Wake up!! Good morning!! It's show time ∞o'clock oh yeah!! (a kanjani8 pimp post)

[greatfountain]

関ジャニ∞/Kanjani8 (also known as Eito) is a 7-member (formerly 8-member, we'll get into that later) idol group signed to Johnny's and Associates. This is the first in a series of 8 pimp posts on the various members in hopes of making everyone a crazy stan like I am. :Db or at least promoting the group love, because they really do need it.



How did they get here?

Before we talk about K8, we need to take about the original subgroups really quick. First was the loose non-group of Nishikido Ryo, Murakami Shingo, Yokoyama You, and Shibutani Subaru, who were leading Juniors back in Tokyo. They had roles in dramas and co-hosted shows. Subaru in particular was well-known, giving rise to the nicknames "Takizawa of the East and Shibutani of the West". After the debut of their cohorts Arashi, these four found themselves at the heart of what is known among certain circles as the "Kansai Neglect", and their work dried up to basically monthly magazine photo shoots and nothing else. Yoko mentioned in his Shounen Club Premium appearance that he was working two jobs: his idol job and a construction job, just to help his mom pay the bills.

However, the group V.West (Five-West, as in the western counterpart of the Junior band FiVe) was also rising in popularity. It got to the point where the five members (Maruyama Ryuhei, Uchi Hiroki, Yasuda Shota, Mizuno Kiyohito, and Imayama Toru) had their own television show: Weekly V. West. However, V.West saw the loss of two members, and in short order a support member, Ohkura Tadayoshi, was added. The two groups (technically 7 members, as Ohkura wasn't official yet) came together for a stage play, Another, and then a television show, J3 Kansai.

By episode 9 of J3 Kansai, Ohkura was an official member, and thus Kanjani8 became an 8-member band. They received the name "Kanjani Eight", because they were Kansai Jyaniizu (Johnny's), and their show aired on Channel 8. They debuted in August 2004 with the enka single Naniwa Iroha Bushi.

Well who the hell are they?
Note: all the little squares can be clicked to bring up the full-size image. :D

yoko.






Full name: Yokoyama You (横山裕)
Other nicknames: Yokocho, Kimi-kun
Birthday: 1981.05.09 (29 years old)
Blood type: A
Height: 176 cm (5'9")
Joined Johnny's: 1996.12.25, after a classmate made it in and his mother declared "well if he can get in, my kid can".
Image color: Black
Instrument: Percussion (usually the bongos. And the chimes.)
Hobbies: Watching 24, playing Monster Hunter
Family: Two younger brothers
Subgroups: Sankyodai

Angelic fair skin worthy of envy
A member-loving Wonder Boy
Loves to go on trips, is also a gourmet
"Um~ these days I'm into Vegas and tsukemen?"
Kind fun rare
It's Yokocho, Yokoyama Yuu-chan!

Yoko's the oldest. And the most childish. While not a, ah, great singer, he tries. And he's very cute? :D? Anyway, Yoko is mostly known for how shy and how dumb he is off camera, and how evil (and genius) he is on camera. Kanjani8 ends up off the script a lot, and Yoko (or Subaru l-lol) is usually leading the way. Ryo has been quoted as saying "he's a genius. When we're in meetings he comes up with really crazy, great ideas". He once orchestrated an entire prank meant to give his BFF Murakami the CM he always wanted. Then he can't type in his native language. He's also responsible for Kanjani Sentai Eitoranger, wherein the members of Kanjani8 become members of a sentai squad and put on a skit. Hina refers to Yoko as "the man with the glass heart", and Yasu has been quoted as saying Yoko won't cry in front of the members. He's publicly known for his petulance and whining (like the time he made Yasu look bad in front of the lovely people of Japan just because Yasu is nice and :D), but Yoko is sensitive and thoughtful. Despite being a middle school drop-out, Yoko's a talented lyricist; he's written solos for himself, for the Yasuda-Yokoyama special unit, and for the now defunct sub-group Sankyodai. Yoko is a rare breed of Johnny to have a stage name; his actual name is Kimitaka, but Johnny decided the kanji were too complicated so he changed it to the kanji for Yuu. But's it's romanized You because that's what Johnny calls all his talents. (E-except Yoko, who he calls Yoko. Oh, Johnny.) He doesn't like it when you steal his pudding, by the way. (It's been like six years already, Yoko, let it go!) Yoko's fairly well known for his drama roles: the young (and kind of dumb) Tokio in Nino's Haikei, Chichue-sama, the aristocratic Seishiro of Yukan Club, and most recently Teranishi in the detective drama Control.

subaru.







