Smappies

garnet28 wrote:
Oh when the King of Drama, Kimura Takuya and Queen of Drama, Matsushima Nanako act together, can you imagine how it would be?!!!

ooh! i cant wait for that day to come! somehow i think that matsu looks abit like nanako.. :bonk:

hide_hikaru_minako wrote:
woah.. i learn something new again.. i always thought they were close as friends and would visit one another during their freetime and spend alot of time together..

i thought so too! i think they are close as frens just that seeing each other during their freetime would be too much. cos they see so much of each other during work alr..

They seldom call and meet when they are off from work.. Only sometimes when two or three of them have some activities, then they will go out together.. :)

junn_tk wrote:and i didnt know smap dont meet up often. i thought they would always go to each others' houses and stuff like that. i guess the time they spend tog during work is long enough. meeting outside would be unnecessary.

garnet28 wrote:
Since I've post this on other place, I might as well post here(and move faster to page 600). J-Sport, an annual Johnny's Sport Day activities, Smap's last appearance was in 1996. I'm sure you've seen Smap playing sports many many time. But it's rare to see them play with their juniors... In 1996, they invited many famous athlets.

why did smap stop going for the johnny's sports day?? have they drawn a line between them and johnny??

MissMonika wrote:Here's something that'll make all you Kimutaku fans happy....

Man, he's hot!
1248 words
5 December 2006
The New Paper
English
Copyright 2006, Singapore Press Holdings Limited

Website: people.aol.com

Japanese idol Takuya Kimura makes People magazine's list of international hunks. It took him long enough, but Japan's Sexiest Man Takuya Kimura has finally earned a stamp of approval in the US. US magazine People, well-known for its annual Sexiest Man Alive special issue, recently featured the Japanese actor-singer and style icon on its website as one of '10 International Males: Hot Around The Globe'.

Listed alongside British pop star Robbie Williams, French footballer Zinedine Zidane and Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan, Takuya, 34, is described to American readers as the 'Japanese Mark Wahlberg'.

His appeal? How 'he can laugh at himself'. And the way he has 'poked fun at his heart-throb image' over the years is apparently sexy.

It is too early to tell if Hollywood fame will follow, but Takuya is definitely in his element these days. With three new projects - a fast-selling pictorial book, a critically-acclaimed samurai film in which he plays a blind warrior and a drama shot in Shanghai - he is set to hog headlines for weeks to come.

Last month, he was also voted Favourite Man by readers of Japanese fashion magazine An An - for the 13th consecutive year.

One Singaporean fan, who wanted to be known only as Audrey, e-mailed to The New Paper to rave about Takuya's People magazine mention. She wrote: 'We, the fans in Singapore and all over the world, are very delighted and very proud of him.'

But why did it take so long for Takuya to get noticed in the US, when he is easily one of the most famous Japanese heart-throbs in Asia?

Making his debut in 1988 as one-fifth of boy band Smap, he has risen to become Japan's top male actor with an unbeatable TV-ratings record. He is hailed as one of the most versatile leading men in Japan, tackling a variety of roles from romantic hero (Beautiful Life) to unorthodox lawyer (Hero) and revenge-seeking chef (One Hundred Million Stars Falling From The Sky).

HOLLYWOOD ROLE

But his only shot at Hollywood so far is Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai's 2046, in which he plays the small role of an android's suave boyfriend. It was released in US theatres in August last year, but raked in only a lukewarm US$1.44 million ($2.24m), according to Boxofficemojo.com. This is half the takings of the director's previous film, In The Mood For Love, which grossed US$2.7m in the US, and tiny compared to the US$53m raked in by Zhang Yimou's Hero.

On a personal level, Takuya's poor command of English could turn out to be his biggest entry barrier to the world of English-speaking showbiz. Japan's monolingual artistes also tend to focus on the lucrative local market, which is the world's second largest economy after America's. The failed US debut of J-pop stars like Hikaru Utada and Seiko Matsuda may have shaved some enthusiasm off him.

More significantly, there is a trend of Asian leading men breaking into Hollywood only after cementing their credibility back home. Just think Chow Yun Fat, Jackie Chan and Ken Watanabe, all of whom broke into the West only in their mid-40s.

