Quantcast
Viewing all 825 articles
Browse latest View live

Sprout final impressions

And I am finally done with this drama! Now I can let myself move on to better dramas and not feel guilty for not finishing this one. Though honestly I probably should have dropped this around the midway mark.

Needless to say this is one of the few dramas that I watched all the way through despite not liking it. I rarely make myself do this unless I can at least find enjoyment from being able to mock it, but this drama was so boring I was not really able to do that. This series should not have been twelve episodes and would have probably been much better as a eight or nine episode series instead. There was just too much that got stretched out over the episodes that made it hard to get through at times for me.

In the end I watched this series because of the actors, mostly the Johnny's of course. I think for a young actor with little experience with acting a series like this is not a bad place to start. Romance is a common enough theme across all types of genres and there does seem to always be a lot of focus on it for teens. But an actor can only improve if they are acting so I hope that those that are on the weak with it will improve over time. I mean I was surprised with how well Chinen Yuri did in this as I remember him being much more stiff with his acting from past roles. I only hope that Jesse will also improve over time as he came off as rather stiff himself in this.

Despite this not being a drama I liked there were moments here and there that I did surprisingly enjoy. I liked how Narahashi Souhei (Chinen) and Uzawa Miyuki (Kojima Fujiko) broke up, not so much all the humming and hawing it took to get there but the actual break up itself was not bad at all. So I will give credit for the series for being able to have a couple break up without making one side the "wrong" one. Even with Ikenouchi Miku (Morikawa Aoi) and Katagiri Hayato (Jesse) no side was the "bad" side for the break up, even though that scene really showed how weak Jesse's acting is.

I am very glad that Hashimoto Ryosuke has another drama (Bad Boys J) he is a part of that I can watch. I found him to be a bright spot in Sprout even though his character was not in it often. Not to mention the character suffering from what the rest of the supporting cast did with not really being characters in their own right but rather being around to prop up the main characters to make sure they heard the right things at the right time to ensure they would get together at the end.

The only joy I felt from Miku and Souhei getting together at the end of the series was mainly from the fact that it meant the series was finally ending. Still hate the whole, "he's my fated person, so we will be together if it is fate," deal Miku clung to. Relationships do not work because of an idea as simple as fate, they work because the people involved put the effort in to make them work. And it is the fact that so much shoujo ignores that fact that turns be off of the genre.


For all the bashing I give for Sprout I will say that at least I do not hate the series. It may not have been my cup of tea and the way everything was dragged out with there being little to no tension whatsoever with the story but there was nothing that made me want to just give up on it. Outside of forgetting about it at some point because there is not a lot there to make it memorable. In fact I would say that this drama is best for those who want to kill time and are fine with a series where very little happens over a long period of time. Or perhaps if you want something to help go to sleep with.

AKB48 General Election Results NMB48 Focus

Since NMB48 is the only group I care for anymore their results are all I will be reporting. I am live blogging so expect this post to updated through the night.

Future Girls

Ogasawara Mayu (54) Team N
Yoshida Akari (50) Team N
Yabushita Shu (49) Team BII

Next Girls

Yagura Fuko (44) Team M
Jonishi Kei (40) Team N

Under Girls

Yamada Nana (28) Team M

I will say I am so happy for Nana. It looked like she might have thought she was not going to rank after hearing Maa-chun's rank. I just know her speech is going to be filled with tears.

Of course this means Yamamoto Sayaka and Watanabe Miyuki are in the senbatsu, it is only a matter of where.

Senbatsu 

Watanabe Miyuki (15) Team N

Yamamoto Sayaka (14) Team N


Like probably everyone else I am surprised at Shinoda Mariko announcing her graduation. She was one of those members that one would think would be around forever. But now it is only until sometime this year if I heard right. Even though there have been some changes with the ranking this year it looks like next year will surely bring more.

The Shounen Club 7 October 2007 review

And this is the final month of episodes pre-Hey! Say! JUMP debut, which means the final look at the Junior groups, Ya-Ya-Yah and J.J.Express.

The episode starts with the individual members of Ya-Ya-Yah and Hey! Say! 7 (and Chinen Yuri is present this time around) being introduced followed by the groups A.B.C. and Kis-My-Ft2. The only other introduction given is for the guests of the episode, Tackey & Tsubasa.

In the start of episode talk it is quickly brought up that Tackey & Tsubasa are celebrating their 5th anniversary of their debut. The theme for the episode is Anniversary to coincide with this.

Instead of the usual theme medley there is a T&T medley by T&T in celebration of their anniversary. Notable back dancers for it are the two in the red outfits, Okamoto Keito and Uekusa Yuta. They are both second generation Johnny's, as in their fathers are Johnny's. Yuta though eventually leaves the agency after his parents divorce and goes by his mother's family name now, Higuchi

The first MC corner is with a few of the Juniors. It is set with Morimoto Shintaro asking what "Anniversary" is. His older brother, Ryutaro talks about how it is his three year anniversary for joining Johnny's, then Inoo Kei talks about it being his anniversary for his dog being adopted by his family. 

There is then a Kinki Kids medley, as they were having their ten year anniversary that year. The leads of the medley are the three from the MC segment with various Juniors backing them. I am impressed with Shintaro as over the year he has come to look very comfortable with a microphone. His dancing is still a bit stiff but otherwise he no longer has a trace of looking lost anymore like he did when he started out. It does not seem like a surprise he would be seen by Johnny's as a Junior to push.

This is followed by a Shiroyagi to Kuroyagi segment. Still get completely bored watching this segment. I think the main issue is that it goes on for far too long.

Next up we get various Juniors highlighted as they sing ballads. Only Ishigaki Daisuke and Goto Hiromi are still with the agency of the four they showcase.
The game segment of this episode gives us something new. The two teams have to guess from five hooded figures which ones are Takizawa Hideaki and Imai Tsubasa. The teams can ask questions and based off the answers they are to make their guesses.

I would say Tackey gives himself, and Nakamaru Yuichi, away when he whacks Nakamaru on the head for something he said, which has Nakamaru's hood slip so his hair could be seen. Of course since Nakamaru's hair color is completely different from Tackey and Tsubasa's that is a dead giveaway he is not either of them. And really only Tackey would do something like whack someone up the head, so he gives himself away by doing that.

The following MC corner is with T&T as they talk about their anniversary, or Tackey talks and Tsubasa mainly just chills and nods his head for most of it. And of course they get to plug their best of album that got released for their anniversary.

T&T then perform Kamira Tamara. I really cannot think of much to say about the song as it leaves not much of an impression on me at all. The duo have much stronger songs than this, which sounds like a B-side or album track.

We have the return of Junior ni Q and they go through quite a few Juniors this time around. Unfortunately most are ones I do not recognize and assume are not in the agency anymore or I know are not in the agency anymore, which includes Uekusa Yuta. But we get to see more of Hiromi as he was one of the ones brought over.

