The Next Generation of Star MC Candidates for “Staen” “Battle Royale of 8” 《Television Man and Others Thoroughly Explain!

No, it’s really the “Battle of Sekigahara. I never thought that the day would finally come when the Kansai group would threaten the Kanto group. …… From the end of the year to the next season, now is the time to buy “STARTO ENTERTAINMENT” (hereinafter referred to as “STAEN”) talents who will be the face of each program. Arashi,” who made his debut in Hawaii on a cruise liner, and “SUPER” who was yelled at for holding a flag with his name written on it on the roof of a building and shouting, “Turn it around! SUPER EIGHT” had their name written on a flag on the roof of a building and were yelled at to “BOOM! Now, the two groups are competing with each other as a successful method of MCing staunch entertainers,” said an employee of a commercial key station.

On October 16, NHK announced its policy of resuming the use of new talent from “Sta-en,” which took over management and other operations from the former Johnny’s office (now “SMILE-UP.”), for its programs. As a result, the stations are increasingly using these talents as MCs with a big swing in their favor.

Sho Sakurai (42) [Arashi].

Experience 5
Laughter 2
Personal connections 5
Responsiveness 4
Idol level 4

Although there were rumors that he would leave “news zero” (Nippon TV) last year, he has continued as the general host of “THE MUSIC DAY,” a major special program on the same station.

Shingo Murakami (42) [SUPER EIGHT

Experience 4
Laughter 5
Personal connections 5
Responsiveness 5
Idol Level 2

Although Murakami was not chosen as the overall host of Kohaku this year, “Monday to Night Fakashi” (Nippon TV) is now in its 13th year of broadcast. Programs with Murakami as MC tend to have longevity.

Geisha vs. staen

Shota Watanabe (31) of “Snow Man” was selected as MC for the variety show “Kono Sekai wa 1 Dafuru” (Fuji TV), which started as early as October.

He said, “At casting meetings, the names that come up as comedian MCs are all old men in their 40s or older, such as ‘Chidori’ and ‘Kamaitachi’ (laughs). (Laughs.) With comedians, there is a strict hierarchical relationship based on seniority, and it is difficult to appoint a fresh young talent to lead a show. On the other hand, in “STAEN,” it is normal for young people to overtake their seniors and be selected for major roles, so it is easy to cast young people. And with “Staen” as the MC, it is easier to avoid the underhanded trend of mentioning guests’ past scandals or having co-stars talk about their revelations.
Actors who have performed together before, both male and female, are willing to appear on the show, which has the advantage of avoiding the difficulty of casting gorgeous guests. A good example of this is “What’s so interesting about it? (Fuji Television Network) is a good example, and has succeeded in casting an unusually large cast, including Kasumi Arimura (31), Suzu Hirose (26), and Masami Nagasawa (37),” said a former employee of a key station.

Sakurai’s style in the East

One of the ways in which stalwarts from the Kanto region have made it big as MCs is the “Sakurai Style,” following in the footsteps of Sho Sakurai (42) of “Arashi” fame.

The first member of the Sakurai school is Satoshi Inoo (34) of JUMP. Originally, Keiichiro Koyama (40) of NEWS and Yuichi Nakamaru (41) of KAT-TUN were expected to succeed Sakurai, but they both fell through due to scandals. Ino’o, who holds a master’s degree in architecture from Meiji University, was selected to fill the vacancy. In the past, he was selected as the first male MC for “Merengue no kanke” (Nippon Television Network Corporation) and served for five years until the program ended. I believe that there was already a proposal within Nippon TV to appoint him as a regular on “news every.” or “ZIP!” and that he recently announced his graduate degree on “ANOTHER SKY” on the same station.

The ″Sakurai way″ is to have a college degree or higher as an absolute prerequisite. In addition, the ability to cover sports such as the Olympics and the World Cup, as well as political matters and other news reporting lines, is required, which is a high hurdle.

Other ″Sakurai Style″ members are Ryohei Abe (30) of Snow Man, who holds a master’s degree in science and engineering from Sophia University, and Junta Nakama (37) of West Japan, who is a graduate of Kwansei Gakuin University. Junta is a graduate of Kwansei Gakuin University. Nakama was trained in Kansai’s information programs and wide-ranging shows, which have a strong comedian flavor, and he is not afraid to speak his mind and has the ability to respond calmly. Abe’s academic background and the content of his comments are impeccable, but he is not one of the more outspoken members of the group and needs to gain experience in live broadcasting. Currently, both of them are more grounded in variety than in news reporting, and their main focus is on quiz shows. As long as Sakurai is doing “news zero” (Nippon TV), we cannot ask him to anchor other news programs, so it would be great if he could develop quickly. ……

Inoo Satoshi (34) [Hey! Say! JUMP

Experience 3
Laughter 3
Personal connections 4
Responsiveness 4
Idol Level 5

Inoo is rumored to be the “post-Sakurai. There are many male fans in the entertainment industry, such as Junichi Okada (43) and Chihara Jr. (50), who are “Ino’s favorites.

