We Are KAT-TUN

このナミダ・ナゲキ→未来へのステップ KAMELAND is the baby I'd killed after Kouki got booted out of KT and JE. Then I took a short hiatus and had a brief (but still ongoing) fling with K-pop before coming home to KT. It's a fresh start with less passion, definitely, but hopefully more maturity. Soldiering on!

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Anyone wants KAT-TUN con posters from 2008 - 2011/2?

Just putting this out there because it feels like a waste to throw good quality posters away.

Like or reblog if anyone is interested! And I’ll post pictures of them and have a raffle or first come first serve giveaway depending on demand. :)))

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Maruyama and Ueda's secret relationship?!

Maruyama and Ueda are friends who go out to eat together. (In this part of the world we call it lunch kaki, lol) They'd always ask after each other's wellbeing and then ask the other out. As for what they talk about over the meals... "They aren't things I can say here!" says Ueda. They're surprisingly secretive...

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Marius left a message for Ueda on a magazine. He said that Ueda has got the manly eroticism going, and that though they've met several times, they've never really talked. He wants to know more about him from now on.

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KAT-TUN NETA - My heart only beats for Ueda Tatsuya!

This kid went to his sister and said that he didn't want to lose to Nakamaru, and that the upperclassman said that he can't compare Ueda with a guy. His sister replied that Ueda IS a guy. Kid went, "Ueda is Ueda!"

And that he really wants to marry him. 

I... CANNOT. LMAO. I don't even care if this is true at this rate, it's so entertaining.

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POLL: Who's your favorite male entertainer?

Percentage-wise, Kamenashi's more popular with the men. But I think it's cute that he has the same number of votes as Suzuki Fuku. 

Votes from men - 1. Sakurai Shou, 2. Sakai Masato, 3. Suzuki Fuku, 4. Kamenashi Kazuya

Votes from women - 1. Sakurai Shou, 2. Tamamori Yuuta, 3. Sakai Masato, 4. Yamashita Tomohisa, 5. Matsuzaka Toori, 6. Kamenashi Kazuya

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KAT-TUN NETA - Taguchi gets phonecall from Yokoyama and Subaru

When KAT-TUN became four, Taguchi got a surprise phonecall from Yokoyama and Subaru. Having been colleagues for ten years, they gave him words of encouragement, saying that it starts from here. Taguchi was very moved by their kindness, “They were a great help.”

I would think they knew exactly what KAT-TUN were going through, what with what had happened with Uchi back in the day. Though the aftermath of that had been by far a lot less severe than Kouki’s situation. 

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SPOTTED - Nakamaru the gym rat

Who: Nakamaru Yuuichi

When: 131216 late morning / afternoon

Where: gym at Youga

Shocker. Gym-ing, Nakamaru? Never thought you had it in you. Heh.

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131214 Kamenashi dances to AKB48

It was quite adorable. Netizens were impressed too, saying that he was cute and cool for being willing to do AKB's dance though he's a Johnny's boy, and many people mentioned watching it on repeat. Even AKB48's oyaji fans were impressed, saying that he was as good as expected, and that he was rightly positioned in the middle. Some even called for a full JE version. 

(Actually I think KAT-TUN had been mimicking girl group dances on and off for quite some time now. Just not on national TV.)

Mochi even blogged about it, mentioning that Kamenashi had only practiced the dance moves right before the live airing but had already memorized it, while the MCs had practiced countless times. 

Video here -> http://youtu.be/hwe05pb6hzs

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131208 Miura Shohei and Kamenashi Kazuya - Licked Brothers?!

Miura Shohei went on Porori Bus and mentioned that Kamenashi's one of the industry senpais he's close to, and that Kamenashi taught him to "Act only after carefully considering your position."

Then the MC said that he'd licked Kamenashi before too, on his fingernail (during YNB movie promotions), and that Miura and him were brothers who'd been licked by him. 

"My relationship with Kamenashi's fingernails is more than friends, not yet lovers!" -MC

video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MJG0-wOE2U

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TL;DR - Of Acronyms, Lost Members, and Serendipity

I’d been catching up with fandom lately after a (not so) short hiatus, and chanced upon Shabekuri, on which KAT-TUN were guests. Of course they’d talked about the recent loss of a member, the details of which were obviously carefully censored, just enough for fans to feel like they’ve got a bit of an insider’s understanding about the situation and feel empathetic… but that’s a post for another day.

The topic eventually turned to how the name KAT-TUN would work now, given that it had been an acronym of the initials of the original six members. When Jin had left, Kamenashi took up the letter A. Now that Kouki has left too, who would shoulder the second T? And it was explained thusly:

KA – Kamenashi

T – Taguchi

TU – Tatsuya Ueda

N – Nakamaru Yuuichi

Whoever came up with this, I applaud your ingenuity. But at the same time, the serendipity amazes me. It all does seem like it had been meant to be, doesn’t it? And with the way things are going, they should probably lose another member, just to even things up and have three people with two alphabets each. (I kid, I kid. My heart cannot take any more angst from KAT-TUN, honest to God.)

