A brief look at half and mixed Johnny's (Juniors)

In light of the debut of You Marius with the group Sexy Zone I think it might be good for Johnny’s fans to have at least a brief look at the half and mixed Johnny’s that were or still are with the agency. These Juniors, as they all have been Juniors until Marius debuts, are sometimes called "International Juniors", but I don’t think that’s an accurate name for them. The name came from a time when Johnny’s lumped a few of the half and mixed Juniors together and gave them that “group” name for a calendar picture and it just has persisted over the years.

The "International" Juniors

I know I’m going to miss quite a few of them but I’ve decided to stick to some of the better known Juniors that you can actually find some information on in the English fandom or this entry will probably get too long.

Jimmmy Mackey

 If you run into older Johnny’s fans or just watch the older episodes of Shounen Club back when KAT-TUN was still a Junior group then Jimmy Mackey will be the name first given as an example of a half Junior. He was from the U.S. and while he had a rather big presence on Shounen Club for an ungrouped Junior, he was one of the main hosts during his time, it was pretty clear to see that his career was going nowhere. In early 2006 he quit the agency and returned to the States.

Joey Tee

Joey Tee was a young Junior, he was 12 when he joined the agency, from the U.S. that for a time was heavily promoted, mainly for his dance skills. It as assumed he left Johnny’s at some point but there are recent reports that he’s been spotted at Akanishi Jin’s Japanese solo concerts as a back dancer, so it seems he still at least has contacts with Johnny’s at least. I’ve also found a youtube account that he has been uploading videos of him dancing in that you can check out here.

Camu Cade

Cade Camu was probably another half Junior that was relatively well known during his time in Johnny’s. He had a role in one of the seasons of 3nen 3gumi Kenpachi-sensei and was in the Junior group Hip Hop Jump. He left the agency sometime in either 2008 or early 2009. The last bit of news for him was that he was arrested for theft in December 2009, his name wasn’t released but as the two caught were said to be 17 and 18, ex-Juniors and had roles in the 3nen 3gumi Kenpachi-sensei drama only he and fellow ex-Johnny’s Junior Kamei Taku fit those descriptions.

Casey T. Anderson

Moving on to those still in the agency, Anderson Casey is typically the one that would make those English introductions at concerts, I know he did them for Hey! Say! JUMP, of group members. He was born in Japan but is half American. He isn’t in a Junior group but is usually put in the group of Juniors that perform with Kyomoto Taiga. Every once in a while a T. is placed in his name or it's actually spelled out "Takeshi" and one can assume it's his middle/Japanese name.

Jesse Lewis

Jesse Lewis (Hip Hop Jump) prior to being placed in HHJ really didn’t do anything too prominent though he’s been in the agency for a while, at least since he was 11. He's one of the few original HHJ members still in the group after it's been reshuffled a few times.

Igo Akun

Igo Akun (Question?) is probably one of the most popular half Juniors if just because he’s been around for some time and is a part of a group. His father is Turkish and his mother Japanese and he was born in Japan. He has had some acting roles in the past, though usually only minor parts, and with Question? was a part of the special CD release, Matchy + Question? in 2008. He plays the guitar in the group and tends to be one of the members of the group to be seen in the Junior corners of Shounen Club.

Nakama Junta

Nakama Junta (B.A.D.) is a quarter Taiwanese and spent about six years in Taiwan when he was younger so he is fluent in Mandarin Chinese though he was born in Japan. He is probably most known for being in the Gokusen 3 drama series with fellow B.A.D. member Kiriyama Akito and Hey! Say! JUMP’s Takaki Yuya. He has also been in other dramas, such as the Kansai Junior dramas, and in stage plays almost always paired off with Akito.

Mukai Koji

Mukai Tatsuro

Mukai Koji (Shadow WEST) & his older brother Mukai Tatsuro were originally a duo together called the Muay Thai Mukai Brothers and were often featured showing off Thai boxing moves. When Shadow WEST was formed they were broken up and Koji joined the group and is the center of it. Tatsuro is still a part of the agency and can be seen from time to time in the ungrouped Kansai Junior lot.


So while there has actually been a good number of half and mixed Juniors over the years Marius is still the only one that has gone on to actually debut in group. And honestly it gives me some hope that my favorites of the half Juniors do actually have a shot at debuting instead of constantly wondering how much longer they’ll stay before, like the others before them, they give up and quit the agency.