JE History Through 8時だJ - Introduction
Hello, everyone! You might know me from a certain disbanded comm, and if so, you probably know of me as that crazily old-show-loving chick who was connected to that 8時だJ (8 ji da J, or literally "It's 8 o'clock! J") project. In light of the indefinite hiatus (for obvious reasons), I thought I would start a journal series on this show--notes, comments, JE trivia tidbits, fangirling , pimping juniors who long since left the jimusho... The title of the series is "JE History Through 8時だJ," but never fear, it's not going to be the JE version of your high school history textbook! So, in this bleak hour without your loyal 8時だJ by your side, may this provide you your 8時だJ fix for the day/week/month!
Well, that's my intention anyway.
So, without further ado, let's move on to the main feature of tonight's program: 8時だJ!
Show Title: 8時だJ
Run: April 15, 1998 - September 22, 1999
Network: TV Asahi
Showtime: Every Wednesday from 8:00 p.m. to 8:54 p.m.
Preceeded by: SHOW-NEN J (TV Asahi, Every Tuesdays at 0:39)
Followed by: Yattaru-J and then music-enta (same time slot under different names)
1. Background
It was the best of times. Wait, that was Dickens, sorry. Seriously though, it really was (the best of times, I mean, not Dickens). It was the good old days when juniors had their own golden time (or as we say it over here in most of the English-speaking world, "prime time) TV, held their own dome concert tours, and commanded a huge level of popularity. Long story short, it was Johnny's Jr.'s Golden Age (ジャニーズジュニア黄金期, which, according to older fans I've met, even had its entry in an official Japanese dictionary of some kind).
A simple way to define the age is with one phrase that pointed out the leading figures of the time quite succinctly: "Takizawa of the East, Shibutani of the West (「東の滝沢・西の渋谷」)." They were the top junior within the Kantou and the Kansai juniors, respectively, and Takki, in particular, is central to that period both in terms of being the Jr. Leader from 1999 until his debut and crucial to the Sugao concert series, and in terms of his own popularity.
Full Shot of the juniors 1997 in promotion material for Meikan vol. 2
The peak of the Golden Age was roughly around 1997/8-1999, but really, one could say that it encompasses a growing trend that could be traced back to mid- to late-1996 and early 1997, and continued well into 2000 before its decline around late-2000 and 2001. The trend began to develop with the release of the Johnny's Jr. meikans (basically a yearbook-like photo directory, there are scans out there if you look hard enough) in late 1996, the launch of various variety programs showcasing the juniors such as Ai Love Jr. and Music Jump, in 1996 and 1997, and the success of TV drama with juniors in one of the main roles (Takki, in most cases), such as Mukuyou no Kaidan and News no Onna, which brought in more fans and attention. Opportunities abound, competition was also fierce (especially during the peak period, with an unprecedented number of juniors auditioned in to accommodate concert needs and so on), and us fans were graced with a group of extremely talented juniors, all with strong personalities. Yes, in a way, the Golden Age of the juniors is also Takki's Age; but more than that, the defining feature of the period is the level at which the juniors came into the limelight and shone in their own right despite their not-yet-debuted status.
A page from the 1998.01 issue of Myojo featuring popular juniors from the period
In that way, the Golden Age really hearkened in a brand new era for the juniors, for better or for worse. Before then, the juniors mainly stayed out of the limelight, and mainly functioned as back dancers for debuted groups. Sure, there were programs like Ai Love Smap and Idols on Stage, in which the juniors were involved; however, never before in JE history did the juniors garner so much attention and media exposure. And, perhaps, never again--while juniors nowadays still have Shounen Club and different groups have their concert tours, the level of popularity and media exposure for the juniors nowadays come nowhere near the level during the late-90s peak.
