KanJAM 001: The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades
HAVE YOU SEEN KANJAM?
DO YOU LOVE IT AS MUCH AS I DO?
We start the episode with a cool intro and high expectations.
I love the set! And the suits! And the men!
These two came as a bit of a surprise. According to the Japanese Wikipedia, they're the managers of "Live & Talk House KanJAM". I think Furuta does a smooth job. Sugimoto's awkwardness is charming.
The guests! I like both a lot. Grown women tend to be my favourite kind of guests on Japanese talk shows, they're often down to earth and confident in a way young women aren't but without the arrogance I so often see in successful older men. Kishitani is a prime example for that. Nishino works the Japanese standard of the tween pop princess but she seems nice, the segment on her weird habits is fun, she has a great voice and I love her outfits. The skirt she wears during the performance is awesome.
I think the '89 VTR with Princess Princess is very well done. The "look at all this old shit" parts make it more interesting than a simple biography, and it gives everyone in the studio something more personal to talk about than the number of hit singles or something. There is this short convo about hairstyles. Furuta starts talking about it, Yasu asks for clarification, Kishitani answers... I don't know, I really like that bit. No one is fighting for screentime or trying too hard to be funny, just people talking, youngin's learning from their elders. It's comfortable.
The obligatory "we asked people to tell us about our guests!" segment. I don't think I've ever seen a version of that I didn't like. I love the chalk boards! So much more charming and classy than those printed boards, and more economic! I think assigning that segment to two members (I assume they're going to rotate) instead of having it done by Hina is a good idea.
asdfksajafl RYO. Armed with determination, enthusiasm, a little ducktail and all the grace of a newborn giraffe, he stumbles, fumbles and mumbles his way through the segment. It is amazing to watch. He's incredibly nervous but he soldiers through and tries his best, even speaks up in between to ask a question to Kishitani. I hope they give him more of these segments, he needs (and even seems to want) the practice and in the meantime, I can do with the hilarity.
According to her manager, when she gets out of an elevator, Nishino always turns right. When everyone laughs, she says "It just feels right". Then she explains that it doesn't really matter which way she turns since she usually doesn't know where they have to go anyway. Kishitani asks if she's the first to leave the elevater (instead of her manager or staff) and Nishino confirms it. Then Yasu chimes in and says Subaru is the same: "Doesn't know the way but walks up front."
Nishino is looking forward to the male voices for the harmony in the performance of her song Darling. Subaru says that after he heard they'd perform it, he listened to Darling in the car all the time and then when they rehearsed it earlier, his heart beat faster. "I felt like I was going on a date <3"
Performance: Nishino Kana, "Darling"
Featuring: Yasu, Subaru, Yoko, Ohkura, 8band (∞バンド - ∞ band? 8BAND? Eito bendo??), two musicians of Nishino's own staff
I have to admit that after I saw the first gifs floating around on tumblr, I was a bit disappointed. From how they described the show, I didn't expect studio muscians, I thought it would be just Kanjani and the guest (and maybe sometimes musician staff the guests bring with them), but the gifs made it obvious that the Takoyaki All Stars 8band did all the hard work and Kanjani were reduced to percussion and rhythm guitars #3 and #4. I wanted Kanjani to get some playing time, and of course musical quality would have been so-so but I wanted to watch them get better with time and practice, you know? I mean, how are they going to improve if they don't get to do much?
After watching the performace I take it all back. I'm sorry I doubted you Producer-san, you totally knew what you were doing all along. As much as I love Kanjani, this awesome performance was totally worth watching Kanjani play the figurative second fiddle. Besides, I do like seeing the Takoyaki All Stars again, and not just because I like them and they're good at what they do but also because it means they have work.
And I don't think Kanjani didn't learn anything. Yoko definitely had Hamazaki show him how to play those bongos properly, and it seems he figured out the vibraslap as well. (Remember the rehearsal in the Jussai making?) He looks really good there. Competence is hot.
All in all I love it. Nishino is a very good singer, I like Darling as a song, the performance was musically sound (ha!), mixing and camera were great. In the end, Kanjani's involvement is just a bonus.
This part about Nishino's lyrics writing process (I think?) is so bad. Either put the highlights on a board and hold it up, or have someone read it out loud for everyone. You cannot pull out a fucking plastic wallet full of copies, hand one to everyone in the studio and hope that the commentary makes up for everyone's awkwardness as they sit there with a white Din-A4 sheet in their hand and for the unengaging visual of watching eleven people hunched over papers.
Performance: Kishitani Kaori, "M" and "Moonlight Story"
Featuring: Ryo, Yasu, Subaru, 8band, Chris Hart
I have to admit that I don't love this one as much as Darling. The songs and Kishitani's voice and singing are, well, very 80s/90s girl pop, I'm just not that into it. Why is Chris Hart there? Such a random addition.
