Mago Mago Boat Club

I'm sure all Arashi fans have watched the Mago Mago Boat Club saga before. It was one of the videos that dragged me into becoming an Arashi fan. Overall it was a very touching series and lately I've been re-watching it and decided to write a bit of a review on it since I have so many thoughts running around my head as I watch. (Warning - incredibally long post)

I am sorry I won't post screencaps. (>_<;;)

Overall... it's a very touching thing to watch. They really devoted their time into forfilling Hikaru-san's dream. It's very admirable. In fact, I admire all of them very much. Rowing is not an easy sport to do and they spend an entire two months learning. I don't know much about rowing as I've never done it, but from what I saw, they did pretty good for 5 idols who only trained for two months. And, since when do you ever see idols doing anything such as what Arashi did? Learning how to row? Devoting their time just for an old man? It's something not even a normal citizen would probably do, and yet they did it and worked hard on it.

As I re-watched this, I also was reminded about WHY I love Arashi so much. Not that I forgot about their strong bond, but in watching this I was able to see their full strength right in my eyes as well as learn about each of them individually. Of course parts of this segment were probably exaggerated but in general, their true natures would come out. Before I get into "how close they are" I want to talk about each member individually first.

Ohno - Our dear leader: He may not seem like a leader, he may not act like one, but in watching MMA: Boat Club you can definitly see why the other members see him as their leader. Overtime he had gradually fallen into some sort of "leader" role even though it seems like he does nothing, as a leader Ohno does lots. I couldn't stop smiling when he proposed helping Hikaru-san with his dream. It was a very sweet thing to do and over the course of the two months, although he was extremely busy, instead of worrying about himself he worried more about the other 4. Honestly, Ohno was the one pulling all the ther 4 members through everything. I've concluded that if people EVER doubt Ohno's "leader" capabilities, they should watch MMA and see, he is a perfectly fine leader.

Sho-kun - Keio Boy!: Sho. He's really a nice guy and you can tell that overall he REALLY wanted to win. He really tried his best and I think out of the 5 he was the most frustrated yes he was mature about it and didn't blow his "problems" out of proportion. I admire his work-ethic and in a way this is where you can see Sho being absolutely serious about something and working hard for it. Also, I am happy that I was able to see the truly mature side of Sho, it's breath of fresh air compared to how dorky he can be during Arashi's other shows.

Aiba-chan - Hyperactive kid: Aiba, Aiba, Aiba. What can I say? A lot of times, we just see Aiba as the "baka" of the group, but of course we know that Aiba isn't actually stupid. In this saga, although we still see the "baka" side of Aiba we also get to see the side of him that is serious. That adult side of him that we rarely (basically never) get to see anytime else. Like the other members, he really wanted to help Hikaru-san out but in the beginning you get to see his serious-ness of the situation. He practiced hard and although he had the slight problem, he resolved it quickly and bounced right back into position. It's not something a lot of people can do.

Ninomiya Kazunari - The Sarcastic Brat: Nino. Just knowing his position as the cox really tells you about his personality. He's good at being a support, he's good at watching over the group and helping them. He's also good at planning out strategies. Due to his hand injury during his junior years he couldn't exactly row but he made up for it for his excellent skills as the coxswain. Although reluctlant at first, when Nino got into it, he really put his whole into it and picked up the skills very quickly. I've always admired Nino in how when he puts his mind to something he'll do it his best at it (or try to) and you can sort of see that.

Matsumoto Jun - The Prissy Princess: MatsuJun. I always say I'm a lot like MatsuJun. You see a lot of his personality in this. I know lots of people thought that him blowing up and walking away was stupid (even me) but I think the problem was Jun expects too much of himself. In a way you see a "childness" in him, in which when he's stuck in a hole, instead of finding a way out (like the other members) he digs himself in deeper because of his own personality. It's not necassarily that's he "immature" but it's more his frustrations about himself. He really wanted to do his best, and the problem is he didn't know how he was doing, good, bad. MatsuJun's a guy who needs praise, who needs someone saying he's doing fine because he's a perfectionist and he needs to know he's doing his best.

