Patrick W. Galbraith is a Lecturer of Media and Cultural Studies at Senshu University in Tokyo, Japan. Based on over a decade of fieldwork in the Akihabara area of Tokyo, his most recent publication is Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan (2019).Jason G. Karlin is Associate Professor of Media and Gender Studies at the University of Tokyo, Japan. He is author of Gender and Nation in Meiji Japan (2014) and co-editor with Patrick W. Galbraith of Idols and Celebrity in Japanese Media Culture (2012) and Media Convergence in Japan (2016).

• List of Figures and TablesNote on Japanese Names and WordsIntroduction1 The Birth and Evolution of Idols in Japan2 The Democratization of Idols3 “Idols That You Can Meet”4 The Affective Economics of the Idol Industry5 The General Election 6 Toward a Critical Political Economy of Idols7 The Ordinary as Extraordinary8 Tears of the Idol 9 The Labor of Love10 Female Fans as Aspirational Consumers11 Placebo Idols12 AKB48 in the Global ImaginationConclusionNotesReferences Index

Whatever you thought you knew about AKB48, I can guarantee it's just the tip of the iceberg ... Galbraith and Karlin write with authority ... [and] not a hint of sensationalizing.

Patrick W. Galbraith is a Lecturer of Media and Cultural Studies at Senshu University in Tokyo, Japan. Based on over a decade of fieldwork in the Akihabara area of Tokyo, his most recent publication is Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan (2019).Jason G. Karlin is Associate Professor of Media and Gender Studies at the University of Tokyo, Japan. He is author of Gender and Nation in Meiji Japan (2014) and co-editor with Patrick W. Galbraith of Idols and Celebrity in Japanese Media Culture (2012) and Media Convergence in Japan (2016).

• List of Figures and TablesNote on Japanese Names and WordsIntroduction1 The Birth and Evolution of Idols in Japan2 The Democratization of Idols3 “Idols That You Can Meet”4 The Affective Economics of the Idol Industry5 The General Election 6 Toward a Critical Political Economy of Idols7 The Ordinary as Extraordinary8 Tears of the Idol 9 The Labor of Love10 Female Fans as Aspirational Consumers11 Placebo Idols12 AKB48 in the Global ImaginationConclusionNotesReferences Index

Whatever you thought you knew about AKB48, I can guarantee it's just the tip of the iceberg ... Galbraith and Karlin write with authority ... [and] not a hint of sensationalizing.

Patrick W. Galbraith is a Lecturer of Media and Cultural Studies at Senshu University in Tokyo, Japan. Based on over a decade of fieldwork in the Akihabara area of Tokyo, his most recent publication is Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan (2019).Jason G. Karlin is Associate Professor of Media and Gender Studies at the University of Tokyo, Japan. He is author of Gender and Nation in Meiji Japan (2014) and co-editor with Patrick W. Galbraith of Idols and Celebrity in Japanese Media Culture (2012) and Media Convergence in Japan (2016).

• List of Figures and TablesNote on Japanese Names and WordsIntroduction1 The Birth and Evolution of Idols in Japan2 The Democratization of Idols3 “Idols That You Can Meet”4 The Affective Economics of the Idol Industry5 The General Election 6 Toward a Critical Political Economy of Idols7 The Ordinary as Extraordinary8 Tears of the Idol 9 The Labor of Love10 Female Fans as Aspirational Consumers11 Placebo Idols12 AKB48 in the Global ImaginationConclusionNotesReferences Index

Whatever you thought you knew about AKB48, I can guarantee it's just the tip of the iceberg ... Galbraith and Karlin write with authority ... [and] not a hint of sensationalizing.