Curry Zawa Kaoru's Creative Counseling - "I think artists loving me is making other people hate me." If you have no reason to endure the hate, take a break.

Even at this stage of the consultation, I can already kind of see why a certain number of artists adore you intensely.

After all, the secret to being loved consistently is by being as grateful as possible for the love you receive. Those who demand love unilaterally without any intention of giving anything back are ultimately abandoned, even by the purest of philanthropists.

I do wonder about your peculiar tastes that allow you to gain artists' affection wherever you go, but I suspect a lot of that adoration comes from your personality. Even if I wrote about characters sumo wrestling in tight-fitting suits, I doubt I'd be loved in the same way. That's why I think I kind of understand the feelings of those who envy you and think it's unfair you're so loved. What's troublesome is that such people genuinely believe you're somehow “cheating” the system.

But even someone who gets as intensely jealous as me has, surprisingly, never directly attacked the object of my jealousy. Anyone who sends you a nasty anonymous message has already lost their mind. Taking the words of such an abnormal person seriously is about as pointless as expecting a good conversation from an inanimate object.

But because you're too humble, you can't tell that the haters are wrong, so you take every hit head-on. That's why you won't last a year.

Why not, with that same kind heart of yours, consider appreciating how exhausted these haters must be making themselves by constantly getting jealous over little old you.

Honestly, speaking as someone who spends about 372 days a year consumed by jealousy, it's truly tiring. While it must be unbearable for those on the receiving end, it might make it a little easier to bear if you can think, "How kind of them to waste their energy on me, while I'm using my energy to love and be loved by amazing artists."

I think it's best to ignore haters as much as possible, hold your head up high, and simply get on with doing what you love as long as you can. However, I also feel that taking a step back in self-defense isn't necessarily wrong either.

It's true that celebrities inevitably get haters. Stars always have both fans and haters, and if you only have fans, it might actually be proof you're not that famous. The fact that haters appear wherever you go means you either possess significant star quality or are a famous yume novelist adored by artists across all fandoms.

Either way, you're a prominent figure. You're so blessed as a content creator, that it's impossible to operate without attracting haters. That said, just because it's inevitable for popular people to have haters, doesn't mean you have to bear their attacks with dignity.

It's only natural to be hurt by insults, and rather than enduring them, it's actually totally justified to avoid being hurt or take a break to heal. Celebrities are able to endure it because it's part of the job, or because the more people fuss, the more views and money they get, or because they're the oldest and it's their responsibility, and so on. Without such reasons, there's no need to force yourself to put up with it.

In fact, maybe you'll be able to endure for longer by withdrawing and changing your environment when you're at your wits' end. That might be the best way to sustain your creative work long-term.

The other day, I watched an overseas reality show where renowned domestic influencers gathered to compete over who was better at their job—just hearing about it agitated my need for validation. In it, there was a contest where whoever got the most reactions won, whether it was likes or screw yous.

A comment from one of those influencers stuck with me: "I know I have to attract attention, for better or worse, but I still don't want to be disliked."

Creators are often expected to have resilience or the ability to brush things off when faced with dislike. However, being a creator doesn't change the fact that it's natural to not want to do this if it means being disliked so much. 

Looking at social media, you sometimes see strong individuals who say things like, "I got 30 hate messages today, but I'll keep drawing what I want to draw." That's admirable, but the ability to endure and be resilient varies greatly between people, so it's best not to assume you can emulate them. Also, a certain number of those people simply don't care enough about others to be bothered either way. 

Since you're someone who loves and is loved so deeply, I imagine this is difficult for you. If it becomes unbearable, please don't hesitate to step back. When you feel ready again, you can resume your activities.

↑ Feel free to send your troubles in languages other than Japanese, too.