Why V6 is super ultra mega big love~
*hrhr* Hi and welcome to what is officially my third pimp post!
This time on the menu - the brilliant, the amazing, the sparkling! V6!
Official Website
V6 media comm: v6_unlimited
V6 comm for all the rest: victory6
V6 pimp post I by winterkill
V6 pimp post II by isonmikat
Some subbed V6-related videos by newshfan
Some subbed V6-related videos II by ohmiya_sg and enshige
All V6 PVs except the last 3 on Sendspace uploaded by kazuh
V& j-web translations by v6fan_in_jp
Since we already have two fabulous pimp posts and I want to honour them, this post will pimp V6 mainly through pictures. You will be provided with some completely biased info and see a lot of the pretty, but for media please check the links I have provided ^_~
It is acknowleged that the V in V6 stands for Victory, however there are also various assumptions to what else it could stand for, most of the rumours have been spread by the members themselves.
Volleyball6, because their first single Music for the people has been used in the Volleyball Wolrd Cup in 1995,
Volume6, which I believe to be false, because it's supposed to refer to their album of the same name, but I rather believe that Volume 6 was called that way because it was their 6th album, not a pun on the band name.
Vegetable6, because Sakamoto's parents own a green grocers,
Vicycle6, because Nagano's parents own a bicycle shop
...and many more!
I think they just found it funny to spread these rumours.
Anyway, in the banner you have already laid eyes on the six gorgeous men that make up V6, but let's have a much closer look now.
Sakamoto Masayuki
Birthdate: 24 July 1971
Birthplace: Tokyo
Bloodtype: O
Sakamoto is V6s leader, and the oldest member of the group.
This is actually the only reason he was made leader, which makes me assume this was how it was done for the jimusho's groups back then. (in SMAP and TOKIO it's the same)
Sakamoto swore to himself to leave the agency if he hadn't debuted by the age of 20, and he actually did, but thankfully, Johnny got him back :o
When it was announced he was to be in V6, on top of that as their leader, he wasn't quite sure he would be able to pull it off, becasue he wasn't convinced he would be able to handle the responsibility.
Later Sakamoto even admitted he often thought about quitting once and for all back then, both the band and the jimusho, but he stuck to it, mostly because he really really loves V6.
He used to be quite a hrumpy fellow in the past, and many people were scared of him - including Johnny himself!
The other members said that Johnny didn't like to be alone in a room with Sakamoto and never dared to really scold him like he would the others, which I think is pretty amazing xD&hearts
Sakamoto has chnaged a lot, though, mainly becasue he was able to relax a bit and share the responsibility of being a group leader with the other members, so that now I can assure you one thing:
YOU WILL LOVE THIS GUY.
Sakamoto's nicknames are Papa and Maa-kun, and it says a lot about him how he absolutely loves to be called either Maa-kun or sempai, preferrably by cute girls, of course.
Leader is very simple in that respect, actually xD - He loves cute things and despises everything scary to a degree that is laughable for a man his age. Or any man, thinking about it.
He is afarid of the dark, bugs, spiders, loud noises, ghosts and most notably - heights.
In 2005, when V6's ex-variety show Gakkou e ikou (more about that one later&hearts)had a special celebrating the group's 10th anniversary, he did something to conquer his fear of heights - he and the other members went paragliding, which in his case, looked like this:
xDD
I'm not quite sure it helped, but it sure was brave.
Well, usually Sakamoto is this fatherly, dorky person who the other members poke fun at because of his age, but Sakamoto in action is AS HOT AS AN IRON.
(borrowed from darkeyedwolf
Maa-kun can move, baby.
It's as if someone switches him on, he goes from Papa to sexyman within seconds, and you will not be able to resist him when he does.
Plus he really does have a beautifully smooth voice.
*_*&hearts
Let me introduce someone who shares one mindset with our Leader:
It's Leader! XD
TOKIO no Leader, to be exact.
They have an annual LeaderxLeader crosstalk in Popolo at the end of the year, and share the same viewpoint on many things, probably because they are just a year apart and did share the anxiety about being a group leader (let's just say Shigeru isn't quite the leader personality, either xD)
Moving on!
Nagano Hiroshi
Birthdate: 9 October 1972
Birthplace: Yamato, Kanagawa
Bloodtype: A
Here is an easy way to remember his name:
One of the guests on Gakkou once called Nagano "Winter-Olympics-san" :D
Nagano is probably the most laid-back person in Johnny's, if not in showbiz :o
Duuude, I have yet to see him angry. He supposedly was, like, once, but usually it's just Nagano, smiling and laughing and grinning and being so frickin' nice it would be scary if it wasn't him xD
His nickname, deriving from his motherly personality, is Mama, and as such he and Sakamoto make the perfect pair! :D (more about that a little further down)
Nagano is crazy about motorbikes and cars, which has probably to do with the fact that his parents sold both bicycles and motobikes - according to the other members he drives like the devil and should not be left alone with a vehicle at any times xD
He even hosts two shows centered around cars and bikes, Boon and Mobi.
Nagano's second big passion is food.
As a self-proclaimed "gurume" (gourmet), Nagano eats A LOT.
He asks any person he meets, no matter if he meets them for the first time or once again, if they have a restaurant recommendation and then writes it down into a small notebook. With a pencil. I think it's called oldskool.
He WILL try a restaurant that has been recommended to him. 100%.
Sometimes he gets letters from people writing him how they saw him in a restuarant or they thank him for visiting their families business&hearts
If he has enough time, he will even make a tour centering around one specific kind of dish, he has dome a ramen-tour already, a sukiyaki-tour...
Even Nagano's j-web has a very creative title - Kuruma de Gurume! :D
He does.. eh... interesting things like visit farms to learn about how the meals he like to eat are created.
