In Which Shingo Realizes He Quite Likes His Role (Shingo)
In Which Shingo Realizes He Quite Likes His Role
Katori Shingo + SMAP
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In Which Shingo Realizes He Quite Likes His Role
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He gets away with thing because he's Shingo. As Katori Shingo, youngest member of nation-wide famous SMAP, he can get away with things no else can.
Not many people can sneak behind Nakai Masahiro, give SMAP's leader a bear hug and walk away like nothing happened. After all, Nakai-kun is a highly respected star with many popular television shows under his name, hosting Kouhaku year after year because no one else fits the role better. Most people don't dare approach Nakai-kun because that's simply something people don't do, out of respect and fear.
But Shingo remembers the days when their leader got yelled at for not selling, how their leader rounded them up and told them that since they're not famous yet, they should accept anything the agency dished out at them. Shingo was once so close to crying he could almost feel the tears in his eyes, but the look of sheer will on Nakai-kun's face stopped him from running back home.
He's also one of the very few people who dare play a prank on Kimura Takuya. Even Nakai-kun doesn't ever do the same, ever since that one incident that resulted in the two top members of SMAP having a full on fight with each other. Television shows stopped playing pranks on SMAP as well, in fear of Kimura-kun's wrath. But Shingo occasionally sneaks a few tricks in, smiling innocently when Kimura-kun blinks in confusion.
People stare at Shingo in awe, wondering where he got the courage. But what they don't see is how much Shingo repects Kimura-kun, more so than they ever would. People see Kimura-kun hitting him in mock annoyance all the time, but they would never feel the gentle acceptance that comes with it, and Shingo likes it that way.
Goro looks at him in puzzlement most of the time. Shingo knows it's because there are parts of him that Goro would never understand, even though they've been in the same group all these years. It adds up to the fun, especially when despite being younger, Shingo could plant a foot on Goro's leg and the other would do nothing but complain.
They might be polar opposites, but they can pull off comedy like no one else can. Shingo realized that people laughed at his actions quite early, while Goro preferred to stay calm - or at least attempt to - and look cool. But being in SMAP meant doing short comedic acts all year long, and it soon meant that Goro was stuffed in just as many costumes and applied with just as much makeup as Shingo. Plus, Goro really likes pie on his face; ignoring all their differences, Shingo has known all along that Goro liked comedy just as much as he did.
And, well, there's Tsuyoshi. Who people tend to forget is also in SMAP, because Tsuyoshi enjoys letting others talk while hiding behind. Tsuyoshi gets along with everyone, and even with the scandal people in the entertainment business still spoke for Tsuyoshi. Shingo's not even all that embarassed that he cried while apologizing, even if he was slightly angry - never as angry as Tsuyoshi was at himself.
They were, after all, partners in crime. They snuck away for filming sites together, crawled into work late together, and walked home together after the last bus drove away back when the crew had no time to spare for two unprofessional children that wanted a good dinner more than a sound pay. The history they shared meant Shingo could forgive Tsuyoshi the second the news was confirmed, as so he did.
Shingo has played a lot of roles. He's pretty sure some people only recognize him as Shingo-mama, with 'O-ha!' as his trademark greeting; he doesn't mind lifting his voice several octaves to please people, especially if there are children involved. There's also characters like Son Goku, with the worst costume in history, though the reward for that is almost worth it. Almost, because the costume is still horrible, especially at times when he's sweating under all those layers and there's an itch he really wants to scratch.
Doing 27 hours for FNS has Shingo confused from all the role changing. He can't sleep, he can barely close his eyes for a few seconds before he's called upon again, and he has to remember to act like his characters by checking which costume he's wearing from the monitor through it all.
So when he asked what character he's doing next and the crew answered Katori Shingo, Shingo tried to recall what it's like to be Katori Shingo.
And he might not know how he's going to talk to Nakai-kun, or how he's going to comment on Kimura-kun's cooking, or how to greet Goro and get Tsuyoshi to talk, but after he thought about what he gets to do with SMAP, Shingo came to conclusion that he's really fortunate to be Katori Shingo. It's his favorite role, after all.
