The Difference between Aimiya and Sakumoto (Arashi ni Shiyagare 2011.02.19 with Yuzu)

Pairings-wise, I honestly don't think there is a single one within Arashi that I don't find myself flailing over. I mean, Arashi's a bag of rainbow-colored fun, and you can mix-n-match and combine the members however you want; all combis turn out to be magical and charismatic! ^.^  But of course, each combi is also different, and as I was rewatching this one episode of Arashi ni Shiyagare (with Yuzu as guests, aired 2011.02.19), I noticed this detail that I couldn't help but tuck away as a little memo to myself. 

Basically, Yuzu are introducing Arashi to some lovely Chinese food, and as the chef brings the steaming bowls of noodles to Arashi, we notice, first of all, that there are only three bowls for five members. 

That's right. One bowl on the table between Sho and Jun, one bowl for Leader alone in the middle, and one bowl for Aimiya, who are both properly chanting the customary "itadakimasu~!" 

More and More - Arashi Song Review

It's 2015, fanboys and girls, and Arashi is back with a stunning new single to keep that sparkly spring in our step as we head on into the year of the sheep! 

Yes, I'm talking about Sakura, and no, I still can't quite make up my mind if it's about the flower or the imposter, but at this point I really don't think I care, because it's one hell of a seductive song to one hell of a suspenseful drama, and all that matters now is the whirlwind of pink petals and Toma getting bloodied up alongside Juri and everyone's knees swooshing 360 on the M-ste floor and strings strings strings gliding in a frenzy to trickling piano notes that finally end with Leader's reptilian stare after the upsweep of the last violin.

I really had to choose which song I wanted to flail over first. Did I want to wax my poesy over the agitated tremors of each and every string in Sakura or would I rather dive right down the glitzy rabbit hole of the gazillion little dings and zings and be welcomed to Arashi's Rainbow Wonderland all brassy with more and more?

A Tiny Gesture of Leaderly Care from Ohno to Aiba

I just rewatched the 2007.06.11 episode of Arashi no Shukudai, featuring Ungirls as the guest, and I noticed this teensy detail between Ohno and Aiba that I never saw before!

Aiba mis-speaks, as usual, so naturally Nino (aka Aiba's primary first-line tsundere) steps up to give him a well-deserved smack to the head.

But then, right after Nino's smack, Oh-chan, who is standing just behind them, reaches out a gentle hand to fix a little tuft in Aiba's hair (which was presumable messed up from Nino's smack just now). Yasashii, Riidaa! <333

You can even see Aiba giving a tiny nod back at Leader, as if thanking him.

Nino is unforgiving though, and doesn't even blink twice before swiping at his best friend's hair again, this time going directly for the part that Ohno just fixed. Haha what a little devil!

Anyways, just thought I'd share this little moment because it made me smile today :-)

Arashi on Bullying - News Zero 2006.12.11

Everybody remember Kazoku Game and its shocking depiction of the malicious extents to which young teenagers (I'm talking like middle schoolers) can go to inflict pain and humiliation upon their peers? Perhaps the scenes in the drama were representative of the more extreme and violent forms of bullying, but there is no doubt that even if the bullying that occurs in most schools is not half as dramatic as Kazoku Game, it still leaves a powerful and lasting psychological wound on its victims, subjecting them to the torment of low self-esteem, social ostracization, depression, and in worst cases, suicidal tendencies.

Sho and Nino reading thank you letters from victims of bullying.

On the 2006.12.11 episode of News Zero, of which our beloved Sakurai Sho is a newscaster for, the program talked about how they had received lots of letters from victims of bullying on their homepage (I think they were doing some sort of special discussion about this topic at the time). Many of these letters were addressed to Arashi and talked about how Arashi's songs had given the writers strength to face life. One girl who was so afraid of her bullies that she developed a fear of going to school said that the lyrics "Dareka ga dareka wo sasaete ikite irun da" from Arashi's song Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi really gave her the courage to step into her classroom again. Other letters which were handed out personally to the five Arashi members spoke of how Arashi's music and their example encouraged victims of bullying to face their tormentors and some even said that Arashi saved them from suicide.

