Iijima Faction Anecdotes
I'm just trying to sort things out. Thoughts and questions.
Has Sexy Zone and A.B.C-Z transferred to Julie's faction since August?
I read tweets of Sexy Zone's Japanese fans wondering/suspecting that Sexy Zone might have been transferred to Julie's faction. Especially after Shori and Fuma attend V6 20th anniversary concert few days ago. They were on the VIP seats among Kanjani8 and other Julie's groups. They tweeted "Naru hodo!! They might have been transferred to Julie's! No wonder they always come out all five together recently and their costumes are exactly the same now, no difference anymore!"
My suspicion started since Music Station ULTRAFES September 21st. WEST, HSJ, SexyZ and ABCZ did a medley together. That time, I thought "Waaa... ureshii~ Union of factions! Yokatta~!" but then, during J-Friends (TOKIO, V6, KK), SMAP didn't talk to them at all. If they united the kouhai then they should've unite the older groups too. And it was so weird that Kisumai didn't join the show at all. Then I thought "Err... wait a minute, so what was that faction union about earlier? Was it a faction union? Or simply a fact that SZ and ABCZ has been handed over to Julie??"
In SmaShip, Nakai told the aesthetician a story about his ex-manager. "May I tell you a story? I used to have this manager that's kinda weak in the head. I asked him to buy me a drink. He asked me what drink I want. I told him tansan no kan juice (canned carbonated juice) and then he came back bringing me tansan no kandenchi (AA sized battery)... He's Inagaki-kun's manager now," My friend, noonew said this is definitely Miyabe, and in 2012 Takuya once said in WUS that he has become ABCZ's manager. But in SmaShip which was filmed on September 12, Nakai said he's Goro's manager now. So, can we assume that he's not ABCZ's manager anymore now and he's back with SMAP... ??
ABCZ's Totsuka attend V6 concert finale day on the VIP seats together with Ikuta Toma, TOKIO and Arashi, so ABCZ might have really been handed over to Julie, too.
However... it is weird that Shori came alone on one day, Fuma came alone on the next day and Totsuka came alone on the final day, without their fellow members, while Julie's groups all came as groups. A fan thought that maybe they only provided one seat each day for someone from Iijima's faction, lol.
I'm not sure... maybe they are still Iijima faction. Or maybe they didn't want to make the transfer obvious so Julie only let one person for each day XD
The last time Sexy Zone had appear together with SMAP was July SxS. So I'm thinking the transfer might happened in August. I don't know if Sexy Zone had any appearance together with Kisumai or Yamapi in August-September, though? If they had, then they might still belong to Iijima's faction.
I think Sexy Zone's fans are so cute celebrating the fact that Sexy Zone might have been transferred to Julie's faction^^ Most of 'em seems so happy about it and hoping the Julie's faction members would hold a welcome party for Sexy Zone like "welcome to our faction!"?? LOL. I have to say I'm happy for them too, Sexy Zone is perfect for Julie's style and not Iijima-material. They're the "kirakira idol" type and I think they'd have a better future if Julie takes care of 'em. Also, I read tweets about Fuma admiring Sakurai Sho so much, so the fans desperately wants to see more Fuma and Sho's interactions. One of the tweet says that Julie tends to please the core fans more while Iijima sells her boys to the general society, that's why she prefer SZ to be in Julie's hands. Iyaaa~ wakaruu.... all these sport athletes coming to Bistro Smap... as a fan who has no interest in sports, I do feel "eek... the guests are so boring" sometimes, and I mean Nakai seems to learn as much as he can about these athletes before having a talk with them too, and it really becomes a talk that sport lovers would definitely enjoy, and I feel that SMAP fans are being ignored in this kind of moments. But I guess that's how Iijima/SMAP does things, they're bold enough to take the risk in putting aside their core fans and expand their field to wider range of society.
One tweet though have a different opinion, she prefer Sexy Zone to stay with Iijima because she doesn't go with favoritism system. She find works for all her boys fairly. If Sexy Zone have really gotten transferred to Julie's faction at this moment, she is scared that SZ might not appear much on TV because Julie is currently focusing in pushing HeySayJUMP very hard to be the next Arashi. She doesn't mind the members discrimination in Sexy Zone as long as she can see them appear often in various stuff.