And there is also Chinen, who gets to talk about gyoza, as the topic is favorite homemade food.

Then lastly is Totsuka Shota who talks about something called Tuna Egg, which is some kind of creation using tuna and eggs.

Yabu Kota and Yaotome Hikaru are then the main focus of the following MC segment. Hikaru talks about his anniversary of moving to Tokyo, as he was originally from the Sendai area.

Ya-Ya-Yah then perform their latest, and looking back now their last, new song, Baby Babe. Knowing that there is only one final episode with the group is distracting, as it just makes me think various what ifs for the group, but at this point none of that really matters in the end.

There is a new end song, DAYS, that has the various groups coming in to sing a bit each on their own. We get a glimpse of J.J.Express finally together here. Looking at the magazine I have for around the time Hey! Say! JUMP debuted it does look like JJE was officially down to five members with Fukusawa Tatsuya no longer with the group. So I can only assume he has already been placed with the other Juniors that will eventually come to from Mis Snow Man.


While the episode is not as Junior focused as I would have liked it to be because it was T&T's anniversary I am okay with it. There were some strong Junior performances even though there were not as many as usual. I do hope to see more of the Juniors with the next episode, especially the ones we did not see much of for this episode.

I am both excited and full of dread about watching the next episode as it is the final one before HSJ have their debut announced. It seems a bit silly as these are hardly new episodes, but having watched them in their entirety for the first time I have come attached to the Juniors of this era and really do not want to move from it. But then again if I do not will be missing out on other favorites that have yet to have their time in the spotlight on the show. And for them I really want to continue going on.

Tantei Gakuen Q first impressions

While the special for this series had me trying to figure out the series the comments left for that review were encouraging that the TV series would be a more fulfilling watch. And so far that is proving to be true.

The one thing the TV series has going for it that the SP lacked was a more focused story. With the SP it was first going through various tests then switching things up to solve a murder mystery with a few side adventures thrown in the whole thing. This episode though mainly just focuses on the murder mystery as the seeds of a larger mystery, that looks like it will last the entire series, are planted.

Being a TV series we get introduced to some new features as this is set in Tokyo this time around. The detective candidates get a headquarters in Akihabara, which it a rather impressive set. In this episode we also get to see more about the different styles of each candidate as they work to solve the mystery, something that was missing from the SP.

Kyu (Kamiki Ryonosuke) and Minami Megumi (Shida Mirai) are the main focus of the episode. Of course it helps that the two seem to naturally band together as they seem to have similar views when it comes to why they want to be detectives. While Kyu seems to be mostly the same from the SP Megu has picked up a habit of cosplaying, and is working in a maid cafe. I would have thought she would be too young to have a job like that, but I can only assume this is carryover from the manga series this is based off of.

I was surprised at just how cold Amakusa Ryu (Yamada Ryosuke) came across in this episode. While he was aloof in the SP he still seemed like he was still a normal kid but in this episode he flat out says that he is okay if more people are murdered if it means he can delve into the mystery deeper. I guess this is to set up a big conflict between him and Kyu during the series and does work much better when there is more than one episode to get into it.


Overall though this episode is strong with a good mystery that has rather high tension in the fact that lives were on the line instead of the usual murder mystery set up where the only death is before the mystery solvers come into play. And like I mentioned before there is a larger mystery that comes into play as well in the episode that thankfully adds to the story instead of distracts.

It is probably good advice that even if you did not like the SP to still give the first episode of this series a try. The TV series looks like it will be much stronger and more enjoyable if you like mystery series.

Johnny's Under 100: Sanada Yuma

Sanada Yuma
Group: noon boyz (Junior)
Birthdate: November 21st, 1992

I do not say much about him these days but Sanada is still one of my favorite Juniors. I find him easily likeable and getting back into watching Hyakushiki again has reminded me why I like him. I am glad that he does seem to be getting promoted steadily over the years but I still want to see more from him.

I may not care for him to be in a duo, he just does not have the vocals for it, but I do want to see him debuting one day in a group.

NEWS new album NEWS

I was doing a final check of my e-mail before going to bed when I noticed the CDJapan notice for NEWS' new album. It is rather perfect timing as I am leaving early in the morning to begin my drive across the USA to where I will be moving, so I could make sure I got the version that I wanted.

The album is a self-titled album, NEWS, and will be released July 17th. It comes in three editions, two limited editions and one regular edition.


The first limited edition comes with a bonus DVD that is listed as a comedy with the title LIFE OF NEWS with a 70 minute play time. It also comes with a 16 page booklet and a special box.


The second limited edition comes with a bonus CD that will have the solo songs of the members, a 32 page booklet and a special box.


The regular edition has a 16 page booklet and a bonus track not on either of the limited editions.


I got a copy of the limited with bonus CD, as I am a sucker for wanting all the songs of the groups I love. But I have the feeling if I can I will get all three versions. 

And with that and this all done I am turning in for the night so I can get the early start to my day that I want. Otherwise I would have much more to say about this.

The Shounen Club 14 October 2007 review

And I am finally at the last pre-Hey! Say! JUMP episode. Though you would not think there was something major on the way from the episode.

Things start off with the Junior groups all taking turns singing Boogie Woogie Cat. It leads to introductions for all the groups as well as the Junior Boys grouping. Then all groups, and the main Juniors not introduced join in to finish the performance.

The theme of the episode is Team. For the Juniors this means the Junior units so the theme medley has the groups singing their main original songs. And we get the last performance of Ya-Ya-Yah together as a group.

This is followed by a letter exchange with the three youngest members of Hey! Say! 7, with Chinen Yuri reading a letter to Yamada Ryosuke, Yamada reading a letter to Nakajima Yuto and then Nakajima reading a letter to Chinen.

Hey! Say! 7 then perform Fatalism, one of the two songs that the group had that never had a CD release, or really even were performed post HSJ debut, to kick off a medley.

We get the final J.J.Express performance in this medley. They were one of the groups that went through massive changes over time, with Inoo Kei being the only original member of the unit left in the end. But with Hey! Say! 7 at least fans of the group had some warning that the group may be on the way out.

There is a MC segment with Question? as they talk about the group dynamic and just be the lovable goofs that they were.

The group then performs Beautiful Mind, which is one of my favorite songs for the group. It is a nice rock ballad and helps showcase the group's stronger voices.

The game segment is up next and we have the return of the intro don game, but this one is Tackey & Tsubasa centric as the duo are there as guests. So the guys have some added pressure of having their senpai there. Not that it stops Kawai Fumito being the strongest at this game.

Part way through the game Takizawa Hideaki starts picking on Senga Kento for not answering any of the prompts. So we get some hilarious tries from Senga to get Tackey off his back.

