Kanjani8 to be first group in 24hr. TV drama SP

It's been announced that the drama SP that Murakami Shingo will be starring in will have all seven members in it. The drama is for the upcoming NTV 24hr. program and this is the first time in the show's history that all members of a host group have appeared in the drama special.

Tokyo Graph article. (English)

On another tangent I actually decided to check out the first episode of Ikemen Desu Ne and so far I enjoy it. I'm a fan of the more lighthearted dramas and while I won't say it's amazing it's still good fun fluff. I was surprised to see the members of They Budou in it and unfortunately I'm not familiar enough with the older back dancing groups to recognize if M.A.D. or M.A.D.E. were the other back dancers shown in the drama. But if you're a fan of They Budou I would recommend watching if only for the locker room scene.

Kanjani8 to host 2011's NTV 24Hr TV

It has been announced that this year it will be Kanjani8 who will host the NTV 24Hr TV program. This will be the first time for the group to host the TV event which will air in August.

This year's program will inevitably focus on the March 11th earthquake, which the NTV 24Hr TV organization has already raised money for the relief effort for.

Momoedgewood article. (English)

I'm happy for Kanjani8 as I've felt they've been ready to host the program for at least the past couple of years.

News roundup

Well the news keeps coming in so I've decided to collect the recent batch in this one entry.

First off Tegomass's tour has been extended as they will be returning to Yoyogi July 30th-August 1st for three more shows. More information can be found on Johnny's net.

A bit of a downer, SMAP's concert in Shanghai has been canceled. The Expo canceled the concert after safety and security concerns arouse when South Korea had a concert with popular acts from their country and the commotion it caused. The Expo feared the same would happen with the SMAP concert and opted to cancel the event.

Brietbart article. (English)

And then for some better news, the SP for NTV 24 Hour Television has been announced. Nagase Tomoya will be starring in the SP for his second time. He stars alongside Hirosue Ryoko as a couple that have to deal with a terminally ill daughter.

Tokyo Graph article. (English)

I'm a bit disappointed that it's not Masaoka Masahiro starring in the SP, especially since I would have loved to have seen him with Hirosue again after they were in Yasuko to Kenji together. But I can't complain about having Nagase in another drama as I tend to love him in whatever he's in.

Tokio to host 2010's NTV 24hr program

The Johnny's group hosting NTV's annual 24hr charity program has been announced and this year Tokio will be returning to host. This will be their 3rd time hosting the program and it is the 33rd year NTV has run the program.

NTV announcement. (Japanese)


It hasn't been announced yet which member will be in the drama special that usually accompanies the program but for the past two times they hosted both Taichi and Nagase have starred in the specials so I think there's a good chance one of the other three members will get the chance to star in it.

I'm personally really happy for Tokio. They're my favorite senpai group so being able to see more of them than usual is perfectly fine for me. Though I'm a bit surprised it's not Kanjani8 this year, but maybe since they only just began doing nationwide programs Johnny's wants to see how they do with that before having them come on NTV 24 hour TV.