With all due respect, I don't think "a heads up" is really necessary here. I pride myself in keeping educated and up to date about Johnny's as a whole, and about Sexy Zone. I am well aware of the group's activities and the way the management tends to work with groups with younger members. Here are some facts for you.
1) No one in Japan has been giving Sexy Zone negative press for the name, and Johnny's does not care about the international press, especially on the internet. J-Pop is intended for a Japanese audience, in Japan. If Johnny's cared about what international audiences thought, why would they keep their fanclubs limited to people who live in Japan only? Why would they make it almost impossible for foreign fans to buy concert tickets? Honestly, it really does not matter at all even to, say, an American audience if people say bad things about them on the internet-- One Direction gets tons and tons of criticism on the internet, and yet they are still very popular in America. Never once have I spoken to a Japanese adult who thought that Sexy Zone's name was "creepy" or attractive to "pedos." My coworkers at work, age 30-60 know I like Sexy Zone, and never once has any one of them even so much as laughed at me about it. The way international audiences see Sexy Zone is completely irrelevant.
2) 18 is NOT the age of legal adulthood in Japan; it's 20. Both Shori and Fuma are still "underage" currently. In fact, even if the legal age of adulthood was 18, Shori is only 17 and still would be underage. Fuma and Shori are shown as "sexy" while still being "children" in the eyes of the law, just the same as Marius and Sou, so your explanation does not make sense in this light.
3) Additionally, Johnny's has never cared about showing younger idols as "sexy." Look in any issue of Myojo or Popolo to see Johnny's of all ages shirtless looking sexy. For example, this article of Hey! Say! JUMP is from early 2010, when Chinen was 16 (the same age Sou is now), and Ryutaro was only 14 (Marius's age). The article is even proclaiming that they're sexy. And this picture of Jinguji in the shower is from last year's Myojo, when Jinguji was only 15, younger than Sou is now. Johnny's does not see anything wrong in showing 14~16 year olds as Sexy, so why would it only be a problem with Marius and Sou?
I don't think that being young is the reason Johnny's is treating Marius and Sou badly, simply because what they've done in the past and what they do even now does not support this theory. I respectfully but strongly disagree with your opinion, and I don't think that making excuses for Johnny's helps anyone.
no subject
1) No one in Japan has been giving Sexy Zone negative press for the name, and Johnny's does not care about the international press, especially on the internet. J-Pop is intended for a Japanese audience, in Japan. If Johnny's cared about what international audiences thought, why would they keep their fanclubs limited to people who live in Japan only? Why would they make it almost impossible for foreign fans to buy concert tickets? Honestly, it really does not matter at all even to, say, an American audience if people say bad things about them on the internet-- One Direction gets tons and tons of criticism on the internet, and yet they are still very popular in America. Never once have I spoken to a Japanese adult who thought that Sexy Zone's name was "creepy" or attractive to "pedos." My coworkers at work, age 30-60 know I like Sexy Zone, and never once has any one of them even so much as laughed at me about it. The way international audiences see Sexy Zone is completely irrelevant.
2) 18 is NOT the age of legal adulthood in Japan; it's 20. Both Shori and Fuma are still "underage" currently. In fact, even if the legal age of adulthood was 18, Shori is only 17 and still would be underage. Fuma and Shori are shown as "sexy" while still being "children" in the eyes of the law, just the same as Marius and Sou, so your explanation does not make sense in this light.
3) Additionally, Johnny's has never cared about showing younger idols as "sexy." Look in any issue of Myojo or Popolo to see Johnny's of all ages shirtless looking sexy. For example, this article of Hey! Say! JUMP is from early 2010, when Chinen was 16 (the same age Sou is now), and Ryutaro was only 14 (Marius's age). The article is even proclaiming that they're sexy. And this picture of Jinguji in the shower is from last year's Myojo, when Jinguji was only 15, younger than Sou is now. Johnny's does not see anything wrong in showing 14~16 year olds as Sexy, so why would it only be a problem with Marius and Sou?
I don't think that being young is the reason Johnny's is treating Marius and Sou badly, simply because what they've done in the past and what they do even now does not support this theory. I respectfully but strongly disagree with your opinion, and I don't think that making excuses for Johnny's helps anyone.