Nishikido has his standard Nishikido guitar part and does a solid job with it. His singing, well, like I said, I want to watch them improve and become better. >__<
Still a good performance, all in all, and judging by everyone's face afterwards, it was a lot of fun to play.
THE MAIL SEGMENT. Oh, Sugimoto. Poor guy messes up three times. *pats* It's okay, you are adorable. Furuta calls him by his first name Tetta without honorifics, are they close?
Hina vanishes behind that pole a few times. Room for improvement, there, as well.
This segment I'd reeeeally like a translation for, because whatever is in those letters, it must be really good. I only caught a few words but boy do I want to know more. If anyone sees a translation floating around, point me in the right direction, please?
Definitely makes for a good ending.
Performance: Nishino Kana, Moshimo unmei no hito ga iru no nara
Featuring: her own musicians
Another nice pop song. I didn't realise the guests would get to perform their own songs on their own as well, but I approve very much.
Next week: Yuzu and Miwa. Can't wait!
What else...
Romaji names in the introduction captions. THANK YOU. In Janiben, for example, the name caption is in kanji and Hina usually rattles off the name over the din of applause, which often leaves me with no idea who the guest is. I'm really happy that KanJAM spells the names out.
I want to know who wrote the musical arrangements. I don't think Yasu did it but I'd have liked to know if it was Ohnishi or Peach or some outsider. I didn't see it mentioned anywhere, neither before/during/after the performances nor in the end credits. If anyone catches sight of 編曲 (arrangement) anywhere, please let me know?
Anyone else reminded of The Shounen Club Premium? Not just the collaboration part, there also was an era where Taichi had two guests with a common element but a different background (like Nino and Ohkura as actors, and Yasu and that Yuzu guy as guitarists and so on). KanJAM obviously has a very similar concept. Now I want TOKIO (members) to guest even more.
I like the sets. Jam glasses everywhere! They're like little mascots. No clean shot of the bar so far but it looks good as well. The performance stage is not exactly pretty but as far as all-purpose performance sets go, it's decent. I'm sure I have seen those stage elements before. The light effects are cool.
I was surprised by the many glimpses behind the scenes. The scenes right before and right after the performances, the way we saw all the logistics of the instrument switches during Kishitani's medley, Sugimoto and Furata's failed mail segment introduction, Maru talking more or less directly to the staff, a shot of the staff... It makes everything look less artificial. Like, these are people working here, and they're not perfect but they're still having a good time. I like that a lot.
Furuta and Sugimoto are both actors with seemingly little variety experience, and that's what makes them such good choices as co-hosts. A comedian for example would have riled Kanjani up and turned this show into a high-tension Kansai comedy spectacle, and I've yet to see an announcer who manages to really fit proper formality with Kanjani's relaxed attitude (I don't think that's possible anyway). I think Furuta's and Sugimoto's natural behavior and calm commentary work really well, and they are vital for the MC dynamic, because they have stories to tell about Princess Princess and their heydays in the late 80s/early 90s. Producer-san knows what they're doing.
Kanjani's dynamic is different from what we're used to but it's one that has been coming for a while. Maru calm, Ryo more outgoing, Yoko quieter, Hina not directing the talk as much. They matured, and this is their chance to show it.
I think it's worth noting the things that did not happen in this episode:
• Hina (or anyone) delivering a tsukkomi
• Hina actively pulling members into the conversation
• Maru (or anyone) making a gag or silly joke
• Yoko (or anyone) making fun of anyone's misshaps (Sure, there's laughter about Ryo's and Sugimoto's bumbling, but just think about the field day Yoko would have had with that on a show like Janiben. Here, even the paper copies are accepted without comment, and no one starts paper plane folding competitions or something. Anytime someone messes up, the others laugh and move on.)
All in all I love it. There are a lot of talk&performance shows - on top of my head, The Shounen Club Premium, The Covers, Live Monster, Music Lovers - but I think KanJAM has its own niche. The collaboration gives the songs enough of a twist to make them interesting and new, especially the old ones; the talk is relaxed, funny and a good mixture of on- and off-topic. I'm not generally a fan of host hordes, but I think it works well here. I like that everyone talks to everyone, that all the little mistakes and awkward moments are taken in stride (seriously, I'm not used to that with Japanese variety shows) and that we get all that extra footage you'd normally find in the Making Of, not the show itself. All together that creates an awesome atmosphere. I think it's a really good show, and not just for fans, but also for the general public and for guests.
KanJAM has surpassed all my greatest hopes. I'm so proud and happy that after all the worrying about what comes next, how can and how do Kanjani8 want to develop, this is the answer.