J-pop authority James Kang, marketing director of Play Music which distributes Japanese albums including Smap's, said: 'There comes a point when (Japanese stars) need to break out of the status they've already achieved, but after so many failed attempts by other Japanese acts, they've also learnt to slowly harness their prowess before making that big leap.

'They'd also need a spectacular blockbuster to push them to the front line, like Memoirs Of A Geisha did for Zhang Ziyi. And being mega stars, they'd not settle for lesser roles.'

For Takuya, that crucial Hollywood breakthrough could just be his new film Love And Honour. The last of Yoji Yamada's highly-acclaimed samurai trilogy after The Twilight Samurai and The Hidden Blade, it was released in Japan last Friday and is slated to hit theatres worldwide next year. Already, Takuya has won critical praise for his convincing portrayal of a blind samurai when the film was shown at the recent 19th Tokyo International Film Festival.

Meanwhile, he continues to work his charm on TV, co-hosting weekly variety show SmapXSmap, and recently shooting his new novel-adapted drama, Kare-naru Ichizoku (loosely translated as The Grand Family) in Shanghai. It is slated for telecast in Japan next month.

LASTING POWER

To Japanese fans, Takuya's appeal lies in his lasting power, rare in an industry where fresher faces are churned out relentlessly.

Despite suffering a slight dent in popularity in 2000 due to his shotgun wedding to singer Shizuka Kudo, who is two years older than him, he soon regained his foothold with a more mature fatherly image. The couple have since weathered numerous divorce rumours and become the proud parents of two girls - Kokomi, 5, and Mitsuki, 3.

Librarian Rie Maeda, 26, who is a fan of the actor, said: 'Kimutaku (Takuya's nickname) has a sexy aura about him and he has screen presence. He makes fun of himself and even seems to enjoy dressing up as a woman. Above all, he is someone whom we can relate to. We admire him because we feel close to him, and he often voices opinions we agree with.'

Singaporean fans agreed Takuya's perennial screen appeal and fashion sense have withstood the test of time and marriage.

Civil servant Danne Chen, 33, said: 'He's going into his 30s looking really good. He has an incredible sense of style - he can carry off even the most ridiculous-looking hairstyle or clothes. But most of all, I respect that he married an older woman, has two kids and isn't afraid to be seen as a family man. Now, that's sexy.'

Added student Jasmine Tan, 20: '(Takuya) is the epitome of pop culture. He represents all the things that girls love in a man, such as sentimentalism, for example.'

- Additional reporting by Stefanie Conceicao

Who else is sexy?

WHICH other Japanese heart-throbs besides Takuya Kimura are considered sexy male icons?

The New Paper posed this question to 10 women here.

Chinese-Japanese heart-throb Takeshi Kaneshiro, 33, scored with three women - probably due to his constant exposure and active involvement in Hong Kong cinema, like his upcoming film Confession Of Pain. Student Jasmine Tan said: 'Takeshi Kaneshiro looks better as he ages and he's so much more than just a passing face or boy idol.'

Water Boys star Satoshi Tsumabuki and Love Revolution's Naohito Fujiki both got two mentions each. Satoshi, 26, is adored for his boy-next-door appeal and is prolific in movies, including a much-talked-about guest appearance in the Hollywood flick The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift. Naohito, 34, is known for his brooding good looks and plays gentlemanly characters.

Two rock singers were also mentioned - L'Arc-en-Ciel's Hyde and Tokio's Tomoya Nagase - as well as two androgynous icons Mana and T.M. Revolution.

Other names that came up: Hideaki Ito, who plays a suave rescue diver in the action flick Umizaru, Hayami Mokomichi who plays a rebellious yakuza heir in Rondo and two members of boy band Kat-tun, Kazuya Kamenashi and Jin Akanishi.

Credits: Factiva & The New Paper on Soompi

I hope this hasn't been posted.

omg. this make my day! that article that i couldnt get my hands on! thank you for it!