Okay, now, done with all the members. Now I want to talk about their bond. You really get to see it, how close they all our even during 2005. Watching the summer camp thing was fun and when Nino, Aiba, Sho and Jun were getting taught by Hikaru-san about the basics of rowing (ep.23) I loved how Nino pointed out some girls rowing and all four of them stood up to stare. In general though, the smiles, the laughs, even the jokes and you can sort of tell in the beginning they're all a bit uncomfortable about the idea of "regular" positions. It was also incredibly sweet when Ohno decided to practice after his stageplay and he told the members to go home but they all stayed to wait for him (ep.30). Also as a group they really finished the rowing competition. They didn't give up and all of them (ALL OF THEM) gave their all. Even when some people were having hissy-fits *cough* none of them ever really "gave up" although the thought came up they all realized, they can't. Stopping wasn't an option. Even if they had worked as "Arashi" for 6 years, only a group with a strong bond could have done something such as what the Arashi members did.

My review was sort of bad. I'm sorry, my thoughts are so jumbled that I can't really express what I'm thinking. (=_=;;) But.. I just want to say I feel really touched as I watched and it really makes me think, deep down from the bottom of my heart, I really love these guys  a lot.. because.. honestly, doing what they did was a great thing. It deserves respect and admiration.

I am glad to have a group like Arashi in my life. (^_^)
 

Ryuusei no Kizuna

Well. I watched the first episode. I've read the first 11 chapters of the novel due to some wonderful people over at LJ translating it (many thanks ^_^) and now I've watched the beginning thanks to people subbing it.

I have to say... I really like this drama. Lots more than Maou. I liked Maou mostly... cause it had Ohno in it, but in the end the drama wasn't really my slice of pie. Ryuusei no Kizuna on the other hand, is definitly my type of drama. It's serious, yet has some very good comedy (which -surprise-surprise- actually made me laugh =O). Not many things in dramas, let alone any sort of TV show (except possibly anime) have made me laugh as hard as RnK. Honestly I was pleasantly surprised at how they did the drama.

It's very creative how they showed the swindling scenes, they showed it as a drama (within a drama) as well as a comic. It's a brilliant idea. Watching this, I also applaud Nino's splendid and beautiful acting and I should hug him because he's just made of so much win. (woops, nearly went on a fan-girl tangent there). But really, the look he had when Shizuna (Toda Erika's character - I love this girl btw), said it wasn't her first time having sex. Oh man. Nino's face? PRICELESS! Loved it.

Ryo's acting is awesome too! I'm very happy with how the first episode turned out and for once, I didn't even stop halfway to see how much time had passed. The only other drama I haven't done this with (first time watching) is Hana Yori Dango. So. I applaud all the actors for their magnificent job in acting and will do a full review when this drama is done and has been fully subbed.

And in saying this... I have made a new vox banner dedicated to Ryuusei no Kizuna because that is just how much I love the show right now. First episode in and I'm going crazy.

RnKbanner

 

 

Wallpaper

I created a wallpaper that's.. honestly really dark and in my opinion, sort of emo-ish and although I made it I probably won't use it as my own desktop wallpaper. Haha.

Well here it is - sorry only in one size and that is 1280 x 1024

ArashiWallpaper4

 

Hope you like it.

 

Vox Banners

I made a new Vox Banner - if you haven't noticed, it's sort of Halloween themed. Arashi as vampires. ^_^ I might make a wallpaper with Vampire Arashi members too. I got the right inspiration. Well, we'll see. Anyways I have two versions of the current banner

The light grayish part of hte banner is slightly transparent, just FYI.

 

But of course (obviously) that's not the only Vox banner I've made. I've made 3 others. One which I basically detest and two which are... acceptable. Guess which is which on my list from 1-3 =P (Don't actually.. unless you really want to and are just that bo

Arashibanner

Yep, those are all the vox banners I've mad currently. See how much better I've become? Yeah.. yeah... although I have to admit in my current one, I want to get rid of my name but then there is this huge empty space and I don't like empty space. Anyways...

If you want to request me to make something - I'll make it.

Because it's for another person, I'll probably make it really nice just for you.
I make everything, Icons, wallpapers, forum signatures, vox banners, whatever you want just name it. If you have a specific pictures or size limit, or have a specific design in mind, do tell.

I'll try to make your item as fast as possible but I have a life to.. so.. don't expect me to finish it in seconds.

