<figure id="attachment_384707" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2131px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-384707"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="d8c30f05"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/08/f0b95912eed628dccda395b94040a4c7.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-384707" class="wp-caption-text">Fuma Kikuchi of &#8220;timelesz&#8221; now leads STARTO&#8217;s variety division.</figcaption></figure>
<p>On July 26, Genta Matsuda of Travis Japan appeared on &#8220;Sake no Tsumami ni Naru Hanashi&#8221; (Fuji Television Network) and enlivened the program.</p>
<p>He sang a children&#8217;s song &#8220;Tulip&#8221; in front of Rio Hirai, an announcer who suffers from tone deafness. However, when she sang &#8220;red, white, and yellow&#8221; with &#8220;ao&#8221; in between, she received a lot of criticism from the performers, including Chidori&#8217;s Nobu.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Matsuda, who has a strong image of being a &#8220;natural&#8221; and &#8220;silly,&#8221; has become such a successful personality that he is competing for variety shows on other stations, including the regular program &#8220;Poka Poka&#8221; (Fuji). In fact, he is a high school graduate with a high deviation from his high school education. In fact, he is a graduate of an integrated junior and senior high school with a high deviation score. In fact, he has a reputation for being &#8220;smart on the ground,&#8221; and is truly brilliant at what he does on each job site.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> His reputation is growing as he instantly knows what is expected of him and does not get in the way of his co-stars. He is also known as a group-oriented person who is always trying to make sure that people remember Travis Japan and his name.</span></p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p>Koji Mukai of &#8220;Snow Man&#8221; is said to be in a state of catching up with and surpassing Matsuda.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Mukai joined with Raoul, who is active as a model for the Paris Collection and other fashion shows, and Ren Meguro, who has become one of STARTO&#8217;s top artists, appearing in TV dramas, movies, and commercials. Mukai was a little less conspicuous than the other two, but she was a member of &#8220;Surprise GP&#8221; (Fuji)! Dokkuri GP&#8221; (Fuji), Mukai&#8217;s variety talent blossomed.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> He originally came from the &#8220;Kansai Jr. Since that time, he has been a member of the Tsuda Gundan led by Atsuhiro Tsuda of the comedy duo &#8220;Diane,&#8221; and they have often performed together in the Kansai region. In fact, Mukai also used to call out &#8220;goi goi goi sui&#8221; repeatedly. The industry said, &#8216;He should have appeared in the national comedy scene earlier.</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="STARTO's top variety division is ......"></div>
<p>He was a big hit in the ratings for &#8220;FNS 27 Hours TV: Japan&#8217;s Most Enjoyable School Festival! (Fuji), in which he played the role of a &#8220;massaman&#8221; dressed in a bright red wingsuit. The internet was full of praise for the way he took a risk to protect Eiko Koike, who had to be doused with a large amount of water as a punishment.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p>Now Matsuda and Mukai have grown up to represent the variety section of STARTO, and it is said that they are led by Fuma Kikuchi of &#8220;timelesz,&#8221; who has been creating laughter by putting his body on the line, for example by getting completely naked in &#8220;Surprise GP.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> During the &#8220;Sexy Zone&#8221; period, the members took leave or left the group, and from our point of view, the group was not doing well as a group. I was surprised that Kikuchi took the show so seriously and participated in all kinds of surprise projects.</span></p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p>In fact, it is fair to say that Kikuchi up to that point had been the complete opposite of the character she had been in variety shows.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> She used to be a tsundere character who never said a word on variety shows, but would bring her phone into the studio and play with it during the VTR (laugh). But his talent for comedy was awakened in &#8220;Surprise GP. From there, I got the impression that the other members&#8217; butts lit up as well. They use the phrase &#8216;bring it back to the group,&#8217; but instead of taking credit for their individual hard work in the field, they are doing their best to enliven the group as a whole.</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Working hard in variety is for the good of the group"></div>
<p>As Kikuchi worked hard in &#8220;Surprise GP,&#8221; other STARTO idols joined in one after another. Matsuda and Mukai are at the top of the list.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> They are not only doing it for their own sake or for the group&#8217;s sake. They are now making their own decisions and working hard to improve STARTO&#8217;s image. Perhaps because of this, many of STARTO&#8217;s TV commercials were temporarily switched from STARTO&#8217;s talent to other companies&#8217; talent.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> However, Fuma Kikuchi&#8217;s solo appearance in Bold&#8217;s &#8220;Laundry Daimyo&#8221; series has not been replaced even two and a half years after he was appointed as the character.</span></p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p>It is a little worrisome that Fuji Television is the first TV station to rely on STARTO&#8217;s variety team, but the likability of Kikuchi, Mukai, and Matsuda, who put their bodies on the line to get laughs based on their own judgment and not on instructions from their offices, continues to rise like this summer&#8217;s temperature.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<div class="expapp-no-provided-scope expapp-no-provided-scope-line-only-start"></div>
<p>FRIDAY Digital welcomes your information and tip-offs. Please send your information to the following information form or to the official X.</p>
<p>Information form: https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/tips</p>
<p>Official X: <a href="https://twitter.com/FRIDAY_twit">https://twitter.com/FRIDAY_twit</a></p>
<div class="expapp-no-provided-scope expapp-no-provided-scope-end"></div>


 Yusuke Kondo

 The variety division of STARTO is now led by Genta Matsuda of Travis Japan, Koji Mukai of SnowMan, and Fuma Kikuchi of timelesz. They all have one thing in common.

Genta Matsuda, Koji Mukai, and Fuma Kikuchi Lead STARTO Inc.’s Variety Division

Access Ranking