The June 12th Issue
Nakata (again), Sakurai Shō on Johnny's, and a mini-review of "Renovation Like Magic."
Nakata says nothing about Matsumoto controversy in new video
I mean basically. In his new (31-minute) video, he sits down to talk with his manzai partner Fujimori Shingo to discuss the past busy week in comedy that he caused. And by that I mean they just mention the various responses other comedians have made about his video and talk about how up-in-arms people are over the whole ordeal. The three things that we did learn are 1) Nakata claims to be making his suggestion to Matsumoto “out of love.” 2) The “in order to get my humor you need intelligence” line? He stole from a writing of Matsumoto’s. This is actually a very clever move, hats off. 3) Nakata, in response to Matsumoto’s suggestion that they meet without any cameras, said that it wouldn’t be that interesting because it wouldn’t be filmed and thus couldn’t be used for bits which is probably the most revealing thing that he said about this whole thing.
TV-Related: Sakarai Shō on the Johnny’s issue
On Monday, June 5th, Arashi’s Sakurai Shō went on Nihon Television’s “news zero” (2006 - present) this week to directly address the Johnny’s controversy. First, Sakurai stated that he has two positions. One is as "a member of the office that is being held responsible for the problem," and the other is "a position that could be seen as the victim's side.” From Sakurai’s point of view, he isn’t an employee of the Johnny's office, but rather an "outside employee" who has an exclusive outsourcing contract with the company. However, he’s also Sakurai Shō so I don’t know if I buy the idea that he has no agency here. Sure, even though he is technically contracted, he and the rest of Arashi are the backbone of Johnny’s.
The first point Sakurai wanted to convey was a call for consideration of the fact that "There are people who are hurt by speculation.” He doesn’t really focus on the people who are putting themselves out there claiming to be hurt by Kitagawa but calls for the consideration of former Johnny's Jr. members who no longer work in entertainment. I mean yeah I guess? But what about the people who are actually suing the company?
Secondly, he called for an investigation with an emphasis on the protection of the privacy of those who do not want to speak out. Again, just an odd aspect to stress in your first public statement about people accusing your former boss of being a pedophile and an abuser. Finally, he said that sexual assault of any kind must never be tolerated and must never occur.
I guess we’ll see how he conducts himself from here. You can watch his full statement here (no subtitles).
Fuji Television’s girls
I learned something new this week! Fuji Television has a history of having announcers and female college students appear not only in its news and information programs but also in variety shows and dramas since the 1980s. The programs that are most known for this practice are shows such as the Friday late-night live broadcast variety show "All Night Fujiko," (2023) which started this spring, features 15 female college students, the "Fujikos," "All Night Fuji," (1983 - 1991), "All Night Fuji Returns," (1994), and "Campus Night Fuji" (2009 - 2010).
However, from the late 2000s to the 2010s, Fuji Television's strategy of utilizing announcers has gradually come under increasing criticism such as "they’re [the announcers] pretending to be a celebrity” and "old-fashioned.” It’s said that there are two main aims in utilizing these announcers and female college students. The first is to add “flair, freshness, vigor, and friendliness” to the program. The second is to reduce production costs. Rather than using popular celebrities with high fees, and with production costs being cut due to declining broadcasting revenues, Fuji Television can use these relatively unknown girls to do all the heavy lifting for cheap.
I won’t make some grand statement on the practice but to those defending it… c’mon like you know this would never happen to men.
News Roundup
This scene of the manzai duo Audrey performing from the biographic drama “Da Ga Jōnetsu Aru” [だが、情熱はある] (2023) went viral last week for how similar it is to the real-life Audrey’s actual performance at M-1 in 2008. This is a show I’ve been watching weekly and will review it once all the episodes fully air.
NHK’s new drama “Yasashii Neko” [やさしい猫] (2023) is about Miyuki, a single mother and childcare worker who meets Sri Lankan Kumara and they fall in love. Soon after they submit their marriage certificate, Kumara is detained in an immigration facility for overstaying his visa and ordered to be deported back to his home country. Kumara and Miyuki are suspected of having been married under false pretenses, and the show is about their battle against the government. The five-episode show begins airing on Saturday, June 24th. I’ll be tuning into this one.
Cinnamoroll is getting a cooking show. “Cinnamoroll to Yasuda Akira no Yurudoki ☆ Suufun Cooking” [シナモンと安田顕のゆるドキ☆数分クッキング] (2023) is a show in which the actor Yasuda Akira and Cinnamoroll try their hand at cooking but can’t help but go at their own pace that they can't even think about cooking. The show starts airing on TBS on Saturday, October 17th.
Renovation Like Magic [魔法のリノベ] (2022)
My most used word when describing the various Japanese dramas I watch is “cute” and “Renovation Like Magic,” which I finished watching this week, is no exception. Based on Hoshizaki Maki's manga, the Fuji show is about Shingyōji Koume who quits her job at a giant remodeling corporation to go work at a family-run remodeling company instead. In each episode, she and one of the sons of the company, Fukuyama Gennosuke, help a person or family on renovating their house or apartment and of course also help them solve some personal issue they’re dealing with. Japan is just so good at these brightly-colored rom-coms and I somehow always find myself unexpectedly emotionally invested. Plotwise, the show is relatively predictable but the clever very-manga-ish writing and jokes along the way make it so warm and watchable, especially during this rainy season. And even as someone who never bothered putting any effort into their house in “Animal Crossing,” I’m suddenly very into and opinionated about interior design. It is also just very fun and envigorating to watch people be good at their jobs. By the way, “cancel culture” is mentioned at one point and I nearly fell out of my chair. So fair warning. I also still can’t decide if Gennosuke (played by Mamiya Shōtarō) is hot or not—his jaw is just so angular. Fire off in the comments.
TV I watched this week: “Uwasa no!Tokyo Magazine” [噂の!東京マガジン] (1989 - present), “Renovation Like Magic,” “Daga, Jōnetsu wa Aru,”, “Owarai Wideshow Marco Polori!” [お笑いワイドショー マルコポロリ!] (2006 - present), “Suiyobi no Downtown” [水曜日のダウンタウン] (2014 - present)
inshallah Nakata and Matsumoto work through this