KAT-TUN’s 10th Anniversary Live Tour “10Ks!” DVD is now available for preorder. It is set to release on 17th August 2016.
This DVD records their last live in Tokyo Dome on 1st May 2016, before they go on hiatus and enter an indefinite recharge period.
A preview of their performances can be seen in the video above.
An excerpt of what Kame said in the concert has been posted here.
Preorder their DVD below:
About the Past
Ariyoshi: You guys were delinquents initially?
Sakurai: If you were considered bad in your hometown,but if you debut as an idol, you’d be considered the honorary student. For them it’s the direct opposite. After their debut, they got worse! Why did this happen?!
Kame: We did rebel against society.
Ueda: But people around praised us…said “it’s good!” Clicking our tongue became a good thing?
Nakamaru:We had a concept during debut – “Black and Wild”. So i tried my best to fit the concept.
Guest Panelist: It wasn’t the standard Johnny’s style(Delinquents vs Johnny’s).But as i like bad boys i couldn’t resist them.
Ariyoshi: When i first met them i disliked them. All of them were slightly late. (*everyone explodes into laughter.) They were wearing sunglasses and fur coats. They didn’t even take it off(while talking to me)!
Nakamaru: Indeed, the comments from our staff was very bad!
Kame: But don’t we also look at the seniors? I think in the end those who gathered here are those who looked up to the “bad” seniors.
Guest Panelist: Who are the “bad” ones in Johnnys?
Kame: It was…..Sho kun.
Sakura: It was just during Juniors days.
Nakamaru: He was cool and had style.
Ariyoshi: He doesn’t! (*Sakurai protests.)
Kame: He was so charismatic! He could dance, cool and wore a Ralph Lauren shirt with a pinkish tint….from the perspective of the juniors, he was cool!
Sakurai: So it wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that i gave birth to KAT-TUN?
Kame & Nakamaru: It’s more or less because of you too.
Sakurai: After such a long time, are there things which made you pissed off?
Kame: The ones who pissed me off have all left. (*laughs)
About Recharge Period
Kame: When we came down to 5 members, we decided to work hard. When we became 4, we continued to work hard. When we became 3…wait a minute….We decided to be calm for once. Of cos, it’d be great to continue without disbanding, but continuing isn’t the only solution. So for once, we will rest and power up in our individual activities.
About the relevancy of KAT-TUN
Ariyoshi: You guys are lucky you aren’t V6!
Kame: But we are KAT-TUN and our initials makeup the group name!
Nakamaru: We were already pushed to the limit with 4 members. Anyway, with 3 it’s impossible!
Ueda goes on to explain how KAT-TUN’s name is now KA for KAmenashi, T-TU for Ueda TaTsuya and N for Nakamaru.
The latter part focuses on individual members as they try to overcome their weaknesses.
Kame complains about having very limited ways to show off his coolness so he learns some culinary skills and body art.
Ueda goes for an image change because his costars in stage play complained that he has a very cold exterior so it’s hard to talk to him.
Nakamaru tries to change his “my pace” character.
KAT-TUN held their last live tour “KAT-TUN 10th Anniversary Live Tour 10Ks!” on 1st May at the Tokyo Dome. After this, KAT-TUN activities will cease as they enter a recharge period. Below is the message from Kamenashi Kazuya.
“Hi, this is KAT-TUN’s Kamenashi. Thank you for coming today. Before our 10th year anniversary, another member left again…From 6 members to 5, from 5 to 4, from 4 to 3. Every time this happens, we’re able to stand in front of everyone and talk(about moving forward together). However, time and again, we were not able to deliver our promises.
As a member of KAT-TUN, I’m really ashamed, regretful, and sorry. We, too, came so far after overcoming all these walls. When i feel like escaping, because of the support from everyone, i felt the need to stay in KAT-TUN, to be the Kamenashi who loves KAT-TUN. I’m really thankful.
From tomorrow onwards, we will have to put in our best in various places. I also hope to be able to move on with strength while searching for the new Kamenashi Kazuya, in my own time and place. I will treasure all the experience and scenes i’ve seen up till now, and hope i can bring it back to this place.
Finally, we KAT-TUN are K – Kamenashi Kazuya, A – Akanishi Jin, T-Taguchi Junnosuke, T-Tanaka Koki, U-Ueda Tatsuya, N – Nakamaru Yuichi. We are a group made of these 6. We might not exist if not for these 6, and I might not be able to meet everyone like this. The remaining 2 here (Nakamaru and Ueda) have been through alot, but we’d like to thank the 3 who left for walking so far.
