Idol Rewind | My Top 5 Jpop Boy Group Releases of 2019

So yeah, I did this for 2018 so I thought it would be fun to do it for 2019 as well. Admittedly I was a bit AWOL for the latter half of 2019... I had my debut idol performance in August and around that time I moved into my own place as well. Plus the fact that September would mark the beginning of my first year of no longer being a college student so having to start properly looking into finding work and figuring out what I actually want to do has been...interesting to say the least but anyway, even if I wasn't posting I was always there, always lurking. Certain idols I like to stalk online can probably attest to this. So anyway, without further ado, here is my slightly biased top 5 list of Jpop boy group releases from 2019!

1. SUPER★DRAGON - 2nd Emotion

SUPER★DRAGON takes the first spot on this list for the second year in a row! I stand by everything I've said about them in the past; they're just a group that knows no boundaries and is always surprising us with the interesting concepts they come out with and this year they of course didn't disappoint. "2nd Emotion" was their second album and not only did we get two tracks with music videos from it but also a dance version of the main track, not to mention the abundance of extras you got if you bought the disk. There wasn't a single song on this album that I didn't like and it's just good, man. So good.

2. BUZZ-ER. - #BFF

A group of new faces takes the second place spot, and this is also a group that has managed to creep their way into my top 5 male idol groups list this year too. Welcome BUZZ-ER.! BUZZ-ER. actually released 2 albums and a single this year but I chose this particular album because it contains all of the songs from all their other releases as well. Most of BUZZ-ER.'s releases this year have had such a fun dasa-kakkoi (goofy-cool) vibe to them that I absolutely love and all the songs have been so catchy I've been looping them on Spotify for months. 

An Emotional Time Capsule | Thoughts on M!LK and SUPER★DRAGON's Second Albums

Last month -- on the 6th and and the 27th respectively -- EBiDAN Next High groups M!LK and SUPER★DRAGON released their second albums. M!LK's is titled "Time Capsule" and marks their second release since the member change (Original member Yamazaki Haruki left the group last year and new members Ryubi, Sono Shunta, and Yamanaka Juutaro were then added from BATTLE BOYS), while SUPER★DRAGON's is titled "2nd Emotion". Let's take a look at all of the songs on these albums (both new and old) and the albums as a whole.

Time Capsule

M!LK's second album "Time Capsule" features 14 tracks including 9 new songs and 5 previously-released ones (one of which is a re-recorded version). It was released in two versions; the regular CD-only edition and the limited edition that comes with a Blu-ray that features clips from a concert the group held back in November at Toyosu PIT. The album is also available to purchase on iTunes and listen to on Spotify along with all of M!LK's previous releases. Up until recently, only "Bokura Nari Revolution" was available to us international fans so thank you for thinking of us EBiDAN!

Let's start off with the previously-released songs. The only previously-released song that received a re-recording for this album was "Bokura Nari Revolution" as this one was originally recorded prior to the group's member change. The rest are all just the same as they appeared on the "Over The Storm" single. Even though I wasn't too keen on EBiDAN's decision to add the three new members to M!LK I actually ended up really liking "Over The Storm". The music video isn't much to write home about but the song itself is really catchy and I like the choreography and outfits.

Next we have this album's main song, "My Treasure". I wasn't very fond of this one when the music video came out; I thought it was kinda boring if I'm honest. But its cuteness did kind of grow on me though it still isn't my all-time favourite song or video by them. "Goin' Down" didn't really stand out to me much but it's cute. I got a similar vibe from "It's only LOVE".

Now "Thoroughbred Onzoushi City Boy". That title's a fun one to type out. The first time I heard this one was when they performed it at MEN'S PANIC, a male idol festival in Japan I attended last year. I had no idea what it was called at the time but fell in love with it instantly and was full-on dancing in the audience, haha. I think it's probably my favourite out of the new songs from this album. "Jungle Rhythm" is very catchy and fun and is another one of my favourites.

Upcoming Jpop Boy Group Releases for February 2019

Here are all of the upcoming music releases by Jpop boy groups for the month of February 2019. To have all of the latest releases and news sent straight to your inbox once a month be sure to subscribe to the Dansei Idol Girl e-mail newsletter!

M!LK - Time Capsule

Release: 2019.02.06

Type: Album

Buy on CDJapan

MADKID - RISE

Release: 2019.02.06

Type: Single

Buy on CDJapan

CUBERS - Hajimete no CUBERS

Release: 2019.02.13

Type: Album

Buy on CDJapan

UNIONE - REVIVE

Release: 2019.02.13

Type: Single

Buy on CDJapan

A Look at Foreign and Mixed Male Jpop Idols

Hey there, idol fan! Today's post is a look at foreign or mixed boys in the Japanese idol industry, AKA another post all about me crying over my half idol babies. Why does SOU love half idols so much? A mystery.