Full name: Shibutani Subaru (渋谷すばる)
Other nicknames: Subaru-kun, Shibuyan
Birthday: 1981.09.22 (29 years old)
Blood type: O
Height: 165.6 cm (~5'5")
Joined Johnny's: 1996.09.22, his mother gave him 5000 yen (~60 USD) to attend the audition
Image color: Red
Instrument: Guitar
Hobbies: Playing Monster Hunter, shopping at thrift stores, hanging with his kouhai
Family: Parents, older brother and younger brother
Subgroups: Sankyodai, SubaruBAND, Five Flat Flowers (with FiVe)

This is who we were waiting for, the wild beast with a beautiful voice
Hey Hey Boy there, how much does this cost?
Has a love for vintage clothes, Love Love SUBARU
S-M No No Anything Subaru
Ha~n wow this is a first
Lacks common sense and is a health maniac
To tie, to boast, to be wrapped up in, Subaru works hard
This guy's the Shibutani Subaru we know

Subaru is the main vocalist of Kanjani8. He's a pervert, a musician, and. Just. I adore Subaru, tbh, he's very strange and very shy (he used to make Yasu go shopping with him because he couldn't ask the attendant for clothes in his size) but put him on stage and he comes alive. He had a tattoo fandom nicknamed "Skull-chan" he got during a bout of depression somewhere before debut, and spent years covering it up with gloves, but it's since been removed, as he's now gloveless with no Skull-chan in sight. Subaru is very typical artist in the sense that he gets into funks, and it shows. He's a very physical person, constantly on top of Yasu or Maru especially, but he gets up close and personal with Ryo a lot, too~ And he should win an award for "most awesome songs written about sex" or something. desire and Greedy are two of my favorite performances off like anything ever. He worked with the members of FiVe as a Junior and more recently with his solo concerts as a special unit, FIVE FLAT FLOWERS. (For my KAT-TUN friends, think Ueda and Mouse Peace, only more history.) He also worked extensively with Yasuda, and the two share a blog, YASUBA. Of late he seems to be spending a lot of time with the rest of the Monhan gang (especially Yoko) and the older Kanjuu, most prominently Hamanaka Bunichi of Veteran. Subaru doesn't act much, but in recent years he appeared in the special Double. In his time as a Junior, he appeared in Sensitive Pornograph, and as Nino's Osaka-born new stepbrother in Abunai Houkago.

hina.







Full name: Murakami Shingo (村上信吾)
Other nicknames: Hina(-chan), Gorilla
Birthday: 1982.1.26 (29 years old)
Blood type: AB
Height: 170 cm (~5'7")
Joined Johnny's: 1996.12.25, Hina had plans to attend the comedy school NSC, but a classmate suggested he audition for Johnny's, too, and he made it in!
Image color: Purple (Nasu, or eggplant)
Instrument: Keyboards
Hobbies: SOCCER
Family: Parents, younger brother
Subgroups: NO BORDER

Only barely a Johnny's, a tsukkomi idol
Any time anywhere his right palm is open
Tsukkomis gravure idols without hesitation
Tsukkomis bigshots without fear
But yet sometimes his right hand's a fist
He finds Maru-chan and punches him for real
Tsukkomis are his life, his right hand is his life
His double teeth are his life, Murakami Shingo

