KAT-TUN 2 Me

Here are three shortish things of interest.

#1, a friend drew my attention to this.

Apparently it’s from some hentai manga involving demons, and the girl over there has decided not to destroy humanity because there are too many pretty guys in the world. Johnny’s save the day yet again! She has good taste, doesn’t she, though I wonder if the Jimusho knows about this. I’ve almost worked out who is who in the pictures. I’m thinking that Arashi is Top-sho, middle left- nino, middle right-ohno, bottom left-Jun, and bottom right- aiba, but I’m not entirely sure. For KAT-TUN, I’m thinking it’s top-kame, middle left-junno, middle right- maru, bottom left- koki, bottom middle- jin, and bottom right- Ueda. I’m fairly sure about those actually.

#2 involves NewS again. I was looking at Oricon on Tuesday night, and was shocked to see that NewS’ “Summer Time” was no where to be found on the rankings. I was sure that NewS was releasing a single the week before KAT-TUN, so I didn’t understand how this could happen. NewS released a single and it didn’t even make the top 20 on its first day?!? Did one of them have some kind of major scandal or something? Was it revealed that Yamapi’s favorite hobby is kicking puppies? Did Ryo finally snap under the stress of being in two active Johnny’s groups at the same time and go on a fan-girl killing spree? Turns out they just released the single on Thursday. Don’t ask me why. Singles release on Wednesdays. Everyone knows this.

#3 Features one of Jin’s bestest friends, D-boys member Shirota Yuu. He’s only loosely related to KAT-TUN, so, to make up for that, here’s a recent picture of Jin with Yuu and his brother vacationing in Hawaii. Unofficial photo so, no one report me to the Jimusho, k?

The point of this blurb is that Shirota Yuu played Tuxedo Mask in the Sailor Moon musicals for a couple of years (rofl), and I happened to come upon a really amusing clip of him. I know that the text says, “I’m the Prince. I’m the Prince. I’m a prince of the Earth” but every time I listen to it I hear, “I’m a prince of the ass!”. Not to make fun of Japanese accents or anything, but that shit’s just too funny.

Online Videos by Veoh.com
Tsuki ni kawatte!

~Celestia~

Yessssssssss!!! Giving up on the PV being released worked! Like how a watched pot never boils, right? It’s only the 4 minute PV, so I’ve just gone ahead and included the soundless fan-cam version of the beginning. This is EPIC. I hate to use that word, but for a Japanese PV, it really is. Wait. Watch it before I talk about it anymore.

Online Videos by Veoh.com

And the full, 8 minute, version via fan-cam, just so you can see the beginning and the end.

It has been deemed mandatory that any discussion of this PV begins with freaking out about Jin’s hair. I’m serious. In all the Japanese music shows’ reporting about the PV, the headline has something to do with Jin’s hairstyle. So… Jin’shairJin’shairomfgjin’shairhelookslikealotrelfjin’shairhotjinextensionsjin’shair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And now that that’s finished, I can move on to the rest of the PV. I’m sure they will explain the plot eventually, (WHAT?? An idol PV with a plot??? YES! A plot!!), but as far as I can tell, KAT-TUN are some kind of mercenaries or perhaps just vigilantes in a futuristic and possibly post-apocalyptic city and they go to a mysterious club which might also be a cult to free the people from the influence of some evil glowing crystals. Their methods involve smashing the crystals, dancing, and wandering around while looking really really hot. Also, time freezes on occasion, the people may or may not be holograms, and strangest of all, they show Jin playing chess, so he is apparently smart in this alternate reality. Weird! The boys are victorious in the end, the happy clubbers dance on, not a glowy glass ball in sight, and KAT-TUN kick open the door and stride out of the club looking as bad-ass as possible. All in a days work, Miss. All in a day’s work. Okay, so that all sounds really stupid when I write it out, but it’s actually very cool. I could probably spend a long time analyzing this and trying to figure out the symbolism, because I’m pretty sure a deeper meaning is intended (if the text after Jin walks into the club didn’t make that clear) but I think I’d rather enjoy it for what it is than try and think about it too much.

