There’s no doubt that almost every Kansai STARTO fan has a weak spot for all of the groups from Kansai. The love and appreciation spread through the boys themselves too, and the intergroup interactions and collaborations online are increasing.
With platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok at their disposal, the increase of solo accounts for the talents gives them a lot of freedom to create content where they simply hang out with their fellow talents and friends.
A perfect example of this friendship is the emotional trip with Naniwa Danshi’s Joichiro “Jo” Fujiwara, and Ae! group’s Seiya Suezawa and Keita Richard Kusama.
With friendship going back years, the three of them embark on an emotional, and equally chaotic, drive trip together, directed by none other than the man himself, Jo! With over an hour of content in the two-part series, the JTR agency will take you on a ride down memory lane and through the absolutely wonderful friendship between the three of them.
With Ae! group making their debut, Jo planned this trip to properly say “Congratulations” to them, as they are long-time friends. While some memories from the past may not be what they thought they were, the new memories they create on this trip are just as important and emotional.✨
Of course, the trio of King & Prince’s Ren Nagase, Ae! group’s Yoshinori Masakado, and Naniwa Danshi’s Daigo Nishihata didn’t want to be left out, so they got together for an Instagram livestream over at Ren’s Instagram, and later on, uploaded a continuation on YouTube where they went through a few rounds of “The Game of Saying ‘huh’ 2“!
The three best friends deliver their own emotional trip down memory lane with their 13-year-long history as friends. It’s just the three of them but just like with Jo, Seiya, and Richard, Ren, Yoshinori, and Daigo show us their close bonds by simply enjoying each other’s company, doing what they do best—having the best time of their life with their closest friends ♡
With all of them now debuted, the possibilities for more intergroup collaborations on social media and even national TV will increase, strengthening their bond as the Kansai Family even more. Ae! group and Naniwa Danshi already did their first collaboration video on their respective YouTube channels too! Talking non-stop about various things and never getting to the main part… but they’re having a lot of fun!
All of the videos mentioned above have English Subtitles, thanks to the hard work of the members of the Dumpling Box community, so don’t forget to turn the captions on to enjoy the chaos and friendship!
Fellow Ae! group member Ken Kojima shared earlier with Dumpling Box a few thoughts on the increase in overseas viewers:
“Honestly, when it comes to overseas viewers, I have to say that I’m still in awe of YouTube’s international reach. I constantly see comments in all sorts of different languages under our videos; some of them from people who’ve followed us since before we became Ae! group but others who not only are discovering us for the first time but for whom we are their first-ever experience with Japanese entertainment of any kind...At the end of the day, it’s all about the fun and making memories for our fans and viewers.“
This applies to the aforementioned videos as well. Having the boys freely interact as close friends and create content together is a unique experience that can only exist because they have this close bond with each other. If you like one group, these collaborations give you the chance to discover the other groups at their very core. With the help of English Subtitles, the international reach can spread even more, and the charm of respective groups will bring in more fans, and in turn, strengthen the Kansai family even more.
Additionally, Ken, the self-proclaimed CEO and Chief Director of the Kansai STARTO Jrs.’ Path to Super Idoldom, closely followed the last performance of AmBitious‘ first national tour, “AmBitious OdoROK！ DANCE TOUR“!!!!
This was the first live performance with AmBitious as a nine-member group, and the determination of all the members was incredible! The audience’s enthusiasm was also amazing… it was an overwhelmingly great live show✨
And of course, it has English Subtitles as well!🎵
If you are interested in reading more about the Kansai Family, especially about the legacy that carries on with Ken producing the current STARTO Jr.’s on YouTube, check out the full article about the “Ae! Legacy: The STARTO Kansai Family.”