Man Crush Monday: Yuri Chinen

I’ve gotten into a routine when it comes to my Man Crush Monday posts. I pick the guy, I research, and I write the post while listening to a playlist of 80s songs that help me set the theme.

This week was supposed to be a very well-thought-out piece written to the tunes of Tiffany (my Bubble Gum Pop Queen). But then this beautiful man stepped out of the blue and onto the cover of the December issue of Tarzan Magazine like some red hot fallen angel, and with one foolish beat of my heart, I got lost in his deep dark eyes and the contours of his beautiful body. He’s the type of man I thought existed only in my dreams and with his birthday on 30 November, the timing of this post is positively providential! So sit back and enjoy the electric youth of Yuri Chinen.

Born in 1993, His father Takashi Chinen, was a member of the Japanese men’s gymnastics team who took home the bronze medal at the 1992 summer Olympics in Barcelona. His mother (who named him after a television announcer she liked – though she spelled his name differently) started teaching him to dance Jazz when he was very young.

Entering Johnny & Associates as a trainee at the age of nine, Chinen has had an illustrious nineteen years with the company. He’s been a member of the group Hey! Say! JUMP since 2007 as well as its sub-units Hey! Say! 7 and NYC Boys.

Morimoto Shintaro (SixTONES) with a chibi-chibi Chinen Yuri

In addition to his music work, he’s also appeared in more than 25 stage plays, television series, and films – including voicing Brainy Smurf in the Japanese dub of 2011’s The Smurfs movie. Hey! Say! JUMP’s “Magic Power” was also used as the Japanese theme for the film. The group’s released their newest single “MASTERPIECE” on 22 November.

In 2023 Chinen will reprise the role of Ryu in the Hissatsu Shigotonin 2023 special, which will air on 8 January 2023 on TV Asahi in Japan. Hissatsu Shigotonin is a long-running Japanese period drama that started back in 1973. Chinen has been portraying the character since 2013.

The man is incredibly versatile. One moment he’s smoldering hot then, in the same breath, he’s the most adorable dork on the planet. He’s another prime example of the multi-faceted talent signed to Johnny & Associates.