so, what are you gonna do, KT?
In case this post managed to gain any actual attention from anyone: this is my personal point of view. It is sarcastic at times, realistic for most part, and rather far from fangirling.
I first heard of KAT-TUN around the time of their major debut. I was a more or less rock fan back then, my playlist filled with Luna Sea (forever, duh), Buck-Tick, Plastic Tree and MUCC. I must say I was slowly getting bored though, I needed some new music, and here the new bands weren't visual anymore, but still didn't care much about music either - frankly, most of them were fair and square trash, at least in my opinion. I'm not going to mention names not to get bricked, as there are some pretty big acts among them, who got so far only hell and marketing know why and how.
Obviously, johnny's weren't and aren't much (or any) better, but that's not the point. Let's go back to Spring 2006.
A friend of mine, a die-hard fan of Janne da Arc, and also Luna Sea, has sent me a few mp3 files with Kat-tun songs. I was skeptic - a boysband? I've already listened to some (Arashi and News) and never came to particularly like them. But those guys were different somehow. I got GOLD, Never Again, and She Said, listened to it and realized these guys were actually not bad - no overboard cuteness, pretty rock-y sound, and that fanservice on youtube!... I was surprised to find there were no PVs or albums, but Real Face was out in a few days, and... it got me, just as it got countless other girls inside and outside of JE fandom.
It was different. I like melodic music, western rock mostly bores me to death with its focus on technique (there are exceptions of course), so as long as there was a clear bass line, some guitars and power to the tune, I didn't mind 100% pop tracks popping out here and there on KT's lives. After all it was all rather energetic, and very scenic - in the perfectly johnny's-like stage-y style. I came to love the nonsensical costumes even more than visual-kei guitarists in drag, because I value free imagination more than anything, and whoever designs the stuff johnny's wear in concerts is either a genius master of avoiding all conventions, or perpetually stoned, and possibly both. I liked it how they could sing a medley of stupid junior songs, their own unreleased hits and randomly throw in "Moon River". And gosh, I loved the performances they gave. Never took them seriously for a second, but it didn't matter - I needed fun, and they were fun, just fun, and only fun, and Tatsuya was sexy with black hair. After a while I came to more or less like most of JE bands, if only I could stand listening to them, because they'd give me high, a 100% sober trip to some glittery dimension where ideas for fanfics would lie in waiting.
As for "Real Face" itself making it big, it was another story altogether, after all it wasn't mine alone.
It's partially related - it is a pop-rock song, very different from what was then considered standard for JE, and it managed to invite new wave of fans who (like myself) would never think of giving a chance to a boysband. What may be even more important though, at least as far as people who understand Japanese are concerned - is the lyrics. Please note what I am about to type now is no more than a personal impression I myself am only able to identify years after, armed with the experience of having lived in Japan for a little while. When I first read the lyrics, it wasn't bad of course (Suga Shikao wrote the thing, it had to be alright), but I couldn't quite get what was so awesome about it either. Well, take a look at it, as it is written in Japanese. You'll realize some pretty simple kanji are omitted in favour of katakana which is basically all over the place, while difficult signs are properly typed. The whole thing is written in a very straight-forward way, with some slang actually spelled. Many singers let themselves sing that way, yet they hardly ever dare to write down anything more rebellious than "yukou" instead of "ikou". In Real Face Suga goes all the way and gives Kat-tun's first major single the so necessary feeling of actually being said, or even shout out (not written!) by a young Japanese their age. It's genius, because with main lyrics like that, even Tanaka's meaningless rap parts oddly fit in, they stand for what they actually are.
Sadly, JE's management could never repeat that hit, even though they had the recipe right in front of their faces. With KAT-TUN becoming a hit there came a demand for cutesy pop songs that could fit in dramas and commercials, so the wild, energetic and mostly chaotic feeling their junior songs presented had to go. The chance to leave the lyrics the way they'd reach newly acquired fans was still there, but it was never used - if there was a need to write good lyrics, they would rather hire Oda Kazumasa, who did a good job, but totally missed the point. The lyrics to KT's songs after Real Face are just as standard as the music itself - and frankly, at times simply bad.