Nagano's dorama-related claim to fame is the long-stranding sci-fi series Ultraman, where he played the human part of Ultraman Tiga (there are several incarnations), but did not, which is a popular mistake, act in any fighting scenes in the REALLY tight Ultraman suit.
Most recently he starred in the 2008 Ultraman movie.
Ultraman, by the way, I even think Ultraman Tiga, is available in the US on DVD, with an English dub. it's rare, but it's available.
The first Ultraman Tiga movie from 2001, Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey is available with English subtitles. AND IT'S HILARIOUS xD
Much like the other V& members except Okada, Nagano sticks mainly to butais and smaller roles in dorama, I'm pretty sure a lot of you have seen him in Kimi wa Petto or, more recently, in two episodes of Yasuko no Kenji, with TOKIO's Mabo and Okura Tadayoshi of Kanjani8.
Within the jimusho, Nagano is actaully known for e-mailing weird advice to his kouhai, even though he claims he rarely does it anymore - his advice consists of diamonds like "Wear a jacket, it's so cold outside you could hammer nails in with your dick" and "Only touch it when you wash it".
When he was younger, e hoften got confused with Inagaki Goro of SMAP&hearts
Okada once said that despite his soft and squishy looks, Nagano is actually quite strong, being able to lift up a grown man easily. Well, I guess Johnnys are strong~
To me, he is just that person with the very loud laugh and high-pitched giggle who likes to go "oh!" and "ah!" at things and is pretty excitable.&hearts
His favourite band is even Chage and Aska, who make pretty laid-back pop music~ xD
Now, a very special relationship:
Of course Mama belongs to Papa, it's a given.
V6 isn't slashy, not especially, at least, but they are cute, and so it happened that Mama and Papa as the two oldest V& members found each other&hearts xD
On Gakkou e ikkou, V6 go on trips in pairs rather often, and when Sakamoto-mama and Nagno-mama go somewhere together, it ROCKS THE HOUSE.
They usually visit places based on a bet - a recent example from this year: Nagno will say "Tasty food will make you cry" and so Sakamoto will say it doesn't, and so they go to test this theory (basically an excuse to eat lots xD).
It is suspicious how on a lot of these trips, small children are also involved.
Nagano affectionately calls Sakamoto "the one that always folows me around" and tries to cheer him up whenever he is scared of something (again)- he is also the one delivering the heart-warming speeches.
Sakamoto's the one who is generally overexcited and needs to be calmed down by Mama, and who hugs and pinches him a lot XD
Inohara Yoshihiko
Birthdate: 17 May 1976
Birthplace: Tokyo
Bloodtype: A
Innochi is... an interesting character. xD
I wonder if ANYONE calls him by his full name EVER, especially since he said how people who do make him slightly uncomfortable.
He has kind of two faces to him, really - one is the seriously hyper guy with the beautiful laugh (see that photo in the banner? That's how I like my Inocchi best&hearts), which makes him look like both a very happy person... and a bit of a lunatic, especially when he starts tossing and turning and stomping his feet xD
The other side to Innochi is this... serious guy I often feel a bit sorry for!
His j-web is a mixture of nostalgic and a bit serious things like politics and worries he has or things he would like to do, and he thinks himself to be a horribly misunderstood person.
But his serious look is so hot
It's not easy to change his mind about him, considering he used to flash at people in hotels and doodle on people whenever he would get his hands on a ballpen until a few years ago - one of his most well-known partners in crime includes Domto Tsuyoshi of Kinki Kids, who once said that whenever they meet up, they were some sort of costume and pull pranks on people xD
But Inocchi tried hard to "grow up", I think, he is often refered to the person who keeps V6 balanced and keeps them together, for example by demanding they go eating together, organising birthday surprises, or the one time he made them swap mobile phone numbers (Ken said it was a horrible idea because ever since he keeps texting them and demands an answer every time xD).
Inocchi said he often suffers from the fact that people still think he's crazy because he never gets invited to go for meals within the jimusho ;_;
Seriously, read his j-web. He and TOKIO's Taichi seem to be the top bloggers within the jimusho, it's always worth reading.
He is a good actor and host.
I always liked to see him host a segment on Gakkou or V6's other show Viva Viva V6, and he has his own show, the very popular Ponkickies (or Ponkikkizu) 21, a show for kids - a tidbit of information here, the name of the show's mascot is Mukku, this is where the j-rock band MUCC have their name from!
Inohara, like the rest of his band, isn't a dorama person, he is more into butais.
I would kill to see one O_O
One movie I'd like to rec though, is called "Tengoku wa matte kureru" (Heaven can wait) and it's saaaaad - it will make you miss Inocchi's happyface D:
He has a really beautiful voice, the best in V6, in my opinion, and I know he practices a lot.
Innochi is a member in teh small club of married JE idols!
He is married to actress Seto Asaka, LOL, such a calm person!
I'll end this bit with a photo of Inocchi's best scared expression:
xDDD
V6 are split into two sub-groups, who respectively have quite a lot of work under their belt.
They do have this split because of the huge age difference between the three oldest and three youngest members, and I think they are the only band who have stuck to their subgroups with such an effort.
Sakamoto, Nagano thus make up the first group called 20th Century or Tonisen.
Morita Go
Birthdate: 20 February 1979
Birthplace: Kasukabe, Saitama
Bloodtype: A
&hearts
I am NOT biased. xD
I LOVE HIM.
Morita Go, nicknamed Go-tsun or kobito (midget xDDD), is a person who, just like KAT-TUN's Koki, is the badass group member that isn't.
Go does the ocassional rapping in V6 songs, wears baggy clothes, loves R&B and hiphop and tries to look unapproachable, but he fails, fails, fails.
"Why is that?" you might ask, and let me explain it to you.
a) the voice.
Like Ken, Go has been cursed with the chipmunk voice. When he giggles, which he does a lot, he thus sounds like a ten-year old.
