At any rate, nothing super interesting is going on with me right now, so instead I would just like to introduce some of the current ridiculousness going on in Japan's pop culture right now...
First of all, let's see what is going on in the world of "Johnny's Juniors." If you have never heard me talk about them before, let me explain. In Japan, there is a huge entertainment agency that basically supplies all the male idols and manufactures boy bands, called Johnny's Entertainment. It is run by a man named Johnny (yes, he is Japanese despite his name) who is most deffinately a homosexual pedophile. Boys can try out around age 10 and if the get in, by proving their dance/acrobatic/musical abilities, they are groomed to become male idols. First of all, they must work as back-up dancers for all ready established bands, but if they do well enough (and possiby perform some "favors" for Johnny...?) they are put into a band of their own. These bands become hugely popular and, unlike female idols who have a shelf life of about 24 years old, as long as they remain popular, they will continue. The most well know and liked Johnny's band, SMAP, which stands for "Sports and Music Assemble People,"debuted in 1991 and is still going strong, releasing single after single and hosting their own variety show, SMAPxSMAP (which I happen to be a fan of). Individual members also have there own shows and star in many dramas as well as appearing on countless other shows.
One of the requirements for a Johnny's band seems to be that they need to have a completely ridiculous name. Other Johnny's include NEWS ("North, East, West, South"), KAT-TUN (a combo of the first letter of each members' family name), and Kinki Kids (Kinki is a region in Japan...but it is still pretty hilarious). Recently, a new band was formed that has the most ridiculous name yet: "Hey! Say! JUMP" Their name is a pun because "Heisei" is the current Japanese era name and all of the members were born in this era. (The first year of Heisei was 1989. There are 5 older members, born in '90 and '91...and 5 younger members, born in '93 and '95...so the youngest member is TWELVE YEARS OLD...sounds like child abuse if you ask me...). Anyway, just when you thought is could not get any more ridiculous: JUMP is and acronym for "Johnny's Ultra Music Power." Oh yes, and the five older members form a sub-group called "Hey! Say! BEST," which of course is an acronym for: Boys Excellent Select Team. Heres and acronym for you Johnny: RIDICULOUS! (OK...not really an acronym...but seriously, your name is Johnny...you could at least pretend to know English...)
Even more recently, a debut single has been released by a group called "Matchy with Question?" Gotta love that the name itself IS a question. This group is a come-back for a former Johnny's idol named Masahiko, or "Matchy" for short and he is grouped together with a bunch of young guys who "play instruments" (Johnny's are not legitimate musicians, it is all for show). He was born in 1964...so there you go, you are never too old to be in a boy band in Japan...good for him, I guess. But really, Matchy...I have a question (?) for you: don't you think you are a little too mature to be in a "boy" band? Don't you feel just a little bit, um, RIDICULOUS?Lastly, I would just like to mention that the new drama season has started on TV. Now, I love ridiculous Japanese dramas, but I have found one that is just too ridiculous even for me. Based on the comic of the same name, "One Pound Gospel" is a show about a boy who grows up in an orphanage and then becomes a boxer. The first thing that is ridiculous about this live-action version is that the main character is played by Kamenashi Kazuya (a Johnny's of course) who, I am absolutly sure, I could take in a fight. There is no way anyone could ever believe this guy could possibly be a boxer...but, I suppose being able to watch his sweat glistened body prance around in nothing but boxing shorts makes people willing to suspend belief on this point. Although normally this would be enough to make me want to watch the show, it gets even more ridiculous. The main character is also in love with a young nun that works with the orphans...and he is constantly trying to get her to date him. OK. Japan. Seriously, I know less than 1% of your population is Christian, but do you even understand what a nun IS? No! She canNOT date him, it is never going to happen. She is a NUN! WTF!? Plus, if he grew up in the orphanage, you would assume they made him go to church and would have learned that nuns do not go on dates. I should point out that this is not the first time I have seen a Japanese program where a character is in love with a nun. In one episode of the anime Sailor Moon, Artemis--a white, talking cat--falls in love with a human nun. So, I guess compared to that F-ed up scenario, One Pound Gospel really isn't that ridiculous after all.
I don't believe he could be a boxer...but I do believe he looks good without a top...
