Of Hans Christian Anderson and a can of worms ...
An interesting thing happened on the weekend. After me banging on about how none of my friends understand my love for J-Pop in general and Kanjani8 in particular I took a leap of faith and inflicted both, in general and in particular, on one of my friends. This was a different person to those I went away with a few weekends ago. This person is far
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I will say, though, I did find the Sato Takeru/Maeda Atsuko Scandal pretty funny. It's sweet he was being a gentleman, but it probably would've been better if he hadn't flashed her bare arse to the paps. lol. Or I can see some things ACTUALLY being a scandal. Like Pi going into a massage parlor and getting PO'd when they told him it wasn't "that" kind of massage place, no matter how many times he insisted they should make an exception because he's famous. You act like an ass, you should get shamed for it. But them having girlfriends? Whatevs. Honestly, if they're happier they're gonna be doing better in music/TV anyway....... so you should WANT them to get GFs. I was pretty shocked at how mean Eighters were about Tacchon's supposed GF, though. I thought Eighters were different T-T;
I worry about those girls..... did you hear about the one that was almost murdered recently? And this other girl group is offering an overnight (supervised) hot spring visit for fans who spend 200,000 yen. How is that not a form of human trafficking?? Sure, they're working as idols, but I doubt any of them thought they'd be selling themselves like that.
I liked BSB, but was more of an NSYNC girl. My father was ecstatic the day Lance Bass came out. "See! I told you for years he was gay!" Yeah, dad... you said every single member of every boy band ever was gay. By sheer probability, you were bound to get it right once. lol.
I think KanJani's trolling me. They're doing an arena tour in smaller cities......and totally skipping my city! We're too small for giant dome tours and too big for arena ones! BOO! Even Arashi did an arena tour here! I suppose I could pop down to Shikoku to see them..... but there's nothing else to do in Shikoku T-T;; Sacrifices for the love of the Rangers, I guess. Hmm.
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I’m fairly sure TOKIO perform live - it’s harder to get away with lip synching in a band. Nagase has a great rock voice so I’d be disappointed if he didn’t sing live. He is also a god.
I’d hoped Eighters would be different but they have their particular quirks as well. I think it just goes with the territory of fandoms.
The girl groups get exploited in a far worse manner. They are really putting them in danger because of the way they market them. Besides the girl who was stabbed there was also the two who were attacked with a saw not that long ago
Unfortunately, it’s mainly the singles that end up on the Best of Albums. I double checked, my favourite songs are about 50/50 B-sides and albums songs.
Tacchon does indeed start 365日家族. He also starts Namida No Kotae, is the 2nd voice you hear in Omoidama and has the last solo in LIFE~Me No Mae Ni Mukou e (after the instrumental part) if you’re looking for more of his awesomeness. He should definitely get more leads.
Why do people think Maru’s voice is terrible? Perception and the need for someone to pick on? I love his voice (I am hideously biased of course) but he can be great given the right song and allowed to sing in his lower ‘natural’ voice.
They do a combination of band and idol. Too much idol and not enough band in my opinion. I suppose if they did more band it would curtail audience interaction somewhat - them being confined to the stage. They sometimes do band with just Yasu, Maru and Tada on instruments and the rest of them running around. Either way their live band stuff is heaven. I think their management realises they can make more money out of them if they make them do both. I guess there are also fans who prefer the idol stuff. I’d love to see them just do badass band.
They’ve written bits and pieces for themselves. They’ve all pretty much had a go at writing except for maybe Tada but I could be wrong there. The bulk of their stuff comes from Johnny’s pool of writers and their friends in the business. Takahashi Yu, the guy Tada does a radio program with, seems to understand them and their capabilities. He writes them GOOOOD stuff. He’s responsible for Zou.
I think their dance skills are the same as their singing skills - pretty much learnt on the job. Some are going to have a natural talent for it, others will pick up the skills and some will always have to work hard. When you think about it like that, I guess they all do pretty well.
I’ve heard Mr Funk. I don’t like it as much as Disco Star but Aiba’s solos are always fun. I think he picks, or is given, the best solos.
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There kinda wouldn't be a point to having Nagase if he lip syncs. I mean, the band could play and stream a vocal CD in that case. Not like they're dancing around and whatnot. I always thought Nagase was kind of scary (effect of the drama roles I've seen him in) but seeing him squeeing over puppies on TenShiDo and dancing around like a happy little kid because he could go to Disneyland on AniShi, I realized the tough guy thing is totally an act. Also, him on AniShi years ago trying to beat them in the fashion buy-off was amazing. His... sense of style (if you can call it that?) reminds me so much of my dad! lol.