This is followed by an MC with T&T. Nakamaru Yuichi brings up how his group does not really get along then asks T&T about how their teamwork is.

T&T then perform their song, REAL DX. A part of me really wants to be a fan of the duo as I do respect them and I am grateful for them making sure Juniors are not forgotten by giving them chances to be a part of their productions, but their songs just fail to click with me.

We finally get movement with Takizawa Hideaki's Special Project as the "auditions" are finally over. Tackey meets with Yara Tomoyuki from the dance unit Musical Academy and explains to him that he is putting together a special dance unit. Tackey tells Yara that he will be the leader for the unit then drags him off to attend a press conference about it.

We then get to see the other three members of the unit that were selected, Hamanaka Bunichi, Yamamoto Ryota and Senga. (I loved how Bunichi had almost no change in facial expression for this.) And that is what we end with, and probably explains why Tackey was picking on Senga so much in the game segment.

This is followed by an MC segment with Yabu Kota, Yaotome Hikaru, Takaki Yuya and Arioka Daiki. Each duo have a board that they wrote a word to represent their group, for Yax3 is was "Almighty" and for Hey! Say! 7 "Tamago(egg)", as HS7 was a new group so they felt like they were just hatching.

Kis-My-Ft2 perform a new song for the show, Fire Beat, which for Kisumai fans from their pre-debut time will easily recognize as the song was one of the signature songs for the unit with Inori. It is a rockish song in the same vein as KAT-TUN's more rockish songs and it allows Kisumai to play up the fanservice levels. The hopping on their knees on the ground being a big part of that.

I am surprised that it was not until late 2007 that the song was debuted as even as I got into them around the time I got the sense that the song was around for longer. I guess that was more the impact the song had for fans, as it has always been a fan favorite.

The ending song is Va Ni La ~Burn it up!~ and Kisumai were still energized from their Fire Beat performance as they were easily the most lively group for this performance.


This was a good episode that balanced nicely with the previous episode for the month. We did get more from the Juniors this time around and with Tackey's project wrapping up we should go back to having more of them shown in the regular episodes again, which will be needed as Hey! Say! JUMP are going to be a big part of the show for a while after their debut as newly debuted group will be in general from then on out.

There was a good sense that the Hey! Say! 7 group though was being set up to go on for bigger things eventually, and that came much sooner than I would have guessed at the time. Looking back after going over signs for who tends to debut with the FIVB groups I would have placed them on a short list for debut, with the younger three members being the best candidates.

The Shounen Club 4 November 2007 review

And it is finally here! Hey! Say! JUMP is now a group and will be hanging around Shounen Club for a while, and then some after a short break.

This episode gives us the shortest introduction segment in a while as the only ones that are introduced are Hey! Say! JUMP, A.B.C., Kis-My-Ft2 and the usual hosts of the show, Koyama Keiichiro and Nakamaru Yuichi.

The opening MC focuses on introducing HSJ, mainly highlighting the sub-units in the group, Hey! Say! 7 for the younger members and Hey! Say! BEST for the older. The theme of the episode is BEST, after Hey! Say! BEST.

In the BEST medley we see Yamashita Shoon surface and it will become a thing for as long as he is on the program that if Yabu Kota and Yaotome Hikaru are on stage he will not be and vice versa. This was most likely done because there was a good deal of backlash against having Ya-Ya-Yah been broken up for the HSJ debut and Johnny's wanted to send a clear signal that they would not be coming back.

This medley also shows some of the Juniors that will be getting pushed now that groups have been broken up. The ones getting that treatment are members of the dissolved groups as well as the four Juniors that had roles in the final season of Kinpachi-sensei. Of those four only Sanada Yuma is still with the agency. Nozawa Yuki also gets to perform with them, I guess someone felt he was ready to be pulled out of the background as well.

The following MC segment has Koyama and Nakamaru talking about group names and how they are created. Koyama lists the names that make KAT-TUN but leaves Nakamaru out to get a reaction from him.

This is followed by HSJ performing their debut song, Ultra Music Power. I like the song but I recall getting tired of it around the time the single actually came out for how much they performed it. I hope I do not go through that again with how much I will watching them perform the song on the program in the next few episodes.
There is then Shiroyagi to Kuroyagi and Yabu and Hikaru look to be noticeable not up to their usual energetic selves. It definitely looks like their hearts were not in it this time around which did not help in making the segment less boring.

We also get to see what was the reason why uchiwa were banned from Shounen Club for some time. And that would be the girls with the giant hearts for each of the four Ya-Ya-Yah members. I am kinda surprised that NHK Hall let them in with those, seeing as Ayukawa Taiyo had already quit the agency, but they are there and it is no stretch of the imagination that Johnny's decided to clamp down on uchiwa and signs so no one tried to repeat that. And it has not been the only time Johnny's has requested that fans not use uchiwa at live events mostly around the times there has been a major change in groups.

Question? is up next performing Parallel World, which is a favorite song for me from the group. While Question? did get some of the boost Kisumai and Ebi got post-HSJ they never managed to catch on as much, which is sad as I would have loved to have seen another band group from Johnny's debut.

The segment gives us a new game, which is basically a pictionary version of telephone where one person has to draw and image then the next has to draw what they think that image is. Each team gets one prompt with four members a part of the chain. It is something that is easy to follow along with, even if you know no Japanese, as all the prompts are easy enough to figure out with the first picture drawn.

Following this the guest of the episode, Yara Tomoyuki, has an MC corner with Koyama and Nakamaru. He talks about Takizawa Hideaki and of course the group Tackey has put together recently with Yara as the leader. He makes an announcement about the group, it will have a fifth member that will be added in the near future.

Yara then performs as a soloist, singing the song Jealous Train followed by Next Dream with A.B.C. being his back dancers for the performances. For Yara fans this is a good time to start watching the program as he will be on it semi-regularly.

For a change all the Juniors featured in the Junior ni Q segment are still with the agency. Of course it helps that they bring over a couple of the newly debuted HSJ members as well. We start off with Nozawa Yuki who talks about wanting to visit Italy because he likes the food.

Next up is Okamoto Keito who wants to go to Okinawa. I forgot how quiet and soft spoken he was back then.

Then it is Kyomoto Taiga who wants to go to the fabled Dragon Palace to dance there. Somehow I do not think he is going to be able to get his parents to take him there.

Lastly it is Takaki Yuya who seems to want to go to a place that does not really exist like Kyomoto, but I am unsure what that place is other than some kind of forest.

There is an MC segment with Yabu and Hikaru where they talk about things they are best at. Yabu talks about riding a bicycle, though I know it is more than just that. And I think Hikaru is about smiling in the morning.

The two then sing their usual solo songs, Gentels for Hikaru and Arashi no Carnival for Yabu. It is a bit strange to see the two performing their solo songs in HSJ outfits and not their usual Ya-Ya-Yah outfits. But at the same time I miss these HSJ outfits. I rather liked them though I know most no longer fit the members anymore.