Screencap from Johnny's Jr.'s performance on Music Station; January 29, 1999
Which brings me to my next point--when did the Golden Age end? Some, with Takki's importance to the period in mind, define it as 2002, when Tackey & Tsubasa debuted. While I do not deny that it was indeed one of the nails in the proverbial coffin, I tend to look at it from a wider point of view and pinpoint it at around late 2000 and 2001, with Kohara Yuki's announcement that he is leaving the jimusho and his farewell to the fans at the end of the 3 Domes Tour in 2000, the third and last in the Sugao series (it was the first and only instance in JE history that a junior was able to actually announce that he was leaving, instead of just disappear quietly without any preambles) and the gradual diminish of work for the Kansai juniors, including the top 4 (Subaru, Yoko, Hina, and Ryo). There were signs of trouble as early as late 1998 and throughout 1999 (for reason I would rather not go into here for fear of turning this into a general JE corporate history and uwasa post); and although Arashi worked with the juniors for quite some time after their debut, the debut nonetheless took some tolls on fan support, as not everyone was happy about who got to debut and who didn't (which was really something unavoidable when you have a big core group of juniors each immensely popular in his own right, only each to different degrees). In 2000, with the transformation of Music Jump into Shounen Club, Yamapi and Kat-tun began to rise to the center, and while Takki was still the junior leader was still heavily involved in the panning of the show, he was no longer MC and face of Shounen Club the way he was in 8時だJ, Music Jump, and so on. Also, after the first quarter of 2001, the series of programs occupying a prime time slot was finally pulled off air and was turned into Hadaka no Shonen, which aired at midnight on Saturdays--something that in a way, signified the close of an era.
II. The Show Itself
Pictures with all participating juniors and Hiromi, taken in the studio on the day when the first episode of 8じだJ was recorded
So, why 8時だJ in particular, aside from the practical reasons like subs and subbing team disbanding and hiatus? It, together with Music Jump, really mark the peak of the Johnny's Jr. boom in late-90s. As we all know, 8 時だJ launched in April, 1998, and marked the Johnny's Jr.'s move into prime time TV. In the same month, Music Jump, previously a shared endeavor between V6 and the juniors, was fully handed over to the juniors. And to a lot of fans, or even non-fans, who witness the period, one of the first things that come to mind is always 8時だJ, that prime time variety show that showcased the juniors. And from the assortment of juniors who took central positions in the show from the launch of the show to its close and metamorphosis into Yattaru-J, one could really see the changes take place within the central group of juniors before your very eyes--the rise of the 4 top Kansai juniors, gradual marginalization of the older crowd within the juniors, the build-up to Arashi's debut, and the very fact that now-debuted junior(s) and current, older juniors who really should be called seniors entered the jimusho through this very show... Fascinating stuff to watch, really.
Even so, why should we care, you ask? Isn't this program just some fun show where we can see Arashi, T&T, Eito, Toma, and others in their pre-debut days? Well, it was, and it is. It's a fun show, and it really needs to be enjoyed as such. Even more than the present hiatus on subbing 8時だJ, I decided to launch this series on 8時だJ because it was my favorite period of JE history, that one period that made me laugh, fangirl, fall in love with all of the charming juniors, and cry so much, and I couldn't bear to see it go unknown and unappreciated in the fandom. Because honestly speaking, how many go in without knowing or caring who Kohara Yuki is (to speak nothing of other brilliant juniors who long since left)? How many doesn't know of "Ashita ni Mukatte" and "Can Do! Can Go!" as anything more than random Arashi/V6 songs? We all have our favorites, and I can't ask all of fandom to become a crazy Golden Age maniac like myself, but if one, just one person gained a new appreciation for the show because of my comments and notes, I've done my job right.
Thank you for reading this far, and please look forward to the next installment on the first episode!
Thanks: I won't be naming any names, for the list is too long, but a big shout out to everyone, especially old fans in the Japanese and Chinese fandoms, whose sites, concert reports, magazine interview transcriptions, TV show information, raws, scans, etc. I plowed through after becoming a huge fan of the Golden Age way after the peak!
P.S.: Since I'm not a fan who goes all the way back to the 90s, and had to rely on backlogs of information that I could find from that period, if there are any errors, or points you don't agree with me about, feel free to say so in the comments or shoot me a PM! I fell in love with the Golden Age after being Toma-baited into the fandom and immediately researching his old stuff like crazy, so my experience might not be the same as that of someone who experienced it first hand, but I do try to get a feel for that from what older fans wrote about that period.