Certain words he says have me in hysterics just from the way he says them.
b) the attitude.
Wow, can this guy be overdramatic! Easy to scare (yeah, I know. Badass.), he will release high-pitched whines and wails and hide.
I mean... that guy is afraid of chicken!
He has no tolerance to pain and can't stand alcohol - two to three small bottles of sake and he's gone, and make sure he doesn't touch the liquor!
Plus he's usually the kind of guy to laugh most at himself, which he proved by playing
TANTEI GAKUEN GO.
He appeared like that twice in a Gakkou e ikkou segment, effortlessly showcasing how bad he is with kanji, the piano, and basic mathematics.
Speaking of tantei, Go's most famous drama role must have been Noda Ryosuke in Kuitan - alongside his sempai Higashiyama!
Boy, the envy from his JE-colleagues was endless.
c) the favourites
The things Go likes most are, probably even in that order:
1) small children, especially infants
2) small animals
3) costume design.
Wooo.
He owns two dogs which Ken calls fat, and one of them looks especially dangerous:
xDD Okada's dog could swallow it in one go! xD
Apparently Go's mother was an idol for a long, long time.
People are always all O_O when he tells them that she was 17 when Go was born.
Go is best friends with Ken, and how do they show that?
By constantly bullying each other xD
He is great at soccer,if you need proof just watch the JE-Sports event from 2003, he scores and scores and scores. xD
These days he mainly goes bowling, though.
One of my favourite Go pics&hearts So relaxed~
Go isd ating Ueto Aya.
Miyake Ken
Birthdate: 2 July 1979
Birthplace: Takamatsu, Kanagawa
Bloodtype: 0
Miyake Ken.
I know what you're going to say now, "So he's the cute one!"
ON THE OUTSIDE THIS MAY BE RIGHT.
It's not that Ken is a meanie, but I think he has difficulties finding the right tone with people.
He usually says outright what he thinks, even if it's not flattering, even to female guests, especially on VVV6.
Recently, I think it was on Hey!Hey!Hey!, he said that even though he knows he can be mean, he doesn't always mean it and asked people to bear with him&hearts
He doesn't like to be followed by cameras for making ofs and never stays around to chat for such footage unless he absolutely has to.
Ken doesn't seem to age.
He has always been cute, and he still is, and his latest haircut (middle picture in the first banner) is his longest yet, but it's so wavy and aaah~&hearts
That plus his queaky voice just make him too adorable, and of course the magazines do everything to sell that image:
Ken is really sporty.
He has crazy muscles (more later&hearts) and tries everything, whereas his favourites are tennis, boxing and surfing.
Ken, to my mind, is a really good actor.
One sole pic convinced me that i want him to be on the list of possible dads for my child xD:
I think it's from a drama?
Anyway, Ken was really good in Neverland, back when he was a sempai surrounded by his juniors, Ikuta Toma, Imai Tsubasa, Tanaka Koki and Murakami Shingo!
Okada Junichi
Birthdate: 18 November 1980
Birthplace: Hirakata, Osaka
Bloodtype: B
You know Okada. You've known and loved Okada before you even knew there was something like V6.
I know this, don't lie to me. xD
The reason for this of course is the long list of doramas under his belt, which hits like Kisarazu Cat's Eye, Tiger&Dragon and SP - what can I say, he's a great actor.
Okada has staed he doesn't like the thought of starring in a romantic dorama - the thought makes him uncomfortable.
Overall there are a lot of things that make Okada uncomfortable, which is probably the reason some people think of him as cold and serious, once he's in a situation he doesn't especially like being in, he will start to mumble (or not talk at all) and shift - well, at least he's honest!
And shy guys are cute, anyway&hearts
The thing that most people don't know though, is how there is also this other side to our little Kun-Kun.
WOULD THE REAL OKADA PLEASE STAND UP?
XD
COME TO THE DORK SIDE!
Because occasionally, when people least expect him to, Okada transforms into hyper!Okada and totally cracks you up.
These occasions might be rare, but that's probably waht you get if you are friends with people like Nagase Tomoya xD
Okada is actually friends with many of his Johnny's Entertainment colleagues, most notbaly said Nagese, Domoto Tsuyoshi and Kanjani8 (he's a fan of Yoko&hearts xD)
The best thing about Okada in my opinion is how much he loves V6.
He got into Johnny's through a one-time competition where you didn't have to be selected for a regular audition, but could win a place through a TV show/American-Idol-like-thingie xD. It sounds like Johnny had been desperate, but those actually were a bit of desperate times.
V6 consists of a people who at that time where ready to debut but couldn't, for what reasons ever, it seems the old man wasn't happy with them - there were plans to let them debut solo, or in duos, I even think it was Sakamoto who was supposed to join SMAP as they had recently lost a member, and then Okada came, tiny Okada, and made V6 ready to go :D
Okada is fairly sporty, plays the guitar and piano (he and Inocchi have jams essions together!), likes Western furniture and art, likes to make children happy (d'awww&hearts), likes to be given things that no one else has (snob! *lol*)and collects bearbrick dolls.
Let's not forget the biggest lovestory of the 21st century, though:
Okada and his dog.&hearts
What is really appealing about Okada to me, however, is how much he honestly loves V6 - during the Gakkou anniversary special he said how to him they are like a second family, the home far from home, and how he feels truly blessed to have met them, and I thought him honest and convincing.
I mean, he was 14 when he debuted, had never been in the dorm, never been a junior, if he ahdn't felt good enough, I think he would have quit. No matter how much of a determined person Okadfa might be these days, a teenager usually quits when he feels lke quitting, and V6 stuck together and kada stuck to them&hearts
Let's end his part with the best Okada-expression ever:
Happy!&hearts
Okada is dating Aoi Yuu.
