These are Kanjani8. They're from Osaka, for those of you who are Kansai-fanciers (I know you're out there! But I still don't see what's so sexy about "Nandeyanen!"). (There used to be 8 of them, but now, as you can see, there are only 7, because one of them was a naughty boy and got himself suspended; but that's another story.) They're part of the squamous mass that is Johnny's Entertainment, but they're... really very unique. They're enormously fun, actually write very good songs themselves, give sparkling live performances full of energy, and, importantly to me, they always seem to be having a fantastic time, and that gives them a great vibe. I'm telling the truth when I say it was genuinely the music that got me into them, and it was the joyfully endearing crack that made me stay. The crack, and the obvious love they all have for Kanjani8. ♥ Let's begin, shall we? This took me 3 days. Please click? XD


Members

Yasuda Shota The supercutey. This is Yasu. He's my second favourite. He's utterly adorable, has his belly button pierced and likes to wear skirts even when it's not for work. He also gets cuddled by Subaru quite a lot.

Murakami Shingo This is Hina. He'd be a very good-looking man, if it wasn't for his face (I know how he feels). Nevertheless, he's the one who keeps them all in line, which has got to be a tough job. He mainly does this by hitting them over the head a lot.

Maruyama Ryuhei The bouncy one. Maru is lovely. He smiles a lot and plays the bass, and puts so much energy into the live shows. He also makes a very good woman. Sometimes he holds hands with Subaru and they're adorable together.

Yokoyama Yuu The clown. Yoko is the funny one, though that's not necessarily narrowing it down, in K8. Yoko takes over conversations, tells silly stories and gets laughed at and hit a lot. I used to have the fear of him due to his... look, but he's actually highly entertaining!

Shibutani Subaru The nutjob. Subaru is the lead singer, and he's my favourite. He's also quite crazy, in a weirder way than the rest of them. He has an awesome voice, has written some brilliant songs, wants to be a rockstar and has the ugliest tattoo ever, bless his rebellious heart.

Nishikido Ryo The eyecandy. I don't actually know that much about Ryo - that's more vanillafire's area of expertise. ;) He's the second best singer in K8, is sharp and cool but also has a wonderful smile, and though he clearly knows he's too cool for K8 he still looks like he's having a good time. Mostly. ;)

Ohkura Tadayoshi The... drummer XD Ohkura is... the drummer. XD He has a decent voice, is a good drummer, looks pretty good... but he doesn't really do very much. Nice to stare at for a bit, though!

Music

One is the song that grabbed me first. It's a rocky song, which is of course going to be more appealing to me than some of the smooth pop or ballads that appear on their album, but the fact that Subaru and Yasu wrote it themselves also made an impression on me. The band do play instruments and have written quite a number of songs - in my opinion, some of Kanjani8's best songs, in fact.

They have some more Rock songs, too:

High Position (Subaru solo). This is a new song, hence the live rip, but I really hope that at some point it appears again in recorded form.
Misetekure. Caution: this one does contain Japanese rapping, but the chorus in particular has really grown on me and I love the way the words fit together.
Do You Agree. No mp3 for this, but have a video instead. This is a live version on the Heat Up DVD from summer 2006, and contains Subaru and Yasu being suggestive together. :D Gives you an idea of the bounciness and energy of their live shows (this track is actually near the end of the show too - after 2 hours of doing this, I'd be dead! Not still jumping round like a maniac!).

When they started out, they were pushed as an Enka band, for some reason (probably because of Subaru's voice, which really suits the Enka style). If you're not sure what Enka is, or even if you are, this is it, albeit in a Kanjani8 style:

Naniwa Iroha Bushi. This was their first hit. Was a big success when it was released in Kansai only, and then when it was released nationwide it surprised everyone by being an even bigger hit!
Oh!Enka. It's so very... Kansai. XD Apparently people's grandparents approve of K8 because of the Enka thing. (I suppose real Enka is like the Japanese equivalent of Sir Cliff. Except with, you know, liveliness and enjoyability.)

Their album, though, is more Poppy for that Johnny's appeal. Whilst I am usually suspicious of overly tinny pop, for some reason K8 make me enjoy songs I would usually hate:

Mugendai. I don't fully understand how I personally can I like this, because it's a slow-ish, sentimental-ish, pop-ish song. But it's clearly a song that means a lot to them, and the backing music, like so many K8 songs, has such a lot going on that I actually love it.
FTO, title track from the album. FTO stands for Funky Town Osaka, and the song is indeed kind of funky and fun.
Cool Magic City. I defy you not to wave your arms in the air whilst listening to this song!

