The first details for the Johnny's charity project has been announced. Everything for this project will be done under the name Marching J and will involve all the talents in the Johnny's agency.
They have announced that the first event for Marching J will be a three day fundraising event at Yoyogi National Gym from April 1-3. Everyone is supposed to make an appearance at the event at some point but hope to have about ten talents there as the main hosts of the event that will be their all three days. Johnny's says there will be about 100 members involved with this event as they will be having the Juniors participate as well.
There is also a charity baseball game scheduled for May 29th that will mainly involve the Juniors that will be a part of this program.
Tokyo Graph article. (English)
29 March 2011
28 March 2011
SMAP show their Lion Heart
In light of the Tohoku quake earlier this month SMAP has not only donated money personally but are finding other ways to give to the relief effort.
Their March 21st SMAP x SMAP show was dedicated to the victims of the quake and following typhoon and the group had the money they would earn from the program donated to the Japanese Red Cross.
The media reports that the group through their various personal donations have given about an estimated 400 million yen. Johnny's though refuses to say anymore than that they did donate personally as they see the matter as a personal matter and deserves privacy.
SMAP also plans to discuss how to help with the relief efforts on their SMAP Ganbarimasu! morning program on the 2nd of April. And they have stated that they will participate in the upcoming Johnny's project for the relief effort.
Momoedgewood blog. Second entry. (English)
I actually rather like that we aren't getting exact numbers of who donated how much and all that. Very few people can donate the kind of money that a group like SMAP can and even the small amounts people can donate are just as important because of that.
And I will be quite surprised if there isn't a member of an active Johnny's group that isn't a part of the upcoming relief project. But it's still nice to know for certain one of the groups that will participate.
Their March 21st SMAP x SMAP show was dedicated to the victims of the quake and following typhoon and the group had the money they would earn from the program donated to the Japanese Red Cross.
The media reports that the group through their various personal donations have given about an estimated 400 million yen. Johnny's though refuses to say anymore than that they did donate personally as they see the matter as a personal matter and deserves privacy.
SMAP also plans to discuss how to help with the relief efforts on their SMAP Ganbarimasu! morning program on the 2nd of April. And they have stated that they will participate in the upcoming Johnny's project for the relief effort.
Momoedgewood blog. Second entry. (English)
I actually rather like that we aren't getting exact numbers of who donated how much and all that. Very few people can donate the kind of money that a group like SMAP can and even the small amounts people can donate are just as important because of that.
And I will be quite surprised if there isn't a member of an active Johnny's group that isn't a part of the upcoming relief project. But it's still nice to know for certain one of the groups that will participate.
25 March 2011
Kanjani8 ramps up for 3 months of releases
Sorry for being MIA recently. I have to move soon and school starts again for me on Monday and various other things have been eating into my time. Thankfully things should settle down by next month. Which looks like it'll be fine overall as things seem to finally be settling in Japan and news is reporting more of the usual again.
One of those usual things is news about new releases for Kanjani8 for the first half of the year. The concert DVD they had to postpone from its original March 30th release date is now set to be released on April 13th.
Then to continue draining the wallets of K8 fans they will release three singles over three months. The first will be for the songs they've done for the Crayon Shin-Chan series and will come out as a double A-side on April 20th. Then on May 11th the next single will be the theme song for Nishikido Ryo's upcoming drama, Inu wo Kau to Iu Koto. And in June the third single will be release on June 8th which will be another drama theme song, this time for the drama Ohkura Tadayoshi will have a role in, Umareru.
Tokyo Graph article. (English)
The first single, T.W.L./Yellow Pansy Street is up for pre-order and comes in three editions. The two LE editions each have a DVD with a PV for one of the A-sides and the RE has the karaoke tracks of the songs.
T.W.L / Yellow Pansy Street [Regular Edition] / KANJANI8
T.W.L / Yellow Pansy Street [w/ DVD, Limited Edition - Anime] / KANJANI8
T.W.L / Yellow Pansy Street [w/ DVD, Limited Edition - Movie] / KANJANI8
One of those usual things is news about new releases for Kanjani8 for the first half of the year. The concert DVD they had to postpone from its original March 30th release date is now set to be released on April 13th.
