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nervous I have Mei-chan caps in my photobucket account, but I have to first say that Nikkei Trendy March 09 has a wonderful article on Arashi. It talks about the hardships and struggles the boys went through for the past 10 years, and the reasons why they've finally risen to the top.
Struggles Arashi faced:
1) Unlike groups like Kinki Kids and KAT-TUN, Arashi debuted without really knowing each other, without doing any work that allowed fans to see them as a group.
2) Arashi had tons of competitors: above, they had SMAP, TOKIO, Kinki Kids, V6; below, they had Takki & Tsubasa (a;lskdfjd I FORGOT THEM I'M SO SORRY orz), NEWS, KANJANI8, KAT-TUN and then, HSJ.
3) Although their debut single "A.RA.SHI" sold close to a million copies, their next singles didn't do as well. They dropped to 63 on the Oricon Charts, then 73 for the subsequent one.
4) Many fans saw Arashi as a copy of SMAP, as a group that was continuing SMAP's trend of singing happy, energetic songs.
5) According to Sho, they appeared in news articles and shows, but that sort of thing washed away fast in people's memories, and didn't actually boost their popularity in any way.
6) Jun had a rebellious stage which reached its peak in 2002. He used to be a happy kid until at some point, he started looking unhappy on stage so often, that the members had to apologize for his behaviour. Jun admitted that he was frustrated, frustrated that he was limited within the group, so he became uncooperative and refused to listen to anyone. It's pretty much a blessing that he got the role for Domyoji Tsukasa, because in a professional setting with fellow actors and staff members, he finally got out into the world, and found a place for himself.
Reasons why Arashi rose to the top:
1) Leader Ohno Satoshi. His gentle, soothing personality pulls out the members' own unique personalities.
2) The way members support each other create the image of a group with a tight bond, which people enjoy to watch. Again, going back to Ohno, the reporter noted that on Shukudaikun sets, every member always looks for Ohno, and gives Ohno a chance to speak, because he never does on his own. Even though, the reporter added, a single punchline from him can easily cause ripples of laughter through the audience. Like, when the guest talks about fishing, Nino would start to sneak glances at Ohno to see if he would say anything. Of course, Ohno looks blank as usual, so Nino would get him to speak. It's the way they look after each other that is very appealing.
3) Each member made their own hits and found their own niche in the group - Aiba with variety shows, Sho with news, Nino with Hollywood, Jun with HanaDan, and Ohno with his art exhibition.
4) The change of Pony Canyon to their own recording label, J-Storm. This allowed them to really create the kind of songs they wanted, without the hassle required if they were still on Pony Canyon.
5) They seem hardworking, humble, like trustworthy people who will never betray you. "Like the way Japanese people used to be," a writer's mother said. In other words, Arashi can easily be seen as people, not as some unreachable idol on a faraway star. There's an example of Sho always making sure he promotes the guest's upcoming show/movie/stageplay, to the point of forgetting to promote his own. He would only talk about his own show when someone actually asks him about it.
6) Unlike SMAP, Arashi attracts male fans as well, because they're good-looking but they don't act like hosts, and because boys look at Arashi and think: they look fun to hang out with. Of course, fans no longer think of Arashi as a copy of SMAP anymore.
Interesting facts:
1) Male writer Takeuchi Yoshikazu wrote a book on being an Arashi fan and held a talk about it. Women in their 50s and 60s attended the talk. He said that Arashi is living proof that it's possible to make it big in this industry by just being natural, by being yourself.
2) For the scripts on Shukudaikun, only a general flow of the show is written, without any actual lines for the members. It's proof of how well Arashi can control a talkshow on their own. It also shows that the things they say may actually, truly, be spontaneous. >D
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February 6 2009, 03:17:30 UTC 3 years ago
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February 6 2009, 03:25:09 UTC 3 years ago
I saw the scans yesterday but didn't get to read it, and here you translated parts of it.
<3
Thank you.
February 6 2009, 03:43:32 UTC 3 years ago
February 6 2009, 03:36:00 UTC 3 years ago
Awesome stuff!
Good luck on this interview!!
