Johnny's Generations

One of the things I love about Johnny's groups is the interaction between them. With the Junior system many have known each other since they were kids and it's nice to see the friendships cross over from the different groups. Especially at events like the Countdown concerts. Of course with the passage of time some groups tend to interact with other groups with members their age or those that debuted about the same time. I've come to think of those breaks along the lines of "generations" of the Johnny's groups.

SMAP (1991)

SMAP to me feels like it belongs on the end of the generation of Johnny's artists and groups that have since disbanded or already retired from releasing music. Maybe it's because they don't really release much of anything or perform concerts anymore. Even though they are undoubtedly solid fixtures in Japanese entertainment with their variety programs and drama roles.

Tokio (1994)
V6 (1995)
Kinki Kids (1997)

It's easy to notice how well these groups all get along together, especially when they are all on stage together. It's great to watch grown men act like little kids together on stage. Most of the them are the same age and from interviews and the message board in the Wink Up magazine they like to spend their free time together.

Arashi (1999)

Poor Arashi doesn't seem to fit with the other groups so I've decided to make them their own generation as there is quite a difference in time between the debut before them and the next one. Of course that's not to say they don't interact with members of other groups as there are interviews that say otherwise. Age wise they're a bit spread with Ohno being the same age as V6's Okada and the rest of the group being closer to the ages of the groups that came after them. I think in a way I kinda see them as taking SMAP's place once that group retires with Japanese programs and dramas.

Tackey & Tsubasa (2002)
News (2003)
Kanjani∞ (2004)
KAT-TUN (2006)

I wasn't quite sure if I should place Tackey & Tsubasa in this group or not. But after thinking about who they usually interact with, all the answers pointing towards Juniors, I figured that they fit better with these groups, especially as Takki was the one to give Yamapi his nickname and all. News and Kanjani8 are pretty much no brainers to put together as they share a member between them. The members of News and KAT-TUN are all about the same age so it only makes sense to put them together as well.

Hey! Say! JUMP (2007)

It's not hard to see Hey! Say! JUMP in their own generation with the age differences between their members and the other groups. I think it'll be interesting to see who comes after them, as it'll seem weird to put them in this generation if they end up around the same ages as the members of the previous generation, which is pretty much almost all the current older Junior groups.

Of course there's cross generation interactment, like when any of the group's end up on Nakai's (SMAP) Utaban program or they are in TV shows, dramas, plays and musicals together. Chinen's fan boy love for Ohno got him a chance to spend some time with his idol when one of the idol magazines had them do a cross talk and photo shoot together. Which was one of the cutest things to read as Chinen was so obviously nervous around him. And there's various J-web entries about senior Johnny's taking out the younger ones out to dinner to treat them or giving them birthday gifts.

It all gives off the warm feeling that Johnny's is kinda like a big family. Of course I'm sure not everyone gets along, but it's nice to see when they do.