Then to continue draining the wallets of K8 fans they will release three singles over three months. The first will be for the songs they've done for the Crayon Shin-Chan series and will come out as a double A-side on April 20th. Then on May 11th the next single will be the theme song for Nishikido Ryo's upcoming drama, Inu wo Kau to Iu Koto. And in June the third single will be release on June 8th which will be another drama theme song, this time for the drama Ohkura Tadayoshi will have a role in, Umareru.
Tokyo Graph article. (English)
The first single, T.W.L./Yellow Pansy Street is up for pre-order and comes in three editions. The two LE editions each have a DVD with a PV for one of the A-sides and the RE has the karaoke tracks of the songs.
19 March 2011
Johnny's aide
Johnny's is continuing there support of the relief effort in Japan the best way they can. Not only have they donated trucks but they plan on cutting the amount of power they use for their concerts down to 10% of what the normally use to help conserve energy. And they are in the planning stages for a charity single.
Takizawa Hideaki, Imai Tsubasa and Nakayama Yuma have even gone so far to have gone with the trucks to personally check out what the situation is in the area.
Tokyo Graph article. (English)
Reading news like this makes me so proud to be a Johnny's fan. I'm glad they have figured out a way to continue the concerts while conserving energy. Continuing the concerts will surely help raise spirits for their fans.
Can't say I'm surprised to learn they're planning a charity single as with the Kobe earthquake back in 1995 they did quite a bit of that. I wouldn't be surprised if they bring back J-Friends for this and I hope they include as many Johnnys as possible as I'm sure they all want to do their best to help.
And the last bit just chokes me up. It amazes me that they would do that, especially Yuma since he's still so young. I am so proud to be his fan right now.
EDIT: Tokyo Graph has updated their article and it seems like they made a translation error. Tackey, Tsubasa and Yuma did not go with the trucks but rather help loaded them up with the supplies. Thinking about it that makes more sense as I had been wondering how a minor like Yuma would be able to go to a disaster area.
I'm still proud of them to take the time out to help like that. I've helped load trucks before for various reasons and it's not the easiest of work if there is a lot to pack.
Takizawa Hideaki, Imai Tsubasa and Nakayama Yuma have even gone so far to have gone with the trucks to personally check out what the situation is in the area.
Tokyo Graph article. (English)
Reading news like this makes me so proud to be a Johnny's fan. I'm glad they have figured out a way to continue the concerts while conserving energy. Continuing the concerts will surely help raise spirits for their fans.
Can't say I'm surprised to learn they're planning a charity single as with the Kobe earthquake back in 1995 they did quite a bit of that. I wouldn't be surprised if they bring back J-Friends for this and I hope they include as many Johnnys as possible as I'm sure they all want to do their best to help.
And the last bit just chokes me up. It amazes me that they would do that, especially Yuma since he's still so young. I am so proud to be his fan right now.
EDIT: Tokyo Graph has updated their article and it seems like they made a translation error. Tackey, Tsubasa and Yuma did not go with the trucks but rather help loaded them up with the supplies. Thinking about it that makes more sense as I had been wondering how a minor like Yuma would be able to go to a disaster area.
I'm still proud of them to take the time out to help like that. I've helped load trucks before for various reasons and it's not the easiest of work if there is a lot to pack.
18 March 2011
NYC gives Japan 100% Courage
As most have probably noticed I normally don't share videos on this blog but today I'm making the exception. This is just a stream anyway and I didn't put it up so I can only hope it stays up long enough for people to see.
But NYC performed on Music Station, and instead of doing the the Yuuki 100% - Yumetamago medley they were originally slated to perform they just performed Yuuki 100%.
I was touched watching them perform as I know they were trying to give those affected by the current disaster some hope and smiles. As well as the fact that the stage was so bare and they were wearing simple clothes with no back dancers. And even though they put on smiles you could see their sadness show through.
I think it stands well as a reminder for us that aren't in Japan how the current situation is affecting everyone there. We are lucky that if we don't want to think about it we don't have to but for them you can't really forget what's going on as it's all around you. That kind of environment must be so stressful for everyone and I can't help but feel proud of those boys for doing what they can do and try to raise the spirits of the nation.
The return of programs on Music Station is also a sign of the beginning to the return of normalcy and they help give people a way to escape from the anxiety living in such a situation can cause. Of course you can easily tell things aren't all like they were before, the bare stage is most likely because of the studio wanting to conserve energy than anything else. But it's a start and hopefully things will continue to calm done instead of escalate for the people of Japan and they can rise from the ashes as they have done countless times before.
