The show’s actual finale might be next week, but you sure could have fooled me into thinking otherwise. For all intents and purposes, a lot of this episode feels like it’s barreling straight towards an ending, and while only two out of the three couples get any focus, what we get with them feels conclusive enough that the show probably could have stopped here if it wanted. I’m certainly not gonna say no to more, though, because while this episode does put these pairs in a much healthier spot than they were before, the path to getting there is nothing short of an emotional rollercoaster.

The bulk of that ride goes to Tani and Miyu, who at first seem to be in a pretty good spot in their relationship despite Miyu’s previous threat to split up if Tani didn’t consider all his options for where to go to college. However, while they might be hanging out more, there’s still a bit of tension lingering in the air as they both know they’ll see each other less after high school, and it is becoming increasingly apparent to Miyu just how much Tani is straining himself to make time for her. Only when Miyu talks to her friends about it does she realize that while she wasn’t wrong to tell Tani to prioritize himself over her, doing so has inadvertently put a lot of pressure on him to avoid showing any signs that he’s struggling. Fortunately, it doesn’t take too long for Miyu to correct this mistake, and she reminds Tani that even if she can’t exactly help solve all his problems, she can at least be a shoulder for him to lean on, which gets him to finally admit to feeling exhausted. While the framing here is mostly as good couple advice, even without that angle, it’s still a good reminder that there’s nothing wrong with having someone to lean on when you need it, and we all need to let ourselves be vulnerable every once in a while.

With that whole situation resolved, that just leaves the 2000-pound elephant in the room that is Taira and Azuma, and to be honest, it really wasn’t looking good for these two. For one thing, the second half of the episode flash-forwarded to spring, with still no tangible progress between them, meaning any chance of seeing them as an actual couple on screen before the end of the show was basically nonexistent. Not only that, but it even skipped straight to graduation day, meaning that the only resolution we could really hope for with these two that could still feel a little romantic would be a last-minute love confession where they don’t start dating, but express their feelings clearly enough to have grown from the experience.

Alas, even that was starting to look unrealistic, as even when the two of them manage to be alone and cry over how much they enjoyed their high school experience, Azuma decides to herself that she’d still rather keep her feelings to herself, under the mindset that without having any kind of defined romantic relationship, she still found joy in their time together. It’s a fairly mature way of looking at the experience that would have made sense for these two, and while going that route with them would have only made the constant will-they-won’t-they of their relationship more aggravating, that really looked to be where the show was going, so I was about ready to finally throw in the towel here. That made me just as surprised as Azuma when Taira stopped her from walking off by asking if they could still see each other after high school, and I’m equal parts thrilled and angry at just how effective this rug pull was since the show really did have me on the edge of my seat here the entire time leading up to it. It’s certainly not how I was expecting things to go with these two, but all things considered, it’s a pretty solid resolution.

The Taira of old would have never gotten out of his head long enough to ask Azuma that question, and even without giving a direct confession, going out on that much of a limb still indicates how much she’s come to mean to him. Of course, going this particular route means we’re unlikely to see them ever confessing to each other on screen even in next week’s finale, but leaving their relationship open-ended in such a way makes it easy enough to imagine that they’d likely just casually hook up at some point later in life, and in that sense, it doesn’t feel strictly necessary to show it. At the same time, though, there’s every chance that whatever we get in the final episode could undo that ambiguity for the worse by having their relationship stay unchanged in the future, so in that sense I’m a little worried about what we’ll be getting out of it. Frankly, I’m not entirely sure what another episode could offer beyond seeing what all these characters are like as adults, and while I can’t say I’m not curious, it is hard to imagine that sort of epilogue being worth a full 20 minutes. Still, as I said before, though, I’m not gonna turn my nose at getting to spend a bit more time with this cast, so whatever lies in store for the actual end of this show, I’m certainly down to find out.