From now, the future is a question mark. From time to time, we may make you worry, we ourselves will also feel the same. However, we will continue and make you feel that this is necessary in order to protect KAT-TUN.
So please continue to follow us. When each of us have gathered enough strength and feel like we’ve protected KAT-TUN, I’d like to return proudly as KAT-TUN’s Kamenashi Kazuya. Please take care of us and thank you.”
Shukan Josei Prime says Taguchi Junnosuke, who left KAT-TUN in March, has moved in with longtime girlfriend Rena Komine. The 2 were spotted returning to their mansion in Tokyo together.
However, it seems like they’ll not live in Tokyo all the time. It is said that they have plans to move to Kyushu.
“Komine’s family home is in Kumamoto. Years ago, it was reconstructed to become a care house for the elderly. Currently her relatives are taking care of it. As she is not working in the entertainment circle anyway, she’ll return to her hometown to help out when she’s ready. Taguchi will also go back with her.” – acquaintance of Komine
The care house is 5 storeys high and boasts 40 rooms. It offers food and lifestyle support for the elderly in a barrier free environment.
“With the ageing population in Japan, this can be a bright career.” – social services reporter
Even though it’s difficult to link Taguchi and business, it seems he has set his eye on being an entrepreneur.
KAT-TUN will be handing over the position of MCs to NEWS after 2 years on the show, as they enter their “recharge” period. In this episode, the guys reflect on their performances on SCP and perform songs from the past based on fan requests.
The performances are delivered in “rock style”, “club style” and “acoustic style”. I have difficulty naming some of these songs so i will just let you watch it!
My personal favourite is “Precious One” in Part 3!
This is for a invisible number of KAT-TUN fans who are reading my blog…
This performance is worth keeping since it is the last for 4-member KAT-TUN. The medley starts off with them singing debut song “Real Face”. Taguchi Junnosuke then leaves the stage and the remaining 3 sing “Kimi no Yume, Boku no Yume”, a song which they personally titled with the fans in mind.
At the end of the show, Taguchi received a bouquet of flowers from MC Tamori and said “I hope the 3 of them will work hard. I will too.” Kame replied with “Don’t worry we will.” Taguchi also teased Ueda saying “Don’t cry!” Ueda was seen shedding tears and was shielding his face from the camera throughout the last song.
KAT-TUN will enter a “recharge” period with Taguchi’s departure. Kame has mentioned in another interview that there is a possibility KAT-TUN having new members in future.
The song “Kimi no Yume, Boku no Yume” is included in the group’s 10th anniversary album.
Purchase their album here:
This year’s Johnny’s Countdown was held in Tokyo Dome and the hosts were the adorkable Arashi. Hey!Say!JUMP and V6 had a concert and Kouhaku commitments respectively so they were filmed separately. Nevertheless, this year was really interesting as fans could choose what they want to see and hear.
Segments and notable moments from the show are summarized below:
No.5: Sakurai Sho & Kikuchi Fuma
Song: Arashi
Sakurai Sho is Fuma’s senior from Keio University and apparently Fuma’s father wrote the lyrics to Arashi’s debut song. Fuma looks so enthusiastic next to Sho but i heard he’s actually a Akanishi shipper?
No.4: Noriyuki Higashiyama & Ohno Satoshi
Song: Nihon Yoitoko Makafushigi
Higashiyama took great care of Ohno before his debut. The song they performed is covered in Arashi’s latest album “Japonism”. Ohno shows some fear before attempting a dangerous backflip which 50-year old Higashiyama did without hesitating.
[Surprise: Yamashita Tomohisa & Kamenashi Kazuya]
[Song: Seishun Amigo]
According to a GirlsChannel report, Yamapi was originally not scheduled for Johnny’s Countdown as he had MV filming overseas. Fans had no option to nominate the duo but they still insisted on sending in requests. The overwhelming response must have resulted in Yamapi’s appearance. Aside from it being the biggest surprise of the night, it was also Kame and Yamapi’s reunion after 6 years so the fans in Tokyo Dome exploded in joy. Kame thanked the fans in the end by giving us a flashback of the Shuji-Akira bromance 10 years ago – a backhug for Yamapi.
