D-Boys
Japanese acting troupe promoting independent careers under a group banner.
D-BOYS is an acting troupe under the management of Watanabe Entertainment. The "D" in the group's name represents multiple concepts: Drama, Dream, Debut, Discovery, and Development. While the troupe is marketed collectively and its members sometimes collaborate on shared projects, each actor primarily pursues an independent career in television, film, and theater. New members are regularly chosen through public auditions that allow fan club members to participate interactively.
**Current Members** Masato Wada (born August 25, 1979), Hiroki Suzuki (born October 3, 1983), Hirofumi Araki (born June 14, 1983), Kōji Seto (born May 18, 1988), Masahiro Usui (born December 3, 1991), Arata Horii (born June 26, 1992), Syo Jinnai (born January 16, 1988), Ryosuke Ikeoka (born September 3, 1993), Yuki Yamada (born September 18, 1990), Shotaro Okubo (born August 27, 1995), Jun Shison (born March 5, 1995), Masaki Nakao (born November 27, 1996).
**Former Members** Ichitaro Yamazaki (born July 19, 1980), Yūichi Nakamura (born March 23, 1990), Shintaro Tetsu (born September 29, 1986), Yuma Minakawa (born October 1, 1984), Yu Shirota (born December 26, 1985), Kouhei Kumai (born July 27, 1990), Masaya Nakamura (born April 30, 1986), Shingo Nakagawa (born May 8, 1983), Yūichi Nakamura (born October 8, 1987), Yuya Endo (born March 20, 1987), Masaki Kaji (born January 29, 1988), Osamu Adachi (born December 22, 1987), Shunji Igarashi (born August 7, 1986), Toru Kamitsuru (born June 26, 1989), Taito Hashimoto (born November 1, 1991), Kenki Yamaguchi (born July 17, 1986), Yoichiro Omi (born April 5, 1989), Ryuki Takahashi (born March 28, 1993), Shintaro Akutsu (born June 21, 1995), Kotaro Yanagi (born December 21, 1985), Shion Tsuchiya (born July 7, 1992), Takuya Negishi (born March 12, 1996), Atsushi Shiramata (born March 22, 1994), Tetsuya Makita (born June 7, 1984), Tomo Yanagishita (born June 3, 1988), Masashi Mikami (born June 20, 1983), Yukito Nishii (born June 14, 1995), Ryo Mitsuya (born February 11, 1988), Atsushi Arai (born May 23, 1993), Takahisa Maeyama (born February 7, 1991), Shuto Miyazaki (born September 3, 1990), Yusuke Yamada (born July 29, 1987).
**D2 Members** In 2009, D2 was launched as a younger sibling group to D-Boys. In October 2013, D2 became a sub-group within D-Boys. Current D2 members are Yukito Nishii, Ryo Mitsuya, Syo Jinnai, Atsushi Arai, Ryosuke I
- field
- Acting troupe
- affiliation
- Watanabe Entertainment
- known_for
- Group promotion of independent acting careers, public auditions with fan club participation, and collective projects such as DD-Boys (24 episodes) and live tours
- active_years
- 2005–present (based on earliest radio show date)
- notable_subgroup
- D2 (formed 2009, joined D-Boys as sub-group in October 2013)
Lore & Background
D-Boys was formed as a collective of male actors under Watanabe Entertainment, with the group's name reflecting multiple meanings: Drama, Dream, Debut, Discovery, and Development. Members pursue individual television, cinema, and theatre projects while occasionally collaborating on group work. New members are selected through public auditions that involve fan club members in the selection process. The troupe has maintained a roster of current members including Masato Wada, Hiroki Suzuki, Hirofumi Araki, Kōji Seto, and others, while many former members have moved on, such as Yu Shirota, Yūichi Nakamura, and Kotaro Yanagi.
Reader's Guide
In 2009, D2 was formed as D-Boys' younger brother group, and in October 2013, D2 joined D-Boys to become its sub-group. The D-Boys have engaged in collective projects including the drama-documentary variety series DD-Boys, which aired 23 episodes from 10 April 2006 to 25 September 2006 on TV Asahi. The group also held fan club events such as bus tours and camp activities, and performed live tours like Natsu Doko 2009 (49 performances of dances, songs, and skits) and the subsequent Fuyu Doko 2009 tour, which was the group's first nationwide live tour. Three CD+DVD sets featuring audio theater and Natsu Doko footage were released on December 16, 2009, debuting at 11th on the Oricon Charts. The group's significance lies in its model of fostering individual acting careers while maintaining a collective identity, with regular public auditions and fan interaction shaping its membership.
Did You Know?
- The D in D-Boys stands for Drama, Dream, Debut, Discovery, and Development.
- D2 was formed in 2009 as D-Boys' younger brother group and became a sub-group in October 2013.
- DD-Boys was a 23-episode drama-documentary variety series that aired from 10 April 2006 to 25 September 2006 on TV Asahi.
- Natsu Doko 2009 featured 49 performances of dances, songs, and skits, and its CD+DVD set debuted at 11th on the Oricon Charts.
More in Japanese boy bands 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record