Go, Ken and Okada make up V6's second sub-group, Coming Century or Kamisen
Kamisen's individual members are more often in the idol magazines than Tonisen are, and they have their own film called Cosmic Rescue.
No matter who might be or become your favourite, I hope you agree that V6 are best together:
The times of the awkward shirtless boys who looked like walking sticks are over,
and what's left is a sempai group that hasn't changed, that, even though it doesnt seem to be possible within JE, has stayed real.
So what you need to do is watch them together.
V6 love each other.
How about movies?
V6 have two group movies, Hard Luck Hero and Hold Up Down, both directed by sabu.
If you've eevr seen a sabu film, you probably know what to expect, it's the kind of whacky, hard to describe film that has a slight yakuza-vibe to it and might be a bit difficult to follow, but in general the two film are good and need to be watched if only for V6 awesomeness.
the Hold Up Down photobook might help to convince you:
Nagano *_*&hearts
xD Gypsy Okada is the best.
Some pics from the awesome Cosmic Rescue Photobook:
Why Gakkou e ikou was the best JE variety show ever
Yeah, you read right, was *sobs*
The show got cancelled this year, a decision I refuse to understand ;_;
Gakkou had a large number of segments because they changed quite often. From things they only did once to regular segments I think there was no episode that was quite like the other.
Gakkou e ikkou means "Let's go to school!" and that wasn't only a title, it was a theme they stuck to.
They went to visit schools.
A few examples:
- a test of courage at a deserted school
- Mama and Papa visit a school's marching band/cheerleading group
- Nagano-mama takes random elementary school kids kids out to eat
- the games they play in the regular segemnts either featured highschoolers or were games people that age would play
...almost everything they did centered around highschoolers or schools. Maybe that's why the show doesn't exist anymore? ;_;
bvex trax (pun on the name of their record lable, avex trax) was a wonderful segment in which wannabie-comedians changed the text of popular songs and oftend ressed up like the idols who had originally performed them.
Something similar to this was the air singing contest, which was basically inspired from the kind of youtube video where someone sticks his face into their webcame and sings playback to a popular song.
Boys and girls could send in their tapes and viewers could vote for the best acts to appear again.
A lot of people got more than their 15 minutes of life time fame from that!
One of my favourite segments was called josou boys - a ladyboys segment!
Boys would dress up as girls, and then they would be placed on that chair you see in the picture, behind a curtain, and the whole purpose of the segmentw as that the curtain would be raised and the live audience, all girls of course, would go absolutely crazy.
There would be commentary on the make-up secrets that made the boys look more feminine and on their fashion choices, and the segment guest plus two V6 members would go "eeeh?! and "oh, ah" and sometiems there would be little scenes to act out.
Needless to say it was probably Sakamoto's favourite thing xD
Once they had established a group of the most pretty boys, it was like V6's hobby to let them pull pranks on their colleagues, sending them into other people's dressing rooms and giggling how they "totally don't notice he's a man, ahahaha!" or going out shopping in Shibuya with them, making them do cute and girly things all the time and telling everyone who didn't want to hear it how yes, they really were boys.
Like Koyama Kentaro-kun, who even sounds like a girl and who whored his way up the ranks by telling Sakamoto he loved him.
After Arashi fell victim to the josou prank, Nino declared himself a big fan and visited the show:
Sometimes Gakkou really went all the way out and got the really famous guys:
Watch that episode. JOHNNY DEPP IS 150 KINDS OF AWESOME IN IT.&hearts
And don't miss the one with Matt Damon, the guy who is fabulous in ever Japanese TV show he's on, because he genuinely loves them all.
DON'T YOU WANNA WATCH THIS SHOW ALREADY?!
The show that has replaced it is called shinchishiki kaikyuu kumagusu and sorry, but I think it's really boring.
...But it brings the pretty.
They do, however, have a second show that's still going strong,
Viva Viva V6 or simply VVV6.
This show mainly consists of selected V6 members and their guest stuffing their faces.
With food of a weekly theme, that is.
For Japanese people, it has to be heaven.
And now, let's bring on more of the pretty that is V6, scaaaaans!
Thanks to all of the original scanners and uploaders, sorry for not crediting each of you, but without you, this post wouldn't have been possible, so thank you&hearts
Your regular idol shot
I've seen Arashi do the same theme before, and I believe it's something every JE band has done - the sleepy face! Except that V6 look as if they passed out in some hallway.
Rest of shots I've used in the banners
...Because grumpy!Go with flowers is a must, anyway.
(I'm not okay with that t-shirt...)
The V6 shot in Duet where everyone frolicks around and looks weird&hearts
Excerpts from V6's first photobook
Featuring Inocchi and a dog that looks ready to bite, Go annoying the rastaman, chibi Okada and OMG&hearts - Tonisen.
Toniiiii&hearts They haven't changed at all.
Article on V6's recent 2008 Vibes Tour featuring the sexy xD
Buy the DVD, it comes out in January!!
Shots that are totally biased towards Kamisen
1) Mixed bag, again
2) Morita Go, "Go on with you!!", Myojo, May 2008
Totally cute *_*
3) Okada's SP-inspired shot in Potato, February 2008
*drools*
4) Ken's best haircut ever
5) Ken's second best haircut ever
...Plus it's a really interesting concept for a shot, "binding yarn"
6) Heart-stoppingly sexy Go, Wink Up January and February 2008, Duet December 2007, and unknown xD
7) Cardiac-arrest inducing sexy Okada
I swear, this is my favourite shot of him *_*
8) That Wink Up shot of Ken of January 2008 that makes me a sad girl and think about bad angsty uke fanfic
9) More of Okada and his dog
10) Ken's *gasp* shot for Tarzan, June 2007
Girls, would you have thought? xD
V6 are forced to draw things for a personality test. Hilarity ensues.
...And with this, my pimp post ends!
Thank you for reading! If you liked it, don't hesitate to tell me or your friends about it.