So, I know where 90% of Johnny’s PV budget is going…. Like two dozen separate scenes! Special effects out the wazoo! Extras (and lots of them)! Johnny’s PVs have extras how often? Like once in a blue never? The other Johnny’s groups must be jealous. I know I would be if I were them. Heck, NewS is considering selling themselves to raise money for future PVs. SEE!* Arashi just twirled and jumped around in slow motion for their last PV. And then, KAT-TUN gets some kind of mini-feature film.

I can’t wait to see the making of… which is coming out with the album in like a month instead of with the single next week (aaaaaaaaarg!!). I wonder if they’ll show them talking to the extras, the girls in particular, or if they will keep some kind of fence between the females and KT. I hope they don’t mention the name of that girly Kame was dancing with, or she might start appearing on the fan girl’s hit lists.

I don’t know where else to put this observation, but Koki looks like such a school-yard bully when he starts grabbing people’s crystals and smashing them. Like, “nyaaaa! broke your toy!” and then the club-goer starts crying and runs home to his mom or something.

*Okay, so that’s just another crack-sub (by the same person who did the last one), and even though I’m not a fan of NewS, I had to post it. It’s really funny, and I’m amazed at how well the subs match the PV.

I am so frustrated. DUES is due (lol pun) to be released in less than a week, and a high quality version of the PV still hasn’t been aired yet. We’ve got commercials, previews, and even a fan cam version of the whole thing (because they’re playing it inside the Johnny’s stores now), but they have yet to show it on TV. It’s 8 minutes, 8 minutes! long and looks to be all kinds of awesome, but I don’t want to really write about the thing until I can show you a decent version, so I’m stuck. I tend to get rather impatient where KAT-TUN is concerned, don’t I? Well, I finally gave up on the waiting and found something new to amuse myself. I’ve made another OPV. This time it’s all about Jin’s baka-ness, because there are plenty of OPVs of Jin being sexy, but I don’t feel there are quite enough of him being stupid. Some of the clips I used are kind of bad quality… my apologies. I couldn’t find better versions. Hope you can enjoy it anyway. Clips used range from early Junior days to just a few days ago.

Online Videos by Veoh.com
Oh, and since Youtube viciously deleted anything and everything Arashi related, I’ve reposted my previous two OPVs on Veoh. Links!
Nino Harassing People

Silly Arashi Dances

Warm wishes,

~Celestia~

Last week Arashi was on V6’s show which featured cute boys dressed up as girls harassing them. They had absolutely no idea, so the prank was successful. This week, just Nino is back to evaluate some of the “girls” which combines two of my very favorite things in the world: Ninomiya Kazunari and cute boys in drag. If they had managed to throw ice cream in there somehow I would be in heaven. Does anyone else find it ironic that out of all the guys in the world they decided that Nino should be the one to judge how cute these boys are? Because, you know, if they can get Ninomiya, clearly the straightest member of the least gay group ever to grace the Japanese music scene, to fall for them, they must really be girly, right??

Embedding is disabled, so just links.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

I just love that Japan is totally okay with this. No, they even encourage this kind of thing. The show gives make-up tips, presumably to be used by the viewers at home to make their own pretty boy look like a girl. Look at all the school girls in the audience, beside themselves with glee. Why is it okay for men to openly admit that lesbian stuff turns them on, but girls are supposed to be disgusted by male homosexuality? Japan has it right. It works both ways, though many American girls are too ashamed to admit it.

Nino’s cuter than all those “girls” put together though.

Shine on,

~Celestia~

Sorry to update twice in a day, but this is just too hilarious. It’s Real Face with fake subs, and you really must watch it. Remember that huge popularity gap in KAt-tun I was talking about? Yeah…

Credits are in the video, but here’s where I actually got it from.

It’s embedded, but it might be better to watch on actual youtube because things keep popping up over the subtitles for me. Link to that is HERE

Please support Koki, Ueda, Junno, and that other one,

~Celestia~

I’m a little late on mentioning this, but first week sales for Arashi’s latest album “Dream A Live” came in at 220,722 copies. *cheers* That’s higher than all their albums except for the very first one (which I have never listened to…maybe I ought to). Now, I’m pretty sure that “Time” was a better album overall, but DAL does have some nice tracks. I particularly like “Sirius”. I think it’s safe to say that Arashi’s popularity is still on the rise. I wonder just how far they can go? Edit: Just found out another bit of news. Arashi will be the main supporters for 24 hour Terebi this year. It’s on Matsujun’s birthday too!