LivNagisa wrote:
Haha, yeah Goro is a fast runner but a bad sprinter. He's always last at beach flags and 5m sprint because his start time is slow. He's good at long distance running. He said he liked long distance running because it's something he can do by himself :hehe:

that's surprising to know. so i learnt another new thing about goro! :mrgreen:

Feel warm watching the 1st sxs show... Esp the Namida part.. Makes me think of Mori left SMAP... :rofl:

LivNagisa wrote:Here's some Goro pic spam in honor of his upcoming b-day, almost all taken from his photo essay book. :mrgreen:

I love this b&w photo...casual Goro.

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Goro's cat: neko-chan 1. If I had to guess I would say this cat is named Takuya.

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Goro's cat: neko-chan 2. This one might be called Nakai but it looks more like a Shingo :hehe:

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Goro-chan's cute smile :smitten:

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Other random photos in which I think he looks amazing.

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goro's time to have a picspam!! :hehe: i like those pics he took with the cats. he looks cho kawaii beside them!

ongrina82 wrote:Yuppie!!! I've got my Pop Up DVD already!!!


I've got the blue version ne~~~The poster is really big!


Later after work I'm going to watch :) :dancing: :woot: :mrgreen:

this is abit late.. but OMEDETOU! so you were the first!

LivNagisa wrote:Some cute fan art...I forgot which site it's from though.

Goro as Kindaichi Kousuke

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Goro in Warai no Daigaku

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these pics are soooo cute! the artist really draws nice fanarts. thanks for sharing!

SMAPxELAINE wrote:Feel warm watching the 1st sxs show... Esp the Namida part.. Makes me think of Mori left SMAP... :rofl:

I feel like a bad Smap fan because I didn't know about Mori for a long time. Now that I've seen a lot of clips of him with Smap I kind of miss him. Even though he wasn't a favorite, the more I see his old clips the more I like him. He seemed like a very good guy.

ongrina82 wrote:
Ya, I plan to...but most probably be next year...I need to seek for my friend side first as this might cause her some inconvience...

omg really!!? then you can go watch smap live!

junn_tk wrote:

this is abit late.. but OMEDETOU! so you were the first!

That's why Rina hasn't posted that much because she's busy watching her dvd :rofl:

SMAPxELAINE wrote:If can I oso wanna join the fan club.. But one is the $$ problem and another one is i dun have a japanese friend.. :shamefulcry:

same here elaine. i cant afford it either and i dont know anyone who stays in japan.. so joining the fc is impossible for me.

SMAPxELAINE wrote:Hey minna, visit Totoro now... So much updated news in her diary... :dancing:

do you have the link to her site??

Yes, Rina's busy with the DVD... Actually I'm supposed to be busy with that to day, too... But the postman just make me feel so disappointed.. :puppydog:

junn_tk wrote:

these pics are soooo cute! the artist really draws nice fanarts. thanks for sharing!

Oh I know...it makes me wish I could draw.

nakaimasahiro.net

Just click on the Diary button... :)

junn_tk wrote:

do you have the link to her site??

Two poor fellows... :shamefulcry: :shamefulcry:

junn_tk wrote:

same here elaine. i cant afford it either and i dont know anyone who stays in japan.. so joining the fc is impossible for me.

yanie_chan wrote:
Yup! They're must be watching the DVD now! Ii naaa~~~


Anyway....I just watched the SmaSTATION clip!!!^0^ It's a "Kimura Takuya SP", a recap of Kimura's 15 years dramas and movies!!


Matsu Takako give comments about Takuya.

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Matsu said, she thinks Takuya is a gentle person!! Waaa...I didn't expect that! She said, in the filming location, he's always a gentle person.
Look at him!! Tilting his head, cutely! He must be blushing a bit!


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Matsu also mentioned about an experience she had with Takuya, which made her realized the meaning of "KimuTaku" phrase. Haha, he laughed so hard^^


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I love this scene so much!


You can find the complete translations of what Matsu thinks of Kimura Takuya in the KimuraMatsu Forum: http://z10.invisionfree.com/KimuraMatsu/index.php

Hehe.... :mrgreen:

is that clip on youtube?!?! i so wanna watch it!!