Imageshack is a huge bitch, I just wanna say.
This time on the menu - the brilliant, the amazing, the sparkling! V6!
Official Website
V6 media comm: v6_unlimited
V6 comm for all the rest: victory6
V6 pimp post I by winterkill
V6 pimp post II by isonmikat
Some subbed V6-related videos by newshfan
Some subbed V6-related videos II by ohmiya_sg and enshige
All V6 PVs except the last 3 on Sendspace uploaded by kazuh
V& j-web translations by v6fan_in_jp
Since we already have two fabulous pimp posts and I want to honour them, this post will pimp V6 mainly through pictures. You will be provided with some completely biased info and see a lot of the pretty, but for media please check the links I have provided ^_~
It is acknowleged that the V in V6 stands for Victory, however there are also various assumptions to what else it could stand for, most of the rumours have been spread by the members themselves.
Volleyball6, because their first single Music for the people has been used in the Volleyball Wolrd Cup in 1995,
Volume6, which I believe to be false, because it's supposed to refer to their album of the same name, but I rather believe that Volume 6 was called that way because it was their 6th album, not a pun on the band name.
Vegetable6, because Sakamoto's parents own a green grocers,
Vicycle6, because Nagano's parents own a bicycle shop
...and many more!
I think they just found it funny to spread these rumours.
Anyway, in the banner you have already laid eyes on the six gorgeous men that make up V6, but let's have a much closer look now.
Sakamoto Masayuki
Birthdate: 24 July 1971
Birthplace: Tokyo
Bloodtype: O
Sakamoto is V6s leader, and the oldest member of the group.
This is actually the only reason he was made leader, which makes me assume this was how it was done for the jimusho's groups back then. (in SMAP and TOKIO it's the same)
Sakamoto swore to himself to leave the agency if he hadn't debuted by the age of 20, and he actually did, but thankfully, Johnny got him back :o
When it was announced he was to be in V6, on top of that as their leader, he wasn't quite sure he would be able to pull it off, becasue he wasn't convinced he would be able to handle the responsibility.
Later Sakamoto even admitted he often thought about quitting once and for all back then, both the band and the jimusho, but he stuck to it, mostly because he really really loves V6.
He used to be quite a hrumpy fellow in the past, and many people were scared of him - including Johnny himself!
The other members said that Johnny didn't like to be alone in a room with Sakamoto and never dared to really scold him like he would the others, which I think is pretty amazing xD&hearts
Sakamoto has chnaged a lot, though, mainly becasue he was able to relax a bit and share the responsibility of being a group leader with the other members, so that now I can assure you one thing:
YOU WILL LOVE THIS GUY.
Sakamoto's nicknames are Papa and Maa-kun, and it says a lot about him how he absolutely loves to be called either Maa-kun or sempai, preferrably by cute girls, of course.
Leader is very simple in that respect, actually xD - He loves cute things and despises everything scary to a degree that is laughable for a man his age. Or any man, thinking about it.
He is afarid of the dark, bugs, spiders, loud noises, ghosts and most notably - heights.
In 2005, when V6's ex-variety show Gakkou e ikou (more about that one later&hearts)had a special celebrating the group's 10th anniversary, he did something to conquer his fear of heights - he and the other members went paragliding, which in his case, looked like this:
xDD
I'm not quite sure it helped, but it sure was brave.
Well, usually Sakamoto is this fatherly, dorky person who the other members poke fun at because of his age, but Sakamoto in action is AS HOT AS AN IRON.
(borrowed from darkeyedwolf
Maa-kun can move, baby.
It's as if someone switches him on, he goes from Papa to sexyman within seconds, and you will not be able to resist him when he does.
Plus he really does have a beautifully smooth voice.
*_*&hearts
Let me introduce someone who shares one mindset with our Leader:
It's Leader! XD
TOKIO no Leader, to be exact.
They have an annual LeaderxLeader crosstalk in Popolo at the end of the year, and share the same viewpoint on many things, probably because they are just a year apart and did share the anxiety about being a group leader (let's just say Shigeru isn't quite the leader personality, either xD)
Moving on!
Nagano Hiroshi
Birthdate: 9 October 1972
Birthplace: Yamato, Kanagawa
Bloodtype: A
Here is an easy way to remember his name:
One of the guests on Gakkou once called Nagano "Winter-Olympics-san" :D
Nagano is probably the most laid-back person in Johnny's, if not in showbiz :o
Duuude, I have yet to see him angry. He supposedly was, like, once, but usually it's just Nagano, smiling and laughing and grinning and being so frickin' nice it would be scary if it wasn't him xD
His nickname, deriving from his motherly personality, is Mama, and as such he and Sakamoto make the perfect pair! :D (more about that a little further down)
Nagano is crazy about motorbikes and cars, which has probably to do with the fact that his parents sold both bicycles and motobikes - according to the other members he drives like the devil and should not be left alone with a vehicle at any times xD
He even hosts two shows centered around cars and bikes, Boon and Mobi.
Nagano's second big passion is food.
As a self-proclaimed "gurume" (gourmet), Nagano eats A LOT.
He asks any person he meets, no matter if he meets them for the first time or once again, if they have a restaurant recommendation and then writes it down into a small notebook. With a pencil. I think it's called oldskool.
He WILL try a restaurant that has been recommended to him. 100%.
Sometimes he gets letters from people writing him how they saw him in a restuarant or they thank him for visiting their families business&hearts
If he has enough time, he will even make a tour centering around one specific kind of dish, he has dome a ramen-tour already, a sukiyaki-tour...
Even Nagano's j-web has a very creative title - Kuruma de Gurume! :D
He does.. eh... interesting things like visit farms to learn about how the meals he like to eat are created.
Nagano's dorama-related claim to fame is the long-stranding sci-fi series Ultraman, where he played the human part of Ultraman Tiga (there are several incarnations), but did not, which is a popular mistake, act in any fighting scenes in the REALLY tight Ultraman suit.
