Seinen Okada

Okada Jun'ichi

Name: Okada Jun'ichi
Birthdate: November 18, 1980
Birthplace: Osaka
Bloodtype: B
Family: Grandmother, Mother, Older sister
Entered Johnny's: 1995
Singing Groups: V6, Coming Century, MiMyCen, Otona Century, J-Friends
Amazing Johnny's-like Abilities: Guitar, Trapeze, Juggling, Stilts, Double Dutch, Telepathy, Piano, Balance, Protruding forehead, Basically anything that's randomly thrown at him

History | Work | Personality | Fun Anecdotes & Misc.

History
Okada-kun's entry into Johnny's Entertainment was pretty unusual. In 1995, his mom entered him in a TV contest of sorts. Okada-kun plowed through all of the levels and eventually became a Johnny's. The story goes, he traveled to Tokyo from his hometown of Osaka, the second biggest city in Japan, for his first day of work with only a hair dryer and 10 bucks. He expected to be home later that day. Three days later, Johnny asked him, "Do you play volleyball?" Turns out, Johnny's was just getting ready to debut a new group. Okada-kun bought some new underwear, and V6 was born. Okada-kun is not only the youngest of the group, but he's the only one of the group not from the Tokyo area, but from Osaka, the second biggest city in Japan. Osaka is also the home of the Kansai dialect, one of the most distinctive dialects in Japan. Okada-kun's Kansai dialect isn't very strong, but sometimes when he gets tired or worked up, you start to hear him slipping further and further into it.

Work
Since Okada-kun became a member of V6 shortly after become a Johnny's, he's the only Johnny's member that I'm aware of who has never spent time in Johnny's Jr. Not that he really needs it. Okada-kun is very musically talented, vocally and instrumentally (guitar and piano). Like the rest of V6, Okada-kun has also done several dramas, including the popular Osaka-based drama Oyaji and his first starring role in the baseball drama Kisarazu Cat's Eye with Arashi's Sakurai Shou. Since Okada-kun joined V6 so young, his voice has really changed the most over the years. His voice has gotten much stronger as he's aged, and so he's been used more and more often for solo work within V6. And yet, even from the beginning, his voice has always been the mature one to balance Go and Ken, keeping KamiSen from sounding like 10-year olds. Truly scary.

Personality
Okada-kun's big hobby that I know of is photography. He has several very high quality cameras, and enjoys taking pictures of everyone while they're working. His nickname is "odeko", meaning "prominent forehead". If you look at his forehead, it sticks out a bit, so the other Johnny's like to make fun of him for that. Okada-kun comes across as being very stubborn, in the best meaning of the word. He absolutely never gives up, whether in competition or challenges or anything else. As a result, he can do absolutely anything thrown at him. Okada-kun actually had a long running, popular segment on Gakkou e Ikou where he was challenged to do all sorts of things, from juggling and double dutch, to unicycling and trapeze work. And the strangest part of all is, he somehow managed to always pull it off.

Although Okada-kun is the youngest member, he sometimes acts the oldest. He's incredibly intelligent and mature. He's always the first one to solve puzzles and riddles during TV variety segments, and always comes up with dry, witty replies to the usual V6 banter. At the same time, Okada-kun has an incredibly odd sense of humor. It's hard to describe... it's not the sense of humor that has you bouncing and rolling on the floor like Inocchi. It's a drier, more twisted humor, the kind that first makes you stare in shock for a second thinking, "What the...", before laughing a little to yourself and maybe whacking him while saying, "You weirdo." Although I never saw him back then, I heard that Okada-kun was must more wild and immature when he first joined, but that years of V6 have matured him.

Fun Anecdotes & Misc.

Since Okada-kun didn't work as a Johnny's Jr., he didn't get to know anyone before he made it big. In face, Okada-kun didn't know anyone when he moved to Tokyo alone in 1995 to start working. He became close friends with KinKi Kid's Tsuyoshi-kun, as they're both from Osaka and have similar senses of humor. Okada-kun is close to all of the members, but he and Sakamoto really have a brotherly/fatherly bond. When Okada-kun began with V6, he was also just beginning high school. He wanted to quit, but Sakamoto refused to let him give up. Sakamoto encouraged Okada-kun (and probably manhandled him a bit), and despite dramas and concerts and everything else, Okada-kun managed to finish high school in 1999. Omedeto, Okada-kun~!

Okada-kun's sense of humor pops up at the oddest time. During one Gakkou e Ikou segment, he spotted an odd looking fish in an Osaka aquarium that Go had dubbed "Okada" due to it's protruding forehead. Taking the joke in stride, Okada-kun flattened himself against the glass and proceeded to have a dry "conversation" with the fish, asking his "bro" how he was doing and assuring him that the family was doing great. When finished, he calmly peeled himself off of the glass and went along his way. Another time, Okada-kun was closing off a segment, telling people to keep the postcards coming and all that jazz. There was a slightly uncomfortable pause after his announcement, at which point Okada-kun began leaping and twisting until he was off camera. "Michelle Kwan~!" he exclaimed. Everyone started laughing in confusion, because honestly, what the hell was that all about?