February 6 2009, 03:44:45 UTC 3 years ago
It's such a great article!! I don't think I have the time to translate the entire thing, but I hope someone does. ;;b
February 6 2009, 03:39:40 UTC 3 years ago
February 6 2009, 03:46:01 UTC 3 years ago
They're my first too, and have probably held my attention longer than anything else I've liked (which... says many sad things about my attention but ahaha). Keep trucking, Arashi! /o/
February 6 2009, 03:52:53 UTC 3 years ago
February 6 2009, 04:38:55 UTC 3 years ago
February 6 2009, 04:00:14 UTC 3 years ago
I'm not quite sure what Jun means when he says he's limited within the group. Is he talking about the fact that he couldn't express himself in the group? But it's interesting to see Jun's growth because personally, I think he's grown the most in the group. There was kinda a phase in there where he was pretty distant from the group as well but lately, that seems to have disappeared completely which makes my fangirl heart all fuzzy. ^.^
2) The way members support each other create the image of a group with a tight bond, which people enjoy to watch.
THIS. Seriously. Those little moments that show just how comfortable and in tune they are with each other, handing each other napkins and casually reaching out for each other. It just. Gets. Me. Every. Time. They have completely warped my sense of "fanservice." Of course, I know that these boys know their audience very well and they'll knowingly do things to make us go "kyaa" at them but at the same time, they seem to be enjoying it too. Like with the hamburger imitation on Shukudai-kun and the boys just piling up on each other? I know they probably knew the fans would get a rise out of that but at the same time, they were still laughing their asses off at themselves.
Also this: He said that Arashi is living proof that it's possible to make it big in this industry by just being natural, by being yourself.
Has anyone actually found a copy of that book? 'Cause seriously, I would love for someone to translate this. *_____*
And finally, re: Shukudai-kun scripts, I had a faint suspicion that the show wasn't all that scripted because things like Jun throwing his peppers into Aiba's bowl and Nino pointing out Ohno's unzipped zipper, etc. There's no way you can plan for that. XD I love how these boys can just go on and on on any topic and make it hilarious.
February 6 2009, 04:25:01 UTC 3 years ago
Ha, me too! ^-^ In the beginning I was also looking into other groups except Arashi, and I always wondered a bit why Arashi was the one group that succeeded in holding my attention, when a group like Kanjani8 (who really had it difficult at the beginning) fit my usual profile of "rooting for the underdog fighting their way up" so much better than Arashi seemed to - but the thing with Arashi is that, in their own way, they also have certain "underdog" characteristics and I think they can be attributed to the fact that they didn't have it quite as easy at the beginning as one might think.
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February 6 2009, 04:03:05 UTC 3 years ago
*flails endlessly*
It made me want to watch every clip of him and Arashi prior to getting the Domyouji role which includes La Familia *tears*.
This is such a great article. Thank you dear for writing the summary.
Loves <333
Oh.. and that ohno-like-boy you are tutoring.. omg!cute!
February 6 2009, 04:55:23 UTC 3 years ago
It's my pleasure. ♥♥♥
He has a chubby face! And a cute smile! 'cept he's only 14 wryyy.
February 6 2009, 04:04:54 UTC 3 years ago
He was really quite a rebellious brat at that period and the whole slight-conflict with Sho and Nino happened. Kind of glad he got to channel it all out as Domyouji and hime is less bitchy (except on certain times of the month when he is pms-ing).
I think this article is one that is definitely worth a translation. Even just the summary is full of love.
February 6 2009, 04:09:02 UTC 3 years ago
Sorry for butting in but do tell? I'm a relatively new fan so I'm pretty clueless about their earlier years.
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February 6 2009, 04:06:34 UTC 3 years ago
And Ohmiya love! XD *biased*
February 6 2009, 08:00:07 UTC 3 years ago
OHMIYA LOVE /o/
February 6 2009, 04:13:49 UTC 3 years ago
...Of course that could also be because it's five in the morning and I still haven't gone to bed and I have to (theoretically) get up again in two hours...^^" But anyway, thank you for the sum-up, this is absolutely interesting! ^___^
Especially (of course) the thing with Jun - for me mostly, I think, because while it was easily visible in older shows that he wasn't happy with stuff I'm still slightly surprised that it got so bad that the others had to apologize for him. O_O
Isn't it funny how three people in Arashi wanted to quit initially, but it's actually one of the remaining two who ended up feeling most restricted by the group? It somehow amuses me a bit. ;P
Also, yes! The group functions so well because they're all different and all have their projects outside of the group, but personalities that different would also be in danger of clashing more often, if they didn't have something to buffer the results of their different personalities, and I really think that Ohno provides that kind of buffer, just by being so gentle and soothing. ^-^
Also: There are lines for talkshows? O_o I mean I knew about cue cards and that introductions and stuff were written down, but how do you write lines for an actual talk with another person without turning it into a very conducted interview?