JE isn't used to fighting for fans, it honestly never had to, and it might have not realized that now, some 20 years after bubble burst, YOUtachi are competing for fans who simply can't afford all the goods of three bands. Keeping Kat-Tun poprock, NEWS pop-disco, and Kanjani enka-comedy style could have saved all three of them with some success. Unfortunately, only Kanjani8 were allowed to keep some of their style throughout their career, mostly because nobody ever expected much of them anyway. KT and NEWS were meant to be pop stars, big stars, and they struggled to be that - but songs sold before they are even written hardly come out good (Perfume are the best example), and giving two bands aimed at exactly the same public the image that only differs as much as Akanishi differs from Yamashita, simply had to burn them out. As if that wasn't enough - there came the big success of Arashi who had been silently building their fanbase for years, and now turned out more popular than all of YOUtachi together.
To me, at that point they were already too washed up - I was running with my writing on old shokura high, and on gossip - that's how Bad Boys Don't Cry first came to existence. I tried writing about Arashi too, if only to do something about my soft spot for Sakurai, but I just couldn't grasp these guys well enough to write about them. They are cute, and silly, and whatnot, but at the time I took interest in them - they were about to share the fate of KAT-TUN.
Arashi winding up at the top may be viewed as a failure of YOUtachi just as much as a chance for later victory, exactly because of the aforementioned rules of marketing. It is now their (Arashi's) turn to produce one boring song after another so that all the noodle-making companies could stick Nino's face to their newest product without fear that somebody may not like it. However, Arashi are already veterans, and they may stay at the top releasing boring songs for several seasons, or even become another SMAP, because they have no real competition. HeySayJUMP? Sorry, not in next five years, if this after-NEWS hiccup even lives to see them.
NEWS has fallen, with Arashi's sudden success there was no space left for them. They did have fans (heck, they still do, and I think I could count myself in), but Koyama's member-ai wasn't enough to cover the fact they are not a real team. Nishikido's heart lies elsewhere (and for once I will suppress the overwhelming urge to say it's Tatsuya's bed, gotta keep my fantasies separate), Yamashita surprisingly didn't come to care even after all these years spent together, Tegomasu have each other so even if they like the other guys, they can't be expected to honestly weep. The only people left to sincerely wonder what to do next are Katou and Koyama, who end up bandless. Bandless, not jobless, mind you.
In KT's case, there might still be a chance. With Akanishi leaving, they've lost some of the power, but please, put a hand to your heart and tell me honestly he didn't annoy you for past two years. Really? I mean, really? Personally I was fed up with his 'cool guy' act to no end and wished he finally grew up (or got back to his teenage phase when he was actually still funny, either way would be fine), so when I heard he's left KT for good this time, I was relieved. The only problem was - who's gonna take on the lead? You may like him or hate him, but Akanishi was certainly spicing this lot up, KT would never get so far on Kame alone. As for Tatchan, no matter how wonderfully hysteric he'd become in his silent-fairy-boxer-queen image, he was never cut out to be the leader. Even now he hardly speaks in TV shows, and that's how you make yourself a leader in Japan.
Summing up: they've lost their musical style (or lack thereof, but they certainly had A style that made it alright) to marketing. They've lost the chance to keep in touch with Japanese youths they've once reached with poorly written lyrics. They've lost their position in showbiz to veterans. And now they're also short a guy who, for better or worse, kept them in spotlight.
It's been a while, and nothing much has happened. It doesn't seem like they're going to give up - who knows, maybe Akanishi's leave made them stronger and actually somehow drove them to care for this boat they're bound to sail on (for at least as long as current contracts say anyway). Maybe they realize none of them will make it far as a solo artist. On the other hand, they don't do anything worth remembering. Well, Tatsuya shaved his head. For a drama, so it's not like he dared to pose a statement, go for an image change, no, no, it was a simple make up for his questionable acting skills (his fan says so, please don't argue, I will laugh out loud).
What does it have to do with fanfiction? I already made a promise to Auris that if he grows his hair back in black, I will write a multichap fanfic on him, inspired or not. And I will keep my word. But I wonder, how much fun will I have researching for it, if at all? KT, will you guys meet up, think of something and raise your heads, instead of just protecting the seemingly safe zone you're sitting in? This time all you need is really to get back on the track, just like the lyrics to your old song said. Only your management quite obviously s**ks, so you gotta do something about it yourselves.
The big question is: does a bunch of guys practically raised to follow commands and do tricks on stage the way their trainers tell them to have it in them to change on their own?
Hoping for a revolution would be naive, Japan doesn't work that way, but I can still hope their manager retires. Alternatively, they can wake up one morning and realize they are managing a band consisting of five adult men with very different temper, that can still be a golden-eggs-lying goose, if groomed properly.