But in all serious, having a member who's foreign can definitely add a bit of 'international flavour' to a group and can make the group seen more accessible to fans who aren't Japanese. It could be useful for Japanese people as well, as it could allow them to learn more about different cultures that they otherwise wouldn't come into contact with. Or maybe none of that matters and it's all just for Japanese people who have a foreigner fetish.


But whatever the reason, let's take a look at a few foreign or mixed boys in the Jpop idol industry!

We can't have a post about foreign male Jpop idols without mentioning Marius Yo. Marius is the youngest member of Johnny's Entertainment group Sexy Zone. Not only that but he currently holds the record for being the youngest boy to ever debut from Johnny's and the first boy to debut who isn't fully Japanese. Marius is half-German, a quarter Japanese, and a quarter Chinese and was born and raised in Germany. He moved to Japan to pursue his career as an idol.

Although I don't really follow Johnny's Entertainment anymore, Marius remains a special exception for me. He seems very sweet and down to earth, and his worldly background makes him very 'woke' to a lot of issues. I hope he'll continue to shock us by doing a lot of amazing things that we never would have expected (like when he made a guest appearance on the American sitcom Fuller House).

The next boy that comes to mind is Jean Kaito, lead rapper of EBiDAN group SUPER★DRAGON. Jean is half-Turkish and seemingly speaks Spanish.

Anyone who knows me knows how incredibly biased I am towards Jean. He's not the type of idol I usually tend to like at all, yet his whole "I try to act like a bad boy but am actually a huge dork" vibe just gets to me somehow. I made direct eye contact with him both times that I saw SUPER★DRAGON when I was Japan, but where other idols were really shook to see a black person in the audience, Jean just seemed completely unimpressed with my presence. It was wonderful.

Also from EBiDAN, we have Knight Andrew who is a member of the KiDS group ZeBRA☆STAR. Knight is half-British and speaks English fluently. Interestingly he was actually born in Hong Kong and seems to travel regularly. Queue more bias from me on account of the fact that we're both British. There is also half-American AMEZARI member Jay.

EBiDAN as a whole does seem to have quite a few foreign and mixed members although most of them seem to be in the trainee department (BATTLE BOYS) currently, such as half-American Jeffrey Malone. I hope EBiDAN will end up debuting more of their foreign boys in the near future. Does anyone else remember Dennis?

A group with just one foreign member isn't enough though, right? G=AGE had two. If that statement rings true for you then COLORFUUUL's got you covered. COLORFUUUL boast as being Japan's very first all-foreign male idol group. There have been many changes in lineup since the group was first unveiled but the group is currently scouting for new members. The only member we know of currently is Roma who's from France (and is adorable) but more is sure to be revealed very soon.

Idol Rewind | My Top 5 Jpop Boy Group Releases of 2018

Another year of fangirling done, except this wasn't just any other year. Within EBiDAN specifically there were quite a few sad times with members leaving left and right (check out Angi's post about that here) but we also had some huge accomplishments for our boys like with Bullet Train's MAMA performance. MEN'S PANIC -- a festival just for male idols -- was held for the first time and on a more personal note my lifelong dream of going to Japan finally came true. DA PUMP broke the Oricon charts with an unexpected jam and we also had the debut of Japan's very first all-foreign male idol group. I wonder what 2019 will hold for us? But before we start thinking about that let's take a look back at 2018 with a few of my favourite releases from this year.

 1. SUPER★DRAGON - Monster!

"Monster!" is the 3rd single from SUPER★DRAGON and has to be my favourite of their releases thus far, not just because of the main song but all of the coupling songs are extremely lit. I'm always going on about "Get Treasure Journey" but seriously, if you haven't already do yourself a favor and listen to it.

2. SUPER★DRAGON - SWEET DEVIL

"SWEET DEVIL" is SUPER★DRAGON's 4th single and it had just come out around the time that I was in Japan so the group performed it both times that I saw them live during my trip. Hearing both the main song and the single's coupling tracks brings back great memories of both lives and is a large part of what's made SUPER★DRAGON my favourite group this year (RIP M!LK).

3. MAG!C☆PRINCE - Bel!ever

The main reason I like this one is probably because it's now available internationally on both iTunes and Spotify. All of the songs are jams. Buy the album. Stan Magipri.

