D-Boys
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2012) |
| D-Boys | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Tokyo, Japan |
| Occupations | Actors |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels | Watanabe Entertainment |
| Website | www.d-boys.com |
D-Boys (stylized as "D-BOYS") is a young male actors group under the management of 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.
Contents |
[edit] Members
[edit] Current members
- Yuya Endo (遠藤 雄弥 Endō Yūya, born March 20, 1987) - group leader
- Kotaro Yanagi (柳 浩太郎 Yanagi Kōtarō, born December 21, 1985)
- Shunji Igarashi (五十嵐 隼士 Igarashi Shunji, born August 7, 1986)
- Masato Wada (和田 正人 Wada Masato, born August 25, 1979)
- Masaki Kaji (加治 将樹 Kaji Masaki, born January 29, 1988)
- Hiroki Suzuki (鈴木 裕樹 Suzuki Hiroki, born October 3, 1983)
- Hirofumi Araki (荒木 宏文 Araki Hirofumi, born June 14, 1983)
- Koji Seto (瀬戸 康史 Seto Kōji, born May 18, 1988)
- Shingo Nakagawa (中川 真吾 Nakagawa Shingo, born May 8, 1983)
- Tomo Yanagishita (柳下 大 Yanagishita Tomo, born June 3, 1988)
- Tetsuya Makita (牧田 哲也 Makita Tetsuya, born June 7, 1984)
- Masahiro Usui (碓井 将大 Usui Masahiro, born December 3, 1991)
- Masashi Mikami (三上 真史 Mikami Masashi, born June 20, 1983)
- Osamu Adachi (足立 理 Adachi Osamu, born December 22, 1987)
- Ryuki Takahashi (高橋 龍輝 Takahashi Ryuki, born March 28, 1993)
- Taito Hashimoto (橋本 汰斗 Hashimoto Taito, born November 1, 1991)
- Yusuke Yamada (山田 悠介 Yamada Yusuke, born July 29, 1987)
[edit] Former members
- Yamazaki Ichitaro (一太郎 Ichitarō Yamazaki, born July 19, 1980)
- Katsuki Nakamura (中村 勝樹 Nakamura Katsuki, born March 23, 1990)
- Shintaro Tetsu (鐵 進太郎 Tetsu Shintaro, 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)
- Yuichi Nakamura (中村 優一 Nakamura Yūichi, born October 08, 1987)
[edit] D2 members
- Kenki Yamaguchi (山口賢貴 Yamaguchi Kenki, born July 17, 1986)
- Toru Kamitsuru (上鶴 徹 Kamitsuru Toru, born June 26, 1989)
- Yukito Nishii (西井幸人 Nishii Yukito, born June 14, 1995)
- Ryo Mitsuya (三津谷亮 Mitsuya Ryo, born February 11, 1988)
- Syo Jinnai (陳内 将 Jinnai Syo, born January 16, 1988)
- Atsushi Arai (荒井敦史 Arai Atsushi, born May 23, 1993)
- Shintaro Akutsu (阿久津愼太郎 Akutsu Shintaro, born June 21, 1995)
- Ryosuke Ikeoka (池岡亮介 Ikeoka Ryosuke, born September 3, 1993)
- Yoichiro Oumi (近江陽一郎 Oumi Yoichiro, born April 5, 1989)
- Takuya Negishi (根岸拓哉 Negishi Takuya, born March 12, 1996)
- Shion Tsuchiya (土屋シオン Tsuchiya Shion, born July 07, 1992)
- Yuki Yamada (山田 裕貴 Yamada Yuki, born September 18, 1990)
- Takahisa Maeyama (前山 剛久 Maeyama Takahisa, born February 07, 1991)
- Atsushi Shiramata (白又 敦 Shiramata Atsushi, born March 22, 1994)
- Shotaro Okubo (大久保 祥太郎 Okubo Shotaro, born August 27, 1995)
- Jun Shison (志尊 淳 Shison Jun, born March 05, 1995)
[edit] Member history
- 2004 - D-Boys was originally formed in early 2004 with Kotaro Yanagi, Yamazaki Ichitaro, and Yuya Endo co-stars in the musical series The Prince of Tennis, Tenimyu.
- 27 July 2004 - The first open D-Boys audition was held and Grand Prix Winner Yuichi Nakamura, Grand Prix 2nd Winner Shunji Igarashi and Katsuki Nakamura joined.