Most recently he starred in the 2008 Ultraman movie.
Ultraman, by the way, I even think Ultraman Tiga, is available in the US on DVD, with an English dub. it's rare, but it's available.
The first Ultraman Tiga movie from 2001, Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey is available with English subtitles. AND IT'S HILARIOUS xD
Much like the other V& members except Okada, Nagano sticks mainly to butais and smaller roles in dorama, I'm pretty sure a lot of you have seen him in Kimi wa Petto or, more recently, in two episodes of Yasuko no Kenji, with TOKIO's Mabo and Okura Tadayoshi of Kanjani8.
Within the jimusho, Nagano is actaully known for e-mailing weird advice to his kouhai, even though he claims he rarely does it anymore - his advice consists of diamonds like "Wear a jacket, it's so cold outside you could hammer nails in with your dick" and "Only touch it when you wash it".
When he was younger, e hoften got confused with Inagaki Goro of SMAP&hearts
Okada once said that despite his soft and squishy looks, Nagano is actually quite strong, being able to lift up a grown man easily. Well, I guess Johnnys are strong~
To me, he is just that person with the very loud laugh and high-pitched giggle who likes to go "oh!" and "ah!" at things and is pretty excitable.&hearts
His favourite band is even Chage and Aska, who make pretty laid-back pop music~ xD
Now, a very special relationship:
Of course Mama belongs to Papa, it's a given.
V6 isn't slashy, not especially, at least, but they are cute, and so it happened that Mama and Papa as the two oldest V& members found each other&hearts xD
On Gakkou e ikkou, V6 go on trips in pairs rather often, and when Sakamoto-mama and Nagno-mama go somewhere together, it ROCKS THE HOUSE.
They usually visit places based on a bet - a recent example from this year: Nagno will say "Tasty food will make you cry" and so Sakamoto will say it doesn't, and so they go to test this theory (basically an excuse to eat lots xD).
It is suspicious how on a lot of these trips, small children are also involved.
Nagano affectionately calls Sakamoto "the one that always folows me around" and tries to cheer him up whenever he is scared of something (again)- he is also the one delivering the heart-warming speeches.
Sakamoto's the one who is generally overexcited and needs to be calmed down by Mama, and who hugs and pinches him a lot XD
Inohara Yoshihiko
Birthdate: 17 May 1976
Birthplace: Tokyo
Bloodtype: A
Innochi is... an interesting character. xD
I wonder if ANYONE calls him by his full name EVER, especially since he said how people who do make him slightly uncomfortable.
He has kind of two faces to him, really - one is the seriously hyper guy with the beautiful laugh (see that photo in the banner? That's how I like my Inocchi best&hearts), which makes him look like both a very happy person... and a bit of a lunatic, especially when he starts tossing and turning and stomping his feet xD
The other side to Innochi is this... serious guy I often feel a bit sorry for!
His j-web is a mixture of nostalgic and a bit serious things like politics and worries he has or things he would like to do, and he thinks himself to be a horribly misunderstood person.
But his serious look is so hot
It's not easy to change his mind about him, considering he used to flash at people in hotels and doodle on people whenever he would get his hands on a ballpen until a few years ago - one of his most well-known partners in crime includes Domto Tsuyoshi of Kinki Kids, who once said that whenever they meet up, they were some sort of costume and pull pranks on people xD
But Inocchi tried hard to "grow up", I think, he is often refered to the person who keeps V6 balanced and keeps them together, for example by demanding they go eating together, organising birthday surprises, or the one time he made them swap mobile phone numbers (Ken said it was a horrible idea because ever since he keeps texting them and demands an answer every time xD).
Inocchi said he often suffers from the fact that people still think he's crazy because he never gets invited to go for meals within the jimusho ;_;
Seriously, read his j-web. He and TOKIO's Taichi seem to be the top bloggers within the jimusho, it's always worth reading.
He is a good actor and host.
I always liked to see him host a segment on Gakkou or V6's other show Viva Viva V6, and he has his own show, the very popular Ponkickies (or Ponkikkizu) 21, a show for kids - a tidbit of information here, the name of the show's mascot is Mukku, this is where the j-rock band MUCC have their name from!
Inohara, like the rest of his band, isn't a dorama person, he is more into butais.
I would kill to see one O_O
One movie I'd like to rec though, is called "Tengoku wa matte kureru" (Heaven can wait) and it's saaaaad - it will make you miss Inocchi's happyface D:
He has a really beautiful voice, the best in V6, in my opinion, and I know he practices a lot.
Innochi is a member in teh small club of married JE idols!
He is married to actress Seto Asaka, LOL, such a calm person!
I'll end this bit with a photo of Inocchi's best scared expression:
xDDD
V6 are split into two sub-groups, who respectively have quite a lot of work under their belt.
They do have this split because of the huge age difference between the three oldest and three youngest members, and I think they are the only band who have stuck to their subgroups with such an effort.
Sakamoto, Nagano thus make up the first group called 20th Century or Tonisen.
Morita Go
Birthdate: 20 February 1979
Birthplace: Kasukabe, Saitama
Bloodtype: A
&hearts
I am NOT biased. xD
I LOVE HIM.
Morita Go, nicknamed Go-tsun or kobito (midget xDDD), is a person who, just like KAT-TUN's Koki, is the badass group member that isn't.
Go does the ocassional rapping in V6 songs, wears baggy clothes, loves R&B and hiphop and tries to look unapproachable, but he fails, fails, fails.
"Why is that?" you might ask, and let me explain it to you.
a) the voice.
Like Ken, Go has been cursed with the chipmunk voice. When he giggles, which he does a lot, he thus sounds like a ten-year old.
Certain words he says have me in hysterics just from the way he says them.
b) the attitude.