If you do take my stuff - credit me thank you. I don't mind how you do it, as long as you DO. If I catch you using one of my items on a forum or any website without my username beside or near it I'm going to hunt you down. >_>

Coming To Love "Arashi"

Title: Coming to Love "Arashi"

Pairings: n/a

Rating: G

Word Count: 1, 703

Summary: Obviously the members didn't like being in a group at the start, so... when was it that each member finally realized that Arashi was one of the best things in their lives?

Disclaimer: I do not own Arashi, nor do I own any of the members of Arashi - they are owned by Johnny's Entertainment.. (sadly)

-Story Start-

Nino was the last member to fully enjoy being in the group Arashi. He had never really wanted to be an idol but he was raised to never give up on something just because you didn’t like it, so that’s why he didn’t quit. He didn’t enjoy his work though.

 

When he was told he would be going to Hollywood to act in a Clint Eastwood film, Nino wasn’t too sure if he was supposed to be feeling happy or annoyed. He didn’t want to leave Japan. Looking back, Nino realized his annoyance was probably there because he didn’t want to part with his four best friends, but at the moment he didn’t realize that.

 

The day before leaving the four members held a small party for him. Taking him out to eat, going to sing karaoke. They would’ve seen him off at the airport but it was slightly risky doing that. At the time, he thought the entire affair was annoying. It wasn’t like he was dying or moving away forever. He was only gone for a couple of months, they could live without him.

 

It wasn’t until Nino returned and was trampled by four men upon his arrival that he realized how much he truly missed them all. In that moment, while being squashed (it was supposed to be a hug) by those same four guys who he saw almost everyday in his life, Nino thought…

 

Arashi really is the best.

***

 

Ohno was the fourth member to enjoy being with Arashi. He had never been to sure about why he was in Johnny’s Entertainment. In his time in Kyoto he has missed his family dearly and by the time he was schedule to debut he wanted to quit and work as an artist or go to some art school in Europe. His mother wouldn’t let him though, Ohno was thankful for his mother’s decision.

 

Still, Ohno wasn’t entirely sure when he began to love his four best-friends. He had always been a loner, so in the beginning everything had been awkward. Especially when the sudden touching had started. Honestly, Ohno had been scared when Nino first groped his ass, and he desperately prayed to God it would stop one day, but he was too weak to stop it himself. During concerts it was even more embarrassing when the members touched him openly. Did they not care? Did they themselves feel uncomfortable? He had always wondered.

 

One day though, those groping hands, instead of being an annoyance had soon turned into a comforting gesture. One day, during a concert while singing Arashi, when he felt those familiar four hands grope at his bottom, he couldn’t help but grin and think,

 

These guys are really the best… .

***

 

Sho was the third member to enjoy Arashi as a group. At first he had thought it troubling to debut as a group. He had wanted to quit, after getting into University. It had been to stressful, he just wanted to popularity to stop. He just wished he could graduate and move on with his life, working as a government worker just like his father.

 

Everyday, he had to study. Whenever he had some spare time in the Arashi dressing room he would grab out his books and study. He tried to at least, but the members would never leave him alone. Aiba was constantly bugging him with idiotic questions, Jun was constantly leafing through his textbooks curiously and Nino wouldn’t stop playing his PS2 with the TV as maximum volume and Ohno was always muttering to himself and drawing all over his notes… Sho wondered why he hadn’t gone insane yet.

 

Exams were coming up, the need to last-minute-cram was there. The stress was building, and Sho again he wondered why he wasn’t going insane. He wondered how he had managed to last so long with all the work he was doing. He opened the door to Arashi’s dressing room.

 

Sho was met with a strange sight. A large banner was on the wall that read “Good luck on your exam Sho-kun!” Confetti and balloons were everywhere and a desk was in the middle, empty of everything with a chair in front of it. Sho looked at the room curiously, he entered hesitantly and then felt four things slam into him, pushing him to the ground in a large dog pile, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

 

This was why he had never gone insane, because of these four idiots with him. They had let him relax, they had made sure he wouldn’t freak out from stress and would always push him to fool around with them so his mind wouldn’t always be bent on school and studying. As Sho sat up laughing, he glanced warmly at the other four, also laughing, around him and grinned wide.

 

These four idiots… they’re the best.

