Yutorin turns 18!

It's August 10th, so you know what that means. My favorite underage JE boy turns 18. Even though Yuto is only exactly 1 year and 4 months younger than me, I still felt creepy because he wasn't 18. I'll probably rejoice more when Anderson Casey turns 18. I've been perving on him since he was 15. Him and his "I look exactly like someone you know in real life" face. But I don't really follow Juniors. Therefore, Yuto is still was my favorite underage JE boy.

I'm not even sure why Yuto is my favorite member of Hey! Say! JUMP. He's not the best looking member, which would be Ryosuke or Yabu. He's not the funniest member, which would be Inoo or Hikaru. But there's just something about Yuto that attracts me to him. He's got this dorky and quirky charm that I find appealing. Yuto is just so cute and loveable.

To commerorate this milestone calls for a picspam of epic proportions.

 

Also here's a Yuto heavy live performance. Since Yuto hasn't gotten a solo song in a hundred years, this performance of Dash is the closest he's come in a long time.

Hey! Say! JUMP-Magic Power preview

A short radio rip of Hey! Say! JUMP's upcoming single, Magic Power, was released a few days ago. I honestly don't know how I missed it until now. XD

As expected the song is pretty childish. But not as childish as I expected. It's obviously not one of my favorite Hey! Say! JUMP A-sides, but it's not so terrible that I can't listen to it. The music also has more of a motown feel then I thought it would have. The song is pretty cute I'll give it that, but after how mature Over was I was looking forward to HSJ moving away from their cute image. But as the youngest Johnny's group (NYC technically is, but they are more of a sub-group.) I guess there's no escaping it for now.

The line distribution is pretty awful. So far only Chinen and Ryosuke have solo lines. Just like I feared would happen. This is only half the song, so I suppose there could be more member's solos in the second half. But I wouldn't bet on it.

Hey! Say! JUMP to release 8th single

It was recently announced that Hey! Say! JUMP will be releasing their 8th single. The single is titled Magic Power and will be released sometime in September. The song will be used as the Japanese theme for the Smurfs movie, since Ryosuke and Chinen are voice acting in it.

I'm actually really excited that Hey! Say! JUMP is releasing a new single so quickly after their last one.  However, I'm not really excited that it's being used for the theme to the Smufs movie. It most likely means that the song will be pretty immature. Now, Hey! Say! JUMP usually releases pretty simple and slightly immature songs because they are the youngest Johnny's group, and most likely have a lot of young fans. But having a theme for the Smurfs will probably make the song even more immature than usual. Probably extremely child like. Which I'm not 100% excited for. But I guess if I can listen to Berryz sing about a monkey dance and watch S/mileage dance around in pig ears, I can listen to HSJ sing about Magic Power. However, if it's on the same level as Little Princess Pri, I might have to cut my ears off. XD

The song is apparently going to be motown. And the lyrics will be based on the Smurfs catchphrase "Even if we are small, if we work together we can do anything!" Which alone means the song is 100% going to be super childish. And forgive me if I'm wrong, but since when do the Smurfs have a catchphrase? Didn't they mainly just say everything was smurf this and smurf that? I'm actually not a 100% sure on that. Growing up the Smurfs and Snorks annoyed me to no end.

This song also marks the first single with the new 9 member Hey! Say! JUMP. I wish I could say this will be the only 9 member single, they most likely have way more to come. Like all of their singles from now on. And since Ryosuke's and Chinen's involvement in the smurfs movie was announced a while ago they might have had to re-record this song without Ryutaro. Oh, who am I kidding? They probably only had to re-edit the song. They probably just deleted Ryutaro's lines in the chorus, and his lines with 1-3 other members. Because there's no way that Ryutaro would have had a solo line in this single anyway. Actually there's probably not really a chance for any member to have a solo line, who's name isn't Ryosuke or Chinen. Since the song is for their movie, it probably gives them an excuse to turn this into a Ryosuke and Chinen centered single. (As if their other songs aren't like that.) I mean this could possibly turn out to be another Hitomi no Screen, but with a little Chinen thrown in. I shudder to think that.

Morimoto Ryutaro on indefinite suspension!

A completely unexpected and shocking scandal is rocking the idol world. Hey! Say! JUMP's youngest member, 16 year old Morimoto Ryutaro, has been caught underage smoking. And because of this scandal Ryutaro will cease all of his activities in the entertainment field indefinitely. He will also be edited out of the cover of Hey! Say! JUMP's new single, Over, and will not participate in the Summary concerts.