Hmm... I don't know... I think Iijima have her favorites too, sometimes. I mean, I can see Takada Sho (Jr) everywhere as supporting cast, lol! Iijima seems to push him hard. Meanwhile, I'm not seeing Sanada Yuma (Jr) anywhere T_T Takada and Sanada are my favorite Jr-s since Goro's Shinryochuu, but I'm kinda sad Iijima doesn't push Sanada as much as Takada. Or I dunno... maybe Iijima focus Sanada on butai-s?? Sanada's only work this year is a stageplay.
Speaking of Takada Sho, I was surprised to see both Kitayama (Kisumai) and Takada as supporting cast in SIREN!O_o Ehh.... even though the lead is not Johnnys?? But they become the supporting cast? That's something I've never seen before. Usually, younger Johnnys talents would become supporting cast in Johnnys-lead dramas, as barter, desho? I thought it's quite difficult to book jobs as supporting cast for younger johnnys if the lead is not a popular Johnnys? I wonder how could Iijima get the jobs for Kitayama and Takada in SIREN? EDIT: Just to be clear, what I think unusual is the fact that there are TWO of 'em and both are supporting roles. When there are 2 or more Johnnys in one drama, it means the whole drama production is being taken control by Johnnys management (be it Julie or Iijima), and that usually happens when the lead is Johnnys. I'm surprised Iijima can throw in two of her boys in one drama with non-johnnys lead. Thus, I suspect Iijima has a very close business connection/agreement with the lead's agency. But, I might be wrong about this. -end of edit-
I checked out SIREN because I read the hype about it, so many netizens seems to ship Matsuzaka Tori and Kimura Fumino now because their exploding chemistry and the drama itself is getting positive reviews. Then I saw these Iijima's boys there, quite surprised. Well... the drama is not my cup of tea, and I don't particularly like the leads, anyway. But I'm so curious on how Iijima get the supporting spots for Kitayama and Takada, though the lead is non-Johnnys. I checked that Matsuzaka Tori's agency is Top Coat, it is under Watanabe Productions. Then I read that back in the 1960s when Johnny Kitagawa first established a personal company, he entrusted the management to WatanabePro. But I dunno... I don't think Watanabe Pro still have any relation with Johnnys though.
So far, seems like Kisumai and Yamapi are still staying with Iijima, because they have direct interaction with SMAP until recently. (Shingo will guest in this week's Yamapi Eigo Kiss, yay!) No signs of Iijima letting them go. So the question is, is Iijima only handing over SZ and ABCZ, or will she be handing over Kisumai, Yamapi and other Jr-s one by one, to Julie, slowly from now on?
But since a few Japanese fans opinions says that Kisumai was handed over to Iijima because Mary/Julie hates them, then I guess Kisumai have nowhere else to go, lol... poor boys. All the tweets I see seems so sure that Kisumai will follow Iijima/SMAP everywhere they go XD
What about Yamapi? He has formed a certain kind of bond with Shingo, so I'm wishing he'd follow Iijima/SMAP's steps too. But wouldn't he be happy if he can have the chance to work together with Toma again, if he is ever transferred to Julie's faction back? Hmm... I don't know, I'm not familiar with Yamapi's principal in work and career, so I cannot make a guess about this. Although if he was ever influenced with Akanishi Jin's way of thinking, then he might follow SMAP quitting. Is it possible that it was Yamapi himself asked for a transfer to Iijima's faction when he quit NEWS, knowing this is gonna happen sooner or later?
Rumor articles are mentioning that Iijima is currently approaching and establishing an agreement with Burning Productions' executive director. Burning is the biggest talent agency and the only agency more powerful than Johnny's Jimusho. Some entertainment analyst says, if any Johnny's talent would want to have a safe career after they walk out of the Jimusho, then they should enter Burning to guarantee their career. Go Hiromi is with Burning now. But... hmm, Motoki Masahiro who established his own personal agency seems to have a good career too, though.
Iijima seems to be making efforts to make connections with big entertainment companies lately. Just few days ago, Nakai-Tsuyoshi-Shingo (Smaship Trio) attend 70th Anniversary Party of Kobunsha (under Kodansha, largest publishing company in Japan). The hosts in Miyaneya, mentioned it is very unusual for SMAP to appear in a magazine event parties like this. And seems like Takuya and Goro were invited too, but they couldn't come due to their stageplay and movie filming. Why would SMAP is suddenly invited to a party event like this now?
