[mx3oo]

The other day, I was talking to someone, and I found out that she was Korean. So I asked her the obvious...

Me: So you're Korean... do you by any chance listen to K-Pop?
Her: No, but I'm a huge J-Pop fan though.

Pretty cool, right? I was pretty happy to have found another J-Pop listener.

Me: Awesome! I'm a big J-Pop fan as well. What artists do you listen to?
Her: Oh, I just listen to music from like animes and stuff.

Yeah, that's right.

Me: Really? I don't really watch anime. I usually just listen to, like, mainstream J-Pop artists.
Her: Yeah, ok... do you listen to "[insert random theme song from some anime here]"?

So basically, she just asked me if I, in present tense, listen to some obscure song from an anime.

Me: No, sorry, I haven't heard of it. Who's it by?
Her: It's from [insert anime show here].
Me: Ok. So, have you ever heard of Ayumi Hamasaki? (last hope here...)
Her: No.

What a disappointment! I mean, I'll admit, I was also at a point where I was just beginning to explore J-Pop, and I had a few songs that I listened to over and over, without really knowing much about the artists, but I was 12, I wouldn't have asked people if they regularly listen to some specific song, and I certainly didn't think of myself as a J-Pop "fan" yet. Sadly, I still have yet to meet, in real life, a J-Pop fan like me, someone who has at least heard of the major artists, and preferably, knows what "an Oricon" is.

Sorry if this sounds like too much ranting, but this is annoying. Have any of you guys had any similar experience?