Personality traits. INFJ / Ravenpuff [Insp. None]

Introspective, caring, focused, empathetic, independent, sensitive, idealistic, private, understanding, selfless, abstract, gentle, future-focused, complex, committed, purposeful, intuitive, organized, passionate, values-oriented, creative

Personality. 

Shinobu often directs his energy inwards. He enjoys spending his time alone aside from the few close friends he has. Despite his introverted nature, Shinobu is empathetic, caring and warm to those he cares about, such as his family, friends and members. He is independent and deliberate. He is highly intuitive and a deep thinker. He can easily get lot in his own though process as it can be abstract and complex. Shinobu is idealist and future-focused but often tends to make decisions based on his heart rather than his head.

Shinobu has a great need for emotional connection but also yearns for solitude. He prefers getting to know people in a one-on-one setting so he can really pay attention to them without other distractions and can struggle in large group situations. He is rather private and hard to get to know, but once you break down that wall, you will see how truly devoted and selfless he is towards his friends and loved ones.

Background.

Ariga Shinobu was born on June 1st, 1994 in Osaka, Japan where he lived in a small home with his mother and father. When he was younger, on his days off and on school holidays, Shinobu’s parents would travel with him around not only Osaka, but almost everywhere else in Japan. Nature parks and forests were some of Shinobu’s favourite places to visit. He always felt at peace in the serenity of a forest, even when he was younger. Shinobu’s parents continue to take him on these trips up until when he entered middle school. His parents would still take him when he had a break, but they wanted Shinobu to focus on School as much as possible like most other parents.

Shinobu really started to come into his own in middle school. He opened himself up more and was able to make a good group of friends. Maybe it was because of his looks, but his friend group ended up consisting of mostly females, but he didn’t mind. Over time, more male students started to befriend him because of his connection with the girls making him quite the popular student, despite his introverted personality. One day during lunch, one of his friends started eagerly telling their group about a band of handsome boys from Korea she had discovered and proceeded to show the group. Shinobu was enamored by the video and quickly started to take an interest in the world of KPOP. It wasn’t long before he was listening to it every day and found himself trying to imitate their styles and dances. Shinobu got the great idea in his head that he wanted to become one of these Korean idols and would do anything to do it.

When Shinobu finished middle school at age fifteen, he some how convinced his parents to let him take a gap year and try to become a trainee under a Korean agency. He got a part time job at a Korean restaurant (as he believed it would help him learn the language) and started to study Korean at home all while auditioning for every company he managed to. It took almost a year but Shinobu was finally accepted into Unite Media in early 2010 and started training soon after. While training, Shinobu decided to finish his high schooling in Korea, even if it was just to make his parents happy.

After six years of training under Unite Media, Shinobu finally decided to call it quits. He didn’t believe that it was going to lead anywhere if it already hadn’t at this point and decided to leave while he was still young and able to make something of himself in a new direction. He returned to Osaka, Japan and started to attend university for translation work as he already could speak another language and heard that it could be quite an interesting career path. While he was attending university, Shinobu also started to do some modelling on the side, building a small name for himself in the modelling circles of Japan.

Another two years went by in what felt like a blink of an eye. Shinobu only had one or two years of university left when his friend approached him about International Idol. She had known that he was once a trainee under unite Media and wanted to know what it was like because she had wanted to give it a try. She some how managed to convince Shinobu to audition with her along the way and maybe it was due to his previous training with Unite or his talents, but he was accepted rather fast and eventually became one of the members of the winning team. Shinobu was ecstatic and finally back on track to doing what he really wanted to.

Likes.

Music / Shinobu is constantly listening to music.

Books / He will always be carrying around whatever book he is currently reading.

Photography / A hobby he picke up back in middle school that he has managed to stick with.

Nature / Shinobu finds solace when he is surrounded by nature. Luckily for him, Seoul is surrounded by hills covered in tree.

Solitude / As an intovert, he loves spending time alone.

Spending time with close friends / He only has a few, but he doesn't feel the need or want to be alone when he is with these friends.

Fashion / Shinobu learnt to keep up to date with the latest fashions after doing some modelling in Japan.

U/IDOL members / Shinobu finds it a little difficult to open up to new people, so once he was finally able to open up to the members of U/IDOL he felt happy ad relieved. He doesn't know what he would do without them.

Sweet things / Shinobu has a sweet tooth and will often pick something sweet over something savoury.

Dislikes.

Coffee / It's too bitter for his liking. You will often find him drinking tea instead... or coffee with copious ammounts of sugar.

Being coped up in the dorm or training room for too long / Shinobu loves his nature, so when he is stuck indoors for too long, it can really take a toll on him.

Large crowds / He's an introvert, what more needs to be said?

Being social for too long / This doesn't seem to apply to his closest friends/partner.

Being alone for too long / He may be an introvert, but he still craves emotional connection every not and again.

Ignorant people / Just, who likes them anyway?

Habits.

Having his guard up / Shinobu doesn't mean to have it up all the time, it's just the say he is. He tries his best to let it down around people he doesn't know but it's a little hard.

Sleeping / It's no secret that idols don't get much sleep, that's why you can often find Shinobu taking naps almost anywhere he can.

Rubbing his eyes with his thumb and index finger / Shinobu can be seen doing this most comenly when fustrated or trying to understnd something he can't wrap his head around.

Hobbies.

Photography / Even though he is most used to being in front of the camera, Shinobu is most happy when he is the one behind the camera taking the photos. His finds solitude in nature photography and has no issue traveling great distances to get a beautiful shot.