Hina: can you believe he used to look like a popular female idol? Yeah, the jaw must have grown in during puberty or something. Hina's famous for his MC-ing ability and, more hilariously, his tendency to tsukkomi (or in the common vernacular, smack the crap out of) people, including but not limited to his bandmates, popular comedians, and female reporters. Hina is a soccer fanatic--seriously, he cries about soccer, plays it on the weekend, yammers on and on and on about it in his J-Webs… basically if Hina could marry soccer he would. Hina is hardworking and level-headed, keeping the other members in line and never complaining. He's the type to smack you around to get you on track and then text you when you have a cold to make sure you're okay. Oh, and he used to date Toda Erika. Yeah, I'm sad to see the back of that union, too. Hina's bad with bugs and afraid of heights (but still better than Ohkura.) Also he and Tackey are BFFs. After spending their childhoods arguing. Oh Hina. Hina acted in Aiba's My Girl most recently as a kindergarten teacher, but he's more active with his stage plays, If Or…

maru.







Full name: Maruyama Ryuhei (丸山龍平)
Other nicknames: Maru-o, Maru-chan
Birthday: 1983.11.26 (27 years old)
Blood type: A
Height: 177 cm (~5'10")
Joined Johnny's: 1997.9.6, because his parents weren't sure what he was going to do with his life otherwise. Originally he auditioned at the same audition as Subaru, but he was never called after one magazine photoshoot so his parents made him re-audition, and Johnny saw him and said "YOU what are you doing here? YOU're already in!".
Image color: Orange
Instrument: Bass guitar
Hobbies: Photography
Family: Parents, younger brother, younger sister
Subgroups: Yamada, SubaruBAND

Yeah~ ye-yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah
Ye-yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah
This guys's the mark of our group's energy
He's Maru-maru-maru-mary-maru-chan
With a strange noise a sudden small paaan
Make him hyper, you get a sudden paaaaan
Loves women, loves potato chips
When he eats a sweet thing, ama~su!!

Maru's the mood maker. He likes to make weird faces and is famous for his one-line gags (which… usually fall flat. It's okay, Maru, you can hang with Junno) and his PAAAAAAN~!, which involves a hand movement. He does it a lot. Maru's the cheerful, 'kind of dumb' type, but he takes things hard, and he thinks a lot in his private time. Subaru on Maru: "He'll never show it to people, but he works really hard in the shadows and does things completely if he says he'll do it. But as much as that, he worries so much about small mistakes." Maru's interested in things like spirits, and is very very fond of his prayer beads (Yoko says that Maru's usually pretty chill, but as soon as you touch those he'll yell at you.) Maru likes photography, and he takes pictures of lots of nature and stuff. Oh, and he embarrasses Ryo from time to time, and gets trolled… Maru is a self professed "M", so it's all good. 8D? Oh, and he's been quoted as admiring TOKIO's Leader (Joshima Shigeru) which is all the more reason to think Maru's awesome. Leader♥♥ Random fact: Maru's parents are both bodybuilders! His dad makes taiko drums for a living, though, bodybuilding is his hobby. Finally, he wears lingerie every year at Countdown. :D. Well known dramas Maru's appeared in include Ohno's Uta no oniisan and most recently Nino's Freeter, ie wo kau. Currently Maru is starring in the stage version of What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, which has been well-received by critics. Yay, Maru!

yasu.







Full name: Yasuda Shota (安田章大)
Other nicknames: Yassan, Sho-chan, Shota
Birthday: 1984.9.11 (26 years old)
Blood type: A
Height: 164.5 cm (~5'4")
Joined Johnny's: 1997.09.06, because his sister applied for him
Image color: Blue
Instrument: Guitar
Hobbies: Guitar playing, scuba diving, shopping, drawing, boating
Family: Parents, older sister
Subgroups: Sankyodai, Yamada, SubaruBAND

Has fields of flowers inside his brain
He's found himself with the nickname gay
Holding the F chord with his short fingers
He gets the venue going! Everyone yell!!
Together with this guy Yeah! Yeah!
It's actually a lie! Gay! Gay!
Kinder than anyone, more reliable than anyone
Eito's best boy Sho-chan