I looked, and it’s been almost a month since I’ve posted any quotes! That’s long enough to wait between bouts of bombarding you with quotations, right? In celebration of successful album sales, here are some quotes from my favoritest member.

First, it seems fitting to have some of his thoughts on their own rising popularity. He’s smart, ne?

Nino: Arashi is not the type of group who is frequently praised. Therefore we are not used to being commented on our rising popularity(laughes). … Hence when I was told that we were to hold a concert in a place as big as Tokyo Dome, it was a bit surrreal. At first, I thought it was a prank by a variety show. The big deal about performing in Tokyo Dome is not about the size of the place. When I see the fans filling up all that vast space, in my mind, thinking in the opposite direction, I can imagine that a time would come when all these people would disappear. No matter what venue it is, the fact that there are fans who are coming to the concerts means everything to us. This is something that will never change

January 2008, Nikkei Entertainment
Source

Nino: It was about 1:00 AM and I was already asleep and he called me three times!
Jun: Leader did?
Nino: Yeah. So I thought, “What IS it?” and answered, and in a drunken voice he said, “Ahh, Nino-chan aishiteru yo~ (I love you)“
Daily dose of Ohmiya love. <3

2007, Utaban

Nino: For me, the meaning of being myself is when I am part of Arashi.

2007, Concert Speech
Source

Nino: I don’t really find much value in acting. After all, I’m not an actor. I don’t really have much attachment to my work or roles.

Now this is interesting, isn’t it? If anyone in Johnny’s deserves to call themselves a legitimate actor, it’s probably Nino by virtue of having a main role in “Letters from Iwo Jima”, but the thing about him is that he is very aware of his status as an idol. He knows that’s what he is, and he’s perfectly content to just be that. Proud of it even.

April 2008, Non’no
Source

Nino (to Ohno): Did you make something today? Your nails are black.
Ohno: I was using resin.
Nino (holding up Ohno’s hand): What? *disgusted* It looks like KAT-TUN or something!
Ahahaha! True, some members of KAT-TUN have a tendency to paint random nails black, but it’s funny how awful Nino thought it was that it looked like Ohno was copying some of their tricks. Oh why can’t my two favorite Johnny’s groups just get along?

2008, HeyHeyHey Audience Report

Source

A few comments on the new album…

Ohno (on inspiration for his solo track): I had gotten a lot of fish that day.

Nino: It’s a great fishing song! When you sing it, you should have the Johnny’s Juniors lined up behind you fishing.

Ohno (on Jun’s solo the title of which is “Naked”): Are you going to be naked for this song too?

Matsujun: I’ll be arrested if I do that. There are security officers all over Tokyo Dome.

Sho: Matsumoto! Secure him!

Nino: And if your arms are being held down by the cops, even if you want to cover your front you couldn’t do it

Matsujun: Well, I’ll be naked in spirit then.

Aw. C’mon Jun-kun. Just a little bit of nakedness couldn’t hurt…

June 2008, Kikinini

Source

And finally, one really really cute quote from Aiba who is still trying to make a name for himself in the Member-Ai category. He’s making some gains, but he’ll probably have to do something a little less “awww” and a little more “gay” if he wants to join the elite ranks.

Aiba: It’s already been 9 years since we debuted. Thinking back to Jr. days when I would go play over at Nino or Matsujun’s house makes me nostalgic. Arashi: my friends, family, rivals, companions. For me, ‘member’ is a whole new genre. Everyone is strong so we don’t talk about our problems much, but you can feel the stregnth of our bonds when we’re doing something with all of us, ne. We get along so well. I love Arashi.

June 2008, Popolo
Source

As Always,

~Celestia~

Thanks to my new-found passion for animated .gif making, I got a bit…carried away with KAT-TUN’s “Live of Real Face” concert DVD. There’s three sections here: Kame, Jin, and everyone else.

oooh. Touch yourself more Kame-chan.

and this post has officially gotten kind of porny.

