D-Boys
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D-Boys | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Tokyo, Japan |
| Occupation | Actors |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels | Watanabe Entertainment |
| Spinoffs |
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| Website | www |
D-Boys (stylized as D-BOYS) is a Japanese acting troupe affiliated with Watanabe Entertainment. The D in the group's name stands for "Drama" (acting work), "Dream", "Debut", "Discovery" and "Development" (growth and advancement).
Although the D-Boys are promoted as a group and members occasionally work together on the same projects, each actor develops his career independently from his fellow members in their own television, cinema and theatre projects. New D-Boys members are regularly selected through public audition events with interactive participation of fan club members.
Members
[edit]Current members
[edit]- Masato Wada (和田 正人, Wada Masato, born August 25, 1979)
- Hiroki Suzuki (鈴木 裕樹, Suzuki Hiroki, born October 3, 1983)
- Hirofumi Araki (荒木 宏文, Araki Hirofumi, born June 14, 1983)
- Kōji Seto (瀬戸 康史, Seto Kōji, born May 18, 1988)
- Masahiro Usui (碓井 将大, Usui Masahiro, born December 3, 1991)
- Arata Horii (堀井 新太, Horii Arata, born June 26, 1992)
- Syo Jinnai (陳内 将, Jin'nai Shō, born January 16, 1988)
- Ryosuke Ikeoka (池岡 亮介, Ikeoka Ryōsuke, born September 3, 1993)
- Yuki Yamada (山田 裕貴, Yamada Yūki, born September 18, 1990)
- Shotaro Okubo (大久保 祥太郎, Ōkubo Shōtarō, born August 27, 1995)
- Jun Shison (志尊 淳, Shison Jun, born March 5, 1995)
- Masaki Nakao (中尾 暢樹, Nakao Masaki, born November 27, 1996)
Former members
[edit]- Ichitaro Yamazaki (一太郎, Yamazaki Ichitarō, born July 19, 1980)
- Katsuki Nakamura (中村 勝樹, Nakamura Katsuki, born March 23, 1990)
- Shintaro Tetsu (鐵 進太郎, Tetsu Shintarō, born September 29, 1986)
- Yuma Minakawa (皆川 佑馬, Minakawa Yūma, born October 1, 1984)
- Yu Shirota (城田 優, Shirota Yū, born December 26, 1985)
- Kouhei Kumai (熊井 幸平, Kumai Kōhei, born July 27, 1990)
- Masaya Nakamura (中村 昌也, Nakamura Masaya, born April 30, 1986)
- Shingo Nakagawa (中川 真吾, Nakagawa Shingo, born May 8, 1983)
- Yūichi Nakamura (中村 優一, Nakamura Yūichi, born October 8, 1987)
- Yuya Endo (遠藤 雄弥, Endō Yūya, born March 20, 1987)
- Masaki Kaji (加治 将樹, Kaji Masaki, born January 29, 1988)
- Osamu Adachi (足立 理, Adachi Osamu, born December 22, 1987)
- Shunji Igarashi (五十嵐 隼士, Igarashi Shunji, born August 7, 1986)
- Toru Kamitsuru (上鶴 徹, Kamitsuru Tōru, born June 26, 1989)
- Taito Hashimoto (橋本 汰斗, Hashimoto Taito, born November 1, 1991)
- Kenki Yamaguchi (山口 賢貴, Yamaguchi Kenki, born July 17, 1986)
- Yoichiro Omi (近江 陽一郎, Ōmi Yōichirō, born April 5, 1989)
- Ryuki Takahashi (高橋 龍輝, Takahashi Ryūki, born March 28, 1993)
- Shintaro Akutsu (阿久津 愼太郎, Akutsu Shintarō, born June 21, 1995)
- Kotaro Yanagi (柳 浩太郎, Yanagi Kōtarō, born December 21, 1985)
- Shion Tsuchiya (土屋 シオン, Tsuchiya Shion, born July 7, 1992)
- Takuya Negishi (根岸 拓哉, Negishi Takuya, born March 12, 1996)
- Atsushi Shiramata (白又 敦, Shiramata Atsushi, born March 22, 1994)
- Tetsuya Makita (牧田 哲也, Makita Tetsuya, born June 7, 1984)
- Tomo Yanagishita (柳下 大, Yanagishita Tomo, born June 3, 1988)
- Masashi Mikami (三上 真史, Mikami Masashi, born June 20, 1983)
- Yukito Nishii (西井 幸人, Nishii Yukito, born June 14, 1995)
- Ryo Mitsuya (三津谷 亮, Mitsuya Ryō, born February 11, 1988)
- Atsushi Arai (荒井 敦史, Arai Atsushi, born May 23, 1993)
- Takahisa Maeyama (前山 剛久, Maeyama Takahisa, born February 7, 1991)
- Shuto Miyazaki (宮崎 秋人, Miyazaki Shūto, born September 3, 1990)
- Yusuke Yamada (山田 悠介, Yamada Yūsuke, born July 29, 1987)
D2 members
[edit]In 2009, D2 was formed as D-Boys' younger brother group. In October 2013, D2 joined D-Boys to become its sub-group.
