Touted as "V6's fastest ever song," their dance moves are not only sharp and energitic, but also comedic. When they performed on TV shows, many such comments popped up one after another: "This gives me energy!" "What's up with V6?? lolol this is really awesome lolol" "It's been a while since I've been so into something!" "Lookin' good, lookin' good! [T/N: "キレてるキレてる" is also what Sakamoto yells near the end of the song, lol.]
Through the unforgetable, impactful melody along with the ojisans' extremely serious and sharp dance moves, V6 bring out an indescribable sense of fun.
2008 saw the end of their extremely popular program "Gakkou e Ikou! MAX" (TBS), which had undergone renewal, and after 10 years, "Viva Viva V6" (Fuji TV) and "Shin Chishikikaikyuu Kumagusu" (TBS) ended as well. "Mission V6" (TBS), which also received good reviews, ended last year. Now they are hosting "Otoko no Hensa-chi," and Kamisen has a yakiniku sauce commercial, so V6's TV appearances as a group have decreased a lot.
Perhaps due to such circumstances, in January 2012 there were threads on the internet with titles such as, "I can't tell if V6's members are still around..."
However, last year's August single, Sexy.Honey.Bunny! (avex trax), surprised many with V6's image change.
In the past, the younger subgroup Kamisen (comprised of Morita Go, Miyake Ken, and Okada Junichi) had always been the center of attention. In contrast, the older subgroup Tonisen had very few songs and solo parts. However, Sexy.Honey.Bunny! did a complete 180: Sakamoto Masayuki and Inohara Yoshihiko rocked most of the solo parts, leaving an intense impact upon listeners.
The recent single, Bari Bari BUDDY!, is also centered around Sakamoto and Inohara, who passionately sang to the light and quick beat.
Somewhere along the line, the main focus in V6 had shifted from Kamisen to Tonisen. According to an editor familiar with Johnny's, "Because Inocchi (Inohara Yoshihiko) got his break by doing Asaichi with NHK, he's kind of shifted to a central position within the group. Sakamoto's been doing a lot of musicals, so he has great volume and singing skills, and while Nagano Hiroshi's a bit plain, for that reason he's got a sense of stability. In the past all the attention was on the young, charismatic Kamisen, but now that all the members are over 30, 'youthfulness' and 'coolness' don't show up as strongly as each member's individual personalities."
Incidentally, the 3 members of Tonisen was backdancers for Hikaru GENJI's song, Tsurugi no Mai, in 1988. The backdancers formed a group called Heikeha, which also included TOKIO's Joshima Shigeru, Yamaguchi Tatsuya, and Kokubun Taichi. In recent years, they've held "reunion talks" on The Shounen Club Premium (NHK), and even held a special Christmas live event.
Even though they were originally a group of backdancers, Tonisen has gained acclaim for their singing and dancing abilities. With them as the main focus of V6, they can actively adopt new types of solo parts, expanding the breadth of the types of songs the group can sing.
With the continuously hardworking "Anigumi" Tonisen as the main members of V6, some have speculated that the group is actually an example of "great talents mature late." We will be watching the group's future activities and expansions into new genres with eager eyes.
Source, translated by yours truly.
I don't know where this author's been this whole time, but Sakamoto and Inocchi have always gotten the solo parts in songs from day one. But still, it's always great to see sempai groups (and Heikeha!) get shout-outs, even if it's from a tabloid!
gif grabbed from tumblr
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