Wow, can this guy be overdramatic! Easy to scare (yeah, I know. Badass.), he will release high-pitched whines and wails and hide.
I mean... that guy is afraid of chicken!
He has no tolerance to pain and can't stand alcohol - two to three small bottles of sake and he's gone, and make sure he doesn't touch the liquor!
Plus he's usually the kind of guy to laugh most at himself, which he proved by playing
TANTEI GAKUEN GO.
He appeared like that twice in a Gakkou e ikkou segment, effortlessly showcasing how bad he is with kanji, the piano, and basic mathematics.
Speaking of tantei, Go's most famous drama role must have been Noda Ryosuke in Kuitan - alongside his sempai Higashiyama!
Boy, the envy from his JE-colleagues was endless.
c) the favourites
The things Go likes most are, probably even in that order:
1) small children, especially infants
2) small animals
3) costume design.
Wooo.
He owns two dogs which Ken calls fat, and one of them looks especially dangerous:
xDD Okada's dog could swallow it in one go! xD
Apparently Go's mother was an idol for a long, long time.
People are always all O_O when he tells them that she was 17 when Go was born.
Go is best friends with Ken, and how do they show that?
By constantly bullying each other xD
He is great at soccer,if you need proof just watch the JE-Sports event from 2003, he scores and scores and scores. xD
These days he mainly goes bowling, though.
One of my favourite Go pics&hearts So relaxed~
Go isd ating Ueto Aya.
Miyake Ken
Birthdate: 2 July 1979
Birthplace: Takamatsu, Kanagawa
Bloodtype: 0
Miyake Ken.
I know what you're going to say now, "So he's the cute one!"
ON THE OUTSIDE THIS MAY BE RIGHT.
It's not that Ken is a meanie, but I think he has difficulties finding the right tone with people.
He usually says outright what he thinks, even if it's not flattering, even to female guests, especially on VVV6.
Recently, I think it was on Hey!Hey!Hey!, he said that even though he knows he can be mean, he doesn't always mean it and asked people to bear with him&hearts
He doesn't like to be followed by cameras for making ofs and never stays around to chat for such footage unless he absolutely has to.
Ken doesn't seem to age.
He has always been cute, and he still is, and his latest haircut (middle picture in the first banner) is his longest yet, but it's so wavy and aaah~&hearts
That plus his queaky voice just make him too adorable, and of course the magazines do everything to sell that image:
Ken is really sporty.
He has crazy muscles (more later&hearts) and tries everything, whereas his favourites are tennis, boxing and surfing.
Ken, to my mind, is a really good actor.
One sole pic convinced me that i want him to be on the list of possible dads for my child xD:
I think it's from a drama?
Anyway, Ken was really good in Neverland, back when he was a sempai surrounded by his juniors, Ikuta Toma, Imai Tsubasa, Tanaka Koki and Murakami Shingo!
Okada Junichi
Birthdate: 18 November 1980
Birthplace: Hirakata, Osaka
Bloodtype: B
You know Okada. You've known and loved Okada before you even knew there was something like V6.
I know this, don't lie to me. xD
The reason for this of course is the long list of doramas under his belt, which hits like Kisarazu Cat's Eye, Tiger&Dragon and SP - what can I say, he's a great actor.
Okada has staed he doesn't like the thought of starring in a romantic dorama - the thought makes him uncomfortable.
Overall there are a lot of things that make Okada uncomfortable, which is probably the reason some people think of him as cold and serious, once he's in a situation he doesn't especially like being in, he will start to mumble (or not talk at all) and shift - well, at least he's honest!
And shy guys are cute, anyway&hearts
The thing that most people don't know though, is how there is also this other side to our little Kun-Kun.
WOULD THE REAL OKADA PLEASE STAND UP?
XD
COME TO THE DORK SIDE!
Because occasionally, when people least expect him to, Okada transforms into hyper!Okada and totally cracks you up.
These occasions might be rare, but that's probably waht you get if you are friends with people like Nagase Tomoya xD
Okada is actually friends with many of his Johnny's Entertainment colleagues, most notbaly said Nagese, Domoto Tsuyoshi and Kanjani8 (he's a fan of Yoko&hearts xD)
The best thing about Okada in my opinion is how much he loves V6.
He got into Johnny's through a one-time competition where you didn't have to be selected for a regular audition, but could win a place through a TV show/American-Idol-like-thingie xD. It sounds like Johnny had been desperate, but those actually were a bit of desperate times.
V6 consists of a people who at that time where ready to debut but couldn't, for what reasons ever, it seems the old man wasn't happy with them - there were plans to let them debut solo, or in duos, I even think it was Sakamoto who was supposed to join SMAP as they had recently lost a member, and then Okada came, tiny Okada, and made V6 ready to go :D
Okada is fairly sporty, plays the guitar and piano (he and Inocchi have jams essions together!), likes Western furniture and art, likes to make children happy (d'awww&hearts), likes to be given things that no one else has (snob! *lol*)and collects bearbrick dolls.
Let's not forget the biggest lovestory of the 21st century, though:
Okada and his dog.&hearts
What is really appealing about Okada to me, however, is how much he honestly loves V6 - during the Gakkou anniversary special he said how to him they are like a second family, the home far from home, and how he feels truly blessed to have met them, and I thought him honest and convincing.
I mean, he was 14 when he debuted, had never been in the dorm, never been a junior, if he ahdn't felt good enough, I think he would have quit. No matter how much of a determined person Okadfa might be these days, a teenager usually quits when he feels lke quitting, and V6 stuck together and kada stuck to them&hearts
Let's end his part with the best Okada-expression ever:
Happy!&hearts
Okada is dating Aoi Yuu.
Go, Ken and Okada make up V6's second sub-group, Coming Century or Kamisen
Kamisen's individual members are more often in the idol magazines than Tonisen are, and they have their own film called Cosmic Rescue.
