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~

Marius Yo in an American Sitcom? | Plus General Rantings About Sexy Zone and JE

This is my first time posting about a Johnny's Entertainment group on here and I'm a little late with this news since it was announced almost a week ago but nonetheless I wanted to talk a little about the recent announcement that Sexy Zone member Marius Yo will be appearing in an episode of Fuller House.

Sexy Zone was the first Japanese boy group that I became interested in, actually. I discovered them while watching J-MELO (an international TV show about Japanese music). This was around the time that their second single, "Lady Diamond" was released and a short clip of it was shown during J-MELO's new releases segment.

Jpop Boy Groups Performing Overseas? | MyMusicTaste

It's that time of year again. The two biggest Jpop-related events in Europe (namely Japan Expo and Hyper Japan) are over and Hyper Japan in particular have released their feedback forms, which means it's time for me to spam them with requests to get male idol groups to perform next year. They must love me. Every year I beg for Da-iCE, Bullet Train, BOYS AND MEN, and whichever other groups I think might have the tiniest chance of performing overseas even though I know it's futile. If you'd like to aid me in my spam and maybe make the smallest bit of difference then you can find their feedback form here.

We've literally...never had a boy group at Hyper Japan and I'm very salty about it. The closest we had was THE HOOPERS last year (which was pretty awesome by the way). This year Japan Expo in France was lucky enough to see a performance from BREAK☆THROUGH"5D, and for the past two years FanimeCon in America have managed to secure two different boy groups (namely Da-iCE and X4) as their guests of honor.

 

EBiSSH Member Ranking | EBiDAN Member Ranking Week 2

Wow, we're already on our 2nd week of our EBiDAN ranking series! This week it was Angi's turn to choose which group we did and she chose EBiSSH. I didn't know very much about EBiSSH beforehand - I only really knew that one of the members, Naoya was Takuya from Bullet Train's younger brother - so this gave me a great opportunity to get to know them a little better.

This post might be a little shorter than my M!LK post last week since I'm still getting to know EBiSSH and haven't been a fan of theirs as long as I have been of M!LK but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless! Here's my ranking of the members of the group EBiSSH.

Hot Singing Anime Boys | An Introduction to Virtual Male Idols Part 1

As with most people, my introduction to the world of Jpop was through anime. While I don’t watch anime as much as I once did, there are a few series I make time for on occasion. I’m also quite into otome games (anime-style romance games for girls). So of course, as a huge male idol fan one of my favourite genres in both of these areas is - you guessed it - male idols. While real male idols are where my heart mostly lies, that doesn’t mean I can’t love 2D ones too! Here’s a little guide I put together of anime and games I enjoy that have a focus on male idols.

M!LK Member Ranking | EBiDAN Member Ranking Week 1

Hello all! Today I'll be sharing with you my personal ranking of the members of M!LK; from my favourite to my least favourite (but of course I love all the members!). I hope you enjoy it and it helps you to get to know the members a little better.

This is a collab with the lovely Angi from It's All About JMusic so be sure to check out her post as well! We'll each be doing our own ranking of the members from a different EBiDAN group every week. On this first week I got to pick which group we did so of course I chose my favourite group, M!LK. Now, let's get started! 

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.

#ThirstyForTsukasaSquad | More X.E.N.O. Project

A lot of people have expressed an interest in X.E.N.O. Project and I also have gotten quite into them myself recently, so I thought it high time I make another post about them! Since my last post about them they've released a few new videos including their very first music video, "Love Like Dynamite".

To be honest I wasn't entirely sure at first that this was supposed to be an MV because of how simple it is. All it really shows is the members dancing with different closeups. But they are quite new and I'm pretty sure they're an indie group as well so hopefully their MVs will get better with time.

Some of the camera angles looked a bit awkward and some of the members aren't the best at singing and dancing but I still like it a lot. The song is really catchy. I like all of the outfits apart from Takuya's. That shirt and hat look kinda weird on him, haha. Or maybe it's just me.

Probably my favourite part of the video:

The gif doesn't do it justice. Please tell me I'm not the only one who's hella thirsty for Tsukasa.

