Sho Hirano and Ex-Type-R Trainee Open Up About Dealing With Negative Feedback

Shō Hirano (28) of Number_i conducted a live broadcast on Instagram late at night on November 25. During the stream, he addressed the presence of anti followers who direct harsh words at him. In today’s age of widespread social media, defamatory and abusive behavior toward others has become a societal issue, and regardless of fame, talents often face opportunities to see thoughtless comments.

Opening up about feelings toward anti comments

On that day, Hirano was in Fukuoka Prefecture for his concert tour. Lying in bed at his hotel, he began the Instagram live and answered various questions from viewers while reclining. During the broadcast, he also mentioned reading messages sent via Instagram’s DM feature. Some were harsh anti comments, but Hirano said with a casual tone, “Even if I see them, it doesn’t bother me. I just think, ‘Oh, okay.’”

He further analyzed calmly: “In this industry, if you don’t have that ability [to ignore anti comments], I think it would be really tough. Mentally, it’s very difficult.”

Seeing a comment calling him mentally steel, he candidly explained: “I’m not steel. I make myself steel. I train myself to just think, ‘Oh, okay.’”

He elaborated on his philosophy: “Even if you get 100 good comments, just one bad opinion can feel stronger. It’s like dropping one drop of black ink into clear water—it clouds it, right? So you shouldn’t consider that black.”

During the live, someone commented, “Shō-kun, your tone has been strong lately,” and he revealed that DMs also contained messages like, “I wish Shō-kun wouldn’t say things like this.” Hirano humbly admitted: “It’s like those people are idealizing me on their own. But let me say again, I’m not such a perfect person. Not at all.”

“When it comes to Number_i, their rap style, which includes catchy lyrics, is becoming their trademark. However, in DMs, besides clear antis, he also receives advice like, ‘Recently, Shō-kun’s language has been harsh, and just because it’s rap doesn’t mean you can say anything.’

In response to such feedback, Hirano admitted, ‘(I’m) not that good of a person,’ and ‘Songs are like dramas—they’re fiction.’ It seems he might feel somewhat constrained, as if being forced into a mold” (entertainment writer).

However, many fans support Hirano’s honest and straightforward personality. Recognizing how he handles lecture fans and anti comments, SNS users posted:

〈I don’t want Shō-kun to get hurt anymore〉
〈The words from the late-night Instagram live, (mentally) making myself steel, have really stuck with me. That’s how he’s been protecting his heart〉
〈When he said, ‘I make myself steel,’ it hurt my heart a bit, but his attitude toward the antis is so reliable that it made me like him even more〉

Harassment during appearance on Typro

Meanwhile, a former contestant who participated in timelesz’s new member audition, timelesz project -AUDITION-(exclusively on Netflix, commonly called “Typro”), also seems to have suffered from online abuse.

Regarding timelesz, criticism toward new member Daiki Shinozuka (23) has been increasing following his behavior on the recent Mezamashi TV (Fuji TV, aired November 18). The trigger was when he performed a gag on the program and sang a parody of the nursery rhyme “Grandfather’s Clock”: “Now it doesn’t move, finishing off grandpa~.”

“From the audition stage, Shinozuka had already attracted a lot of online harassment. He joined with no dance experience, so his lack of skill was apparent. As he advanced through the selection process, the bashing intensified.

However, alongside Shinozuka, a contestant named Ryuto Iwasaki (25) was also receiving criticism until the middle stages of the audition. Because Fuma Kikuchi (30) referred to him by his first name, some speculated he was a favorite, which led to negative comments aimed at Iwasaki,” reported a sports newspaper journalist.

Iwasaki progressed to the fourth round but was ultimately eliminated. After his Typro experience, he has now restarted under the name Luvto. He established a fan club and released his 1st digital single “Going on” on December 1, taking a new step forward.

Alongside his debut, he launched an official YouTube channel. In the video released on November 25, “After the Audition | Luvto (Ryuto Iwasaki) Honest Thoughts After a Year”, he mentioned the harassment he faced during Typro: “At the worst times, I was getting tons of death threats in Instagram DMs.”

The severity of the comments made him question, “Do I really belong here?” He continued, “When you get death threats probably they won’t actually do it, but when you’re alone, you start thinking, ‘Am I really going to be stabbed?’ And the weight loss, that’s probably my body reacting to the stress I felt inside. Thinking about things like that makes it hard to sleep.”

As for the reason behind the backlash, he said, “It was probably just that a lot of people didn’t like me. Looking back now, maybe my confident side rubbed people the wrong way, but they didn’t have to go as far as sending death threats. I think, ‘What would happen if I really died?’”

Hopefully, Iwasaki’s heartfelt words will resonate even with the antis.