The Shounen Club 14 September 2008 review

And we hit the second episode of the month, with next month set to bring us some changes.

We start off with a basic introduction of having group names or individual names for the Juniors not in groups called out and then some dancing. Nakayama Yuma gets included this time around unlike the previous episode.

As Koyama Keiichiro and Nakamaru Yuichi do the usual theme introduction Yabu Kota shows up with a fan letter in hand. He reads it as it requests for the show to do a certain theme, Koi (love).

This then leads into the theme medley and it is mostly the ungrouped Juniors with some of the grouped Juniors coming in to perform a song or two. Kikuchi Fuma gets his first close up shot and he seems like a complete natural in front of the camera already.

The first MC segment is given to a trio of little Juniors, Anderson Casey, Morimoto Shintaro and Jesse. They are to talk about what they want to do for their first date. Anderson talks about sky diving from a helicopter and ending up on a deserted island. Shintaro aims for Hawaii while Jesse simply wants to go to the beach.

After this the guests of the episode, Hey! Say! BEST perform their unit song Spicy. I do appreciate that even though most of the song is them as mic stands that they make sure to break away from them to move around as an upbeat song like this seems wasted on having the group stand in place.

The unit then gets to have their MC segment where they get to talk about what they think about the theme. And all five get a turn to talk and they all looked to have fun.

TOP3 then have a group performance of a song called INTO MIND. This should be the last time we get to see the grouping perform together as I am sure next month we will have A.B.C-Z. I remember that being a shock partly because the three were given a group name, TOP3, shortly before that and of course they fact that they had performances where they were to sole performers like this.

It is then time for the game segment and Nakamaru is the judge who gets to decide if the Juniors attempt at performing a prompt is good enough to earn points or not. The first prompt is a gourmet food reporter. This gets some rare participation from Tamamori Yuta who ends up being thoroughly embarrassed by his try.

There is also confessing to your first love then comforting someone who did not make the cut in an audition after you did. And really the members of A.B.C. really shine in this game segment  overall when it comes to being entertaining.

Up next is an MC with Butokan which starts out with Yara Tomoyuki comforting Senga Kento, as the former had messed up with his attempt in the game segment and was rather upset about it. But they move on and Senga is able to collect himself so they can even joke about him doing the imitation of a turtle laying eggs in the Osaka episodes.

The group perform their song, Now and Forever, and there is not much to say as the group is as on point as always. Though own thing I keep forgetting to mention is that I am surprised to note that Hamanaka Bunichi has a strong voice. I guess mainly this is because this is the only chance he has really gotten to show it off.

For the Heisei Post segment we have HSB with Nakamaru. They read letters and answer them, the first being about presents so they talk about gifts they have given. The second one is a question about the unit with which one is the strongest of them all. So they do an impromptu arm wrestling tournament.

Question? then perform their song Beautiful Mind. It is another performance that it is hard to say something about as they have performed this song a few times already and each time the performance has been solid.

It goes straight into the next performance, Kis-My-Ft2 performing Kaizoku for the first time. I love this song and I am so glad it finally was released on CD with Kis-My-Zero3. Of course watching the performance one cannot help but notice that someone stands out a bit, as Senga's jacket does not really match with the pink on it when everyone else's does not have that color on them anywhere. Not sure if this was a costuming mistake or not as it is this way at the start of the episode as well.

It is then time to wrap up the episode with the ending song, which this time is HSB performing Your Seed and Bouken Rider. Still don't care much for Your Seed being performed without most of the group but since it is only a part of the song it works out. And Inoo Kei actually gets a solo line to sing.

For Bouken Rider the Juniors come out to join in performing it with HSB. And surprisingly we get Yamashita Shoon next to Yaotome Hikaru. I guess at this point Johnny's felt confident that the backlash about breaking up Ya-Ya-Yah had cooled down that it would no longer be an issue. But it will still be at least over a year before uchiwa are again allowed in the program.


A nice solid Junior focused episode that give no hints of the changes that are about to come. Of course this was filmed around the time SUMMARY would have begun and the changes did not happen until near the end of that.

I feel sad all over with TOP3 hitting their end, I really thought they worked well as a unit and wanted to see them go far but Johnny's had other ideas.

And I do have B.I.Shadow to look forward to as they should be showing up soon.

Shinryochu ~In the Room~ mid-seasons impressions

And I continue on with this drama that I hope to finish off by next week.

At this point I can say that I am completely this series just for the sake of completing it and because I like some of the members of the cast. So basically the same reasoning I made it through Sprout. Though I would place Shinryochu above Sprout as it at least has some interesting characters and does not drag nearly as much.