But NYC performed on Music Station, and instead of doing the the Yuuki 100% - Yumetamago medley they were originally slated to perform they just performed Yuuki 100%.
I was touched watching them perform as I know they were trying to give those affected by the current disaster some hope and smiles. As well as the fact that the stage was so bare and they were wearing simple clothes with no back dancers. And even though they put on smiles you could see their sadness show through.
I think it stands well as a reminder for us that aren't in Japan how the current situation is affecting everyone there. We are lucky that if we don't want to think about it we don't have to but for them you can't really forget what's going on as it's all around you. That kind of environment must be so stressful for everyone and I can't help but feel proud of those boys for doing what they can do and try to raise the spirits of the nation.
The return of programs on Music Station is also a sign of the beginning to the return of normalcy and they help give people a way to escape from the anxiety living in such a situation can cause. Of course you can easily tell things aren't all like they were before, the bare stage is most likely because of the studio wanting to conserve energy than anything else. But it's a start and hopefully things will continue to calm done instead of escalate for the people of Japan and they can rise from the ashes as they have done countless times before.
16 March 2011
Johnny's supporting the relief effort
Sorry for not updating for a few days. I've been very busy and unfortunately sick on top of that. But honestly there really hasn't been much to report as the recent disaster in Japan is in the forefront of everything as it's understandably much more important than keeping up with celebrity news.
As with times like these the level of generosity from those in the country and internationally is at its greatest and Johnny's has announced what its doing for now to help with the relief effort. The agency has announced that they have canceled all their concerts and shows for the rest of the month so that the equipment they would have used for them for transport and extra power can be used to support the relief effort.
Tokyohive article. (English)
As with times like these the level of generosity from those in the country and internationally is at its greatest and Johnny's has announced what its doing for now to help with the relief effort. The agency has announced that they have canceled all their concerts and shows for the rest of the month so that the equipment they would have used for them for transport and extra power can be used to support the relief effort.
Tokyohive article. (English)
13 March 2011
Life goes on
I didn't bother with updating yesterday because it was difficult to find any information that could be confirmed to be 100% fact. Which I guess should be expected when a disaster like that strikes a nation. But by now it seems rather clear that all the boys should be fine, some might have some minor injuries but nothing more than that. Also aside from some concert/TV program cancellations it looks like the plan is to carry on in a 'business like usual' fashion.
And now a couple of pieces of news that should be nice to hear.
Taguchi Junnosuke will be joining the regular cast of Nishikido Ryo's upcoming drama. He will be playing the role of a doctor.
TV Asahi website. (Japanese)
And then it has been announced that with Tackey & Tsubasa's upcoming mini album fans will have a chance to win an overseas vacation. The three locations will be Hawaii, Spain and Las Vegas. There will be a winner for each location and the trip will be for two and last about six days.
Tokyo Graph article. (English)
And now a couple of pieces of news that should be nice to hear.
Taguchi Junnosuke will be joining the regular cast of Nishikido Ryo's upcoming drama. He will be playing the role of a doctor.
TV Asahi website. (Japanese)
And then it has been announced that with Tackey & Tsubasa's upcoming mini album fans will have a chance to win an overseas vacation. The three locations will be Hawaii, Spain and Las Vegas. There will be a winner for each location and the trip will be for two and last about six days.
Tokyo Graph article. (English)
10 March 2011
A.B.C.-Z productions at Theatre Crea
Even though last year the Theatre Crea concerts that A.B.C.-Z produced were decided by chance this year their return is definitely by design. Johnny's net has just updated with the information for the concerts that will start on April 29th and end on May 29th.
From the listing A.B.C.-Z will be the producers for the concerts and there will be 4 parts to the concert series. The first part begins April 29th and finishes on May 5th. The second part are the Kitayama Hiromitsu and Fujigaya Taisuke concerts that were already announced to be from May 6th to May 10th. Then from May 13th to the 18th each member of A.B.C.-Z has one concert they get to specially produce with a different theme. For the fourth and final part Sanada Yuma and Nozawa Yuki with the other Juniors are listed as being a part of the concerts with A.B.C.-Z and those go from May 21st to May 29th.
