Music

From its formation in 2000 until its disbandment in 2015, Hoshino led the instrumental band Sakerock, where he played marimba and guitar. They released over ten albums. As a solo artist, he debuted with his first album Baka no Uta on June 23, 2010. His first physical single, "Kudaranai no Naka ni" was released on March 2, 2011, and peaked at number 17 on the Oricon Singles Chart. The subsequent singles – "Film", "Yume no Soto e", "Shiranai" (2012), and "Gag" (2013) – all charted in the top 10. His second album, Episode, released on September 28, 2011, peaked at number five. Hoshino's third album, Stranger, followed on May 1, 2013. It peaked at number two on the Oricon Albums Chart and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).^[1]

Since 2011, Hoshino has co-hosted the Ustream program Sake no Sakana (サケノサカナ) with Ichirō Yamaguchi of Sakanaction.^[2] In 2014, the program officially changed its name to Yoru no Television.

Hoshino's fourth album, Yellow Dancer, was released on December 2, 2015, in Japan through Speedstar Records; it debuted atop both Oricon and Billboard Japan's album charts. Yellow Dancer was certified platinum by the RIAJ that same month for surpassing 250,000 physical shipments,^[3] and became one of the few albums to receive a gold certification for digital downloads.^[4]

On February 18, 2018, Hoshino uploaded a music video for his song "Doraemon", which was written in tribute to the Japanese franchise of the same name. The song was used as the theme of the 38th Doraemon movie, Nobita's Treasure Island, and, since fall 2019, has been used as the opening theme of the Doraemon anime. Pop Virus, Hoshino's fifth album, was released on December 17.^[5] It spent four consecutive weeks atop the Oricon Album Chart and was certified double platinum by the RIAJ that same month.^[6] The album's commercial performance, within just a few months of its release, earned Hoshino a Best Album prize at the 33rd Japan Gold Disc Awards, as well as a Best Song prize for the digital success of the single "Idea", which was used as a theme for Asadora.^[7][8] He also became the first artist to win four trophies at the Space Shower Music Awards, in March 2019.^[9] On August 30, 2019, all of Hoshino's music was made available on streaming services.^[10]

In April 2022, Hoshino's song "Comedy" was used as the ending theme of the season one anime adaptation of Spy x Family.^[11] The following July, he released the single "I Wanna Be Your Ghost", as the main theme for the film Yokaipedia (2022).^[12] It debuted at number one on Oricon's weekly Digital Singles Chart.^[13]

On December 27, 2023, Hoshino released the double A-side single "Why" / "Life" (光の跡／生命体). It features the song "Why" (Hikari No Ato, 光の跡) used in the end credits of the movie Spy × Family Code: White.^[14]

Acting

Hoshino's movie debut, Lee Sang-il's 69, was an adaptation of the Ryū Murakami novel of the same name. He previously acted in various television dramas and stage plays. In 2012, he debuted as a voice actor, voicing Buddha in the original video animation (OVA) adaptation of Hikaru Nakamura's manga Saint Young Men, and also provided a theme song called "Gag" for its 2013 theatrical version, where he reprised his role.^[15] In 2013, he played the lead character in Masahide Ichii's Blindly in Love (箱入り息子の恋, Hakoiri Musuko no Koi) alongside Kaho, and starred in the Sion Sono film Why Don't You Play in Hell?. In 2016, Hoshino starred in TBS's The Full-Time Wife Escapist. With Yui Aragaki as his co-star, he portrayed a salaryman named Hiramasa Tsuzaki. The drama achieved steadily rising ratings, with a real-time viewership peak rating of 20.8% on the final episode, and an overall rating of 14.5%.^[16][17] Hoshino's performance earned him several Best Supporting Actor awards.^[18][19][20] He also provided the theme song for the drama, titled "Koi".

Gen Hoshino created the parody character "Akira Nise" (ニセ明, Nise Akira, literally Fake Akira) as a tribute to Akira Fuse.^[21][22][23]

In 2017, Hoshino lent his voice to the main character of award-winning animated film Night Is Short, Walk On Girl. He also became the voice of the Father in Mamoru Hosoda's Mirai, which was released into theaters in Japan on July 20, 2018.^[24]

On April 30, 2018, it was announced that Hoshino will star in Samurai Shifters, the film adaptation of Akihiro Dobashi's historical novel Hikkoshi Daimyo Sanzenri, set to premier on August 30, 2019. In the movie, he plays a bookworm samurai called Harunosuke Katagiri, who receives the mission to help a daimyo move. It will be Hoshino's first lead role in a live-action movie since Blindly in Love in 2013.

Idaten, NHK's 2019 Taiga drama, chosen for the theme to encourage the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Hoshino portrayed Kazushige Hirasawa, who delivered the persuasive speech that helped determine the venue for the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games.^[25][26]

Film

Television

Original video animation

• Onna no Sono no Hoshi (2022), Hoshi^[77]