MEN'S PANIC 2018 Fan Report | Male Idol Festival in Japan featuring M!LK, SUPER★DRAGON & more

Now, I've been wanting to go to Japan for a while. For almost 10 years actually so you'd imagine I'd have quite a hefty list of things planned for my trip. One thing I definitely wanted to do while I was there was see as many of my favourite male idol groups live as I could o this led me to BOYS NEON LIVE (a monthly event for male idols). While searching their website, I saw that during the month of August (the month I would be in Japan) they would be running an event called MEN'S PANIC and checking the MEN'S PANIC website, I couldn't believe how perfect it was. There was a whole host of male idol groups set to be performing at the event with more and more continously being added. Since we hadn't decided on the exact dates for our trip yet, I then made sure that our holiday would be booked to include the MEN'S PANIC dates.

MEN'S PANIC took place on August 11th (Saturday) and 12th (Sunday) at Makuhari Messe, a huge convetion centre in Chiba. I would've loved to go on both days but the tickets were quite expensive as well as taking into account the fact that I had to buy them via a shopping service before I arrived in Japan and I had to pay for my dad as well so I elected to only attend the Sunday, since M!LK and SUPER★DRAGON were performing on that day.

After arriving at the venue and queuing for a little while, we got into the hall just before 10am which was when the first performance was due to start. The members of some of the lesser-known indie groups like URAGAWA PROJECT and TOONBOYS were waiting by the entrance, eager to give out their flyers (although some of them seemed a little wary of us at first as I assume they wondered whether we could speak Japanese or not). The members of URAGAWA PROJECT were particularly keen; I ended up with about five different copies of their flyer, haha.

We took some time to familliarize ourselves with the set-up of the hall and then we went over to the Platinum Stage which was where the first performance I wanted to see was going to be. 10 o'clock came and then Starmen KiDS came running onto the stage, full of their usual energy. Admittedly I'm not a huge Starmen KiDS fan so I didn't know any of the names of the songs they performed but it was still super cute.

The next performance I wanted to see wasn't until 11:15 so I just hung around by the Platinum Stage after that, watching whichever groups came up next. I saw Milli Melle Holic and Rushx300. During Rushx300's performance there was a girl next to me who literally knew their entire dance routines and was dancing along with the members on stage which I thought was pretty impressive, haha. I really liked one of their songs too but I have no idea what it was called.

After Rushx300's performance, we moved over to the Diamond Stage since M!LK's performance was due to start soon. Zekkou Cho Dan☆LoVe were just finishing up their set then and yet again they had a super catchy song that I have no idea what the name of it was, haha.

There was a few minutes of waiting around then and then M!LK's name appeared on the screen to the sound of hundreds of screaming fangirls. My dad said, "Oh, it's M!LK!" in recognition because they're pretty much the only group I like that he actually remembers, haha. They came out onto the stage then and they opened with a new song that I haven't heard before but I'm still super hyped. I felt the same way as when I saw SUPER★DRAGON for the first time; there's just this special feeling that seeing your favourite Jpop group in person for the first time gives you that I can't really put into words.

After the first song they did their usual introduction. I was probably a bit too energetic joining in with the calls but I was having so much fun, haha. They also asked everyone to join in with the "towel spinning" for the next song.

The next song was "Summer Gamba!!". I didn't have a towel but I joined in with my penlight. They had back-up dancers for this song that came on stage wearing M!LK T-shirts and dancing with pom-poms, much to my dad's confusion. They did that dance -- I don't know the name of it but it's pretty popular right now -- the one that DA PUMP do in the chorus of "U.S.A".

The next song is "Shissou Pendulum" and even though this is normally one of my least favourite M!LK songs there's something exciting about hearing it live. Everyone doing the wotagei routine for the chorus part in unison gave me this weird sense of community almost, as cheesy as that sounds.

The went straight into "Ternero Fighter" then and I'm waving my penlight like mad because this is one of my jams. Everyone (myself included) was so full of energy during the "Ternero, ternero, ternero~" parts. It was during this song though that I became very aware of Haruki's absense. There's that part in the song where each of the members call out their names so they had to do it in a different order since Haruki's not around anymore and I think it was slightly confusing for them as well as the fans, haha.

Sh*tty Noise | My Top 5 SUPER★DRAGON Songs

Hey there, idol fans! If you're in need of some Jpop recommendations then check out my top 5 songs by this month's featured group, SUPER★DRAGON.

1. Get Treasure Journey

This song is an absolute gem. Incorporating the group's usual rap and dubstep-inspired sound with a surprising raggae/dancehall influence, even my dad who has always questioned my interest in Japanese music approves of this song, haha. "Get Treasure Journey" is one of the coupling songs from the group's 3rd single, "Monster!". As much as I love Jean, I feel like some of Supadora songs just don't really fit him very well and the writers are just kind of looking for a place in the song to shove him in just because he's the lead rapper but this is not one of those songs. This song fits him and his voice extremely well in my opinion.

