[Nicola 2022.02] Q&A with Naniwa Danshi
Nicola magazine recently sat down with Naniwa Danshi to find out what prompted them to join J&A and which senpai's words struck a chord with them.
T/N: The group picture was taken from another magazine
Q1: What’s your date of birth?
Joichiro: 8 February 1996.
Daigo: 9 January 1997.
Ohashi: 9 August 1997.
Ryusei: 7 August 2001.
Kyohei: 28 February 2000.
Michieda: 25 July 2002.
Nagao: 15 August 2002.
Q2: When and why did you join J&A?
Joichiro: 21 February 2004. When I was in 2nd grade, my mom told me, “I’ll give you 5000 yen,” and I went to audition on the day of a baseball match.
Daigo: 3 April 2011. My mom is an Arashi fan and she sent in my resume. She dragged me to the audition. (laughs)
Ohashi: 3 April 2009. I looked up to idols and my mom or grandma sent in my resume for me.
Kyohei: 23 November 2014. My sister just sent in my application on her own.
Ryusei: 14 July 2012. After attending Sexy Zone-san’s concert, I started looking up to idols and my mom sent in my resume.
Michieda: 23 November 2014. I looked up to Hey! Say! JUMP’s Yamada Ryosuke-kun after watching The Kindaichi Files, and sent in my own resume.
Nagao: 23 November 2014. I wanted to be on stage and on TV, so my mom sent in my resume for me.
Q3: What are you into lately?
Joichiro: Supporting the Orix Buffaloes [1] and going to batting centres.
Daigo: Observing the huge pimple on my right cheek. (laughs)
Ohashi: Recently I’m hooked on this online game in my iPad where I can compete with other people around the world in darts. Kento and Jo-kun are hooked on it too, and they’re good at it.
Kyohei: A card game about monsters. I’ve bought boxes of cards from the convenience store. I want the rare cards so I’m collecting them. ♪
Ryusei: I bring homemade bento lunches to my drama set. I’m so embarrassed about it so I secretly eat it in my manager’s car. (shy) When I added glass noodles to my ginger soup, it became so gloopy… I messed up. (sweats)
Michieda: Rewatching “Oh My Boss! Love Not Included” which stars Tamamori Yuta-kun. The clothes are so stylish.
Nagao: Watching the anime, “JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean”. The plot is interesting and I love the worldview.
Q4: What are the words from a senpai that left an impression on you in 2021?
Joichiro: Kanjani8’s Ohkura-kun told me, “Debuting is not your end goal.” It really resonated with me!
Daigo: Ohkura-kun told me, “From now on, the journey will be a tough one. Hence, you guys have to be even more united than before.” Those words are precious to me!
Ohashi: When I asked Aiba-kun for advice via text message, he replied, “Gradually, you’ll be able to see what’s going on around you. I hope you enjoy being able to showcase your good qualities!”
Kyohei: Right after the concert with our debut announcement, Ohkura-kun’s words left a huge impression on me. As I hugged him and cried, he said, “It’s only just begun!”
Ryusei: When it was decided that I’d act together with Non-chan (Kotaki Nozomu) in Rokuhōdō Yotsuiro Biyori, he said, “I’m so happy that we get to work together in a drama.” That made me happy. ❤
Michieda: Our Jo-kun sent me a picture of Shigeoka-kun [2] pointing at my photo in the “99.9 THE MOVIE” poster, saying, “All the best!” It made me happy. ♪
Nagao: Arashi’s Matsumoto Jun-kun told me, “The journey from now on is a long one.” Ohkura-kun and other people have also said the same thing, so I’m curious to see what’s in store!
Q5: What food do you like to reward yourself with?
Joichiro: I’d go to a trendy Italian place with my co-stars from my stage play. The giant carbonara macaroni there is delish!
Daigo: I love spinach chicken curry from curry restaurants. My go-to order is level 3 spiciness with cheese topping. When I go there often, it’s around 4 times a week. ♪
Ohashi: Horse sashimi! Horse meat is truly a power food for when I need energy. Ohkura-kun recently took me to a place that serves yummy horse sashimi. ♪
Kyohei: Strawberry yoghurt. I often eat it in the morning!
Ryusei: Fried rice with ham and fishcake, made by an uncle in a restaurant.
Michieda: Korean chicken. When I ordered Korean food delivery, I had it as a snack and it was delicious. ❤
Nagao: Tonkotsu [3] ramen. I love fish and tonkotsu-based ramen. ❤
Q6: What should we take note of when it comes to you?
Joichiro: I always sleep in until the very last minute, so I don’t eat breakfast. But every 6 months, I eat curry for breakfast. (laughs) I want to watch the sports news around 11pm, so please let me be. (laughs)
Daigo: I have low blood pressure so I’m not a morning person. Please don’t ask me to move vigorously in the mornings. (laughs)
Ohashi: I’m happy when people depend on me. (laughs) So come lean on me, okay? ❤
Kyohei: Please leave me alone when I look sleepy! I like being by myself so there are times where I wish people would let me be. (laughs)
Ryusei: Please talk to me when I look like I’m feeling down! I feel energized when I listen to other people’s stories about their relationships.
