[JWeb] "Untitled", Unit Number Talk

[barbosa2007]

How's everyone doing? Seeing that Arashi released their newest album, Untitled, today, I thought I'd bring you their Unit Number Talk where they discuss the unit songs in this album. Read on to find out which unit went for the sexy adult vibe and which one wants to take down Ohmiya SK!



( We're taking down Ohmiya SK! )

[2017.12] MORE - The five people who resemble each other

[barbosa2007]

Here I am, back again with Nino's December 2017 MORE interview. He talked about how it was like on the Last Recipe set and how the Arashi members view the future.

Together with Jun's recent Vivit interview and Ohno's Iza Now article from back then, it brought back a lot of OT5 feelings.

( "The guys in Arashi have a strong sense of duty!" )

Black Pean Cast Interview - Ninomiya Kazunari

[barbosa2007]

It has been an explosive start for Nino's new drama, Black Pean. I can't wait to watch this brilliant and arrogant surgeon take down the people around him. Be warned, Nino's character, Tokai Seishiro, isn't a nice guy. I'll be posting the cast interviews from TBS's Black Pean drama site.




( Tokai is a rather unpleasant fellow. )

[Spoiler alert] Black Pean Episode 1 Recap (1/2)

[barbosa2007]

Episode 1 of Black Pean was such a rollercoaster ride, here's a recap of the episode's highlights if you watched the raw video and want to know what's going on. My apologies if I didn't get the medical terms right. Please let me know if there's anything I should correct.


Bon Appétit!

( That's what happens when you give a scapel to someone who doesn't use his brain. )

[Spoiler alert] Black Pean Episode 1 Recap (2/2)

[barbosa2007]

The previous post was getting too massive so I've split the recap into 2 parts. Enjoy!


Hope you guys didn't lose your appetite for dinner.

( "A demon. That's what he is." )

[Spoiler alert] Black Pean ad-libs by Nino (episode 1 - 8)

[barbosa2007]

It pleases me that Nino is having the time of his life portraying Tokai. He's so spontaneous with this character and loves surprising his cast members with unexpected lines.

Check out the following excerpts for Nino's ad-libs in episodes 1 to 4!



( Surely, I'm a nasty person... )

[poll] Arashi Concert Meeting Unofficial Poll

[barbosa2007]

In light of Arashi's invitation to fans to participate in their 20th Anniversary Concert Tour Planning Meeting, I created an unofficial poll for fans who weren't in the fan club to submit their responses.



Here are the responses from the 290 participants!

( On to the results! )

( Episodes under the cut! )

[Pinky Jan 2010] Yamashita Tomohisa and Ikuta Toma interview

[barbosa2007]

Watching the 8ji Da J SP made me feel nostalgic so I dug up this old Yamapi and Toma interview that I translated back in 2010. Enjoy!



They’re childhood friends, buddies, workmates and confidantes.

( Yamashita's mother trusts me immensely. )

[Lyrics] BRAVE

[barbosa2007]

I'm usually not a huge fan of Arashi's sporting event theme song releases, but BRAVE has an incredible hook from the get-go and I highly recommend that you watch the performance ASAP!!!




That being said, the lyrics are befitting of a sports athem. I've translated it here.

( Comrade, we're ready to go )

Arashi’s Press Conference Gets 100 Points: The Reasons Are?

[barbosa2007]

Hi, friends! I know the past few days have been difficult with the announcement of Arashi's hiatus. I just wanted to say that you are not alone in your sadness. I'll be translating celebrity tributes and reactions to Arashi's hiatus on my Twitter. I am definitely an Arashi fan, come 1 January 2021.

Here's an article from a public relations professional who analyzed the press conference announcing Arashi's hiatus. It's an interesting read!

Arashi’s Press Conference Gets 100 Points: The Reasons Are?

Kubota Masaki, ITmedia

The members of Arashi at a press conference announcing their hiatus on 27 Jan 2019.

( It speaks of Arashi's wonderful teamwork. )

[Lyrics] Kimi no Uta

[barbosa2007]

Ever since Arashi mentioned that "Kimi no Uta" was the song they most wanted to convey to their fans before the hiatus, I started to look a little closer at the lyrics.



( Your warmth taught me how to be strong )

[2009.6.20] Otonoha Vol 35: Halfway up the mountain

[barbosa2007]

Back with more Otonoha! Sho talks about Jun's drama, Smile, in this entry.

( I cried a ton of tears. )

KOKURITSU PHOTO BOOK CROSS TALK - 2009: 5X10 ANNIVERSARY TOUR (3/4)

[barbosa2007]

This was an old project which I started back in 2014 when the Kokuritsu Photo Book was first published. This post picks up on the Arashi cross-talk discussing the 5x10 Anniversary concert, heavily featuring the see-through outfits.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

( We thought we were cool, you know? )

Kokuritsu Photo Book Cross Talk - 2009: 5x10 Anniversary Tour (4/5)

[barbosa2007]

This whole segment is dedicated to the SS Walk, which is Sho's version of the MJ Walk. Guess how Sho pulled it off?



Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

( Surprisingly, the SS Walk isn't that well known. )

[FC pamphlet Vol. 89] Arashi members talk about their favorite solos

[barbosa2007]

This translation was longer than I had expected so I decided to post it here on LJ as well. It's taken from the FC pamphlet, 20th anniversary issue. Enjoy!



( Sho-chan still does the Disco Star run for me. )

[Lyrics] Song For You

[barbosa2007]

I had the opportunity to rewatch Untitled on Youtube and once again, I'm struck by the beauty of "Song For You", a song Arashi dedicated to their fans.



( We'll show you the dreams we've painted on the open sea )

[ARASHI's Diary - Voyage] Episode 2 review

[barbosa2007]

SPOILER ALERT.



As with episode 1, this week's release has given me much to observe and think about. I'm sure there are fans out there who would love to chat about this episode without spoiling the rest who haven't seen it, so feel free to do it here.

Read on for more screencaps and commentary!

( Shall we try harder? )

[Otonoha Vol. 198] Stay At Home

[barbosa2007]

Hi friends! It's been a long time since I posted here, as I'm now mostly active on Twitter. If you don't have a Twitter account but would like to keep up with my translations, just visit my Twitter page using your web browser! I'll only cross post the longer translations here. Variety show commentary and mini-translations are mostly limited to Twitter only.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Arashi has made attempts to engage the fans while they're staying at home. Sho's latest Otonoha post chronicles his days of staying at home as an idol and newscaster.

Hello.

It’s me.

( How is everyone doing? )

[Sports Hochi] TOKIO members talk about their new company and Nagase's departure

[barbosa2007]

On 22 July, Johnny & Associates announced that TOKIO’s Nagase Tomoya would leave the group and the agency at the end of March 2021. In his letter to members of the fan club, Nagase wrote, “After showbiz, I want to head towards my next place.” According to J&A, Nagase will be working as a creator behind the scenes after his departure. The remaining 3 members, Joshima Shigeru, Kokubun Taichi and Matsuoka Masahiro will establish the J&A subsidiary, TOKIO Co., Ltd.



( Will Joshima give out extra bonuses as President? )

In The Garage: Arashi Talks About Nino [Iza Now Concert Pamphlet 2004]

[barbosa2007]

Consider my Nino birthday post! It counts because it's still June, right?

The members of Arashi talk about their impressions of Nino in 2004.



( He’s someone who really likes being by himself, but I think he likes being with others even more. )

[Fan Blog] The Matsujun Treatment

[barbosa2007]

The hashtag, #松潤扱い (The Matsujun Treatment) was trending on Twitter Japan earlier today because of a humorous anonymous blog post written by an Arashian. I translated her post below for your reading pleasure.

I Tried Giving My Husband The Matsujun Treatment

Allow me to say this; my husband does not look like Matsujun.

If I had to categorize all of humanity into the 5 Arashi member types, my husband would go into the Matsujun category. That’s simply it. Long eyelashes, full lips, a well defined nose. I forcibly lumped all those common traits together and tried telling him repeatedly, “You look like Matsujun”.

( The Matsujun buds were sprouting! )

[FC message] Arafes, new album, and more!

[barbosa2007]

Arashi announced a bunch of very exciting news on their birthday today! Check out the details in the translation of the Fan Club message below.



Arashi: This is Arashi!

Sho: Well, today! Today... what day is it?

Ohno: Today? Well today is the day when Arashi was formed!

( It's been our routine lately, information overload. )

Some updates for you LJ-only folks

[barbosa2007]

Hi folks! Hope you all are doing fine despite the many things going on in the world right now. I've been mostly active on Twitter and posting less on LJ, so I thought I would update all you LJ-only folks on where you can find my translations or engage in some Arashi discussions.



T101 Twitter: https://twitter.com/transitions0101

You can follow me on Twitter to catch my live translations/recaps of Arashi's shows, usually as they happen in real time. I do tweet about other Japanese shows such as TOKIO Kakeru, or Sato Takeru's YouTube channel and the like. Public Twitter accounts are viewable on your web browser, so if you don't feel like following or setting up a Twitter account, just bookmark it and read the posts at your convenience.

Arashians Discord: https://discord.gg/ZThwFRc

Arashians Discord is basically a forum/server for Arashians to hang out and have fun. It reminds me of LJ in the old days, except that information flows at 10 times the speed of LJ and they have fancy Arashi emojis that you can use in your chat. It takes a while to get used to, but the people there are really nice and there's a little something for everybody. There's also a Voyage channel to discuss spoilers if you don't want to broadcast your thoughts on the show to people who haven't seen it.