The end song, Hurricane, just has the Juniors performing it. We get to see some Juniors that will become a bit more prominent in the next few years as we have a little Casey Anderson and I believe Takada Sho singing with the little Juniors.


With every debut there is a transitional stage where Johnny's tries to figure out who in the Juniors to shift focus to. Usually any groups that survive the debut do well as we are to see with Kis-My-Ft2 and A.B.C. in the next few years of the show. Then any members of groups that were broken up also tend to do alright, unless they quit. For the rest it is a chance for them to step out from the back and hope that they make enough of an impression that they will continue be among the Juniors performing and not just back dancing. So it is always interesting to see who in the end makes the cut.

The Shounen Club 11 November 2007 review

Looking back I do not think Hey! Say! JUMP had too much of a presence on Shounen Club for this time frame. I think it seemed like it was a lot more than it was because Yabu Kota and Yaotome Hikaru did not have their roles reduced on the show after debut. So there is still a lot of them but not nearly so much of the rest of the group.

This episode begins with Kis-My-Ft2 leading with the song Wana. The other Juniors come in at different parts but until Hey! Say! JUMP show up at the end it is mainly Kisumai leading the song.

During the MC take about what the theme of the episode is Nakamaru Yuichi brings up that for this episode it would be 7 for Hey! Say! 7 but the members of HSJ correct him and say that it is Power, which is what the P in JUMP stands for.

The theme medley is a medley of all the old end songs from mostly the pre-NHK Hall days of the show. I loved hearing them again as they were some of the better end songs the show had. And we can see the start of the push Morimoto Shintaro is going be getting post-HSJ debut as he is center for one of the songs. But overall there is a good mix of Juniors used in the medley without a single debuted Johnny's in sight.

This is followed by a letter exchange segment between Hashimoto Ryosuke and Totsuka Shota. This is one of those things that looking back at it gives this a different meaning as they will eventually be in the same group and debut together. From what I could get Hasshi talks about how he views Tottsu as an older brother to him, and cannot keep a completely straight face for the entire letter.

Hasshi then perform a Kinki Kids song, Natural Thang with the current grouping of Juniors he is in. Right now it is with four other Juniors, fellow ex-J.J.ExpressKamei Taku, Kato Kan, Nozawa Yuki and Sanada Yuma. This should change soon with Hasshi with two other Juniors, first Kamei and Sanada with Nozawa replacing Kamei later, then remain a trio until Hasshi is placed in A.B.C-Z. Kamei was replaced in the trio as he breached the no-dating contract rule for being in the Kinpachi drama and had to leave the agency while Kan just eventually leaves to become a novelist.

The following MC segment is with HSJ and they do another introduction of the group. Then they bring up the topic of what the group's power is and they give communication as the answer. Again as they take the stage Nakamaru tries to go with them but is sent back being reminded that he is Showa.

Of course we get Ultra Music Power yet again as the song for the group to perform. I do really like these outfits for the group, except for the shorts that they have Takaki Yuya in. They made them look rather weird, especially with the longer socks he has.

The game segment is a imitation game where each team has a member try to fulfill a prompt to imitate something or someone. The first is a puppy at a pet shop, the next is a girl who has been waiting for her boyfriend to show up, Kimura Takuya and then the best proposal in the world. I really do not think that last one should count as an imitation but since it was Kitayama Hiromitsu and Fujigaya Taisuke I have the feeling that they just wanted to make sure the two had a romance based prompt.

It was a fun segment but not nearly at the same level as the other recent game segments. Though there is an extreme reaction worth watching it for.

Koyama Keichiro and Nakamaru get to be the ones asked about the topic of the episode by Yabu and Hikaru. This leads to them doing a Showa Power medley. Yabu copies Nakamaru's gag by trying to go on the stage with them to be pulled back and reminded that he is Heisei.

Koyama and Nakamaru cover Johnny's songs from the Showa era with A.B.C. being their main back dancers as well as joining them in singing for parts.

Then we have more Takizawa Hideaki's Special Project VTR. This time we have Yara Tomoyuki talking to Tackey about the song for the group. Then it is Yara with the members of the group, where the fifth and final member, Tsukada Ryoichi, is revealed.

We go back for an MC segment with Kis-My-Ft2, who have a board with the three things that give the group power: sleeping, food, and fans' smiles.

The group then perform Endless Road. I could not help but notice that the scarfs they have for this does have the seven colors that will become the seven group colors for the members, but only Tamamori Yuta has the color that will eventually be designated for him (yellow).

The end song is Va Ni La ~Burn it up!~. With pretty much just Kisumai, Ebi and Question? on stage for the performance the stage seems a bit bare. On the other hand it does give those groups a bit more screen time that they do not have to share with so many other Juniors which I imagine is nice to have.


I really wish the current SC episodes where as balanced as these. I know the most recent debuts were all bunched together so it was going to be rather debuted groups heavy, but it has been over a year for all of them and only one group is no longer a regular group for the show. And do not get me started with how HSJ heavy things are on top of that. After Sexy Zone's debut I expected to start seeing the Juniors that are expected to have the best chances for debut start rising like with these post-HSJ episodes but it really has not been the case so much. So watching these episodes just makes me disappointed with the current state of the program.

In this episode I noticed that some fans also had a banner with Ya-Ya-Yah's name on it, so I think it is safe to say that the resulting ban of uchiwa and banners came from the fan backlash for that group being dissolved. It is a bit surprising that Yax3 was pretty much the only group that got such a strong response and not Four Tops when NEWS debuted. Yet with NEWS it was a rather uncertain debut at first unlike with HSJ where it was made much more definite. It makes me wonder if the fact that Junior groups for the Tokyo Juniors are no longer formed as regularly anymore or do not remain for too long comes from Johnny's wanting to make sure they avoid another issue like the Yax3 fan reaction to HSJ's debut.

The Shounen Club 2 December 2007 review

It will be nice to get past the 2007 episodes finally. I have been looking at these as a goal for so long, now it is probably time to start looking forward to the 2011 episodes for the next debut that got me all excited, Kis-My-Ft2's. 

Speaking of which, with the number of Junior groups down the introductions at the start of the episodes feel short. In fact Kisumai, A.B.C. and Hey! Say! JUMP are the only group introduced and Koyama Keiichiro and Nakamaru Yuichi are the only additional introductions. I guess you could almost count Morimoto Shintaro and Casey Anderson as they get their names on the screen, though not said, as helping kick things off with Totsuka Shota.

We still have the trio of Yabu Kota, Yaotome Hikaru and Nakajima Yuto as the supporters for the episodes. They introduce the theme of the episode like usual, this time around it is 2007, what was the current year.