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Katori Shingo + SMAP
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In Which Shingo Realizes He Quite Likes His Role
.
He gets away with thing because he's Shingo. As Katori Shingo, youngest member of nation-wide famous SMAP, he can get away with things no else can.
Not many people can sneak behind Nakai Masahiro, give SMAP's leader a bear hug and walk away like nothing happened. After all, Nakai-kun is a highly respected star with many popular television shows under his name, hosting Kouhaku year after year because no one else fits the role better. Most people don't dare approach Nakai-kun because that's simply something people don't do, out of respect and fear.
But Shingo remembers the days when their leader got yelled at for not selling, how their leader rounded them up and told them that since they're not famous yet, they should accept anything the agency dished out at them. Shingo was once so close to crying he could almost feel the tears in his eyes, but the look of sheer will on Nakai-kun's face stopped him from running back home.
He's also one of the very few people who dare play a prank on Kimura Takuya. Even Nakai-kun doesn't ever do the same, ever since that one incident that resulted in the two top members of SMAP having a full on fight with each other. Television shows stopped playing pranks on SMAP as well, in fear of Kimura-kun's wrath. But Shingo occasionally sneaks a few tricks in, smiling innocently when Kimura-kun blinks in confusion.
People stare at Shingo in awe, wondering where he got the courage. But what they don't see is how much Shingo repects Kimura-kun, more so than they ever would. People see Kimura-kun hitting him in mock annoyance all the time, but they would never feel the gentle acceptance that comes with it, and Shingo likes it that way.
Goro looks at him in puzzlement most of the time. Shingo knows it's because there are parts of him that Goro would never understand, even though they've been in the same group all these years. It adds up to the fun, especially when despite being younger, Shingo could plant a foot on Goro's leg and the other would do nothing but complain.
They might be polar opposites, but they can pull off comedy like no one else can. Shingo realized that people laughed at his actions quite early, while Goro preferred to stay calm - or at least attempt to - and look cool. But being in SMAP meant doing short comedic acts all year long, and it soon meant that Goro was stuffed in just as many costumes and applied with just as much makeup as Shingo. Plus, Goro really likes pie on his face; ignoring all their differences, Shingo has known all along that Goro liked comedy just as much as he did.
And, well, there's Tsuyoshi. Who people tend to forget is also in SMAP, because Tsuyoshi enjoys letting others talk while hiding behind. Tsuyoshi gets along with everyone, and even with the scandal people in the entertainment business still spoke for Tsuyoshi. Shingo's not even all that embarassed that he cried while apologizing, even if he was slightly angry - never as angry as Tsuyoshi was at himself.
They were, after all, partners in crime. They snuck away for filming sites together, crawled into work late together, and walked home together after the last bus drove away back when the crew had no time to spare for two unprofessional children that wanted a good dinner more than a sound pay. The history they shared meant Shingo could forgive Tsuyoshi the second the news was confirmed, as so he did.
Shingo has played a lot of roles. He's pretty sure some people only recognize him as Shingo-mama, with 'O-ha!' as his trademark greeting; he doesn't mind lifting his voice several octaves to please people, especially if there are children involved. There's also characters like Son Goku, with the worst costume in history, though the reward for that is almost worth it. Almost, because the costume is still horrible, especially at times when he's sweating under all those layers and there's an itch he really wants to scratch.
Doing 27 hours for FNS has Shingo confused from all the role changing. He can't sleep, he can barely close his eyes for a few seconds before he's called upon again, and he has to remember to act like his characters by checking which costume he's wearing from the monitor through it all.
So when he asked what character he's doing next and the crew answered Katori Shingo, Shingo tried to recall what it's like to be Katori Shingo.
And he might not know how he's going to talk to Nakai-kun, or how he's going to comment on Kimura-kun's cooking, or how to greet Goro and get Tsuyoshi to talk, but after he thought about what he gets to do with SMAP, Shingo came to conclusion that he's really fortunate to be Katori Shingo. It's his favorite role, after all.
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