Tsubasa Imai Explained

Tsubasa Imai
Background:	solo_singer
Birth Date:	October 17, 1981
Birth Place:	Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan
Origin:	Shonan
Genre:	J-pop
Years Active:	1995–present
Label:	Avex
Associated Acts:	Tackey & Tsubasa, Johnny & Associates

is a Japanese singer, actor and dancer formerly in the Japanese agency Johnny & Associates. He joined Johnny & Associates in 1995 and officially debuted in 2002 in the duo Tackey & Tsubasa with Hideaki Takizawa. They are signed to the record label Avex Trax. Imai released his first solo single, "Backborn", on February 24, 2010.

Profile

Tsubasa Imai was born in Fujisawa, Japan, on October 17, 1981. Among his colleagues, he is known as a very talented dancer. His close friends among those in Johnny Entertainment agency are Hideaki Takizawa, Tsuyoshi Domoto, Toma Ikuta and Sho Sakurai. His nicknames are Tsuba and Imai-kun. He is an avid fan of the Japanese baseball team, the Yokohama BayStars, having supporting them since the time they were known as Taiyou Whales.

Tsubasa is known as one of the "Four Dancing Kings" in the Johnny & Associate agency along with Koichi Domoto of KinKi Kids. He has also appeared in many dramas and was the second lead in the annual musical production Shock. He returned to play the second lead role in the 2005 production of Endless Shock.

Career

Audition

Tsubasa's older sister who was a fan of TOKIO sent in his application. During the audition, Johnny Kitagawa noticed his dancing and remarked, "YOU dance well." Tsubasa was originally supposed to debut solo, but decided along with Takizawa they would debut as a unit, Tackey & Tsubasa.

Flamenco

In 2007 Tsubasa took a trip to Spain where he instantly fell in love with flamenco. He studied under the professional flamenco artist Hiroki Sato.^[1]

Ménière's Disease

While rehearsing for Playzone in 2014, Tsubasa began to experience vertigo and found difficulty standing. He was admitted to the hospital where he was diagnosed with Ménière's Disease.

Filmography

Television

• Mokuyou no kaidan (1995)
• Brothers (ブラザーズ) (1998)
• Summer Snow (2000)
• Never Land (2001)
• Saigo no Bengonin (The Last Lawyer) (2003)
• Haru to Natsu (2005)
• Yoshitsune (2005), Nasu no Yoichi
• Kirin ga Kuru (2020), Mōri Shinsuke
• Ojisan wa Kawaii Mono ga Osuki (2020)

Film

• Life in Overtime (2018)^[2]
• What She Likes... (2021)^{[3] [4]}
• Tell Me (2022), Hiroshi^[5]

Anime

• Layton Detective Agency ~Katrielle's Mystery Solving Files~ as Simon Wright (2018)^[6]

Discography

See: Tackey & Tsubasa Discography

Radio

• To base (翼のto base) is Tsubasa's weekly radio show which is broadcast on the Japanese radio station JORQ AM 1134 kHz.

TV

• TV de Spain-Go

Commercials

• Tongari Corn Commercial spokesperson (2001–2006)
• Nissin (2011)

Concerts

• "TSUBACON" 2004 (August 6–18, 2004)
• "23 to 24" First Solo Tour 2005 (September 17 - November 6; December 28–29, 2005)
• "STYLE" 2006 Tour (August 12 - October 1, 2006)
• "Dance and Rock Tour '09 (2009)
• LHTOUR 2011 Dance & Rock Third Floor ~DiVelN to SExaLiVe (2011)

Stage

An annual musical production, Shock is performed in the Imperial Garden Theater in Tokyo. The lead role is played by Koichi Domoto of KinKi Kids and Tsubasa acts in the second leading role.

• Shock 2000 - Millenium Shock (November 2–26)
• Shock 2001-2002 - Shock (December 1–25; January 3–27)
• Shock 2002 - Shock (June 4–28)
• Shock 2004 - Shocking Shock (February 6–29）
• Shock 2005 - Endless Shock (January 8 - February 28）
• Shock 2006 - Endless Shock (February 6 - March 29）
• "World Wing 翼 Premium (2007)
• "World Wing 翼 Premium (2008)
• PLAYZONE 2010 - ROAD TO PLAYZONE
• PLAYZONE 2011 - SONG & DANC'N
• PLAYZONE 2012 - SONG & DANC'N PART II
• PLAYZONE 2013 - SONG & DANC'N PART III
• PLAYZONE 1986….2014 ★Arigatou! ~AOYAMA THEATRE★ (July 6 - September)
• PLAYZONE 2015 - ★Sayonara! ~AOYAMA THEATRE★ PLAYZONE 30YEARS
• Burn the Floor 2012 - Around the World Tour (December 5–9 TOKYU Theatre Orb; December 12–16 Orix Theatre Osaka)
• Burn the Floor 2014 - Dance with You (May 2–7 TOKYU Theatre Orb; May 9–13 Festival Hall; May 16–18 Nagoya Congress Center)
• GOEMON (2014)
• GOEMON (2016)
• Marius (2017)
• Musical GOYA (2021) title role

Videos/DVDs

• "TSUBACON" 2004
• "23 to 24" First Solo Tour 2005
• Dance and Rock Tour '09
• LHTOUR 2011 Dance & Rock Third Floor ~DiVelN to SExaLiVe

External links

• Tackey & Tsubasa official website

Notes and References

1. News: GOEMON - A Fusion of Kabuki and Flamenco. Japan Travel and Pop Culture - Izanau. 2017-03-29.
2. Web site: 終わった人. June 21, 2021. eiga.com.
3. Web site: 神尾楓珠の恋人役は今井翼、磯村勇斗＆山口紗弥加らも参加『彼女が好きなものは』. May 24, 2021. Cinema Cafe. 24 May 2021.
4. News: 今井翼、映画『彼女が好きなものは』神尾楓珠の恋人役「優しく包み込む気持ちで」 . ja . . 2021-05-24 . 2021-06-19.
5. Web site: TELL ME hideと見た景色. January 19, 2022. eiga.com.
6. Web site: Johnny's Idol Tsubasa Imai to Make Guest Voice Appearance in TV Anime "Layton Detective Agency". Crunchyroll. 7 April 2018.