The 2007 Medley covered songs from the various Johnny's groups there were released as singles this year. It is mainly a mix of HSJ members with various ungrouped Juniors until the end when we get to see the guests of the episode, Yamashita Tomohisa and Nishikido Ryo, join Koyama to sing Hoshi o Mezashite.

The members of NEWS have the first MC segment with them all talking about something the group did in 2007. Yamapi talks about NEWS going to Taiwan for concerts for the first time while Ryo brings up their album being released. Koyama goes with a more general fact of the group being together.

After that the three then perform weeeek, which is one of NEWS' biggest hits. It is a fun song but marks a departure for them being the young group as it talks about being an adult.

There is then the ever boring Shiroyagi to Kuroyagi segment. As you can see though the audience is now uchiwa and sign free. It will remain this year for a few years now.

Kisumai performs Fire Beat, which helps bring up the tension after the lull with the previous segment. The dance for the song is really known for three things, hip rolls, head rolls and hopping down on their knees on the floor. So it probably should be no surprise that it quickly became a fan favorite.

It is time for the game segment afterwards and we get the return of the introdon game. The running gag for this one is Kitayama Hiromitsu doing the Fire Beat head roll, pretending that it helped him think, then others getting pulled in to do it.

The next MC is with HSJ. After a few of the members get to say something Nakamaru brings up that HSJ is a group like NEWS and asks Koyama to give some advice. Koyama then brings up the commercials that were made for HSJ's debut where members of past FIVB debut groups, V6, Arashi and NEWS, give some advice. These can be found on the DVD for HSJ's debut concert DVD.

HSJ then perform a HSJ Medley, which is simply the three songs from their debut single, Ultra Music Power, Too Shy and Star Time. The transition between UMP and Too Shy is rather jarring but for Star Time back to UMP it is not so bad but it suffers the same sudden stop and start. I am glad we do hear something other than UMP from the group though. 

There is a Junior ni Q segment that actually ties into the theme of the episode. The Juniors talk about things they have done during the year. Shintaro is up first and of course his older brother, Morimoto Ryutaro gets brought up. But Shintaro talks about doing a back flip. He also confirms that he is ten years old.

The only other Junior I recognize and know is with the agency still is Kyomoto Taiga. He talks about making it to the goal in a test of courage.

Ryo performs his solo from the pacific album, code. Honestly over the years all of Ryo's solos have become interchangeable in my mind as they tend to have a similar sound to me. That said code holds a special spot in my heart for being the first one I heard of his.

The first end song for the month is Va Ni La ~Burn it up!!~ and is the usual fun mix of Juniors. Though again it feels like there are missing Juniors because there are less known older Juniors with HSJ's debut.


Now that HSJ has debuted I am awaiting for them to move on and the up and coming Juniors get more screen time. Though I know it will be still a wait for that to happen and what I am mainly waiting for will be more around late 2008-2009.

But I have no issue with enjoying the episodes I am currently on. This is a solid era of Shounen Club with there rarely being an episode that feels like it is disappointing or tedious to get through most of it. They just need to get rid of the one segment I hate and it will be perfect for me.

The Shounen Club 9 December 2007 review

And this is the final of the regular episodes of the year for 2007. There is still a Christmas Special episode though to be the last of the year.

With only Kis-My-Ft2, A.B.C., Hey! Say! JUMP and the shows hosts, Koyama Keiichiro and Nakamaru Yuichi being the ones introduced at the start of the program there does not seem to be much to be said about the intros. I really wish we would get some of the ungrouped Juniors get introduced as well.

The theme of the episode is not directly tied to HSJ surprisingly. It is Negai (wish/desire/want) and there is a bit of the usual discussion about the topic before the theme medley.

Like with the past episode the theme medley is mostly the various members of HSJ being paired with various ungrouped Johnny's with the couple of Junior groups still around getting to do parts on their own. While I would not mind seeing less HSJ seeing Takaki Yuya with Hashimoto Ryosuke made me happy as the two have been friends since J.J.Express.

The first MC segment is with Kis-My-Ft2. They go over some various wishes the group wants. They bring up points that they want Miyata Toshiya and Senga Kento to improve on; then they talk about wanting to go on vacation together.

Koyama, Yamashita Tomohisa and Nishikido Ryo perform the song Change the World, which is an album track. Koyama started out sounding shakey but recovered some as the song went on. I think it is safe to say that NEWS by then had become a live singing group.

Afterwards it is an MC with the three about things they want. Yamapi talks about smiles and Ryo talks about friends, I think about wanting to make some because with his schedule it is hard to do so.

This is followed by a letter exchange between Tsukada Ryoichi and Yodogawa Yoshihiro. Like usual Tsukada is interesting to watch when he talks. He is just so animated, though not as much this time around as he was last time.

A.B.C. then perform their song Crush, which is one of the few songs of theirs that I like. Like a lot of A.B.C.'s songs it does emphasize their performance skills, with this one having ample breaks to let the guys show off their dance moves. And more songs need to end with the guys laying on the floor.

With only a one-line introduction there is the next performance, Question? singing Beautiful Mind. Still love this song and feel like the group should have had more chances. But I guess Johnny's just is not longer interested in band groups anymore.

The game segment is a quiz about things in 2007. It is pretty much a fill in the blank game about various Juniors as well as the two guests of the episode, Yamapi and Ryo, who are also participating. This is a rather language heavy game and it was rather difficult for the guys to figure out the answers. Of course for the first round Senga ended up looking at the answer on the screen and was not allowed to play for it.


Because there is no penalty for guessing there is a lot of random guessing and most questions have to be giving a clue or two before someone finally guesses the right one. One of the questions I had no trouble in figuring out was the one about who the funniest Junior was, with the number 2 (Yaotome Hikaru) and number 3 (Miyata Toshiya) already being given.

Hey! Say! BEST get to perform their first unit song, Su Ri Ru. This has been my favorite HSB song since I first heard it watching this episode back in 2007. I do not think I noticed back then that Takaki had issues with opening his shirt up all the way though, but I noticed it this time around. He does not seem to have much luck with outfits in performances.

There is then the final VTR for the Takizawa Hideaki Special Project. It follows Tackey as he works with the staff that will help him make the music video for the group he put together. It also shows the group practicing a bit before cutting back to Tackey who announces that the video will debut with the Christmas Special episode.

Yamapi sings one of his solos, Gomen ne, Juliet. I guess I should have expected that he would be performing a solo since Ryo did last episode. Just with the NEWS song performance earlier in the episode it seems a little much and I would have rather seen another Junior performance.

The final song for the episode is NEWS' Dreams, that has the NEWS trio, HSJ and the Juniors all singing it to close out the program.


