Dream Boys DVD project - how to take part

[iside89]

If you speak enough Japanese to read Japanese Hyphens’ tweets, you’ve surely seen that in the last months they are being quite active: writing to TV stations to let KAT-TUN have a program, or write to radio or FC for the tour and similar.

One of their biggest projects so far is trying to have a DVD/Bluray of DREAM BOYS; they are basically spamming the fanclub with postcards requests.
It seems (from what I read from their tweets, so I don’t know the details) that SHOCK, Koichi’s butai, has a DVD release this year after 4 years because FC received lots of requests from fans, so KAT-TUN fans are trying to do the same with DREAM BOYS (because dream boys has no DVD since 2007). I remember you that DBS 2011 had not only Kame but also Koki and Nakamaru, therefore you might want to join this project too, even if not Kame fan.

Chatting with some of the Japanese fans, we came to conclusion that, despite most of us foreigner hyphens speak English and not Japanese, sending requests even in English wouldn’t be such bad, on the contrary it might be a good appeal since we could emphasize the fact we have just DVD to see the stage plays and well, more postcards, more possibility of success ^__^
I also saw that someone was translating how to do it into English for international fandom on Twitter (Muffy, here: http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1rl5pst ), and I also saw that there may be someone who wants to help and try this out, so here I basically translated what Jp fans are doing and wrote a small tutorial if you want to do it too. :D

I guess you can do it all together during fan gathering and stuff :D


1) Write to Family Club using postcards

Japanese fans say this is the most effective way. There’s no limit to how many postcards you can send with the same name.

I actually suck at Photoshop and stuff and when I did this DBS request thing someone else printed it for me lol but I’ll try to be as explicative as possible.

FRONT
The front is of course what matters to us. Here you have 2 choices (but I suggest you to skip directly to B):

a) HARDEST WAY. you create your own layout. Just mind to write
- the name of the show and the years you wish to see (ex: DREAM BOYS 2008-2009-2011-2012)
- I think it’s preferable to write your wish in Japanese kanji so that people at the Jimusho get at least what that postcard is about, so “I wish you would make a DVD-Bluray” would turn into DREAM BOYS DVD&Bluray化要望. (A form I find often is 亀梨和也主演『DREAM BOYS』DVD＆Blu-ray発売要望, which means “request to sell as DVD/Bluray “DREAM BOYS” starring Kamenashi Kazuya”)
-Under that write your message – English is fine too, maybe it might appeal better than random Japanese. See below (B).
-Conclude with your name and address. ←IMPORTANT.


b) SIMPLIEST WAY. You borrow fan-made postcard layouts, print them and send them. Which I guess it’s better because they receive the same card many times and then count them.

Here some of them:
http://kamefc.blog.fc2.com/img/20130703024421bcb.png/ (with blank space to write your personalized message)
http://kamefc.blog.fc2.com/img/20130703023943fa3.png/ (with an already written message)
http://kamefc.blog.fc2.com/img/201307030512214e0.png/ (with a message that request 2008-09-11-12 in a box)

I guess that, since we’re sending from overseas, the first one is better so we can write the personalized message, which is our supposed strong point as foreigner fans.
Here you write your love message full of feelings and hope to see those DVDs because you’re a foreigner and buying DVDs is the only way you have to see those plays, in the huge write part. Bottom lines are, in order: address, name, FC membership number (skip if you don’t have)

Note: JP fans say that postcards w/o sender address have a high probability to be tear apart and thrown away instead of being collected. Dunno why. I just refer what I am said. So write name and address.

Regarding the comment part: JP fans suggest to write something specific (example: ノーカットで(no cut please),　ショータイム入り(I want you to include show time too), DVD BOX, you want to underline you want to see  亀梨和也主演『DREAM BOYS』 since this year the cast changes... etc)
Always remember to write also the YEAR(S) you would like to see.


BACK, aka: WHERE DO I SEND THEM?

So now you have your postcard’s front done, full with colors and your feelings. Turn the back and let’s write the addressee. It’s up to you if create a postcard with a Japanese postcard-layout or just follow your art sense.

(Parenthesis regarding Japanese postcard layout.

Japanese postcards back is normally like this: http://template.usefulhp.com/everyday/image/hagaki01.gif
That is, stamp on top left, squares on top right where you write the addressee POSTAL CODE (marked with 〒 in the address: those numbers go in those squares) and under those squares you write the rest of the address. The sender address goes on bottom left and in the bottom left squares goes YOUR postal code (which most probably will be different in length from Japanese one so just ignore those squares).
Anyway, since this will be an international postcard, I think no one gives a damn about the layout so use the back layout you please. The important thing is that it has the front with written DREAM BOYS (see above) and reaches Japan, one way or another.)

My personal suggestion is to write the addressee (to make you understand which it is in the kanji version, I put it in bold here) a bit bigger than the rest of the address (it's a sort of Japanese postcards address rule) and write the postal code without forgetting the 〒before it.

