WEST. to Cease Group Activities on September 30, Agency Says
The end of the group closes out a lineup that supplied theme songs to Ace Attorney, Monster Hunter Stories RIDE ON, and Captain Tsubasa, and moves all seven members onto the agency's individual talent roster.
Reporting from 1 source: Anime News Network.
Starto Entertainment announced on Thursday that the idol group WEST. will end its group activities on September 30. The agency had said on August 30 that Ryusei Fujii and Nozomu Kotaki would leave the group, and it held talks with the remaining five members about continuing as a five. All seven members stay with the company and continue as individual talents from October 1.
Starto Entertainment held discussions with Daiki Shigeoka, Akito Kiriyama, Junta Nakama, Tomohiro Kamiyama, and Takahiro Hamada about the group's future, including the option of carrying on as five. Weighing each member's goals, the agency chose to end group activities instead. WEST. debuted as Johnny's West in 2014 and later dropped "Johnny's" from its name after the sexual abuse scandal surrounding the agency then known as Johnny's & Associates. The seven members performed anime theme songs as Johnny's West, including for Ace Attorney, Monster Hunter Stories RIDE ON, and the 2018 Captain Tsubasa anime, and later a theme for Captain Tsubasa: Junior Youth Arc.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime News Network News Idol Group WEST. to Cease Activities on September 30