Also... when I saw Tsuyoshi's scene in Attack on Titan, I felt it was so random, and Tsuyoshi could've been replaced by anybody. And with AoT manga's popularity, I don't think they need SMAP popularity power to boost the box office sales. I feel like there was an obligation to cast Tsuyoshi to play a role in the movie due to a certain reason. Tsuyoshi being a part of the cast, was never officially announced either, I thought that was the oddest thing. The only reason I can think of, is that maybe J-Dream have made an investment in this movie. How could J-Dream got involved with Attack on Titan in the first place... well, there was a rumor back in 2011 that Shingo would play the leading role in Attack on Titan, so maybe J-Dream have invested since the beginning and couldnt? didn't want? to cancel their investment when the previous director (SMAP Gachaman CM director) backed out. And I think that Tsuyoshi's participation in the movie was kept low profile, because it might cause trouble with Johnny's central management if they find out about J-Dream's investment?
Somehow, I'm almost sure we'll find someone from Iijima faction among the not-yet announced supporting cast for Shin Godzilla too. Seems to me, she is trying to earn income for J-Dream by investing and participating in block-buster movies as much as possible recently. HERO movie, Galaxy Kaido (Mitani's movie is guaranteed hit), 2 Miike Takashi movies (Yamapi in Terraformars, Takuya's Blade of Immortal) and recently rumored Goro is filming a movie adapted from Minato Kanae's novel (Matsu's Kokuhaku adapted from the same author was a big hit too).
Another thing that has been awkward lately is the amount of SMAP members mentioning Mori and 6SMAP. I feel that it has gone past the line and it has become unnatural. It's like SMAP is trying to show, trying to lecture the newer fans, the younger generation who has never known Mori, that SMAP used to be 6 in the past. Fact, there was a fax sent to What's Up Smap before from a very young fan asking "Is it true that SMAP used to be 6 members?" and Takuya answered this in a funny way, he played Yonimo Kimyou BGM and said it in mysterious shocking way, "Actually.... yes.... SMAP used to be 6 *gasp*" lol. This was before 2009, when they have started to mention Mori's name freely, btw. Knowing that there are youngsters who doesn't know a thing about Mori, it seems like SMAP is trying hard to introduce Mori to the world lately. It's not just light, casual mentions anymore, but it sounds like they mention him in purpose now. Tsuyoshi's correction in Bokura Ongaku "The five of us... no, the six of us..." it sounded sweet the first time I heard that, but when I thought of it once again, it didn't sound right. The present SMAP is five, why would he correct it to 6? If he said "the six of us long ago" I can get, but something's not right with how he said it. It almost feels like the six of them have been meeting several times lately. And the 6SMAP picture shown in the Kobunsha party few days ago, Nakai said "Mori-kun ga imasu ne".... everything seems to be on purpose, and it's not SMAP anymore, I feel like Iijima is already involved in this, campaigning Mori and 6Smap. Why?
When I saw Bistro Smap yesterday, the Rugby athlete guest, he seemed so happy he was able to promote rugby to the general audience through SMAPxSMAP, the sport is not popular in Japan, and with their victory in the rugby's World Cup, they have a chance to popularize the sport now and I'm sure they needed TV media too, for that, SxS is one of the TV shows who gave them a chance to promote rugby.
Auto-racing is facing a slump in recent years, auto-racing fields are getting closed from one to another, people who has interest in auto race is declining. What the rugby athlete did was what Mori need to do if he really doesn't want auto-racing to disappear. Mori has been showing up in many (non-aired) talk show events to promote auto-racing because as an ex-SMAP member, he's the one who has the most people-drawing power among the auto-racing athletes. It might have hit him that he need to show up on TV again sooner or later, to promote auto-racing to the society. He might need to be managed by a talent agency if he's going to appear often on TV shows. I wonder if this has anything to do with the new talent agency Iijima/SMAP are establishing? I do not dare to wish, I only think of a possibility. Not as a full-fledged member, but Mori return as a semi-member of SMAP might be a possibility if Mori is going to appear often on TV shows in the future. And this can only happens if Iijima/SMAP quits Johnnys Jimusho.
Oh, well...
