Article by Yot, August 8 2004

What makes a fan?
To be quite honest, I believe a fan is anyone supporting an artist/band/whatever. So long as they keep supporting their idols, I consider them to be fans. Without fans…artists can’t survive. There shouldn’t be any restriction on “who’s a fan of so-and-so”. The purpose of an idol is to unify a group of people [fans] with common interests/beliefs and gather different types of people together. I really believe that’s what artists strive for. For example, Gackt and his Dears. All of his Dears are so different…but they share a love for Gackt. That’s what makes them share a common ground.

Should fans make fun of other fans if they think they're stupid?
Absolutely not! A fan is a fan. There shouldn’t be any discrimination. Like I said before, fans (no matter how educated they are of the artist/band/whoever) are what makes their idols live. I know a whole bunch of people who know a hella lot more about Gackt than I do. I know some people who like Gackt and aren’t as knowledgeable as I am. That’s okay. We all still love Gackt and that’s all he can really ask for, right? And for people who want to know more about Gackt, they can ask people for more information on him. There’s bound to be a whole bunch of sites on the internet popping up all-over a Google search about dear Gackt M.S. Camui. And, come on, we weren’t born with “Gackt knowledge”. We all start somewhere, right? So fans should be more considerate and refrain making fun of other fans that don’t know as much about Gackt as they do. People who brag and act all high and mighty pisses me off… >>;;

Do fans have to own a piece of merchandise to be a fan?
Not necessarily. It’d be nice though (but some merchandise can be hella expensive…and people can get low on cash…) to help out Gackt by purchasing his stuff. When I first got into him, I downloaded a couple of his songs to test out if I liked them. Turned out I did (A LOT). And thus I began to pester my older sister (god bless her soul) and my parents to buy me Gackt merchandise. Not a lot of people can ask their parents to order them something “on the internet” (it took my parents 3 years or so to finally give in) so not a lot of people have the privilege of buying Gackt merchandise. But, still, they should still be considered a fan. As I previously made my point in the first paragraph. :) Oh, yes. As Francesca stated in her last opinion, fans who preach about “downloading is evil! Buy Gackt’s CD! Roar!” I think it’s quite hilarious that their brains are full of bullplop and they are indeed hypocrites. Come on. They’ve downloaded music in the past and they KNOW IT. They probably wanna brag about having money and being a “superior fan”. BLAH. When I share my .mp3s I burn from my CD, I always add in a note like: if you like the music (and have money XD) and if you want to hear more…order it on-line! Like I said in the first sentence of this seemingly long paragraph (XP) it’s be really nice if you could purchase Gackt (or any) merchandise. It really would. But, you’re still a fan if you don’t have merchandise (or a lot).

You’re so possessive about Gackt! You won’t ever get to meet him. Get a life.
It’s probably true that not a lot of his fans will ever have the chance to meet Gackt. It’s very unfortunate… But, I admit I’m one of those fans who have a “false hope” of meeting him. At least fans can have the rights to dream, right? I know meeting him (especially if you live overseas) are slim to none, but having so much interest in an artist somehow makes me happier than I normally am (the message he sends through his music to his Dears are very uplifting). Granted, some fans are more possessive (like me sometimes) about the man, but I don’t seem to think they’re dead serious about Gackt only belonging to them. To me, I share Gackt with his other Dears. We’re all of his fans, why do we need to threaten people for his affections? I think Gackt loves all of his fans equally (even if he doesn’t meet all of them). Without them, he wouldn’t be a true artist. Anyways, fans who goes to extreme lengths about threatening to harm any woman in Gackt’s life is probably jealous. I know I’ve done it a couple times; however, it’s just a common human emotion. Everyone gets jealous sometimes (don’t lie…you KNOW you’ve been jealous at one point in your life). We just have to deal with it. It’s not actually like I’m going to grab a machete and chase after Tomoka for being in a nude commercial with Gackt. I just have to fume for a couple seconds and realize Tomoka and Gackt are just friends. And, being a teenaged girl with one of those “crushes” you’re obviously going to feel a bit jealous. It’s pretty normal. It might be an annoying habit, but it dies down soon enough. Or so I hope…