Sometimes I think Yasuda Shota exists entirely to smash every gender stereotype ever. On his application, his sister called him a "dekiru ko" (do anything kid), and it's proven true. He wears skirts. He paints his nails. He designs clothes, composes songs, and sings. And then he puts on his wet suit and goes scuba diving or takes a mountain climbing trip or goes boating. He cries at the drop of a hat and is the kindest member of Kanjani8; Yoko says "he could be our girlfriend!". He cleans up and keeps things in the dressing room in order, but according to Maru: "He’s kind, but he’s not just kind, he’s clear on when kindness is needed and when it’s not. Sometimes just being kind doesn’t work right? Yasu really thinks of the other person." Yasu is (in?)famous for his colorful fashion sense, but he dgaf what you people think. He knows he's fabulous (and so do we). Oh, and in case I forgot to mention it, we basically have Yasu to thank for the existence of Kanjani8. When V.West lost their two members, they were in a tough spot: when I say "Ohkura was thrown in as a support member" I really mean something more along the lines that Yasu wanted to reorganize the group as a band, and he wanted to use the previously unknown Ohkura as their drummer. Johnny told him to go for it, but really really implied that if they weren't ready for their winter live at the end of the year, it was all on Yasu. Yasu, like the BAMF he is, took up the challenge. Ohkura rose to the occasion, V.West performed, and we got Kanjani8. Yasu (and Ohkura, of course) is Good Job.

ryo.





Full name: Nishikido Ryo (錦戸亮)
Other nicknames: Dokkun, Ryo-chan, Nishiyan
Birthday: 1984.11.3 (26 years old)
Blood type: O
Height: 169.9 cm (~5'6") <--this is the most recent number. Is this a lie like his last reported height?
Joined Johnny's: 1997.9.6, apparently of his own accord?
Image color: Yellow
Instrument: Guitar, harmonica
Hobbies: Guitar playing and partying
Family: Parents, two older brothers, younger sister
Subgroups: (Insert "loneliest idol" joke here~) Ryo isn't a member of any subgroups. :D He sings with Subaru and Ohkura and Yasu every now and then, though.

Ryo Ryo Ryo NSKD This guy's name is Nishikido Ryo
Whomever it is he'll deliver his glare
Sexy eyes curving down accented with a mole
Black hair, he's alluring Ah, everyone's madly in love with his guitar play
Loves his friends and easily cries, this guy is our Last Friends

Nishiki! Ryo's a snarly sarcastic ball of love♥. Or so claim his bandmates. Ryo's currently the only idol working full-time in two groups: he also works with NEWS. Ryo shares main vocalist billing with Subaru, and sometimes he sings pretty songs. Ryo's fairly well-known amongst Johnny's for being a party-hard type who hangs with Akanishi Jin and Yamashita Tomohisa, but according to K8 he's the "kindest" member of Kanjani, and sometimes he even shows it! This essay is basically the reason I adore him so much, seriously. So cute. Maru refers to Ryo as "tsundere" (usually prickly but in private all mushy) which is… absolutely true. Sorry Ryo, your secret is out. Ryo has a "cool guy" image in J&A, so he spends a lot of his time sitting in the back with his arms crossed and telling everyone how much they suck but worm things gross him out and he creeps like a boss, and also he is all over Yasu. He's easily embarrassed and secretly (or not so secretly any more) M. And finally, Ryo really liked Leah Dizon okay. (Right now I think he likes mayonnaise best, though.) Ryo is reaaaally well known in the drama world with his acting in 1 Liter of Tears, Attention Please, Last Friends, Ryusei no Kizuna with Nino of Arashi, and most recently JOKER, a crime drama.

tacchon.







Full name: Ohkura Tadayoshi (大倉忠義) also romanized as Okura.
Other nicknames: Tacchon, Tatsuyoshi, Hotel-kun
Birthday:1985.5.16 (25 years old)
Blood type: O
Height: 180 cm (~5'11")
Joined Johnny's: 1997.9.6, because he admired Morita Go
Image color: Green
Instrument: Drums
Hobbies: Cooking!
Family: Parents, two younger brothers
Subgroups: SubaruBAND

First it's this guy, Eito's drummer
Recently in TV dramas
Rock to his rhythm and everyone gets hyper
He drums to our heartbeats, the best drummer, oi Tacchon!

