7 MEN Samurai is a six-member Japanese pop/rock idol group under Johnny & Associates. They gained viral fame from a video of members Taiko and Rei having mishaps, though the video was incorrectly attributed to other groups. Each member has unique talents beyond being idols, such as skateboarding, singing, dancing, and academics. They release original songs and weekly variety content, blending idol and band performances. While just starting their career, the document expresses they have potential for future international success.

1. F R O M M E M E
T O F R E S H
S U P E R S T A R
Have you ever scrolled past a video in
your Twitter feed and wondered
'Where is that from?'?
It happens more often than not,
especially in today's digital network
jungle, and it's exactly what happened to
the Japanese pop idol group 7 MEN
Samurai (7 MEN 侍).
7 MEN Samurai is a six-member group
under the Tokyo-based talent agency
Johnny & Associates. With a focus on
Japanese pop and rock, their weapon on
stage is being a band.
On drums, we have their youngest
member, Taiko Sasaki (19), on lead guitar
Taiki Konno (22), on guitar/saxophone
Rinne Sugeta (23), on bass and
miscellaneous instruments, Rei Yabana
(21), on keyboard Katsuki Motodaka (23),
and lastly, main vocalist and guitar, Reia
Nakamura (24).
www.sjpa.se | 2022
FROM MEME TO FRESH SUPERSTAR

2. www.sjpa.se | 2022
FROM MEME TO FRESH SUPERSTAR
7 MEN Samurai are active weekly,
on the web, on the Johnny's Jr.
Channel and on the platform
ISLAND TV.
This is where you get the official
content of the boys, and aside
from their activities on YouTube,
they also star in various music
shows, stage plays and TV dramas.
They appear both individually and
as a group.
Being a Johnny's Jr. group means
that you don't have a lot of original
content but 7 MEN Samurai do not
let that hinder them from
delivering top-notch performances
whenever they get the chance.
Their first original song, SAMU-
DAMA, is a rocking song
showcasing their skills as as band.
This version from Summer Station
★LIVE THE FUTURE, July 18, 2021,
is quite the upgrade from their
first studio live in Sep 11, 2020.
WHERE do we begin?
Somewhere in the jungle of
tweets and TikToks, somebody
uploaded a segment of Taiko
walking into a glass door, falling
over, proceeded by Rei tripping
over the other.
This video went uncredited (as
per usual on the web), and fans of
various groups started to caption
it with their idols instead. This
turned into a state of confusion as
of "which group is this?". While
many claimed it to be BTS, Stray
Kids, NCT, or ATEEZ, they were far
from right. It wasn't even a
Korean group causing this viral
moment of fame and laughter.
It was 7 MEN Samurai - a
Johnny's Jr. group.
This is where we are now, and I
am here to highlight some of the
great aspects of this young, rising,
unique band.
We will
keep on
until we
achieve the
dream we've
made
SAMU-DAMA
• Johnny's Jr.: trainees that have yet made a CD debut.

