13th issue
A stage play by himself, commentator, YouTube...Nakamaru Yuichi has a lot of different activities.Nakamaru will invite other artists from Johnny's & Associatesand with his particular point of view, he will dig into the true character of his guests in this serialization.
Guest Meguro Ren-san
[First part]
Nakamaru: What are your hobbies, Meguro-kun?
Meguro: What!? (Laughs)
Nakamaru: Let's start with the basis.
Meguro: My hobbies... I really don't go out from my home.
Nakamaru: So you are an indoor person. Since always?
Meguro: Yes. I don't go out drinking or eating much.
Nakamaru: That's the best. That's the best.
Meguro: I'm always at home... I see the stars from my balcony.
Nakamaru: Really? (Laughs) That's the answer of a romanticist!
Meguro: (Laughs) No, but I really like my balcony. I've got a chair and a table there.
Nakamaru: And do you drink there?
Meguro: I drink there or I just sit and space out.
Nakamaru: So stars, huh? Do you have that thing?
Meguro: A telescope? I bought one!
Nakamaru: For real!?
Meguro: It's a really small and cheap one, but I look at the stars with that. But I don't know much about that subject. Nakamaru-kun, do you go out much?
Nakamaru: I don't go out much either and I also love my balcony.
Meguro: Oh (laughs).
Nakamaru: But I don't look at the stars (laughs).
Meguro: Then, have you decorated your balcony in any way?
Nakamaru: I did, I've got artificial grass.
Meguro: That's great. I've got tiles.
Nakamaru: I used to be really interested in stars in the past, but now I'm looking for UFOs.
Meguro: Hahaha! But I really get it.
Nakamaru: I like urban legends. I don't believe in them, but they are fun and I enjoy talking about them.
Meguro: What do you do in your balcony?
Nakamaru: I actually don't use it much, but when the weather is nice, I like drinking there and enjoying the night breeze. It reduces my stress. But with the job we've got, I think it's better to be an indoor person. Don't a lot of rumors come up every time we go out?
Meguro: That's right. But in the first place, I don't like crowded places so that might be the best having this job.
Nakamaru: But it isn't like you never eat out, is it?
Meguro: I do it from time to time. (A drink was served to them.) Ah, thank you. (He rose up his glass.)
Nakamaru: Cheers. (He rose up his glass.)
Meguro: I'll grill the meat.
Nakamaru: It's okay, don't worry. But (He pointed at the meat grill) from here to here, all of this is mine!
Meguro: Hahahaha! So if I go over that limit, will you get mad?
Nakamaru: You can't! (And while saying that, he started grilling his meat as if nothing had happened.)
Meguro: I can't... (Laughs) I sometimes eat out with one or two close friends.
Nakamaru: So never more than 3 people. I get it. For me it's a max of 4 people. If it's 5 or more people, I don't feel like going.
Meguro: That's it (laughs). I can go if it's more people, but it's not my forte. You don't go out much either, Nakamaru-kun?
Nakamaru: I'm mostly eat at home. Or I eat at work. Since there are lunchboxes at filming sites, I eat that. Do you cook?
Meguro: Sometimes. I'll just try to cook something like a rice omelet, nothing hard. Who is the Johnny's you are the closest with, Nakamaru-kun?
Nakamaru: I guess it's NEWS' Masuda (Takahisa). We joined at the same time and... No, I also get along well with the members, but with Masuda it's a good thing we aren't in the same group. We have the same background so it's easy to talk without having to explain much.
Meguro: So talk about work too?
Nakamaru: We talk about our thoughts and such. We eat together from time to time.
Meguro: Don't you do that with the members of your group?
Nakamaru: It's not easy with a 3-people group; if I say that I go eating with Ueda (Tatsuya)-kun, Kamenashi (Kazuya)-kun's fans will think Kamenashi-kun and I don't get along well (laughs).
Meguro: Hahaha. I'm sure it isn't like that.
Nakamaru: It is. That's why we have to keep a balance with the anecdotes we tell. I realized that when we became 3. By the way, how old were you when you joined Johnny's?
Meguro: 14 years old.
Nakamaru: So soon! Well, it wasn't soon. On the contrary, wasn't it too late? What was the reason?
Meguro: All my cousins are girls and for New Year, my family gathers on my cousins' house. The big sister of those cousins liked Johnny's a lot and had her wall full of KAT-TUN and NEWS posters. And the only guys were me and my younger brother so she suggested that we should send our applications. And I kind of went with the flow and sent it. I had the audition in my second year of middle school. I'm like this, so the day of the audition I didn't speak with many people, but one person who I happened to talk to and with whom I got along very well was Hara (Yoshitaka). We both passed the audition and ended up being shinme*...
Nakamaru: So at first you and Hara were shinme.
Meguro: Yes.
Nakamaru: Wow. So when did you debut?
