So we kick off the end of the year with KinKi Kids’ Garasu no Shonen. Of course; they always sing that song, which is nice. It’s such an old song, but I love how many people still love that song so much.

Then they switch to Tackey and Tsubasa, who are once again separated. Tsubasa’s in Tokyo Dome while Tackey is at his stageplay. They sing Yume Monogatari. Then towards the end, Tackey tells Tsubasa that he’s waiting for him, so Tsubasa proceeds to run off the stage to join Tackey, and he strips as he runs backstage and out the door with ABC-Z, I think. I’m not so great with these juniors.

Kis-My-Ft2 proceeds to sing their debut song, Everybody Go in Tokyo Dome while Tsubasa’s still rushing to Tackey. GAW. MEMBER LOVE. (insert squeal) Kis-My-Ft2 is so flashy with their gold clothing and it sparkled while they skated across the stage.

We then go to Kyocera Dome Osaka, where Kanjani8’s waiting to sing Zukkoke Otoko Michi. Ryo has his hair slicked back and Murakami’s wearing a dome on his head… Murakami never ceases to amuse me. Hahah. HORA. BUN BUN. Love their thrusts.

Then they transition back to Tokyo Dome, with Hey! Say! JUMP wearing shiny blue suits and they sing Ultra Music Power. Yamada and Chinen jump off the stage just before they start NYC’s Yuuki 100%. They run over to Yuma, who’s sitting in the stands with B.I. Shadow and sing with him while the rest of H!S!J is dancing and singing along. Sexy Zone makes their appearance with the song Sexy Zone, of course. I guess they’re here to stay, ne? There are so many junior bands, that I can’t keep up. I should watch The Shonen Club more…

On the center stage, the center begins to part, and KAT-TUN appears and they sing BIRTH. I’m still trying to get used to Ueda’s new haircut. It makes him so much less feminine, but I still prefer his old hairstyle. Just when I get used to Junno’s hair, it changes too. Jeez. Kamenashi announced the new NEWS and they proceed to sing Kibou ~Yell~, with Tegoshi taking over Yamapi’s lines. That’s too be expected. Yamapi, Ryo, and Tegoshi were the main vocalists of NEWS. But of course, with the departure of Yamapi and Ryo, Koyama, Massu, and Shige get more lines now.

Koyama introduces Arashi, and we’re taken via satellite to the same location they were at last year. By now, there’s only two and a half minutes left in 2011. Happiness proceeds play while they make announcements before actually singing the song. I find it funny all the members except Aiba were wearing different shades of grey and black while he wore brown.

By the time Happiness is done, there’s only fifty seconds left. Unfortunately, Tsubasa didn’t make it in time, but that’s okay. The new year kicks off, and they tell Koichi happy birthday. And thus, the wonderful Johnny’s medley begins. Everyone in Tokyo Dome proceeds to sing Kondo Masahiko’s Gin Gira Gin ni Sarigenaku. We shift into Go Hiromi’s Otoko no Ko Onna no Ko. Following that is a song that I couldn’t catch the title of… yeah…

They introduce Hikaru GENJI’s original member, Sato Atsuhiro and Kis-My-Ft2 as they proceed to sing Glass no Jidai. It’s interesting to see him Atsuhiro skating around. Meanwhile, Tsubasa has arrived at Tackey’s location. He’s greeted by a bunch of screaming fans as he struggles to get to the stage. Hahah!

Back in Osaka, Ryo’s dressed in a yellow yukata with a wig that contains pigtails and red circles on his cheeks. He begins singing NINJIN Musume. The camera zooms out and there’s Subaru in a carrot costume. Ryo jumps over to where Murakami is in a rotten carrot and the three of them sing. Leave it to Kanjani8 to do this every year.

Okura’s in a raddish(?) costume and Maru in some brown costume. The vegetable’s at the tip of my tongue, but I can’t remember it. Yassu’s in a green bell pepper(?) costume and Yokoyama shows up in a blender costume.

In Tokyo Dome, Keito’s showing off his guitar skills. I single out Kame, Takaki, and Keito as the only people I recognize. I know one’s in Kis-My-Ft2, but I can’t place the other two… My bad. I fail at juniors. Anyway, they perform TIME ZONE, which I don’t know who it’s by.

We go back to Arashi and they perform their song, Monster. Cue me singing along because I love this song. They’re dressed in spiffy clothes now, with bowties and all. It transitions over to Meikyuu Love Song, which makes me feel happy. I’m a bit biased towards Arashi, KAT-TUN, Hey! Say! JUMP, and NEWS if you haven’t noticed by now.

Question? performs TOKIO’s AMBITIOUS JAPAN!. Oh HEY! There’s Uchi Hiroki with a perm! He introduces TOKIO, with Nagase and Joshima being lifted into the air by mini-blimps. There’s TOKIO. Now we’re just missing V6. I was missing those two bands… Taichi’s just goofing off as usual, holding his mic to the cameraman.

Speak of the devil. There’s Kansai Johnny’s Jr. performing V6’s Ai Nanda. THERE’S V6! Ahah! They perform Sexy.Honey.Bunny! in flashing purple leopard suits and white tennis shoes. We can see B.I. Shadow in the VIP section of Tokyo Dome totally enjoying the concert, singing along with V6.

In Osaka, Kanjani8’s still in their ridiculously cute costumes with Ryo singing SMAP’s SHAKE. Ryo pushes Murakami to the ground, who’s having trouble getting up.

