My stance on MaoJun

Do I think they are actually dating? The hell if I know. I'm not Mao and I'm not Jun. 

Would I like it if they were dating? HELL YES. 

Would I be upset if they were not dating? Absolutely not. Mao and Jun are there own people, I'm not going to dictate their lives for them. 

What do I think of all the tabloid articles? As a general principle, I rarely believe tabloids unless it contains an actual interview from the person themselves. So tabloids that are like "a friend of a friend said Mao and Jun are dating" I do not believe. The tabloid articles that have more direct interviews (Like the recent Josei Jishin one) I'm more inclined to believe, but unfortunately, usually those interviews give us no actual information whatsoever. 

What do I think about Mao's answers in the recent Josei Jishin article? I'm conflicted. I'm honestly very, very conflicted. Which is actually why I decided to make this post. 

The thing is - I've loved MaoJun for a very long time, and yes, it started from HYD obviously. But no, I do not like them because they are "Makino" and "Domyouji". In fact, as a Jun fan I am absolutely adamant that he is not Domyouji Tsukasa. He is Matsumoto  Jun. I like MaoJun because I genuinely think Inoue Mao, the actress, and Matsumoto Jun, the idol, are very cute together. 

I have a lot of issues with HYD - especially now that I'm older. The story has always made me uncomfortable for a lot of reasons, but I looooove watching the backstage stuff of HYD because I genuinely love MatsuJun during this era. You see such a huge gap between MatsuJun during HYD promos and MatsuJun when he's with Arashi. I always found it hilarious when people said MatsuJun was a diva, tried too hard to be cool, had a stick up his ass, because if you watch Jun when he does promos for HYD, he is all over the place. He is an absolute dork. And yes - you can say that's "Domyouji" but have you seen Jun now? Jun has always been a dork, and he let that dork come out during HYD promos more often than he let that side come out when he was with Arashi. You could tell the guy loved the drama and his costars. And no - it's not just because he was with his current BFF Oguri Shun, he had a lot of fun with Mao too. 

The thing with Mao is that she got away with so much shit when it came to Jun. If you know my tumblr and read my essay about why I like Matsumiya - the reasons I like MaoJun is very similar, but presented in different ways. During HYD days, Mao pulled out a different side of Jun and she was able to interact with Jun in a way no one else was able to do. You can say whatever you want - you can say it was like siblings, just friends, that's fine - that is up to your interpretation. I mean, it's the same with Matsumiya - you can say their interactions are just between friends too. But Mao was able to tease Jun, she was able to poke fun at him, she was able to jump on his back with no consequence (and Jun has said a number of times he hates it when people do this, and yet when Mao did it he barely even flinched?). She literally poked him on TV. Name me one Arashi member who would have the guts to go and poke MatsuJun in between the ribs during an interview? Name me one. And just the smile he has on his face in some of the off-shoot photos they have for HYD. You can tell, that is the smile of a guy who is talking to someone he really enjoys being with (again, friends, crush, whatever your interpretation, I'm just saying Jun looked like he was really happy). 

Mao is one of Jun's friends. Full stop. Period. I don't think you can deny that. She is part of the Oguri Shun circle and there have been reports from other celebrities (so not just "friend of a friend of an aunt" stories) that have mentioned meeting both Mao and Jun, together, with Shun. They are friends. 

Whether they are more has, and for now will still be, up to speculation. 

The thing is though, all the rumours and the tabloid articles and the entire situation of MaoJun leaves a really bad taste in my mouth.

Don't get me wrong, I still love MaoJun. For me, shipping them isn't so much about whether they are real or not. For me, shipping MaoJun is all about their interactions together - and they are a great pairing. It's why I still like Nino/Masami as a pair too - they were super adorable together in Yasashii Jikan. Terribly awkward together now though sadly. 

But the way that MaoJun  has been presented lately to the public just makes me so upset. It's upsetting because what should have been something relatively innocent and happy and simple, two costars who could be dating, has turned into an absolute mess of people judging Mao, or Jun, or MaoJun fans. There is just so much negativity and criticism on all sides and it's just... *sigh*. 