Ramblings on Arashi's Leader

If you've been reading this blog, or blogs/websites like this, it's probably not news to you that Arashi is the male idol group that is currently dominating the Japanese entertainment scene. These five guys comprise a cultural phenomenon you're bound to hear of or come across, even if you're just a clueless tourist walking the streets of Tokyo. Arashi is everywhere. In my whole life, I've only been in Japan for a total of 7 days, and I've seen numerous billboards of Arashi members endorsing various products, I've overheard schoolgirls talking about a drama starring an Arashi member, and I've even picked out the melody of Arashi's Beautiful Days from a music box rendition that was playing as the background music to a Harajuku ramen bar. Make no mistake about it, Arashi is big, and it's a besparkling five-colored rainbow that has simultaneously bewitched generations of men and women (and all genders in between) alike.

Now let's zoom in and focus on Ohno Satoshi, the one true leader of this merry band of five, and one of the characters I find most fascinating in the industry.

The Digitalian - Album Review

The Vegetarian Digitalian is finally here, throbbing through our poor fangirl bodies in the form of an inexplicably irresistible mass of geometrically arranged... leaves and fruit.

It's probably a testament to Arashi's staying selling power that this album can still sell well despite the LE cover looking like this:

The Arashi members, just so you know, were all perfectly aware of how similar sounding "Vegetarian" is with "Digitalian" in Japanglish. You can say that this graphic is no accident. No ho... Hah. But all vegetable jokes aside, this album is actually coming at a very special time. Not only is this their 15th anniversary, but The Digitalian is also the successor to what is perhaps the most phenomenally polished and musically riveting Arashi album ever: LOVE. There's certainly a lot to live up to, and after producing something as amazing as LOVE, the standard for their music has certainly been raised, and I think fans will probably be less forgiving of sloppy music from now on.

And yes, I am a huge fan of LOVE, but I am aware that not all people might share my enthusiasm for it, so consider yourselves warned that this post will contain some LOVE/Digitalian comparisons and that everything written here is my own personal opinion, which has no musical or professional authority whatsoever.

Arashi is certainly trying their hardest with this new album. They're going for a "digital" theme, which manifests in a few heavily techno tracks, and a techno elements mixed into other genres here and there. They're doing something pretty new, and very very dynamic. In fact, if I had to describe this album in one word, it'd be dynamic. Movement and action just permeate The Digitalian, which makes it pretty different from LOVE, because LOVE was sleek, mature and had quite a smattering of weighty tracks like "Ai Wo Utaou" and "Yozora e no Tegami." It also showed off some beautifully tender Arashi sounds in tracks like "sugar and salt," "Sayounara no Ato de," "Tears." The Digitalian brings us something decidedly less ponderous. I'd say of the 17 tracks on this new album, only the 3rd and 16th ones, "Tell Me Why" and "Hope in the Darkness" qualifies as having the same subdued/weighty tones as the LOVE tracks mentioned above. The rest of the album is all about action, from the shake-your-shake-your-body "Zero-G" to the five-times exclamatory "Take Off!!!!!"

So without further ado, let's get into the specific songs.

Arashi CM's - Gifspam!

I just binge-watched about three hours worth of Arashi CM's, from pre-debut to their 15th anniversary. And the amazing part is that I'm pretty sure there's still loads of stuff out there that I haven't even seen or heard of. I really, really enjoy CM's as a fan. They're so gorgeous they're practically like animated magazine shoots, full of glossiness and hilarity and positive energy.

Anyways, enjoy this gifspam into the shiny, plastic world of commercials!

*And yes, this is going to be a pure gifspam. Unadulterated by my rambling comments. It's loooong, so please allow a few minutes for your browser to load.

Aiba for Tongari Corn