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. (^_^)
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