- Current members
- Yukito Nishii
- Ryo Mitsuya
- Syo Jinnai
- Atsushi Arai
- Ryosuke Ikeoka
- Yuki Yamada
- Takahisa Maeyama
- Shotaro Okubo
- Jun Shison
- Former members
- Ryotaro Konno (今野 良太郎, Kon'no Ryōtarō, born August 23, 1993)
- Toru Kamitsuru
- Kenki Yamaguchi
- Yoichiro Omi
- Shintaro Akutsu
- Shion Tsuchiya
- Takuya Negishi
- Atsushi Shiramata
Group projects
[edit]In addition to their individual careers, the D-Boys are also involved in collective projects, as part of the group promotion work.
DD-Boys
[edit]DD-Boys was a drama-documentary variety series, featuring the D-Boys members as themselves. Each episode had a short staged section following the plot of the members living in the fictional D-House and seeking ways to raise money for rent, followed by a documentary section showing the members undertaking tasks or challenges to raise that money. Some tasks were inspired by the actor's own personality -e.g., a member who was known to enjoy singing or dancing would have a task related to that hobby, etc. The show was 23 episodes long and aired from 10 April 2006 to 25 September 2006 on TV Asahi.
Stage works
[edit]| Series | Title | Year / date | Stage Info | Cast | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D-Live | 1st D-Live | 2004 | Live entertainment show | All members | ||
| 2nd D-Live | 2004 | Live entertainment show | All members | |||
| 3rd D-Live | March 2005 | Live entertainment show | All members | |||
| 4th D-Live | May 2006 | Live entertainment show | All members | |||
| Out of Order | Out of Order | March 2007 | Live entertainment show | Regular Performers:
| ||
| D-Boys Stage | Vol 1. Kanba Onrei | June 2007 | Musical | All members with guest performers: | ||
| Vol 2. The Last Game | June 2008 | Musical | All members plus guest cast A: | All members plus guest aast B: | ||
| Vol 3. | Karasu 04 | April 2009 | Musical | Cast A | ||
| Karasu 10 | October 2009 | Musical | Cast B |
| ||
| Vol 4. | Now Loading | April 28, 2010 | Musical | Cast A | ||
| The Last Game | August 26, 2010 | Musical | Cast B | |||
| America | November 3, 2010 | Musical | Cast C | |||
Fan club events
[edit]The D-Boys hold special events where fan club members have the opportunity to meet the actors in person and interact with them in camp activities and games such as cook-offs, tug-of-war, etc., in which the members are split into teams, leading groups of fans to compete with each other.
- Official Fan club Day Camp Bus Tour (November 13, 2005)
- Official Fan club Limited Bus Tour (August 25 to August 27, 2006)
- Official Fan club 3rd Anniversary Bus Tour (September 6 to 8, 2007)
Live tours
[edit]During the summer of 2009, 19 D-Boys members, including Yu Shirota participated in performances for fans at Akiba Plaza called "Kotoshi no Natsu wa Mainichi Dokoka de D-Boys Uki-uki Yatta Hohohoy" or for short, Natsu Doko. There were 49 performances in total of dances, songs and skits. New D-Boys member, Yusuke Yamada, was introduced to fans during these performances. Three CD+DVD sets featuring different recorded audio theater by separate groups of D-Boys members and footage of Natsu Doko were released on December 16, 2009.
Due to the success and demand of Natsu Doko, a live tour called Fuyu Doko 2009 was held in the winter of 2009 with 19 D-Boys members and Yu Shirota visiting major cities in Japan to promote the Natsu Doko 2009 CD+DVD release. It was the first live tour around the nation for the group.
Radio
[edit]- Marvelous Radio Vibration (May 5, 2005 - April 1, 2006) - weekly radio show hosted by Yu Shirota, Kotaro Yanagi and Yukki.
- D-Radio Boys (October 2007/present) - weekly radio show hosted by Masato Wada and Shunji Igarashi, featuring guest D-Boys members.
Other
[edit]- 43rd Secret New Years' Performance Tournament "Young Man Colosseum" (January 1, 2006) - television guest appearance, performed by Masaki Kaji and Hiroki Suzuki.