Michieda: I get excited when there’s karaage [4]! I don’t need people to let me be, so you don’t have to be concerned with that.
Nagao: I tend to be excited on the days when I’m wearing my favourite new sneakers.
Q7: What kind of kid were you in elementary and middle school?
Joichiro: I went for table tennis club activities once a month. I was an active kid who’d go all the way to the neighbouring city on my bike, and I loved playing outdoors.
Ohashi: I have poor eyesight, so I wore glasses! I would go for dance lessons after school every day since I was in 2nd grade.
Kyohei: I would go for lessons or club activities. I was always doing sports.
Daigo: I was in the track and field club and spent every day on the track so I’d be very sunburnt. When I look at my old photos, I’d think, “Whoa, I’m so burnt!” I’ve bathed in enough sunlight for a lifetime~ (laughs)
Ryusei: I was a very noisy kid in my 1st year of middle school and very enthusiastic during volleyball lessons!
Michieda: I had 3 - 4 really close friends, so I wasn’t the type to talk to other people on my own initiative. (laughs)
Nagao: I was a brat who loved to play pranks on others. (laughs) I was hooked on skateboarding in elementary school and went for all sorts of classes. I wasn’t the noisiest kid in class, but I was bright and cheerful!
Q8: If you could express the year of your debut, 2021, in a kanji, what would it be?
Joichiro: “新 (new)”. Since we’ve moved on to a new stage!
Daigo: “天 (heaven)”. Because it’s been a geniustupendous year! It was genius and stupendous, so geniustupendous. (laughs)
T/N: Daigo invented the phrase天最高 (tensaikou), which is a play on the words, “天才 (tensai)”, meaning genius, and “最高 (saikou)”, meaning stupendous. He often uses the phrase to describe stuff that’s simply awesome.
Ohashi: It would be “叶 (to come true)”. Everyone’s dreams came true!
Kyohei: “愛 (love)”. We and Nanifam [5] shared a lot of love with each other in 2021!
Ryusei: “愛 (love)”. I received a lot of love and was also able to proclaim my love. ❤
Michieda: “濃 (rich/concentrated)”. I had the privilege of spending a very fulfilling year!
Nagao: “嬉 (joy)”. I got to debut and star in a movie, which were all happy things!
[1] Joichiro is a huge baseball fan and the Orix Buffaloes is his favorite baseball team.
[2] Shigeoka Daiki from Johnny’s WEST
[3] Creamy pork bone broth
[4] Japanese fried chicken
[5] The official name for Naniwa Danshi fans. Nanifam is a combination of the words Naniwa and Family.
T/N: The group picture was taken from another magazine
Q1: What’s your date of birth?
Joichiro: 8 February 1996.
Daigo: 9 January 1997.
Ohashi: 9 August 1997.
Ryusei: 7 August 2001.
Kyohei: 28 February 2000.
Michieda: 25 July 2002.
Nagao: 15 August 2002.
Q2: When and why did you join J&A?
Joichiro: 21 February 2004. When I was in 2nd grade, my mom told me, “I’ll give you 5000 yen,” and I went to audition on the day of a baseball match.
Daigo: 3 April 2011. My mom is an Arashi fan and she sent in my resume. She dragged me to the audition. (laughs)
Ohashi: 3 April 2009. I looked up to idols and my mom or grandma sent in my resume for me.
Kyohei: 23 November 2014. My sister just sent in my application on her own.
Ryusei: 14 July 2012. After attending Sexy Zone-san’s concert, I started looking up to idols and my mom sent in my resume.
Michieda: 23 November 2014. I looked up to Hey! Say! JUMP’s Yamada Ryosuke-kun after watching The Kindaichi Files, and sent in my own resume.
Nagao: 23 November 2014. I wanted to be on stage and on TV, so my mom sent in my resume for me.
Q3: What are you into lately?
Joichiro: Supporting the Orix Buffaloes [1] and going to batting centres.
Daigo: Observing the huge pimple on my right cheek. (laughs)
Ohashi: Recently I’m hooked on this online game in my iPad where I can compete with other people around the world in darts. Kento and Jo-kun are hooked on it too, and they’re good at it.
Kyohei: A card game about monsters. I’ve bought boxes of cards from the convenience store. I want the rare cards so I’m collecting them. ♪
Ryusei: I bring homemade bento lunches to my drama set. I’m so embarrassed about it so I secretly eat it in my manager’s car. (shy) When I added glass noodles to my ginger soup, it became so gloopy… I messed up. (sweats)
Michieda: Rewatching “Oh My Boss! Love Not Included” which stars Tamamori Yuta-kun. The clothes are so stylish.
Nagao: Watching the anime, “JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean”. The plot is interesting and I love the worldview.
Q4: What are the words from a senpai that left an impression on you in 2021?
Joichiro: Kanjani8’s Ohkura-kun told me, “Debuting is not your end goal.” It really resonated with me!
Daigo: Ohkura-kun told me, “From now on, the journey will be a tough one. Hence, you guys have to be even more united than before.” Those words are precious to me!