In Tokyo Dome, we’ve got KAT-TUN singing Kanjani8’s Musekinin Hero. I always liked how they mixed up the artists and songs; it adds variety. While their song is being sung in Tokyo, Kanjani8’s having a toast. Kis-My-Ft2 sings Arashi’s Believe, and I really need to know these members’ names. I know half of them, but then after I name Yuta, I blank out because he’s just so cute.

NEWS sings V6’s WA ni Natte Odoro, and I’m wondering when these four will release their first single as a four-unit group. Oh hey, I just realized Massu dyed his hair a reddish color. Hey! Say! JUMP sins KAT-TUN’s Real Face, with the camera zooming in on Yamada’s “tsk”, which makes me squeal. They’re in red suits, which is absolutely delectable. Ahah.

TOKIO sings Kondo Masahiko’s Blue Jeans Memory. Hey! Say! JUMP’s acting as backup dancers with them lined up behind TOKIO. Taichi starts it with shoving his mic in Yabu’s direction. Matsuoka follows, putting the mic in front of Inoo. TOKIO’s definitely having fun with their kohai.

V6 shows up and sings KinKi Kids’ Aisareru Yori Aishitai, still in their sparkly and flashy purple suits. The lighting’s making it look blue, or maybe the suits ARE blue and they just look purple to me. Kanjani8’s now in normal clothing, in baseball shirts with the words “FIGHTER” then their little infinity sign and jeans. They sing their song, Kanfuu Fighting. They’re so cute. Ryo’s sporting a baseball cap with the words “KANJANI” under the rim.

Tackey and Tsubasa, now together, sing Venus, with the crowd dancing in the background. They transfer over to Ho! Summer after ABC-Z do a bunch of fancy backflips onto the stage. I’m pretty sure it’s ABC-Z, they’re really acrobatic. Tackey magically transports to the top of the ship on the stage, singing his solo song, Ai Kakumei. I praise him for jumping off the top of the ship and getting a mic before he starts singing SAMURAI with Tsubasa. Now I’m POSITIVE it’s ABC-Z ‘cause they introduced them (finally!).

Tackey and Tsubasa totally get soaked as they’re swung around in circles holding onto ribbons while singing Ai wa Takaramono. They get water splashed onto the camera too. How adorable are they?

Showing up is Shonentai and they sing Kimi Dake ni. Higashiyama and Uekusa are on the same stage in Tokyo Dome, but Nishikiori is on another with Tackey and Tsubasa, but it’s okay, ‘cause all three are being shown together on the same screen. They go onto their all popular song, Kamen Butokai. I think it’s a given that a Johnny’s fan is familiar with at least the chorus of this song.

Now Higashiyama sings Kondo Masahiko’s song, Andalucia ni Akogarete. After a few verses, Koichi appears in a suit and hat, and the girls scream as he joins in the singing. There’s no doubt that this is a great collaboration.

We’re taken to silhouettes of five people, and when the lights brighten, we see it’s Junno, Kame, Koki, Massu, and Koyama. They join in the singing and dancing in another part of the Dome. The man behind the song finally shows up, standing in-between Higashiyama and Koichi as he sings his song.

Everyone in the Dome drapes their jacket over their shoulders and dance along, which is pretty cool if you ask me. Junno, Kame, Koki, Massu, and Koyama pretty much teleported behind their three senpai in the midst of the camera switching around.

Oh, hello Yamada. He’s dressed in a sexy black suit and dancing with amazing concentration while his senpai sings the song. Honestly, everyone looks like back dancers for Matchy, Higashiyama, and Koichi. Well, that’s the effect, I guess, but still. Looks really cool with all of them dancing in unison. Then we got Joshima, Tsuyoshi, and Nagase coming out with guitars as Matchy proceeds to sing MOTTO, with various other Johnnys. Taichi’s goofing off, AGAIN. He really doesn’t fit the image of TOKIO. Hahah.

Koichi makes a speech about 2012, which I don’t know what he says. I need subs. But he begins to sing KinKi Kids’ Family ~Hitotsu ni Naru Koto~.

They invite the senpai to the center stage and they talk to Higashiyama, Uekusa, and Matchy about something. I caught Matchy talk about Marching J. Nishikiori is with Tackey, Tsubasa, and ABC-Z. They also talk to Tsubasa about him being close or whatever.

They invite the 2012 Dragons out, and first off is Inohara, then Miyata, and lastly, Matchy. We then get the talks about what they expect in 2012, starting with TOKIO, then Arashi, followed by V6.

After that, there’s a commercial about VS Arashi. GACKT’s going to appear on it; I can’t wait until it’s subbed. Then we’ve got a commercial with KAT-TUN and cars, with the song STAR RIDER playing.

Back with the countdown, Koichi is with Kis-My-Ft2. Then it shifts to Tsuyoshi, who’s with KAT-TUN. After a couple more commercials, we’ve got Kanjani8 talking about what they expect from 2012. Then there’s Hey! Say! JUMP, who talks about them having a concert the next day. Wow. They’re always making these poor boys work on New Years.

They show a commercial about the new Mission: Impossible movie, which I’ve already seen. I’m interested to see if any Johnny’s members are going to meet with Tom Cruise. Did you guys know there’s a national Tom Cruise Day in Japan?

Back with the countdown, there’s NEWS and finally, Tackey and Tsubasa. Koichi concludes the Johnny’s Countdown, after talking briefly about what KinKi Kids expect. I don’t understand what they say afterwards, but they wish everyone a happy new year.

Overall, like always, I greatly enjoyed the songs they chose. I already expected Yamapi to not be in the countdown, and this is Jin's second year missing it. I wonder what would happen if the two were actually in the countdown. Wouldn't it strain KAT-TUN and NEWS a little bit?