If I were an idol, I'd probably need a specially trained mental health dog to cope with anxiety. I'd make it a big, smart one, too, so it could rip the heads off creeps. They couldn't complain too much - girls x dogs = cute, right? I'd also advise these girls to take self-defense classes... but I'm sure they barely have time to breathe as it is. I can't understand why anyone would want to go into that industry. Well, there was that one group made up of people in debt, trying to clear their bills. I suppose that's one reason. But the fame? Lifestyle? Not enough money in the world to get me to do it! If I were famous, I'd probably be an anonymous author. Or maybe a radio-show host.
Is there any one album in particular you recommend to start with that has a larger percentage of awesome songs?
I think LIFE is the only song I have on the 8EST CD. Unless my iPod is being stupid again and not showing stuff properly. But he does sound pretty. I think I keep skipping over that song on the album. Dunno why. Maybe because the intro is slow.
I have no idea why people think Maru's voice is terrible. Kinda funny they can comment on it since you don't really hear him that much. It's like "...are you basing your opinion on him singing together with other members?" But Hina saying he sucked was probably a long time ago, when they were juniors. And I'm sure with zero training, they were pretty awful back then.
If they're worried about not interacting with the fans because they're a band, they need to look at X JAPAN. They were all over the place. I mean Yoshiki was such a diva that he couldn't stand to have the drums always in the back and had a stage designed that could move him to the front for solos! lol. Where there's a will, there's a way! I'm sure they could ask Jun-senpai if they were really stumped. Their mini band stuff is cool, too. One girl I know LOVED Banana Juice. I think that was Yoko x Ryo? So their non-rock band stuff is fun, too, I guess. But perhaps they started the KANJAM show when Shiwake ended to please the band fans more? Do you watch that? I've only seen one - When GACKT was on. He's always epic.
I wonder why Tada hasn't written anything. I hope it's because he doesn't want to! Yasu seems the most musically talented. Writing-wise, anyway. (That's why it was hilarious his character on FRAGILE was like "I wanna write a song before I die~") I'm not sure about Yoko. I couldn't finish Kichu because I was laughing so hard at the lyrics. Man, I'm a horrible person.
These boys seem like they've been through a lot - learning how to be entertaining, charming, beautiful, singers, actors & dancers (like all idols) in addition to their instruments & Tokyo manners. Plus, Yoko's furious story at their debut was pretty heartbreaking. They kinda feel like the forgotten group almost. Or like...Johnny's HAS a Kansai department but doesn't much care about them. (Does WEST do a lot? I only ever see them on JaniBen and taking over Eito's old stuff.)
I'm kinda worried that I won't ever like any of Aiba's solo stuff as much as Disco Star T-T; Did I accidentally start with the best one?!
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Nagase’s tough guy thing is totally an act. I remember before he appeared in the New Year ep.of Chronicle people on Twitter were carrying on about how Eito were going to be annihilated. Pfft … he was putty in their hands. The Nagase/Hina floordon thing … I couldn’t decide whether I’d rather be Nagase or Hina lol.
If you haven’t seen Nagase in adorable mode in a drama watch Nakuna Hara-chan - bonus adorable Maru.
An idol wouldn’t be my idea of a good job either. Living up to impossible standards, constantly judged by people who don’t live up to the same standards themselves. The no dating in public/no marriage thing is inhumane. Particularly, when you have the media trying to catch them out all the time. It sucks.
The album with highest concentration of awesome songs (in my opinion) is Fight. It’s also crammed with singles but they’re some of the ones I really like such as My Home, Yellow Pansy Street and T.W.L.
Fight for the Eight, Fly High, Water Drop, Kagayakeru Butai e and wander all make it onto my ultimate favourites list - not bad from one album. It’s also one album where all the sub unit songs are okay.
Fight Eight x Eight is also the best (again in my opinion) concert DVD. The band segment is sublime, wander nearly broke my heart and you get Yoko and Maru dressed as pandas. What more could you ask for? lol
If you’re looking for something a bit diverse the 8UPPERS album has a different sound to what we’re used to hearing from them. Some people don’t like it but I love it, maybe because it showcases another side to them. You’ve heard Maru’s Kick. I particularly like Hina’s solo. It makes the most of his vocal abilities and is really pretty.
Most of my other favs are B-sides to singles. King of Otoko, Namida no Kotae and Tsuyoku, Tsuyoku Tsuyoku have some beauties.