No matter who might be or become your favourite, I hope you agree that V6 are best together:
The times of the awkward shirtless boys who looked like walking sticks are over,
and what's left is a sempai group that hasn't changed, that, even though it doesnt seem to be possible within JE, has stayed real.
So what you need to do is watch them together.
V6 love each other.
How about movies?
V6 have two group movies, Hard Luck Hero and Hold Up Down, both directed by sabu.
If you've eevr seen a sabu film, you probably know what to expect, it's the kind of whacky, hard to describe film that has a slight yakuza-vibe to it and might be a bit difficult to follow, but in general the two film are good and need to be watched if only for V6 awesomeness.
the Hold Up Down photobook might help to convince you:
Nagano *_*&hearts
xD Gypsy Okada is the best.
Some pics from the awesome Cosmic Rescue Photobook:
Why Gakkou e ikou was the best JE variety show ever
Yeah, you read right, was *sobs*
The show got cancelled this year, a decision I refuse to understand ;_;
Gakkou had a large number of segments because they changed quite often. From things they only did once to regular segments I think there was no episode that was quite like the other.
Gakkou e ikkou means "Let's go to school!" and that wasn't only a title, it was a theme they stuck to.
They went to visit schools.
A few examples:
- a test of courage at a deserted school
- Mama and Papa visit a school's marching band/cheerleading group
- Nagano-mama takes random elementary school kids kids out to eat
- the games they play in the regular segemnts either featured highschoolers or were games people that age would play
...almost everything they did centered around highschoolers or schools. Maybe that's why the show doesn't exist anymore? ;_;
bvex trax (pun on the name of their record lable, avex trax) was a wonderful segment in which wannabie-comedians changed the text of popular songs and oftend ressed up like the idols who had originally performed them.
Something similar to this was the air singing contest, which was basically inspired from the kind of youtube video where someone sticks his face into their webcame and sings playback to a popular song.
Boys and girls could send in their tapes and viewers could vote for the best acts to appear again.
A lot of people got more than their 15 minutes of life time fame from that!
One of my favourite segments was called josou boys - a ladyboys segment!
Boys would dress up as girls, and then they would be placed on that chair you see in the picture, behind a curtain, and the whole purpose of the segmentw as that the curtain would be raised and the live audience, all girls of course, would go absolutely crazy.
There would be commentary on the make-up secrets that made the boys look more feminine and on their fashion choices, and the segment guest plus two V6 members would go "eeeh?! and "oh, ah" and sometiems there would be little scenes to act out.
Needless to say it was probably Sakamoto's favourite thing xD
Once they had established a group of the most pretty boys, it was like V6's hobby to let them pull pranks on their colleagues, sending them into other people's dressing rooms and giggling how they "totally don't notice he's a man, ahahaha!" or going out shopping in Shibuya with them, making them do cute and girly things all the time and telling everyone who didn't want to hear it how yes, they really were boys.
Like Koyama Kentaro-kun, who even sounds like a girl and who whored his way up the ranks by telling Sakamoto he loved him.
After Arashi fell victim to the josou prank, Nino declared himself a big fan and visited the show:
Sometimes Gakkou really went all the way out and got the really famous guys:
Watch that episode. JOHNNY DEPP IS 150 KINDS OF AWESOME IN IT.&hearts
And don't miss the one with Matt Damon, the guy who is fabulous in ever Japanese TV show he's on, because he genuinely loves them all.
DON'T YOU WANNA WATCH THIS SHOW ALREADY?!
The show that has replaced it is called shinchishiki kaikyuu kumagusu and sorry, but I think it's really boring.
...But it brings the pretty.
They do, however, have a second show that's still going strong,
Viva Viva V6 or simply VVV6.
This show mainly consists of selected V6 members and their guest stuffing their faces.
With food of a weekly theme, that is.
For Japanese people, it has to be heaven.
And now, let's bring on more of the pretty that is V6, scaaaaans!
Thanks to all of the original scanners and uploaders, sorry for not crediting each of you, but without you, this post wouldn't have been possible, so thank you&hearts
Your regular idol shot
I've seen Arashi do the same theme before, and I believe it's something every JE band has done - the sleepy face! Except that V6 look as if they passed out in some hallway.
Rest of shots I've used in the banners
...Because grumpy!Go with flowers is a must, anyway.
(I'm not okay with that t-shirt...)
The V6 shot in Duet where everyone frolicks around and looks weird&hearts
Excerpts from V6's first photobook
Featuring Inocchi and a dog that looks ready to bite, Go annoying the rastaman, chibi Okada and OMG&hearts - Tonisen.
Toniiiii&hearts They haven't changed at all.
Article on V6's recent 2008 Vibes Tour featuring the sexy xD
Buy the DVD, it comes out in January!!
Shots that are totally biased towards Kamisen
1) Mixed bag, again
2) Morita Go, "Go on with you!!", Myojo, May 2008
Totally cute *_*
3) Okada's SP-inspired shot in Potato, February 2008
*drools*
4) Ken's best haircut ever
5) Ken's second best haircut ever
...Plus it's a really interesting concept for a shot, "binding yarn"
6) Heart-stoppingly sexy Go, Wink Up January and February 2008, Duet December 2007, and unknown xD
7) Cardiac-arrest inducing sexy Okada
I swear, this is my favourite shot of him *_*
8) That Wink Up shot of Ken of January 2008 that makes me a sad girl and think about bad angsty uke fanfic
9) More of Okada and his dog
10) Ken's *gasp* shot for Tarzan, June 2007
Girls, would you have thought? xD
V6 are forced to draw things for a personality test. Hilarity ensues.
...And with this, my pimp post ends!
Thank you for reading! If you liked it, don't hesitate to tell me or your friends about it.
Imageshack is a huge bitch, I just wanna say.