This episode is heavy on the debut groups, so I did not care for that. I do not mind having debuted groups get an episode or two of focus if there seems to be a good reason for it, like a long awaited comeback or such, but otherwise it bugs me. I guess it could be argued Yamapi and Ryo were brought in to make sure ratings stayed steady with HSJ's recent debut shaking things up. But on the other hand HSJ is still on the program.

At least I know that as they start figuring out which of the ungrouped Juniors they want to push this will be less of an issue, though we are still a ways off from having new groups formed.

Kis-My-Ft2's Kiseki

Since I am taking a bit of a break before finishing my trip I figured I should see about catching up with any news I missed while I was on the road.

It has been announced that Kis-My-Ft2 will be doing the theme song for Tamamori Yuta's upcoming drama series, Pin to Kona. The title of the song will be Kimi tono Kiseki. There has been no single release date attached to the announcement.

Barks article (Japanese)


I was hoping they would be doing the theme song for the drama. I believe that there is a short preview of it out there somewhere, if not there will be when the previews for the drama series start up soon.

I am certain the single for this song will be released in August, so it can be close to the group's debut anniversary. I also think there is a strong chance that it will end up being a double A-side with the other track being the theme song for Fujigaya Taisuke's upcoming drama, kinda like last year with Beginners and Shiritsu Bakaleya Koukou's theme songs being on the same single as they both aired during the same single.

Either way I am looking forward to the group's next release as I have been enjoying their current style.

The Shounen Club 23 December 2007 review

This special is much like the past Christmas special episode last year, with it being longer than the usual Shounen Club episode and being part clip show.

The episode kicks off with a performance of Cinderella Christmas by the main groups of the show, A.B.C., Kis-My-Ft2, Question? and Hey! Say! JUMP.

After that it switches over to the stage where all the talk segments will be at with the usual hosts of Koyama Keiichiro and Nakamura Yuichi. The special guest of the episode, Takizawa Hideaki, makes a memorable entrance by playing with one of the studio cameras. He is there of course to finish unveiling his special project.

One of the VTR segments for this episode is that there are five big pieces of news that will be covered by the debuted groups. First up is KAT-TUN. I did not catch what their announcement is but they did bring up that everyone but Taguchi Junnosuke had been on SC in the past year as a guest.

When they go back they tease Yaotome Hikaru a bit as he was in one of the clips they showed of KAT-TUN from years back. Then they move on to the Christmas Song requests. Members of HSJ get to read the requests from fans throughout the show. Hikaru gets picked on again because when he began to read the request he did so without much emotion with it.

They then showed clips of past SC performances of Christmas songs. Then go back to talk about them a bit, pointing out how tiny Nakajima Yuto used to be.

Next VTR has Imai Tsubasa leaving a message alone as Tackey in on the program. What is the highlight of the VTR is that some of the clips shown are from the pre-NHK Hall episodes.

The following talk then focuses on Tackey as he talks about Tackey & Tsubasa. The next round of requests begin, this time for various Junior performances. What is interesting is that they have a Ya-Ya-Yah request and seem okay with airing it, so Johnny's must feel confident with HSJ being established.

The next event VTR is for NEWS, but only Yamashita Tomohisa and Nishikido Ryo are there to talk about it. But the news is the group's concert in Taiwan and we get clips from that.

After that Koyama then gets to talk about Taiwan a bit and shows a couple of photos taken of the group while they were there.

This is followed by the new unit Tackey created taking the stage. It is then revealed that this new unit will be called Budokan. The members of the group all give their introductions.

There is then some VTR for more making of for the PV for the group. Then we get to finally see the PV for the group's first original song, Now and Forever.

There is more talk after the VTR about Budokan. Both Senga Kento and Hamanaka Bunichi provide a good deal of laughs for the talk. Looking back at this even though back then I felt I would be okay if Budokan debuted I am glad they did not, as I am happy with the ways things turned out with Kisumai and Ebi. I cannot imagine what those groups would be like missing a member.

For the second round of requests for Junior performances get the members of the groups that are being requested to read them. And with that we get the next batch of VTR clips from the past year.

They fit in a Junior ni Q segment, with the theme being what you like about Christmas. HSJ members get called up for this, I assume because of how few Juniors they have there. The first being Nakajima who talks about Santa Claus and his younger brother.

It is Senga up next with a really long sentence on his card. He brings up that he is a romantic and plays out the scene he wrote about with Nakamaru playing the girlfriend.

Tackey then shows up bringing with him a couple of Juniors, Nakayama Yuma and Morimoto Shintaro. I can only assume it is because the drama, Battery, is going to start airing soon so the two are there for extra promotion, as they both have roles in it.

Since they have Shintaro there they cannot pass up bringing his older brother over to talk. They used to be so adorable, but now have grown up quite a bit since.

Then it is Ishigaki Daisuke up to talk about drinking champagne when going out to a restaurant.

Up next is Hikaru who has a story to tell about Christmas. He assures that it is non-fiction and that is about all I could follow.

With that segment over it goes back to the event VTR, this time with Kanjani8. They of course talk about their tour for the year as they had tour that had them performing in all 47 prefectures of Japan. We get to see some footage of that and of the fans that went.

We go back to fan requests, this time for the debuted groups that have been guests on the program. This leads to VTR of more Christmas song performances on the show.

The final big event of the year they cover is of course the debut of Hey! Say! JUMP. They bring the group on stage to talk about it. The VTR for them of course is a performance of Ultra Music Power, but they do mix in a clip of the Yokohama Arena concert that the group first debuted at.

Then it is time to start wrapping things up and they talk a little about next year before having Tackey plug a drama that he did at the start of 2008.

The program then closes out much like it began with the main groups singing a Christmas song, this time Can You Feel This Christmas?, a J-Friends song.


These Christmas special episodes are a nice way to round out the year for the program. It is a nice way to look back on what happened during the year. Plus with clip shows it can get rather boring when it is mainly just clips so this gives a good balance between new and old.

So with this 2007 is wrapped up and it is time to begin 2008. Outside of A.B.C-Z being formed I cannot remember much that really happened, I guess there is the formation of Hey! Say! 7 WEST as well but since the Kansai Juniors are stuck to a month's worth of episodes it is harder to appreciate the changes on SC as they are usually learned of through different means, like the magazines.

Johnny's Under 100: Tegoshi Yuya

Tegoshi Yuya
Groups: NEWS, Tegomass
Birthdate: November 11th, 1987

I am never really sure how I feel about Tegoshi. Sometimes I am indifferent, other times annoyed and then every once in a while he does something that makes me like him. He has that bratty side of him that can be annoying but then he says something sweet, making me think that there is something more to him.

One thing I am certain about is that I wish he would work on his voice control. He has that tendency to go overboard when singing big notes and it makes it sound like he is shouting more than singing.

The Shounen Club 6 January 2008 review

Back to the regular scheduled reviews for the program as we start off with the episodes for 2008.