From the listing A.B.C.-Z will be the producers for the concerts and there will be 4 parts to the concert series. The first part begins April 29th and finishes on May 5th. The second part are the Kitayama Hiromitsu and Fujigaya Taisuke concerts that were already announced to be from May 6th to May 10th. Then from May 13th to the 18th each member of A.B.C.-Z has one concert they get to specially produce with a different theme. For the fourth and final part Sanada Yuma and Nozawa Yuki with the other Juniors are listed as being a part of the concerts with A.B.C.-Z and those go from May 21st to May 29th.
09 March 2011
A year full of Juniors.
Today my copy of the Johnny's Jr. calendar for 2011-2012 came in. I'm so glad I got it as it has a good mix of Juniors in it, though it already is outdated with Kis-My-Ft2's debut announcement. And the Nakayama Yuma calendar is nice and surprisingly the only place to find pictures of him with this release as he is absent from the main calendar. Sadly though I wasn't careful enough opening the box the calendars came in and damaged the cover to the Yuma calendar which makes me rather sad as it's a nice picture of him.
Now while i would love to scan this to share with everyone unfortunately the main calendar is too big for the scanner I have. The Yuma one though is small enough for my scanner so I'll probably just do that one. Though I can't give a time frame for when I'll have it done as I'll be busy in the next few days. But hopefully I'll find the time to do it before the end of the month.
I will give a list of all Juniors that are included by order they are listed on the few last pages that have their profiles.
A.B.C.-Z
Totsuka Shota
Kawai Fumito
Tsukada Ryoichi
Goseki Koichi
Hashimoto Ryosuke
Kis-My-Ft2
Kitayama Hiromitsu
Tamamori Yuta
Fujigaya Taisuke
Senga Kento
Miyata Toshiya
Yokoo Wataru
Nikaido Takashi
(solo)
Morimoto Shintaro
B.I.Shadow
Nakajima Kento
Kikuchi Fuma
Matsumura Hokuto
Kochi Yugo
7WEST
Shigeoka Daiki
Kamiyama Tomohiro
Takemoto Shinpei
Fujii Ryusei
Kotaki Nozomu
Shingaki Yuto
B.A.D.
Kiriyama Akito
Nakama Junta
BOYS
Nakata Daichi
Hamada Takahiro
Shadow WEST
Mukai Koji
Kaneuchi Toma
Kitada Kazuya
Koja Nairu
Asada Junya
Mis Snow Man
Sanada Yuma
Nozawa Yuki
Fukazawa Tatsuya
Miyadate Ryota
Watanabe Shota
Sakuma Daisuke
Iwamoto Hikaru
Abe Ryohei
Toudan
Senzaki Ryota
Watanabe Reiya
Muro Masaya
Nitta Naoto
Hip Hop JUMP
Tanaka Juri
Hagiya Keigo
Lewis Jesse
Murata Rikito
Morohoshi Shoki
Kadoi Kento
Veteran
Ito Masashi
Hamanaka Bunichi
Kikuoka Masahiro
Muro Tatsuki
Yamasaki Kunta
Muro Ryuta
They Budou
Yamamoto Ryota
Eda Tsuyoshi
Hayashi Shota
Takahashi Ryu
M.A.D.
Tatsumi Yudai
Koshioka Yuki
Fukuda Yuta
Matsuzaki Yusuke
Question?
Yodogawa Yoshihiro
Fujiie Kazuyori
Igo Akun
Goto Hiromi
Ishigaki Daisuke * listed also as a member of FiVe
FiVe
Uesato Ryota
Makino Koji
Nakaegawa Rikiya
(grouped together)
Masuda Ryo
Kyomoto Taiga
Yasui Kentaro
Takada Sho
Snow Prince
Kishimoto Shintaro
Otsuka Yuya
Nakamura Reia
Kurita Kei
Inoue Mizuki
Okada Aoi
Chino Aoi
Haba Yuki
Hashimoto Ryo
Miura Wataru
Tanimura Ryuichi
(grouped together)
Morita Myuto
Kawashima Noeru
Anderson Casey T.