You have 2 choices (here too. It’s nice to have choices in life, right?): either fanclub or J-Storm. Or both.
Fanclub:

〒150-8550
渋谷区渋谷1-10-10　ミヤマスタワーB1F
ジャニーズ ファミリークラブ
『DREAM BOYS DVD/BD＆サントラ発売希望』係
JAPAN

In romaji:

〒150-0002
“DREAM BOYS DVD/BD&Soundtrack hatsubai kiboū”
Johnny’s Family Club
B1F Miyamasu Tower, Shibuya, Shibuya-ku 1-10-10
Tokyo, Japan

J-Storm (* if sending here, you don’t need to write FC number in the postcard because, well, it’s not the FC so they don’t care):

〒150-0002
渋谷区渋谷1-10-10　ミヤマスタワー2F
(株)ジェイ・ストーム
『DREAM BOYS DVD/BD＆サントラ発売希望』係
JAPAN

Romaji:

〒150-0002
“DREAM BOYS DVD/BD&Soundtrack hatsubai kiboū”
J-Storm Inc.
2F Miyamasu Tower, Shibuya, Shibuya-ku 1-10-10
Tokyo, Japan

NOTES:
(x) I honestly don’t know what to do with the “person in charge” (~gakari) part, Jp fans told me you must write it as specific addressee inside Family Club/J-Storm staff; I find it kinda unnecessary because it’s written DREAM BOYS in huge ass font on the front side… but anyway, I guess Japanese Postal service works like this. A girl told me we can skip the ~gakari so I didn't write it here, otherwhise it'd be “DREAM BOYS DVD/BD&Soundtrack hatsubai kiboū” gakari. Decide which one you like most.
Another fan suggested to write the address in romaji and just that line in kanji. Dunno if it's legit or not. Again, up to you.

(x) To avoid problems, you can print out the kanji version and send it like that. Which I think it’s the best choice, probably. Normally what’s necessary is the country (in this case, JAPAN) to be written in alphabet and huge character. If your postal service can read that, the letter is supposed to get out your country and reach Japan without problems.
Well if unsure you can print out 2 postcards, one for a kanji address and the other for romaji xD one of those should arrive xD

2) Request to Toho.

This means writing to the proprietor of Imperial Theater. Of course mails here are way way less effective than sending to J-storm or Fanclub (because we know that it’s Jimusho which decides), so postcards, even if they’re complicate to do, are still the best way to try to make pressure. This is a “Plus alpha” after doing the postcards.
For Toho, you do it online. It’s basically a “request of information”, so there might be a chance they reply you (veeeery very few chances). I actually think that here it’s better to use Japanese because Toho isn’t expecting foreigners to write them, but maybe a very short Japanese (copy/pasting what I write later) can be enough.

Page is here: http://www.toho.co.jp/reference/explanation.html
Scroll down till you find the square in the middle of the page with written: 上記の内容にご同意し問い合わせる
Here a visual tutorial (way simplier than explain step by step)



In the message you can start with a Japanese sentence (see below) stating you want DBS DVD, then write your message in English. Most probably no one will ever understand your English, but they’ll understand kanji and they’ll understand it comes from abroad. I suppose, at least. (I think even no English speaker will understand a “I’m from America”…)

So, some suggestions (remember: choose ONLY ONE of the following and remember to add the year(s) you want to see somewhere after “DREAM BOYS”)

『DREAM BOYS』DVD・Blu-ray発売の要望
『DREAM BOYS』映像化要望
『DREAM BOYS』 DVD&Bluray化要望
亀梨和也主演『DREAM BOYS』DVD＆Blu-ray発売要望
帝国劇場100周年記念公演 『DREAM BOYS』2011 DVD＆Blu-ray発売要望
(← this last one might appeal both non-Kame fans and Toho, since it’s referring only to the 2011 show but when it was the Imperial theater 100th anniversary)


After you click the bottom button, you’ll reach the confirmation page. Check all the data, see if everything is okay. If so, click the left button (red arrow). If not, click the other one and go back edit.



You’ll receive an automatic mail to the address you used. This is NOT a reply but an automatic mail saying the message was received.
If you don’t speak Japanese and you receive another SECOND mail AFTER THIS AUTOMATIC MAIL, you can copy it here as comment and I’ll provide you with a translation. But please don’t copy me the AUTOMATIC mail. Just if you receive a SECOND, personalized reply.


End xD
I need to thank my Japanese contacts (りーさんとまおさん、ありがとう！)  for explaining me everything and replying to all my questions, plus linked me this blog (http://kamefc.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-33.html ) which has all the info+templates.

I actually don’t know why I spent so many hours writing down this. I hope someone is actually gonna DO it, at least xD

Comments

[tokoyam1.livejournal.com]

thank you so much for this information.

[momi-k.livejournal.com]

I have to print the images and send all!!!!!

[faithiehannah.livejournal.com]

I'm going to do it!!!

[kt-kitt.livejournal.com]

Thank u!! will do it *O*