Very popular Japanese male groups "SMAP"and 嵐/Arashi.

In Japan, there is a top talent agency that is well known for managing only good-looking men and boys. This agency selects potentialidols at its auditions and trains them. They receive training in singing, dancing, acting performances, comedy performances and others. After that, the agency picks out prominent, talented ones among these trained boys and officially makes them debut.

Up to about 25 years ago, the agency successfully had many boysdebut on TV as idol singers, since music TV programs were very popular here. With the fade-out of these programs, the way these boys at the agency make their debut and gain popularity was forced to change. I think that a group called "SMAP", which consists of five men now in their 30s, developed a new way (the first video, SMAP in New York, this is a cell phone's TV commercial). Although they made their debut as a singer group two decades ago, they became popular mainly through their performances on TV comedy shows. Two decades ago, it was actually surprising that good-looking guys wore funny costumes and did stand-up comedy. They have been enjoying their super popularity for more than 10 years. They have been supported especially by women of all ages and have gained a national superstar status.

After SMAP became popular, other boys at the agency have achieved great success in the same way that SMAP did. Among them, one group is very hot lately. They are called 嵐/Arashi and they consist of five men in their 20s. Since they seem to have been gaining a lot of momentum, I frequently see them on TV.

I think that some differences between SMAP and 嵐/Arashi reflect the ones between two generations; the middle 30s and the middle 20s. From the time the members of SMAP were young, they have frequently said they don't know about the other members' private lives. Some of them even don't know some others' numbers. They appear to consider the others as business partners or coworkers. They sometimes argue. In contrast, when you see 嵐 on TV, you might notice that all the members of the group are close. In fact, they have had a few short trips together. They try to share private time even though each of them has his own busy schedule. They are surely friends. I don't know if my observations are right. However, I can see some similar differences between the two generations I mentioned above.