Please keep in mind that when I say I like song it all comes down to the way it sounds. Zero Japanese language skills means it’s all about the way the song is put together; the production, the music, the way they use Eito’s voices, the way it makes me feel. I will sometimes track down translations of songs I like. As long as I know what the song is about I’m not bothered about not knowing exactly what is being said.
I do believe one of the reasons people think Maru’s voice is bad is because the other members say so, or at least have said so in the past. Whether they actually believe it or not, it has become part of the narrative of Kanjani8. In the same way other members call him ugly, people will repeat that too. Neither assertion is true though.
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Yasu and Ryo are the two most prolific writers, creating stuff for themselves and the group. Yoko does write some ‘interesting’ lyrics. He’s also responsible for Crouton. On the other side of the coin he is also wrote the beautiful 413 Man, thanking his deceased grandfather for all the things he did for him.
I had a bit of a ferret around and Tada helped write his sub-unit song Yoru na Yoru na Yo NIGHT (Hina, Yasu and Tada) on Fight. He was also supposed to help with My Store from the Genki album, as was Yasu but Maru ended up doing most of it himself. lol
I don’t watch all of Kanjam, it doesn’t make much sense when you don’t know what they’re saying but I always watch the performance part. K8 have performed with some incredibly diverse artists. It showcases how versatile they are. I like the way they share around lead vocal duties and they always look like they’re having a great time - both Eito and the guests. Maru and GACKT were really cute together. I like GACKT too.
They’ve done everything from dancing Fashion Monster with Kyary Pamyu Pamyu to singing Jail House Rock with Sakamoto from V6 - now that man has a good voice (and the rest of him ain’t bad either). Last week Maru sang with StarS. They performed a song from the stage musical Les Miserables. You know that Eito member with the crap voice? Well, he did not sound out of place with people who were obviously trained singers.
Kanjani8 spent a long time in the wilderness, Johnny pretty much ignored them. Still does to a degree. Everything they have, they had to get for themselves. Dividing their time between Tokyo and Osaka and working their butts off. I think that’s another reason I felt so drawn to them … they are the underdogs of Johnnys. I don’t know whether Johnny’s WEST will fare much better. On one hand I’m happy to see them being given opportunities but I don’t like that it seems to be at Eito’s expense. Almost like Johnny has written them off and is preparing for their replacement.
Disco Star is a great song but I don’t think it’s the best. My favourite is either Friendship or Hello Goodbye. They’re both quite old but are real Aiba style songs - sweet, cute and bouncy.
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I think a good reaction to “Leave the group!” uchiwas would be “You leave the concert! We don’t care since we already got your money!” lol. I’m just hoping they won’t go all batshit insane like K-pop fans
I think Nagase can be a tough guy...until someone with a stronger personality shows up. Which is basically everyone. lol. Kinda like Maru, I guess. It was pretty hilarious he was yelling at Hina, “Stop thinking while you’re on top of me!” It’s also kind of weird they do things like that. I mean, how often do they make female idols kiss and whatnot? Odd.
I haven’t seen Haruna-chan yet...But I’ll add it to the list!
If I were a successful idol, I’d invest in the best house ever. Like with a great kitchen, mini theater, gym, etc. Then I’d never have to leave and could be totally happy. Or when I did have to leave, a fast (getaway) sports car with blacked-out windows. People would never see me except for on TV, ‘cause I’d do all my shopping and whatnot online! I’m sure they’d still judge the TV appearances, though.
When you say YokoMaru Pandas, you mean this?
Is Yoko actually wearing shorts?! I thought he’d shrivel up an die if he ever exposed skin :P But I guess it’s OK at night.
Solo stuff seems fun. I liked Yoko’s TRICKSTER video, though I was kinda mad when the PV ended because they didn’t tell us who the secret man was! Or where the jewel went!!!!! I can’t find the rest anywhere, though. Boo. Do you know if the PVs are included on the 1st editions of the CD? I think I like the LIFE PV best. The band stuff is fun. The rest of them seem to be giant balls of WTFery. Like Musekinin HERO. Tacchon dancing on a chair?! And who thought Hina having facial hair would be a good idea?! Yeesh. The older videos are so sad, too! Like they REALLY didn’t give them any money to debut with, huh? Thankfully people liked them and they’re doing better now!
Even though I understand a lot of it, I can mostly drown out Japanese songs when I want to focus on something else. Unless they’re saying something ridiculous... like Kanjani often does :P
I guess I’m just confused as to WHY they’d want to say someone has a bad voice or face. I mean, it doesn’t make business sense. If they ‘poison’ the fans’ thinking, wouldn’t that lower the group as a whole? I mean, I suppose someone could be an ass and want to raise their own image by slandering someone else, but that’s rare.