Now, this may surprise you, but Kanjani8 do cover quite a bit of ground with regards to musical genres. Some of their songs are almost Blues:

Osaka Rainy Blues. It's very pop-ified, but it's a nice mellow bluesy song with some nice instrumentation.
Everyday Music. Another new Subaru solo song, and another live rip, but very interesting.
**Greedy. OK, if you're into listening to people who can actually sing, singing beautifully, download this track!** It's another Subaru solo performance, from Shonen Club Premium last November, and it's just gorgeous. Please, if you take one track from this post, take this one!

Finally, the genre that Kanjani8 really do represent within Johnny's - that neglected genre, Silly.

Sukiyanen, Osaka! Anyone who fails to smile during some part of this song is a humourless bastard who there's no hope for. (Caveat: listen to it at least twice. *cough* The first time you will think, What the shit is this. ^^;;)
Purin. Within Kanjani8, Yoko, Subaru and Yasu form 3Brothers. They have a number of songs, mainly simple acoustic ditties about food and so on. Purin is, as you'll know if you've watched My Boss My Hero, and if you haven't you should - well, a kind of pudding. (I wish I could find a YouTube link for the Heat Up performance of Onigishi, because even though that song is sentimental as anything, that version nearly has me in tears. So lovely.)
Overture/8 o'clock. This was another point where I realised this band were worth my attention. In a Tenimyu style, they all introduce each other, in between running round the stage like madmen. ♥ Notable intros include Yasu, the "rare guitar-playing chimpanzee", which is ironic as Yasu if probably the least chimp-like out of all of them...

Crack, etc.

Sometimes I wonder if K8 get sick of being Crazy Osaka Boys (TM), but on the evidence, it seems unlikely. Osaka Obachan Rock is a song about Osakan housewives, and they certainly seem to enjoy singing it. It'd have been more fun if they'd dressed as housewives for the PV, but instead they wear caveman outfits. Oh well.

They do dress as housewives every week for one of their TV shows, though. Every week on Honjani they dress up in women's clothes and have to do a silly challenge, and whoever loses has to do a forfeit. This is undoubtedly the best example so far. They fail the challenge and the punishment involved static electricity. XD Still hasn't stopped being funny! Ryo is pictured sitting in a very unladylike way, and Subaru's awful-tattoo-red-nail-polish combi is most fetching. And you can't go wrong with electrocution! XD

It's advantageous in Johnny's to enjoy dressing up, but K8 seem to do it with more relish than anyone else! For over a year now in their live concerts, they perform skits as a Power-Rangers type outfit - Eito Ranger! Here's last year's Heat Up sketch, in all its shiny-helmeted glory. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

More dressing up, from the marvellous Spirits DVD. Maru and Subaru as a middle-aged couple telling everyone to be good boys and not to fight.

Their TV shows like to torture them. Here they eat curry with progressively hotter sauce in it. Some classic reactions! And Subaru's Starfucks t-shirt is another gem.

They, in turn, like to torture other people. Here's Kame from KAT-TUN trying to keep them under control on a TV show where they're blindfolded, their voices are disguised and they have to answer questions about the band. Yasu falls off his chair, Yoko wanders around blindfolded, Subaru gives the game away and they talk over each other all the time. You can see Kame going grey before your eyes, and there's only 5 of K8 there! "Never put me in a room with these jokers again!" XD

The best way to see K8 has to be live. Sadly, the closest most of us are likely to come is DVDs, but I'll settle for that, because they really do have a fantastic vibe. This is them performing Eden in the Heat Up DVD. Not one of my bestest favourite songs, but they put so much emotion into it that I really came around to it. Plus, they all look good in those nice black suits. :9 And I love to see grown men cry. Yasu! ♥ He needs a hug!

I also like to hear people laughing too much to sing properly. Here's Ryo, Subaru and Ohkura performing Yajirushi, also from Heat Up. Ryo always looks so happy when he has something stick-shaped in his hand.

They love to tease each other. Here's Subaru, Ryo and Yoko performing Shonentai's PGF. Ryo's smile is so wide! (They're basically taking the piss out of Yoko by not letting him sing or giving him any spotlight. Poor baby. But it's for the best. XD)

...And I think I'm done. XD I've included as many highlights as I could cram in, and hopefully you'll check a few of them out! In case you were overfaced by the length of this post, here's some unmissables:

- Subaru singing Greedy. Just gorgeous. (Here's a vid of the performance too. Ignore the fact that Subaru really is too small to wear such a big fur coat. XD)
- Them all getting electrocuted whilst dressed as women.
- Do You Agree. Super-energetic live performance of a great song.
- One. The song that really got me into them, the song that gave me the current title for my LJ; my current ringtone. XD

Please let me know if you grab anything or follow any of the links! :D I hope you do, and I really really hope you enjoy them! ^__^ And please let me know if I've buggered up any links or anything. XD

Tags: kanjani8 pimpage
Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: Kanjani8 - Heavenly Psycho