Meguro: In 2020. I was 22 when I debuted.
Nakamaru: So your period as a junior was quite long. I didn't think it was that long.
Meguro: But the original members of Snow Man were juniors for a longer time so compared to them, I wasn't a junior for that long, but it was actually a long time too. When I was a junior, I got to back dance for KAT-TUN, but I barely interacted with you, Nakamaru-san, so I'm really nervous today.
Nakamaru: Why? (Laughs) I don't make you nervous, do I? I don't think I should say this, but according to my own experience as a junior, the number of juniors who gets to debut is limited, right? Most people will quit at some point. So I don't know who will keep going and who will resign so I don't get close to my kouhais. Because I will feel responsible for them.
Meguro: I see. Since you think it's something important, you wait for them to be the ones starting the conversation, isn't it?
Nakamaru: Yes. Because if we get close and after that they start to worry about their jobs, I will want to help them as much as I can. So having a half-hearted friendship... Like with someone who back danced for us, is something I barely have.
Meguro: I even took part in one of Nakamaru-kun's solos. We really didn't talk much, but I learned a lot of things from watching you from behind on the stage.
Nakamaru: That's a really harsh comment (laughs).
Meguro: No, no, I didn't mean that! I'm being serious! When I was a junior, I got really embarrassed and frightened when I went up the stage. I fought those feelings back by watching KAT-TUN and other senpais dancing with confidence and by watching the fans enjoying so much. With that image in my head, I thought I must had looked really lame while feeling embarrassed.
Nakamaru: You realized that.
Meguro: It's not something someone had told me directly, but you all transmitted it to me when I watched you. That's how I learned.
Nakamaru: You are right. I also worked a lot with KinKi Kids, back danced for them a lot and gained a lot of experience, but I barely talked to them at that time. But that's how it is. Who is back dancing for you now?
Meguro: We have only had one tour yet. But in the musical Takizawa Kabuki, there's a group called IMPACTOrs with us.
Nakamaru: Those kids talk a lot.
Meguro: They do. There're also other junior who also back danced for KAT-TUN when I was with Uchuu Six.
Nakamaru: Really? Who?
Meguro: Kageyama Takuya, it's from my generation.
Nakamaru: I see, so you can really feel like colleagues. Because in Snow Man 3 members were added afterward, right?
Meguro: Yes, me, Raul and Mukai Koji.
Nakamaru: Mukai was a junior for a long time too, right? I knew the Mukai Muay Thai Brothers. Long ago Johnny (Kitagawa)-san introduced me some kids with a cute face. I think we even went to Hawaii together.
Meguro: I think Koji had gone to Hawaii before, so maybe you went together.
Nakamaru: We only talked for a little bit and I had no idea was he was up to after that. And last year I realized that the Mukai of the group Snow Man that had just debuted was the one from the Muay Thai Brothers.
Meguro: Hahahaha!
Nakamaru: Because I didn't remember him being so cheerful (laughs). What did Mukai do before joining Snow Man?
Meguro: He was a Kansai junior, being added to many groups and they all kept being disbanded again and again. I even back danced for Koji in my 4th year as a junior.
Nakamaru: What? Really!? What about Raul?
Meguro: Among all the little juniors, Raul was the only one with dreadlocks and his dancing was amazing. He was so different for the rest; you had no other choice than to look at him. Because he already danced before joining Johnny's. And before joining Snow Man, he was part of a group called Shounen Ninja.
Nakamaru: Ah, he was in that group. Snow Man was originally 6 people and their period as juniors was really long, right?
Meguro: Yes. It was especially long for Fukka-san (Fukazawa Tatsuya).
Nakamaru: 10 years or so? It didn't reach 10 years?
Meguro: Ah, I think he exceeded it by far.
Nakamaru: He exceeded it!
Meguro: I think it was more than 10 years.
Nakamaru: But in that period of time, he must have thought a lot about his future.
Meguro: He always says they back danced for a lot of senpais and they got the image of a group formed of real artisans.
Nakamaru: That's true. But now that can be seen through the quality of your dance. Was it in DREAM BOYS? We did it together with Snow Man and they really looked worried. And that's also what I felt talking to them. I'm really glad you all got to debut.
Meguro: I've also wondered whether I should quit or not.
Nakamaru: When? At what time?
Meguro: When I turned 20.
Nakamaru: Right before joining Snow Man?
Meguro: Yes. Everybody I knew was looking or getting a job. And I really didn't see myself debuting anytime soon. People around me kept telling me I would never debut and I also believed that. I thought that if I kept wasting my time like that, what would be of my life? Then I prepared myself for the worst and decided I would quit in two years.
Nakamaru: You were decided.
Meguro: Yes. But in those 2 years I said all I wanted to say.
Nakamaru: Ah, I see. So you wouldn't regret anything.
