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Have you ever watched an idol DVD? An idol DVD is usually an hour to an hour and a half long documentary-like film featuring a certain idol doing different things or tasks. Originally meant for the male audience, an idol DVD features the female idol (ranging from 10 to 20+ year-olds) doing various sports, posing in different swimsuits, cosplaying and basically posing around.

A few years back Marvelous Entertainment, the one behind the successful stage production The Musical Prince of Tennis, started a trend in producing idol DVDs starring male actors, specifically actors who had starred in Tenimyu at one point. The DVDs were widely accepted by Tenimyu fans everywhere and had now become a trend. DVDs starring male actors were started to be fondly called Men’s DVD. Some actors like Katou Keisuke were also starred in such DVDs even though they have not starred in Tenimyu or any stage productions. (left: Katou Keisuke’s Pieces of Dream DVD)

Exactly what can one expect when watching a man’s DVD anyway? What eyecandy are stored in such a fangirl’s treasure?

(To ensure understanding of the text with the pictures, I have incuded the actor and the title of the DVD in the pictures.)

The first time they were released, men’s DVD were sold as is: containing the main documentary clip, a short making-of video, and a digital photo gallery. The recent ones though, now come with photobooks with shots from the DVD. They are sold separately so you can enjoy both the printed and digital versions of shots from the video.

A male idol DVD contains slightly different parts from a female idol DVD. Usually, the movie is shot in a place outside Japan, commonly in other Asian countries like Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore. The actor is usually depicted as someone who is exploring the place he ended up in. All throughout the film, a voice-over done by the actor himself would be narrating, telling his thoughts of his adventures and on certain things. The movie is usually divided into categories, all of which are, more often than not, common in all men’s DVD.

Bed scene. Though not always at the start of the movie, the bed scene is always a part of the first half of the movie. It involves the actor being ushered into a hotel room or in an isolated room where he is believed to stay for the rest of his ‘adventure’. Some 10-15 minutes are then spent with the actor rolling on the bed. The actor may undress or may be depicted as someone who just woke up and covered in blankets, but definitely, they are going to roll on the bed. Sometimes they end up on the floor or they end up only in their boxers.
Shower scene. What is a good idol DVD without a shower scene? Here, the actor is stripped down to his boxers or pants and showers around with seemingly uncaring but seductive hand motions. Sometimes he sits in the tub and washes himself with the handheld shower. Sometimes he shampooes and lets the shower wash the suds away slowly. Most of the time, he worships the wall/tub while enjoying the gentle water flow.

Eating scene. Whether it is in the room/hotel or outside in a weird restaurant, there is bound to be an eating scene in a man’s DVD. Usually, the actor is made to eat a delicacy of the country they are visiting, no matter how weird the food is. Sometimes, there is an over-ordering of stuff and the actor tries eating each and every one of them. As part of the challenge, the actor is often made to order the food himself, which means that he has to use some of his English/other language skills in order to convey what he wants.

Wandering scene. This is similar to a shopping scene, although instead of being in a mall, the actor wanders in the street. He visits night markets, fruit stands, weird street food stands and tries out everything he could. If he speaks decent English or other languages, he talks to the natives and asks about the merchandise he sees. It is amusing to see random pedestrians or bystanders staring at the guy who walks around with a camera constantly following his every move.

Swimming pool scene. It seems that it is expected that the actor can swim, since this is just the first of two swimming scenes. The pool scene is usually with a happy background music and the actor is depicted as having fun while diving/paddling around in clear water and completely enjoying himself. He may or may not end up showering by the poolside, but close-ups of the wet look are generous.

Skill/Talent scene. Since it is a DVD all to himself, the actor has the chance to show off his skills. Be it cooking, martial arts, breakdancing or sports, the actor has a whole lot of time to show the watcher what he knows and how good he is in his craft. Certain actors (e.g. Yanagi Koutarou, Minami Keisuke and Shirota Yuu) who are fluent in other languages also get to show off their speaking skills in this part. Aside from talents, the actor is also sometimes tasked to do things, like be a junkyard junkie (KENN) or dance around in a billiard hall (Nakagauchi Masataka).

Omoshiroi scene. This part of the DVD is one of the lighter scenes. As the title says, in this scene, the actor is tasked to do something interesting. ‘Interesting’ things ranges from crossdressing to playing matador to playing barber to wearing a dalmatian suit to covering himself in paint. Here, the actor has fun doing crackier stuff. Sometimes it gets a bit squicky, but still amusing.

Beach/Sand scene. This is usually one of the last phases of the movie. Aside from the pool scene, the actor also goes to a nearby beach and swims to his heart’s content, letting himself be violated by the waves. After swimming, he lays down in the sand and literally rolls around until he is covered by sand. Usually, the last shot involves the sunset or the early morning horizon with the actor stretched out in the beach, dead to the world.

The video ends with the actor relaying a quote or a final line about his outlook in life. Still shots from the video are then shown in sequence before the credits roll.

When watching men’s DVDs, I personally pay attention to the shower, sand and omoshiroi scenes. I think that a DVD with a good shower scene and a sand scene where the actor doesn’t look like breaded chicken is a good production. I also tend to appreciate the bed scenes with the blankets, as it gives a much cozier approach to the whole thing.

So far the outline I had discussed above is only applicable to the DVDs released by Marvelous Entertainment. Other DVDs also have different approaches of their own. Examples would be actor DVDs released by the company managing the certain actor, like Aiba Hiroki’s metamorphosis DVD (mainly a digital photobook; cover on the left) and Aoyagi Ruito’s 6110. Most of the time, DVDs produced by companies other than Marvelous Entertainment are more wholesome. They mainly involve the actor wandering to places within Japan, trying out food, cooking and answering personal questions.

Fangirls, especially those knowledgeable in the myu world, await men’s DVD releases in the hope of knowing more about their favorite actors and seeing them do things they don’t usually show in musicals or backstage clips. Some squee and are completely taken in by the actors. Some are just amused by certain scenes, especially those which are really unexpected (like dalmatian cosplay). Some, though, are squicked out by the thought of seeing their favorite actor roll on beds and shower and walk around in cosplay. Still, it cannot be denied that such DVDs not only fuel an actor’s popularity but also makes the fangirls one step closer to them. It reels in fangirls, old and new, deeper into the fandom.

What do you think? Are men’s DVDs artistic representations of an actor’s skills, thoughts and activities? Or they are merely publicity stunts that do not offer anything aside from fanservice?

Sources:

http://www.mens-dvd.net/

Aiba Hiroki official website

Kenn official website

Saitou Takumi official website

D-Boys official website (Yanagi Koutarou, Shirota Yuu, Endou Yuuya)

* images are screencapped by me from various men’s DVDs (credits to animemusicstore@LJ, etc.)