2. City Noise

Another one of the coupling songs from "Monster!", I was in awe the first time I heard "City Noise". It's so modern-sounding and unbelievably catchy that I feel like even people who aren't really into Jpop will like this one. I can't help but giggle a bit though at how Hyoma pronounces "city" as "sh*tty".

3. Ringing, Love

One of the coupling songs from SUPER★DRAGON's most recent single "SWEET DEVIL", I fell in love with "Ringing, Love" instantly the first time I heard it when I attended the SWEET DEVIL Release Event in Chiba. We all know that Tsuyoshi has a gorgeous voice but hearing him sing the "I love you so bad" lines in English in this song gets me every time.

SUPER★DRAGON "SWEET DEVIL" Release Event in Chiba Fan Report | Dansei Idol Girl

Luckily enough for me, while I was in Japan SUPER★DRAGON (this month's featured group) were still in the process of doing their free live tour to promote the release of their newest single, "SWEET DEVIL". So with a lot of confusion and limited Japanese, my dad and I travelled down to Chiba for the day to catch their final performance of the tour.

 
The live took place in Seven Park Ario, a large shopping mall in Kashiwa. Thankfully there was a bus from Kashiwa Station that stopped directly outside the venue so we managed to get there without too many problems. When we actually got inside the venue though was when I had to properly break out my rusty Japanese for the first time on our trip (other than saying the odd word to people on the street giving us directions and the like) because we had trouble finding the stage so we ended up having to ask a group of giggly young girls holding SUPER★DRAGON uchiwas the way and they told us in a mix of Japanese and English.

Once we found the stage there was still a while before the live was due to start and on our search we'd noticed that there was a TOWER RECORDS inside the shopping mall so we decided to check that out in the meantime. In there I found a copy of the event edition of M!LK's "Ousama no Gyuunyuu" which I've been after for a while so of course I bought it.

We wandered around the mall for a bit more after that and it was then that I started to wonder where everyone had gotten the SUPER★DRAGON uchiwas from. I really wanted one as I thought it would be a great way to remember the event so I asked a couple of fans who were standing nearby and they explained that if we'd have gotten there early enough and bought a copy of "SWEET DEVIL" then we would've gotten a special ticket with it which could have been exchanged for either a picture with the group or an uchiwa. I was a little disappointed we hadn't gotten there in time but I was happy I'd managed to purchase M!LK's album at least and I still had the live to look forward to.

It was almost time for the live to start then so we went outside to the stage. People who had certain ticket numbers were allowed to go closer to the front but since I didn't have a ticket I was near the back but it wasn't overly packed so my view wasn't too bad. I felt sorry for the girl next to me though because she was smaller than me and could barely see so she had to keep jumping all through the live! My dad wandered off to sit on a wall nearby because it was hot, haha.

After an announcement from the staff, the live started and SUPER★DRAGON came running onto the stage to the sound of screaming fangirls. I think Jean was the first member I noticed and I swooned a little when I saw him. He's had blonde hair recently but it was back to brown now which I think suits him better and he had earrings in. He looked so handsome ;-;

An Introduction to SUPER★DRAGON | Group of the Month August 2018

Hey there, idol fans! Welcome to our third edition of Group of the Month. This month's featured group is none other than SUPER★DRAGON! If you missed it, check out last month's group -- M!LK -- here and to be the first to know about next month's group as well as all of the latest news in the world of Jpop boy groups be sure to subscribe to the Dansei Idol Girl newsletter. Feel free to let me know in the comments any groups you'd like to be featured in upcoming months but without further ado, let's get started!

SUPER★DRAGON (also called "Supadora" for short) is a 9-member EBiDAN group that made their performance debut in 2015 with the song "Hack My Choice". Their CD debut though, wasn't until 2016 with the single "Pendulum Beat!", the title track being used as the opening song for the anime "Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V". The group was based around the concept of a fusion between rock, dubstep, and rap and influence from these genres and more can be found in their music. The group is split up into two subgroups; FIRE DRAGON which is the four oldest members and THUNDER DRAGON which is the five youngest members.

"BAD BOY", the first music video the group released.

Members

 

FIRE DRAGON

 

 

Shimura Reo

Date of Birth: January 29th 1999

Hometown: Tokyo

Extras:

• The oldest member but is very loud and likes to mess around. He often gets told off by those younger than him, haha.
• The best dancer in the group.
• Probably gets picked on the most by the other members.