Also, did I mishear that or did Takuya just tell me to take off my clothes?

They also uploaded a dance version of this song. I like the choreography a lot!

Here's a video they posted showing the members rehearsing for their debut live that will be held later this month:

Some highlights from the video:

A cute little Takanori to brighten your day.

Takuya getting revenge for the time that Tsukasa did this to him. Featuring Takanori in the background looking at his stomach in the mirror for some reason. I have no idea what's happening here but Tsukasa doesn't look like he's enjoying it.

Sorry, Takanori. It doesn't look like anyone has any sympathy for you.

He will be missed. Just not by his groupmates apparently.

When you go in for the kiss...

But bae isn't having it.

 

Looks like I'm not the only one who's thirsty for Tsukasa.Takuya, please leave Tsukasa alone. He doesn't look like he's into you.

The great Kazama gives us his autograph.

I don't know about you guys but I think Tsukasa looks even more handsome than usual here. Takanori looks so done.

Finally, here's their dance practice for "YOU'RE SO GOLD":

What do you think of the songs X.E.N.O. have released so far? Is there a particular member who's caught your interest yet? Let me know down below and don't forget to follow my blog to become a member of the #ThirstyForTsukasaSquad.

Upcoming Jpop Boy Group Releases for August 2017

Traffic Light. - Perfect World / GEEKDOM

 Release Date: 2017/08/02 

Traffic Light. - a subunit of a certain boy group who got a lot of attention earlier this year for a music video that involved a lot of kissing - will be releasing an EP this August; a double A-side called "Perfect World / GEEKDOM". "Perfect World" was used as the ending theme for the anime "Digimon Universe: Appli Monsters" while "GEEKDOM" was used as the ending theme for the TV drama "Kaiju Club ~Fantasy Tokusatsu Live Action~".

BOYS AND MEN - Ho wo Agero!

Release Date: 2017/08/02

On the same day, BOYS AND MEN will release a new single called "Ho wo Agero!".

MATSURI nine. - Aa, Yume Mikoshi

Release Date: 2017/08/09

Younger brother group of BOYS AND MEN, MATSURI nine. will also be releasing a new single. A week after their senpais, they'll be bringing their debut single, "Aa, Yume Mikoshi".

THE HOOPERS - SHAMROCK

Release Date: 2017/08/09

Handsome girl group, THE HOOPERS will be releasing their 7th single, "SHAMROCK" on the same day.

Sakura Shimeji - Ayama Rhythm 

Release Date: 2017/08/23

Towards the end of the month, EBiDAN duo Sakura Shimeji will release their 5th single, "Ayama Rhythm". The title track was used as the opening song for the anime "Tomica Hyper Rescue Drive Head".

Da-iCE - Kimi Iro

Release Date: 2017/08/30

Finally, fan-favourite group Da-iCE will release their 12th single, "Kimi Iro".

Do you plan to buy any of these releases? Which one is your favourite? Let me know down below!

P.S. I'm now on Bloglovin'! Give me a follow if you like: 

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All Foreign Male Idol Group?! | Guyjin48

Foreign members of Japanese idol groups aren't an uncommon occurence. From Marius Yo in Sexy Zone to amina du Jean, it's been proven that both Japanese and foreign fans alike can see the appeal of a "gaijin" member in the group. For non-Japanese fans it can be a way to feel more connected to the group because well, when you're a fan of a group who live miles away and probably have no idea that they even have fans in your country, you take what you can get.

While groups with one or two foreign members aren't unusual, this new male idol group boast as being the very first group of its kind in Japan to be made up solely of foreigners.

 

Guyjin48 is an up-and-coming male idol unit currently consisting of members studying in Japan, originally hailing from countries such as China, Venezuela, America, Korea, and the Philippines. The group's aim is to further bridge the gap between the Japanese and the foreign community living in Japan by introducing different cultures and also creating an environment that will allow foreign students to eventually stay and work in Japan.

The group has yet to make their debut and is still looking for members but I think I'm in love with them already! I think the group's name is quite clever and cute too. 'Guyjin' is a pun on the English 'guy' and the Japanese word 'gaijin' meaning foreigner, and the '48' obviously comes from the hugely popular female idol group, AKB48. If you're a male foreigner studying in Japan and you're interested in becoming an idol then why not apply for this unusual group? You can do so here.

