I never knew I would like a celebrity THIS much until 2.5 years ago...
I was searching for Takeshi Kaneshiro after chatting with my friend about how cute and handsome he is. While surfing the web, I came across a TV show with him & Tony Leung as guests. Not realizing they went to a Bistro Smap together, I was shocked when I recognize one of the chef was Kimura Takuya. "He's a cook now?!" was one of my initial thought. At that moment, it suddenly brought back many memories of him that I forgot he always existed in me.
My first Japanese drama was Love Generation. The "Classic" Japanese drama that stayed with me for a long time. I remembered watching that drama over and over again, maybe for 7 or 8 times. I didn't understand a word they said, but for some reason, I really felt the chemistry between the casts. I didn't find Kimura as handsome or attractive back then, but I was very attracted to his character and the way he acted out his role. That was my first encounter with him, but it wasn't long until I moved on to something else.
In high school, I chose to learn Japanese while others learned Spanish or French. I had a lot of fun in class and our sensei was very funny and cool. We play a lot of games and sometimes she would show us some Japanese shows to test our listening skills. One time, she played a short clip of HERO in class. "Ahh, that's Kimura Takuya & he's still making dramas" was what I thought, but again, he just crossed my mind for a sec then went straight out.
Until then...
Thanks to Youtube, I started clicking through all the suggested smapxsmap shows to watch after watching that Bistro Smap with Takeshi Kanashiro. For a moment, I was confused who I was looking at, Kimura Takuya or Takeshi Kaneshiro??? Then my boyfriend found a clip where Kimura kun did his solo in 2008. Both of us were like "WHAT?! He can dance too?!" I couldn't help but to check him out more and more each day. Thanks to LJ and smap subbing sites, I get to understand who he really is. I get all excited and happy every time I find something new about him. It amazes me how talented he is! To this day, I'm still amazed!
I actually didn't know that Kimura kun is part of a group called SMAP before. I thought he flew solo all along. But until I watched smapxsmap, I started to find interest in the other 4 guys as well. I really love their interaction with each other. It feels so genuine and they don't act as if they are big celebrities on screen (even though they ARE big in Japan). I like the fact that they tease and have fun in a natural way as if no one is filming them. I don't see anything like this with other celebrities. I like watching Kimura kun the most when he's with his members. I can really see the friendship they have between them and the special bond they have for each other. It's very rare to be in a group for 20 years + and still staying strong. I'm super proud to be one of their fans :)