The Biggest Scandal in Johnny’s History as Tackey Overcame the Corpses While Watching His Dismissed Colleagues

In the previous article, ” [Some Called Him the One and Only KinKi Kids] The Shocking Upbringing that Made Hideaki Takizawa “Little Mr. Janney” “, we reported in detail on Hideaki Takizawa’s rise to the top idol.

Hideaki Takizawa’s “Phantom Directorial Work”

There is a movie I absolutely want to see. It is Hideaki Takizawa’s “Private Ryan.”

What does this mean? “Private Ryan” is a 1998 film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is a war movie set during the Normandy Invasion in World War II.

Why is Hideaki Takizawa involved? As a director?

When Takizawa appeared as a guest on “Arashi ni Shiyagare” (NTV) on June 10, 2017, he shared stories about his good relationship with Masaki Aiba.

“He used to live at my place, you know.”

He was making a film with Aiba as the star. One of these films was a spoof of “Saving Private Ryan,” called “One-Man Private Ryan.”

“It’s based on a war theme, with Aiba running away the whole time. At the end, he finds the camera and says ‘Saving Private Ryan.'”

The room was filled with laughter. It might have been just a private joke in the form of a film. However, at the time of “Saving Private Ryan”‘s release in Japan, Takizawa was 16 years old. Could this movie, seen during his impressionable teenage years, have had some influence on him?

I also saw it in theaters at the time of its release. The opening Omaha Beach battle scene was incredibly intense! It made me shiver, thinking, “So this is what real war is like.” But I’ve forgotten the details. So, I decided to revisit the film after 26 years.

 

Four Johnny’s Jr. Members Are Fired.

Here’s a summary of the story:

In 1944, towards the end of World War II, the Allied forces land in Normandy, Northern France, and after intense fighting, eliminate the German forces. A small unit of eight men, led by Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks), is given a special mission. They are tasked with finding Private James Ryan (Matt Damon). The three older brothers of Ryan have been killed in the war. The mission is to rescue the surviving youngest brother and return him to his mother at home.

The story unfolds with Miller’s squad, who penetrate deep into enemy territory to search for the missing Ryan. Eight elite soldiers must risk their lives to save just one young private—a stark example of the absurdity of war.

Ah, I see now. This is a story about “saving the youngest child.” Takizawa Hideaki was also the youngest child with older siblings, and he has lost his older brother. Influenced by his sister, a fan of KinKi Kids, he joined Johnny’s and played the role of Minamoto no Sanetomo, the younger brother of Minamoto no Yoritomo, in the NHK Taiga drama “Yoshitsune.” Though not “The Power of a Sister” by Yanagita Kunio, Takizawa Hideaki shines through “The Power of a Younger Brother.”

I suddenly remembered. I once read an innovative review of Saving Private Ryan. There is a genre known as Boys’ Love, abbreviated as BL, which focuses on male homosexuality in novels and manga. In “yaoi” manga doujinshi, which is a type of fan-created manga, relationships between male celebrities, athletes, anime characters, etc., are imagined and depicted.

The review of Saving Private Ryan from the perspective of BL or “yaoi” described the film in these terms. To save one young, seemingly weak youngest soldier, eight strong men on the battlefield fall one by one to bullets, explosions, and bayonets, dying in a pool of blood. This depiction is described as “moe” (a term used to express strong affection or admiration for fictional characters).

Wow, I’m surprised. I see, this is what boys’ love and yaoi sensibility is like. I’m impressed.

However, isn’t it not limited to the battlefield? For just one talent to survive, the surroundings become a sea of dead bodies. Ah, I see, that’s how Johnny’s is.

In the January 29, 1999, issue of FRIDAY, reported a scoop titled “The scene of a ‘wild party’ where four Johnny’s Jr. Four members of Johnny’s Jr. aged 15 to 16 were photographed at a late-night party where they were drinking and smoking. The report also details the subsequent orgy, calling it a shocking confession by the female junior college students who were held by the girls.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department intervened for questioning, and the four members were dismissed from the agency.

This is a major scandal in Johnny’s history. Among those dismissed were popular members, and it is said that, had this incident not occurred, the lineup of Arashi, which debuted in September of the same year, might have been different.

Shibutani Subaru, Imai Tsubasa, and others also faced difficulties.

Well, Takizawa Hideaki was also 16 years old at the time and was the leader of Jr. There is a theory that Takizawa might have also participated in the wild party, raising suspicions. If that were the case, what would have happened?

In fact, later in 2002, FRIDAY published photos of Takizawa heavily drunk at a mixer. These were from two years earlier, when he was 17. Underage drinking. For some reason, it was left unaddressed, but it wouldn’t have been surprising if Tackey had been dismissed from Johnny’s.

One of the dismissed members appeared on Money no Tora (NTV) four years later, presenting a request for 2.54 million yen to open a brand shop. Takahashi Kanari, the president of an adult video company, agreed and said, “If you fail, pay me back with your body. You know, I want a former Johnny’s AV actor.”

After that, there’s no news of the former Johnny’s member succeeding with the brand shop. Those who leave Johnny’s, known as ‘yame-jani,’ often disappear without making a significant impact even if they stay in the entertainment industry.

According to former Weekly Bunshun editor Kimata Masao (from PRESIDENT Online, November 6, 2023), ‘The problem with Johnny’s talents who once gained the spotlight but then fall into decline is that their entertainment skills are not honed. In other words, they are selected based on Johnny Kitagawa’s sense, and when he loses interest due to personal tastes, they are discarded. This structure has issues.’

Shibutani Subaru, once called ‘The Takizawa of the East, Subaru of the West,’ left Johnny’s at the end of 2018. He continued his music activities, but reports have surfaced about the termination of his label contract and the closure of his personal agency. Imai Tsubasa, who left Johnny’s after the disbandment of Tackey & Tsubasa, has been on a long hiatus due to health issues (he later made a comeback). Even popular figures close to Tackey seem to struggle to survive in the entertainment industry’s battleground.

How many Johnny’s soldiers have disappeared for the sake of the single outstanding talent that is Takizawa Hideaki shining alone? It truly is ‘Private Tackey.’

In the ending of the movie Saving Private Ryan, 50 years after the end of the war, the elderly former Private Ryan visits the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. He stands before the graves of the soldiers who died to save him and salutes.

If there were a Johnny’s war hero cemetety, who would Takizawa Hideaki salute the gravestone of?

Next article ” [No longer a young officer…! Hideaki Takizawa’s vision of “world reform” and his “radical ideology “”” will report in detail on his “unexpected tastes” and his roots.