I'm waiting, with my notepad open, to be inspired again.
I first heard of KAT-TUN around the time of their major debut. I was a more or less rock fan back then, my playlist filled with Luna Sea (forever, duh), Buck-Tick, Plastic Tree and MUCC. I must say I was slowly getting bored though, I needed some new music, and here the new bands weren't visual anymore, but still didn't care much about music either - frankly, most of them were fair and square trash, at least in my opinion. I'm not going to mention names not to get bricked, as there are some pretty big acts among them, who got so far only hell and marketing know why and how.
Obviously, johnny's weren't and aren't much (or any) better, but that's not the point. Let's go back to Spring 2006.
A friend of mine, a die-hard fan of Janne da Arc, and also Luna Sea, has sent me a few mp3 files with Kat-tun songs. I was skeptic - a boysband? I've already listened to some (Arashi and News) and never came to particularly like them. But those guys were different somehow. I got GOLD, Never Again, and She Said, listened to it and realized these guys were actually not bad - no overboard cuteness, pretty rock-y sound, and that fanservice on youtube!... I was surprised to find there were no PVs or albums, but Real Face was out in a few days, and... it got me, just as it got countless other girls inside and outside of JE fandom.
It was different. I like melodic music, western rock mostly bores me to death with its focus on technique (there are exceptions of course), so as long as there was a clear bass line, some guitars and power to the tune, I didn't mind 100% pop tracks popping out here and there on KT's lives. After all it was all rather energetic, and very scenic - in the perfectly johnny's-like stage-y style. I came to love the nonsensical costumes even more than visual-kei guitarists in drag, because I value free imagination more than anything, and whoever designs the stuff johnny's wear in concerts is either a genius master of avoiding all conventions, or perpetually stoned, and possibly both. I liked it how they could sing a medley of stupid junior songs, their own unreleased hits and randomly throw in "Moon River". And gosh, I loved the performances they gave. Never took them seriously for a second, but it didn't matter - I needed fun, and they were fun, just fun, and only fun, and Tatsuya was sexy with black hair. After a while I came to more or less like most of JE bands, if only I could stand listening to them, because they'd give me high, a 100% sober trip to some glittery dimension where ideas for fanfics would lie in waiting.
As for "Real Face" itself making it big, it was another story altogether, after all it wasn't mine alone.
It's partially related - it is a pop-rock song, very different from what was then considered standard for JE, and it managed to invite new wave of fans who (like myself) would never think of giving a chance to a boysband. What may be even more important though, at least as far as people who understand Japanese are concerned - is the lyrics. Please note what I am about to type now is no more than a personal impression I myself am only able to identify years after, armed with the experience of having lived in Japan for a little while. When I first read the lyrics, it wasn't bad of course (Suga Shikao wrote the thing, it had to be alright), but I couldn't quite get what was so awesome about it either. Well, take a look at it, as it is written in Japanese. You'll realize some pretty simple kanji are omitted in favour of katakana which is basically all over the place, while difficult signs are properly typed. The whole thing is written in a very straight-forward way, with some slang actually spelled. Many singers let themselves sing that way, yet they hardly ever dare to write down anything more rebellious than "yukou" instead of "ikou". In Real Face Suga goes all the way and gives Kat-tun's first major single the so necessary feeling of actually being said, or even shout out (not written!) by a young Japanese their age. It's genius, because with main lyrics like that, even Tanaka's meaningless rap parts oddly fit in, they stand for what they actually are.
Sadly, JE's management could never repeat that hit, even though they had the recipe right in front of their faces. With KAT-TUN becoming a hit there came a demand for cutesy pop songs that could fit in dramas and commercials, so the wild, energetic and mostly chaotic feeling their junior songs presented had to go. The chance to leave the lyrics the way they'd reach newly acquired fans was still there, but it was never used - if there was a need to write good lyrics, they would rather hire Oda Kazumasa, who did a good job, but totally missed the point. The lyrics to KT's songs after Real Face are just as standard as the music itself - and frankly, at times simply bad.
