GENERATIONS' Kazuhara Ryuto's first photo essay "Follow Me" tops Oricon's weekly rankings

■ “After reading the finished book, I realized that I’ve lived a very interesting 31 years of life (laughs).” (Ryuto Kazuhara)

Released on August 8th, the photo essay “Follow Me” (Kodansha) by GENERATIONS vocalist Ryuto Kazuhara ranked second in the book category and first in the photo book category in the Oricon weekly rankings.

“Follow Me” is an incredibly voluminous book that took three years to plan, one year to shoot, and contains over 230 photos and over 70,000 words of interview. It was shot over 14 hours of interviews and during his time studying English in the United States, and it captures Kazuhara’s life so far and the hobbies he is passionate about.

Furthermore, at Kazuhara’s suggestion, if you purchase “Follow Me,” you will also receive the luxurious bonus of the song “Pacific Love Memories.” “Pacific Love Memories” is the first song under his solo name with lyrics entirely in English, and was made possible by Kazuhara’s wish that “people would listen to it while reading the photo essay.”

Since its release, the book has been a hot topic on social media, with comments such as, “The content was much denser than I expected, and I couldn’t read it without crying,” and “I was surprised at the number of photos and words, but it also comes with music and videos, and the price is incredible for such luxurious content.”

■ Comment from Ryuto Kazuhara
No. 1 in the weekly rankings!
Thank you very much to everyone who purchased.
The production staff took even more of a serious approach to this photo essay than I did, and the whole team came together to create it, so I have a deep attachment to it and am very happy about it.
In “Follow Me,” I talk about my upbringing, my time at EXPG School, my auditions, meeting and working with the GENERATIONS members, and my journey up to now, 12 years after my debut.
When I read the completed book, I realized that I’ve lived a very interesting 31 years of life (laughs). It hasn’t been a life full of good things, but that’s exactly why I want people who are chasing their dreams, who are on the verge of giving up, and who are struggling with life to read it, and I hope it will give them a little push.
I wanted to take on a new challenge with the song “Pacific Love Memories” that is included as a bonus for purchasers, so I suggested that we compose a song for a book.
This is my first solo song with lyrics entirely in English, and it was recorded by a dream team of amazing artists during my time studying abroad in the US. I hope you will listen to it!
Through my first photo essay “Follow Me” and the song “Pacific Love Memories”, I want more people to know about me. I would like to continue to show you new scenery through me, so if you’re okay with me like this… “Follow me”.