Reading / As he likes to be alone, Shinobu feels that reading is a great escape for when he's wanting some down time.

Drawing / Shinobu has always been crative, ever since he was a child. He will often carry a scetch book around with him and draw when he has time.

Music / Weather it's listening to it or playing it, Shinobu enjoys music.

Trivia.

Shinobu previously trained under Unite Media from 2010 to 2016 before returning to Osaka.

Has an unfished degree in translation that he would like to finish if given the chance.

He likes to escape to the almost forested mountians all around Seoul when he has the chance.
He likes to photograph the members of U/IDOL.

He's a naturally very private person and hrdly posts anything about his like on his social media.

Once he gets along well with someone, he will find himself grvitating towards them more often than not.

Shinobu has two instagram accounts. shidol for his regular account and arigaphoto for his photography instagram.

Shinobu's favorite idol groups are Nine Muses, Pink Fantasy, Dreamcatcher and Angerme. He can also dance to almost all title tracks from these groups.

Relationships. 

Close Friend / Luna Tuan / Twenty-six / Member of U/IDOL / ESFJ

Spending six years training at the same company as Luna naturally made Luna and Shinobu close friends. Shinobu became a trainee not too long after Luna and often found himself relying on her more often than not. It might have taken him a while, but Shinobu eventually managed to open up to Luna and the two have been close ever since. Even after Shinobu orignally left Unite back in 2016, the two still managed to keep in contact and have been able to remain close.

Close Friend / Kawamura Miho / Twenty-four / University student / ENFP

Shinobu and Miho became friends in university after Shinou had moved back to Osaka. It was Miho who showed Shinobu the advertisement for International Idol and convinced him to audition with her. They both passed the audition but sadly, Miho did not make it into the final group. There was no hard feelings though and the two try to talk whenever possible.

Friend / Arlo Donghyun Yoon / Twenty-two / Member of U/IDOL / ENFP

Arlo and Shinobu get along swimmingly. There's soemthing about the younger boy that brings out a more social side in Shinobu. Arlo will often do his best to include the reserved Shinobu in whatever he's doing. Despite their age difference, Shinobu often seeks advice from Arlo and consideres him a close, vaulable friend. Like Luna, after Shinobu left Unite, he kept in contat with Arlo frequently. Arlo met Shinobu with open arms when they saw eachother again on International Idol.

Friend / Hirose Yumeko / Twenty-two / Member of U/IDOL / INFP

You would think that since Yumeko and Shinobu's personalities are so close that they would get along rather well, and they did, eventually but thats not how it started. As both Yumeko and Shinobu are introverted people, it took them a while to start to talk to eachother despite the fact that they were both Japanese people trying to make it as Korean idols. They were eventually able to start chatting and became friends after not too long. After Shinobu left Unite, he still managed to keep in contact with Yumeko, but not as much as Luna.

Friends / Liang Wenxin / Twenty-eight / Member of U/IDOL / ISTJ

Shinobu noticed that Wenxin wasn't very comfortable around most of the male contestants so he tried his best to be as open and transparent about himself around her and he thinks it worked. He would consider the two friends nd he hope she thinks the same.

Groupmate / Park Miyeon / Eighteen / Member of U/IDOL / ISTJ

Shinobu and Miyeon don't really talk much, but thats not from lack of effort. Shinobu himself is very introverted and Miyeon is quite reserved so it can make their interactions feel a little strained. Shinobu keeps trying to interact with Miyeon though, in the hopes that he can break through to her eventually.

Stage Name. Shinobu
Plotline. Nine
Backup. Two / Seven

Vocal Twin. Lucente's Hero (Newkidd's Hansol / Got7's Yugyeom)
Rap Twin. (Got7's Yugyeom)

Dance twin. U-KISS' Hoon (UKISS' Kiseop / Got7's Yugyeom)

Trainee years. Six years and two months (2010 - 2016 under Unite Media, 2017 (Two months) independent)

Trainee Life.
Training isn’t a walk in the park for everyone, and Shinobu expected that when he moved to Korea to start training at age sixteen. Though it was hard to be away from his family and friends, Shinobu wanted to work hard so that he could reach his goal just like all the other trainees. He often relied on Luna during these times for support and also became some what of a support for other trainees. Of course there where hard times and difficult ones, but Shinobu often looks back on them as wonderful memories now.

In 2016 Shinobu left Unite media and moved back to Osaka where he didn’t have another thought of being an idol until he was convinced to audition for International Idol. It was easy for Shinobu to train on his own in the months leading up to International Idol as he had previously trained under Unite and had somewhat of an idea of what they looked for.

Pre-debut.

2016-2018 / Various modeling gigs in Japan.

Scandals.

N/A

Marigold.

Comments/questions. Hi! I haven’t really applyed to any story in years so I hope Shinobu is okay. Let me know if anything needs to be fixed and I will do so. As he doesn't really have a main focus stated, I'm actually happy for him to be used for any plotline you see fit (also since I'm a little indecisive). I think I have chosen plotlines that have talent twins that could match most other plotlines, but let me know if I need to add different twins or whatever!

Suggestions. Since it seems like there are  few Japanese character applications, maybe some interactions or a Japan line unit? Something like Da-iCE's 大阪LOVER cover would be cool or Angerme's 赤いイヤホン!

Password. MY/DOL's / A play on U/IDOL and My Dolls.