THE iDOLM@STER and your family

[redhairedking]

No one else knows about my love for im@s, though if they did I know for a fact they would not approve.

[Funkies]

I've never come across anyone that's ever had a problem with iM@S, most of my friends and family are pretty accepting of everything I suppose.  My entire family's always been pretty supportive of an individual holding unique interests, just not interests forced upon one by others.  Occasionally I'll get silly questions out of general ignorance from the foster kids, though they usually are more curious than judgmental.  Either way, one can only try to teach these girls that holding your own interests is important.  It's up to that particular kid if she'll succeed in such an endeavor or not.

It's not as simple as that I suppose, but the statement stands.  Only one girl that lived here tried to insult me with my interests, to which I enjoyed a hearty laugh.  She was already the exact opposite of an individual, and due to her misappropriated love for herself (and only herself)... lasted less than two months under this roof.

Other than that I make no attempt to hide what I enjoy, but I am not one to gush on to another about what I suspect to be my personal interest only.  My distantly-related neighbor is the only video gamer/anime fan I know in this town, and his interests are far different than my own.  He loves FPS games, I generally don't.  He likes pretty much only shounen anime, I really don't care for it.  We can still talk about both those subjects, but we have other things that interest us aside from that.  Same goes to anyone else in my family, or those I claim as family but aren't.

Overall, it's all good.

[AweOfShe]

I play Im@s games with my nieces all the time. They always fight over which idol they are; usually over who gets to be Mami, Hibiki, or Iori. It's cute to watch. XD

The rest of my family never question any of the video games I play, since they know I'll pretty much play anything.

[nyachan]

Well, I know he's technically not family, my boyfriend has taken a liking to the series now that I half-forced him to watch the anime. He at first would pass iMAS off as one of those dating sim crap and I would be like "no it's not come on just give it a chance" and I forget how, but he agreed to watch some episodes and enjoyed it. Over winter break he came over and he would be the one asking if we could watch more hehe. His favorites are Iori, Ami, and Mami. Kinda surprised we have a similar preference taste for the girls, but that's good I think. :> I played a bit of iMAS2 while he was over as well and recently while I was talking about the new DLC he said that he actually thinks he would enjoy the game, describing it as "a VN with minigames" (which is prolly a good description, as long as the person you're talking to doesn't assume all VN are eroge/dating sims). He doesn't have a PS3 or PSP, only has a US 360 (and I'm not letting him play dearly stars, it would be impossible for him), though I admit I'm kinda trying to hint he should get a PSP so I could lend him one of my SP versions haha.

My sister also actually started playing iMAS for reals now on the PS3, but she doesn't like playing when I'm not home because she relies on me for translation. My translations get kinda funny when I'm tired and don't match the emotion (ex: reading a yayoi line sounding half asleep), but she does enjoy it. :> I feel bad when I miss the line and can't translate it well for her though. :<

which reminds me my sister still hasn't finished watching aniMAS yet. :V she stopped watching at episode 20 because she got sick of watching it on streaming sites and wanted to watch it on the TV hooked up to my laptop.

[JNiles]

Ha ha, that brings back memories of the era of reading scripts to unsubbed anime.  It's especially hilarious when the reader and the character's voices don't match up well.

[TaKai]

My sis' father is aware of Idolm@ster paint schemes all over my Ace Combat 6 and Ace Combat: Assault Horizon planes. He claimed that if fighter planes were painted like that and flew all over the world we'd have world peace. Otherwise he sometimes berates me for not playing a "manly game" whenever I played IM@S before the disc cracked. I'm hesitant to display my Haruka figure (let alone any other stuff I may have) due to this.

My sis observes quietly whenever I played IM@S and sometimes wonders why a game such as this exists. Like her father, she berates me for not playing "manly games" or games aimed towards a male audience....

Her mother thinks I'm going through a rough patch and is more worried that I'm more interested in IM@S over games like GTA4 and Skyrim (or any other game with blood, gore, and violence for that matter).

[SakuraMaxX]

Parents don't really care, though my father used to joke about me potentially being a pedophile and he kept asking me if I was serious about putting the Chihaya decals on my F-15E model kit.  He also said it was a disgusting idea.

Friends think it's a little odd, especially the fact that I went out of my way to get a Japanese Xbox 360.  The friends who dislike it the most are the ones I offer rides to, since my car iPod has some iM@S music in it.  Imagine you're a person who doesn't like iM@S music, and you're in the passenger seat of a car whose driver goes 80-90MPH on the freeway on average.  Not an ideal situation for most of my  friends.

[Cael K.]

My sis' father is aware of Idolm@ster paint schemes all over my Ace Combat 6 and Ace Combat: Assault Horizon planes. He claimed that if fighter planes were painted like that and flew all over the world we'd have world peace. Otherwise he sometimes berates me for not playing a "manly game" whenever I played IM@S before the disc cracked. I'm hesitant to display my Haruka figure (let alone any other stuff I may have) due to this.

My sis observes quietly whenever I played IM@S and sometimes wonders why a game such as this exists. Like her father, she berates me for not playing "manly games" or games aimed towards a male audience....