Here are the larger pictures of him smoking:

Is anyone else having really bad Kago Ai flashbacks? All Ryutaro needs to do is date a 40 year old woman, and he's as good as history. All joking aside, this is a completely serious issue. Not only is underage smoking illegal it's also taken very seriously in Japan. It's easy for fans living in the West to dismiss this scandal as not a big deal at all. When underage celebrities in America are caught doing a lot worse, nothing happens to them. Back in the day Lindsay Lohan drank underage, Taylor Momsen flashed her underage boobs, and Miley Cyrus was caught smoking "salvia." Among many other underage scandals that I'm sure exist, but don't know of off the top of my head. But for some reason in the US they got a slap on the wrist, and people didn't seem to really care. However, just because America seems to be more lenient about these things, doesn't mean Japan should or will be. We're talking about idols here. Idols who get kicked out of their group for being caught with a boyfriend. (Well, that only happens to female idols. I won't get into how unfair and sexist that is.)

People should legit be worried that Ryutaro might never return to Hey! Say! JUMP again. I am sure everyone is familiar with the big NEWS scandals of 2005 and 2006. First NEWS and Kanjani8 member Uchi Hiroki was suspended indefinitely for underage drinking. Then in 2006 NEWS member Kusano Hironori was caught for the same thing. Which of course lead NEWS to go on a year long hiatus. And we can all see how that turned out for them. They never returned to their groups. And are pretty much in obscurity. It took Uchi 3 years before his comeback solo concert. And since then all he's been up to is random appearances on Shounen Club, is part of the Johnny's New Year's Countdown, and he was in a drama. And that's it. In the 3 years since his scandal he's basically done nothing. He's only done the little bit he has done because he was a fairly popular member. But what about Kusano? Kusano, who to this day I am convinced is completely innocent. If you look at the pictures it does not look like beer. In Kusano's parting words he said something along the lines of even though I am compeltely innocent I will dissapear from the public anyway. It was completely sad. And what is Kusano up to? Nothing! He studied dance in New York for a year and was a model for some random brand. But his pictures are still blurred in tabloid papers. All because Kusano wasn't that popular. Uchi, who was drunk in public and was a public nuisance, got to make his comeback. But Kusano, who is seemingly innocent and even claims to be innocent, has done virtually nothing. And to be honest, none of that makes sense to me. The only logical reason for it has to be because Uchi is more popular and can make more money then Kusano can.

And if Kusano isn't doing anything after his scandal because of popularity, where does that leave Ryutaro? Ryutaro is obviously one of the least popular Hey! Say! JUMP members. He's on the bottom tier alongside Inoo Kei and Okamoto Keito.

Fans could also argue that Ryutaro will be fine because smoking isn't as a big a deal as drinking is. Which seems a little weird to me. I don't really think you can judge the 2 in that way. Underage is underage. Whether it's drinking or smoking. That's just my opinion though. Obviously JE thinks it's a huge deal. It's such a big deal that he is being treated to the same punishment that Uchi and Kusano were put under for a quote unquote less severe scandal. Also, note that Ryutaro was put on an indefinite suspension. Indefinite! Which means this suspension can last for however long Johnny's sees fit. 2 weeks, 2 months, 2 years, or never if he feels like it! Don't just assume that everything will be ok for Ryutaro because you feel it should be. Or that you feel it's not a big enough scandal to warrent an indefinite suspension. The bottom line is Johnny's makes the decisions. He decides what's fair and what's unfair. What's a scandal and what isn't. And the other bottom line is, Ryutaro broke the law. Which in turn makes the entire agency he works for look bad. I've said this before, I will bet you a million dollars that all idols, yes ALL idols male and female, have to sign a morals clause. And if they break that at any time the agency has every right to fire them, or punish them however they see fit.
On the other hand, maybe fans are right and smoking scandals aren't that big of a deal. And Ryutaro will eventually return to Hey! Say! JUMP. So, let's look at the only other idol smoking scandal I know of, Aibon's. In 2006 Hello!Project member, and member of idol group W, Kago Ai was caught smoking underage. In a very grainy and unclear tabloid picture I might add. Aibon was immediately suspended for one year and W's next single was put on hold. She then was later fired after being caught in another scandal. When Aibon eventually made her comeback she talked to teenagers and encouraged them to not smoke underage. She said that one foolish and careless act ruined her life. In responce the people she talked to said how they were shocked and disgusted by her scandal. They couldn't believe she would do something like that. Not only because she seemed to be a good girl, but because she was a role model. However, Kago Ai was extremely popular, and therefore lucrative for H!P. I firmly believe she was only given such a small hiatus because of her popularity. And we all know that if a member of H!P is popular enough their scandals get swept under the rug or are more lenient. Nothing came of Tanaka Reina's, Kamei Eri's, or Natsuyaki Miyabi's boyfriend scandals. But less popular members like Arihara Kanna and Murakami Megumi were given the boot. Or excuse me, they left to "continue their studies." And even popular members Yaguchi Mari and Fujimoto Miki were forced to resign as leader of Morning Musume after their boyfriend scandals. H!P scandals also come down to popularity, and their position within the group. Obvious a leader in a scandal was setting a horrible example for the rest of the group.

