D-BOYS is a young male actors group under the management of Watanabe Entertainment. The D in the group's name stands for "Drama" (acting work), "Dream", "Debut", "Discovery" and "Development" (growth and advancement).
Although the D-BOYS are promoted as a group and members occasionally work together on the same projects, each actor develops his career independently from his fellow members in their own television, cinema and theatre projects. New D-BOYS members are regularly selected through public audition events with interactive participation of fan club members.
Current D-BOYS
Yuya Endo (遠藤 雄弥 Endō Yūya?, born March 20, 1987) - group leader
Kotaro Yanagi (柳 浩太郎 Yanagi Kōtarō?, born December 21, 1985)
Yuichi Nakamura (中村 優一 Nakamura Yūichi?, born September 04, 1987)
Shunji Igarashi (五十嵐 隼士 Igarashi Shunji?, born August 7, 1986)
Masato Wada (和田 正人 Wada Masato?, born August 25, 1979)
Masaki Kaji (加治 将樹 Kaji Masaki?, born January 29, 1988)
Hiroki Suzuki (鈴木 裕樹 Suzuki Hiroki?, born October 3, 1983)
Hirofumi Araki (荒木 宏文 Araki Hirofumi?, born June 14, 1983)
Koji Seto (瀬戸 康史 Seto Kōji?, born May 18, 1988)
Shingo Nakagawa (中川 真吾 Nakagawa Shingo?, born May 8, 1983)
Tomo Yanagishita (柳下 大 Yanagishita Tomo?, born June 3, 1988)
Tetsuya Makita (牧田 哲也 Makita Tetsuya?, born June 7, 1984)
Masahiro Usui (碓井 将大 Usui Masahiro?, born December 3, 1991)
Masashi Mikami (三上 真史 Mikami Masashi?, born June 20, 1983)
Osamu Adachi (足立 理 Adachi Osamu?, born December 22, 1987)
Ryuki Takahashi (高橋 龍輝 Takahashi Ryuki?, born March 28, 1993)
Taito Hashimoto (橋本 汰斗 Hashimoto Taito?, born November 1, 1991)
Yusuke Yamada (山田 悠介 Yamada Yusuke?, born July 29, 1987)
[edit] Former D-BOYS
Yamazaki Ichitaro (一太郎 Ichitarō Yamazaki?, born July 19, 1980)
Katsuki Nakamura (中村 勝樹 Nakamura Katsuki?, born March 23, 1990)
Shintaro Tetsu (鐵 進太郎 Tetsu Shintaro?, born September 29, 1986)
Yuma Minakawa (皆川 佑馬 Minakawa Yūma?, born October 1, 1984)
Yu Shirota (城田 優 Shirota Yū?, born December 26, 1985)
Kouhei Kumai (熊井 幸平 Kumai Kōhei?, born July 27, 1990)
Masaya Nakamura (中村 昌也 Nakamura Masaya?, born April 30, 1986)
[edit] D2 Members
Kenki Yamaguchi (山口賢貴 Yamaguchi Kenki?, born July 17, 1986)
Toru Kamitsuru (上鶴 徹 Kamitsuru Toru?, born June 26, 1989)
Yukito Nishii (西井幸人 Nishii Yukito?, born June 14, 1995)
Ryo Mitsuya (三津谷亮 Mitsuya Ryo?, born February 11, 1988)
Syo Jinnai (陳内 将 Jinnai Syo?, born January 16, 1988)
Atsushi Arai (荒井敦史 Arai Atsushi?, born May 23, 1993)
Shintaro Akutsu (阿久津愼太郎 Akutsu Shintaro?, born June 21, 1995)
Ryosuke Ikeoka (池岡亮介 Ikeoka Ryosuke?, born September 3, 1993)
Yoichiro Oumi (近江陽一郎 Oumi Yoichiro?, born April 5, 1989)
Takuya Negishi (根岸拓哉 Negishi Takuya?, born March 12, 1996)
Tsuchiya Shion (土屋シオン Tsuchiya Shion?, born July 07, 1992)
[edit] Member History
2004 - D-BOYS was originally formed in early 2004 with Kotaro Yanagi, Yamazaki Ichitaro, and Yuya Endo co-stars in the musical series The Prince of Tennis, Tenimyu.
