The Good and the Bad of the Johnny's Fandom

As a female fan of J-Pop, the Johnny's Entertainment groups were some of the first to hook me into the genre and soothe my heart with the fact that though America had largely abandoned boy groups following the golden age in the 90s and early millennium, they were still alive and well elsewhere in the world. NEWS was my first Johnny's group, and from there I picked up KAT-TUN and Arashi and majorly fell in love with Kis-my-ft2 when they debuted (I supported Hey! Say! JUMP at a bit of a delay, but better late than never). These days, I've been following along with the new groups Sexy Zone, ABC-Z, and Johnny's WEST, while visiting old classics who debuted before I discovered J-Pop-- SMAP, Kanjani8, V6, etc

Balancing being a Johnny's fan with loving other J-Pop acts and supporting the K-Pop industry has been a challenge (see my post on being an Asian Pop generalist-- the struggle is real), and there's definitely been high and low points of being in the fandom:

The Good

1. The groups all interact with each other
Johnny's is very organized as an industry, and the groups are an even more closely knit family than competing labels and agencies in both Japan and Korea. The groups show up together on Shounen Club, the juniors work together and pair up with debuted groups as support for concerts, they often end up on the same episodes of Music Station or act in the same dramas, and visit each other's reality shows. The inter-group friendships are rampant!

Chinen fanboys over Ohno, and even gets to hang out with him, too!

2. Johnny's Jr. makes it easy to support members before they debut
Most Johnny's idols spend plenty of time as juniors so you can get to know them before they debut (the exceptions including Sexy Zone's Marius and Matsushima who had a very short training period), and the juniors actually have quite a few of their own activities for fans to follow along with so they can learn about and root for them until they debut (or at the very least pick up an acting career from the agency).

You can still have your moment in the spotlight, even before you debut!

3. Not all the groups that debut are super young
Sexy Zone and Hey! Say! JUMP were both really young during their debut year, but that isn't always the case. Almost all of the members of Kis-my-ft2 were in their 20s when they debuted, and new group Johnny's WEST has several veteran members to offset the youth of youngest member Kotaki. If you're an older fangirl like myself, it definitely keeps you from feeling like a pedophile when you want to start supporting the new groups.

There are three members of the new group who are older than me! -Fist pump-

4. The boys all have strong personalities
If I have any complaint about K-Pop, it's that a member can cause a scandal simply by opening their mouth and saying something that could be construed as "inappropriate." In spite of all the rules Johnny's has, they allow the members much more freedom in speaking their minds and getting a bit dirty from time to time. Honestly, would Kanjani be half so entertaining if they had to watch their mouths 24/7?

Murakami will say what he wants!

5. They act like village idiots and it is hilarious
What idol image? From their PV makings to their variety shows, it's more difficult to find these guys acting like dignified, well-behaved men than complete nutcases. But we love them for it, right?

The inevitable always happens

6. Plenty of member-ai for the fangirls
Though skinship isn't as much a part of Japanese culture as Korean, absolutely no one lets that stop them from flirting, taking half naked pictures together, snuggles, and fangirl bait interview answers. Even if they didn't provide the ammunition directly themselves, the fact that they're a male exclusive agency would lead to it anyways...

We even have Tegomass, our own member-ai laden sub-unit!

7. Their concerts reach new levels of epicness
Backflips, gymnastics, roller skating, dog shows, high wire flights, tumbling, outrageous costumes, cross dressing, fanservice... welcome to a Johnny's concert

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's CHINEN!

8. Handsome men. Everywhere.
No words. 

9. Triple threats!
More like threats to the nth power when you factor in their special acrobatic skills, but almost all Johnny's members are ace at singing, dancing, and acting.

Even the Sexy Zone boys have started transitioning into dramas!

10. Lots and lots of realities
VS Arashi, Soukon, Hamakisu, Cartoon KAT-TUN, Sexy Channel, SMAP x SMAP, Gacha Gacha V6, Kanjani8 no Janiben...

VS Arashi counts as a game show, too!

The Bad

1. No PVs on Youtube :(
Japanese PVs are scarce on Youtube to begin with, but Johnny's is particularly notorious for blocking their videos from appearing there. Try hunting them down from a livejournal community or alternate music site like Jpopsuki instead.

