just saw this topic now and... I would talk some more about the slogan "Idols you can meet" but I'm afraid it's a well dated topic by now.
so I'll bring to the table a little about my experiences, that may illustrate some points raised by the pals above. the first idol group that got me really hooked was AKB (I liked a little of Momusu and Berryz Koubou back then but never even tried to see them live) and it presented me this whole new world of consumerism called 'handshaking events'. I started low, getting a 'zenkoku akushukai' ticket. after three events, it was not satisfying anymore. too rushed, couldn't have a proper encounter with the girl and had to wait for hours in horrendous lanes. I wanted more fun. so I started going to the 'daiakushukai', the biggest one with all the girls involved. one ticket. better than before, with smaller lanes but still... too rushed. so I started buying three (the limit of tickets you could group together back then). way better but still... at some point I started wanting to have proper conversations and more fanservice.
and so I slowly entered the underground world of the "unknown idol groups". it was a shock. thanks to a lot of factors, the shows are funnier, tickets are cheaper and easier to get, girls get naturally more involved with you and... shitloads of fanservice. name what you want. long handshakes, autographs, 2 shots, group shots, hugs, presents given and received personally... what more and idol fan could want? even the music is better. (ok, some people can argue the opposite. personal opinion here) it was like... an illness, I couldn't help but start following one group after another, always heading into the direction of the more amateur and obscure idol groups available. (ps: I still haven't reached the bottom of this hole) each time facing higher levels of fanservice and being presented the chance of becoming really friends with the girl, that goes even to call me by name, give me some slaps (yeah I'm a masochist)...
but it isn't science and after all I couldn't help but continue going to the AKB handshaking events, even if I don't follow the group or barely listen to their music. dunno why. (I lie. in fact I know why: because Nonaka has 87-64-91. =P ) recently they opened this option of using till 30 tickets once. fuck, I couldn't resist. man, that was fun. (and expensive
) yesterday I saw they are now selling tickets with no name in it, that allow you to pick the girl you want just by the time of the event (obviously famous girls are out of question since they sell out the time sections). another element to make it a little closer to the small groups. maybe as time passes by and AKB loses popularity, they go back to the old days and promote events like the other groups... if my oshimen continue till then, I pray for it.
indirectly, I can say that I 'dropped' AKB (and recently BiS) because of the popularity level they reached. I moved towards lesser know groups since they offer me more fun. popularity is not bad
per se, but it brings longer lanes, more artificial (and limited) contact with the girls, inconvenient people to the shows, higher prices... looks kinda natural, imo, that you move from this towards something that offers you more for less. but once again, it's not science and so, it has exceptions. one is called SKE. despite being a sister group with huge fanbase and all, I find it quite astonishing how the SKE girls are generally way more sympathetic (or
tsurishi, if you wanna address this way) than their AKB counterparts. talking with SKE flopped girls is almost like talking to the Afilia girls, for example (the main difference being the price for it). this led me to buy 24 tickets to meet Takama-san yesterday...
conclusion: my wallet is ripped apart.
(ps: and that damned girl is so talkative that I couldn't ask all the things I had prepared beforehand, even with this amount of time. SOS!!)