Nakada Hiroki
Shimekake Ryuya
Ishikawa Takuya
Kobayashi Mizuki
Tanaka Seiji
Hanawa Daiki
Matsumoto Akio
Little Gangs
Fujiwara Joichiro
Okazaki Takumi
Nakata Atsushi
Tatsuta Takayuki
Imae Daichi
Gang Star
Fugal Shawn Goku
Kusumoto Yukino
Arimoto Yu
Uemura Masaya
(grouped together)
Konno Takayuki
Akiyama Daichi
Yamashita Kazunari
Kishi Yuta
Wakiyama Rei
Takahashi Rin
Sato Shori
Kuramoto Kaoru
Taniguchi Yuya
Fukumoto Taiki
Kawaguchi Yu
Nishimoto Kyohei
Jinguji Yuta
Ushida Yusuke
07 March 2011
Stage, film and TV news
So there's bits of news that seems to showcase the variety of work that Johnny's do.
First is that Morita Go will be performing in New York City in July for a special showcase of plays from around the world, the Lincoln Center Festival. He is going as the lead of the play Kinkakuji, which he is performing in Japan currently.
Tokyo Graph article. (English)
Next for film news, Murakami Shingo and Ohkura Tadayoshi will be making their voice acting debut in the upcoming Crayon Shin-chan movie. They will be playing two villains that speak in Osaka-ben. Kanjani8 will be doing the theme song for the movie.
Tokyo Graph article. (English)
And then last but not least some more Kinpachi-sensei news. It has been announced that 151 of the students from past seasons of the drama will be returning for the special and the special will run for four hours. The Johnny's that will be part of the returnees that are known so far are; Kondo Masahiko, Kamenashi Kazuya, Toshin Yoshikazu, Masuda Takahisa, Yabu Kota and Yaotome Hikaru.
Tokyo Graph article. (English)
Poor Kato Shigeaki. Even though he's been seen in one of the photos from the filming he's been left off this list.
First is that Morita Go will be performing in New York City in July for a special showcase of plays from around the world, the Lincoln Center Festival. He is going as the lead of the play Kinkakuji, which he is performing in Japan currently.
Tokyo Graph article. (English)
Next for film news, Murakami Shingo and Ohkura Tadayoshi will be making their voice acting debut in the upcoming Crayon Shin-chan movie. They will be playing two villains that speak in Osaka-ben. Kanjani8 will be doing the theme song for the movie.
Tokyo Graph article. (English)
And then last but not least some more Kinpachi-sensei news. It has been announced that 151 of the students from past seasons of the drama will be returning for the special and the special will run for four hours. The Johnny's that will be part of the returnees that are known so far are; Kondo Masahiko, Kamenashi Kazuya, Toshin Yoshikazu, Masuda Takahisa, Yabu Kota and Yaotome Hikaru.
Tokyo Graph article. (English)
Poor Kato Shigeaki. Even though he's been seen in one of the photos from the filming he's been left off this list.
05 March 2011
Shonentachi DVD and Yan Yan JUMP to TV
This seems to be a good time for exciting news to come out.
First off the Shonentachi Koshi Naki Rogoku butai that the Kansai Juniors and Tokyo Juniors did last year is getting a DVD release. The release has two discs, one for the Tokyo production and the other for the Osaka production. Both contain the play and the Showtime portion of the show. You can find the full list of Juniors that participated in the shows on CD Japan's listing page (though all in Japanese).
Shonentachi Koshi Naki Rogoku / Theatrical Play
Then starting in April on TV Tokyo Hey! Say! JUMP and the Juniors will have a new TV program, titled Yan Yan JUMP. Very little about the program is known right now as so far the only information found about it is on Johnny's net. Hopefully more information about the program will come out soon.
First off the Shonentachi Koshi Naki Rogoku butai that the Kansai Juniors and Tokyo Juniors did last year is getting a DVD release. The release has two discs, one for the Tokyo production and the other for the Osaka production. Both contain the play and the Showtime portion of the show. You can find the full list of Juniors that participated in the shows on CD Japan's listing page (though all in Japanese).
Then starting in April on TV Tokyo Hey! Say! JUMP and the Juniors will have a new TV program, titled Yan Yan JUMP. Very little about the program is known right now as so far the only information found about it is on Johnny's net. Hopefully more information about the program will come out soon.
04 March 2011
Tamamori Yuta in Getsu9 drama
So it looks like my hunch was right and the job that Tamamori Yuta will be too busy doing to do Takizawa Kabuki will be a drama role.