What hinders me from enjoying this drama is that I have no clue with what it is trying to do. It comes off as a drama that should be trying to bring some meaningful message to it but I am not seeing one, or at least not consistently. That and it seems to amp up the drama for the sake of drama, making it hard to believe. I think if perhaps Tenma Ryo (Inagaki Goro) was without all the personal family drama he would make for a good point of view character for the series because without that there really is none for the audience to be able to place themselves in their position.

If I was a drinker I would have made a drinking game around this expression.

And I have a hard time believing that Tenma is supposed to be a seasoned professional with how often he looks at his patients shocked. Are we meant to believe that this is the first time he has had troubled patients like this and that they are all coming to him at the same time for counseling? And I doubt having a therapist look at you like you have grown a second head would give you a sense of confidence in them.

At this point in the drama there is quite the cast of characters to try to keep track of. This is probably another reason why it would have been better to skip Tenma having personal drama to deal with and just focus on the kids and their issues.

At this point the only ones I care about are Kitahara Ren (Senga Kento) and Ito Nana (Yoshikura Aoi), as they are the easiest to follow and understand where they are coming from. And Katayama Hikaru (Tanaka Juri), as while his issue is rather out there it is easier to figure out where it probably will go from the cues given in the one session we have seen with him so far.

The rest either come off as outlandish with how overly dramatic things get with them or the characters give so little about themselves to make you want to care about them. Aikawa Sakuya (Sanada Yuma) is both completely over the top he just comes off as simply psychopathic and there is nothing revealed about him that brings out any sympathy.

A drama like this should be built around the characters and have stories naturally come from them but it feels like the opposite is going on. It is hard to believe that characters who have worked themselves up to becoming emotional and irrational can suddenly shift to calm and rational the next. The reverse can be believed as people can hide those things or sometimes such behavior can be triggered by something but I know I have never heard of the reverse happening. So I can only think that this happens in this drama because the script calls for it.

I will muddle through the rest of this and hope that perhaps closer to the end there will be some clarity given in some of the story lines. But I have given up hoping that this drama knows what it is trying to do.

The Shounen Club 7 September 2008 review

This episode gives two Shounen Club debuts, one for a member of Sexy Zone and the other for one of the Bakaleya6.

Everyone missing from last month's episodes are back on the show, so it should be back to being more focused on the Juniors again.

The introductions now are packed with Juniors as even though we do not have any new groups there are plenty of groupings. The grouping with Takada Sho and Masuda Ryo have gained a new Junior, one that should be very familiar to Sexy Zone fans, Kikuchi Fuma. So if anyone wants to hunt down all the SC episodes with SZ members this is the episode to start with.

The introduction performance also gives us two of the guests for this episode, the Kansai Junior group B.A.D.

When announcing the theme of the episode they have Nakama Junta do it as it is Nakama (colleague/friend), to make use of the pun that his last name and the word are said the same way though they both have different kanji.

With the theme medley we get to see the other guest of the episode, Takaki Yuya, who is there with B.A.D. as the three all are in the drama Gokusen 3 together. So the three were paired up for promotions for it and also the SP and movie that followed the original run of the drama series.

Nakayama Yuma also makes an appearance but like in earlier episodes for this year disappears for the rest of the episode. This is also the only time Fuma is on stage performing, minus the intro, but he gets very little screen time.

The following MC segment has Takaki and B.A.D. talking with Koyama Keiichiro and Nakamaru Yuichi. Takaki and Kiriyama Akito do most of the talking, and that is probably mostly because Takaki is set as the center of the three and is expected to speak up. Otherwise it probably would be mostly just Akito talking, with him being the chatterbox he is. In fact Nakamaru has to prompt Junta to say something near the end so he has a turn to talk.

The trio then perform a mash up of Takaki's solo song Oretachi no Seishun and the song Jitabata Junjo. This is basically the same performance as they did on Music Station to promote the drama earlier in the year, but without Chinen Yuri and Yamada Ryosuke randomly being a part of it and minus the message from Akanishi Jin.

The next MC focuses more on the younger Juniors. Three of the four are still with the agency. They are asked who their friend is in the Juniors and Morimoto Shintaro put down Uekusa Yuta, who had put him down as well. Kyomoto Taiga put down Fujigaya Taisuke because he would send him e-mail. Then Takada Sho put down another Junior, Ookawa Daigo, who is one of those Juniors I am not sure is with Johnny's anymore, as I have not seen him in a long time.

There is a Shounentai medley to give some of the Junior groupings something to perform, mainly the younger ones. Of course this is also to tie-in the fact that Uekusa Katsuhide of the group has his son, Yuta, in the Junior ranks at the time.