And... that's about it, I think?

I don't think I will be actively subbing much these days, though I may consider cross-posting some of my longer Twitter translations over to the LJ comm. If you have any thoughts/comments about that, please do let me know.

Until them, take good care and let's have fun with Arashi all the way till December 31st, 2020.

[WITHNEWS 2020.09.30] A fan letter To Arashi - From my mother in 2013

[barbosa2007]

Withnews published this moving article which depicted a mother's fan letter to Arashi, 7 years after she had passed away. Her son received the letter in his first year of high school, as Arashi celebrated their 21st anniversary.

“Dear Arashi-san,

From, my mother on December 15th, 2013”

On the morning of September 15th, as popular idol group Arashi welcomed their 21st anniversary, Ichito-san, who had just started his first year in high school, received a letter from his father. The sender was Ichito’s mother, who had passed away 7 years ago. It was a fan letter that his mother had written before she died. It got a huge response when Ichito published the letter on Twitter. I sat down with Ichito, who said how meaningful the letter was to him.

( "Today, I brought my son to your concert for the first time." )

[Enjoy Vol. 189] 2020.09

[barbosa2007]

In an unexpected move, Jun saw the fan letter which was addressed to Arashi and wrote a brief but sweet reply through his JWeb blog.

I've translated the excerpt below.



( You all are the wind beneath our wings. )

[Otonoha Vol 195] Year 2020!!

[barbosa2007]

For some strange reason, I had this completed translation sitting on my phone, I thought I had posted it, but apparently I didn't!? So here you are, almost a year late, Sho's JWeb post on how he spent the New Year.



( "I forgot to bring small change for the money offering." )

[Otonoha Vol. 204] From Beyond One Dream To Another

[barbosa2007]

As Arashi holds their 2020 National Stadium concert without a live audience for the first time, Sho pens down his thoughts regarding the upcoming Arafes and Arashi's first concert at Kokuritsu.



( There is a scene which is unforgettable to me. )

[2021.1.1] A Precious Tasuki We Received From The People Of Japan

[barbosa2007]

VSA producer Kan Tsuyoshi posted a moving tribute to Arashi on his LINE blog. I've translated the entry here.

( Arashi has safely completed the race. )

[2020.11.12] FC message about This is Arashi

[barbosa2007]

Here's a translation that I did on Twitter a few months back when Arashi announced the "This is Arashi" concert. I'm so glad and relieved that they managed to pull off this concert without any major incident and enter the hiatus on such a high note.



( Ohno-san, do you know the date? )

[VS DAMASHII] New members and comments

[barbosa2007]

VS DAMASHII, Aiba's new show which succeeds VS ARASHI, revealed its regular cast in its first episode today!



The star studded cast includes vice captain Kazama Shunsuke, Johnny's WEST's Fujii Ryusei, Sexy Zone's Sato Shori, King & Prince's Kishi Yuta and Bishonen's Ukisho Hidaka. Kazama, who was unfortunately diagnosed with COVID-19 in December, was absent from the filming and joined via telephone call.

Check out the members' comments below!

( It's a dream that I get to work with Aiba-chan on a regular show. )

[Josei Jishin 2021.01.05] Arashi's Battle in their last week

[barbosa2007]

Josei Joshin spoke to some TV staff to understand Arashi's battle in their last week in the lead up to the hiatus.

Arashi's Battle in their last week

Jun was spotted exiting his gym on 25 Dec. Arashi had just wrapped up the final episode of VSA the day before. On Christmas afternoon, Arashi members gathered for a meeting and rehearsal for Music Station, which ended at around 11pm.

A TV station staff said they had nothing but admiration for Arashi's last week. "They prepared for their New Year Eve Live while appearing on different TV stations, so their schedules must have been crazy. While they must have wanted their fans to enjoy their shows, the TV staff also felt Arashi's devotion and were sincerely moved, because Arashi carefully spoke of their gratitude and memories for each station."

An NTV staff also shared what happened during the filming of the last episode for Arashi ni Shiyagare.

"When the cameras weren't rolling, the 5 members didn't stop smiling. After the broadcast ended, they gave high-fives to all the staff through acrylic panels. Some staff members were also in tears. The staff applauded them as Arashi left the studio."

A NHK staff keenly felt Arashi's passion as he took part in the meeting discussions for Kouhaku. "I heard that Matsumoto-san personally requested to have a virtual meeting with the Kouhaku production staff. Artistes themselves rarely participate in these meetings. While Arashi sang 3 songs, the staff whom he met with for each song was different. A certain team had a different opinion from Matsumoto-san, and apparently had a tense discussion for close to an hour. Matsumoto-san said, 'I don't want a half-assed attempt at it, and I don't want any compromises. We want to finish this in a stoic and professional manner.'"

