It's already the 24th in Japan so instead of waiting for tomorrow I'll get this all out today as I have my first day of classes for the Fall quarter tomorrow, which means I'll probably not going to have a lot of time then.
As I'm sure most Hey! Say! JUMP fans already know September 24th marks the yearly anniversary of the group's formation. I remember all the excitement of that day a year ago still rather clearly. Because of the time differences the announcement came about mid-morning my time on the 24th, even though it was already evening in Japan. I think because of this we had a lot of immediate fan reaction in the English speaking part of the Johnny's fandom.
I know I was just psyched about the news as I been a fan of the Junior Hey! Say! 7 group and having all of them debuted made me happy. Though I was a bit taken back by the size of the group but after a couple of months I got used to it for the most part. Thankfully Johnny's made it a bit easier by dividing the group into two sub-units from the start, Hey! Say! BEST for the five older boys and Hey! Say! 7 for the five younger ones.
It's taken some time but HSJ seem to finally be picking up the pace in terms of getting themselves on TV shows, dramas and other various media outlets. Next month they release their fourth single which indicates that they should be releasing an album next, though I have the feeling it won't be until early 2009 for that to be released. And I hope they get more chances for dramas, like maybe the BEST members all getting chances to be in high school dramas, as the older groups' members seem to be moving on to roles for older characters which leaves those roles open for the younger group with members that are actually the same age as the characters they're portraying.
I've enjoyed following HSJ for the past year and can't wait to see what the next year will bring for them.
Now on the flip-side of the HSJ debut not everyone was cheering. Of course their was quite a bit of disappointment mixed in with the excitement as with the debut two Junior groups were broken up, J.J. Express and the much beloved Ya-Ya-Yah. I think the fans of J.J. Express, while disheartened by the group disbanding were at least somewhat prepared for it as there had been rumors about the group getting broken up when the Junior Hey! Say! 7 was formed with two of its current members, Takaki and Arioka in that group. The break up of Ya-Ya-Yah though came as a shock to almost everyone. The group had been around since Shounen Club's early years and was one of the most popular Junior groups and had even had their own concerts. And it didn't help matters when word got out that Taiyo quit Johnny's altogether. In fact it seemed like more people hated HSJ than liked them for several months after the group was formed. Thankfully most of that seems to have changed but I have noticed that some people still seem to hold a grudge against them for whatever reason.
Looking at the Juniors now it still looks like things haven't quite settled as there really hasn't been any new groups formed. Of course that hasn't stopped them from grouping certain Juniors together in proto-groups where they can make slight adjustments if they want without it being a big deal. And of Johnny's has just recently begun shuffling Juniors around with the new A.B.C. group formations they're creating. I hope 2009 will give us a couple of new Junior groups, even if they are temporary at least it'll make it easier to learn which Junior is which as you can just list a name instead of several names that may or may not be together at a later time.
I was happy to see Shoon stick it out and I'm so glad that he's still working hard and Johnny's has been giving him chances to prove himself over the past year. It's a pity that he didn't get to be with A.B.C. long as he fit well with the group but as long as Johnny's doesn't start shoving him to the side completely I'll be happy with him still being on every Shounen Club every month. Not to mention watching him weekly on Hyakushiki-Ou.
Hey! Say! JUMP was the first and so far only group I've been in the fandom for their debut. But I hope there will be another debut coming soon. It almost seems too late for a 2008 debut but then there's always 2009. And since I'm a big Kis-My-Ft2 I'm sure you can guess who I'm rooting for to debut next. ^___^
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