Takuya Kimura

Takuya Kimura (木村 拓哉) is a Japanese actor, singer, and radio personality.

He is regarded as a Japanese icon after achieving success as an actor.

He was also a popular member of SMAP, one of the best-selling boy bands in Asia.

In 1987, at age 15, Kimura auditioned to enter Johnny & Associates, a talent agency that recruits and trains young boys to become singers and members of boy bands.

In Autumn 1987, twenty young boys, including Kimura, were put together into a group called The Skate Boys, which was initially created as backup dancers for a famous boy band, Hikaru Genji.

In April 1988, producer Johnny Kitagawa chose six out of the twenty boys to create a new boy band; "SMAP."

In 1988, Kimura made his acting debut in a television series, Abunai Shonen III, along with his band members.

After appearing in several television series, he first attracted attention after landing a role in a high-rated television series, Asunaro Hakusho, in 1993.

The scene where he hugged his co-star Hikari Ishida from behind became popular in Japan and a man hugging a girl from behind was later named "asunaro daki", meaning "asunaro hug".

From 1994, men in Japan started copying his fashion and style, as clothes and fashion items became instant hits, the thick, black-rimmed glasses he wore in Asunaro Hakusho, being one of them.

The phenomenon was collectively called the "Kimutaku syndrome".

He won the Ishihara Yujiro New Artist Award for his performance in Shoot, in which he made his screen debut.

A 1996 television drama series, Long Vacation, in which he landed his first lead role, became a massive success, creating a phrase called the "Lon-bake phenomenon".

He was given the title, "The King of Ratings", as his subsequent television series continued to generate high ratings and each show became a social phenomenon as it aired.

He first landed the lead role in Long Vacation in 1996.

The series, which aired every Monday night, saw massive success and was the highest-rated program that year, thus becoming a social phenomenon.

Media stated that, "women disappear from the city on Mondays", pointing out the large viewership and how intoxicating the show was for women in Japan.

After Kimura playing a young pianist, there was a rapid increase of young men who started taking piano lessons.

The cultural impact and influences of the show is commonly referred to as the "Lonvaca (ron-bake) phenomenon".

This was also a breakthrough for Kimura as an actor and helped him gain recognition and a more broad fan base.

In 2000, he starred in a television series, Beautiful Life, which became a massive hit, with the final episode marking above the 40% household share rating and becoming the highest-rated program for that slot (Sunday 9:00pm).

Five of his works are ranked in the 10 best-viewed TV drama series in Japan, the highest of which is his 2001 drama series, Hero.

In 2001, Kimura starred in Hero, which became the all-time highest-rated television series in Japan and the only program in history to have all episodes mark above the 30% household share rating.

Subsequent television series, such as Good Luck!!, Pride and Engine, also generated high-ratings.

Five of his most successful television series, Hero (2001), Beautiful Life (2000), Love Generation (1997), Good Luck!! (2003), and Long Vacation (1996) are ranked in the top ten highest-rated television series in Japanese history.

In 2004, he played a supporting role in a Cannes-nominated film 2046, and walked the red carpet of Cannes Festival for the first time.

Kimura also voiced Howl Pendragon, the titular character of Studio Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle in 2004.

He also starred in blockbuster films, including Love and Honor (2006), Hero (2007) and Howl's Moving Castle (as a voice actor, 2004).

Kimura is also known for his work in the video games Judgment and Lost Judgment, portraying the protagonist Takayuki Yagami.

He was the lead actor in Love and Honor (2006).

In 2020, Kimura released his first solo album, entitled "Go with the Flow".

The album, which included songs written for Kimura by well-known bands and artists such as [ALEXANDROS], Superfly, Noriyuki Makihara, and Love Psychedelico, debuted at #1 on the Oricon Albums Chart on the week of its release.

A month later, he held a four-day tour in both Tokyo and Osaka entitled "Takuya Kimura Live Tour 2020 Go with the Flow".

The concert was released on Blu-Ray and DVD, on July 8, 2020, debuting at #1 as well on the Oricon Charts.

On May 20, 2021, the Weibo Starlight Awards 2020 ceremony was held online.

Kimura, alongside his two daughters, Cocomi and Kōki, were awarded alongside Western artists such as Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and Louis Koo.

A follow-up to his solo album "Go with the Flow" was released on January 19, 2022, entitled "Next Destination".

The album features the song entitled "Mojo Drive", a collaboration between Kimura and renowned city-pop artist Tatsuro Yamashita, who wanted to write a song to highlight Kimura's baritone voice after attending his solo concert in February.

Yamashita also composed two other tracks, namely "Good Luck, Good Time", and "Morning Dew" for the album.

In addition to Yamashita, "Next Destination" also features songs written by Kyōka Suzuki, Sanma Akashiya, Man with a Mission, and Shigesato Itoi.