FCHAN'S 「KAT-TUN TRANSLATIONS」

  KAT-TUN releases their new album "Fantasia" on February 15th. It is a work full of feeling that contains many songs recorded in various genres. This album's tour will start soon. This time, we heard about the ideas for this tour and of course about the album from Ueda Tatsuya.  Songs: What did you focus on as a group when releasing the new album "Fantasia"? Ueda:  First of all the theme for this one was to try to make it genre-less without deciding on a system for it. So, while having the staff show us songs, we would tell them what sort of songs we wanted more of and they would find it. We repeated this several times. Moreover, it feels like everyone, the 3 of us and the staff, chose the songs.  S: What made you want to go genre-less? U: With last year's album "Honey" we tried a more mature atmosphere, so it would be a shame to let that go to waste this time. Rather, we thought it was alright to mix all the genres we have done so far. That's...

Nakamaru: I wonder when we first knew each other. Koyama: I was aware of Nakamaru-kun in "The Shonen Club". The Shonen Club always starts with a dance number, and when I saw Nakamaru and Ueda-kun (Tatsuya) dancing together, I thought, "This guy is a good dancer!" That was my first impression. Nakamaru: Thank you very much. What year did you join the Johnny's Office? Koyama: It was in 2001. Nakamaru: I see. Same period. Koyama: I think the team that I auditioned together and still remain are the Kiss My Ft2 team of Yokoo (Wataru), Nikaido (Takashi), and Miyata (Toshiya). Was Ueda always your shinme?  Nakamaru: No, originally it was Fujigaya. Koyama: Eh? Really? Nakamaru: It was less than a year in duration. There was a period when Fujigaya, Ueda, and I were doing various dances together, and then Ueda and I became shinme. My impression of Koyama was that you were there all of a sudden. Koyama: That's what Shige (Shigeaki Kato) tells me, too. Suddenly, I was i...

(this is a pic of the mag, not a scan) Kamenashi Kazuya, who is about to air in a drama in which he plays the lead role, appears in the opening interview! He is very passionate about his role in the drama, suggesting that he will wear his hair blonde for the first time in his life. He also talks about his new collaboration with director Hideo Nakata, a close friend. We caught up with him about his thoughts on the drama. "Shoutai" will be Kazuya Kamenashi's first starring role in a WOWOW production. Kamenashi plays Kaburagi Keiichi, a death-row inmate who escapes from prison after being arrested for the murder of a married couple. He escapes by changing his appearance and name, and while moving from place to place, he saves the lives of those he meets. "Kaburagi is a person who likes people and wants to be with them. Kaburagi is not a skilled con artist, so he does not disguise himself in various ways. I added changes in the use of voice as the essence of the characte...

KAT-TUN To the NEXT STAGE KAT-TUN's 15th-anniversary commemorative program "Nani Suru KAT-TUN?" has already started, and with the theme of "what the three of us want to do together," they've taken on a variety of challenges, including games and travel. In addition to studio live performances of their songs, the program also allowed the audience to enjoy their true emotions. N: After each recording, we would have a meeting to discuss the next project, and the staff would help us figure out what the three of us wanted to do. I'm really grateful that the next month they are able to make it happen. K: Because we're allowed to do things that the three of us wouldn't normally be able to do together. U: It was a precious time for us to be able to sing songs other than the singles in the singing part. It was an opportunity for non-fans to get to know various songs, and I'm grateful for that. I think the best memory I have is going to Kanazawa (ep 7, ...

