There's a brand new youth idol in Japan, Eguchi Aimi, a young girl with a sweet voice, a perfectly pretty face, mischievous eyes, enchanting smile and funny expressions. An ideal and adorable girl, so ideal for real. She is a technological marvel constructed in 3D based on the image of 6 beautiful girls, another product of marketing. An evolution of virtual idol that conquers Japan in all variety of fields; made to measure superstar.
Japan is far away. Between us there's a culture abyss, but perhaps our consumer habits are not all that different. In fact, what difference is there between Aimi and any gleaming international pop stars? Aren't they also products of media laboratories, moulded by experts of marketing, with bodies carved and chiselled by skilled means or surgical knife to previously sketched out images. Aimi is a mascot produced by the industry of idols for the masses. Human stars might make many mistakes or self destructive like Amy (Winehouse) but Aimi is always under control and behave exactly how you want her to behave.
The perversity is that Aimi seems somehow manages to deceive thousands of fans that believing her to be really of flesh and blood. They see and feel what the industry want them to. An authentic virtual world inlaid and decorated with layers of inserted materials for the real world. Nothing new but yes, more sophisticated. The definitive disappearance of the limits between the truth and fiction. Shuddering thought.