What do you think of Guyjin48? Are you going to apply? Would you become an idol in Japan if you could? Let me know in the comments!

Links:
Website
Twitter
Facebook
Blog

Everyone is Fabulous! | Jpop Boy Groups According to My (ex) Boyfriend Part 2

Here I am again, torturing my boyfriend with handsome Japanese men who he has an unjustified amount of hatred for. Hope you enjoy his suffering, haha.

chotokkyu (Bullet Train)

The "giving the members weird nicknames" trend seems to have returned. Here are a few of them:

Ryouga - Weird Face

Kai - The Villian (Apparently his white hair made him look like an anime villian)

Takuya - Weird...hair...eyebrows

Yuki - The Overly-Photoshopped Girl

Yusuke - Fabulous No-Rules

I showed him a video of them performing "Battaman" live and I think it's pretty safe to say that Yusuke is his favourite member.

X.E.N.O. Project

Now there's another boy group member to add to the list of people my boyfriend doesn't like. He really, really doesn't like Tsukasa for some reason, haha. When I asked him why the only reason he could give me was "Because he reminds of me Jean". He still can't tell me why he hates Jean so much either. Tsukasa also kind of reminds me of Fumito (from G=AGE) who - surprise - my boyfriend also doesn't like. Anyway, I showed him their dance video for "YOU'RE SO GOLD".

He was unimpressed with Tsukasa's backflip (how??) and all he really commented on was how squeaky their shoes were against the floor and the brightness of Takanori's hair. He also made fun of Takuya's facial expressions a lot. Why does he always make fun of my favourites? T^T

BOYS AND MEN

 I showed him the "Boimen ~B.M.C.A.~" video because I thought he'd have some pretty great reactions to it. Although, he just ended up pausing the video in random places and laughing at their facial expressions. I made this one his desktop background because I'm pretty sure Yukihisa is now his favourite member.

Seriously, just do yourself a favor and keep your eyes on Yukihisa throughout the video.

Da-iCE

Finally, we'll end on a group that he actually enjoyed and didn't spend the whole time making fun of. I showed him the music video for "Splash" and he admitted that the song was good and the members were talented. He made fun of how high Souta's voice was a little though, haha.

Bonus: Yoshida Jinto

We ended up watching some of the Fit's Gumi commercials. If you don't know, Fit's are a brand of Japanese chewing gum and since the beginning of this year they've been airing these commercials that star various celebrities as high school students including the members of M!LK. He really got a good laugh out of watching Jinto's dancing. He said it was how serious his face was when the dance routines were so cutesy and upbeat. When I told him it was the same guy from M!LK, he didn't recognize him. He found this video particularly amusing.

A Guide to Buying Male Idol Goods for Overseas Fans

I think it's pretty easy these days to buy Japanese CDs if you don't live in Japan. There are lots of websites like CDJapan and HMV Japan that take their foreign customers into account by having an English version of their website, multiple different payment options, and of course international shipping. However, it might be a little more tricky to buy less common merchandise (such as concert goods and very limited items) especially if you don't speak Japanese so I've put together a kind of guide/list of resources I've used and personally had good experiences with. This guide mainly focuses on male idol merchandise as that's my main interest but most things can probably be applied to any Japanese artist.

Where to Buy

The Artist's Official Store
The most obvious place to buy goods from is the artist's own website. Of course this is the best place to buy from if you want to support the artist but it has some draw backs (such as price, older items no longer being available etc.).

Surugaya
Surugaya is a store where you can buy secondhand anime, idol etc. merchandise. Their selection of items isn't the biggest but it's constantly changing so if you check the website regularly you may occasionally get lucky and find some items you want. Items on Surugaya tend to be super cheap and they've been good quality in my experience. Their shipping is often free too (within Japan). My only issue with them is that they often take several weeks to ship out your items.