February 6 2009, 06:10:43 UTC 3 years ago
surprised that it got so bad that the others had to apologize for him
I am, too! They hid that pretty well from the fans, I think. I mean, we saw flashes of that during things like the MMA rowing episodes (and that was in...2004? 2005?) so it's really just the depth that is surprising. Of course, I don't watch a lot of their older stuff just because I hate seeing how alone they were at times, struggling to become the people and the group they are today.
but it's actually one of the remaining two who ended up feeling most restricted by the group
I'm actually entirely not surprised by this. Because the others didn't want it--or didn't want it AS MUCH--their lack of popularity and opportunity probably didn't hit as hard. And, unlike Ohno and Nino, Johnny's was something that Jun chose for himself, so failing in it in any way probably really stung. Adding in the fact that Nino and Aiba went home on the same trains all the time, Nino got close to Sho (whom Jun admired a lot), and Nino and Ohno getting along so well, Jun really would have felt isolated.
Still...I don't know that it was the group that was 'narrow' to him--just the situation. I don't think their shows were the sort of thing he wanted, the concert costumes were not the sort of thing ANYBODY wants, and he wasn't getting the sort of spotlight that he wanted (for himself or for the group).
RE: Talk show lines. A lot of stuff on American talk shows is pretty scripted. There's a list of stuff the guest wants to talk about (or will talk about, or stories to bring up) and some stuff they won't--which shows like Shukudai and Utaban obviously have--but for American talk shows a LOT of the questions are written out, and written in a series. For some shows, they even know the basic response they're going to get. The art of the American host is to make it all seem really natural and, of course, they don't know word-for-word how the guest will respond, so they do a little improv.
But I have to say, I love Shukudai because it does something American television doesn't every really do--it lets the hosts just mess around with the guests. There are times when it really feels like they're just playing around together, just hanging out. They play with food, come up with stupid games, and do dumb skits.
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February 6 2009, 04:19:41 UTC 3 years ago
thanks for translating..
for me the more i read about them ,the more i fall in love with them...<3
thank you again...!!!
February 6 2009, 08:17:27 UTC 3 years ago
February 6 2009, 04:20:00 UTC 3 years ago
ilusm
Oh man I was waiting for scans of this magazine to come out, but this is better. Thank you so much for sharing... ♥ the translations just made me want to cry. These boys are just so genuine and amazing, it's sad to hear when people say they don't like them. I've honestly never came close to liking a band as much as I love Arashi.I also think it's amazing that they stuck together for so long despite not knowing each other very well... that's probably why Arashigoto is still selling too (speaking of which, makes me want to search out those translations again).
Jun admitted that he was frustrated, frustrated that he was limited within the group, so he became uncooperative and refused to listen to anyone.
I never knew about that before, that's so interesting. And now he's like Mr. Manners. lol.
He said that Arashi is living proof that it's possible to make it big in this industry by just being natural, by being yourself.
*THUMBS UP* It's so true! ♥
February 6 2009, 08:19:01 UTC 3 years ago
Re: ilusm
♥♥♥ Are there people who say they don't like them? D:Yes. Those 10,000 word interviews are just lovely to read over and over again. They're touching and at the same time, so very inspiring. It makes them seem like such normal people too, struggling hard like the rest of us.
Hahaha, yes. Ogu-san thinks so highly of him too. XD
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February 6 2009, 04:24:01 UTC 3 years ago
Thank you very much for this summary...
I'm dying to read all~~
I hope someone can post to us too \o/~~
February 6 2009, 08:19:36 UTC 3 years ago
February 6 2009, 04:25:23 UTC 3 years ago
You gotta just love this group.