Murakami Kaminoryu in the West

On the other hand, “SUPER EIGHT” actor Shingo Murakami (42) has received a tailwind from the recent comedy boom.

After the COVID-19 crisis, the reputation of Kansai-born comedians who can make us laugh has exploded. Of particular note are “Naniwa Danshi” Ohashi Kazuya (27), who left his mark on the “Itte Q to the Ends of the World! (Fuji), and Koji Mukai (30) of “Snow Man” who became the face of “Dokkiri GP” (Fuji). SUPER EIGHT” established the current Kansai Jr. style, which includes comedy and comedy during live performances. It was there that Murakami emerged as an MC. He won a regular spot on a Kansai local station, which is known for its supremacy in comedy, and he began to make inroads with big names such as “High Heel” Momoko (60).
He was a member of “WEST.”, “Naniwa Danshi”, and the “Ae! group” and Mukai naturally followed Murakami’s back as he took over Murakami’s regular slot after Eight’s expansion into Tokyo. producer of “Gakko e ikou!” has taken notice of “Snow Man,” the most popular staen, and “WEST.

In addition to the “Sakurai school” and “Murakami school,” there is a direct descendant of the “Nakai school” of Masahiro Nakai (52), the founder of idol MC.

The lineage of Nakai’s style includes “SixTONES'” TANAKA Ki (29), who is charming because of his frank and down-to-earth manner, and “KAT-TUN’s” KAMENASHI Kazuya (38), who inherited Nakai’s specialty in the field of baseball. Masaki Aiba (41) of “Arashi” is the host of “FNS Song Festival” (Fuji), and “Tensai,” the successor of the late Ken Shimura, is the host of “Shimura Dobutsuen” (Nichinichi)! Shimura Dobutsuen (Nippon TV) as host, which was well received, and he is expanding his range of work as a host without the spikiness of Ucchan Nanchan.

Kazuya Ohashi (27) [Naniwa Boys

Experience 2
Laughter 4
Personal connections 2
Responsiveness 3
Idol 5

Ohashi has little experience, but his name is listed as a “hidden hope. Joichiro Fujiwara (28), Daigo Nishihata (27), and Ryusei Onishi (23) from the same group have also been named as the next MC.

Koji Mukai (30) [Snow Man

Experience 3
Laughter 4
Personal connections 4
Responsiveness 4
Idol Level 3

He was an MC at live shows when he was a member of Kansai Jr. and has been in contact with Atsuhiro Tsuda (48) of “Diane” and Sunao Hashimoto (44) of “Ginshari” in both public and private since his days in Osaka.

Tatsuki Tanaka (29) [SixTONES

Experience 3
Laughter 4
Personal connections 3
Responsiveness 4
Idol Level 3

Tanaka is a live radio MC every Saturday. In September of this year, he also took on the challenge of MCing his first major fashion event.

Kazuya Kamenashi (38) [KAT-TUN

Experience 4
Laughter 2
Personal connections 3
Responsiveness 4
Idol Level 3

She has been an anchor on “Going! Sports & News” (Nippon TV) since 2010. Low-ranking and well-liked by the field.

Masaki Aiba (41) [Arashi

Experience 5
Laughter 2
Personal connections 4
Responsiveness 4
Idol 4

Aiba is most impressive as a host of singing and animal shows, but he has also been the MC for many sports shows such as baseball.

The MC race is very crowded

Currently, TV stations are taking advantage of the popularity of comedians, and are using “Chidori” and “Kamaitachi” as MCs, who have high experience and are not yet paid very much. On the other hand, they are investing in a group that could become the “second Arashi.

When a group sells well, then the question arises as to who in that group can be the MC. The TV stations are now investing in “Himitsu no Arashi-chan! (TBS) and “VS Arashi” (Fuji). JUMP,” “timelesz,” and “Naniwa Danshi,” which are used in the daytime and GP slots on Nippon TV and Fuji, are the top candidates. As for individuals, Kikuchi and Mukai are the main contenders for variety and Inoo for news, but if Tanaka, with his “Nakai style,” can grow up to be a “post-Nakai,” he could become the third force in the race.

Who will win the top position in the fierce competition? The best of the season has already begun for the young stalwarts.

From the November 15, 2024 issue of “FRIDAY