Getting into BTS: The sense of distance from your bias

Talking about fandom life

The process of getting hooked

I feel like I've spent my life having many biases, one way or another.
The genres have been varied—anime, voice actors, pro-wrestling, Kabuki, Takarazuka, singers, and idols. I'm the type who lacks consistency.

In my case, the process of getting hooked on a bias usually goes like this.

1. Start liking them for their looks or skills

2. Start liking them including their relationships with those around them

3. Start talking about your own interpretation of them

Stage 1 is still a light fan state, but by stage 2, you start going out of your way to collect information, and by stage 3, you have completely fallen into the otaku swamp.
In the case of BTS, starting this note has opened the door to stage 3. It feels like there's no turning back now.

The moment you discard your bias

This is a personal theory I've gained throughout my long time in fandom.

People who get hooked are waiting for the moment they will start to hate them

Loving something intensely is a happy thing.
But having your emotions dominated by someone is also a source of stress.

There is a saying, 'Love turns to hate,' but since love and hate are both transitions from one strong emotion to another, it's a bit different.
Is it like, behind the boiling feeling of 'I love them so much,' you are waiting for a trigger to discard them?

I feel like the more you love someone, the more pronounced this tends to be.
I have met many people who completely discarded a bias they were obsessed with over something incredibly trivial.
In those moments, I understand it as, 'Ah, they were waiting for a trigger to leave; they must have loved them that much.' Good work.

Thanks to this theory, when I find something I want to love for a long time, I feel like I've started to control the sense of distance myself.
I really understand SUGA's stance of 'keeping a distance on purpose to sustain love for music for a long time'.

Multi-faceted expansion of the bottomless swamp

When I first got hooked on BTS, while I was thrilled to feel that familiar excitement of having a 'bias' again, there was a part of me that kept hitting the brakes, telling myself to wait a minute.

The BTS swamp has a fairly obvious scent of danger.
Through their lyrics and live streams, the members' lives and mental worlds are laid bare, so the trap is that it's easy for the psychological distance to shrink.
'If I learn too much about this, I feel like I won't be able to emotionally pull away.'
'It would be dangerous to start reading and interpreting their lyrics and interviews.'
That vibe was clearly transmitted even to a beginner like me.

Also, you can tell a lot from how other fans get hooked, right?
'Yoongi's swamp seems like a one-way street with no exit, Hobi's 'real-love' swamp seems intense, and the maknae line's pulling power is like a dragnet...'

Since there are seven of them, there are many unit combinations (21 ways), and the line divisions based on age and roles are diverse, so they can cater to everyone's tastes.
Of course, something like this is dangerous.

Beginners should start in the shallows

I've been a fan in many different worlds, so whether the fandom is a bit chaotic or the management does something questionable, those things don't bother me much.Rather than not being bothered, it's a life lesson that sometimes it's important to just set things aside and say, 'It is what it is.''Build a shelf in your heart!' is a golden rule I learned from Kazuhiko Shimamoto-sensei.

From Kazuhiko Shimamoto-sensei's 'Gyakkyou Nine'. The No. 1 quote I want to say out loud.

When you try to interpret BTS, the background—the country, history, and language—enters your field of vision as inseparable elements.The layers of the story surrounding them are extremely thick and raw, and it's easy to foresee a situation where 'the more you love them, the more painful it becomes.'After all, the moment I got hooked, they all went off to military service...!

For now, I'll try to engage with them while being selective.
I'm having so much fun right now, and I want to savor this feeling for as long as possible.
I don't want to touch the dangerous parts yet.

That was the conclusion I reached on the spot.
Conversely, you could say it was the moment I decided to have a long-term relationship with BTS.

Currently, I'm avoiding places that give me a sense of danger by putting up a sign that says 'I'll look at this later.'
Once my 'love' piles up and they become a part of my life, I plan to gradually collect those things.If you swim out to the open sea without warming up, you'll drown and die. Beginners have to start in the shallows.

Conclusion

That said, I've started a note, and I'm in the middle of swimming deeper into the swamp myself.I think the thrill of wondering how long I can keep hitting the brakes is also part of the real pleasure of being a fan.

In conclusion, as long as it's fun, anything goes.

[Postscript: I'm screaming in just over a month. It was actually pretty fast]