Report from today's Sexy Zone new single presentation event

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From News @ Asahi TV.

Today, July 15th, Sexy Zone's Sato Shori (17), Nakajima Kento (20), and Kikuchi Fuma(19) held a presentation event for their new single in Tokyo's Yoyogi National Gymnasium. In front of 10,000 fans, they performed their new song for the first time, and announced that that same song would not include Matsushima Sou (16) and

Comments

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afaik there was no official comment about them becoming a "fluid group;" whoever wrote that article is trying to start something. (i think. i hope??)

things HAVE been looking better lately so i am honestly confused about what the ultimate goal is with this single. i have no problem with the existence of sexy boyz/sexy show since it's a way for marisou to actually get screen time, which lbr they DON'T get with sz, and maybe i can convince myself that this is an opportunity for them to focus on gaining experience in the derivative units before the main group comes back together. maybe. after all, they were not involved in bad boys - didn't even appear on the cover - and nothing permanent happened after that single. so... maybe.

i am somewhat comforted by what fuma said but still very upset for marisou who do not deserve this kind of treatment from their management. i am struggling about whether or not to buy this single bc i want to support the other three but i don't know how else to show my sadness about this decision other than by not buying it.

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I've seen it in every news report in different but similar wording (for example, here and here, and to a slightly lesser extent here) so it's possible that there was a press conference after the show, or something. "流動的" and "常にメンバーが入れ替わる" seem to be common buzzwords that worry me. But I hope that you're right. >__< It could just as well be the management trying to start something…

Yeah, I feel the same way, but at the end of the day, I don't like them being so easily and quickly mingled with Juniors. It's sort of a double-edged sword, in my opinion (sort of like KisuMai's Busaiku unit), because it breaks them away from the rest of the group in image and makes them seem more "kiddie" and less "sexy" or "adult-like." I know that Marius being so young and Sou living so far can be somewhat to blame in terms of schedule, and it might easier to put them with juniors, but in the long run, I'd like to see those units die out after this summer and Marius and Sou to be more integrated with the rest of the group. I totally agree with you that things have really and truly been looking better, though, so I'm frankly floored by this. The Sexy Second tour gave me such hopes. I guess I'll have to wait and see what the summer concert is like… did you go to Sexy Second/are you planning to go to the summer con?

I feel the same way about Bad Boys, too, but I just hate keeping the same cyclical thought pattern of "well nothing bad happened last time something awful happened for Marius and Sou…" It just sucks in the long run.

And yeah, I feel the same way here too. It's really a mess and as a fan of the group I'm pretty torn up, as well.

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if someone had said that, i just feel like there would be a direct quote, like there was re: solo projects from kento. i feel like one media outlet said it & the others just picked it up and ran off with it. they can't "undebut" marisou. they can add jinguji/genki/whoever else if they really want to but they can't DROP people. there would be an implosion and i'm almost certain there would be something against that in their contracts. they're in unless they want to leave or they screw up like morimoto. sou is clearly fighting this terrible management & he'll be there for mari as well. i guess my concern isn't that they'll be kicked out but that this will be a terrible blow to their self-esteem that nobody needs at 14 & 16 and that idols need even less. it's just so unfair.

i saw sexy second but no, i'm not going to the summer con, and i'm more depressed about that now bc i won't get to see the situation for myself firsthand, you know?? i left sexy second thinking that, YES!! this group is finally cohesive... and now this. & if i feel this bad as a fan, how does the group feel? not just marisou, either - the other three must be feeling terrible. i'm so tired of reading about how "kento seems cold" - whatever; that's how he is when the crap hits the fan. it doesn't mean they're not upset about this just because it doesn't affect them.

it just sucks. i feel the same way about excusing it as, "oh well, nothing bad happened the last time they got left out" - bc what the heck, there shouldn't BE a "last time" at all!

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I guess I didn't read "fluid" as "taking Marius and Sou out" so much as, there might not always be 5 members from now on. Like, solos, or just Marius and Sou… whether or not those words were just hype by the press (which it's highly likely that they are, I totally agree-- when Sexy Boyz and Sexy Show got announced, good old Nikkan Sports reported something like "FOR THE FIRST TIME IN JOHNNY'S HISTORY, MEMBERS ARE ADDED AFTER DEBUT"… okay, yeah, sure, Nikkan Sports.) But the promise of solos on the horizon is not something I particularly relish-- as B-sides or on an album, absolutely. "Solo debuts" or a solo being in place of a full Sexy Zone single… not so much.