For people who judge Mao:

They judge her because they think she is using the dating rumours to keep her popularity. I genuinely do not understand this, and this is honestly something I see much more on the international side than the Japanese side. You look at the comments in Yahoo!Japan for the latest Josei Jishin interview and 90% of the comments are from people saying that Mao deserves better and she should dump Jun ASAP. Honestly, Mao doesn't need these rumours. You're right, she's not Ishihara Satomi or Ayase Haruka. She's not topping lists of "actresses I want to date" and "actresses with pretty lips", but to say that Mao is an unpopular and failing actress is absolutely wrong. There are different ways a person can be considered a good A-list actress, and in terms of being on the A-list, Mao is definitely up there. She may not be pushed as hard as other actresses but that's also because she's a) not from a big company and b) that's not the type of image they are trying to sell for her. 

If you follow her even a bit - like literally even a TINY bit, you would realize she is very respected in the industry. People are only judging her on her recent taiga flop, but they fail to realize that just before and after her taiga she did two NODA Map stageplays with some very big name actors - Eita, Matsu Takako, Abe Sadao. Yes, the taiga didn't do so well, but to say that Mao has since then become unpopular is really ignorant. You don't need to be in every single drama and move to be considered a good actress. 

Sure, you can say that she's unpopular because she didn't do anything for an entire year, but you ever stop to consider that might have been Mao's choice? Clearly something was going on behind the scenes that resulted in her quitting her company, being a free-agent for a couple months before signing on to a new one. Why not we wait a bit until her next couple projects to see if she really is a "lost cause" as some people are so willing to make her out to be. 

Trust me, she doesn't need to piggy back on Jun to "keep afloat". She can do it all on her own. 

For People Judging Jun

Ironically - as the Jun fan, I think I identify more with these people. Although, a lot of people are judging Jun because of the possible affair he had. I honestly still don't know what to think of that affair. Like I said, I am very skeptical of tabloids, but I'm also the type of person who knows that their idols are not squeaky clean saints who can do no wrong. Also, the affair culture in Japan is very different. 

At the same time (ok, I'm going to go on a bit of an aside here for the affair) - there are just so many things about the article that make no sense to me. Forget the "photo" evidence and the fact that Jun said he doesn't know her, when other reports say that they met during the funeral wake of Nakamura Kanzaburo. Okay - first. Had an affair for 4 years. Four years. And this is addressed to the Mao fans here (and this is coming from someone who doesn't really consider themself a Mao fan) - can you guys give Mao more credit? I really don't see Mao as the type of girl who wouldn't notice her boyfriend cheating on her for four years. You're telling me not a single mutual friend had the heart to turn to her tell her what was going on? You're telling me that she really remained oblivious? I'm a fan of Jun, I love Jun, but even I think that amount of planning and sneaking around is amazing. Like holy shit if Jun was really able to pull that off I'd be kind of impressed. 

No, but in all seriousness. Four years is just nuts. I find it really hard to believe no one found it, or that literally everyone in the situation decided to take Jun's side and leave Mao to suffer on the sidelines. Not only this - but if they really did have an affair, I'm going to take the high road here and be like those Yahoo Japan fans - MAO SHOULD DUMP HIS SORRY ASS. Not only should she dump his ass, but all his friends too. She deserves better. I love Jun, but I also respect Mao a lot.  I think Mao is a great person. If Jun had an affair, she deserves better than him. Hell - even if Jun didn't have the affair, there are still moments where I think she deserves better than  him.

Also - another thing. Okay - so he had an affair on Mao. But how the hell is it that no one was able to catch him and Mao on a date (when they've supposedly been dating for 10+ years), and after four years of having an affair he manages to slip up so badly that the girl gets photographed three times within a single month? Like really? The current situation and what we've seen from the past (literally nothing?) just doesn't add up at all. You could take this as an "well that means MaoJun isn't real" or as "the affair was a set up" either way it works. But, you got to admit it's kind of weird. 

Ultimately, where most of my frustration lies in this whole situation is the fact that Jun (and J&A) has continued to remain silent this entire time. 