DO YOU LOVE IT AS MUCH AS I DO?
We start the episode with a cool intro and high expectations.
I love the set! And the suits! And the men!
These two came as a bit of a surprise. According to the Japanese Wikipedia, they're the managers of "Live & Talk House KanJAM". I think Furuta does a smooth job. Sugimoto's awkwardness is charming.
The guests! I like both a lot. Grown women tend to be my favourite kind of guests on Japanese talk shows, they're often down to earth and confident in a way young women aren't but without the arrogance I so often see in successful older men. Kishitani is a prime example for that. Nishino works the Japanese standard of the tween pop princess but she seems nice, the segment on her weird habits is fun, she has a great voice and I love her outfits. The skirt she wears during the performance is awesome.
I think the '89 VTR with Princess Princess is very well done. The "look at all this old shit" parts make it more interesting than a simple biography, and it gives everyone in the studio something more personal to talk about than the number of hit singles or something. There is this short convo about hairstyles. Furuta starts talking about it, Yasu asks for clarification, Kishitani answers... I don't know, I really like that bit. No one is fighting for screentime or trying too hard to be funny, just people talking, youngin's learning from their elders. It's comfortable.
The obligatory "we asked people to tell us about our guests!" segment. I don't think I've ever seen a version of that I didn't like. I love the chalk boards! So much more charming and classy than those printed boards, and more economic! I think assigning that segment to two members (I assume they're going to rotate) instead of having it done by Hina is a good idea.
asdfksajafl RYO. Armed with determination, enthusiasm, a little ducktail and all the grace of a newborn giraffe, he stumbles, fumbles and mumbles his way through the segment. It is amazing to watch. He's incredibly nervous but he soldiers through and tries his best, even speaks up in between to ask a question to Kishitani. I hope they give him more of these segments, he needs (and even seems to want) the practice and in the meantime, I can do with the hilarity.
According to her manager, when she gets out of an elevator, Nishino always turns right. When everyone laughs, she says "It just feels right". Then she explains that it doesn't really matter which way she turns since she usually doesn't know where they have to go anyway. Kishitani asks if she's the first to leave the elevater (instead of her manager or staff) and Nishino confirms it. Then Yasu chimes in and says Subaru is the same: "Doesn't know the way but walks up front."
Nishino is looking forward to the male voices for the harmony in the performance of her song Darling. Subaru says that after he heard they'd perform it, he listened to Darling in the car all the time and then when they rehearsed it earlier, his heart beat faster. "I felt like I was going on a date <3"
Performance: Nishino Kana, "Darling"
Featuring: Yasu, Subaru, Yoko, Ohkura, 8band (∞バンド - ∞ band? 8BAND? Eito bendo??), two musicians of Nishino's own staff
I have to admit that after I saw the first gifs floating around on tumblr, I was a bit disappointed. From how they described the show, I didn't expect studio muscians, I thought it would be just Kanjani and the guest (and maybe sometimes musician staff the guests bring with them), but the gifs made it obvious that the Takoyaki All Stars 8band did all the hard work and Kanjani were reduced to percussion and rhythm guitars #3 and #4. I wanted Kanjani to get some playing time, and of course musical quality would have been so-so but I wanted to watch them get better with time and practice, you know? I mean, how are they going to improve if they don't get to do much?
After watching the performace I take it all back. I'm sorry I doubted you Producer-san, you totally knew what you were doing all along. As much as I love Kanjani, this awesome performance was totally worth watching Kanjani play the figurative second fiddle. Besides, I do like seeing the Takoyaki All Stars again, and not just because I like them and they're good at what they do but also because it means they have work.
And I don't think Kanjani didn't learn anything. Yoko definitely had Hamazaki show him how to play those bongos properly, and it seems he figured out the vibraslap as well. (Remember the rehearsal in the Jussai making?) He looks really good there. Competence is hot.
All in all I love it. Nishino is a very good singer, I like Darling as a song, the performance was musically sound (ha!), mixing and camera were great. In the end, Kanjani's involvement is just a bonus.
This part about Nishino's lyrics writing process (I think?) is so bad. Either put the highlights on a board and hold it up, or have someone read it out loud for everyone. You cannot pull out a fucking plastic wallet full of copies, hand one to everyone in the studio and hope that the commentary makes up for everyone's awkwardness as they sit there with a white Din-A4 sheet in their hand and for the unengaging visual of watching eleven people hunched over papers.
Performance: Kishitani Kaori, "M" and "Moonlight Story"
Featuring: Ryo, Yasu, Subaru, 8band, Chris Hart
I have to admit that I don't love this one as much as Darling. The songs and Kishitani's voice and singing are, well, very 80s/90s girl pop, I'm just not that into it. Why is Chris Hart there? Such a random addition.