  (scans cr  Karen Pang ) Person in focus: idol group KAT-TUN "I'm slowly realizing that many people are congratulating me." (Kamenashi) Celebrating the 15th anniversary of their debut, they will participate in the Kohaku Uta Gassen for the first time. "I feel a strange connection (to the Tokyo International Forum)." (Nakamaru) "If Grandma was still alive, she'd be happy." (Ueda) It was a fulfilling year. They were chosen to participate in the Kohaku Uta Gassen for the first time. One day in December, the three of them all said the same thing: "Thank you."  "I'm very grateful for the special time I get to spend here. I want to live up to that. I've had to deal with a lot of emotions in the past, and I've moved on." (Kamenashi) "It was full of good things. A lot of people tried to make the 15th anniversary a good one. I've never had good memories of our anniversaries, but I think this is a great year that wil...

  Guest: Inohara Yoshihiko from V6 Nakamaru: When I think about it, it was easy to understand when I was in Jr. that our goal was to make a CD debut. If you work hard towards your goal, you will be able to surpass your limits, but after debut, your goal becomes vague. Inohara: I don't think that making a CD debut is everything now. I'd like to say that there may be other ways, but even so, making a CD debut is still very strong. I guess there's still that feeling of wanting to debut. Nakamaru: Did you have anything like that when you made your debut? Inohara: Yes, yes. When I joined the group, Hikari Genji had just debuted, and I was riding a skateboard in the background. Then SMAP debuted, and we backed them up. Next, TOKIO debuted. Matsuoka (Masahiro) and Nagase (Tomoya) joined the Johnny's office after me, so... Nakamaru: Oh, there's a little twist there. Inohara: Yeah. When Nagano-kun and I appeared on stage for the 10th anniversary of Shonentai, it was at a ven...

Guest: Inohara Yoshihiko from V6   (part 1) Nakamaru: I've worked with Inohara-kun on a drama called "Hayami-san to Yobareru hi" (2012), but actually the first time I worked with you was in 1999 or 2000. The first time I was allowed to do back dancing for Tonisen (T/N: 20th Century) on their national tour. Inohara: Ehhh! Nakamaru:  Maybe there were so many Jr. that Inohara-kun didn't notice me. Inohara: I kind of know that Nakamaru-kun was on the tour, but to be honest, I don't really remember.  Nakamaru: That's right. It was a long time ago, and I had just joined. And at the time I thought Tonisen's tour felt very homey. Inohara: Eh, really! Nakamaru: You talked a lot even to the Jr., and you even teased us on stage. Inohara: What tour was that? Nakamaru: ....... You were throwing paper tape at the end. Inohara: Ah, yes, yes, yes! At that time, the producer said, "From now on, we'll use paper tape" and I thought, "It's nice ...

(I didn't translate the first part of the interview because it was just a repetition of what they had already said elsewhere about Roar and their solos) Kamenashi, Ueda, and Nakamaru are now active in their own genres. What were the 15 years you spent as KAT-TUN like for you? Nakamaru: Being able to celebrate our 15th anniversary is a result of the support of so many people. Kamenashi: I think it's really a miracle that we can celebrate our 15th anniversary like this, even though we haven't been able to spend time with our fans in a good way for the 5th and 10th years. Ueda: It's like a ship with holes in various places that almost sank, but with the help of fans and everyone involved, we were able to repair it and finally reach the 15th anniversary (laughs). N: But I also feel like it all happened so fast... U: The number of people in the group has changed, but I think the relationships and feelings between the members haven't changed. K: The base of how we perceiv...

(Scans found on Weibo, credit on pics.) Nine years of illustration. It started as "Yuichi Nakamaru's Road to Picture Book Artist" in the August 2012 issue, and after a change of title to "Illustration Study Group", the serialization that has continued for 9 years finally comes to its final installment. Nakamaru has been a regular contributor to WINK UP for about 22 years since his first appearance. As he looks at past illustrations, he realizes how much his drawing skills have grown, he got excited about memories of location shoots and talked about his thoughts on the series. I can only say "thank you" for this series. I've been doing this for nine years now, regardless of whether I have any talent or not, and it's become a form of art in its own right, and I think I've grown in some small way by drawing every month. It's a great opportunity for me because I never used to draw illustrations except for this series, and for those who look...