When it comes to STARTO ENTERTAINMENT, it’s pretty obvious I love all the groups. From the innocent sparkle of Naniwa Danshi to the badass rock edge of Aぇ! group, there’s something uniquely about every one of them. But even in a roster overflowing with charisma and talent, there’s one group that—in my personal opinion—stands a cut above the rest.
SixTONES.
Self-formed (as the legend goes), these six insanely talented (and incredibly sexy) young men first came together in 2012 for the Nippon Television drama Shiritsu Bakaleya Koukou (Private Bakaleya High School). Clicking instantly, they became inseparable and reprised their roles in a sequel series and Shiritsu Bakaleya Koukou: The Movie, with fans lovingly dubbing them “Bakareya6” and “Bakareya-gumi”.
It was the beginning of the Legend of SixTONES.
According to legend, the six members—Jesse, Taiga Kyomoto, Hokuto Matsumura, Yugo Kochi, Shintaro Morimoto, and Juri Tanaka—walked straight up to the agency’s founder and asked to be made an official group.
Seeing them for exactly what they were: raw potential waiting to ignite, the founder approved, and the group was officially named Six Tones—later stylized as SixTONES, with the “ix” silent. More than a name, it was a statement of belief: six diamonds in the rough, already learning how to polish themselves into something unstoppable.
From day one, their power was obvious— and so was their ability to sharpen and refine it, into something truly unique. Then, the group made history on 22 January 2020, when SixTONES made their official debut in the agency’s first double debut alongside Snow Man.
The event—“SixTONES vs. Snow Man”—arrived as a double A-side single featuring ｢Imitation Rain｣ (SixTONES) and ｢D.D.｣ (Snow Man), selling 772,900 physical copies on day one and crossing one million in its first week.
Again, those sales were strictly physical.
Now, six years later—with over 6 million PHYSICAL units sold—SixTONES has released their first greatest hits compilation: MILE SixTONES.
And of course, I was right where I needed to be: Tower Records Shibuya, on フラゲ日 (Furage / early release day), picking up my copy as the perfect book end to a trip filled with incredible memories.
Fitting, since SixTONES was the first STARTO concert I saw in Japan.
Released in three separate versions, the first 24 tracks are the same across all versions:
DISC 1
1 – Imitation Rain
2 – NAVIGATOR
3 – NEW ERA
4 – 僕が僕じゃないみたいだ
5 – マスカラ
6 – 共鳴
7 – わたし
8 – Good Luck!
9 – ふたり
10 – ABARERO
11 – こっから
12 – CREAK
13 – 音色
14 – GONG
15 – ここに帰ってきて
16 – バリア
17 – BOYZ
18 – Stargaze
DISC 2
1 – ST
2 – Rosy
3 – Boom-Pow-Wow!
4 – アンセム
5 – THE BALLERS
6 – Shine with U
From here, everything splits across the different versions.
Disc 2 of the Limited Edition A include some of the group’s junior-era tracks!
7 – IN THE STORM
8 – Amazing!!!!!!
9 – Beautiful Life
10 – Jungle
11 – Night Train
This version also comes with a Blu-ray (or DVD) of all of their Single Music Videos, lead Track Music videos from their albums, and the all new music video, Making of, dance performance, and solo versions of their original Junior classic ｢Amazing!!!!!!｣
Disc 2 of the Limited Edition B includes covers the group became known for while performing as juniors:
7 – シンデレラ・クリスマス (English: CINDERELLA CHRISTMAS ) by Domoto (KinKi Kids)
8 – 明日の記憶 (ENGLISH: Tomorrow’s Memories) by ARASHI
9 – THE D-MOTION by KAT-TUN
10 – Shake It Up by Kis-My-Ft2
11 – Battery BY SMAP
This version also comes with a blu-ray (or DVD) of The groups sixth anniversary / listening party of their previous releases.
Disc 2 of the regular (CD only) version includes new songs, each produced by a different member of the group.
7 – Merry-Go-Round (Prod. by Jesse)
8 – Violet (Prod. by Taiga Kyomoto)
9 – 予知夢 (Prod. by Hokuto Matsumura)
10 – 朱夏 (Prod. by Yugo Kochi)
11 – ALL STAR STATUS (Prod. by Shintaro Morimoto)
12 – HANDS UP (Prod. by Juri Tanaka)
Depending on which version of the album you get, the first press editions also come with a plethora of exclusive (and highly collectible) extras including:
Postcards, stickers, ID cards, photo books (with lyrics), and special digi-packs with versions A and B also coming in a special ziplock bags. It’s their best release so far.
While SixTONES have yet to release a track I didn’t like, I do want to give a special shout-out to ｢Merry-Go-Round｣! There’s just something sonically perfect about this track. It’s the perfect blend of everything SixTONES have to offer. Fun, sexy, catchy – and it’s just a damn good pop song!
Each version of the album can be ordered wherever Japanese music is sold, including CD JAPAN!
There will be more SixTONES soon so…
Stay Tuned!
Life In Cartoon Motion 