Mercari Japan
Mercari is an online auction site (there is also an English version of the Mercari site so make sure you're using the Japanese version). It's quite common for people to sell their unwanted idol merchandise here for good prices so be sure to search for your favourite groups regularly! Note that most sellers on Mercari don't appreciate people purchasing items outright without commenting first so if you do this they'll likely cancel your order.

Yahoo Auction Japan
Yahoo Auction Japan is the same story as Mercari, really. YAJ might be easier to purchase from though as it has its own official proxy service (Buyee). 
 
A list of keywords you can use when searching for items:

• Badge - 缶バッチ 
• Bromide - ブロマイド
• Eco bag / bag - エコバッグ / バッグ 
• Event edition - イベント版
• Goods -グッズ 
• Keychain - キーホルダー 
• Penlight - ペンライト
• Poster - ポスター
• T-shirt - Tシャツ
• Trading Card - トレカ
• Set - セット
• Uchiwa - うちわ

How to Buy
Now that you've chosen your items, here are a couple of ways you can purchase them.

Tenso
When I first discovered Tenso it was a life-saver. Tenso is a website that gives you a Japanese address that you can use to purchase from stores that only ship within Japan. When purchasing the item, you input the address of their warehouse (as well as the unique member ID that they give you) and the item will be shipped to them. Once they receive it you pay a small free and they send it to you.

Proxy Services
The one problem I had with Tenso is that some Japanese websites don't accept foreign credit cards or have the option to pay with PayPal. It's all well and good having a Japanese address until you can't actually pay for the items to be shipped there in the first place, haha. For websites that have this issue I use a proxy service. They work the same as Tenso pretty much expect proxy services will actually make the order for you so they might be a better alternate if you don't speak Japanese. My personal favourite proxy service is From Japan but some others I've used and had no problems with include Buyee and Japonica Market. 


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From G to X: New group X.E.N.O. Project, "Offspring" of G-BOY'S

Since G=AGE disbanded, a lot of its former members (and members of its trainee unit, G-BOY'S) have been popping up on social media. Mostly the boys have just been opening these accounts to keep in contact with their fans as they seemingly haven't been involved with the entertainment world much (save for Sho who is now an actor and Takumi who's a model) but last month probably the most interesting thing to happen so far occurred.

 

On May 13th a brand new Twitter account and website were unveiled. It seems that former G-BOY'S members Takuya, Takanori, Tsukasa, and Kazuma are now part of a new group called X.E.NO. Project. 

X.E.N.O. (pronounced 'zeno') stands for X-Factor, Element, Next, Offspring and while the group still have yet to debut, their first live is set to be held on August 13th. They also have a live show called "X.E.N.O. no Wakusei" that airs every Saturday at 2pm (UK time) which you can watch here.

Members

Ezoe Takanori

Birthday: 1998/05/13

Height: 176cm

Weight: 60kg

Blood Type: A

Takanori was the leader of G-BOY'S and now he's the leader of X.E.N.O. Project. Apparently he's very fond of miso soup. 

Twitter

 

Taguchi Tsukasa

Birthday: 1997/04/09

Height: 166cm

Weight: 52kg

Blood Type: AB

Tsukasa is definitely the most ikemen in the group in my opinion. He is usually the MC in their live shows. He has a lot of piercings. He's also a former actor and member of EBiDAN.

Twitter

Instagram

Tsukimisato Kazuma

Birthday: 2001/07/31

Height: 168cm

Weight: 48kg

Blood Type: A

Kazuma is the youngest member of the group so of course he gets doted on a lot by the other members. He joined G-BOY'S around the same time as Tsukasa did.

Twitter

Nakagawa Takuya

Birthday: 2000/10/14

Height: 164cm

Weight: 52kg

Blood Type: O

Takuya actually ended up becoming my favourite member, much to my surprise. He has a cute face but he's a huge dork and likes to make jokes and mess around in front of the camera. Plus he has braces which is a slight weakness of mine, haha.

Twitter

There isn't much information about the group as of yet (they're only a month old afterall), but I can't wait to learn more about them and I'll definitely post anymore information I find. I just hope I don't get as into them as I did with G=AGE, haha.

Official Links

• Website
• Twitter
• English Twitter
• YouTube Channel
• Blog 
• Facebook Page