But I 100% agree with you that their self esteem is my number-one concern. They're only kids, and it's hard enough being 14 and 16 when you're not and idol. I've always felt that if it hurts this much for me as a fan, it must be hurting them 100 times more, and I just… feel awful for them, for Sou, who's written that he feels like he can't contribute to the group and was depressed over it, and for Marius, who's struggling with Japanese and culture shock and everything else on top of this crap. It's really unfair to them, and to the other three, too, especially Kento and Fuma, who have already had B.I.Shadow pulled out from under them.

Yeah, I can imagine that that would be tough ;; Do you live in Japan? Or were you visiting? At any rate, I'll be sure to report back from the summer con. x__x; But I totally agree about Sexy Second. I went twice, and my confidence built both times that things were really going well. It seemed so much like the management was finally presenting them as one cohesive group and then… this. UGH.

Yes. Exactly that. I totally agree with you.

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Lol right? Oh Nikkan Sports. But exactly. I can't imagine the anxiety they must feel over that. Recently, the shift in Johnny's to mimic AKB is really worrying me-- it's a different model for a different group and a different fanbase. It could never work in Johnny's, especially not in a small group, and I don't want the poor guys having that sort of anxiety.

Yes, I'm really glad Fuma spoke out, and I'm sure he and Kento are being supportive. It still must just hurt a whole lot for all of them, though. Fuma and Kento have felt the guilt of being featured or debuted too much; it's not their fault but I can't imagine it feels good, to be pushed front first over Hokuto and Kouchi, and now over the younger two. It's honestly awful for everyone involved.

Ahh, I see. That's cool. I honestly haven't seen any really positive responses in Japanese or English-speaking fandom, so… yeah. I really don't understand. All I can think is that it's a tactic to get us to buy more Marius and Sou stuff rabidly, to vote with our dollars… but who knows. Johnny's marketing strategies are a huge mystery.

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All I can think is that it's a tactic to get us to buy more Marius and Sou stuff rabidly, to vote with our dollars… but who knows.

i'm really wishing now that i had written marius or sou's name on my fc form, bc it makes absolutely no difference to my membership but probably affects their popularity ranking with management. ugh, ugh, ugh.

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Oh no DDD: But, you can change it online? I know a friend changed hers online, anyway…! I think even not living in Japan it should be okay?

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ahh i didn't know you could do it online!! i'm going to change it now. not that i love kento any less but i'll feel better if i do this.

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Yes, my friend changed her favorite in KisuMai for a pretty similar reason online, so I know that it was at least possible last year. Did it work out okay?

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it did work. i chose sou since i feel like he needs support the most. :c eight hours later, still miserable, lol.

p.s. the tabloids are starting to crawl up from the pit again; i did a super quick translation of one of them here. if you think it would be useful, please feel free add it to the post.

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That's good, at least. I feel you, though; I woke up this morning and was like "…fuck."

Oh, thank you. I'll link it in my post, though I'm afraid that people are going to take it as fact >__< Freaking sports papers.

By the way, I feel like we have a lot of opinions about fandom in common… do you mind if I friend you?

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yep. that's basically how i've been feeling all day.

oh, absolutely! i picked the worst time ever to join up on lj & have hardly had the chance to post anything before this mess came crashing down, but i would love to be friends.

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It's pretty much the worst feeling >__<

Awesome, thanks! Always happy to make more Sexy Girl friends~

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I feel like the other three would understand us not buying it. I won't be. I'm bothered by the fact that it's happening at all; I want them to stand up for the other two, to fight it. But maybe they can't. I don't know what goes on behind the scenes. But I DO believe that Fuma (can't speak for the others, I'm sure it's true for Kento but I'm a Fuma bias through and through) would.. How to phrase this? Would want [us] to not buy it in protest because there's nothing he can do. That's the vibe I've always gotten from him. I know he wants to be successful, but I also know that he cares so much about the people around him. I really need to believe right now that The Three aren't going along with this of their own free will, although I've griped and moaned in the past about them needing to fight it no matter what.

I love Fuma SO much, but I can't support this split anymore; if it's not 5 members I'm not having it. And I genuinely believe he would understand that and wouldn't hold it against me.

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I totally agree with you about Fuma and about the split. He's an amazing guy who loves his friends, and you can tell from his comment that he's really not happy about this. I wish that there was more that he/they could do to fight this, but I assume, since it happened, that there wasn't anything. At any rate, what you're saying makes a lot of sense to me. If it's not 5 members, then it's not Sexy Zone.