Super Eight

Nominally structured as an eight-member boy band originating from Japan’s Kansai area, Kanjani Eight—whose numeral is rendered sideways to resemble an infinity symbol—functions chiefly as an expansive entertainment franchise developed by the powerful idol agency Johnny & Associates. Their recorded output follows the standard J-pop template, incorporating rap passages and generous portions of enka, yet the members also form specialized subunits such as the rock-oriented Subaru Band and the comic sketch troupe Kanjani Sentai Eight Rangers, while hosting variety programs and radio slots and appearing in television dramas and stage musicals. Although each member performs, composes, and plays instruments, the collective remains embedded within Johnny’s regimented system rather than operating as an autonomous ensemble.

The majority of the lineup entered Johnny’s orbit between 1996 and 1997 by joining the agency’s Kansai Jr trainee roster. In 1999 several of these trainees formed the band V West, whose roster comprised Hiroki Uchi, Shota Yasuda, Ryuhei Maruyama, Kiyohito Mizuno, and Toru Imayama; Tadayoshi Okura, who would later join Kanjani Eight, declined participation. The group achieved only modest traction, and by 2001 many participants contemplated leaving the industry altogether. Their fortunes shifted in 2002 when the Kansai Jrs secured roles in the summer musical Another, after which Johnny’s formally introduced Kanjani Eight—an eight-piece unit named for the local television channel on which the trainees’ program had aired.

The initial roster consisted of You Yokoyama, Subaru Shibutani, Shingo Murakami, Ryo Nishikido, Ryuhei Maruyama, Tadayoshi Okura, Shota Yasuda, and Hiroki Uchi. Nishikido and Uchi were simultaneously assigned to the Johnny’s group News yet continued to divide their schedule between both acts. During their formative years the octet remained largely a regional act, regularly appearing at Osaka’s Shochiku-za theater. Their 2004 debut single, issued exclusively in Kansai, was “Naniwa Iroha Bushi,” which nevertheless reached number eight on the national chart and prompted a nationwide re-release; the track became the first enka-linked single in seventeen years to top the weekly rankings. Later that year the mini-album Kansha Ni Eight entered the charts at number five. Also in 2004 the members shared the stage with fellow Johnny’s act Kat-Tun in the musical Dream Boy, a production they revisited in 2005 and 2006.

The 2005 singles “Osaka Rainy Blues” and “Sukiyanen, Osaka” each landed inside the Top Five, moving 120,000 and 160,000 copies respectively. That same period, however, brought the abrupt departure of Hiroki Uchi following a scandal: the idol was discovered drinking underage in the company of a senior Fuji TV host, resulting in an official suspension from public view. Johnny’s consequently canceled the television drama special Yakusoku, which had featured the entire Kanjani Eight lineup, and instructed the remaining members—otherwise notably close-knit—not to reference their absent colleague, although the group continued to signal support indirectly. The band’s first full-length album, KJ1 F.T.O., appeared in 2006 and yielded the double-sided single “Osaka Obachan Rock/Osaka Romanesque,” which peaked at number two on Oricon, followed by “Kanfuu Fighting,” their initial chart-topper.

Extensive touring ensued, with the members performing both individually and as a unit before frequently sold-out houses; three drama specials were later compiled into a DVD box set that led the sales chart. The touring schedule carried into 2007, the year the second album, KJ2 Zukkoke Daidassou, was released; its singles “Zukkoke Otokomichi” and “It’s My Soul” both reached number one. Uchi made limited stage appearances during this interval, though Johnny’s maintained his public exile until 2008, when he starred in a Fuji TV miniseries. Additional touring and theatrical engagements occupied 2008, after which the group issued its third album, Puzzle, in 2009; the record debuted at number one, as had the preceding single “Musekinin Hero” from 2008, which moved 400,000 units.