Nishikido has his standard Nishikido guitar part and does a solid job with it. His singing, well, like I said, I want to watch them improve and become better. >__<
Still a good performance, all in all, and judging by everyone's face afterwards, it was a lot of fun to play.
THE MAIL SEGMENT. Oh, Sugimoto. Poor guy messes up three times. *pats* It's okay, you are adorable. Furuta calls him by his first name Tetta without honorifics, are they close?
Hina vanishes behind that pole a few times. Room for improvement, there, as well.
This segment I'd reeeeally like a translation for, because whatever is in those letters, it must be really good. I only caught a few words but boy do I want to know more. If anyone sees a translation floating around, point me in the right direction, please?
Definitely makes for a good ending.
Performance: Nishino Kana, Moshimo unmei no hito ga iru no nara
Featuring: her own musicians
Another nice pop song. I didn't realise the guests would get to perform their own songs on their own as well, but I approve very much.
Next week: Yuzu and Miwa. Can't wait!
What else...
Romaji names in the introduction captions. THANK YOU. In Janiben, for example, the name caption is in kanji and Hina usually rattles off the name over the din of applause, which often leaves me with no idea who the guest is. I'm really happy that KanJAM spells the names out.
I want to know who wrote the musical arrangements. I don't think Yasu did it but I'd have liked to know if it was Ohnishi or Peach or some outsider. I didn't see it mentioned anywhere, neither before/during/after the performances nor in the end credits. If anyone catches sight of 編曲 (arrangement) anywhere, please let me know?
Anyone else reminded of The Shounen Club Premium? Not just the collaboration part, there also was an era where Taichi had two guests with a common element but a different background (like Nino and Ohkura as actors, and Yasu and that Yuzu guy as guitarists and so on). KanJAM obviously has a very similar concept. Now I want TOKIO (members) to guest even more.
I like the sets. Jam glasses everywhere! They're like little mascots. No clean shot of the bar so far but it looks good as well. The performance stage is not exactly pretty but as far as all-purpose performance sets go, it's decent. I'm sure I have seen those stage elements before. The light effects are cool.
I was surprised by the many glimpses behind the scenes. The scenes right before and right after the performances, the way we saw all the logistics of the instrument switches during Kishitani's medley, Sugimoto and Furata's failed mail segment introduction, Maru talking more or less directly to the staff, a shot of the staff... It makes everything look less artificial. Like, these are people working here, and they're not perfect but they're still having a good time. I like that a lot.
Furuta and Sugimoto are both actors with seemingly little variety experience, and that's what makes them such good choices as co-hosts. A comedian for example would have riled Kanjani up and turned this show into a high-tension Kansai comedy spectacle, and I've yet to see an announcer who manages to really fit proper formality with Kanjani's relaxed attitude (I don't think that's possible anyway). I think Furuta's and Sugimoto's natural behavior and calm commentary work really well, and they are vital for the MC dynamic, because they have stories to tell about Princess Princess and their heydays in the late 80s/early 90s. Producer-san knows what they're doing.
Kanjani's dynamic is different from what we're used to but it's one that has been coming for a while. Maru calm, Ryo more outgoing, Yoko quieter, Hina not directing the talk as much. They matured, and this is their chance to show it.
I think it's worth noting the things that did not happen in this episode:
• Hina (or anyone) delivering a tsukkomi
• Hina actively pulling members into the conversation
• Maru (or anyone) making a gag or silly joke
• Yoko (or anyone) making fun of anyone's misshaps (Sure, there's laughter about Ryo's and Sugimoto's bumbling, but just think about the field day Yoko would have had with that on a show like Janiben. Here, even the paper copies are accepted without comment, and no one starts paper plane folding competitions or something. Anytime someone messes up, the others laugh and move on.)
All in all I love it. There are a lot of talk&performance shows - on top of my head, The Shounen Club Premium, The Covers, Live Monster, Music Lovers - but I think KanJAM has its own niche. The collaboration gives the songs enough of a twist to make them interesting and new, especially the old ones; the talk is relaxed, funny and a good mixture of on- and off-topic. I'm not generally a fan of host hordes, but I think it works well here. I like that everyone talks to everyone, that all the little mistakes and awkward moments are taken in stride (seriously, I'm not used to that with Japanese variety shows) and that we get all that extra footage you'd normally find in the Making Of, not the show itself. All together that creates an awesome atmosphere. I think it's a really good show, and not just for fans, but also for the general public and for guests.
KanJAM has surpassed all my greatest hopes. I'm so proud and happy that after all the worrying about what comes next, how can and how do Kanjani8 want to develop, this is the answer.