- 44th Secret New Years' Performance Tournament "Chinese Lion Dance" (January 1, 2007) - television guest appearance, performed by Yuya Endo, Masaki Kaji, Hiroki Suzuki, Masato Wada and Yuma Minakawa.
- 45th Secret New Years' Performance Tournament "Ikemen Jumpers" (January 1, 2008) - television guest appearance, performed by Masaki Kaji, Kouhei Kumai, Koji Seto, and Shingo Nakagawa.
- 45th Secret New Years' Performance Tournament "Kakushi Gei Dancing Ikemen" (Fuji TV - January 1, 2009) - television guest appearance, performed by Tomo Yanagishita, Endo Yuya, Masaki Kaji, Makita Tetsuya, Taito Hashimoto, and Ryuki Takahashi.
Media
[edit]D-Boys members have released merchandise in the form of photobooks, DVDs and CDs individually, or in relation to a work project (e.g. character image CDs/photobooks). As a group, they have released a calendar featuring all D-Boys members and the following items:
Official photobooks
[edit]| Year | Title | Description | Publisher | Release date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | D-Boys | D-Boys First Photobook | Tokyo News Agency | April 27, 2005 | ISBN 4-924566-42-X |
| 2006 | Start! | D-Boys 2nd Photobook | Gakken Co., Ltd. | March 15, 2006 | ISBN 4-05-403035-1 |
| 2008 | Dash | D-Boys Third Photobook | Kadokawa Marketing Co., Ltd. | December 2008 | ISBN 978-4-04-895035-0 |
| 2010 | Darling | D-Boys Fourth Photobook | Shufu-to-Seikatsu Sha, Ltd. | March 2010 | ISBN 978-4-04-895035-0 |
DVD series
[edit]| Series | Title | DVD info | Members | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D-Boys Boy Friend Series | No Fiction | Volume 1 | Shunji Igarashi | June 24, 2009 |
| Self-Discovery | Volume 2 | Yuichi Nakamura | August 21, 2009 | |
| Peacemaker | Volume 3 | Hiroki Suzuki | September 18, 2009 | |
| Sugao | Volume 4 | Hirofumi Araki | October 23, 2009 | |
| Tomorrow | Volume 5 | Tomo Yanagishita | November 26, 2009 | |
| Yu Channel | Volume 6 | Yu Shirota | December 23, 2009 | |
| 7 Heroes | Volume 7 | February 24, 2010 | ||
| Super Rookie | Volume 8 | Ryuki Takahashi | March 25, 2010 | |
| Tight Rizm | Volume 9 | Taito Hashimoto | April 21, 2010 | |
| Set Out' | Volume 10 | Koji Seto | May 26, 2010 | |
| Natsu Doko 2009 | Natsu Doko 2009 Kaze - Team Wind version | DVD for D-Boys Natsu Doko 2009 | All members with Yu Shirota | December 16, 2009 |
| Natsu Doko 2009 Yama - Team Mountain version | DVD for D-Boys Natsu Doko 2009 | All members with Yu Shirota | December 16, 2009 | |
| Natsu Doko 2009 Kawa - Team River version | DVD for D-Boys Natsu Doko 2009 | All members with Yu Shirota | December 16, 2009 | |
| Haru Doko 2010 | Haru Doko 2010: Momo | DVD for D-Boys Haru Doko 2010 | Momo members | July 14, 2010 |
| Haru Doko 2010: Sakura | DVD for D-Boys Haru Doko 2010 | Sakura members | July 14, 2010 |
Discography
[edit]The D-Boys have released on December 16, 2009, three CD+DVD sets featuring different recorded audio theater by separate groups of D-Boys members on CD and footage of Natsu Doko on DVD. Natsu Doko 2009 debuted on the Oricon Charts in 11th.
| Year | Title | CD info | Members | Chart debut | Track listings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Natsu Doko 2009 Kaze - Team Wind version | Audio Theater album by D-Boys | Team Wind members | 11 | D-Boys CD and DVD
|
| Natsu Doko 2009 Yama - Team Mountain version | Audio Theater album by D-Boys | Team Mountain members | 11 | D-Boys CD and DVD
| |
| Natsu Doko 2009 Kawa - Team River version | Audio Theater album by D-Boys | Team River members | 11 | D-Boys CD and DVD
|
References
[edit]External links
[edit]- Official website (in Japanese)
- Watanabe Entertainment official website (in Japanese)
- Interview with U (Shirota Yu) Archived 2011-10-02 at the Wayback Machine (in English)
- D2 official website at the Wayback Machine (archived 24 April 2010) (in Japanese)
- DD-Boys official website at the Wayback Machine (archived 20 August 2006) (in Japanese)