Her mother thinks I'm going through a rough patch and is more worried that I'm more interested in IM@S over games like GTA4 and Skyrim (or any other game with blood, gore, and violence for that matter).

Wait, your parents are worried that you don't play video games with violence, crime, and wonton destruction? Wow, that's new. Maybe you should show them Death Smiles or Higurashi or something. ^^

One guy I know drew similarities between Im@s and Monster Rancher. Makes a bit of sense - replace monsters with idols, and training with lessons and promotions. RPG equips become (good) songs and costumes. Combat is Beatmania (Lite). Gameplay-wise, much better than mash A for attack, right? I like the music, too, that really helps.

Friends think it's a little odd, especially the fact that I went out of my way to get a Japanese Xbox 360.  The friends who dislike it the most are the ones I offer rides to, since my car iPod has some iM@S music in it.  Imagine you're a person who doesn't like iM@S music, and you're in the passenger seat of a car whose driver goes 80-90MPH on the freeway on average.  Not an ideal situation for most of my  friends.

I knew a guy that listened to anime music that was known for driving triple digits on a regular basis. Once he drove through a hurricane like that - and people were with him. Glad I wasn't one of them... O_o

But seriously, people get scared when you drive 80-90 on the highway? It's a straight frickin' line.

[TaKai]

Wait, your parents are worried that you don't play video games with violence, crime, and wonton destruction? Wow, that's new. Maybe you should show them Death Smiles or Higurashi or something. ^^

One guy I know drew similarities between Im@s and Monster Rancher. Makes a bit of sense - replace monsters with idols, and training with lessons and promotions. RPG equips become (good) songs and costumes. Combat is Beatmania (Lite). Gameplay-wise, much better than mash A for attack, right? I like the music, too, that really helps.

See, I'm not quite sure which is worse; being berated for not playing a "manly" enough game (Take GTA4 for example) or being asked if I'm psychologically stable when I have a Haruka figurine on display in my room.

[animagic4u]

You guys make me laugh.

Girls think I'm weird for my collections of scantily clad bishoujo figures, dakimakuras, posters, eroge, manga...etc.
My friends have read iDOLM@STER doujinshi only because they didn't really know it was im@s and have talked to me about how hot a certain characters are...it makes me laugh.

The only thing my parents have to say about this game/series is that it doesn't quite seem Japanese. The girls look too American to them.

[TaKai]

My friends think I've gone off the deep end whenever I mention starting a figure collection or buying manga, posters, and the like. My sis isn't helping either cause all she does is spread discussions about my interest in such things to all of her friends. The only time I'm not seen as a weirdo in class is when I raise my hand to answer a (rather easy) Physics or Math question; because when that happens I'm seen as a show-off.

I'm rather hesitant when it comes to buying this stuff now.

[SakuraMaxX]

Some of my friends don't understand my interest in anime too much (I've only met one person at school who likes iM@S and he isn't that big into it), but if I have any outward expressions of my interest, they're usually very subtle, like the aniM@S silhouette artwork on my iPad, or the Makoto keyring on my car keys.  I'm not the one wearing a ton of anime related t-shirts to school or participating in the anime club (more like brony, yaoi, and Hetalia club) or such.

I knew a guy that listened to anime music that was known for driving triple digits on a regular basis. Once he drove through a hurricane like that - and people were with him. Glad I wasn't one of them... O_o

But seriously, people get scared when you drive 80-90 on the highway? It's a straight frickin' line.

Well starting from about 50 and going to 80-90 in the course of 4 seconds and dodging traffic kinda scares them.

[JNiles]

Once you get to the point of moving out of your parents' home, all those issues will go away.

Sometimes it's good to be old.

[chikorita157]

Her mother thinks I'm going through a rough patch and is more worried that I'm more interested in IM@S over games like GTA4 and Skyrim (or any other game with blood, gore, and violence for that matter).

That is very counterintuitive since I'm not a big fan of violent games and prefer more of the RPGs, platformers and stuff. What's wrong with producing a female idol and all that good stuff when the Producer is susposively a male character. Different culture I suppose, but I definitely prefer it over the rehashes of Call of Duty and stuff.

As for me, my parents don't really care, although I was questioned by my sister on why I wanted the game for Christmas.

[Funkies]

I'm rather hesitant when it comes to buying this stuff now.

You're surrounded by unsupportive people, but don't let that stop ya from indulging in your interests.  It doesn't have to specifically be buying figures, displaying posters, or wearing anime related clothing.  Those things are sure nice, but they don't dictate what you can and can't like.  What you enjoy isn't dangerous, and social stereotypes are rarely positive (in regards to the "be a man" comment).  If they want to push a stereotype on you?  Try to express why your individuality (through simple interests in entertainment no less) is important to you. Those interests you hold are far from dangerous, they should respect your appreciation for something unique and harmless.

Stick to your guns, enjoy what you enjoy, and try your best not to worry about detractors.  There'll come a time when you won't have to worry, just have some patience.  Good luck and stick with it!