27 July 2004 - The first open D-BOYS audition was held and Grand Prix Winner Yuichi Nakamura, Grand Prix 2nd Winner Shunji Igarashi and Katsuki Nakamura joined.
2004 October - Yu Shirota and first audition runner-ups Masato Wada, Osamu Adachi, Masaki Kaji, Yuma Minakawa and Shintaro Tetsu joined.
2004 December - First audition runner-ups Hirofumi Araki and Hiroki Suzuki joined the group.
2005 March - Yamazaki Ichitaro left the group to pursue solo representation with Grand Slam management. He was shortly followed by Katsuki Nakamura and Shintaro Tetsu, who have since left the entertainment business.
31 July 2005 - The second open D-BOYS audition was held and Grand Prix winner Kouhei Kumai, Grand Prix 2nd Winner Koji Seto and Shingo Nakagawa joined the group.
2006 July - The third open D-BOYS audition was held and Grand Prix winner Tomo Yanagishita joined the group shortly afterwards. Grand Prix 2nd placer and winner of sponsor D-View Magazine's Choice award Tetsuya Makita would be added to the group in the following year.
2007 January - Osamu Adachi and Yuma Minakawa withdrew from the group, remaining under the management of Watanabe Entertainment.
28 May 2007 - The fourth open audition was held with Masahiro Usui as Grand Prix and Masashi Mikami as 2nd Grand Prix Winner.
2007 July - Third audition's 2nd Winner Tetsuya Makita and Masaya Nakamura joined the group.
2007 December - Fourth audition's first and second winners Masahiro Usui and Masashi Mikami joined the group.
2008 April - Former member Osamu Adachi rejoined the group. The fifth open audition started.
2008 May - The final stage of the fifth open audition was held, with Yusuke Yamada finishing as Grand Prix winner, Yukito Nishii as Semi-Grand Prix, and Ryo Mitsuya receiving the judge's prize.
2008 June - It is announced during the Tokyo run of D-STAGE 2: Last Game that member Yu Shirota would soon graduate from the group; remaining under the management of Watanabe Entertainment.
2008 July - Yu Shirota graduated on July 6. Ryuki Takahashi joins the group.
2008 September - Kouhei Kumai left the group; remaining under the management of Watanabe Entertainment, before switching to Office Shuu Management.
2008 December - Taito Hashimoto joins the group.
2009 July - Yusuke Yamada debuts as the final new member of the D-BOYS during the Natsu Doko 2009 performances.
2009 September - The final stage of the sixth audition was held, with Shintaro Akutsu as the Grand Prix Winner and Ryosuke Ikeoka as the Semi-Grand Prix winner. Yoichiro Oumi and Ryuichi Tanigawa took two special judges' awards. A record 42,150,002 applicants applied to compete. The winners of this audition eventually form the sub-group, D2, of the D-BOYS.
2010 March - For the 10th anniversary commemoration of Watanabe Entertainment, to represent all members of the group, a special D-BOYS unit is formed comprising D-BOYS members, Shunji Igarashi, Yuichi Nakamura, Seto Koji, Hirofumi Araki and a new 5th member determined through the 2010 D-BOYS Audition.
2010 April - Masaya Nakamura left the group on April 6; remaining under the management of Watanabe Entertainment. D2, the spin-off group to the D-BOYS, is announced and debuted to the public on April 23, 2010. Members included Kenki Yamaguchi, Toru Kamitsuru, Ryo Mitsuya, and Syo Jinnai who had performed in Karasu 10. Fifth audition winners Yukito Nishii and sixth audition winners Shintaro Akutsu, Ryosuke Ikeoka, and Yoichiro Oumi are also D2 members. With Atsushi Arai and 22º Junon Superboy contestant Takuya Negishi rounding out the rest of the members. Most of the D2 members had already been the background supporting cast in many of the D-BOYS productions.
[edit] Group Projects
In addition to their individual careers, the D-BOYS are also involved in collective projects, as part of the group promotion work.
[edit] DD-BOYS
DD-BOYS was a drama-documentary variety series, featuring the D-BOYS members as themselves. Each episode had a short staged section following the plot of the members living in the fictional D-House and seeking ways to raise money for rent, followed by a documentary section showing the members undertaking tasks or challenges to raise that money. Some tasks were inspired by the actor's own personality -e.g., a member who was known to enjoy singing or dancing would have a task related to that hobby, etc. The show was 23 episodes long and aired from April 10, 2006 to September 25, 2006 on TV Asahi.
