The Story of How an Otaku Who Was Introduced to Snow Man Ended Up Becoming a V6 Fan

It is exactly as the title says.

Who could have predicted that I, who had never been interested in 3D idols or celebrities, would fall for Johnny's, and a group that had already disbanded at that? I am the most surprised of all.

When I said, "I've recently gotten into Johnny's...", everyone said, "Wait, really?! That's so unexpected!", and my parents even said, "V6?! They've already disbanded, haven't they?"
I know, I know... but I just couldn't help falling for them!! What can I do about it!!!

Although I'm writing this because I want to record it somehow, my memories of when I fall into a fandom are always vague, or rather, almost non-existent, so this might be a bit of a fuzzy record. It's fatal.

The first time I encountered Snow Man was through this video.

While I was mindlessly watching YouTube, this suddenly appeared in my recommendations.
They have a self-introduction rap? I like that kind of thing, let's watch it.

...

It's sooooo good...

Originally, I was a 2D otaku, and I really love watching things like introduction sound MADs (Mime Mime style) for game characters I don't know at all, or digests of live DVDs from circles I'm completely unfamiliar with. Plus, I also like seeing crowds get excited.
That's why it hit me so hard.

Seeing the venue get excited at the punchlines after the name calls, I thought, "Amazing! That's nice! Looks fun!!" Simply put.

A few days later, when I casually told my friend who is a Snow Man fan, "Oh, by the way, I watched that Snow Man self-introduction rap video the other day," the look in my friend's eyes changed.

"Are you kidding me?!?!?!"

"Wait, when did you watch it?"
"Uh, about a week ago? Maybe longer."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner!"
"I kept meaning to tell you, but I forgot."

From there, it was a torrent. I watched various MVs while being told, "Watch this!! And this too!!"

To be honest, I never had the image that Johnny's were good at singing or dancing. But that was completely rewritten by these nine people.
The songs are cool! Their dancing is so good!!
Just that, over and over.

And knowing that videos were posted every Wednesday,

"If you have any recommended videos, let me know again."
"Oh, I can tell you as many as you want..."

A few days later, a list of 15 recommended videos with short comments attached was sent to me at 2:00 AM.

The result

By this time, I had been struck by their dancing and had completely become a Sakuma fan.

And,

V6, where did they come from????

That's the question, right?
Isn't the flow up to this point perfectly leading into falling for Snow Man?
Where did V6 come from?

Well, it was YouTube recommendations again...

This video that suddenly appeared in my recommendations was the entrance to the swamp.
It wasn't an MV or anything, just a part of the bonus footage.

Having fallen for Snow Man and become a Sakuma fan, I thought,
(V6, huh. Didn't Sakuma-kun really like Ken Miyake-kun? Let me take a look.)
I played the video with that light attitude.

To begin with, I'm not at all from the V6 generation, and I only watched 'Ai Nanda' once a year, so I didn't know the members' names at all.
All I knew was that there was a person called "Inocchi" and that Okada-kun was there. I really didn't know any celebrities...

But it was very interesting.

On YouTube, only a part of the bonus footage was released, and the rest was included in the best-of album.
I see, I can't see the whole thing unless I buy it. I thought that as I closed the video.

A few months later...

Boom

Boom

Boom

That escalated so quickly!!!

I bought the best-of album, borrowed a mountain of discs from an acquaintance, and went to Ken-kun's solo concert.

This all happened in just four months.

Even I, the one writing this, find it the most terrifying part.

First, that bonus footage. I just had to see what happened next.
It was interesting just from the 'a' row, so of course I was curious about what came after! I decided to buy it, but it was right around the time I was one week away from exams...
I decided that if I was going to buy it, I should at least wait until after my exams.

The problem is what happened next.

No, well, once you watch it, you're done for, right?

I mean, look, the most effective way to get someone into a fandom is through concert footage.

I was struck by the first song, 'Ame', thinking, 'What is this song! Their entrance is so cool!!', then surprised by 'TL', 'Magic Carpet', and 'PINEAPPLE', thinking, 'They have such stylish songs too?!', and moved by 'Ai Nanda' and 'WA', thinking, 'Oh, I know this song!'.

I had only ever seen them on variety shows, so I didn't know they could sing and dance this coolly.
Well, maybe I had seen them on music shows, but I just wasn't interested back then... My past self, you really missed out, seriously!!

Of all times, I watched this right before entering my exam period.
Since I had decided to buy the best-of album after my exams, I spent the exam period feeling frustrated.

After the exams, I bought the best-of album, watched the past concerts available on Amazon Prime, and bought up all the CDs containing the songs I was interested in.

The second photo shows the various discs and CDs I borrowed from a V6-fan acquaintance.

I only said,
'Could you lend me the first-press edition B of Ready and the MUSIC edition of Ondori?'
but after relying on the acquaintance who said,
'Since you're at it, I'll lend you the discs too!',
I ended up being lent more discs than I expected.

While we were eating, they asked,
'You suddenly fell down the rabbit hole, huh~ Who are you interested in?'
'I'm surprised myself lol. Right now, maybe Ken-kun~'
Just as I was saying that vaguely, it happened.

Ken Miyake, start of solo music activities & mini-album production, national tour announcement

Excuse me??????????

Hey!!!!!!!!!!

I had just gotten into a disbanded group and was vaguely thinking about watching their discs little by little, when suddenly this bomb was dropped.

I thought, 'I'll just join the fan club and apply!', and as a result of joining on impulse, I actually won.
Before I knew it, it became my first-ever live event.
I'll skip my thoughts on the concert here because there's no end to them.

I saw an interview about his solo activities in an online article, and the phrase,'What the fans want to see is me singing and dancing'left an impression on me. No, he's just so much of an idol... sadly, so much of an idol...

I was moved by how he firmly created a world view on a stage that was by no means large, and the setlist was also good... It was a truly fun concert.

Since the solo concert was announced right after I got into them, I sometimes thought maybe the timing was good, but I still regret not being able to follow them in real-time.
I listen to their songs almost every day, but sometimes I think, 'But there won't be any more of these.'

Well, even though they disbanded, I don't think it was a pessimistic breakup; I think it was a beautiful ending.
Each of them is doing their best on their own path, so I want to support them in my own way while following their activities.

I wasn't the type to watch many dramas or movies, but I realized that once you start following them, it gets quite busy.
There's always someone doing something...

By the way, I was lucky enough to win tickets to the Tony-Con, so I'll be attending.
I'm really looking forward to it ✌️

Lesson learned: You should watch the videos recommended on YouTube.