JE isn't used to fighting for fans, it honestly never had to, and it might have not realized that now, some 20 years after bubble burst, YOUtachi are competing for fans who simply can't afford all the goods of three bands. Keeping Kat-Tun poprock, NEWS pop-disco, and Kanjani enka-comedy style could have saved all three of them with some success. Unfortunately, only Kanjani8 were allowed to keep some of their style throughout their career, mostly because nobody ever expected much of them anyway. KT and NEWS were meant to be pop stars, big stars, and they struggled to be that - but songs sold before they are even written hardly come out good (Perfume are the best example), and giving two bands aimed at exactly the same public the image that only differs as much as Akanishi differs from Yamashita, simply had to burn them out. As if that wasn't enough - there came the big success of Arashi who had been silently building their fanbase for years, and now turned out more popular than all of YOUtachi together.
To me, at that point they were already too washed up - I was running with my writing on old shokura high, and on gossip - that's how Bad Boys Don't Cry first came to existence. I tried writing about Arashi too, if only to do something about my soft spot for Sakurai, but I just couldn't grasp these guys well enough to write about them. They are cute, and silly, and whatnot, but at the time I took interest in them - they were about to share the fate of KAT-TUN.
Arashi winding up at the top may be viewed as a failure of YOUtachi just as much as a chance for later victory, exactly because of the aforementioned rules of marketing. It is now their (Arashi's) turn to produce one boring song after another so that all the noodle-making companies could stick Nino's face to their newest product without fear that somebody may not like it. However, Arashi are already veterans, and they may stay at the top releasing boring songs for several seasons, or even become another SMAP, because they have no real competition. HeySayJUMP? Sorry, not in next five years, if this after-NEWS hiccup even lives to see them.
NEWS has fallen, with Arashi's sudden success there was no space left for them. They did have fans (heck, they still do, and I think I could count myself in), but Koyama's member-ai wasn't enough to cover the fact they are not a real team. Nishikido's heart lies elsewhere (and for once I will suppress the overwhelming urge to say it's Tatsuya's bed, gotta keep my fantasies separate), Yamashita surprisingly didn't come to care even after all these years spent together, Tegomasu have each other so even if they like the other guys, they can't be expected to honestly weep. The only people left to sincerely wonder what to do next are Katou and Koyama, who end up bandless. Bandless, not jobless, mind you.
In KT's case, there might still be a chance. With Akanishi leaving, they've lost some of the power, but please, put a hand to your heart and tell me honestly he didn't annoy you for past two years. Really? I mean, really? Personally I was fed up with his 'cool guy' act to no end and wished he finally grew up (or got back to his teenage phase when he was actually still funny, either way would be fine), so when I heard he's left KT for good this time, I was relieved. The only problem was - who's gonna take on the lead? You may like him or hate him, but Akanishi was certainly spicing this lot up, KT would never get so far on Kame alone. As for Tatchan, no matter how wonderfully hysteric he'd become in his silent-fairy-boxer-queen image, he was never cut out to be the leader. Even now he hardly speaks in TV shows, and that's how you make yourself a leader in Japan.
Summing up: they've lost their musical style (or lack thereof, but they certainly had A style that made it alright) to marketing. They've lost the chance to keep in touch with Japanese youths they've once reached with poorly written lyrics. They've lost their position in showbiz to veterans. And now they're also short a guy who, for better or worse, kept them in spotlight.
It's been a while, and nothing much has happened. It doesn't seem like they're going to give up - who knows, maybe Akanishi's leave made them stronger and actually somehow drove them to care for this boat they're bound to sail on (for at least as long as current contracts say anyway). Maybe they realize none of them will make it far as a solo artist. On the other hand, they don't do anything worth remembering. Well, Tatsuya shaved his head. For a drama, so it's not like he dared to pose a statement, go for an image change, no, no, it was a simple make up for his questionable acting skills (his fan says so, please don't argue, I will laugh out loud).
What does it have to do with fanfiction? I already made a promise to Auris that if he grows his hair back in black, I will write a multichap fanfic on him, inspired or not. And I will keep my word. But I wonder, how much fun will I have researching for it, if at all? KT, will you guys meet up, think of something and raise your heads, instead of just protecting the seemingly safe zone you're sitting in? This time all you need is really to get back on the track, just like the lyrics to your old song said. Only your management quite obviously s**ks, so you gotta do something about it yourselves.
The big question is: does a bunch of guys practically raised to follow commands and do tricks on stage the way their trainers tell them to have it in them to change on their own?
Hoping for a revolution would be naive, Japan doesn't work that way, but I can still hope their manager retires. Alternatively, they can wake up one morning and realize they are managing a band consisting of five adult men with very different temper, that can still be a golden-eggs-lying goose, if groomed properly.
I'm waiting, with my notepad open, to be inspired again.