okay, let's see. where to begin~
THE JUNIOR ERA.
if you been keepin up with KAT-TUN post-2006, you can see that wow, they're huge! why are they popular? why does Japan care? I DON'T GET IT IRENE, PREASE TO ENLIGHTEN ME?!
as stated in my intro post to this thread, these 6 boys were assembled under
DOMOTO KOICHI of the KinKi Kids. the KinKi Kids are one of the most successful Johnny's groups to emerge from JE. & Domoto Koichi also has a title of being one of four dance kings. and he also had a show POP JAM he hosted. KAT-TUN was a temporary thing & all they had to do was dance.
Kamenashi imitates his creator, Koichi.
well, darn, they got popular. must've been the TV exposure, i suppose. at the time they became Juniors, the head of the Johnny's Juniors was no one special at the time.....oh wait, no, he was kind of a big deal. that person was
TAKIZAWA HIDEAKI. Takizawa at the time was the golden child & star of Johnny's. he was slated to become the biggest thing ever (....but that didn't happen, unfortunately.
which is a shame because Tackey is one of the most stellar Johnny's to emerge, imo.)
Tackey must've been seen as the macho man & prick in JE at the time. but in reality, Tackey really cares about his kouhai (....he still does to this day). this is where KAT-TUN comes in. after being under Koichi, KT never really liked each other and many of their sempais never really gave 2 cents about them. but, Tackey was the one that gave them their first moment to shine (this was either at a Johnny's Junior concert or Tackey & Tsubasa's debut...memory fails me.)
apparently Takizawa prefers Kame over Jin.
i guess having Tackey as a good papa/sempai also made KT give back to the Juniors as seen today with having the most Juniors perform at their own concerts. also, Kame always seems to collaborate with his kouhai, whether it be from Nakajima Yuuto to Yamada Ryosuke.
OKAY ANYAWAY. KT AS JUNIORS. this is probably where old fans squee & giggle, such as myself. because modern KAT-TUN is often seen as "cold & too-cool-for-school" (THEY MATURED, U GUYS. I'M SORRY IF THEY DON'T LIKE DOING KIDDY STUFF ANYMORE?)
some classic Bakanishi.
Jin needs to imitate a penguin.
Junno pulls a pun...look what Jin does.
with shows like "Shounen Club", KAT-TUN really got attention due to...well Kamenashi Kazuya & Akanishi Jin.
AKAKAME. or AKAME. or OTP for some fans. now, you must be like, "BUT KAME & JIN AREN'T THAT CLOSE ANYMORE?" well, yes, it's true. their friendship seemed to have gone under sometime after Gokusen 2, in which the 2 friends have co-starred together. they even had pinky rings to signify their friendship as well.
my theory is that Kame got more & more famous, since he did grab "Nobuta. wo Produce" in the fall (& we all know what happened there, right? Kame pretty much became a household name at the time since "Seishun Amigo" sold 1.5 million copies.), while Jin started going into a different direction. Bakanishi pretty much ended here. i like to call it "OMFG. PLZ DIAF JIN." era. he totally like....had this attitude problem, it seems. but i guess boys will be boys. Jin's totally okay now though. IF U HAD TOLD ME AROUND 2006 THAT JIN WAS MY FAVORITE JOHNNY I WOULD'VE DROP-KICKED U. FOR REAL
FACE.
but anyway, more Junior stuff, yes? they worked with another JE group a lot during their Junior year. that group was
KANJANI8. K8 is like the 180 of KT. LOL. seriously. but somehow these 2 together is just LULZ & awesome.
KT & K8 perform "Kizuna" (Kame written/composed) at DREAM BOYS 2006.
KT/K8 ROCK MEDLEY
KT/K8 JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL~ MR. ROMANTIC CONTEST.
I RECOMMEND THIS VIDEO OH-SO-MUCH. LMAO.
out-takes from JUNIOR FIGHT IV (watch out for Yokoyama Yuu, YamaPi, KoyaShige, & Toma!!
) did i mention Tackey thought of this? btw. i can't find the original JUNIOR FIGHT IV, but this is funnier anyway. LMFAO NAKAMARU.
& SOME PICTURES (LOL):
I. LOVE. THIS. PHOTO. UNFF.
okay that's all from me now. ~laziness trickling in~
& i suggest watching "KAT-TUN Live Kaizokuban". it's their Junior tour (& the tour that influences TOUR 2008 QUEEN OF PIRATES), but so good! due to TV & concerts KAT-TUN quickly became the most successful Johnny's Junior unit!
i will talk about debut & stuff in part 2~