Furukawa Tsuyoshi

Date of Birth: February 27th 2000

Hometown: Tokyo

Extras:

• The lead singer of the group. In the group's earlier songs he was the only one who sang any solo lines.
• He's the best singer in the group and probably one of the best singers in the whole of EBiDAN too.
• Takes performing very seriously. Sometimes his voice can sound a little strained in concerts because he's probably pushing himself a bit too hard, bless him!

Jean Kaito

Date of Birth: May 4th 2000

Hometown: Tokyo

Extras:

• The main rapper of the group. He has a very cool, bad boy kind of vibe to him.
• He's half-Turkish.
• He has a very unusual (and pretty weird if I'm honest) fashion sense. No-one really understands his fashion choices apart from him, haha.

Upcoming Jpop Boy Group Releases for August 2018

Here are all of the upcoming music releases by Jpop boy groups for the month of August 2018. To have all of the latest releases and news sent straight to your inbox once a month be sure to subscribe to the Dansei Idol Girl e-mail newsletter!

SUPER★DRAGON - SWEET DEVIL

Release: 2018.08.01

Type: Single

Buy on CDJapan

Choutokkyuu - Jesus

Release: 2018.08.08

Type: Single

Buy on CDJapan

Da-iCE - BET

Release: 2018.08.08

Type: Album

Buy on CDJapan

My Top 5 Most Handsome Jpop Boys

Hi all! Partially inspired by the video below (you should also check out this person's other videos; they've made a few good ones about Jpop and Kpop and the differences between how the two genres are perceived overseas) I thought I'd put together a list of my top 5 most handsome Jpop boys.

This list is of course my own opinion so if you disagree feel free to let me know in the comments or make your own list! I'm sure most of you know I love me some cute idol boys too so I'll probably do a seperate post at some point about my top 5 cute Jpop boys. But anyway, let's get started!

5) Fujita Mahiro from MAGiC BOYZ

I hate to admit it but back when Mahiro was just the DJ of MAGiC BOYZ I didn't pay much attention to him. He wore those big glasses all the time too so regretfully I didn't really notice his looks either but now I definitely think he's the most handsome (and talented!) member of Majibo. I often find myself spamming "Mahiro is so cool!" in the comment section of Majibo's videos, haha. That face just gets to me!

4) Ogasawara Kai from Bullet Train

 I think very few people would disagree with this decision. Kai has a very attractive and somewhat mysterious face. He's often praised for looking like an anime character and I would definitely agree, especially when he has his hair dyed blonde. 

Upcoming Jpop Boy Group Releases for January 2018

Best GENERATION on CDJapan

Release Date: 2018/01/01

What better way to kick off 2018 then with this best album by GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE? Check out the music video for "BIG CITY RODEO" above.

FLASH on CDJapan

 Release Date: 2018/01/09

On the 9th, Nine Stars - (formerly known as Kyushu Boys) younger brother group to MAG!C☆PRINCE - will release their debut single "FLASH".

Tokyo Merry Go Round on CDJapan

Release Date: 2018/01/17

On the 17th, Da-iCE will release their 13th single "Tokyo Merry Go Round". The single also includes the coupling track "Waruguchi" which was used as the theme song for the drama Hana ni Kedamono.

Epic Quest on CDJapan
Release Date: 2018/01/23

Otaku male idol group Shin Seiki EPIC STAR Kami will release their first physical single on the 23rd titled "Epic Quest".

BATTLE BOYS Bias | 5 Members You Should Vote For

Hello all, I’m back on another EBiDAN high (pun unintended) so expect a lot of EBiDAN posts over the coming weeks. Today the spotlight’s back on BATTLE BOYS, specifically my favourite members that you should totally vote for ok. But before we get started, let’s check out the current ranking over on the BATTLE BOYS website.

1. Nagano Ryota
2. Yamanaka Juutaro
3. Miyamoto Ryunosuke
4. Ishii Masaya
5. Muto Jun

I knew Ryota was pretty popular but I was surprised that he was popular enough to overtake Juutaro for the number 1 spot, considering Juutaro is older and how handsome and cool he is! I’m happy though since I do like Ryota a lot. I’m a little disappointed that Masaya has fallen from the top 3 but at least he’s still in the top 5. I do like Ryunosuke, but Jun I don’t know much about.

Meanwhile my baby Sora has fallen even further down from 6th to 9th place, and my ichiban Jeffrey is all the way down in 16th! Also Yamashita Yue seems to rising slowly up the ranking. Hopefully this post will persuade more people to show them some love, haha. Also be sure to check out this post from the lovely tanoshimitiger if you want a more general introduction to all of the BATTLE BOYS members.