Aww, the lyrics to 413man are beautiful. He seems to have suffered a lot of loss in his life. Do you know if he wrote anything for his Mom?
Honestly, KanJam doesn’t make a lot of sense even when you DO know what they’re saying. It’s a lot of random stories. I didn’t know Yoko used to work in a factory, though. That was interesting. I was surprised with Maru & GACKT, too. GACKT is a perfectionist... so he would’ve ripped Maru a new one if he thought he was terrible. RE: Jailhouse Rock - Is it mean of me to wish Ryo had just sang the whole thing himself? >.>;; His voice suited the song the best... and I could make out what he was saying the best. Plus, he even had the Elvis hair. As for them doing X’s “Forever Love” .... I bet Tacchon was freaked out playing drums in front of the biggest drumming legend in Japan. And all of them having to sing in front of Yoshiki - he’s notoriously, violently picky. But Baru’s voice definitely sounded closest to Toshi’s. Which is probably why he was making “OHCRAPOHCRAP” faces the whole time before and after. I wonder if Maru was unavailable for the Kyary one. Don’t dance things usually always go to him? Hina and Tacchon were good... but I would’ve expected Maru & Yasu.
It’s kind of nice that KJ8 gets ignored, though. I bet they wouldn’t get away with half the stuff they do if the Jimusho were keeping an eye on them. It’s kinda sad to me, though, that when they do push KJ8 and WEST..... the only thing they seem to think is special about them is “THEY’RE FROM KANSAI!” I can’t tell if they’re saying that to explain away any weirdness/lapse in social grace or if they think they don’t have anything to offer besides being from Kansai. Even if they were from some random countryside county, I’d still think they were interesting.
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Ah yes, the YokoMaru Pandas. Damned cute. The first time I saw them I thought WTF guys, but after I discovered the number of kids (little ones with their parents) that are in the audiences of their shows, this kind of thing doesn’t seem so odd after all. Yoko and his vampire legs … hehe
The PVs of the 8UPPERS solos, collectively known as The Prologue of Patch, were released in two parts with the limited editions of the singles Wonderful World (parts 1-4) and LIFE (5-8). These all seem to be out of print now. There are uploaded versions around. You can find these ones on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/117975954083/videos/406017999890/ Prologue of Patch 1-4
https://www.facebook.com/117975954083/videos/425916794890/ Prologue of Patch 5-8
All will be revealed about the secret man and the jewel.
I like the WTFery, I suppose 'cause it’s so … them. The first PVs I ever saw were Zukkoke Otoko Michi and Wahaha - both sterling examples of Eito at their most demented. It was love at first sight with Maru when he kept coming through the door in Wahaha. I think it was the hair.
I know it doesn’t make a lot of sense that they’d want to say someone has a bad voice or face. but J & A seems okay with having groups where there are ‘popular’ and ‘unpopular’ members. Take Kis-my-Ft2 for example. Johnnys promotes 3 members to the point where the other 4 just look like back up dancers. Hey Say Jump - Yamada Ryosuke, how many others can anyone (apart from fans) name.
I think it all comes down to what I call the ‘narrative’ of a group. They all have to play a part that the fans can readily digest and maintain. I keep returning to Arashi as an example because they are the group I know as well, if not better, than K8.
Sakurai Sho, probably one of the most intelligent and accomplished Johnnys IRL, has been designated the ‘fail’ of the group. He sucks at everything, apparently. I’d put money on the fact that he doesn’t suck at much at all but that’s the part he has to play. I often wonder just how much it galls him to have to play that role.
Maru has scored the gig of the member who just about everyone picks on. A perfect example of this can be seen relation to their alter egos Kyanjani. According to the members Maruko was the ugly one. They said it, Maruko herself talked about it. Forget the fact that NONE of them make particularly attractive women. (Except for Subaru - he was weirdly cute). But this is what you saw fans repeating. “They’re all gorgeous, except for Maruko”.
I don’t know if Yoko has written anything for his mother as yet. I’m not sure they were particularly close. Yoko parents split when he was very young. When his mother remarried and he was sent to live with his grandparents, who raised him. It wasn’t until much later he went back to live with his mother and half-brothers. Hence 413Man.
KPP was on Kanjam again the other night and this time we got Maru, Yasu, Yoko and Ryo. They were all impossibly cute.
That’s true about them getting away with stuff, they push the envelope at times in regards to appropriateness. My greatest concern would be to see them go down the sanitised, ‘appeal to the lowest common denominator’ road that Arashi have.