2. Navigating Livejournal communities for subs
I love the generous fans who donate their time and energy to subbing things for other fans, I really do. It's really the fact that Japan blocks attempts at streaming that makes things difficult. Subbers want to protect their work from being stolen or streamed, so to be allowed into their communities you have to rewrite the rules, sing Arashi's entire catalog, and write an essay on why you love KAT-TUN (I'm exaggerating a bit, of course. A bit.) Doing this once can be a necessary pain, but to access the bulk of the videos out there, you're going to have to go through this process with multiple Livejournals. Some of the ones with the content you're looking for are inactive, too, and they won't answer to your membership request, and in many cases the links are dead thanks to the loss of megaupload.

3. Losing members
Jin Akanishi. Koki Tanaka. Hiroki Uchi. Ryutaro Morimoto. Hironori Kusano. Johnny's doesn't provide much leniency towards rule breaking and illegal behavior, and of course some people like Yamapi and Akanishi eventually want to go solo. It can be pretty darn heart breaking for die hard fans to take.

The four member NEWS is still awesome, but they broke our hears a little bit to get here

4. The amount of media makes it difficult to fully follow multiple groups
Yeah, just watching Arashi's entire body of work including varieties, music show appearances, and dramas would take a few years off of your life. Add all the other groups to that, particularly long term veterans like SMAP and V6, and you may never emerge from your lair. It's best to either develop loyalty to a certain group or else sample a little bit from each fandom.

They've been around for awhile, and have left a lot gems along the way!

5. Getting quality scans from Japan
If you're doing a quick Google search for images, a lot of them will be on the small and blurry side. You'll have better luck digging around livejournal and tumblr, so it's worth it to make the effort

6. Being able to afford to actually buy all the albums and singles
As I mentioned in my post of CD packaging strategies, those singles contain B sides and photos, so if you're die hard, you'll want to get them. And then the bands that have been around for forever have a gazillion albums. Johnny's manages to top the Oricon charts about every other week or so, so they're VERY prolific.

Collect them all= spend lots of $$

7. Keeping everyone straight
It's not too difficult to tell the members apart given their distinct facial features, but it gets complicated when you want to join the extended Johnny's fan communities or join fanfic communities. Some fans call them by their last names, some by their first names, some by their nicknames, and of course, there are members with the same surnames or the same first names, which can add to the confusion because they don't use stage names when names repeat, like with K-Pop. And then when shipping factors in, I don't even know how people understand pairing names. They wind up looking something like YaJimaYamaKamePiChiiMaruTegoFujiShige whuuut?

These guys are my favorite since their couple name is the same as their sub-unit

8. Never being able to see them in concert as an international fan
I think my best shot of seeing them will be to go to Japan one day. Even though Arashi is coming to Hawaii, their fan club still gets priority ticketing, and New York is a wee bit too far from there for me to afford it.

I just want to see these hunnies live

9. Not having easy access to merch as an international fan
God bless Yesasia, CD Japan, and other merch stores for simplifying this process, but it still isn't the same as being able to browse like Japanese fans are able to do. And how cool would it be to be able to read all those Johnny's magazines without waiting for subs?

Is this a bookstore, or heaven?

10. Shipping wars. Everywhere.

I don't really ship Johnny's, just enjoy all the member-ai coming from all directions, but since there's so many Johnny's members, they pretty much get shipped with everyone under the sun, and people with loyal OTPs can get a bit... perturbed... by competing ships. That's what happens when these guys fanservice indiscriminately!

Is this real love?

Or is this? CHOOSE OR DIE

Single Review: KAT-TUN's "In Fact"

KAT-TUN is a Johnny's Entertainment group that has put our hearts through the ringer a time or two. Akanishi's decision to leave the group in 2010 to go solo was not incredibly unexpected as he had previously shown an interest in performing English-language music, and the split seemed fairly amicable since he remained a part of Johnny's up until his decision to make a permanent split in 2014. The firing of Koki Tanaka in 2013 was a little bit more shocking, although the fandom was already aware of his contract violations (and Johnny's isn't exactly known for turning a blind eye, now is it?). Trimming KAT-TUN down to a four member group was heartbreaking for many, especially since it continually altered the overall sound of the group. I was personally a bit less affected by it since I'd practically gone through the exact same thing with NEWS, my first JE group, but I was still interested to see how the group would be able to recover, first with kusabi, and now with their In Fact single release and upcoming album.