Jeffrey Malone

 

I really don’t know how to persuade you to vote for Jeffrey because when I try to talk about his good points it just ends up sounding more like I’m insulting him, haha. His dancing is terrible and he’s a huge dork but that’s what makes him loveable. As you can probably tell by the name and the way he looks, he’s not fully Japanese. He’s half-American on his dad’s side and seems to speak a decent amount of English. I wish he’d shown off his English skills a bit in his introduction video; he usually does introduce himself in English durng events. I guarantee if you pay attention to Jeffrey he’ll make you laugh; if not from his awkward dancing and cringey English lines then from his messing around and failing at trying to be cool. All jokes aside, he is a talented boy and does have a lot of cool points. Just check out his special skill in the video above!

My Top 5 non-Johnny's Entertainment Jpop Boy Groups (Update 2017)

When I was on break from blogging, I found myself nosing around my old blog for a bit of inspiration. While reading one of my personal favourite posts from that blog - my top 5 non-JE boy groups post - I realized that my list had changed somewhat. Be it due to groups disbanding, me discovering new groups, or just simply developing more passion for the groups I already knew and loved. So without further ado, here is my 2017 update of my top 5 favourite Japanese boybands outside of Johnny's Entertainment! These are of course my favourite groups and not neccessarily the "best" groups so be prepared for a lot of personal bias, haha.

5. X.E.N.O. Project 

 

X.E.N.O. Project are a 4-member indie group that debuted earlier this year. They haven't released any CDs yet, but they're actively doing performances around Japan and have a few dance practices up on their YouTube channel.

The reason why I became interested in X.E.N.O. in the first place was because I was a huge fan of the group G=AGE and all 4 members of X.E.N.O. used to be members of G=AGE's trainee unit, G-BOY'S. I looked them up out of curiously and although their videos and singing aren't that great, their songs are all pretty catchy and I ended up falling in love with all of the members.

My Ichiban: Tsukasa #ThirstyForTsukasaSquad
My Favourite Song: Shake It! BOUNCE

4. Choutokkyu 

 

If you're into Jpop boy groups then I'm sure you know Choutokkyu. Also known as Bullet Train, they are a 7-member group from EBiDAN made up of 5 "front dancers" and 2 "back vocalists". They have a very upbeat, colourful, and slightly over-the-top image.

Choutokkyu was one of the first groups I discovered and while I'm not as big a fan of them as I used to be, they still hold a special place in my heart for that reason. They're a reasonably accessible group for new fans, their songs are catchy as heck, and their fans tend to be absolutely bonkers (in a good way!).

My Ichiban: Kai (blue)
My Favourite Song: Battaman

SUPER★DRAGON Member Ranking | EBiDAN Member Ranking Week 3

Now we're on week 3 of the EBiDAN collab and this time it was my turn to choose the group again so I chose SUPER★DRAGON! Ranking the members was pretty hard to do since they're such a big group and I love them all so much. But anyway, here it is and I hope you enjoy it~

EBiDAN's International Members

I recently renewed my subscription to Stardust Channel because I missed being able to watch EBiDAN concerts. I couldn't have picked a better time because EBiDAN THE LIVE was actually livestreaming on there yesterday and I managed to catch some of it! I really enjoyed what I saw and can't wait to see the full thing but I'll hopefully talk about EBiDAN THE LIVE more in another blog post.

For the last week or so I've been catching up on videos on Stardust Channel that I'd missed or hadn't watched since I temporarily cancelled my subscription. One such video was the recording of Hoshio Matsuri 2015, a concert for the EBiDAN 39&KiDS members. One particular part of that concert I found interesting was a short corner where some of the international members were interviewed. It was very cute. The members spoke in their native languages (mostly English), answering questions such as where their parents were from and what kind of things they associate with Japan.

Inspired by this and also my recent interest in the 39&KiDS units ZeBRA☆STAR and AMEZARI -RED STARS- which both contain foreign members, I thought I'd put together a general introduction post to EBiDAN's international members for anyone else who might be interested.

Jpop Boy Groups According to My (ex) Boyfriend

After showing some of my favourite Jpop boy groups to my boyfriend, I found he had some pretty hilarious reactions. Some groups (and particular members) he admitted were pretty good, while others he couldn't stand (what did Jean Kaito ever do to you?).  So I decided to compile some of his funniest reactions to a few of my favourite groups into this post. I may make a part 2 at some point with some different groups.

G=AGE

So first of all, let's start with my favourite group, G=AGE. He didn't like them at all. When I asked him why, he couldn't give me a good reason though. He then proceeded to give each of the members nicknames.