Meguro: Yes. I said everything, even the things I wanted to do and if it didn't work, it was okay because I had decided to quit in two years, but right exactly in 2 years I debuted.
Nakamaru: In the end, it was a good thing that you decided to quit.
Meguro: Yes. Thanks to that I got to do the things I wanted to do. It really makes a big different when you are prepared for the worst.
Nakamaru: Because people around you kept saying, "He joined Johnny's but is he going to be okay?" It's not like the debuts are happening steadily! It was the same for me and it was really unpleasant (laughs).
Meguro: Yes (laughs). Like, "Is he still wasting his time with that?"
Nakamaru: Yes, yes. I won't forget one time around my second year as a junior. I met my female cousin after a long time and she said, "Are you still in Johnny's?" I was in shock. Although I joined the agency quite late and she said that when I was in my first or second year of high school.
Meguro: How old were you when you debuted?
Nakamaru: 22. Ah, same as you.
Meguro: The same!
Nakamaru: We also have something else in common and it's the fact that when I turned 20, I promised my parents I would quit in 2 years if I hadn't debuted by then.
Meguro: What? Really?
Nakamaru: Yes. And I'm the only boy among my siblings. And all my cousins are also girls and I also used to play soccer like you...
Meguro: What!?
Nakamaru: With this conversation I'm realizing we've got many things in common.
Meguro: What did you think when your parents told you to quit in 2 years if nothing changed?
Nakamaru: At that moment I had no other choice than to produce results so I probably thought the same as you. I thought to just trying to do all the things I wanted to do.
Meguro: Were you in KAT-TUN already at that time?
Nakamaru: Were I? No, it was before KAT-TUN was formed. Just a little bit before. And soon after that we had our first solo concert. That made my parents more relieved.
Meguro: I see.
Nakamaru: So I kept going thinking it was okay to continue just like that. Did your parents understand you wanting to be a Johnny's or in the showbiz?
Meguro: Yes. But they were more like, “if you want to quit, then quit or if you want to do that, then do it.”
Nakamaru: But in a group of 6 people, 3 more were added suddenly. And it's not like you 3 knew each other or anything, right?
Meguro: Yes.
Nakamaru: Didn't you feel a bit uneasy joining them? You had it hard until that moment and suddenly you were told to join Snow Man.
Meguro: But I've always been like that, even before Uchuu Six was formed, I hadn't even had the level to be put in a group.
Nakamaru: Like someone who doesn't belong anywhere?
Meguro: Yes. I barely was given any job. That's why I didn’t really know what was to feel happy because of a job.
Nakamaru: I see. So when you finally were chosen to join Snow Man, you were really happy.
Meguro: Yes. I was happy that I could still be part of Uchuu Six so I decided to treasure both groups.
Nakamaru: How was your relationship with Snow Man at first?
Meguro: I felt how they received us happily. But among the fans that had been supporting the 6 of them for a long time, of course there were some who didn't like we joined.
Nakamaru: Yes. Of course it would affect those surrounding the group too.
Meguro: They had always been supporting the 6 of them so I understand how they felt.
Nakamaru: The fans had a lot to think about. But in the end, there is no other way than to get them to acknowledge that it was a good thing that you became the current members.
Personally, I think you're definitely going in the right direction.
Meguro: I'm happy to hear that. I also want to ask you, Nakamaru-kun, how was the age gap among juniors back in your days?
Nakamaru: When I joined there weren't any high school students. There were some middle schoolers, but it was mostly elementary school kids and everyone was so small. It was like, when someone started high school, they wondered whether to quit Johnny's or not.
Meguro: So that was a turning point.
Nakamaru: Yes. Now there are even university students, but at that time there wasn't many options.
Meguro: And at that time debuting at 22 was considered late?
Nakamaru: It wasn't soon, but well, I guess it was appropriate. I had been in KAT-TUN for 5 years plus 2 more years before that, so a total of 7 years as a junior. And it was the same for the other members in KAT-TUN. Now the system has changed and there are many 22-years-old juniors, right? I can't say that's definitely a good thing, but I think things went well for us in due time so I think it's not that bad to be a junior for so long.
Meguro: You are right. There are a lot of juniors and if we think of how are the lives of each of them, this new system is going in the right direction, isn't it?
Nakamaru: What work do you have today after this?
Meguro: I've got a radio program and a song recording after that.
Nakamaru: How is it? I mean the new songs (He said while laughing after mixing polite language with casual language.)
Meguro: (Laughs) Yes, it's the song for Iwamoto (Hikaru)-kun's movie. It's a refreshing and heart-warming song, but it got a lot of dancing. Very Snow Man-like. It's a song you normally wouldn't expect to have so much dancing, but we do dance a lot.
Nakamaru: We certainly want Snow Man to dance. Then, you'll like people to watch the performance in music shows, right?
Meguro: Yes, I'd like them to watch it.
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Thank you lots 🥰
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