Tacchon is a quiet, pretty member of Kanjani8: until you put him in front of food. (Yoko takes pleasure in trolling Ohkura, whichis just cruel given that you're both foodies, Yoko!) Ohkura doesn't talk much, and when he was away from Janiben Hina and Yoko commented that "it's not any different than normal, so whatever". Ohkura is a different person on stage: a quick drum and band montage! And here he has a duet with Ryo. (Teases.) Ohkura has appeared in several dramas: Yasuko to Kenji with TOKIO's Mabo, Utahime with TOKIO's Nagase, Hissatsu Shigotonin with dai-senpai Higashiyama (and Mabo), and ROMES with Yasu. Ohkura joined Kanjani8 late, and in fact didn't even play the drums before they tossed him into V.West! Yoko, on Ohkura: "I remember the first stage show we did together. Ohkura only had variety show experience, so he was trying to stick his ear mic onto his chest. But of course it wouldn’t stick so he was panicking. That had such a big impact on me[…]" The other members often say that Ohkura "worked hard in private" to catch up, and while he doesn't talk much about it he refers to Kanjani8 as his "family", that "even though we're not related by blood we're brothers". Ohkura writes lyrics now and then, most recently for the album song "Tte!!!!!!!".

Former members:
uchi.
Full name: Uchi Hiroki (内博貴)
Birthday: 1986.9.10 (24 years old)
Blood type: AB
Height: 178 cm (~5'10")
Joined Johnny's: 1999.5.29, because his mom gave him 500 yen <-- this is totally a lie, Uchi, don't front me!
Image color: Pink
Family: Parents, younger sister

Uchi was originally the vocalist for V.West before Kanjani8 formed, and he and Ryo shared secondary vocalist billing in K8. Also like Ryo, he was a member of NEWS. Uchi is very close to his mother, and pink was his image color because it's his favorite color. Uchi was only a member of K8 post-debut for about a year, before he was caught by the police drinking underage(he was 18 at the time). He was removed from both of his groups and knocked down to "trainee" status (likely because of the timing, it came out right after Hikaru Genji's Akasaka Akira's meth possession deal, so Johnny had to come down hard or risk more backlash… basically it sucked for everybody.) It's been six years since then, and while Uchi's now a separate act from Kanjani8 he's been successful in his own right, acting in stage plays and the Johnny's explosion drama Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge..

Hey lady, where's my picspam?

Right here! :D Various sizes and qualities (sorry!). All of these are 7-member only since… most of my stuff is recent. :l





















And what about the music?

The discography of Kanjani8 is as follows:

Naniwa Iroha Bushi (2004.09.22)
Kansha ni Eight (2004.12.15)
Osaka Rainy Blues (2005.03.02)
Sukiyanen, Osaka / Oh! Enka (2005.09.14)
(KJ1) F.T.O (2006.03.15)
Osaka Obachan Rock / Osaka Romanesque (2006.06.07)
Kanfuu Fighting (2006.13.13)
Zukkoke Otokomichi (2007.04.11)
KJ2 Zukkoke Dai Dassou (2007.06.06)
It's My Soul (2007.10.12)
Wahaha (2008.03.12)
Musekinin Hero (2008.10.29)
PUZZLE (2009.04.15)
Kyu Jo Show!! (2009.11.4)
Gift (2009.12.23,24,25) There are three versions of GIFT: Red, White, and Green.
Wonderful World!! (2010.06.30)
LIFE ~Me no mae no mukou he~ (2010.08.25)
8UPPERS (2010.10.20)
T.W.L. / Yellow Pansy Street (2011.04.20)
My Home (2011.05.11)
365 Nichi Kazoku (2011.06.08)
Tsubusa no Koi (2011.08.17)
FIGHT (2011.11.16)
LINK REMOVED MESSAGE ME