It has been announced that Tamamori has been cast in a regular role in the Getsu9 drama series Shiawase ni Narou yo which stars SMAP's Katori Shingo. It will be Tamamori's first time in a weekly drama series.
Sponichi article. (Japanese)
This is definitely a big thing for Tamamori and Kis-My-Ft2 as Getsu9 dramas tend to be the higher rated series of any season. So there's a good chance this will set Tamamori up for some big things in the future when it comes to acting and of course the more popular he is the more popular Kisumai should become.
It has been announced that Tamamori has been cast in a regular role in the Getsu9 drama series Shiawase ni Narou yo which stars SMAP's Katori Shingo. It will be Tamamori's first time in a weekly drama series.
Sponichi article. (Japanese)
This is definitely a big thing for Tamamori and Kis-My-Ft2 as Getsu9 dramas tend to be the higher rated series of any season. So there's a good chance this will set Tamamori up for some big things in the future when it comes to acting and of course the more popular he is the more popular Kisumai should become.
02 March 2011
A host, a collaboration and a marriage
Have a few new news items to share.
First off Tokio's Yamaguchi Tatsuya will be a host on the new ZIP program (the replacement program for Zoom In!! Super) on NTV. It hasn't been announced which day(s) Yamaguchi will be on the program yet though.
Tokyo Graph article. (English)
Next up is some good news for V6 fans. The group will be collaborating with artists Takahashi Taku and groups REVOLUTIONS on a track for the soundtrack of the upcoming SP movie. The film stars V6's Okada Junichi and the track with V6 is only going to be released as a download on Recochoku.
Music Japan article. (English)
Then the last but not least, FiVe member Nakaegawa Rikiya has announced that he's getting married. Johnny himself gave him the okay for the marriage and it's reported that fellow Johnny's such as, Tackey & Tsubasa and Shibutani Subaru are listed as witnesses on his marriage registration.
Tokyo Graph article. (English)
First off Tokio's Yamaguchi Tatsuya will be a host on the new ZIP program (the replacement program for Zoom In!! Super) on NTV. It hasn't been announced which day(s) Yamaguchi will be on the program yet though.
Tokyo Graph article. (English)
Next up is some good news for V6 fans. The group will be collaborating with artists Takahashi Taku and groups REVOLUTIONS on a track for the soundtrack of the upcoming SP movie. The film stars V6's Okada Junichi and the track with V6 is only going to be released as a download on Recochoku.
Music Japan article. (English)
Then the last but not least, FiVe member Nakaegawa Rikiya has announced that he's getting married. Johnny himself gave him the okay for the marriage and it's reported that fellow Johnny's such as, Tackey & Tsubasa and Shibutani Subaru are listed as witnesses on his marriage registration.
Tokyo Graph article. (English)
01 March 2011
Johnny's net updates of note
There have been two updates over at Johnny's net (though one is technically just for the TakiCHANnel page) that are rather major for the site.
The first is that finally on the profile pages for the artists section of the website there are pictures. And they're not the type that have been run through an image filter either but clear photos for everyone. For the groups there is a groups photo and then an individual photo next to the profile information for each member while the solo artists just get the one individual photo next to their profile information.
I can't help but think this should make things much easier for new fans to be able to match faces with names, especially as it looks like the photos are all from the latest release from everyone.
The next update to note is over on the TakiCHANnel page. Now at the bottom of the main page there is a BACK NUMBER section. This section has all the past episodes of TakiCHANnel from the first one on so if you've missed an episode for any reason you can now go back and watch it.
I'm really glad for this because there are episodes I want to go back and re-watch and now I'm glad I can.
The first is that finally on the profile pages for the artists section of the website there are pictures. And they're not the type that have been run through an image filter either but clear photos for everyone. For the groups there is a groups photo and then an individual photo next to the profile information for each member while the solo artists just get the one individual photo next to their profile information.
I can't help but think this should make things much easier for new fans to be able to match faces with names, especially as it looks like the photos are all from the latest release from everyone.
The next update to note is over on the TakiCHANnel page. Now at the bottom of the main page there is a BACK NUMBER section. This section has all the past episodes of TakiCHANnel from the first one on so if you've missed an episode for any reason you can now go back and watch it.
I'm really glad for this because there are episodes I want to go back and re-watch and now I'm glad I can.