Who me?

Leave it to Kame to do the suggestive eyebrow thing in the middle of the pretty ballad when half of the group is crying.

Yay! Koki let me borrow one of his pimping hats for the encore!

Lastly, this isn’t a .gif, but it is one of the sluttiest pictures of Kame I’ve ever seen, so I had to share it.

Next, behold Akanishi Jin, the sexiest creature ever to walk this Earth. You think I’m using hyperbole? Tehehe

*swoons*

What a sex kitten.

Oh God. No more touching your mouth Jin. You’re going to kill me.

*dies*

And the oft. forgotten T-TUN of KAT-TUN! I put the multi-guy stuff here too.

Damn. Princess is flexible.

Stupid Koki face

Stupid Koki pose followed by impressive Koki backflip

Not to be outdone…

Yay! I win!!!

Jin makes Maru sing part of his line at the beginning of ‘Harukana’. Lol

I will try to restrain myself from doing this for the Cartoon KAT-TUN 2 U concert any time soon, but no promises.

~Celestia~

I’ve taken the liberty of uploading a much clearer version of KT’s Music Station performance than what’s been floating around youtube.

Online Videos by Veoh.com

That means it’s time to comment on the costumes and dance! They’ve gone with a black and white with shiny silver accents this time. KAT-TUN really isn’t a fan of bright colors, are they? They almost always wear primarily black and white, sometimes with color accents.

Jin’s costume mysteriously seems to lack the shininess. Also, whatever is going on around his neckline confuses me. You know what though, who cares? We can see a fair amount of his chest, and he’s not hiding most of his face with a hat, so I’m happy. Is it just me or is he looking a lot like he did back when “Real Face” was released? His hair is almost the same now as it was then. Not that I’m complaining. It’s a good look for him. Much better than blond hair, or his permed hair before that. Here’s hoping he doesn’t decide to change it to something stupid and unflattering again any time soon. The costume is similar to one of the from the “Real Face” PV too. Kame has a purple hat this time. It seems like an odd choice since the official accent color is silver, but I’m not going to question it. As expected of KT, the costumes all look like they got in a fight with an angry paper shredder. Kame’s twirl looks pretty cool with all the various strips of fabric attached to him fanning out. See?

Ueda is in white again, which I approve of. The “Fallen Angel” motif works well for him. Koki in something hooded and Maru in a blazer are also no big surprise. Junno’s jacket is very very shiny, and his haircut still makes him look about 5 years younger. In conclusion, these costumes don’t break into any new or creative territory for KAT-TUN, but they are certainly smexy and easy on the eye, and no one looks like a janitor this time so I’m going to give them a thumbs-up…..WAIT A MINUTE!!! Is Kame wearing fluffy, white, schoolgirlish socks/ankle warmers?? ROFL! He totally is!

The dance is really nice, and they look more synchronized than KAT-TUN usually does. My one complaint is that I wish that the moves had been just a bit bigger. I guess I should just be grateful that there is a proper dance this time. It’s been far too long since they actually made them, you know, move. KT was originally hand picked from the juniors to be a dancing unit, and they’re all good at it, so it seems like a waste to release danceless singles.

As predicted, the single is pretty much the Akame show. The stars are in their own little line in front for most of the song while the rest dance behind them. It wasn’t Kame’s best singing, but Jin was great. I don’t think anyone else got any solo lines either, though I do like the Maruda duet lines in there. I feel a bit bad for T-TUN, but my sympathetic pangs are quickly pushed aside when I see Akame doing sexy hip rolls side by side.

Oh, and they’re on Music Station again next week, so look forward to that. Hopefully they’ll perform in front of a live audience again like they did with their second “Lips” appearance.

