Kanjani∞/Kanjani8

Today’s their debut anniversary even though their first single wasn’t released nationwide until the following month. The way the members found out about their CD debut was strange; it was indirect.. Some members were heard from/told by staffs and some read the newspaper.

Talented, funny, and can be full of crack. This eight/seven members group from Kansai does everything. They have several tv shows, sing, and appear in a few dramas.

Talks: Half of their strength involves talking. They are known to have long MCs in concerts. Most of their tv shows are talk shows. When given freedom, they are wild! They tend to talk too much or talk about different stuff. The stuff they talk about are really interesting.

Manzai: A comedy duo involving a smarter one (tsukkomi) and an idiot (boke). There are two pairs: Murakami and Subaru, and Yasu and Maruyama  They don’t really perform anymore but they still keep their roles.

Eito Ranger skits: Parody of the Power Rangers. They do these skits at the concert. They have their own costumes, representing each of their different colors, and even have their own theme song! The stories of the skits are simple but have a deep meaning to them.

Band: Three of the members sometimes play as a band during show performances and in concerts.

Songs: Their songs are known as modern enka. Only a few songs are enka though. The rest are… regular songs. There are a couple of rock-ish type songs. And a few weird ones…like Oosaka Obachan ROCK (about mothers), and Zukkoke Otokomichi (Way of Oddball Men). Some songs are about Osaka.

I found out about this group when watching Shounen Club. Then, I started to watch various videos and became more interested in the group. This is my favorite JE group at the moment.

They worked really hard to climb to the top. Having to work in Kansai most of the time, their popularity wasn’t as high compared to the Tokyo juniors back then. Plus, the main office was only in Tokyo. But now, they were given a chance to hold concerts nationwide.

Murakami Shingo

The nasu/eggplant (purple) ranger. Nicknamed Hina because he looked like the actress of the same name when he was young. The nickname is still stuck now. He’s the main spokesman of the group. He’s the host of almost all the Kanjani8 programs. He is like the leader. When the other members get out of hand (talk too much, get off topic, etc), he brings them back on track. He’s also the tsukkomi. He automatically hits the boke’s every time they act like one. I remember him easily because he was in Shounen Club a lot. He and Yoko usually appeared as co-hosts.

Yokoyama Yuu

The black ranger. Real name is Kimitaka. Johnny-sachou gave him the name Yuu because Kimitaka is hard to remember. Not the best singer but talks a lot. He has the least lines in songs. If no one stops him, he can talk forever. Even though he’s the oldest member of the group, he acts like a kid. He’s one of the boke’s in the group. He tends to lose stuff. He had to replace his license three times and lost his cell phone two times ^.^” On the other hand, when off screen, he’s pretty shy. He doesn’t talk much with people he doesn’t know well. He came from a poor family. His mother told him to work after he finished middle school. He worked to pay tuition for his two younger brothers. Therefore, he becomes serious when talking about money. He was the first member in Kanjani8 I got introduced to. I saw him when watching old episodes of Shounen Club. I thought he’s half ^.^’ He really looks like a foreigner.

Shibutani Subaru

The red ranger. He used to be the leader of juniors of the West (Kansai region). At one time, he got really emotional. He thought of quitting JE but Johnny-sachou convinced him to stay. He got a tattoo on his right hand. After his emotional stage, he usually wore a glove to cover it. (Not sure if he has the tattoo removed now…) He’s loud and screams a lot. He acts like a boke. He has a powerful and high voice, making him in charge of the high notes. He sings the most in enka songs.

Maruyama Ryuuhei

The orange ranger. Plays the bass. Another boke in the group. His catchphrase is “Kokoro ga paaan (Heart goes paaan)!” or “Paaan!” for short. Another famous one is “tekisasu” (Texas), pretending to hold a gun. He’s my favorite member out of the group ^.^ He’s really funny and active. He can make you laugh easily, in my opinion. Seems like he’s never boring to be around with. And I love his smile!!

Nishikido Ryou

The yellow ranger. The sexy Oosaka man XD He sometimes writes very short blog entries. He’s a fun guy who plays around. He’s a mayonnaise freak, who puts mayonnaise on everything he eats, even miso soup XD He once made a speech about how much it is important to him.. Oh, and he’s a huge Lean Dizen fan. He fanboys over her. He even brought a magazine with her on the cover with him on stage when he sings his solo at a concert. I remember I first saw him in 1 Litre of Tears. I thought he was good looking.

Yasuda Shouta

The blue ranger. The main guitarist. (Nishikido and Subaru can also play the guitar.) He’s really short but has broad shoulders. He likes to wear feminine things and paints his nails. The other members said that he is the least interesting person. I don’t know much about him so I can’t comment on that. And he’s one of the few that I know the least about. Oh yeah, he’s the tsukkomi, who tsukkomis Maruyama. I hardly see him tsukkomi people though…

Ookura Tadayoshi

The green ranger. The youngest member of the group. Plays the drums. He’s like the quietest of the group. He has a really deep voice. I think he looks pretty cool. Um… I don’t know much about him ^.^”

Uchi Hiroki

The pink ranger. The youngest member of the group. Used to. He got suspended because of underage drinking. –> Became a trainee. –> Got to perform in PLAYZONE. Whether or not he will be back in the group, we have to wait T_T In the recent tour, the members pulled him up! The group was complete for a short while. I don’t really know much about him since I haven’t watch that many stuff with him in them.. I only read that he was a princess and got babied by the members because he was the youngest. Now that he looks grown up, we have plenty more to learn about him.