[Otonoha Vol 71] A Little Surprise

[barbosa2007]

Sho recounts a little surprise that the Arashi members prepared for him during Best Artist 2010.



( It was simply a display of shame. )

[2021.01.25] FC Birthday messages for Sakurai Sho

[barbosa2007]

Just when I thought I wouldn't have anything to post for Sho's birthday, each Arashi member sent a birthday message to Sho! There's even a bonus mention of Ohno as well, though he didn't appear in the video.



We also got a message from the birthday boy himself, read on for more details!

( I feel Aiba-kun every day. )

[2021.01.14] Kan's Diary, Part 1

[barbosa2007]

VSA Producer Kan Tsuyoshi reminisces about VS Arashi and shares his thoughts about appearing in the Netflix documentary, Voyage.



( That's why I have titled this post, "Kan's Diary". )

[2021.01.28] Kan's Diary, Part 2

[barbosa2007]

VS Arashi producer Kan Tsuyoshi wrote another blog post about his memories of Arashi!

( Leader didn't leave an impression on us at all. )

[Enjoy Vol 194] Long Time No See!

[barbosa2007]

We actually heard from Jun! Besides that short appearance in Sho's birthday message and the NHK Taiga drama announcement, of course.

Here's the translation of Jun's latest Jweb blog post, Enjoy.




( I'm sleeping a ton! )

[2020.12] FC Video on ARAFES 2020 Reflections - Part 1

[barbosa2007]

In late December, Arashi posted an FC video where they reflected on the different aspects of ARAFES 2020!

The translation is 13 pages long on my Word document so far so I'll be splitting the translation in a series of posts.

In Part 1, the members discuss the song rankings based on the fans' votes and their thoughts on dancing to Love Situation.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

( You're still living in Arafes, right? )

[2020.12] FC Video on ARAFES 2020 Reflections - Part 2

[barbosa2007]

In late December, Arashi posted an FC video where they reflected on the different aspects of ARAFES 2020!

Here's Part 2 of the series! The members discuss the Greetings Shuffle and their thoughts on Jun's solo, Shake It!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3



( So you do know what it’s like to stop a conversation for one and a half seconds! )

[2021.02.07] Jun's comment on Massu's JWeb corner

[barbosa2007]

It makes me happy to see my fandoms collide!

NEWS' Masuda celebrated the 5-year anniversary of his corner on JWeb, and Arashi's Matsumoto Jun sent in a question for the occasion.

( Which Johnny’s senpai does Masuda Takahisa find the hardest to deal with? )

[MORE 2009.01] Beginnings

[barbosa2007]

For his first article in MORE's IT series, Nino talks about his views on acting and directing, relationships and time.

( Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. )

[This is Arashi concert pamphlet 2021] Round-table excerpts

[barbosa2007]

Hi everyone! It's been a looong while, hasn't it? I missed reading about our famous 5 and asked

Someone suggested that I translate the "This is Arashi" pamphlet round-table, so here it is! I'm sorry that I only translated the excerpts as I don't have the stamina to plough through full translations these days.



( We'll leave our see-through outfits behind?? )

[2021.02.15] Otonoha Vol 208 - Birthday Thank Yous

[barbosa2007]

I'm back with another Otonoha translation! Sho reveals more details about the messages and presents he received for his birthday.

( Of course I'd fall for him! )

[2021.11.26] FC video - Post "Record of Memories" Stage Greeting

[barbosa2007]

Arashi filmed a backstage segment on November 3rd, after their surprise appearance at the 5x20 Film screening. The video was posted to the FC site to commemorate the nationwide release of "Record of Memories". Not gonna lie, I think I teared up a bit when I heard Ohno's voice.



( This is Matsumoto. Call me back! )

[Lyrics] Time View by Naniwa Danshi

[barbosa2007]

In case you haven't already seen me tweeting about them, Naniwa Danshi is the latest group to debut from J&A! Here's a translation of "Time View", which is a song written by one of their members, Michieda Shunsuke. You can listen to the song on YouTube here or watch the performance on Bilibili here.

The melody was composed by Kawaguchi Susumu, who has writing credits on Arashi's "Starlight Kiss", "Hit the floor" and "Sounds of Joy".

( The multitude of lights that we can see from here, took our breath away and made us tear )

[2022.01.08] Ride On Time - Naniwa Danshi

[barbosa2007]

The Naniwa Danshi members have a frank discussion about their future.



( What do you want Naniwa Danshi to be? )

[Myojo 2022.02] Sexy Zone's 10th Anniversary One-On-One - Part 1

[barbosa2007]

Myojo magazine celebrated Sexy Zone's 10th Anniversary and each Sexy Zone member could invite a special guest with which they'll hold a one-on-one dialogue. For his guest, Fuma chose Nino. Enjoy their witty banter below!




( I'm curious why you chose me for Jyanino Channel. )