Yeah, I know that can look a little intimidating. My recs: of their albums, their strongest are probably PUZZLE and 8UPPERS for a new listener, with 8UPPERS being the "better" album but PUZZLE being more representative of their sound. F.T.O (Funky Town Osaka) has a very strong Osaka feel to it, with all of their really heavily "Osakan" songs on it. (Also it has Carnival, which is like my favorite duet of all time. Maru/Ohkura vocal OTP~ and it has Hatenaki Sora which is a Ryo-Yasu duet and it's so cute. :3) Zukkoke Dai Dassou is similar in sound to PUZZLE, and Energy is my go-to hype up song. As is Explosion. And the PAAAAN! song is on Zukkoke Dai Dassou, as is Wonder Boy (also known as my favorite Yoko song that's not 413man.) And Watashi Kagami. Basically in summary Zukkoke Dai Dassou's second disc, consisting of member solos, is kickass, and the first disc has a couple of really really great songs.(No, look! Explosion involves chests!)
EVERY B-SIDE ON TSUBUSA NI KOI IS FLAWLESS AND I AM MADLY IN LOVE WITH THE ENTIRETY OF T.W.L. AND YELLOW PANSY STREET and the member b-sides of my home omggggg :D :D :D

Of their single B-Sides, I'm really fond of Kyu Jyo Show's cinematic, LIFE's Jackhammer, Osaka Rainy Blues's Heavenly Psycho (which is probably good since they do that damn song at every concert >:l), and Musekinin Hero's ∞o'clock 08.

Kanjani8's videography:
Spirits
Excite!!
Heat Up!!
47
PUZZLE
Countdown 2009-2010
Tour 2010->2011 8UPPERS
LINKS REMOVED MESSAGE ME FOR THEM

I love every single one of these cons to pieces, and after careful consideration I'm tentatively declaring 47 as my favorite. Suffice to say all of them are badass. Again, like PUZZLE is the album most indicative of K8's modern sound, PUZZLE tends to be the best introduction to the K8 in concert world. (Also, Kicyu!)

The thing about Kanjani8 is that their performances are when they're at their best. So here, a collection of stuff:

Kawaita Hana - Puzzle (Shounen Club Premium)
Rolling Coaster (SCP)
BJ (SCP) and BJ (a rare totally completely live per! :D)
Eden (SCP)
Baby, baby (SCP) SubaruBAND performance feat. TOKIO's Nagase on guitar and vocals and Kokubun on keyboard
Onigishi (SCP) Sankyodai performance
Snow White (SCP) Yasu and Ryo wrote Snow White together! :)
Brulee (SCP) Dance! Shirts open! :D :D :D
Sukiyanen, Osaka (Music Station) I recommend all three, they change the talk bits in each one. Maru alone is worth it.
MSta Medley and Omatsuri Medley (Music Station)
Kyu Jo Show!! (Music Station) There's a second performance of this on Heyx3 linked in the section below
Animal Magic (Music Station)
LIFE ~Me no mae no mukou he~ (Music Station) There are two other performances of this, I can link those, too!
Misetekure (47 DVD) Streaming link
cinematic. (Countdown 2009-2010 DVD) Streaming link.
Snow White (Countdown 2009-2010 DVD) Streaming link. Yeah, I like this song.
Brilliant Blue (Countdown 2009-2010 DVD) Streaming link. Dance! ♥

Anything else?

