The netizens of the Japanese internet contemplate the pros and cons of spending your life savings on your favorite idols…

How much money do you spend on Japanese idol goods? Sure, buying CDs and attending events is all well and good, but more often than not (especially around AKB’s election time), we get news of more… extreme examples of how far hardcore wota are willing to support their favorite idols.

One recent 2ch thread starts with a relative familiar topic: “Almost all my savings goes towards AKB…”. What follows is a set of advice from fellow wota, reflecting on their own spending habits.

• “Is this really okay…? Besides my living expenses, it all goes to AKB […]. I don’t really have any other hobbies…”
• “That’s no good. How old are you?”
• “I’m in my late 20s. I live in a really tiny apartment.”
• “Isn’t that what everyone is like?”
• “If you’re single, don’t have any hobbies, and are older than 40, then yeah it’s okay. But if you’re young, you should really take advantages of the opportunities in life. Like traveling overseas…”
• “I think it’s better to spend money on other things, but I don’t really feel like it.”
• “Of course, I’m single”
• “After your 20s, you’ll definitely regret it! I’m saying this at 35 years old. From 22 to 27, I was a Hello Pro wota, and from 27 I was an AKB wota. I used all my money up. All I do is stay home now. In your 20s, you should be dating all types of girls. I really wish I had a girlfriend like Nishino Miki!”
• “It’s your life, so with regards to the subject of regret… well, life is full of regret, huh.”
• “You should save a regular amount of money – it doesn’t matter how much.”
• “I should probably spend more money on taking care of myself, but I’m not really interested in fashion. I really can’t think of anything else I want to spend my money on.”
• “That’s okay, isn’t it? You should spend as you like. Someday, you’ll look back at this as a fond memory.”
• “Don’t do anything stupid!”
• “Continue forward! BAM! Don’t stand still! BAM” (these are lyrics from River)
• “There isn’t anybody who doesn’t regret the way they spend. Everyone has regrets.”
• “It’s your choice, but I think you should save more. If you try to borrow money for a loan or something, it might be hard if you don’t have any savings.”
• “If you keep going like this, you’ll be a wota at full speed. I really think that’s bad, but if you have no other outlets, then I guess it can’t be helped.”
• “Right now, spending everything on AKB might be okay. But you should save. Even just 10,000 yen a month. One day, there will be a time when AKB is no longer. You might even find a girl. I won’t judge, but even just a little, consider saving some cash.”
• “Well, obviously, you should save money. lol”
• “It doesn’t matter! There are people who gamble, drink, go traveling, buy bikes and cars, or collect things. People use money in different ways.”
• “Do you really use that much? I don’t really think about it, but I usually never spend more than 10- or 20,000 yen. Is it because you focus on only one member?”
• “If you’ve got the courage to give up other things in life because you love idols, that’s wonderful!”

There you have it. Expectedly, saving money is familiar advice, but it’s interesting to see that some wota don’t mind spending their life savings in pursuit of their idols.