HSJ & NYC - Thoughts and Frustrations

Okay, I've been meaning to write this entry for a while but then some sad news hit (or at least sad for me) and everything just seemed to jumble for a bit. Though I think maybe it was for the best as it let me re-look at the topic and really get to the heart of why I'm so frustrated with the continuation of NYC.

First off I think I really am on some level happy that NYC isn't completely over. Yes I have issues with it but honestly the main reason I like NYC is for that N. I honestly like Nakayama Yuma. I remember watching him perform a solo on what I believe was one of the 2008 Kansai Junior Shounen Club episodes and really felt that he stood out amongst the rest of the Juniors. It was then that I really took notice of him and began hoping for his success. So why the whole Nakayama Yuma w/B.I. Shadow/NYC boys/NYC is quite frankly a mess and will most likely remain so for a while, I am glad that Yuma is a part of that mess as it's one that's getting quite a bit of attention. So for the simple fact that Yuma is able to keep getting his name out there and hopefully gets more people to pay attention to him, and hopefully see his potential as I do because I know I can do without all the hate comments towards him. And that's not to say I don't like Yamada Ryosuke or Chinen Yuri, but honestly it's really Yuma that drives me to want this group in any way.

Now with that out of the way part of my frustration falls to Yuma and the fact that Johnny's is making him a part of this unit as the only Junior. It wasn't so bad when B.I. Shadow was with the group as it felt like it could be a group that could stand without Yamada and Chinen if need be, and did for the few times on Shounen Club when Yamada and Chinen weren't there. Now with it only with Yuma there is no standing as a group without Yamada and Chinen as it's just Yuma, so it's no different than him going solo. So I can't see him doing much on his own, to promote the unit, unless it's to sing Yuuki 100% for the billionth time, as I believe all the Juniors have this song memorized well enough. (I so hope they give us a break from this song soon. I like it but between Hey! Say! JUMP, NYC boys and NYC singing it for about a good year now, I'm getting tired of it.) I want to see Yuma be part of a group, a full on debuted unit that's not going to be made temporary in a month or so after their announced debut. With the promotion he gets for NYC I think he would be a good leading candidate to be a lead boy for a new volleyball unit. There really aren't too many high profile Juniors right now so building up Yuma and putting him in such a group would be a good idea, IMHO. And I think it will make a lot of fans, and even some not fans, of his happy to see him in such a group. So I hope I'm thinking in the same lane as TPTB (The Powers That Be) at Johnny's.

Of course that is hardly the only issue I have with NYC continuing. The biggest issue I have is how it's impacting Hey! Say! JUMP. With having to share members, and the two they are sharing are the two that get a lot of focus in both groups, especially Yamada who is treated as the front boy for both. The situation with NEWS and Kanjani8 with sharing Nishikido Ryo as a member of both groups can be made but he's not the lead for both groups. NEWS' lead is undoubtedly Yamapi. I honestly don't follow Kanjani8 to know who the lead for that group is, but I also get the feeling that there is no true lead for the group, which again takes Ryo out of the role of lead boy for either group. For Chinen in HSJ and NYC it works much like Ryo does in NEWS and K8, but the same can't be said for Yamada. Yamada already gets the lion's share of attention in HSJ and it doesn't look like that dynamic is getting changed with NYC. And I like Yamada, he got me into the original Junior Hey! Say! 7 group and has remained a favorite member of HSJ, but I don't like him enough that I want to see so much of him.

Then of course if NYC is active then it means that HSJ can't be as they aren't nearly as balanced a unit as some of the other Johnny's groups. Without Yamada, their front boy, they're not going to release anything new or it would be like NEWS releasing something without Yamapi or KAT-TUN without Kamenashi Kazuya. It's just not going to happen. Of course if Johnny's tried to level out attention a bit more for HSJ, perhaps this wouldn't be such a big issue.

Like if they could do something with Hey! Say! BEST, especially with Arioka Daiki graduating this month from high school and having the full sub-unit eighteen and over now, it should be much easier to schedule work for them if they get work. Like trying to get them more roles in dramas and/or movies, as they're the perfect ages for the high school roles that seem abundant in Japanese dramas and film. It seemed like they were going that way at first with Takaki Yuya in Gokusen but after the movie for the drama he hasn't done anything. And it seems like such wasted potential as Gokusen has been proven to be a great launching vehicle for Johnny's in the past for drama careers. And I'm really not picky who from BEST ends up being the most popular as any one of them will be helping the rest of the guys in the sub-unit just as Yamada and Chinen's popularity help give Hey! Say! 7 more attention. But in the end as long as Yamada isn't pushed so hard with the group and more attention was given to other members then I think I would enjoy NYC more, as it would no longer feel like I'm being overdosed with Yamada so much.

I'm just feeling so frustrated that I keep seeing so much potential with so many members of HSJ but Johnny's doesn't seem to be doing anything with them. And one of those people who hates to see potential go to waste.

And I also think if Johnny's waited until HSJ had an album out or even another single out I would have taken the return of NYC better. I mean they made us wait over a year and a half between singles so I think Johnny's needs to establish a trust with the fans of the group they're not going to make us wait that long again for the next cd release. So just releasing two cds with a couple of months in between would have gone a long way in doing this, IMHO. Of course having NYC releasing something does not help build that trust, as HSJ can't release something without all of their members, especially if one is their lead boy, so HSJ fans are stuck waiting once more in the hopes that Johnny's will go right back to HSJ after NYC. And I'm not sure if all HSJ fans are going to be that patient. I know I've begun to doubt whether or not I should keep with HSJ but my love for my favorites keeps me from about to stop being a fan of the group. But I'm not sure how much longer I can go on unless Johnny's proves that they will maintain both groups on some kind of regular release pattern.

So in summary, I'm happy for Yuma and will support him wherever Johnny's may throw him, though I hope he'll get a permanent group soon. I like Yamada, but having him as front boy for both HSJ and NYC is overkill for me. I think Chinen with the two groups is fine just as Ryo works out for NEWS and K8 without being overkill as they're both not the lead for their groups. I want to see more from HSJ and the members that aren't a part of NYC. And if HSJ continues to get shafted like they were last year then they just might end up losing at least one fan.

And thank you to anyone that makes it through all this. I know I'm mainly just venting so I'm not sure if anyone else will care too much about what I have to say in the matter but do hope that maybe pointing out my issues with this might help others figure out why they are unhappy with this turn of events too.