UM. Kanjani8 is hilarious.. Like, gut-busting piss my pants dumbass what the fuck am I listening to hilarity. As such, I suggest:
K8 on Shin Domoto Kyoudai (hosted by fellow Kansai Johnny's, the KinKi Kids) 1 and 2 and 3, and if you're interested the deleted scenes are here. Tateyama! Pasta! Idiocy! Expired food and shoving shit in the closet when your girlfriend comes over! (And Toma! :D)
Heyx3 is always good for a laugh, especially the Sukiyananen, Osaka perfs I linked above, but also Yoko getting in trouble with an industry senpai, Yoko being an ass and Black Mayonnaise going through their stuff on camera, everybody whining that Ryo is too popular, Hina and Yoko arguing over whose singing is worse, and the YokoHina telephone box.
Can!Jani's not completely subbed, but highlights include: Maru and Yoko becoming tree whisperers, Ryo and Yasu at gas stations, Hina being the backseat driver from hell, and more of Hina the backseat driver from hell.
Janiben highlights include the IKKO episode, comedian Nishikoka Sumiko and her epic love story with Hina, Kanemura Yoshiaki and trolling Ohkura, and kiss stealing and Yoko trying to spontaneously combust on the spot.
If you're looking for something quick, go watch Kanpani. Seriously. Most hilarious show ever. GIANT FANS TO THE HEAD AND WATER AND FLOUR AND. JUST. You can find them at eitokickass, they're only like 10~15 minutes each! :D
Honjani had the epically hilarious Seven Okans skits. The first 6 have apparently been lost to the internet, but from 7 until the end are available at bakanosekai's lj comm.
Currently everybody but Ryo and Ohkura appear on the epic quiz show, DERO. Episodes are usually raw, which means I'm as lost as some of the contestants, but even I can tell you Hina is a BAMF at quiz shows. Oh, and here's the episode where Chinen tells him he loves him. ( Subbed, even!)
I'll talk more about Daidaman and SukaJ and Muchaburi and DERO and Ariehen Sekai and Kanjani MAP and the member-specific variety shows and all that when we get to the final post, aptly named "TV Shows", but I thought I'd just leave this here. (So much hilarity~)
Finally, there's nowhere else to really put this, but with Zukkoke Dai Dassou, they released this piece of hilarity involving all of them as common RPG characters. Yoko is king in more than his head for once!

The Eitoranger skits don't have to be watched in order, but the 47 skit is pretty awesomely gay, featuring Everyone/Yasu (no really lol he's like in tears the whole time), Maru/Yoko, and Ryo/Yoko. And Yoko's mic breaks in the middle and it's hilarious… as is the "on the spot role swap" version, which has epic Maru adorable and ends in Yasu drop kicking a mannequin off the stage. :D? The Puzzle one is too dramatic for my tastes, but it's super-cute and gives you warm fuzzies, and the Heat Up!! one is cute! And you get Hina rubbing up against a pink heart balloon. Which is always a plus. Always. Also, there's a second version of the skit from Heat Up!! here (RAW).

The recommended communities:
eitokun BEST PLACE EVER YO aka the eito answer to jone_records. repository of aaaaall thing things
kanjani8 THE MOTHERSHIP.
onlyeitofiles Exactly what it says! Media downloads of their TV shows. Mostly Janiben, but there's Kanjani8 MAP here too.
dozchan SHE UPLOADS LIKE EVERYTHING. I always check here before I go off on a RAW search.
o_e_subs Ohmiya_sg and Enshinge! If you don't join for Eito, join for TOKIO or the Junior stuff or something, yeesh!
enshinge Engshinge translates all sorts of stuff, especially magazine interviews and J-Webs and Recomen episodes
eitokickass The Eito Kick Ass subbing community, who do work on all sorts of Kanjani shows~
ttthhbbbtt is now inactive, but she translated bits of stuff (like this beautiful, hilarious piece of HinaMaru raburabu which also includes bits of the Yasu-Hina ~feud~)
bakanosekai also now inactive, and most K-T fans know BNS, but they also subbed all of the 47 DVD. GO! Go watch it. D: And the extras D: you have no idea how awesome 47 is until you've watched it. :Db

I'd also like to direct you to the JE subbed video index, there's a lot of stuff there. As a warning: K8 fandom doesn't have a lot of regular subbers, which means you're stuck watching Janiben raw a lot of the time. I have a list of the hilarious (even without subs) episodes around somewhere, I think, that'll I'll post. :D?

I hope this at least pokes your interest! Mention it to me if you notice any issues (in grammar or facts l-lol) or if you want more direction in your exploring! I have all sorts of stuff to spam people with. >:D

Index of all posts:

group │ yasu │ maru │ hina │ ryo │ subaru │ ohkura │ yoko

These posts will remain open, feel free to link!
Credit has to go to a bunch of people, including enshinge, ohmiya_sg, kanjani8_quotes, eitokickass, je_mix_fansubs, tumblr, twitter, sina, google... if I put something up of yours and you want it down, let me know! :D