Thank you for reading my "fanfic." XD
Has Sexy Zone and A.B.C-Z transferred to Julie's faction since August?
I read tweets of Sexy Zone's Japanese fans wondering/suspecting that Sexy Zone might have been transferred to Julie's faction. Especially after Shori and Fuma attend V6 20th anniversary concert few days ago. They were on the VIP seats among Kanjani8 and other Julie's groups. They tweeted "Naru hodo!! They might have been transferred to Julie's! No wonder they always come out all five together recently and their costumes are exactly the same now, no difference anymore!"
My suspicion started since Music Station ULTRAFES September 21st. WEST, HSJ, SexyZ and ABCZ did a medley together. That time, I thought "Waaa... ureshii~ Union of factions! Yokatta~!" but then, during J-Friends (TOKIO, V6, KK), SMAP didn't talk to them at all. If they united the kouhai then they should've unite the older groups too. And it was so weird that Kisumai didn't join the show at all. Then I thought "Err... wait a minute, so what was that faction union about earlier? Was it a faction union? Or simply a fact that SZ and ABCZ has been handed over to Julie??"
In SmaShip, Nakai told the aesthetician a story about his ex-manager. "May I tell you a story? I used to have this manager that's kinda weak in the head. I asked him to buy me a drink. He asked me what drink I want. I told him tansan no kan juice (canned carbonated juice) and then he came back bringing me tansan no kandenchi (AA sized battery)... He's Inagaki-kun's manager now," My friend, noonew said this is definitely Miyabe, and in 2012 Takuya once said in WUS that he has become ABCZ's manager. But in SmaShip which was filmed on September 12, Nakai said he's Goro's manager now. So, can we assume that he's not ABCZ's manager anymore now and he's back with SMAP... ??
ABCZ's Totsuka attend V6 concert finale day on the VIP seats together with Ikuta Toma, TOKIO and Arashi, so ABCZ might have really been handed over to Julie, too.
However... it is weird that Shori came alone on one day, Fuma came alone on the next day and Totsuka came alone on the final day, without their fellow members, while Julie's groups all came as groups. A fan thought that maybe they only provided one seat each day for someone from Iijima's faction, lol.
I'm not sure... maybe they are still Iijima faction. Or maybe they didn't want to make the transfer obvious so Julie only let one person for each day XD
The last time Sexy Zone had appear together with SMAP was July SxS. So I'm thinking the transfer might happened in August. I don't know if Sexy Zone had any appearance together with Kisumai or Yamapi in August-September, though? If they had, then they might still belong to Iijima's faction.
I think Sexy Zone's fans are so cute celebrating the fact that Sexy Zone might have been transferred to Julie's faction^^ Most of 'em seems so happy about it and hoping the Julie's faction members would hold a welcome party for Sexy Zone like "welcome to our faction!"?? LOL. I have to say I'm happy for them too, Sexy Zone is perfect for Julie's style and not Iijima-material. They're the "kirakira idol" type and I think they'd have a better future if Julie takes care of 'em. Also, I read tweets about Fuma admiring Sakurai Sho so much, so the fans desperately wants to see more Fuma and Sho's interactions. One of the tweet says that Julie tends to please the core fans more while Iijima sells her boys to the general society, that's why she prefer SZ to be in Julie's hands. Iyaaa~ wakaruu.... all these sport athletes coming to Bistro Smap... as a fan who has no interest in sports, I do feel "eek... the guests are so boring" sometimes, and I mean Nakai seems to learn as much as he can about these athletes before having a talk with them too, and it really becomes a talk that sport lovers would definitely enjoy, and I feel that SMAP fans are being ignored in this kind of moments. But I guess that's how Iijima/SMAP does things, they're bold enough to take the risk in putting aside their core fans and expand their field to wider range of society.
One tweet though have a different opinion, she prefer Sexy Zone to stay with Iijima because she doesn't go with favoritism system. She find works for all her boys fairly. If Sexy Zone have really gotten transferred to Julie's faction at this moment, she is scared that SZ might not appear much on TV because Julie is currently focusing in pushing HeySayJUMP very hard to be the next Arashi. She doesn't mind the members discrimination in Sexy Zone as long as she can see them appear often in various stuff.
