A Love-Hate Relationship...

Honestly, I've never been sure how I felt about KAT-TUN.  I've always hovered somewhere between wanting to support them, and not caring about them.  However, now that Akanishi has been officially gone for a few months, I feel like I should sort out my feelings toward them.

In high school, when I was first getting into JPop, I came across KAT-TUN's talk show, Cartoon KAT-TUN, and I fell in love with it.  As I've said before, I have a weak spot for dorky boys, and I found myself falling for their quirky personalities.

However, I was never as fond of their music.  They have more of a pop-rock feel than most Japanese boy bands, which is fine, except that the songs themselves were never very outstanding in my opinion.  Of course, there are a couple songs that shine-- Yorokobi no Uta is always a classic-- but in general they felt kind of blah to me.

However, there was a bigger obstacle blocking my entry into the fandom...

For reasons that I still cannot really explain, Akanishi just irked me.  He didn't do anything to deserve it; my annoyance with him was completely unfounded.  However, I just couldn't fully enjoy the group when there was a member who, for some strange reason, just didn't sit right with me.  I know he has a lot of fans, and I'm sorry Akanishi lovers, but... I don't know either.  o_O

However, now that Akanishi is officially gone, I find my interest in KAT-TUN growing again.  I credit this mostly to my love for Kamenashi Kazuya.  I loved him in every drama I've seen him in Tatta Hitotsu no Koi is still one of my favorite dramas ever, and whenever I see his TV appearances he's so delightfully silly.  Plus, the shallow part of me just can't ignore how gorgeous he is...

Combine Kame with Jun's constant epic fails, Ueda's quietness and fabulously girly face, Maru's boy-next-door charm, and... well, Koki is just special...  n_n ... and you've got a boy band that I can support.

The singles they've released since Akanishi left are decent in my opinion.  Going is a typical Johnny's song with a fantastic 90s-Backstreet-Boys pv and a wonderfully silly dance.  No More Pain was another rock-pop song that left me wanting.  But Change Ur World is seriously a song that I can get behind.  The song and video are both really well done, and I love how each boy gets equal attention now.  It just seems so much more balanced.

I figure that for now I'll just keep an eye out for these five boys and hope that they'll continue to evolve for the better and show me what they're worth.  At the moment, I will tentatively count myself as a KAT-TUN supporter, if for no other reason than to see what they can become.