Those smiles…I think it would not be exaggerating to say that this scene is worth watching 100 times over!
No.3:Matsumoto Jun & Kawai Fumito
Song: Wish
Kawai is well-known for his dance impersonations of Matsujun and despite Matsujun’s resistance, his impersonations delight everyone.
No.2: Kitayama Hiromitsu & Okura Tadayoshi
Song: (Each other’s songs)
They are apparently good friends!
No.1: Shibutani Subaru & Takizawa Hideaki
Song: Ashita ni Mukatte
These 2 were known as “Takizawa of the East” and “Subaru of the West” during Johnny’s Junior’s Golden Age. I do not know much about this era as it was 17 years ago, but judging from the fan votes here, this pair was huge and still is! “Ashita ni Mukatte” is actually an Arashi song which they often performed in their junior days.
If you want to watch the whole show:
To conclude, this year’s Johnny’s Countdown is a memory worth keeping! Wishing all a Happy New Year!
Since 2015 is coming to an end, i might as well conclude with the Top 10 headlines of the year. These articles are ranked according to their viewership. Articles from 2014 and earlier have been left out.
1. Bunshun leaks pictures of AKB48 Kashiwagi Yuki and NEWS Tegoshi Yuya..a Hakone date?
This scandal was published in June 2015 and i guess the huge picture of Yukirin and Tegoshi, arms wrapped around each other, was a huge shock. No proper news sources would report it (for Yahoo it took a few days before article was posted) but the story was already all over the Internet. Though both parties remained largely silent, to this date, we’re still getting epilogues on the mysterious relationship between Yukirin and Tegoshi.
2. AKB48 2015 Senbatsu Sousenkyo ~Unpredictable Rankings, The Tumultuous Night~: Final Results
3. Back Number sings OST theme for drama “5-ji kara 9-ji made”
This comes in as a surprise because i had no idea “5-ji kara 9-ji made” would be so successful internationally. I’ve had readers asking me for titles of tracks which i had no idea of. But no worries, CDJapan now has the OST for sale!
4. Kisumai Fujigaya Taisuke revealed to be dating Miori Takimoto for years
I seldom post about Kisumai let alone Fujigaya so the spike in numbers for this was quite surprising. I guess Kisumai is really huge, or there could be much more shippers of the couple from “Ikemen Desu Ne” that i’m aware of.
5. AKB48 General Elections 2015: Final look at China fans’ campaigns
This article ended up being published in a Japanese matome kinda site for 48 fans, and for some reason they’d misquoted the facts. So if you read the matome sites, please be aware that not all info passed around there is TRUE.
6. Horikita Maki gets married to Koji Yamamoto after 3 months of dating!
Title is enough to let everyone’s jaws drop in shock. Their love story is even juicier.
7. Tanaki Koki sends Taguchi message of support and talks about life after KAT-TUN
I would actually rank this way higher because it was just published. Surprised that people are still interested in Koki.
Thanks to everyone for supporting my site this year! There are busier days ahead and i won’t be posting regularly but i’ll be here when there’s important news! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Taguchi Junnosuke, who has announced his plans of leaving the group in Spring next year, will also be participating in this single. The song is the opening theme for “Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo R”.
Okay, so Tanaka Koki was interviewed recently for a New Year show (TV Osaka “Waza waza Iu Telebi”). He talked about feeling like “dying” when he left KAT-TUN.
Firstly, he confessed to finding out about Taguchi’s departure from KAT-TUN pretty much at the same time as everyone else. “We’re buddies who ate from the same rice pot. I’m having a tough time myself, but we’ve got to do what we have to do. Let’s work hard?”
He continued to talk about his own departure from the group. “At that time KAT-TUN was everything to me, so it felt empty suddenly, like i was going to die….”
He then gave some explosive insights on the current idol industry.
“Especially for female idols, they have too much service spirit. Things like hugs, underwear, date-able concepts, isn’t that no different from hostesses? There’s things like…how far will you go in your servicing?”
Continuing on his own idol days, he said “For me, i’ve gone to blind meetings which i don’t attend 80% of the time. Dated people i’ve not met in my work. On the Internet, people said i’ve dated Itano Tomomi! On the contrary, i’d like to!”
However, there’s no smoke without fire. To this, Tanaka agreed that it’s true, in a way admitting to some of his past relationship rumours.
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