Fan Status 2014: Hey! Say! JUMP

This is probably going to be the hardest one for me to write as I no longer feel certain where I stand with Hey! Say! JUMP.

I have loved the group for years but I feel that love waning over the past year or so, and even though the group is getting more active again I cannot seem to be able to get as hyped as I once was for them.

Perhaps it is because they come off as being directionless and I just do not get a good sense from the members that they really want to push for something as a group. Like you almost never hear of the members of the group going to management to ask to do something like you hear about some other groups doing. I think HSJ as a whole is just happy to let the group be in management's hands for the most part and I find it hard to get behind a group like that.

And being someone who has followed the group since the beginning I feel like there was a lot of potential that was failed to be realized.

I still like Takaki Yuya, but I just cannot seem to keep my interest with the rest of the members. I keep trying but it is starting to feel like a chore than something natural like it once was. Since Takaki remains the exception I will definitely at least keep up with him and be able to keep my eye on the group because of that. And I do like to watch Yamada Ryosuke and Nakajima Yuto in dramas, so that news I will keep an ear out for as well.

I still want to keep giving the group a chance. Their next album seems like a perfect opportunity to do so. While I loved their first album I was mixed about their second one. And I am someone that has to genuinely enjoy the music for idol groups so if this third album is a dud to me then I do not think I can keep really being a fan of the group.

It pains me a lot to realize that I am losing my fan status for this group. I can still remember all the excitement I had for them when they debuted and having to defend them from other Johnny's fans that insisted that they were too young to debut. Then dealing with the long waits between releases, which I am surprised did not end my love for the group then. But being their fan is starting to feel more like a chore than a pleasure, so I just do not think it is right to hold on if that is the case.

Who knows, maybe I will watch something or their next single will hit all the right buttons for me or something and my love will be rekindled. Or perhaps this is just a phase and I will eventually come back to the group one day. But for now I fail to see the point in clinging to a group that I just do not enjoy like I did before.