Kimura Takuya’s Fans Anxiously Await Kudo Shizuka Collaboration

Kimura Takuya’s YouTube channel, which was eagerly anticipated and launched on New Year’s Day this year, has only garnered 863,000 subscribers as of June 12th, showing signs of struggle.

Incidentally, Arashi’s Ninomiya Kazunari (along with Nishikido Ryo, Yamada Ryosuke, and Kikuchi Fuma in the unit ‘Yoniyon Channel’) has amassed 4.45 million subscribers as of June 12th. Among former idols from Johnny’s Entertainment, Tegoshi Yuya, a YouTube trailblazer, counts 1.33 million subscribers as of June 12th. Kimura Takuya’s channel, with its subscriber count still below 1 million, can be seen as relatively isolated in comparison. 

“In terms of view counts, Kimura Takuya’s YouTube channel has surpassed 1 million views mostly through collaborations with popular juniors like KinKi Kids’ Domoto Tsuyoshi and SixTONES’ Jesse. Recently, his fishing video with actor Akiyoshi Nakao also crossed the 1 million mark, but videos featuring Kimura alone hover around 500,000 views. He wasn’t a social media novice among former Johnny’s talents and also maintains a presence on Weibo.

 

Regarding the drama ‘Believe -Kimi ni Kakeru Hashi-‘ (TV Asahi), details about the cast, other than Kimura, weren’t revealed much. He skillfully hinted at filming locations on Instagram, but on YouTube, which focuses on longer videos, the content often feels repetitive, similar to his dramas and variety shows, which can be disappointing to watch.”  (web writer)

Then, how do long-time fans of Kimura Takuya from his heyday view this situation? A scriptwriter who has been a fan for 30 years expresses concerns about the commercialization of his image into a family business.

“After ‘SMAP×SMAP’ ended, when we were craving to see Kimura-san in action, I think more people would have watched if he had started YouTube earlier. It feels like he began a bit too late. The concepts are all too familiar, lacking any freshness.

On Instagram, since going solo, he started hinting about his family, posting images and such. Frankly speaking, fans don’t want to see that kind of stuff. Whenever he posts, it spreads across online news, whether it’s Kudo Shizuka-san’s Instagram or his daughters expressing gratitude to their dad. I really wish they would stop. Shizuka and the daughters occasionally hint about Kimura-san. I’m worried YouTube might head in the same direction.”

Recently, there have been five married talents under ‘STARTO ENTERTAINMENT’ since the beginning of this year, including Hey! Say! JUMP’s Daiki Arioka and Matsuoka Mayu. However, neither Matsuoka nor Kanako Momota, who married Domoto Tsuyoshi, have publicly spoken about their husbands.

“Former NTV announcer Rina Sasazaki, who married KAT-TUN’s Yuichi Nakamaru, seems to be someone who wants to be in the spotlight, restarting her Instagram after deleting it once and writing a column in a women’s magazine. Nakamaru himself continues to maintain his awareness as an idol. On the other hand, Miho Uno from AAA, who married NEWS’s Keiichiro Koyama, has chosen to stay silent after a major public uproar right after their marriage.

Similarly, Shigeaki Kato from NEWS is married to a non-celebrity, so I don’t expect his wife to share private information publicly. In other words, it’s only the Kimura family that actively shares their private life. We know Kimura has long been a fan of Shizuka and perhaps doesn’t mind being guided by his older wife. But fans just can’t warm up to seeing Shizuka occasionally peeking out on Instagram.” (broadcaster)

However, despite this, with his income reportedly halving this year due to the lack of commercial appearances, Kimura cannot afford to let YouTube fail.

“It’s inevitable that he’ll need Shizuka’s influence to increase YouTube subscribers and views.”

This statement comes from an operator of a video-centric website.

“Shizuka, known as a producer for her daughters, wouldn’t overlook her husband’s situation. It’s said that it’s only a matter of time before she collaborates with Kimura on his YouTube channel under the theme of ‘family collaboration.’ Certainly, among longtime fans, there are some who criticize the concept of family business.

However, it’s undeniable that both subscriber numbers and view counts would certainly increase. Knowing this, there’s no other choice. STARTO Entertainment prides itself on artist-driven freedom, so there shouldn’t be any issues from the agency’s side. If they continue this path, I believe featuring the family is essential.”

Amid the rising concerns of fans, it seems we might hear Shizuka’s laughter echoing.

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