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Although the D-BOYS are promoted as a group and members occasionally work together on the same projects, each actor develops his career independently from his fellow members in their own television, cinema and theatre projects. New D-BOYS members are regularly selected through public audition events with interactive participation of fan club members.
Current D-BOYS
Yuya Endo (遠藤 雄弥 Endō Yūya?, born March 20, 1987) - group leader
Kotaro Yanagi (柳 浩太郎 Yanagi Kōtarō?, born December 21, 1985)
Yuichi Nakamura (中村 優一 Nakamura Yūichi?, born September 04, 1987)
Shunji Igarashi (五十嵐 隼士 Igarashi Shunji?, born August 7, 1986)
Masato Wada (和田 正人 Wada Masato?, born August 25, 1979)
Masaki Kaji (加治 将樹 Kaji Masaki?, born January 29, 1988)
Hiroki Suzuki (鈴木 裕樹 Suzuki Hiroki?, born October 3, 1983)
Hirofumi Araki (荒木 宏文 Araki Hirofumi?, born June 14, 1983)
Koji Seto (瀬戸 康史 Seto Kōji?, born May 18, 1988)
Shingo Nakagawa (中川 真吾 Nakagawa Shingo?, born May 8, 1983)
Tomo Yanagishita (柳下 大 Yanagishita Tomo?, born June 3, 1988)
Tetsuya Makita (牧田 哲也 Makita Tetsuya?, born June 7, 1984)
Masahiro Usui (碓井 将大 Usui Masahiro?, born December 3, 1991)
Masashi Mikami (三上 真史 Mikami Masashi?, born June 20, 1983)
Osamu Adachi (足立 理 Adachi Osamu?, born December 22, 1987)
Ryuki Takahashi (高橋 龍輝 Takahashi Ryuki?, born March 28, 1993)
Taito Hashimoto (橋本 汰斗 Hashimoto Taito?, born November 1, 1991)
Yusuke Yamada (山田 悠介 Yamada Yusuke?, born July 29, 1987)
[edit] Former D-BOYS
Yamazaki Ichitaro (一太郎 Ichitarō Yamazaki?, born July 19, 1980)
Katsuki Nakamura (中村 勝樹 Nakamura Katsuki?, born March 23, 1990)
Shintaro Tetsu (鐵 進太郎 Tetsu Shintaro?, born September 29, 1986)
Yuma Minakawa (皆川 佑馬 Minakawa Yūma?, born October 1, 1984)
Yu Shirota (城田 優 Shirota Yū?, born December 26, 1985)
Kouhei Kumai (熊井 幸平 Kumai Kōhei?, born July 27, 1990)
Masaya Nakamura (中村 昌也 Nakamura Masaya?, born April 30, 1986)
[edit] D2 Members
Kenki Yamaguchi (山口賢貴 Yamaguchi Kenki?, born July 17, 1986)
Toru Kamitsuru (上鶴 徹 Kamitsuru Toru?, born June 26, 1989)
Yukito Nishii (西井幸人 Nishii Yukito?, born June 14, 1995)
Ryo Mitsuya (三津谷亮 Mitsuya Ryo?, born February 11, 1988)
Syo Jinnai (陳内 将 Jinnai Syo?, born January 16, 1988)
Atsushi Arai (荒井敦史 Arai Atsushi?, born May 23, 1993)
Shintaro Akutsu (阿久津愼太郎 Akutsu Shintaro?, born June 21, 1995)
Ryosuke Ikeoka (池岡亮介 Ikeoka Ryosuke?, born September 3, 1993)
Yoichiro Oumi (近江陽一郎 Oumi Yoichiro?, born April 5, 1989)
Takuya Negishi (根岸拓哉 Negishi Takuya?, born March 12, 1996)
Tsuchiya Shion (土屋シオン Tsuchiya Shion?, born July 07, 1992)
[edit] Member History
2004 - D-BOYS was originally formed in early 2004 with Kotaro Yanagi, Yamazaki Ichitaro, and Yuya Endo co-stars in the musical series The Prince of Tennis, Tenimyu.
27 July 2004 - The first open D-BOYS audition was held and Grand Prix Winner Yuichi Nakamura, Grand Prix 2nd Winner Shunji Igarashi and Katsuki Nakamura joined.