The introductions give us some changes as a few of the ungrouped Juniors get introduced by their individual names. The first three I will be calling the Hasshi-trio from now on, as that was what they were know as back then. This is a trio of Juniors lead by Hashimoto Ryosuke and had Sanada Yuma and for now Kamei Taku. When Kamei has his scandal Nozawa Yuki will take his place in this trio.

There is also a new grouping of little Juniors so Morimoto Shintaro and Kyomoto Taiga have some other little Juniors to perform with them. These Juniors are Anderson Casey and Kawashima Noeru for now, though Noeru for some reason did not get his name shown on screen but you can hear it being announced.

The theme of the episode is Yume (dream) and Koyama Keiichiro leads into it with talk about a common dream for Johnny's, performing a solo concert at the Tokyo Dome.

I question the inclusion of some of the songs in the medley when it comes to being about the theme of the episode but about halfway in we get the first guest of the program show up, Yasuda Shota, and it turns into a Kanjani8 medley with two more members of the group showing up, Maruyama Ryuhei and Shibutani Subaru.

The three guests are taken over to the MC area to do the usual MC segment. Each one reveals a dream they have. Maru's is about smiling then Yasuda talks about wanting to make friends with other Johnny's as he cites that he does not have many. Then Subaru talks about wanting to eat pudding. I am sure there is more to it but I do not understand enough Japanese to know what.

The three then do a special medley of what would have been their latest song at the time, It's My Soul, and Ano Kotoba ni. The first being the typical fun and high spirited K8 song and the second more laid back.

After this we get a MC segment with Hey! Say! JUMP. I think they are talking more about dreams they have had, as when they are sleeping than a certain goal they have. Or that will be the only thing that would make Nakajima Yuto's about going to do volleyball support to find the arena become an ice rink.

The group then performs Shi Gi Tai, which is one of their early concert songs. This is one of HSJ's early songs that I would love to get on CD one day. Especially since the group has not moved far enough away from this type of song that they could easily sneak it on a CD as a B-side to a single or an album track.

Following this is the game segment which has the episode's guests join in the game. Subaru though just gets to be the judge. The game this time around is a word game of sorts from the looks of it and I could not really follow it. It sounds like they are given a prompt and have to have to say something that is related to it in some certain way.

Then Kis-My-Ft2 perform a medley of their songs Kis-My-Me-Mine and Fire Beat. I really do not know what to say about the group at this point without starting to sound like a broken record. But 2008 is the year the group really starts on their journey to debut so there should be plenty to look forward with them this year.

There is then a letter exchange segment between Kamei and Sanada. Both where in the drama together, which is probably part of why they were selected to be a part of the Hasshi-trio.

And speaking of the Hasshi-trio they get to perform a song, Honey Rider, this episode right after the letter exchange. I think even back then Johnny's knew that they wanted to do something with Hasshi post-HSJ debut and it first came about with putting him in a trio.

It is then time for the Junior ni Q segment for the episode. Most of those featured are still with the agency, like Hasshi. The theme is dreams one has for the year and Hasshi wrote that he wants to be first in various things.

Next up is Tsukada Ryoichi who wrote about wanting to be in the Olympics, which Koyama and Nakamaru Yuichi joke about with him.

Then Fujigaya Taisuke crashes the segment to make sure he gets called to talk about what he wrote which was about wanting the seven members of Kisumai to become stronger.

Question? perform Mezamero! Yasei. This of course is the song the group sings with daisempai Kondo Masahiko and releases together as a one off single. It is used as an ending theme for I believe the Naruto anime series.

HSJ close out the episode with another concert only song, Tobira no Mukou. This song though I am fine with having it remain a concert only song as one of the main parts of it is that the members of the group do something of an introduction for each other with a member of Hey! Say! 7 being paired up with a member of Hey! Say! BEST. So with the group one member down now it just would not seem right at all.


While there is still quite a bit of time spent on debuted Johnny's the fact that we are already getting some Juniors being pushed with the Hasshi-trio feels like it is balanced out. Or at least we are getting Juniors that have not been featured a lot before actually getting featured and there is a sense in the way things are heading for them. Of course there is a lot that will change in between now and the next debut in 2011, but at least it seems like the Juniors that did not debut with HSJ are getting set for their chances for debut sometime later on.

Kisumai is Luv Sick

We have the announcement of who is doing the theme song for the upcoming late nigh NTV drama, Kamen Teacher. It will be Kis-My-Ft2 with a song titled Luv Sick, and no word on a single for it.

Excite News Japan (Japanese)

Johnny's is just now rounding out the releases for July, as they tend to be the last to announce releases for upcoming dates, so I expect that this song will be on a double A-side with Kimi tono Kiseki that will be released in August, so it can be released around the same time as the group's 3rd2nd anniversary since debut. So I would expect the single announcement to come either by the end of this month or early next month.


I cannot believe it will already be threetwo years since Kisumai debuted. It still feels like they had just debuted to me. But they are already well on track for having the same release schedule for next year which has me already looking forward to their next album. I really would not be surprised if for their fifth year they release a best album, as they would have plenty of A-sides for that. And Avex does like releasing best albums.

Kisumai is definitely the hotshot debut for Johnny's and I hope the group keeps moving steadily forward.

EDIT: And apparently I cannot count, so it has only been two years. I guess not counting the debut single as a year would help with getting the right number...

NEWS covers

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Limited A
The covers for NEWS' upcoming album as well as the rest of the song titles is now out. The untitled first track is a bit hard to share as it uses a created character of a '4' that looks like it is sitting on a '+'. Thankfully it is not the full title as it has ~compass~ after it, which I will assume is how it is meant to be pronounced. It will also be how I am going to write the title as I have no clue in how to create a special character to type.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Limited B
The solo song titles that will be on the Limited B version are; Beautiful Rain for Koyama Keiichiro's, Dreamcatcher for Kato Shigeaki's, Remedy for Masuda Takahisa's and Lovin' U for Tegoshi Yuya's.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Regular Edition
I rather like the covers for the Limited A and Regular Edition but I am indifferent to the one for the Limited B. The LB just reminds me of the special set for all four limited versions of the Chankapaana single. Though the other two covers are reminiscent of the group's covers for their past albums color and LIVE. But it works with how the group has been presenting themselves since they came back as a four member unit, with each associating themselves with their group color as well as a letter in the group's name (though Tegoshi and Shige have switched from the Chankapaana single).

Of course right now the Limited B is the one version of the album that I am getting. I do plan on getting the rest though in time and finances willing. NEWS is one of those groups I am willing to try to get all the editions as long as there is something new for each one outside of a booklet.

The Shounen Club 13 January 2008 review

And from this episode on I do not think I will make a point of pointing out all Juniors that I know are still in the agency as there are a good chunk of them. Most of who are now the older Juniors on the program can be spotted in these episodes. The only exceptions will be of those who have debuted, so pretty much just the members of Sexy Zone.