I haven’t really talked about the Kouki situation (which is what I have been officially calling it in my mind) especially since I’d closed Kameland shortly after the news broke. When Jin left, I’d ranted and railed and cursed him and JE and everyone in between. I had been hurt and I was lashing out at anything and everything. When Kouki was given the boot though, I didn’t really know what to feel. Maybe it was because of the entire muddy situation, which was unique to JE. Maybe it was because despite all the details that we had been given in the media aftermath of the Kouki case, the Jin situation had still been clearer – in motivations, perpetrators, the whole nine yards. With Kouki, it was just more confusion, followed by numbness. I had been numb after the announcement and throughout the aftermath, and I’m still numb now.

Having been a fan of KAT-TUN for so long, it does kind of feel like a betrayal by both the members and the company. It had felt as though all the blood and sweat and tears (and money) I had invested in KAT-TUN had been for a farce. It makes me angry, and disappointed, but mostly angry. But if I were honest with myself, KAT-TUN had always been a time-bomb, more so than any other JE group. All the happy times, the member-ai, the fanservice – it’s really all a façade. They’re not friends or family, they will never be. For all their professed love for us and each other, at the end of the day, they’re just a team working towards an end, and the means is us fans.

It’s not really the members who are at fault, or JE, though I think the bulk of the angry sentiments and blame would fall on JE. It’s the industry. At the end of the day they’re idols. They’re there to sell glitz and glamor and the hopes that one day, we too would be able to step one foot in that dazzling world.

TL;DR – I recently returned to catch up with fandom and realized I still love KAT-TUN no matter what sadistic emotional torture wringer they decide to put me through and I guess this means I’m back?

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131018 FRIDAY TANAKA KOUKI INTERVIEW EXCERPTS

Kouki: It's probably strange to say this now that the situation's become like that, but in my heart, the existence (of KAT-TUN) is cherished and revered. After all, It's been more than ten years... It's my favorite place.

He was intercepted upon returning home in a cab.

Kouki: I can't tell you the details...

How do you feel about being let go?

Kouki: Well, with the trouble I've caused, it was inevitable...

When you say you've caused trouble, to whom do you mean?

Kouki: The company, the members, the fans, my family... everyone.

Upon FRIDAY recounting the reasons for his dismissal

Kouki: I was too naive. I kept thinking that the company would protect me, that the members would protect me. Fans also kept telling me that they liked me, though I'm not the typical JE type. I guess I was too naive and wilful.

What was the main reason for your termination?

Kouki:All the trouble I've caused all this while added up. I've really broken a lot of rules.

What about all the restrictions?

Kouki: It's the same no matter where you go in the entertainment industry, but because it's JE, because it's KAT-TUN, I didn't really face any obstacles.

KAT-TUN is now 4 members...

Kouki: To the members, other than "Thank you" and "I'm sorry", there isn't much else to say. When it comes to work, I respect the members a lot, and perhaps it's those four that they'll definitely be alright. Or rather, I hope that KAT-TUN without Tanaka would sell better than ever before. I'd be happy (if that were so), I feel really sorry towards the fans, I hope they'll continue to support KAT-TUN.

After what happened, do you still keep in contact with the members or your company?

Kouki: Not with the members. The manager has already sent (them) a mail in my name - I've caused trouble for everyone, and it has nothing to do with any of the members, and to take care of KAT-TUN.

Do you plan to continue being active in the entertainment industry?

Kouki: It's slightly pessimistic, but I hope I find something, no matter what it is. I do still want to act, but though I say that it's not that easy. I guess I should start from music.

Are you confident about being Tanaka Kouki away from KAT-TUN?

Kouki: I want to go back to where I was - not having my parents worried for me, my younger brothers working in the industry, looking up to myself. I'm worried, but after all that there's no way to go but forward. No matter what, since I was 12, I know nothing about the world outside entertainment.

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OGIHAYAGI: TANAKA KOUKI IS A GREAT GUY

OGIHAYAGI (Ogi Hiroaki, Yahagi Ken) brought up the topic of Kouki's termination on their radio show. Ogi mentioned that while his first impression of Kouki was bad, having worked with him, he found him to be a great guy.

Ogi: But he's a good kid who's very easy to befriend.

Yahagi: Yeah. We've worked together a few times.

Ogi: Before we had worked together, I really disliked him.

Yahagi: Because of his image?

Ogi: Because I'd watched (his) drama... (This reason) is so much like what the average person would say (Laughs)

Yahagi: (Laughs)

Ogi: So off-putting.

Yahagi: (You felt) that he was obnoxious.

Ogi: That's right. But though I disliked him, after working together, I thought "How is there a kid as delightful as him?".

Yahagi: He was friendly and wasn't hateful at all.

Ogi: Un, I like Kouki a lot.

Yahagi: I don't know what happened, JE probably didn't see Koki that way. But this makes me want to support him.

Ogi: That's right. I support him. Because I like him very much after having worked with him just once.