Though maybe that shouldn’t have been such a surprise with this particular underground idol unit.

Iroha Tanaka is an idol singer, at least for the time being. This week, though, she announced that she’ll be leaving Hiroshima-based idol unit Planck Stars in the fall, and a major reason is that she thinks the group’s otaku fans are “nasty.”

▼ “All of you, address me as ‘Tanaka-sama,’” commands Tanaka in this tweet from last spring.

https://twitter.com/plasta_iroha/status/1381596546542657536

Becoming an idol pretty much guarantees that you’ll come into some degree of contact with obsessive fans, since it’s really the otaku interest and perceived audience/performer interaction that set the idol industry apart from the rest of the Japanese music sector. Planck Stars’ fanbase, though, is a unique brand of unusual, as the underground/indie idol group’s performances are a mix of idol dance routines and punk-style mosh pits, with plenty of crowd-surfing thrown in for good measure.

While some idol groups play up a sexy image with revealing costumes, it looks like at Planck Stars’ concerts, it’s the fans who’re likely to show off exposed flesh, as seen in this shirtless scene from a show in May.

This doesn’t appear to be a case of rowdy fans ironically going against the grain of Planck Stars’ wholesome, demure sensibilities, either. In this video, the lyrics start off with an assortment of slang terms for breasts, vagina, and penis.

But while Planck Stars very much leans into this edgy image, it’s all become a bit too much for Tanaka. In June, the group announced that she would be going on hiatus, citing her statement that “The style of our concerts is filthy and nasty, and it’s psychologically impossible [for me to do them anymore]),” and “I’ve come to feel the otaku are nasty to the same extent, and have reached my mental limit.”

▼ “Filthy” can apply in a literal sense to Planck Stars’s concerts. Here, the unit’s official account warmheartedly thanks fans for coming to their show while sharing a photo of the venue’s floor following the performance, now caked with fish guts, watermelon rinds, shampoo, and skin lotion.

Planck Stars and Tanaka have now announced that her hiatus will be continuing until the end of August, and that after skipping her two previously planned summer appearances, she’ll officially be retiring from the group in September. “The time I spent with everyone in Planck Stars was fun,” Tanaka tweeted, “and I’m sorry that things turned out this way. I can’t really put my feelings into words very well, but thank you.” Her final time to take the stage is scheduled for September 19, and she adds “For those of you who have the time to stop by, I’d like the chance to say goodbye.”

https://twitter.com/plasta_iroha/status/1411972345833484291

Given how Planck Stars plays up its wild and crazy side, it’s sort of hard to imagine Tanaka didn’t expect any degree of rowdiness from the fans, but perhaps it was all several degrees more than she’d envisioned. Either way, it’s clear that she’s decided that this isn’t the life for her, and thankfully she’s getting to move on to something else.

Source: Sponichi Annex via Yahoo! Japan News via Hachima Kiko
Top image: Pakutaso (edited by SoraNews24)
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