All Morimoto's future really comes down to is luck and popularity. Ryutaro obviously doesn't have popularity on his side. So, fans just have to hope that Johnny realizes that smoking underage isn't really that big of a deal. I mean, apparently Johnny knew Ryutaro was smoking from time to time. I think that will play a big role in how long he is under suspension.

But for me personally, I actually don't care that much about this scandal. Yes, it is sad that he's under suspension and he may never come back. And that HSJ might never be 10 members again. Or that fans are left hanging about his fate like they were with Uchi and Kusano. All of that is incredibly sad. But Ryutaro isn't really my favorite member. And as selfish as it sounds, I'm just happy it's not a member I actually care about. That and the fact that I don't really feel any sympathy for him. It was his fault. He was the one that not only broke the law, but was stupid enought to let people take pictures of it. The one picture he was legit caught off guard. But the picture where he's wearing the black shirt, he's trying too hard to look cool, and it looks almost like he's modeling for the person who's taking the picture. If Ryutaro can't do the time, he shouldn't have done the crime.

Hey! Say! JUMP don't go overboard enough

After waiting for what seems like an eternity, the full PV for Hey! Say! JUMP's new single, Over, has finally been released. With only 3 days until the single is released! That's some brilliant marketing right there. XD

Over the past 2 weeks we've been pretty much bombarded with PV previews, 3 in total. So, it felt like we saw a good chunk of the PV. And it turns out that we actually did see most of it, because there's really not much going on in the PV. The PV is 6 minutes long, you'd think that they would do something exciting with the extra minute and a half. However, the entire time before the song starts is spent on the phone. I mean, I know the whole song is like a phone conversation, but the talking in the beginning was actually a little boring. What I did understand of it was, apparently Rysouke was dumped and the members are trying to cheer him up. Which actually fits perfectly with the song. But I honestly could have done with out. It's just like when AKB48 adds like 4 minutes to their PVs to add talking and a storyline. IBut I find it  completely boring and I usually just skip it. XD
Off subject, but I understood like 90% of what they were saying, so yay for me. I understood pretty much everything except for Hikaru, the last thing Daiki said, and the last bit of what Ryutaro and Yabu said. No one cares though, so, I digress.
The rest of the PV are dance scenese and then their close up shots. Over the past few weeks I've gotten over the ugly dance set, and it doesn't really botther me so much anymore. It's not spectacular, but it could have been much worse. The close-ups are what I have a problem with. The whole PV is filmed in a school. Mostly the hallways and common area. Didn't we just have a JE PV insanely similar to this one? Or are we supposed to forget that KAT-TUN's White PV exists? And then the rest of the close-ups/group shots are in slow motion with random objects flying around. Which is what they did in their last PV for Arigatout ~Sekai no Doko ni Itemo. But in this PV they did do it a lot more and in a more artistic way to make the PV more interesting. But it is still completely redundant.
You would think with all this scrutiny and harsh criticism that I hate the PV, but I don't really. But I don't love it either. It's somewhere more in the middle for me. The guys look super cute, they are wearing normal clothes instead of ridiculous costumes, and the overall look is 100 times better than their last PV. Yuto. Especailly since he looked super adorable. Much like any PV, there's obvious pros and cons. This PV is probably at about a 6 for me. And is probably their 2nd best PV. However, this PV needed more

Ryosuke looks gorgeous, as usual.

Has anyone else noticed that Daiki has been getting extra attention lately? He's the 2nd main focus in this PV after Ryosuke.

Hikaru's hair is pretty unfortunate in this PV.

Ashita wa ashita no kaze yo fuke~ Yuto's adorable and said the most adorable line of encouragement.

The face Ryosuke has to make to show that he's being cheered up is so stupid and obviously fake.

Hot. Ryosuke looks innocent and sexy at the same time.

Can I just point out how hilarious it is that Ryosuke is wearing a hair clip? Johnny's: making your favorite idols act effeminate since the 1960's. XD

Yesh, head on this isn't really a good hairstyle.

I still don't understand the random obelisks. But whatever.

Yabu looks hot, but Keito is all derp in the background. Lolz.

I really need to stop making caps of just Ryosuke. But he looks so good in this PV.

Yuto, why so serious apathetic?

I love how Daiki is the only member to not make the same exact expression during this random epileptic montage.

Just incredible. *O* No other member is trying half as hard as Ryosuke is too look hot. I kinda wish they were.

Takaki actually looks pretty cute with this hair.

There's just no words.

Rabbit face.

How adorable.

I don't really like that my favorite are shoved to the back.

Random floating objects, where have I seen that before?

Oh yeah that's right, the Arigatou PV.

Cute.

I love how Inoo is trying to look cool here. It's not really working for him though. XD

Hot.

Adorable! This post has become so Ryosuke biased, but I don't even care. H'es shown the most and looks the best. What do you want from me?

Of course it ends with a random Ryosuke butt shot. I mean, can you think of another way to end it? But seriously lolz.