Hmm... I don't know... I think Iijima have her favorites too, sometimes. I mean, I can see Takada Sho (Jr) everywhere as supporting cast, lol! Iijima seems to push him hard. Meanwhile, I'm not seeing Sanada Yuma (Jr) anywhere T_T Takada and Sanada are my favorite Jr-s since Goro's Shinryochuu, but I'm kinda sad Iijima doesn't push Sanada as much as Takada. Or I dunno... maybe Iijima focus Sanada on butai-s?? Sanada's only work this year is a stageplay.
Speaking of Takada Sho, I was surprised to see both Kitayama (Kisumai) and Takada as supporting cast in SIREN!O_o Ehh.... even though the lead is not Johnnys?? But they become the supporting cast? That's something I've never seen before. Usually, younger Johnnys talents would become supporting cast in Johnnys-lead dramas, as barter, desho? I thought it's quite difficult to book jobs as supporting cast for younger johnnys if the lead is not a popular Johnnys? I wonder how could Iijima get the jobs for Kitayama and Takada in SIREN? EDIT: Just to be clear, what I think unusual is the fact that there are TWO of 'em and both are supporting roles. When there are 2 or more Johnnys in one drama, it means the whole drama production is being taken control by Johnnys management (be it Julie or Iijima), and that usually happens when the lead is Johnnys. I'm surprised Iijima can throw in two of her boys in one drama with non-johnnys lead. Thus, I suspect Iijima has a very close business connection/agreement with the lead's agency. But, I might be wrong about this. -end of edit-
I checked out SIREN because I read the hype about it, so many netizens seems to ship Matsuzaka Tori and Kimura Fumino now because their exploding chemistry and the drama itself is getting positive reviews. Then I saw these Iijima's boys there, quite surprised. Well... the drama is not my cup of tea, and I don't particularly like the leads, anyway. But I'm so curious on how Iijima get the supporting spots for Kitayama and Takada, though the lead is non-Johnnys. I checked that Matsuzaka Tori's agency is Top Coat, it is under Watanabe Productions. Then I read that back in the 1960s when Johnny Kitagawa first established a personal company, he entrusted the management to WatanabePro. But I dunno... I don't think Watanabe Pro still have any relation with Johnnys though.
So far, seems like Kisumai and Yamapi are still staying with Iijima, because they have direct interaction with SMAP until recently. (Shingo will guest in this week's Yamapi Eigo Kiss, yay!) No signs of Iijima letting them go. So the question is, is Iijima only handing over SZ and ABCZ, or will she be handing over Kisumai, Yamapi and other Jr-s one by one, to Julie, slowly from now on?
But since a few Japanese fans opinions says that Kisumai was handed over to Iijima because Mary/Julie hates them, then I guess Kisumai have nowhere else to go, lol... poor boys. All the tweets I see seems so sure that Kisumai will follow Iijima/SMAP everywhere they go XD
What about Yamapi? He has formed a certain kind of bond with Shingo, so I'm wishing he'd follow Iijima/SMAP's steps too. But wouldn't he be happy if he can have the chance to work together with Toma again, if he is ever transferred to Julie's faction back? Hmm... I don't know, I'm not familiar with Yamapi's principal in work and career, so I cannot make a guess about this. Although if he was ever influenced with Akanishi Jin's way of thinking, then he might follow SMAP quitting. Is it possible that it was Yamapi himself asked for a transfer to Iijima's faction when he quit NEWS, knowing this is gonna happen sooner or later?
Rumor articles are mentioning that Iijima is currently approaching and establishing an agreement with Burning Productions' executive director. Burning is the biggest talent agency and the only agency more powerful than Johnny's Jimusho. Some entertainment analyst says, if any Johnny's talent would want to have a safe career after they walk out of the Jimusho, then they should enter Burning to guarantee their career. Go Hiromi is with Burning now. But... hmm, Motoki Masahiro who established his own personal agency seems to have a good career too, though.
Iijima seems to be making efforts to make connections with big entertainment companies lately. Just few days ago, Nakai-Tsuyoshi-Shingo (Smaship Trio) attend 70th Anniversary Party of Kobunsha (under Kodansha, largest publishing company in Japan). The hosts in Miyaneya, mentioned it is very unusual for SMAP to appear in a magazine event parties like this. And seems like Takuya and Goro were invited too, but they couldn't come due to their stageplay and movie filming. Why would SMAP is suddenly invited to a party event like this now?
