An Introduction to ANTIME | Group of the Month November 2018

Hey there, idol fans! So you may have noticed that there was no newsletter or Group of the Month in October. I took a bit of an unscheduled break for various reasons but now I'm back and probably a bit too eager to get started again. This month our featured group is ANTIME and not only that but we'll be having a bit of a Johnny's Entertainment (or maybe ex-Johnny's) themed month here on Dansei Idol Girl so stay tuned!

Check out September's Group of the Month -- Satori Shounen Dan -- here and to be the first to know about next month's group be sure to subscribe to the Dansei Idol Girl newsletter. But anyway, let's get started. It's time to get to know ANTIME (pun intended, sorry).

ANTIME is a 4-member boy group under STARBASE Records that is made solely up of former Johnny's Jr. members. They made their debut in 2017 with the indie mini album "Born Again". They are very aware of their overseas fanbase and their music can be easily found on YouTube, iTunes, and Spotify. The group's name comes from the French word "intime" meaning "intimacy", symbolizing the close bond between the members and the teamwork they possess.

The music video for ANTIME's "Number One" from their debut album "VISION"

Members

FU

 

Full Name: Takahashi Fu

Date of Birth: 1998.05.08

Hometown: Saitama

• When he was in Johnny's he was quite well-known for being able to do a headspin. You can see him doing it briefly in Sexy Zone's music video for "Sexy Zone". He also breakdances and can do a backflip.
• He appeared alongside several other Johnny's Jr.'s (including fellow ANTIME member AM) and the Sexy Zone member Sato Shori in the drama "49". He also took part in the recording of the song "Watashi no Okite" as part of Chicken Basket, a one-off crossdressing unit created specially for this drama.
• His favourite foods are melon bread and curry.

U

 

Full Name: Kawaguchi Yuu

Date of Birth: 1997.03.27

Hometown: Chiba

• He's actually the only member of ANTIME I hadn't heard of when he was in Johnny's.
• His favourite musical artist is G-Dragon (Big Bang).
• His specialty is rap. 

AM

Full Name: Haniuda Amu

Date of Birth: 1997.11.26

Hometown: Tokyo

• He's never mentioned at any point having any foreign origins but I always noticed even back when he was in Johnny's that he doesn't look fully Japanese.
• He joined Johnny's at the same time as Sexy Zone member Matsushima Sou.
• His mother -- Ueda Atsuki -- was a gravure idol.

KAUAN

Full Name: Okamoto Kauan

Date of Birth: 1996.05.24

Hometown: Aichi

• He's half-Brazillian and speaks Portugese fluently. Rather than one of his parents being Brazillian and the other Japanese, both of his parents are actually half-Brazillian and half-Japanese.
• He had a very brief solo career after quitting Johnny's and before joining ANTIME where he sang in Portugese.
• Within Johnny's, he was briefly a member of the unit Sexy Boyz and also appears in Sexy Zone's music video for "Real Sexy!".

Check out the most recent music video from ANTIME, "My Road" from their debut album "VISION" (Released 2018.02.14) below! This video is a collaboration with the fashion line DUB Collection.

Official Links:

Website
YouTube
Twitter
Facebook



Back in my Johnny's days, while I did have a mild interest in other groups my main loves were Sexy Zone and so over time I naturally developed an affinity for the Juniors that regularly danced back-up for them as well. This generation of Juniors I like to jokingly call the "Sexy Boyz Rejects"; mostly boys who were aged 14-15 around the time who were bounced around a lot but eventually were forgotten about with the sudden intense wave of popularity for certain Juniors who's names we won't mention *cough* Iwahashi Genki, Jinguji Yuta *cough*.

I'm sure a lot of y'all already know how I feel about Johnny's these days (in short, the agency annoys the heck outta me because of their old-fashioned way of doing things) so I'm always interested to see what happens when a boy leaves the agency to try something new so you can imagine I had a field day with ANTIME. Not only are they all ex-Johnny's but most of them are boys I knew and loved from the "Sexy Boyz Rejects" era. I was so happy to see some of my favourite boys all grown up (Amu in particular I couldn't believe how much he'd changed) and starting on a new path. I do like a lot of their music so far and a group that actually cares about their non-Japanese fanbase is always a plus.

What do you think of ANTIME? Let me know in the comments!

Sources:

ANTIME's official website

Johnny's the Shonen World