TTFN,

~Celestia~

I was reading a recent entry in “Fly to High” and it got me thinking about a few things. I think my last “response” post went pretty well, so, a few thoughts on one particular paragraph. The actual post is about NewS’ new single, but the part I want to talk about is the comment on other Johnny’s groups at the end. To quote:

Every Johnny’s group has a gimmick: KAT-TUN markets their sexiness, Kanjani8 uses their Kansai roots to emphasize their funniness, Arashi sells the happy and gay. NEWS has always been the good boys you’d bring home to your mother group, but they’re getting more personality as a group lately. I think they’re somewhat a mix of the other group’s gimmicks - they play and laugh around while still looking hot and sexy, and love each other with their “member ai” - but not to the extent of Arashi - and add in a large dose of cute, having the members that can actually pull off making faces and peace-signing without looking too forced. Some could see this as being bland, I see it as having the most natural and multifaceted image - because really, who can be just sexy or fun or gay all the time?

          I kind of object to claims that KAT-TUN is just sexy or Arashi is happy and gay all  the time, and hence these groups are single-faceted. If you watch either of those groups enough, it becomes abundantly clear that that’s not the case. Junno is really dorky, and he makes no attempt to hide that. Maru is always being made fun of for his looks and general lack of sexiness. Koki does really bad impressions (not sexy) and Ueda is really shy. Kame is certainly sexy, but he works at it, and his insecurity shines through a lot of the time when he’s not performing. Jin is blessed with God-given sexiness and more self-confidence than any person has a right to have, but he’s only one out of the six of them. As for Arashi, they’re not always “gay and happy” either. Matsujun can be prissy and spiteful. Sho’s natural personality is more serious than when he’s with Arashi, they just bring out his dorky side. Nino is often critical, sharp-tongued, and withdrawn. Ohno… isn’t even that bouncy and happy when they’re performing. You just don’t notice because he’s dancing and singing so damn well and the rest of them have enough enthusiasm to make up for it. Aiba, well, I have yet to see or hear anything to make me think he’s not really that ditzy and hyper, so he might be this group’s exception. Still, being such a sensitive person, I’d imagine he gets upset pretty easily.

      My point here isn’t to entirely debunk these group’s images. They certainly weren’t arbitrarily assigned to them. Group images develop out of recognizing prominent and marketable aspects member’s collective personalities and using those. KAT-TUN as a whole does tend to have more attitude and sexiness than some of the other groups, so the company uses that in the kind of music they do and the sort of image they promote. Similarly, Arashi really are very close with each other, and they all have a lot of natural goofiness, so the company promotes that. The things that are pointed out about NewS are exactly what I personally don’t like about them. In my opinion, trying to seem sexy and cute and playful and hot all at the same time translates to a real lack of group identity. It’s not that the groups I like don’t have other sides to their personalities. Individually, they all have different personalities, but they also have a personality as a group. By emphasizing some things over others, they create a cohesive image for themselves, and I think that’s something NewS is sorely lacking. Without some sort of image, they’re just a random bunch of pretty boys, and I find it hard to find a reason to care about them as a group.

      I guess that’s my two cents on the matter. I hope the proprietors of Fly to High don’t take offense.

Best,

~Celestia~

Since I’ve started blogging, I’ve been working on expanding my “blogging skillset” which almost makes me sound professional, doesn’t it? So far, I’ve figured out the basics of screen-caps and OPVs. My next endevor is animated gifs. Here’s my first attempt, a batch from Arashi’s most recent concert tour. It’s just the animations. I haven’t quite mastered special effects or adding text or anything like that yet. Still, I think they look pretty nice. I’ll probably make some for h!p stuff next. Now I just have to figure out how to use photoshop, subtitle things, and if I ever get really really ambitious, design whole websites.

Hope you enjoy!

oooh. tough guys

Sho demonstrates some of the ridiculous lovely “Carnival Night” dance moves

jump my minions! jump!!

could he be any cuter?

Jun-pits! Lol.

What kind of Ohmiya fan would I be if I didn’t include this?

I think Matsujun is the most “gif-able” Arashi member

and whoever would have thought that the sexiest moment of the concert would belong to Nino? Maybe I’m just weak to guys “tsk”ing at me

Nice angst Aiba, but it would have been better if you’d ripped your shirt off too
Sho and Nino’s silly silly dance.

awww. Sakuraiba is Arashi’s 2nd cutest couple

My apologies to anyone with slow internet.

.Celestia