It is always Mao who is making the comments. It's always Mao being ambushed. Mao being questioned about her relationship with Jun. Jun never gets asked anything and I find it insulting to Mao. She is so much more than her relationship to Jun. She won an academy award, got amazing ratings for the NHK morning drama, hosted Kouhaku and won. And yet all people do is continue to ask her about her impending marriage with Jun, while Jun continues to skip off in to the sun set. And then people  have the gall to say that Mao is using this as a way to boost her popularity and it's all her fault. Are you people serious? J&A profits off these rumours just as much as Mao does, and they can profit without having to do anything. They profit but just keeping silent and throwing her under the damn bus.

I really, really hope that some reporter actually has the guts to ask Jun about Mao (or the affair) during Narratage promos because honestly, for all the fans who blame Mao for everything under the sun - Jun and J&A are in just as much fault. If they hated the rumours so much, they could have come out and said something. Jun could've come out and said something. But they never have. So it's completely unfair to just harp on Mao, when it's Jun who gets the easier ride by remaining silent and pretending this whole thing doesn't even exist. To all the people saying "Jun is being hurt by this" - no, he really isn't. 

Another thing though, knowing about the way Jun treats his friends, I find it hard to believe that IF MaoJun were only friends, he would be ok with these rumours unless they (and their respective companies) are tied to some agreement that we're not aware of. The entertainment industry is ridiculously shady and it wouldn't surprise me if both J&A and Mao's former, and I guess current company, are using these rumours together for... whatever reason. At the same time though, if the companies are using these rumours for some shady stuff, if Mao and Jun don't get married it ends up backfiring for literally everyone? If Jun and Mao really do have different significant others, I feel like both of them are smart enough to realize that this rumour needs to die or it's going to fuck up any plans they have for the future. Hell, I feel like just as friends, I don't see Jun being okay with another one of his friends being dragged under the bus like this unless there is some agreement going on that we're totally unaware of. Remember Jun during that HYD-F "Love Love MatsuJun" thing on HnA? He was whining the whole time about them bugging his co-stars, I really don't see Jun being the type to be like "oh, sure, let's have Mao take the brunt of this affair thing".

Again, some people might use this as an argument that it clearly means Mao is using this as a ploy to up her popularity, but I really don't see it. She is well respected within the industry already and I feel like comparing her to other female actresses is unfair. Mao has never been marketed that way, and this is the girl who after HYD decided to take a break to finish her university studies. She really doesn't need Jun as a stepping stone. 

Bottom line:

The MaoJun situation right now just really confuses me. After the affair article in particular, I figured that they would drop the topic, but the recent Josei Jishin article shows that clearly, MaoJun has yet to die. 

But the thing is - the fact that the affair article exists means that it's not going to be all rainbows and sunshine. People are going to continue to bring this up. I mean - overall it seems like Jun's career really hasn't been affected, but I just really don't see how this relationship can still go well with so much negative speculation. And the worst thing is, no one is saying anything. Which is even more frustrating. Why won't either side say anything? I feel like MaoJun is at this point where they could be confirmed and no one would bat an eyelash, so part of me feels like because they're keeping silent it is all just fake and a way for both companies to.... gain some random publicity? I DON'T KNOW. The puzzle pieces don't add up!

Honestly all I really want is for Jun - because you know it has to be Jun and the J&A side, to come out and make an official statement about the affair and about MaoJun. So far they have chosen to remain silent about both which could mean a lot of things for BOTH sides. There are valid arguments to people who stand on both sides because at the end of the day we don't know anything. 

I like MaoJun. I really do. I still do. But I hate what has become of them in the eyes of the public. It's all just so much speculation and negativity as people argue it out on who gets the "short end of the stick". I will happily keep shipping them in my heart, but in general, I wish the idea of "MaoJun" as a couple would just go away. I'm so tired. I'm upset at how negatively fandom treats this topic. 

Ultimately, I just want both of them to be happy and successful in their careers and I wish people would just stop being such assholes about the whole thing. >_>