Even though he does not get his name on the screen and was missing from the introductions at the beginning of the episode there is no mistake that this is Tanaka Juri showing up on the program for the first time. He is given a "rap" part of the medley to do as Johnny's has been trying to have him be a mini-version of his older brother, Tanaka Koki, from the start.

Next is the game segment which is a quiz but instead of raising hands or racing to a buzzer to answer the question the Juniors have to do a quick challenge. For example the first challenge is to do ten squats. All the questions revolve around the month of September or the fall.

After the squats the challenge is changed to sit ups then a wheelbarrow relay. The last one is the most entertaining to watch with it having to be done in pairs.

The MC after that is with Kawai Fumito, Totsuka Shota and Yamashita Shoon, as Shoon got briefly placed with A.B.C. as Yamashita Shoon and A.B.C., much like how Toshin Yoshikazu and A.B.C. was. IIRC, this group is only for this month as next month A.B.C-Z will have been formed.

That said they do perform one original song together, HIGHER! FLY! Shoon actually fits in rather well with the group as he was the member of Ya-Ya-Yah that was strong with acrobatics. It is a pity he had to be removed from the group when they decided to add in Hashimoto Ryosuke.

The Junior ni Q segment is another Kansai Junior one. This time the theme is about their mother's cooking. And there are a good amount of Kanjuu still with the agency brought over, starting with Yamasaki Kunta. His answer was to brag about how his mother's cooking is the best in the world.

Backes Kento is the next Kanjuu to get highlighted who is still in Johnny's. He put down a dish that he calls the Natto Special and goes over what is in it.

Then it is Fugal-Shawn Goku who talks about a takoyaki dish his mother makes that includes using cheese. And that wraps up the segment.

There is then a letter exchange segment between the members of B.A.D. Being in the same unit for a few years now they both make sure to poke some fun of each other. And this is probably one of those rare times that Junta talks as much as Akito.

This of course leads into a performance by the duo as they sing Aishiteru. At this point they come off as one of the most polished groups with the Kanjuu. Of course it probably helps that they have had the least amount of group shuffling and thanks to having roles in Gokusen 3 they have had many more chances to be in front of a camera.

And after that performance it is time to wrap up the show, first with Koyama and Nakamaru talking about the theme a bit. Then the final performance is Mugendai sung by most of the main Juniors in the episode as well as Takaki Yuya and Nakayama Yuma makes another appearance.


With Fuma now on the program Nakajima Kento cannot be far behind and then we will have the creation of B.I.Shadow shortly after. It will still be a while before the group adds Kochi Yugo and Matsumura Hokuto though, as that will happen in 2009 shortly before the Nakayama Yuma w/ B.I.Shadow group is announced.

And one thing I am really noticing now is how happy Takaki looks with B.A.D. A part of me has always wanted the three to do some kind of special release together because they did seem to have good chemistry and watching this episode makes me want that to happen even more. Though it is nothing more than a pipe dream.

Johnny's Under 100: Jesse

Jesse

Group: none

Birthdate: June 11, 1996

I have always liked Jesse, though mainly at first just because I thought he looked like a cute kid. I was happy when he finally got a group with Hip Hop Jump, though his membership in the group seemed to be constantly changing.

Shiritsu Bakaleya Koukou was probably the best thing to happen for him. He finally got the chance to be taken out of the back rows to be put front and center, thanks to the fact he has solid vocals. Not sure if I care much for his acting but I am still a fan.

The Shounen Club 10 August 2008 review

And we are on the second episode of the month where we have no shortage of guests.

The introduction this time around is rather short with the few Juniors that the four members of Hey! Say! JUMP from the previous episode are all introduced by name. Except for M.A.D., who just get their group name, most likely because they are the only official full group on the stage.

The HSJ four remain on stage for when the theme of the episode is announced. This is because the theme is Bouken (Adventure) and HSJ have the perfect song for that, Bouken Rider.

So instead of the usual theme medley it is Yamada Ryosuke, Chinen Yuri, Arioka Daiki and Nakajima Yuto performing Bouken Rider for the performance to directly tie-in to the theme of the episode.

Hashimoto Ryosuke helps answer questions sent in by fans for the Heisai Post corner with Kato Shigeaki. The first is about what gift to get a friend as a surprise gift. The second letter seems to be more like a fan letter for Hasshi.

The medley that the Juniors get to do is a KAT-TUN medley. It plays out like the usual theme medleys do, with various Juniors doing each song until the final song where they all join in to perform it.

Next up is an MC with Chinen and Yamada, that is after Shige and Koyama Keiichiro have some fun with the audience. The two HSJ members are then asked about adventures they have had.