FUMITO: Girly Face/The Frickle Frackler
VASA: Mr. Fabulous
MAHIRO: To quote him, "I can't insult this one, he has a puffer fish face."
TASY: Weird/Creepy Chin
ROI: Pig-Nosed Monkey

He also commented that they looked like mannequins and he couldn't stop laughing at how VASA (or "Mr. Fabulous") would always appear at different times in the "Age of Future" music video with the same deadpan expression. He finds TASY creepy and really doesn't like FUMITO for some reason; he wouldn't stop making fun of his hand movements and facial expressions in the music video.

M!LK

Much to my surprise, he actually liked them. He didn't have much to say about them other than, "Terunero terunero terunero~" but the members were all lucky enough to recieve nicknames from him as well.

Haruki - Panda Boy (because of the panda he wears on his jacket in the "Shingakki a la Carte" music video)
Mizuki & Daichi - The Fabulous Twins (I have no idea)
Hayato - Guinea Pig Face
Jinto - Creepy Door Guy (because of the scene in the "Kanzen SSD" music video where he shuts himself in the shower)

He laughed a lot at Jinto's dance moves in "Kanzen SSD". According to him, "SSD" stands for "super small d***". He also found this part in the "Ternero Fighter" music video rather amusing. His exact words were, "He (referring to Mizuki) looks like he's enjoying that."

MAG!C☆PRINCE

He liked them too. For a while he was confused between them and M!LK so he referred to them as "Magic Milk". As far as he was concerned, Kengo was a girl. No matter how many times I said they're all boys, he still referred to Kengo as "the one girl in the group". For some reason Hikaru reminded him of Michael Jackson and Taishin was given the nickname "The Suspicious Spot" because of the mole on his cheek.

SUPER★DRAGON

SUPER DRAGON was the one group he hated more than G=AGE. He said it was because they try too hard. The first video I showed him was the music video for "Bad Boy" and to quote him, "Are they going to say anything else in this song besides 'bad boy'?!" I then showed him "Pendulum Beat!" which he wasn't fond of either and finally "Wacha-Gacha!". He said he liked this song and how crazy the music video was.

I showed him a few live videos as well and he admitted that Tsuyoshi was a good singer but he said that whenever Jean started singing he just ruined it. No matter what video or picture I showed him from then on he just kept ripping into Jean and calling him names. When I asked him why he didn't like Jean he said he just didn't. Being mean to my baby Jean-Jean T_T

He said Reo looked like he was too old to be in the group, he thought Hayate was cool because he had a cool name and a "samurai glare", and he thought all of the younger members looked like little girls.



My boyfriend is lovely and I'm so lucky to have someone who's interested in learning about things that I like, even if he does make a lot of sarcastic comments, haha. If you'd like to see his reactions to any other groups then feel free to comment below!

Introduction to EBiDAN

One of the main purposes of this blog is to shed light on Jpop boy groups outside of Johnny's Entertainment. One of the most popular agencies besides JE that produces a lot of boy groups in Japan (and also my personal favourite) is EBiDAN. I actually prefer EBiDAN to JE in a lot of ways as I feel like they're much more accessible to overseas fans (and fans in general) and they just have a lot more groups that appeal to me personally. The only downside really is that EBiDAN isn't as popular overseas so it can be hard for new fans to find information in English and other languages.

Nonetheless, I think that EBiDAN is a great agency to get interested in if you're someone like me who likes JE a lot but often gets frustrated at how difficult it can be to be a fan of its groups when you don't live in Japan. So I've put together a general introduction post. If, after reading this post, you've become interested in any of the groups and would like to know more about them then feel free to contact me. Also, stay tuned as I plan to make a few more in-depth posts about certain groups. I'm mainly interested in the younger EBiDAN groups though (cute idol boys are my weakness, haha) so I might not be able to give you much information on groups like PrizmaX and DISH//.

Ebisu Gakuen Danji-bu (EBiDAN for short) is an entertainment school for male idols that was formed in 2010. Like Johnny's Entertainment; EBiDAN consists of singers, dancers, and actors. It is associated with the agency, Stardust Promotion (You may know Stardust as the company that manages the female idol group, Momoiro Clover Z). For more information on EBiDAN's overall history then you can check out this post.

Current Groups

 PrizmaX

PrizmaX were actually active as a group since 2002 but were added to EBiDAN in 2010. They made their CD debut in 2013 with the single, "Mysterious Eyes / Go!". The lineup of the group has changed several times since their debut but the current members are vocalists Tim Kurokawa and Win Morisaki, rapper Shimizu Daiki, and dancers Fukumoto Yuki and Shimada Tsubasa. The interesting thing about PrizmaX is that a lot of their earlier songs are in English as both of the vocalists are hafus. Tim is from the US and Win is from Myanmar. 