Ohashi: When I asked Aiba-kun for advice via text message, he replied, “Gradually, you’ll be able to see what’s going on around you. I hope you enjoy being able to showcase your good qualities!”
Kyohei: Right after the concert with our debut announcement, Ohkura-kun’s words left a huge impression on me. As I hugged him and cried, he said, “It’s only just begun!”
Ryusei: When it was decided that I’d act together with Non-chan (Kotaki Nozomu) in Rokuhōdō Yotsuiro Biyori, he said, “I’m so happy that we get to work together in a drama.” That made me happy. ❤
Michieda: Our Jo-kun sent me a picture of Shigeoka-kun [2] pointing at my photo in the “99.9 THE MOVIE” poster, saying, “All the best!” It made me happy. ♪
Nagao: Arashi’s Matsumoto Jun-kun told me, “The journey from now on is a long one.” Ohkura-kun and other people have also said the same thing, so I’m curious to see what’s in store!
Q5: What food do you like to reward yourself with?
Joichiro: I’d go to a trendy Italian place with my co-stars from my stage play. The giant carbonara macaroni there is delish!
Daigo: I love spinach chicken curry from curry restaurants. My go-to order is level 3 spiciness with cheese topping. When I go there often, it’s around 4 times a week. ♪
Ohashi: Horse sashimi! Horse meat is truly a power food for when I need energy. Ohkura-kun recently took me to a place that serves yummy horse sashimi. ♪
Kyohei: Strawberry yoghurt. I often eat it in the morning!
Ryusei: Fried rice with ham and fishcake, made by an uncle in a restaurant.
Michieda: Korean chicken. When I ordered Korean food delivery, I had it as a snack and it was delicious. ❤
Nagao: Tonkotsu [3] ramen. I love fish and tonkotsu-based ramen. ❤
Q6: What should we take note of when it comes to you?
Joichiro: I always sleep in until the very last minute, so I don’t eat breakfast. But every 6 months, I eat curry for breakfast. (laughs) I want to watch the sports news around 11pm, so please let me be. (laughs)
Daigo: I have low blood pressure so I’m not a morning person. Please don’t ask me to move vigorously in the mornings. (laughs)
Ohashi: I’m happy when people depend on me. (laughs) So come lean on me, okay? ❤
Kyohei: Please leave me alone when I look sleepy! I like being by myself so there are times where I wish people would let me be. (laughs)
Ryusei: Please talk to me when I look like I’m feeling down! I feel energized when I listen to other people’s stories about their relationships.
Michieda: I get excited when there’s karaage [4]! I don’t need people to let me be, so you don’t have to be concerned with that.
Nagao: I tend to be excited on the days when I’m wearing my favourite new sneakers.
Q7: What kind of kid were you in elementary and middle school?
Joichiro: I went for table tennis club activities once a month. I was an active kid who’d go all the way to the neighbouring city on my bike, and I loved playing outdoors.
Ohashi: I have poor eyesight, so I wore glasses! I would go for dance lessons after school every day since I was in 2nd grade.
Kyohei: I would go for lessons or club activities. I was always doing sports.
Daigo: I was in the track and field club and spent every day on the track so I’d be very sunburnt. When I look at my old photos, I’d think, “Whoa, I’m so burnt!” I’ve bathed in enough sunlight for a lifetime~ (laughs)
Ryusei: I was a very noisy kid in my 1st year of middle school and very enthusiastic during volleyball lessons!
Michieda: I had 3 - 4 really close friends, so I wasn’t the type to talk to other people on my own initiative. (laughs)
Nagao: I was a brat who loved to play pranks on others. (laughs) I was hooked on skateboarding in elementary school and went for all sorts of classes. I wasn’t the noisiest kid in class, but I was bright and cheerful!
Q8: If you could express the year of your debut, 2021, in a kanji, what would it be?
Joichiro: “新 (new)”. Since we’ve moved on to a new stage!
Daigo: “天 (heaven)”. Because it’s been a geniustupendous year! It was genius and stupendous, so geniustupendous. (laughs)
T/N: Daigo invented the phrase天最高 (tensaikou), which is a play on the words, “天才 (tensai)”, meaning genius, and “最高 (saikou)”, meaning stupendous. He often uses the phrase to describe stuff that’s simply awesome.
Ohashi: It would be “叶 (to come true)”. Everyone’s dreams came true!
Kyohei: “愛 (love)”. We and Nanifam [5] shared a lot of love with each other in 2021!
Ryusei: “愛 (love)”. I received a lot of love and was also able to proclaim my love. ❤
Michieda: “濃 (rich/concentrated)”. I had the privilege of spending a very fulfilling year!
Nagao: “嬉 (joy)”. I got to debut and star in a movie, which were all happy things!
[1] Joichiro is a huge baseball fan and the Orix Buffaloes is his favorite baseball team.
[2] Shigeoka Daiki from Johnny’s WEST
[3] Creamy pork bone broth
[4] Japanese fried chicken
[5] The official name for Naniwa Danshi fans. Nanifam is a combination of the words Naniwa and Family.