Also... when I saw Tsuyoshi's scene in Attack on Titan, I felt it was so random, and Tsuyoshi could've been replaced by anybody. And with AoT manga's popularity, I don't think they need SMAP popularity power to boost the box office sales. I feel like there was an obligation to cast Tsuyoshi to play a role in the movie due to a certain reason. Tsuyoshi being a part of the cast, was never officially announced either, I thought that was the oddest thing. The only reason I can think of, is that maybe J-Dream have made an investment in this movie. How could J-Dream got involved with Attack on Titan in the first place... well, there was a rumor back in 2011 that Shingo would play the leading role in Attack on Titan, so maybe J-Dream have invested since the beginning and couldnt? didn't want? to cancel their investment when the previous director (SMAP Gachaman CM director) backed out. And I think that Tsuyoshi's participation in the movie was kept low profile, because it might cause trouble with Johnny's central management if they find out about J-Dream's investment?
Somehow, I'm almost sure we'll find someone from Iijima faction among the not-yet announced supporting cast for Shin Godzilla too. Seems to me, she is trying to earn income for J-Dream by investing and participating in block-buster movies as much as possible recently. HERO movie, Galaxy Kaido (Mitani's movie is guaranteed hit), 2 Miike Takashi movies (Yamapi in Terraformars, Takuya's Blade of Immortal) and recently rumored Goro is filming a movie adapted from Minato Kanae's novel (Matsu's Kokuhaku adapted from the same author was a big hit too).
Another thing that has been awkward lately is the amount of SMAP members mentioning Mori and 6SMAP. I feel that it has gone past the line and it has become unnatural. It's like SMAP is trying to show, trying to lecture the newer fans, the younger generation who has never known Mori, that SMAP used to be 6 in the past. Fact, there was a fax sent to What's Up Smap before from a very young fan asking "Is it true that SMAP used to be 6 members?" and Takuya answered this in a funny way, he played Yonimo Kimyou BGM and said it in mysterious shocking way, "Actually.... yes.... SMAP used to be 6 *gasp*" lol. This was before 2009, when they have started to mention Mori's name freely, btw. Knowing that there are youngsters who doesn't know a thing about Mori, it seems like SMAP is trying hard to introduce Mori to the world lately. It's not just light, casual mentions anymore, but it sounds like they mention him in purpose now. Tsuyoshi's correction in Bokura Ongaku "The five of us... no, the six of us..." it sounded sweet the first time I heard that, but when I thought of it once again, it didn't sound right. The present SMAP is five, why would he correct it to 6? If he said "the six of us long ago" I can get, but something's not right with how he said it. It almost feels like the six of them have been meeting several times lately. And the 6SMAP picture shown in the Kobunsha party few days ago, Nakai said "Mori-kun ga imasu ne".... everything seems to be on purpose, and it's not SMAP anymore, I feel like Iijima is already involved in this, campaigning Mori and 6Smap. Why?
When I saw Bistro Smap yesterday, the Rugby athlete guest, he seemed so happy he was able to promote rugby to the general audience through SMAPxSMAP, the sport is not popular in Japan, and with their victory in the rugby's World Cup, they have a chance to popularize the sport now and I'm sure they needed TV media too, for that, SxS is one of the TV shows who gave them a chance to promote rugby.
Auto-racing is facing a slump in recent years, auto-racing fields are getting closed from one to another, people who has interest in auto race is declining. What the rugby athlete did was what Mori need to do if he really doesn't want auto-racing to disappear. Mori has been showing up in many (non-aired) talk show events to promote auto-racing because as an ex-SMAP member, he's the one who has the most people-drawing power among the auto-racing athletes. It might have hit him that he need to show up on TV again sooner or later, to promote auto-racing to the society. He might need to be managed by a talent agency if he's going to appear often on TV shows. I wonder if this has anything to do with the new talent agency Iijima/SMAP are establishing? I do not dare to wish, I only think of a possibility. Not as a full-fledged member, but Mori return as a semi-member of SMAP might be a possibility if Mori is going to appear often on TV shows in the future. And this can only happens if Iijima/SMAP quits Johnnys Jimusho.
Oh, well...
Thank you for reading my "fanfic." XD