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The story
Ariyoshi Hiroyuki revealed on the August 23 broadcast of “Ariyoshi Quiz” that after avoiding eye contact every time he passed Kimura Takuya on the street, Kimura finally called him out after a full year, asking, “You always look away, don’t you?” On 5ch, the discussion expanded beyond this story to the nicknames Ariyoshi once gave members of SMAP and V6, and to differences in how celebrities treat each other backstage.
Ariyoshi Hiroyuki Ignored Kimura Takuya for a Whole Year… “You Always Look Away, Don’t You…?”
TV Asahi’s “Ariyoshi Quiz” aired on the 23rd, with Ariyoshi Hiroyuki appearing as a guest.
This episode’s theme was “Talking About Celebrities Spotted in Town.”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Read the original article here
What people said
Feels like just a quick nod hello would've been fine.
If you miss the first chance, it gets awkward to try again later, right?
He probably figured he'd never run into him again, but then kept bumping into him all the time.
Back in his Saruganseki days he apparently had chances to talk to him, but he's actually a quiet, introverted ("inkya") type at heart, so someone overflowing with extrovert ("youkya") energy like Kimura probably felt unapproachable.
I kind of get it.
Also probably because he got called a "Getsuku Idiot" (a jab about Kimura's prime-time Monday drama slot).
But Ariyoshi talks casually with Matsuko too, and she's the same age as Kimura.
I'm not a fan of this kind of anecdote.
LOL
Well, if someone talks to you like they're picking a fight, Ariyoshi should've fired back with the same energy.
The ones I remember are Kusanagi's "Gill Breather" and Kimura's "Getsuku Idiot"
I thought that was impressive
But Kimura was the only one who didn't laugh, so he was probably a little annoyed
Ariyoshi doesn't seem like the type to appear in dramas
For someone like Kimura, who prides himself on the idea that actors and crew make a drama together as a team, that'd probably be irritating
What's impressive about Ariyoshi is that for Kimura specifically — the one most likely to get angry — he picked "Getsuku Idiot," a phrase that can also be taken as a compliment
He nailed the naming right on the edge
Okamura even had a brief period long ago where he was actually friends with Kimura
In the end it all adds up over time
That's why nobody's helping Nakai Masahiro now
Tamori and others actually warned him
saying he'd get his legs swept out from under him someday
Never heard that one
Nakai and Okamura were close enough that they used to go to each other's places and cook meals together
Pretty sure it was Katori
Watanabe Naomi also said that back when she only did her Beyoncé bit, Katori was the only one who'd always set her up for a laugh and was kind to her
he had a hit song with Saruganseki after all
Sounds like Soshina got ignored, but his partner Seiya actually got greeted by Kimura
Ariyoshi himself apparently regrets giving out some low-quality nicknames
Well, compared to V6 he held back a bit
Inohara = "Country Bumpkin"
Miyake = "Snot-nosed Kid"
Morita = "Hyodo Yuki" (a female TV personality)
"Hyodo Yuki" is genuinely hilarious
Just found this out now
that's funny lol
I thought that was just a joke, but turns out there was a real meaning behind it too
Also, Nakai's catchphrase on TV, "I'm a Johnny's, you know?" — I always figured it was just a joke about not being able to look uncool as an idol, but it turns out he was dead serious, using it to intimidate people around him with the fact that his agency wields huge power, even in politics…
You're something else
Common sense doesn't apply to Kimura Takoya (a mocking nickname for Kimura Takuya)
Being able to pull off cringey lines like that is just so Kimura
It's lame, but honestly impressive
In my shallow image of Kimura, I'd expect something more like "Wanna… drink some water?"
"Drink some water" is just way too on-brand for him lol
Oh, so Kimura's the type who changes his attitude depending on who he's dealing with
Background and Key Points
Ariyoshi’s confession fits a familiar shape in Japanese celebrity culture: the senpai-kōhai (senior-junior) hierarchy still governs how entertainers treat each other even off-camera, and within Johnny’s/Starto Entertainment idols specifically, that hierarchy was famously rigid for decades. Kimura Takuya, as SMAP’s center and one of the most powerful figures the agency ever produced, sat at the top of a pecking order that extended to how junior talents and even unaffiliated comedians were expected to approach him — hence the year of averted eyes before Kimura himself broke the ice. Ariyoshi’s nickname-giving on SMAP×SMAP (1996–2016), a variety show where members and guests roasted each other, was itself an unusual breach of that deference, which is why posters singled out “Getsuku Idiot” as a calculated risk rather than a throwaway joke.
The thread’s actual disagreement wasn’t over the anecdote itself but over motive: some read Ariyoshi’s avoidance as simple shyness (the “inkya” introvert reading), others as latent hostility from the “Getsuku Idiot” jab, and a few framed it as a rational fear of Kimura’s temper. That ambiguity never resolved — commenters split roughly three ways and moved on to swapping other backstage stories rather than litigating it further.
What outside readers will likely miss is the broader context the posters take for granted: Nakai Masahiro’s ongoing scandal and industry isolation (referenced obliquely in #31) and the Johnny Kitagawa abuse revelations that led to the agency’s 2023 rebrand as Starto Entertainment are the unspoken backdrop making “who was cold to whom backstage” feel newly loaded rather than idle gossip.
*This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread「[Entertainment] Ariyoshi Hiroyuki Ignored Kimura Takuya for a Whole Year… “You Always Look Away, Don’t You?” He Said」.
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