February 6 2009, 08:20:00 UTC 3 years ago
February 6 2009, 04:30:43 UTC 3 years ago
It's the way they look after each other that is very appealing.
Amazing how they also put Ohno as one of the top reasons. They're more like a family, if I may say so.
And ARASHI is SOO not a SMAP copy. SO NOT.
I think they do get that 'middle-child syndrome', being caught between two 'generations'. I'm glad they used it to their advantage.
Being 'natural'. *guffaws* Yeaaaahhhh...superfly!
February 6 2009, 04:44:15 UTC 3 years ago
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February 6 2009, 08:26:49 UTC 3 years ago
Tonight! And I really mean it this time. orz
Anonymous
February 6 2009, 04:47:52 UTC 3 years ago
HAMBURGER! ♥
Thanks for translating, Aki-san :D. Now I wonder where can I get this magazine.. hmmm..
February 6 2009, 04:48:53 UTC 3 years ago
Too excited to comment, lol.
February 6 2009, 08:27:36 UTC 3 years ago
It doesn't look like Kino has it, but then I haven't gone down to check. You can order it on Japanese Amazon though! :D
February 6 2009, 04:54:17 UTC 3 years ago
I think Arashi really shows that being yourself is not all that bad, and probably, in this kind of generation we're in; where status and fame means that you have to be cool and..well.. FREAKING COOL, NO FLAWS, PEOPLE!!to the point that it's almost synthetic ...this is just what we need<3
Oh, and good luck for your interview<33
All the best! :D
February 6 2009, 08:35:37 UTC 3 years ago Edited: February 6 2009, 08:37:33 UTC
*nodnodnod* That really is something we easily forget. Plus one other thing I love about Japanese celebrities - most of them are totally okay with laughing at themselves.
Thank you, dear. ♥
February 6 2009, 05:14:08 UTC 3 years ago
who ever wrote this article, deserve a BIG hug *shower you with cookies and flowers*
I crazy in love with their older show, Mago Mago
and I'm having happy thoughts they somehow one of the reason they becoming so big now is because of all the well wishes from those grandpas and grandmas
what goes around comes around
They behave very well and give good impression
No wonder they finally making it this huge
I'll love them forever !! XD
February 6 2009, 10:51:11 UTC 3 years ago
*nodnod* Good karma, that's what they've got. They were struggling, but they never showed it, and it seemed like they really genuinely loved the grandpas and grandmas they worked with. Oh Arashi. ♥
You know, I think I may join you and love them forever too, which is rare for me given my short attention span. T^T
February 6 2009, 05:28:57 UTC 3 years ago
Thank you very much for this.
February 6 2009, 10:51:42 UTC 3 years ago
You're very welcome. ♥
February 6 2009, 05:59:59 UTC 3 years ago
It pretty much reinforces even more my love for this group. ^_^
February 6 2009, 10:52:39 UTC 3 years ago
February 6 2009, 06:07:54 UTC 3 years ago
I'm so glad you thought to share!
February 6 2009, 10:53:07 UTC 3 years ago
February 6 2009, 06:14:05 UTC 3 years ago
I heard about article and hope someone translate it and you did it. so happy!!
I think arashi no same smap, they have their way, arashi way <--I think
Arashi is good relationship in their group that i impress it very much ^^
February 6 2009, 10:58:35 UTC 3 years ago
They definitely have their own way right now, but watching their earlier shows, it looked like they were confused and not sure of what to be, so it's not too hard to imagine fans (especially in a period where SMAP's wave was still huge) thinking Arashi was a copy of SMAP.
*nodnodnod* So true, so true.
February 6 2009, 06:15:22 UTC 3 years ago
Good luck with your interview! You are awesome and they are morons if they don't look at you and go 'omg, it is Akiko! let's hire her right now! and give her lots of money!
and send her to an Arashi concert where Ohmiya make out again!and awesome benefits!' Am I biased? I think not.February 6 2009, 13:46:08 UTC 3 years ago
"I want to get closer to all of our fans if possible
I want let them know that we are not changing and make them relieved
If possible I want to bring some sweets and visit their houses one by one saying "Thank you so much"(Laugh)")
Thank yoooou. ... omg that would be the most awesome company ever. Have I ever told you that I briefly had a strange moment where I considered working as a staff assistant for JE? |D;;
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