So does In Fact promise that good things are ahead for this fresh foursome? Let's see how Taguchi, Kamenashi, Nakamaru, and Ueda fare!

In Fact: The single album leads off with the brand new single "In Fact," the theme to Nakamaru's new drama. From what I've seen of their new album's tracklist, it doesn't look like this track will be included, so if you're on board with this single, it's a good idea to invest in purchasing it, since you won't be seeing it again on come Here. 
Though short of their rapper, KAT-TUN still manages to deliver up a very KAT-TUN-esque sound with this track. It's not their most mind blowing number, for sure, but it's still an infectious and fun dance track, and the video proves that it suits their dance skills quite nicely. The lyrics are by far some of my favorites from their recent works, on the other hand, so be sure to drop by your favorite KAT-TUN livejournal sub community to check out the translation.
Overall, I would have to argue that the loss of Tanaka keeps KAT-TUN from sounding as well-rounded as they used to, but does not completely destroy their overall sound as a group. The remaining members can't really compensate for the hole in the rap department, but the trademark Johnny's vocals are still there, and their sound is still enjoyable enough to sustain them as a group, just like with NEWS. You won't hear me calling for disbandment!

Believe in Myself: Out of all the In Fact tracks, I'd pick this one out as the one that would be the most appealing to the broad base of Johnny's fans. It's got the spirited sound, the uplifting lyrics, and the infectious, pulsing dance beat that has made us fall in love with Arashi and NEWS and Kisumai and all the others over and over again through the years. Kame has always been one of my favorite JE vocalists because he's good at avoiding sounding super sharp while still staying in the high range preferred in J-Pop, and once again, this is a KAT-TUN track that will appeal to both the old KAT-TUN listeners and the new.

Birds: If you loved "in the DARK" from their "Fumetsu no Scrum" single release, this one will be your track off the single album. The vocals are some of the best on In Fact, and slower verses combined with the more upbeat chorus keep things from sounding too sleepy on any part of the track. It's another great lyrical number as well, which makes me wish I was just a wee bit better at understanding the Japanese naturally without first having to work out the English. J-Pop lyrics are gorgeous and poetic, and the melody of this track suits the message seamlessly.

Black: When the song starts off with a police siren, it raises a few concerns that they're going to venture into rap territory and not pull it off well without Tanaka, but KAT-TUN pleasantly surprised me in this track with their well-executed vocal-layering and harmonies in this funky number. It's a great sound for them, but I would still argue that their repeated refrain of "black, black, black" sounds dangerously close to "blah blah blah," which somewhat undermines the skills they show off in the verses. It's only a matter of foreign pronunciation, but it does jar you a little bit as an international listener. Otherwise, not a bad addition to the album.

Dangerous: As much as I like the whistling on this track, this was the one I was most indifferent to on the single album. It's catchy and there's nothing in particular wrong with the vocals, but after so many years as a J-Pop and K-Pop fan, I already have an Ipod full of songs about dangerous boys and dangerous girls and dangerous love and kisses and touches that it just doesn't happen to be very exciting or dangerous subject for me anymore. You're a few years too late to be able to win me over with this, KAT-TUN!

My Secret: I'm a sucker for KAT-TUN slow tracks, so even though people seemed to be half-and-half about this one on the forums, I absolutely fell for their "that's my secret" harmonies on the chorus. The verses are gorgeous, but I do agree that the chorus tries to speed it up unnecessarily right before those aforementioned harmonies hit. They've done more cohesive ballads in their day, but I still managed to connect with this one thanks to the loveliness of their high tone notes.

Overall, I'd place the overall single album in the B+ range. It's a promising taste of what's to come for come Here album, and while there is a sense of vacancy left by Tanaka's departure, it's nothing that the remaining members can't survive through (I mean, hey, at least it's not Tackey & Tsubasa losing a member!). Since "In Fact" won't be on the album, it's worth investing in since you get five solid tracks along with the single, which in the K-Pop fandom, we'd shell out around twenty dollars for in the name of having a "mini-album." As with NEWS, I'm still going to keep my faith in KAT-TUN, though I'm sure we'll all look back fondly on the glory days. This is the reality of KAT-TUN now, and it isn't a bad one, in my opinion!