Some Johnny's Countdown 2011-2012 thoughts

Well I woke up around 3AM-ish to watch Kohaku and then of course Johnny's Countdown 2011-2012 earlier today. It's strange to think it's been 2012 somewhere in the world for about 12 hours now when there is still quite a bit of time before the clock strikes midnight where I am. But I find watching these programs are a great way to start the last day of the year.

Focusing on JCD this year seemed so much more energetic and fun than last year. The whole atmosphere to me really felt the guys were having just as much fun as the audience for the short concert. And it seems like Yamada Ryosuke and Chinen Yuri were taken over to Tokyo Dome sometime during Kohaku so they did not have the late entrance that TOKIO did, and of course were no where to be seen near the end of Kohaku either.

I'm just going to briefly touch upon some things that I liked about the concert or stood out to me.

First off, we have another indication that Sexy Zone is indeed here to stay as they had a VTR performance of their debut song played early on, something that Hey! Say! JUMP also had the year they debuted. And I was really happy to see HSJ in the seats SZ had to watch the show. I think it's rather perfect for one FIVB group to be there for another.

The Juniors! And not just the Tokyo Juniors but Kansai Juniors as well at the Tokyo Dome and getting more attention than I've ever seen for Juniors at any JCD. It seems like Noon Boyz might actually be a group for Sanada Yuma and Nozawa Yuki seeing as that's what they were introduced as. Also what was interesting was that Uchi Hiroki seemed to be introduced just as a member of Question? more than a Junior on his own. And it seemed so amazing that B.A.D., Hamada Takahiro, Shigeoka Daiki and Veteran were there at the Tokyo Dome and even got some spotlight as well. Of course the Gokusen fangirl in me was ecstatic to see B.A.D. next to Takaki Yuya for at least one song during the shuffle group portion. And it was nice to finally see all five members of A.B.C-Z being able to perform with Tackey & Tsubasa this year.

It was also nice to see all of HSJ on stage, even though the only reason it was possible for them to do so was because they lost their youngest member who would have sat with SZ if he was still with the group. But I loved that we had more HSJ this year and that there seemed to be more interaction between them and their senpai groups. One of the personally highlights with HSJ, besides the one already mentioned as Masuoka Masahiro making Inoo Kei sing along when TOKIO was supposed to be covering a song.

Speaking of TOKIO while I was at first disappointed that they were not around for the actual countdown to midnight when they did enter I was perfectly fine with it. I mean it's hard to beat an entrance in faux-blimps. Though I do wonder who got fur crazy when making Yamaguchi Tatsuya's costume for this.

And of course bringing up costumes immediately brings Kanjani8 to mind. It's going to take a while to get the image of Nishikido Ryo dressed as a girl out of my mind. And I loved Yokoyama Yu as the mixer/blender for the vegetables, aka the other group members. I think I've gotten used to the split for the groups as I didn't mind it too much this year.

I loved seeing Kis-My-Ft2 being able to be on stage finally as debuted artists. Especially as they had a member from Hikaru Genji, the original roller skating Johnny's group, Sato Atsuhiro, to join them for a song. And by pure luck of being 24 in this coming year Miyata Toshiya got a moment to shine and show everyone the wonderful dork he is.

Of course I was really excited about all the daisenpai at this year's JCD. I think it's definitely because 2012 will be Johnny's 50th anniversary and I thought it was great for them to have their older acts makes appearances. It did seem like Okamoto Keito was used a bit as a stand in for his father as he got to play guitar for when they covered an Otokogumi song. I won't complain as it meant more Keito, who the cameraman seemed to love. And nothing beats being able to see Shounentai perform together, or almost together with Nishikiori Kazukiyo being at the theater Tackey & Tsubasa were at.

Of course the greatest highlight for the concert for me was seeing the new NEWS perform together. I'm rather glad both Ryo and Yamashita Tomohisa were not at the Tokyo Dome as it really helped solidify that the four remaining members are the group now to me. And I love that they made sure to find NEWS fans in the audience to pan to, as to help signify that this was truly a special moment for the group as they perform as four for the first time in front of a crowd. And I was so happy that Koyama Keiichiro said one of the group's goals for the new year was to of course have concerts. Even if I can't make any just knowing that they are performing as NEWS will make me so happy.

So in the end this JCD was great for me. Everyone seemed to be in great spirits and I got to see so many of my favorites and there was fun interactions. Even though the amount of live feeds can sometimes feel like it isn't as unified as it once was I think they are finally figuring out how to balance it better.

Next year should be interesting with A.B.C-Z being a debuted group then, Nakajima Kento being old enough to participate as well as Nakayama Yuma. And of course any surprises Johnny's wants to throw in there. I'll definitely make sure I can catch a lives stream of it next year.

1st half of year predictions for 2012 Sexy Zone-Johnny’s Juniors

Even with a bit of a rocky start I think things look good for Sexy Zone. While they needed to pull a lot of stunts to ensure getting the number 1 spot for their debut week their debut single has been selling well in the weeks after. While most groups just drop and rather quick after their first couple of weeks SZ’s single has been remaining on the charts and has been benefitting quite a bit from the end of year programs as well. I think now that people are getting to know the boys in the group they are attracting new fans. And with Sato Shori in a supporting role for a winter drama it will be a good step in moving him and his group into the spotlight and hopefully will continue getting the attention of new potential fans. Having their own concerts in February is a good sign that at least Johnny’s has faith that they can headline a concert and I can see them doing more concerts throughout the year to help build experience much like with Hey! Say! JUMP when they started out. I do believe in April we will get the next single from this group and hopefully by then they won’t need help from another group to get their number 1 for that.

A.B.C-Z of course is set to have an exciting year with 2012 with not only a debut in February but they follow that up with their stage show which in turn will be followed by even more live performances across the country from March until early May. Since they do not seem to be following the typical release pattern of debuted groups I will expect to be surprised by whatever they release next. But I can see them being a performance heavy group and see them being busy throughout the year with projects of all sorts, together or separate.

For the Tokyo Juniors I think it’s easy to predict we will be seeing the creation of a new group or so. Either that or use of groups that have been rather underused so far. Of course it may be a bit of a slow start for that at the beginning of the year as I think EbiKisuZone need to have less of a presence on Shounen Club for that to happen but I don’t see that happening until after A.B.C-Z debut and it would be more Kis-My-Ft2 lessening their time on the program because of their concerts. The few months after a debut, especially a FIVB debut, are always strange when it comes to the Juniors as Johnny’s figures out what to do with those remaining. So I would expect them to try various formations before eventually putting groups together for a while. Though from what I’ve noticed a couple of Juniors that look like Johnny’s is prepping to be in the spotlight a bit are Kyomoto Taiga and Tanaka Juri. So it will be interesting to see what comes of it.

Kansai Juniors had a good year overall in 2011, even though the departures were saddening. But for the top Kansai Juniors, like Nakayama Yuma, 7 WEST, B.A.D. and Hamada Takahiro they seem to be in a good place with being able to remain active throughout the year. Other groups like Veteran and Shadow West seem to be doing well, even with the recent roster change with Shadow West. But for those top Kanjuu I can see 2012 being another good year for them. In fact Nakayama Yuma already has something to really be proud of with his solo song being an A-side on the NYC single that comes out in a few days. He is already scheduled for Takazawa Kakumei again this year and I would not be surprised in the slightest to see him in PLAYZONE again. I would like to see the return of Shounentachi again this year, especially if Kanjuu get to be a part of the Tokyo version of the production again.