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The official website for Smile Up, the agency formerly known as Johnny & Associates, announced on Monday that President and Representative Director Noriyuki Higashiyama is stepping down from his position. Managing Director Akira Abe is also stepping down. The change will take place on October 1 after both of their terms expire. Masayuki Yamada, a lawyer who currently serves as an executive in charge of compliance, will become the new President and Representative Director. Takayuki Jin will be the new Managing Director. Smile Up’s Board of Directors decided that it would be appropriate to change the structure as it anticipates dealing with legal procedures and decisions in the future.

Amidst the changes, Smile Up will continue to be responsible for handling the compensation measures for sexual abuse victims of the agency’s late founder Johnny Kitagawa, a process that started in November 2023. The company will shut down after the compensation measures are completed.

Higashiyama announced in October 2023 that the Johnny & Associates agency would change its name to Smile Up starting on October 2023, as part of the company’s “vision” to earn back fans’ trust.

During that time, the Johnny & Associates agency established a separate new entity Starto Entertaintment in December 2023 to oversee talent management operations.

Kitagawa’s Allegations

Higashiyama had previously stated in September 2023 when the agency publicly admitted for the first time that Kitagawa did sexually abuse a large number of aspiring pop star teenagers from the 1970s to 2010s that the company would not change its name.

At the press conference that September, then-president Julie Keiko Fujishima stated she was retiring as president, but will remain the representative director and owner of the company. The agency stated it is taking measures to compensate for the damage caused and prevent reoccurrences.

After the September press conference, sponsors in Japan announced they would not renew contracts with Johnny’s, or indicated they would disassociate themselves from the agency. More recently, NHK stated last week that it will “not make new requests to entertainers from … [the agency] to perform in its programs for the time being.” This policy will extend to the popular New Year’s Eve music program Kohaku Uta Gassen.

Meanwhile, more alleged victims had also come forward with stories of abuse, including former Kis-My-Ft2 member Kyohei Iida. Kyodo News reported that Higashiyama said during the press conference in 2023 that the committee established to oversee the compensation measures had “so far received consultations from 478 sex abuse victims, with 325 of them seeking compensation.”

March 2023 BBC Report Leads to External Probe

In March 2023, the BBC released an hour-long documentary titled Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop, which detailed “a long history of allegations of sexual abuse, made by boys in [Kitagawa’s] agency” and why “the Japanese media remained largely silent.”

In April 2023, Kauan Okamoto, a Japanese-Brazilian singer and songwriter, held a press conference and claimed Kitagawa abused him about 15 to 20 times between 2012-2016 when he was still a member of the agency, and said he knew at least three other people who had also been abused.

After OKAMOTO’S press conference, a group of fans and idols held a press conference that May stating they had sent a petition to Johnny & Associates calling on the company to apologize and launch an investigation.

An external probe set up in late May 2023 to investigate Kitagawa concluded that August that Kitagawa sexually abused members of the agency for decades, and that the agency had covered up Kitagawa’s behavior. Kitagawa’s family members had allegedly known what he was doing and did not do anything to stop him.

Kitagawa’s Death and Past Allegations

Kitagawa died at 87 in July 2019 due to a subarachnoid hemorrhage (a form of stroke). Fujishima then became president in September 2019.

Kitagawa founded Johnny & Associates in 1962 after establishing the male idol group Johnnys. Johnny & Associates went on to establish and manage many male idol groups such as SMAP, Arashi, Tokio, KinKi Kids, V6, KAT-TUN, and Hey! Say! JUMP. The members of idol groups under the management of Johnny & Associates are collectively known as “Johnny’s.”

Kitagawa previously faced allegations of sexual misconduct during his career. The Shukan Bunshun magazine published 14-week expose in 1999 detailing accusations of child abuse and sexual exploitation. However, the accusations never resulted in formal criminal charges. Kitagawa and Johnny & Associates sued the magazine, and the magazine lost the first trial in March 2002. However, the magazine effectively won its Tokyo High Court appeal in July 2003. The High Court’s decision stated the alleged victims’ testimonies were “generally consistent” and “specific, frank, and detailed.” The decision also stated Kitagawa had “no concrete counterargument or rebuttal evidence.”

Sources: Smile Up via Hachima Kikо̄, NTV News via Yahoo! News,