 was next to her name in her profile.
--- Quote ---Sorry. I should've said "themes". And by that, I mean the traits and stereotypes.
--- End quote ---
Roger that.
--- Quote ---Reiko Takahashi, a Cinderella Girl. (Look again in your chart- She's at top)
--- End quote ---
Thank you! Wow she's at the top of the chart!? I will look into her character, OLs are nice 8)
***EDIT*** Oh hey she really IS at the top of the chart! lol! :D
Daverost:
--- Quote from: TTB on May 13, 2012, 07:56:55 am ---Here is a chart I just found (lol 9 to 31...), although it seems all the numbers are bigger by one compared to the info on the wiki:
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I don't know if anyone addressed this, but the ages on the wiki are from the original series and the ages on the chart are from 2nd Vision (iM@S2 going forward).
SakuraMaxX:
Because Cinderella Girls was established after iM@S 2, along with the fact that the Cinderella Girls cards use the iM@S 2 character designs.
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