Hi, puts! Do you know if non-idol groups like Kalafina tend to be subject to 恋愛禁止, whether contractual or implied, like idol groups often are? Sorry if this question is too off topic!
Hiya! *waves*
Don’t worry, the question is not too off-topic. I feel like this is something we have all thought about at some point or another.
For those of you who don’t know what “恋愛禁止“ means, it is basically an agency forbidding their clients to be involved in any sort of romantic relationship.
Now I’ll be really honest with you, I don’t know much about other idol or non-idol groups, I basically only obsess over Kalafina XD But yeah, it’s widely known that there’s an unspoken rule in the entertainment industry, a “love ban” so to speak, that prohibits idol singers in Japan (and Korea I guess) from publicly engaging in romantic relationships, sometimes that rule may be enforced contractually. All of this most likely happens in order to prevent crazy and delusional fans from falling into despair. (Let it be known that I don’t support this kind of crazy possessive behaviour by fans. Fans DO NOT own their idols!)
I feel like the industry is much less strict when it comes to non-idol groups. While I am assuming that dating is not exactly encouraged, I don’t think it’s actually forbidden. The agency probably asks their clients to keep things as low-key as possible in case they do end up dating. I can see this working in theory since there seems to be a consensus that the private life of non-idols is pretty much off-limits. There’s no such thing as a paparazzi culture and Kalafina aren’t exactly the most hands-on group so we only know what they choose to tell us and nothing else. There’s a distinct line between their work life and private life. If the girls wanted to date they probably could. In fact, I can’t completely rule out the possibility that they have been/are dating but this sort of speculation would go beyond the scope of this ask.
Having said all of this, we know that the girls have a crazy schedule, they travel a lot and they barely get any days off so I very much doubt they would find the time or energy to maintain a relationship.
Either way, I wish them all the happiness in the world. If music is the thing that fulfils them right now, I am happy with that. If at some point they wish to have more off-time to pursue a relationship, I am content with that as well.
