J-Cast news is making the provocative claim that SMAP’s era might be finished.
Popular Johnny’s pop band SMAP is comprised of five men whose faces any resident or visitor to Japan will immediately recognize. At least one of them features on billboards seemingly wherever you turn!
J-Cast points to current media musings on the lower viewing figures and dwindling box office for the performers’ recent TV series and films indicate a drop in their star pulling power. Of course, for years fans and commentators have speculated on whether the band will split, especially given all their lucrative careers as individuals. Could they now just simply lack the shine they used to have?
[Pic via Taboo no chou.]
We’ve written before on the issues surrounding Japanese advertising and its lazy, near-obsessive use of celebrities to provide a face for any new product or campaign. Has the SMAP members’ very ubiquity eventually canceled out their own popularity? Japanese bloggers are thinking the almost unthinkable — that even Takuya Kimura cannot muster a veritable hit anymore…
William is an editor of JapanTrends.com and researcher for 