DISH//

DISH// were one of the first groups to actually debut from EBiDAN. They debuted at the same event as Chotokkyu in 2012 with the indie single, "It's alright". Their music is in more of a rock style and they do actually play their instruments but they dance while performing on stage. Their major label debut was in 2013 with the single, "I Can Hear". They are so far the only EBiDAN group that isn't under the Stardust Music Label; they are represented by Sony Music Records. The members are vocalist and guitarist TAKUMI, back-up vocalist and guitarist MASAKI, bass guitarist and rapper RYUJI, DJ and rapper To-i, and drummer DAICHI.

Chotokkyu

Also known as Bullet Train, Chotokkyu made their debut in 2012 with the single, "TRAIN". They are probably the most popular EBiDAN group overseas. Each of the members of Chotokkyu have a colour that represents them; Koichi - black, Kai - blue, Ryoga - purple, Takuya - green, Yuki - red, Yusuke - yellow, and Takashi - white. Koichi and Takashi are the singers of the group, the rest are dancers. I love Chotokkyu for the somewhat crazy style to a lot of their songs. All of their songs are available to purchase on iTunes (even outside of Japan!).

Sakura Shimeji

Sakura Shimeji are a duo who made their CD debut in 2015 with the single, "Ikujinashi / Kino no Yume". The members are Takata Hyouga and Tanaka Gaku. Both of them sing and play the guitar. Hyouga also plays the tambourine. All of their songs are available on iTunes as well.

MAGiC BOYZ

Now for probably the most er...unique EBiDAN group. MAGiC BOYZ (sometimes called Majibo for short) are a "rap" group who also made their debut in 2015 with the single, "MAGiC SPELL ~Kake Chau Zo Pippippi~". The lineup has changed quite a lot over the years but the current members are MCs Ryuto, Touma, and Mahiro, and DJ Joe. Some of their older songs are available to purchase on iTunes. A lot of Majibo's songs are actually quite catchy, it's just that the members themselves are pretty awkward and don't really fit well with the group's concept in my opinion.

M!LK

Now for my personal favourite group! M!LK made their CD debut also in 2015 with the single, "Coffee ga Nomemasen". The title track was used as the ending song for the anime, "Pankisu!". I'm totally not extremely bitter about the fact that M!LK are the only 39&KiDS unit whose songs aren't available on iTunes outside of Japan, nope. M!LK is a group with a very cute image and all of their songs are super upbeat and catchy so if you're into groups like that then definitely check them out! The members are Sano Hayato (pink), Itagaki Mizuki (orange), Yamazaki Haruki (green), Shiozaki Daichi (blue), and Yoshida Jinto (yellow).

 SUPER★DRAGON

SUPER★DRAGON's first widely available single was "Pendulum Beat!" which was released in 2016. The title track was used as the opening song for the anime, "Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V". SUPER★DRAGON have a more cool, bad boy kind of image (which I find kind of funny sometimes because members like Raku for example are way too adorable to pull off that kind of image) and their music tends to have a lot of rapping and dubstep-like sounds. The group is split up into two subgroups; FIRE DRAGON - which is made up of the four oldest members - Reo, Tsuyoshi, Jean, and Hayate and THUNDER DRAGON - which is the five youngest members - Sougo, Koki, Hyoma, Tomoya, and Raku. Tsuyoshi is the main singer of the group, Jean mostly raps, while the other members mostly just dance but this sometimes changes depending on the song. Also Jean is half-Turkish. All of their songs so far are available on iTunes.

EBiDAN 39&KiDS

As well as the debuted groups, EBiDAN also has its own trainee members similar to Johnny's Jr. in JE, known as EBiDAN 39&KiDS. EBiDAN 39 (pronounced 'sankyuu') are the older trainees while EBiDAN KiDS are generally the under-13s. Sakura Shimeji, MAGiC BOYZ, M!LK, and SUPER★DRAGON all started out as 39&KiDS units so a lot of the time they will still appear in the 39&KiDS live events and TV shows. EBiDAN 39&KiDS has six different locations; Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Sendai, Okinawa, and Fukuoka. There is also EBiDAN THE STREET for groups that mainly focus on performing street lives.



If you're interested in any of these groups, you can head on over to Stardust's official YouTube channel to check out their music videos and other cool videos. Also if you'd like to watch any of their concerts or EBiDAN's weekly TV shows, they can be found on Stardust Channel. If you'd like any more information then feel free to comment below!