3. www.sjpa.se | 2022
FROM MEME TO FRESH SUPERSTAR
Even
though our
dreams might
be beyond
what fate
allows
SIREN
Next in line is their fitness guru, Rinne, who
charmingly refers to himself in third person.
Rinne is considered the "genius acrobat" as his
skills with acrobatics and similar is highly
regarded! Not only that, he has participated in
the show SASUKE (Japan's Ninja Warrior)
twice and passed the first stage both times.
Rinne's amazing physical ability is well-known
through the agency as well, and he even ran
12 flights of stairs in just 45 seconds! To top it
off, he absolutely loves cats and has 8 of them
at home.
Taiki is their lead vocalist and is usually in
charge of higher harmonies and adlibs to
compliment Reia's main vocals. With his
soothing voice and highly regarded vocal
skills, he's been in the reading musical ROCK
READING "ROBIN!", 2021 and "the Happiest
Prince", 2020, alongside fellow member
Katsuki. He occasionally posts his acapella
singing on ISLAND TV, showing off his raw
vocals!
7 MEN Samurai's second-youngest, Rei, takes
his passion for music to the next level and is
majoring in music at university alongside his
activities as an idol. He's not your typical idol,
as he tends to let his inner rock beast loose on
stage when they rock 'n roll. On ISLAND TV, he
occasionally uploads sessions of himself
jamming or showing off his music equipment.
In 2021, he also got the chance to star in his
first-ever stage play "The Fiend with 20 Faces".
Last, but not least, Taiko. The youngest made
his international debut when it came to light
he resembles the Indonesian actor Iqbaal
Ramadhan. This information went viral, just
like the famous glass door video. On ISLAND
TV, he created a whole series of "Taiko's
Challenge", where he inserted Mentos into
Coca-Cola if to name one thing he's done.
That also, got the official Mentos Twitter to
pick up on his crazy antics! Not only is he
living on the edge, but he's also a great
dancer.
Continuing on, the second original song they
got is called "SIREN", and they surprised us
with this song at the Johnnys' Jr. Island FES on
November 28, 2020. Unlike SAMU-DAMA,
SIREN is a dance-focused performance,
showing us that they possess the expected
skills as idols of Johnny's. With the duality of a
band and idol group, 7 MEN Samurai walks
the path toward a bigger stage than just
Japan's borders.
Looking at the members in more detail,
they're surely an interesting bunch of boys!
Not only are they top-notch idols but each of
them got their own set of unique skills.
The oldest, Reia, recently appeared on a show
called "NEO COLOSSEUM", where he got to
compete against an Olympic medalist in
skateboarding. His skateboarding skills
successfully brought him to victory. He also
appears in various dramas and movies, and he
has been active as a junior ever since 2009
and loves Star Wars! With his unique sense of
art, he's also their resident artist and has
made their logos you can see on stage and on
Taiko's drum set.
Katsuki is their academically smartest
member, as he was a ranked top student in
maths nationwide during his junior high years
and is a graduate of the prestigious Waseda
University. He even went against the other five
members in a quiz battle! How did that go?
Well, take a look for yourself and find out! A
very charming point about Katsuki is his love
for fish. He's self-taught in the art of cleaning
and preparing fish, and he even caught the
eyes of the Japanese Fisheries Ministry.

4. www.sjpa.se | 2022
FROM MEME TO FRESH SUPERSTAR
Who cares
if we're still
unpolished?
SIREN
YOUTUBE
TWITTER
ISLAND TV
JOHNNY'S ISLAND STORE
INTERESTED IN 7 MEN SAMURAI?
Check the official channels out below.
CHECK THESE VIDEOS OUT!
Can we guess who is playing just
by the sound!?
Can we say I LOVE YOU with
marshmallows stuffed in our
mouth??
How long does it take to escape
our duct tape bonds!?
"SIREN" Dance Practice & 3x
Speed Dance Challenge! Can we
do it!?
A detective joins the Werewolf
Game!
There is a lot more to discover when
it comes to 7 MEN Samurai because
while they are on their way to
become superstars, they are also a
group of normal, chaotic boys. Every
Friday you can watch the six of them
entertain the viewers with crazy
stunts like cooking huge versions of
food, getting pranked by zombies,
babysitting a foreign kid, and
humoring Taiko and his Taiko
Challenge... the list is endless of things
they have done!
The title might be a bit misleading as
7 MEN Samurai did not start their
career from one single meme
circulating on the Internet. Although,
it definitely helped them spread their
name across the whole world and
make them a little bit more conscious
of the world outside Japan. The world
is big and I think that in time, 7 MEN
Samurai will be ready to expand
globally too, as long as they wish for it.
They possess the charm and
adaptability as a classical idol of
Johnny's - whether it be dancing on
stage in shining sequins and layers of
fur, or causing storms of laughter on a
variety show. As a band, they have the
necessary skills they can polish and
develop into a powerful weapon that
they can use in the future. Combining
these two, you get 7 MEN Samurai
and they will create their own path
toward the dreams they want to
achieve.
In conclusion, I would like to wish for
7 MEN Samurai's future success.
When the time comes for their
international career, I will be there to
support them from the bottom of my
heart. As long as there aren't any
transparent doors in the way, I believe
they are a group to keep an eye on
and support, especially with the
current digital era. Maybe Taiko will
go viral again, who knows? Let's find
out together!
NAKAMURA
NAKAMURA
REIA
REIA
SUGETA
SUGETA
RINNE
RINNE
YABANA
YABANA
REI
REI
KATSUKI
KATSUKI
MOTODAKA
MOTODAKA
TAIKI
TAIKI
KONNO
KONNO
TAIKO
TAIKO
SASAKI
SASAKI
Sabina Lindström, 2022