For a release commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Bungeishunju New Year special edition, the storied publication will be releasing 20160118, a novelization of the disbandment and rebirth of the popular Johnny’s boy band SMAP.
Written by Suzuki Osamu, it imagines the events that took place behind the scenes as the group was preparing for their now legendary disbandment apology conference. The main character is implied to be one of the background staff, and the writing style is in the form of short blog-post like vignettes. The writer himself is someone who worked closely on the SMAPxSMAP variety show over 20 years as one of its scriptwriters, and combines much of his own experience with a more dramatic version of what he thought might have happened behind the scenes.
https://youtu.be/k7bpmvIuAks
The commemorative edition is available now for purchase.