***

 

Aiba was the seconds member to enjoy being in Arashi. At first he didn’t enjoy it too much because he felt he couldn’t do much. No one got a long very well, and he had no idea what to do, what role he should play. Ohno was silent and never spoke, Sho was always scolding him and studying and Nino looked like he really wanted to quit and MatsuJun was going through all these phases. Honestly, Aiba felt very alone in the group.

 

When he felt the pain in his chest while in rehearsals he convinced himself it was nothing and continued on, ignoring the pain. When he woke up in the hospital he received a scolding from his manager saying he should’ve said something and that he had caused a lot of trouble and panic for the staff that day.

 

At that moment, he had really felt worthless. He sat in the hospital room alone, no one came to visit him for a few days except his manager to inform him of his work schedule. The thought of quitting was looking more and more appealing, that was until he woke up one morning to the loud sound of laughing and a muttered “shut up you’ll wake him up!”

 

Aiba had slowly opened his eyes and was surprised to see four worried faces looking at him. He had thought the members were mad at him because none of them had decided to visit him but here they were standing beside his bed. When he sat up, the four worried faces changed into wide grins and he felt four fists punch his shoulder (lightly of course) and then laughter as they all talked excitedly among themselves.

 

He didn’t speak because he had been too afraid that if he opened his mouth he would start crying. He really couldn’t express his happiness. They had stayed with him the entire day, playing games with him and Nino, and MatsuJun even let him win a couple of times. Sho, for once, wasn’t studying and Ohno drew pictures for him. When they left that day, they argued about who would watch over him tomorrow and the day after. Aiba knew they were only acting, but deep down he knew they really wanted him to be happy and he grinned at the four guys who were trying their hardest for him. He made a promise then,

 

I’ll try my hardest for the four of you as well…

***

MatsuJun was the first to like Arashi. He had always wanted to debut into a group, after all, what was the point of getting into Johnny’s if not to debut? When he learned about Arashi he had been excited and happy, and he couldn’t wait to get started. Even after learning about the hardships of debuting, he was still happy that he could do something in life, and he worked hard at it, but he was quick to realize the other members were not even near as excited as he was. For the next years to come, Jun would work hard to make sure the other members loved Arashi as much as he did.

 

When Aiba was sick in the hospital, he had told Jun that he would work his hardest to make Arashi the best. Jun had smiled and told Aiba to stop being stupid and just rest, but deep down he was happy that one member had finally realized how great Arashi was and could be in the future.

 

When they had jumped Sho in the dressing room so he wouldn’t be stressed about his exams, Jun was the only one who had noticed that Sho’s smile at the four of them had changed from a tolerating smile to one that said “I really love these guys” and Jun had winked at Aiba. There was another member who realized that being with Arashi wasn’t all that bad.

 

When Arashi started playing and Ohno stood in the center of the other four members, each of them had gathered around and groped his ass as if it was the most normal thing to do and Ohno smiled to the crowd as always but only Jun noticed that this time the smile was genuine and the youngest member smiled himself. Three down, one more to go, Arashi was getting there.

 

When Nino had returned from Hollywood, the other four members had honestly no time to welcome him home. All of them had been busy to the neck that day, but when the news of Nino’s arrival reached their ears, none of them hesitated to drop their work and rush to the second-youngest member’s home. They had ambushed him in the doorway and tackled him to the ground, grinning as they saw the tears of happiness streaming down Nino’s face.

 

It was at that moment, in Nino’s home, that the five of them felt fully complete and whole, and could all safely say that they were Arashi.

 

“Cheers! Cheers!” The five of them were holding their own special party for Arashi’s 10^th Year Anniversary. Jun grinned as each of them down their glasses and all of them ordered for more. The youngest member relaxed, after 10 long years, he could finally rest and stop worrying. Arashi was complete, and all of them, together, were now aiming for the top.

Arashi @ Taipei

I wish I was Taiwanese, or at least in Taiwan or didn't have school... well I wish a lot of things at the moment but *sigh*. I can't go to any Arashi concerts for probably another 8 years unless they have a concert in my city in Canada, and reading about all these concerts is really getting me excited.

So.. some info about their concert in Taipei which happened October 11 and October 12.