The introductions this time makes a bit easier to get a look at the new Junior groupings that they have added to it. Kawashima Noeru even gets his name shown on the screen this time. But this grouping of the little Juniors will be changing quite a bit for some time unlike the more static Hasshi-trio.

The theme for the episode is Tabidachi [setting off (on a trip)]. Fujigaya Taisuke and Kawai Fumito get brought out to talk about both of them turning 20, the age of legal adulthood in Japan, in the past year so they will have their coming of age ceremony.

Johnny's has a surprisingly good amount of songs about that theme, with TOKIO having a few themselves, to make the theme medley work. And we get to see Yamashita Shoon getting placed with members of A.B.C. which will become a thing for a while until he kinda joins the group right before it becomes A.B.C-Z.

Hey! Say! 7 are up first for the MC segment as they talk about people they look up to as adults, as they are still going off the turning 20 thing instead of staying strictly with the meaning of the theme. Chinen Yuri of course picks Ohno Satoshi, as he is probably his number one fanboy. Yamada Ryosuke picks his personal idol, Domoto Koichi then Okamoto Keito of course picks his father, Okamoto Kenichi.

HS7 perform their first unit song, Wonderland Train, which was finally released on CD with Hey! Say! JUMP's Super Delicate single. The song shows that from the start there was a large bias towards Yamada, Chinen and Nakajima Yuto, as Keito and Morimoto Ryutaro are only backing them in the song while the others get solo lines and the lead vocals.

The guests of the month, Shibutani Subaru, Yasuda Shota and Maruyama Ryuhei then get an MC segment. They talk about taking trips when they were younger, or at least Maru and Subaru do.

The following performance has the three of them doing a special medley which begins with each of the three performing a solo song before ending it with a performance of Zukkoke Otokomichi.

The game segment is next and it is set up like the last with Yasuda and Maru on a team and Subaru as the guest judge. Subaru really steals the show with the silly goat head gear and his messing around with the contestants, especially the other Kanjani8 members.

The game is a bit easier to follow as each side has to have someone go up to fulfill a prompt they are given such as the first being that Subaru has given them New Year's money but forgot to put any in the envelope.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Showing off "wild" poses.
Overall it is a fun game segment and not all of the prompts need an understanding of Japanese to figure out what they are.

The next performance is A.B.C. with Crush. It seems hard to believe that A.B.C. will be changed up soon. They are kinda like the"Little Johnny's Junior Group That Could" as they have been around for so long and nothing seems to stop them on one hand but on the other they do not enjoy the leaps of popularity other groups and Juniors do. Yet somehow in the end they still managed to make it to a debut.

There is then a Shiroyagi to Kuroyagi segment and it is the usual boring patch in what is otherwise a fun and exciting program. I guess if anything it does give us the best views of an uchiwa and sign-less crowd for the show.

Then suddenly we have the PV for Budokan shown. It seems really random to have placed in the episode but I guess this time it is not the clean version as the lyrics are shown on the screen for it to make it different than when it was shown a few weeks before.

We go back and it is time for Hey! Say! BEST to have an MC segment. Like with HS7 they are questioned about being an adult with their line of questioning being about what they want to do on their own as adults. Yabu Kota talks about going to an onsen, Takaki Yuya about going to New York City, then Yaotome Hikaru about not crying when in pain. What was great about this MC is that Arioka Daiki and Inoo Kei can be seen reacting playfully to the answers and when Hikaru's comes up they break in to the conversation.

HSB then take the stage to perform their unit song, Su Ri Ru. And I am reminded that when this episode was being filmed HSJ would be getting ready for their debut concert in the Tokyo Dome. These episodes would be great promotion for it if they did not air the month after, so instead these performances seem to be more extra practice for them.

It is then time to close out the program which the older Juniors do with a group performance of Yozora no Mukou.


Kanjani8 always help make Shounen Club episodes fun, I will stand by this to the end. Of course I think we would get this kind of reaction from having the Kansai Juniors on the program these days.

That said I think we are coming to the point where the members of Kis-My-Ft2 and A.B.C. really start shining in the program. You can see hints of it with the game segments where the members are starting to come out of their shells more, though A.B.C. is probably already there, and are easily becoming some of the most interesting Juniors to watch. When HSJ leave the program you can tell it will be in good hands between those two groups.

Music Day and some speculations

Meant to post about this about a week ago but I was still working with adjusting to my move. But we have a more complete list of acts for the Ongaku no Hi that will air on TBS on June 29th and air from 2PM to 5AM. SMAP's Nakai Masahiro is down for one of the hosts of the program.

The Johnny's that have been announced for the program are SMAP, Yamashita Tomohisa, Kis-My-Ft2, Sexy Zone and A.B.C-Z.

Other idol groups that will be performing are AKB48, SKE48, NMB48, HKT48, 9nine, Nogizaka46, Momoiro Clover Z and Morning Musume.

You can look at the full list, which comes with photos for each act, at the official TBS site.


There is some speculation that Ebi and SZ may be getting placed under the Iijima Michi faction, with this line-up and the fact that they are the debuted groups regularly in the midnight Johnny's dramas (the late night NTV dramas). I am not sure if I buy into SZ being a part of this faction just yet, but I am more willing to believe it for Ebi. Ebi has been getting much better promotion recently than they have in their first year of being a debuted group and the fact that they are also appearing on another summer music program with the rest of the Michi faction though SZ is not also lends itself to backing that theory up.

Of course this is all just speculation as Johnny's is far from being a transparent agency but seeing the kinds of promotions those under Michi tend to get I think it would be great for Ebi to share in that. Especially if they get on variety programs, as I have felt that some of the members would shine so well on them.

Kis-My-New-Single!

And I was right in guessing that Kis-My-Ft2's new single will be released in August. It will be released on August 14th and will only have one title track, Kimi tono Kiseki. It will come in three versions, two limited editions and a regular edition with the B-side on all three of them being titled Tanagokoro.

The first limited edition, Type A, is the usual kind with the title track, the B-side and a DVD with the PV for the title track and the making of video for it.


The second limited edition, Type B, has the same CD contents but the DVD that it has with it will have a PV for the B-side Tanagokoro, and the making of for that.


The regular edition will have the two tracks on the limited editions as well as one other B-side Diamond Honey. It will also have the first press bonus of coming with one of three 12-page booklets.



I am rather surprised that this single will not have Luv Sick on it, as that will be the theme of the drama Fujigaya Taisuke is starring in. I wonder if that is being saved for a later release and for which one. Whatever the case I am bound to eventually buy whatever release it will be on.

So there will be no need to guess about this single. I guess this will be the song that the group will be performing on the upcoming music programs they are scheduled for and I cannot wait to see it.
Viewing all 825 articles
Browse latest View live