2004 October - Yu Shirota and first audition runner-ups Masato Wada, Osamu Adachi, Masaki Kaji, Yuma Minakawa and Shintaro Tetsu joined.
2004 December - First audition runner-ups Hirofumi Araki and Hiroki Suzuki joined the group.
2005 March - Yamazaki Ichitaro left the group to pursue solo representation with Grand Slam management. He was shortly followed by Katsuki Nakamura and Shintaro Tetsu, who have since left the entertainment business.
31 July 2005 - The second open D-BOYS audition was held and Grand Prix winner Kouhei Kumai, Grand Prix 2nd Winner Koji Seto and Shingo Nakagawa joined the group.
2006 July - The third open D-BOYS audition was held and Grand Prix winner Tomo Yanagishita joined the group shortly afterwards. Grand Prix 2nd placer and winner of sponsor D-View Magazine's Choice award Tetsuya Makita would be added to the group in the following year.
2007 January - Osamu Adachi and Yuma Minakawa withdrew from the group, remaining under the management of Watanabe Entertainment.
28 May 2007 - The fourth open audition was held with Masahiro Usui as Grand Prix and Masashi Mikami as 2nd Grand Prix Winner.
2007 July - Third audition's 2nd Winner Tetsuya Makita and Masaya Nakamura joined the group.
2007 December - Fourth audition's first and second winners Masahiro Usui and Masashi Mikami joined the group.
2008 April - Former member Osamu Adachi rejoined the group. The fifth open audition started.
2008 May - The final stage of the fifth open audition was held, with Yusuke Yamada finishing as Grand Prix winner, Yukito Nishii as Semi-Grand Prix, and Ryo Mitsuya receiving the judge's prize.
2008 June - It is announced during the Tokyo run of D-STAGE 2: Last Game that member Yu Shirota would soon graduate from the group; remaining under the management of Watanabe Entertainment.
2008 July - Yu Shirota graduated on July 6. Ryuki Takahashi joins the group.
2008 September - Kouhei Kumai left the group; remaining under the management of Watanabe Entertainment, before switching to Office Shuu Management.
2008 December - Taito Hashimoto joins the group.
2009 July - Yusuke Yamada debuts as the final new member of the D-BOYS during the Natsu Doko 2009 performances.
2009 September - The final stage of the sixth audition was held, with Shintaro Akutsu as the Grand Prix Winner and Ryosuke Ikeoka as the Semi-Grand Prix winner. Yoichiro Oumi and Ryuichi Tanigawa took two special judges' awards. A record 42,150,002 applicants applied to compete. The winners of this audition eventually form the sub-group, D2, of the D-BOYS.
2010 March - For the 10th anniversary commemoration of Watanabe Entertainment, to represent all members of the group, a special D-BOYS unit is formed comprising D-BOYS members, Shunji Igarashi, Yuichi Nakamura, Seto Koji, Hirofumi Araki and a new 5th member determined through the 2010 D-BOYS Audition.
2010 April - Masaya Nakamura left the group on April 6; remaining under the management of Watanabe Entertainment. D2, the spin-off group to the D-BOYS, is announced and debuted to the public on April 23, 2010. Members included Kenki Yamaguchi, Toru Kamitsuru, Ryo Mitsuya, and Syo Jinnai who had performed in Karasu 10. Fifth audition winners Yukito Nishii and sixth audition winners Shintaro Akutsu, Ryosuke Ikeoka, and Yoichiro Oumi are also D2 members. With Atsushi Arai and 22º Junon Superboy contestant Takuya Negishi rounding out the rest of the members. Most of the D2 members had already been the background supporting cast in many of the D-BOYS productions.
[edit] Group Projects
In addition to their individual careers, the D-BOYS are also involved in collective projects, as part of the group promotion work.
[edit] DD-BOYS
DD-BOYS was a drama-documentary variety series, featuring the D-BOYS members as themselves. Each episode had a short staged section following the plot of the members living in the fictional D-House and seeking ways to raise money for rent, followed by a documentary section showing the members undertaking tasks or challenges to raise that money. Some tasks were inspired by the actor's own personality -e.g., a member who was known to enjoy singing or dancing would have a task related to that hobby, etc. The show was 23 episodes long and aired from April 10, 2006 to September 25, 2006 on TV Asahi.
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