I will update this post whenever I have found something new

Highlights/Interesting Info

♪ ~ Jun did a somersault  ~ ♪

♪ ~ Beautiful Days was sung for the first time ~ ♪

♪ ~ 500 fans waited @ airport when they arrived ~ ♪

♪ ~ Johnny and Mary Kitagawa were there apparently ~ ♪

♪ ~ Thousands of fans stalking them around Taiwan =P ~ ♪

♪ ~ 小豬 (Xiao Luo - Taiwanese singer) went to their concert ~ ♪

♪ ~ Abe Tsuyoshi (Mimasaka Akira of F4) sent flowers to MatsuJun/Arashi ~ ♪

♪ ~ Arashi said they've probably eaten 300+ Xiao Long Bao the past 3 days ~ ♪

 

Setlist (Day 1)

Love So Sweet
Oh Yeah
Kotoba Yori Taisetsu Na Mono
Life Goes On
Step and Go
Introduction of members
Hip Hop Boogie
Jidai
Yes?No?
Carnival Night Part 2
Niji
Take Me Faraway
La Tormenta
Lucky Man
Hadashi no Mirai
Happiness
MC
Kaze no Mukou e
Kimi no Tame Ni Boku Ga Iru (Johnny Jrs')
Re(mark)able
Truth
A Day in Our Life
Yabai Yabai Yabai
Sirius
Hello Goodbye
Introduction of Johnny Jrs
Introduction of Arashi members
A.ra.shi
Pikanchi Double
Asu ni Mukatte Hoeru
Members Thank Yous in Mandarin
One Love

1st Encore:
We Can Make it
Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi
Sakura Sake

2nd Encore:
Beautiful Days

Setlist (day 2)
2nd Encore:
Beautiful Days
Gori Muchuu

3rd Encore:
Hero

Reviews/Reports:

Overall Review

Day 1
MC + Other Info
Small Summary
General Info/Pics

Day 2
Detailed Report
Small Summary
MC + Gen. Info

Video Links:
Arrival in Airport
Ohno's Solo
Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi
Oct 11 - MC

Obviously this concert wasn't as great as their Kokuritsu Concert but it still sounded fun, especially the second day which seemed like a total blast. Bit worried about the mis-communication between Jun and Staff but at least nothing serious happened (thank god). Now to wait another 4 weeks for their concert in Seoul, Korea!

 

When that happens I'll also make a post with review links and other info.

The boys really love to eat Xiao Long Bao huh? Or maybe they just love eating... a mystery why they aren't fat. =P

Really proud of them. ^_^

Well Until Next Concert!

Jun in my nightmares...?

I had a dream last night.. which I actually sort of remember. It's been quite a while since I woke up (about 5:30pm right now) so.. of course I don't really remember much but it was a scary enough dream to keep me awake for about another half hour.

Yes, it was a nightmare. (if you didn't assume from the title).

Now, I'm not sure if the main person in my dream was Jun but something in my head tells me it was and I remember the first thought in my head after waking up was "I am never watching Jun if he is in a horror movie...". In fact I've basically convinced myself that it WAS Jun in my nightmare but if it was.. that's not a good thing. Jun is.. well he's my ichiban in Arashi, so I cannot for the life of me understand WHY he was the scariest person I've ever met in a nightmare.

I don't remember much but here is the gist of the dream from what I can remember.

Basically.. Jun is walking around and he pretends to "save" people who are in trouble from falling off cliffs with rope, but that's what it SEEMS like he's doing. In actuality, what he does is he grabs those people's legs and snaps them apart with rope, and then.. those people die, but then they suddenly appear as zombies and do the same thing Jun is doing. For some reason Jun is NOT a zombie but he does this for some unknown reason that I am not sure off.

And just to let you know.. my dream was INCREDIBLY gory, like.. think of Saw I/II/III/IV - Yeah, that gory. Honestly I was terrified the entire dream. Like I could literally feel my heart beating like crazy even though I was only watching the dream from third person and wasn't actually in it myself. Honestly the dream might make a good movie or something but... seriously why was JUN the bad guy? And when I woke up, I was actually trembling. 

I can sort of remember the image of him. He has his 2004, Iza Now! concert hair with his blue suit from earlier episodes of D no Arashi and basically he's looking all rich, bad-ass and evil. But again I'm not entirely sure if it was Jun.

I'm sort of sad.. I've been wishing for an Arashi dream and the first one I get with Jun is one that scares me to no end and has Jun seem like a physchotic killer.

I wonder.. is there something wrong with me.. like.. mentally? o_o