Naniwa Danshi

Naniwa Danshi (なにわ男子) is a Japanese boy band formed by Starto Entertainment (formerly Johnny & Associates) on October 6, 2018. It consists of seven members who primarily come from the Kansai region. The group's official debut announcement was made on July 28, 2021, through their label Storm Labels. Their debut single, "Ubu Love", was released on November 12, 2021. Naniwa Danshi is the fourth Starto Entertainment group from the Kansai region after KinKi Kids, Super Eight, and West. to make an official debut. The name "Naniwa" refers to the old name of Osaka (also name of a ward in Osaka). In just 4 months they sold 1.14 million physical copies in Japan.

History
Naniwa Danshi is produced by Super Eight's Tadayoshi Okura. Prior to Naniwa Danshi, a Kansai Junior trio unit called Naniwa Ouji (なにわ皇子) was formed in August 2012. Naniwa Ouji includes the two current members Daigo Nishihata, Ryusei Onishi, and Ren Nagase, who later became a member of King & Prince.

The group's formation was informed to the members through mass e-mails, as opposed of being called directly to Johnny Kitagawa's place, leading members to think that "it was a prank." Nishihata thought it was a prank due to the group's name "Naniwa Danshi" just means they are "people from Kansai." Now he's grateful for it since people are easier to remember them with the name. Formation of Naniwa Danshi was the first time in 4 years for Kansai Junior and was publicly announced through the magazine Potato.

On January 5, 2021, Naniwa Danshi, along with two other Kansai Junior groups (Ae! group and Lil Kansai), joined the Junior official YouTube channel, indirectly replacing SixTones and Snow Man after their departure from the channel.

The group's official debut was announced through their Naniwa Danshi First Arena Tour 2021 #NaniwaDanshiShikaKatan concert at Yokohama Arena, which was also a surprise for themselves. The debut was announced on Naniwa Day (July 28). This also marks the long-awaited debut for Joichiro Fujiwara, who had been a trainee for 17 years 8 months—the longest in Starto Entertainment's history. Alongside their debut CD release, an Instagram account was also made. They also "graduated" from the Junior YouTube channel and opened their own YouTube channel.

Post-debut
In 2024, Super Eight, West, and Naniwa Danshi collaborated in all-Kansai group named Kamigata Boyz. The group digital single, "Musekinin de Ee Janai ka Love" (無責任でええじゃないかLOVE) was released on May 3, 2024 and is available on music streaming sites. Hyadain wrote and composed the song. The song title is combination of each group songs: Musekinin Hero (Super Eight), Eejanaika (West), and Ubu Love (Naniwa Danshi). Okura was the one who suggested the title.

Solo concerts

 * Naniwa Danshi First Live Tour 2019 ~Naniwa Danshi to Isshoni #Aoharu Shiyo?~ (2019-2020) (なにわ男子 First Live Tour 2019〜なにわと一緒に#アオハルしよ?〜)
 * NANIWA DANSHI LIVE 2020 「Shall we #AOHARU」(2020)
 * Kansai Johnny's DREAM PAVILION 〜Shall we #AOHARU?〜 (streamed on Family Club Online)
 * Naniwa Danshi First Arena Tour 2021 #NaniwaDanshiShikaKatan (なにわ男子 First Arena Tour 2021 #なにわ男子しか勝たん)
 * Naniwa Danshi Debut Tour 2022 1st Love (なにわ男子 Debut Tour 2022 1st Love)
 * Naniwa Danshi Live Tour 2023 Pop Mall (なにわ男子 LIVE TOUR 2023 POP MALL)
 * Naniwa Danshi Live Tour 2024 '+Alpha' (なにわ男子 LIVE TOUR 2024 ’+Alpha’)

Concerts as Kansai Johnny's jr

 * Fall in LOVE 〜Fall in Love with Kanju in Autumn〜（2018）
 * Kansai Johnny's Jr（X'mas Party!! 2018）
 * Kansai Johnny's Jr LIVE 2019 Happy 2 year!! 〜Chu Year with Kanju this year too!!〜
 * Kansai Johnny's Jr（SPRING SPECIAL SHOW 2019）
 * Johnny's IsLAND Festival（2019）
 * Johnny's Jr. 8.8 Festival 〜Starting with Tokyo Dome〜（2019）
 * Kanju Dream's Kansai Island 2020 in Kyosera Dome Osaka 〜Come Play! Satisfaction 100%〜（2020）
 * Johnny's DREAM IsLAND 2020→2025 〜From My Beloved City〜（streamed on Family Club Online）

Other media
A virtual idol collaboration project between Starto Entertainment and Showroom started from 2019 which features two members Joichiro Fujiwara and Kazuya Ohashi. They voiced two-person group members Ascana: Asuka Kaido (海堂 飛鳥) and Kanata Ichigaya (苺谷 星空), respectively. The duo streamed every day at 21:30 JST on Showroom. Honeyworks handles the music and character designs. Along with Naniwa Danshi's official debut, both of them "graduated" from the project in 2021.