Debut Speculation… A.B.C.-Z (as of 23 July, 2010)

I did not forget about doing other groups for this. You can check out my thoughts about Kis-My-Ft2’s chances at debuting here. Of course since then they got the Dwango CM and have Fire Beat and Inori on sale digitally so I’m more hopeful at the moment about their chances though the deadline I’ve set still stands.

The next group I’ve decided to speculate about is A.B.C.-Z as they just seemed like the natural choice with being paired up with Kis-My-Ft2 in the past and still are from time to time.

To tell the truth I never really thought A.B.C. was going to debut as a group. It wasn’t because they weren’t talented or didn’t put in the same if not more hard work than other Juniors and groups but rather because they just did not have that stand out quality when compared to other Junior groups. I felt that they were going to be a group that would eventually follow the path of groups like M.A. and M.A.D. and be professional back dancers and the ones the older Johnny’s groups use for their concerts and performances when they’ve stopped using the younger Juniors. Which I don’t think is a terrible thing as Yara from M.A. has proven in the past few years you can still be pretty active and visible even if your group didn’t debut.

Of course I kept out the Z for A.B.C.-Z in that because I think there is still a chance for Hashimoto Ryosuke yet to debut. Soon after it was announced that he was being added to A.B.C. (and I began to get over the loss of the short lived Top3) I began to theorize that he was added to this group to get more experience on stage and more training. Before he was good at singing and dancing for the most part but outside of that he seemed like a fish out of water. If you can hunt down pre-A.B.C.-Z Shounen Club clips where Hasshi has to just stand and speak you can easily see how uncomfortable he is at it. So it’s really amazing to see him look and act so confidant when he’s talking on stage now, especially as he’s now willing to let his cute and silly side show much more. And he can now do some acrobatics which I'm sure would be put to use to set him apart if placed in another group for debut.

Hasshi is also the right age to be debuted (I still find it hard to believe he’s the same age as Yamada Ryosuke), as long as Johnny’s doesn’t go for another ‘youngest group to debut’ record, which after Snow Prince Gasshoudan I hope they’ve gotten out of their system. But I see Hasshi being one of the older members in the next volleyball group. He does have a good fanbase and the group will need someone who knows what they’re doing onstage to help guide the ones that don’t have that much experience.

So I think as long as the group is A.B.C.-Z they will still get a good deal of the spotlight for a Junior group even with Johnny’s shifting to younger and fresher Juniors. But I think once Hasshi leaves they will soon begin to get harder to see as they begin to shift to do other things as M.A. does. I’m sure Tackey will always have something for them to do with his musicals, plays and concerts but I wouldn’t be surprised if eventually those are the main ways you can see them in a few years. But I see the members of A.B.C. in it for the long haul and while debut may pass them by they will not be without opportunities within the agency for projects as could be seen with Johnny's having them produce their own concerts as well as concerts for some of the other Juniors when Mori Mitsuko had to cancel her shows earlier this year.