I really like the Kansai boys. They have a rakish charm about them - I like that they are a bit rough and ready. I am trying to catch up with WEST (I think Hamada is magnificent) but barely have time to fangirl one group let alone two.
Have some cute Hama-chan just for fun.
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You’d think it wouldn’t be odd that they dress up as pandas for the little kids, but then you also have to realize those little kids are also there for fundoshi time and Subako panty flashing. Not sure how I should feel about that. (Did you see Yoko’s legs in last Saturday?)
Hmm, maybe if I’m lucky I can find some copies at BookOff. Thanks for the Facebook links! I’m kinda disappointed, though. Like Yoko’s video was this badass story, and I learn that Hina got the stone only to...... DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WITH IT. Disappointment major! But I did get a good chuckle out of the feathers in his. I kept thinking, “Chi-chan attacked Hina’s pillow.” I think the only ones I really liked were Yoko’s, Maru’s, and Yasu’s. Barus’ was okay, but I wish someone else had sung the song :x Ryo’s, Tacchon’s, and Hina’s were too slow for me. Hina’s could’ve been good if they had some kind of action/story to break up the dance parts. Oh, and why am I not surprised the penis gun I was side-eyeing on Yoko’s video comes from Baru? Eesh. I do love 8Uppers, though. I should watch it again. THOSE NAMES!
I’ll have to go back and watch those PVs, then! Demented is kind of a constant state of mind for me these days, so I bet I’ll enjoy it :P
I suppose they’re happy as long as some members are popular? Because if even one guy is super popular, people are still paying to see all of them. So they can kinda squeeze money out that way. I can actually name some of the guys in HSJ other than Yamada! Kota Yabu (some of the JHS girls had a thing for him). Yuri Chinen (Ohno fanboy) Yuto Nakajima (I’d better know him... I spent hours staring at his face for YowaKate because of Nino), Inoo Kei (Intelli-Idol & annoys Aiba with his Cat Love on TenShiDo). Keito Okamoto (grew up in the UK; annoys MatsuJun). That one kid with the hair that was in Gokusen that I can never remember his name but at least I know he’s in HSJ :P 6.5/9 isn’t bad! But I guess I only know them because of Arashi. Maybe that means I’ll know WEST soon because they’re always on KJ stuff. Prolly not, though. I always skip their parts on JaniBen. lol. I’m so mean.
Is Sho the fail one? I always thought that was Aiba. Sho’s got his genius rep, so Aiba and Oh-chan get to be the dumb ones. But I guess Sho’s supposed to fail at physical stuff (along with Neen). And any time they’re supposed to romance a girl. Good Lordy, did you see the one he did in English with Jun Hasegawa? I thought I was going to break a rib laughing so hard at the cheese. But they do have their roles. I suspect Jun is far less cool than he wants us to believe, and far less ‘S’. And Neen is actually not a total brat. Oh-chan’s not a zombie. Aiba’s not a moron. It’s funny - I watched AniShi for the first time in ages the other week and it was so confusing to me..... It was so quiet! They weren’t all shouting at each other and talking over each other........ I guess you get used to the chaos with Eito after a while :P
I thought Yasu was a pretty cute girl! And actually, Maru was really beautiful when he dressed up with Hina to work at Cecil McBee. He was one on of the prettier ones in KyanJani, too... so I just kept thinking it was a “bitches be jealous” thing :P Everyone kept fawning over Ryo & Tacchon, but I was just like ...... no. They all suck at being cutesy girly. Except Yasu. And Maru. Yoko was OK. I think the biggest problem was the wigs. NO ONE looks good with those awful heavy bangs! I guess they figured they had to hide their manly brows somehow, but it’s not like high school girls can wear makeup/pluck anyway. But yeah, Maruko was not and has never been the ugliest girl in KyanJani.
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I’m not sure I can handle that much cuteness. My brain might explode. Well, I suppose Grumpster Ryo is there to balance it out. Also... watching old KanJani videos...... was Yoko supposed to be the wildly adorable one back in the day? Because all his faces are so hilarious! It seems to have shifted to Yasu and Maru later on and Yoko’s taken on a Nino-like brat role. (Though Tacchon definitely has the stronger ‘Nino’ role)
If you sanitize KanJani, I don’t think there’s really anything left to watch. I mean, obviously they’re awesome people, but they wouldn’t be KanJani then. Just some random group of seven guys in their 30s.
I only know two of the boys in WEST, so I have no clue who this Hamada kid is, but he’s cute. lol. I think he was on JaniBen once, though. Maybe?
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