The following performance mainly features Nakajima Yuto with the other members of HSJ there joining him in parts as well as TOP3. Most of the songs are covers of old Johnny's songs with a show tune sound to them. Like they do the Namida-kun Sayonara/Mack the Knife mash up that the Juniors did a few months ago in this medley.

The game segment is next and it is the one where something is placed in a box and the guys have to feel it with their hands to figure out what it is. This is always entertaining to watch as most of the guys appear to completely freak out when doing this.

Like with the past episode the Igo Akun vs Yamashita Shoon pair are the highlight of the segment, as they have some trouble even finding what they are supposed to be touching seeing, as it is a living thing and moves all around the box.

A special guest for the guest is introduced, Yabu Kota, and he performs a song that he wrote the lyrics for, Chikai no Sora. He has Kosaka Masato, who is no longer in Johnny's, sing it with him as it is a duet.

It is then Imai Tsubasa's turn for an MC segment. He talks about the theme of the episode and ties it to doing a stage play/musical he was a part of.

He then performs Yumemonogatari as a solo. The performance features Question? backing him up as the song is given a hint of a rock flare for this.

This is one of the better Kansai Junior ni Q segments when it comes to those still with the agency. The first they talk to is Kamiyama Tomohiro who wrote down "ookini", which is a Kansai-dialect word that means "thanks a lot". Though when asked about using it he confesses that he does not use it.

Yamasaki Kunta is called up and his word is "ai", which of course means "love" and mostly of the romantic kind.

Then to finish the segment up Hamanaka Bunichi is called up. He wrote "junsui no arigato" which pretty much translates to "genuine thanks". When he comes up though he has a piece of paper on the front of his shirt that give a completely different answer to what is on the board. When asked which one is true he says it is the one on the board.

It is now Arioka Daiki's turn to be the spotlight of a performance (Chinen is the odd man out this time around) and performs Seishun Amigo. At first alone as a solo but is soon joined by Nozawa Yuki, Sanada Yuma and M.A.D.

It is then time for the final song of the program and since it is the second ending song only the older Juniors can participate, which means Nozawa, Sanada, Shoon, M.A.D. and Question? Instead of just letting them perform a song on their own Tsubasa leads the final song, Koiuta, and Koyama, Shige, Arioka and Yabu even join him to perform it.

I am certain the next month has the usual Juniors on again as A.B.C-Z was announced near the end of SUMMARY and before that happens we have a Yamashita Shoon with A.B.C. formation on the show, so next month has to be the month for that.

We should also be quickly closing in to Nakajima Kento and Kikuchi Fuma showing up on the program and the creation of B.I. Shadow.

Shinryochu ~In the Room~ first impressions

Moving on to the next NTV late night drama I am up to last winter's drama, Shinryochu ~In the Room~.

This drama is a dramatic change from the the dramas that have come before it in the same time slot. It revolves around the conversations between a psychiatrist and his patients, all high school students. So far it all has taken place within a single room, and considering the name of the drama I am sure that the rest of the series will mainly take place in there.

The lead character is school counselor Tenma Ryo (Inagaki Goro) who seems to have some of the most disturbed students at the school he works at. He comes off as a bit distant, which is not always a good quality in a psychiatrist but he does seem to have a genuine desire in helping these troubled youths out.

We also get that he is having family trouble with his daughter and wife, and at the end of the episode calls up another psychiatrist. I am no expert in this field but I think this would be the point that a professional would ask for a break to take care of themselves as they are not going to be the greatest help to others if they are not able to help themselves.

The episode shows us two of the students he is seeing, sort of maybe in the first case. It seems a bit frustrating that everyone seems to be beating around the bush with what they are saying so it is a bit hard to grasp what the issue is. But I guess that is to help put the viewers in Tenma's place, as he only has what the students tell him to figure out how to help them. In Kaihara Minami's (Suda Anna) case though it seems that she is not the one we actually see this episode but her twin sister Miu, pretending to be her.

While Minami's session was more weird than anything the one with Tanaka Shun (Takada Sho) is more on the disturbing side as he recounts beating up his friend. And I'm not sure if the word association that Tenma does with him is actually a way to figure out if he is gay or not. Or even if the session was helpful at all. But I think that would fall more on Shun's shoulders as he comes off just looking for straight answers to some complicated issues he is having with himself and his friend.

After watching this first episode all I can say about this drama is that it is dark and a bit weird. I do not know what to feel about it or for the characters. It is the kind of series I prefer to try to marathon my way through so I am glad it is complete so I can do that. It also means there should not be a long wait until I am done with it. But I have the feeling this may end up being another miss for me unless the characters become likeable.