In the Mega Church | Reading Diary

Good evening🌙
Today's reading diary is about Ryo Asai's "In the Mega Church."

This work is themed around the "oshi-katsu" (fan activity) trend that has been a hot topic in recent years. It is a story told from the perspectives of three people: the one manipulating the fan activity, the one becoming obsessed with it, and the one who used to be involved in it. It is the winner of this year's Japan Booksellers' Award.

I recently started my own fan activities, so I picked up this book to try and view myself objectively.

※Today's post is just me writing down my thoughts as they come, so I apologize if it's difficult to read.

The first thing I felt while reading was
the high resolution of Ryo Asai's expressions.

The book delves so deeply into fan activities that I wondered, "How do you know so much about this...?" I was overwhelmed by the author's depth of knowledge and power of expression.

In a world where we are told to "broaden our horizons!", the idea that one can find happiness by intentionally narrowing them is something I had never considered before.

Because it is a world where it is hard to see the right answer, everyone is looking for a place to find solace, and even when they realize the essence of it, they pretend not to notice.

Using "cult leader and followers" to represent "idol and fan" was very novel, and I feel it is a satire of the modern age.

Man. It was a work that really pierced my heart, and I feel like I was able to look at myself from a bit of a distance, hoping not to get too obsessed with my own fan activities.

I think it was a work that allowed me to see the essence of human nature, which anyone who has something they love—not just limited to fan activities—could potentially fall into.

It's a bit long at 444 pages, but I finished it in the blink of an eye and feel a bit sad now...

It's only available in hardcover, so I think it might be a bit pricey as a book, but it was a work worth reading.

Please give it a read!!!