- October 2004 - Yu Shirota and first audition runner-ups Masato Wada, Osamu Adachi, Masaki Kaji, Yuma Minakawa and Shintaro Tetsu joined.
- December 2004 - First audition runner-ups Hirofumi Araki and Hiroki Suzuki joined the group.
- March 2005 - Yamazaki Ichitaro left the group to pursue solo representation with Grand Slam management. He was shortly followed by Katsuki Nakamura and Shintaro Tetsu, who have since left the entertainment business.
- 31 July 2005 - The second open D-Boys audition was held and Grand Prix winner Kouhei Kumai, Grand Prix 2nd Winner Koji Seto and Shingo Nakagawa joined the group.
- July 2006 - The third open D-Boys audition was held and Grand Prix winner Tomo Yanagishita joined the group shortly afterwards. Grand Prix 2nd placer and winner of sponsor D-View Magazine's Choice award Tetsuya Makita would be added to the group in the following year.
- January 2007 - Osamu Adachi and Yuma Minakawa left the group, remaining under the management of Watanabe Entertainment.
- 28 May 2007 - The fourth open audition was held with Masahiro Usui as Grand Prix and Masashi Mikami as runner-up.
- July 2007 - Third audition runner-up Tetsuya Makita and Masaya Nakamura joined the group.
- December 2007 - Fourth audition's first and second winners Masahiro Usui and Masashi Mikami joined the group.
- April 2008 - Former member Osamu Adachi rejoined the group. The fifth open audition started.
- May 2008 - The final stage of the fifth open audition was held, with Yusuke Yamada finishing as Grand Prix winner, Yukito Nishii as Semi-Grand Prix, and Ryo Mitsuya receiving the judge's prize.
- June 2008 - It is announced during the Tokyo run of D-Stage 2: Last Game that member Yu Shirota would soon leave the group; remaining under the management of Watanabe Entertainment.
- 6 July 2008 - Yu Shirota left the group. Ryuki Takahashi joined the group.
- September 2008 - Kouhei Kumai left the group; remaining under the management of Watanabe Entertainment, before switching to Office Shuu Management.
- December 2008 - Taito Hashimoto joins the group.
- July 2009 - Yusuke Yamada debuts as the final new member of the D-Boys during the Natsu Doko 2009 performances.
- September 2009 - The final stage of the sixth audition was held, with Shintaro Akutsu as the Grand Prix Winner and Ryosuke Ikeoka as the Semi-Grand Prix winner. Yoichiro Oumi and Ryuichi Tanigawa took two special judges' awards. A record 42,152 applicants applied to compete. The winners of this audition eventually form the sub-group, D2, of the D-Boys.
- March 2010 - For the 10th anniversary commemoration of Watanabe Entertainment, to represent all members of the group, a special D-Boys unit is formed of members Shunji Igarashi, Yuichi Nakamura, Seto Koji, Hirofumi Araki and a new fifth member determined through the 2010 D-Boys audition.
- 6 April 2010 - Masaya Nakamura left the group, remaining under the management of Watanabe Entertainment. D2, the spin-off group to the D-Boys, is announced and debuted to the public on 23 April 2010. Members included Kenki Yamaguchi, Toru Kamitsuru, Ryo Mitsuya, and Syo Jinnai who had performed in Karasu 10. Fifth audition winners Yukito Nishii and sixth audition winners Shintaro Akutsu, Ryosuke Ikeoka, and Yoichiro Oumi are also D2 members. With Atsushi Arai and 22º Junon Superboy contestant Takuya Negishi rounding out the rest of the members. Most of the D2 members had already been the background supporting cast in many of the D-Boys productions.
- November 2011 - Nakamura Yuichi leaves D-Boys, D-Date and the entertainment business due to a back injury to concentrate on medical recovery.
[edit] Group projects
In addition to their individual careers, the D-Boys are also involved in collective projects, as part of the group promotion work.
[edit] DD-Boys
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.
[edit] Stage works
| 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. | 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 | |||
[edit] Fan club events
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)
[edit] Live tours
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.
[edit] Radio
- 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.
[edit] Other
- 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.
[edit] Media
D-Boys members have released merchandise in the form of photobooks, DVDs and CDs individually, or in relation to a work project (eg. character image CDs/photobooks). As a group, they have released a calendar featuring all D-Boys members and the following items:
[edit] Official Photobooks
| 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 |
[edit] DVD series
| 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 |
[edit] Discography
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPN | |||||
| 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
|
