Happy 10th Anniversary, A.B.C-Z!

I’ve written so much about A.B.C-Z over the years that it’s hard to think of what to say in honor of their 10th anniversary. I’m pretty sure I’ve told every story I have on the podcast at least once, to include the time I started sobbing uncontrollably during the encore performance of “Zutto Love” while A.B.C-Z member Totsuka Shota looked on in concern. (I just love that song, Tottsu! It’s fine!) 

A.B.C-Z began life as the four member “Acrobat Boys Club” (Kawai Fumito, Totsuka Shota, Tsukada Ryoichi, and Goseki Koichi). The “Z” was added when they were reformed with the addition of youngest member Hashimoto Ryousuke. The early years were tough. The Junior trainee to debut pipeline was broken after the debut of Hey Say JUMP in 2007 and A.B.C.(Z) along with their same-age friends/rivals Kis-My-Ft2 lingered on as very popular Junior groups for years, the members getting older and older with no hope of ever escaping the backdancing doldrums. Kis-My-Ft2 finally got their big debut on August 10, 2011, followed swiftly by the inexplicable Sexy Zone on November 16, 2011. A.B.C-Z have later remarked that this was one of the darkest times they’ve had.

But, for whatever reason, Johnny Kitagawa decided to throw the floundering A.B.C-Z a bone. It wasn’t a CD single or an album. It wasn’t a drama or anime theme song. It wasn’t even a commercial jingle or a volleyball theme song. The group was going to get their own annual stage play, ABC座 (ABC-Za), and a special kind of debut… a “DVD single”. 

It’s the kind of thing that possibly only makes sense in the context of Japan’s media market but essentially, what A.B.C-Z was selling was a single music video on a DVD, accompanied by some making-of featurettes, a B-side music video, and (in some cases) a CD with some previously recorded songs on it. 

I loved it. 
I absolutely ate it up with a spoon and went back for seconds.

When I first “discovered” A.B.C-Z it was just before the release of “Walking on Clouds” in 2013 and there was a promotion going on at CDJapan where if you ordered A.B.C-Z media, you received a “Summer 2013” uchiwa. I think I ended up with at least half a dozen, one of which still sits at my desk in my office. My Japanese skills were still rudimentary at the time but my desire to learn more about this group led me to buckle down on my language study and through sheer force of will I sat and watched unsubtitled content. I did my best to read Totsuka Shota’s essays, looking up kanji after kanji, over and over again. I made my first trip to Japan in 2014 to see the revival of ABC座 ジャニーズ伝説 and visited every year after that (pre-Covid) to see them in concert. 

A.B.C-Z are not now and likely will never be the most popular group at Johnny’s & Associates and I think we’re all okay with that now. Having watched and followed this group for almost a decade now, I think each member has found a niche that suits him and the members appear to be liked and respected by their juniors in the company, as well as by the greater show business world in Japan. All the members are active in stage plays and musical theater but in addition:

Tsuakda Ryoichi “paved the way” for idols by going on SASUKE (Ultimate Ninja Warrior) as well as becoming a regular on Matsuko Deluxe’s panel show. 

Goseki Koichi is a choreographer for groups like Snow Man.

Kawai Fumito has become well known for his MCing and skill at impressions.

Totsuka Shota and Hashimoto Ryousuke are both known for their acting in television and films.

And A.B.C-Z has become synonymous with “a good performance”. They’ve spent the last decade figuring out how to craft a good performance with and for the audience, whether it’s their excellent “no audience” Christmas concert from 2020 (honestly by far the best of all the live streamed concerts I’ve seen (and I’ve seen a lot)) or the way they weave audience participation into all of their in person concerts (call and response, audience dances, synchronized pen lights), or their innovative and unique television performances. You never know if you’re going to see Tsuka-chan backflipping off of something dangerous or the group taking their song into the television control booth or if one of their numerous running inside joke characters (or Kawai himself) will show up to wreak havoc on the proceedings.

I have a lingering fond nostalgia for the campy early era of member color suits and kayoukyoku adjacent songs but I also love the grown up 30-something A.B.C-Z we have today. 

It’s been a long journey from the hyperactive explosion of “Za ABC 5 Stars” to the sultry theme song to Tottsu’s drama Rinko-san Wants to Try (available on Viki with English subtitles!), “Hanabi Addiction” (火花アディクション) but I wouldn’t change a single thing.

I don’t regret a single one of the numerous A.B.C-Z “Summer 2013” uchiwas I ended up with. 

Here’s to ten more years with A.B.C-Z!

If you’re totally new to A.B.C-Z, you’re in luck that they have uploaded some videos to YouTube. Keep in mind that the “one shot” videos have been cut and edited so the impact isn’t as strong as the original videos available on the “DVD Singles” but it’s enough to get the idea.

Here’s a few to start with.

• “Space Travelers”, released January 7, 2015, as “DVD Single”. The full video was all done in one shot and they got it in the first take. Truly world class professionals! This was the first of their many excellent retro disco songs. A.B.C-Z was on the “City Pop” tip long before the rest of the world caught up!

• “Crush on You” was the title track for their album Going with Zephyr, released August 7, 2019. It’s another disco-adjacent song except sexy instead of leaning into the camp. 

• “Telepathy One! Two!” was the title track for their album 5 Performer Z, released June 21, 2017. This was the big “reboot” album where they finally shed the remnants of the ultra-campy member color suits image and from this point on basically all of their albums are really good listening.

• “Cheat Time”, released March 18, 2020, as a CD single. This is one of my ultimate favorite A.B.C-Z songs. Just goofy EDM with a ridiculous dance to go with it.

• “Black Sugar,” released March 27, 2019, as a CD single. A.B.C-Z writhe their way through a psychedelic fever dream. A SEXY psychedelic fever dream.