Arashi - Here, There and Everywhere (1/2) [Cut, Jan 2010]

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

This is an old interview from 2010 which I never got round to finishing... until now. The people at CUT magazine sat down with Arashi as they looked back on their 10th year anniversary. Read on as Sho rants about Ohmiya's dressing room antics, Ohno's anxiety whilst being away from the others and much more.

The people of the year 2009 were the five members of Arashi. 

No matter whose perspective you assume, you couldn’t very well say that it was an overstatement. There isn’t a single day where you wouldn’t see the members of Arashi on any type of media; be it television, commercials or magazines. Their record-breaking singles, albums and DVDs came out tops in the charts. Moreover, they held a consecutive three-day concert at the Kokuritsu Stadium (a privilege which is only granted to one group each year), collaborated with Nihon TV on the Arashi Challenge Week and teamed up with Tokyo Disney Sea for an event. No one could have imagined the phenomenal news that would continue to hit them.  

Eleven years after their debut, they made their first appearance in Kohaku. Although we wonder if Arashi is able to press on with their current vigour, it is worth noting that the group’s gentle atmosphere and its sincere attitude towards their work doesn’t change one bit. What did change were the circumstances surrounding the group. In order for their unique sentimentality and camaraderie to be unobtrusive, they needed to be savvy idols. It is precisely because of their empathy that they are able to reach out to a large number of people without placing more demands on their time. In the span of the past ten years, Arashi has steadily gained supporters who have begun to see their good qualities, and they’ve become an icon of our generation, using methods which cannot be mimicked by others. Although it’s rare that a group comprising of such natural personalities would be favoured the way it is, surely this is what is required in the turbulent times of the 21st century. 

Without accepting the way things are at the moment, they’ll be showing us what lies even further ahead.  We asked the members of Arashi what the year of 2009 has meant to them. 

CUT: Introducing Arashi, the faces gracing our “Men of the Year” special issue!

Arashi members: Thank you very much!

CUT: When the list of performers for Kohaku was announced, there were many people who said that Arashi was unbelievably active this year. 

Jun: On the contrary, I wonder what we’ve been like up till now… (laughs)

Sho: We were regularly active! (laughs)

Nino: Were we operating as per normal? We did work quite a fair bit. (laughs)

Aiba: Hahahaha. 

CUT: That being said, we would like all of you to recap the various things which you have done in the year of 2009. Firstly, what kind of year was 2009 to all of you? 

Sho: At the start of the year, it didn’t feel like the year had begun. 

Nino: Our first single of the year was “Believe”, right?

Jun: “Believe” came out in March, yes? 

Ohno: It felt like “Believe” was released last year. 

Jun: That’s right. We had activity after activity, our schedule was just packed. 

CUT: It was a big thing for you guys that you were able to stage a three-day concert in the Kokuritsu stadium, which was a historical first. What has Kokuritsu left in each one of your hearts?

Jun: It probably was a historical first for us that we were able to hold our concert for three days in a row at the Kokuritsu. However, more than that, the very fact that we were able to hold our concerts there for two consecutive years registered deeply within us. Furthermore, it had been a long while since we last came together for a live performance. For us, that is.

Sho: That’s true. 

Jun: I had the impression that in the first half of the year, we were all busy with our solo activities. When we entered into the second half of the year, we had the mentality that we were making a fresh start, given that we’ve finally come to our 10th year anniversary. I really identified with that a lot at the Kokuritsu. 

CUT: How about you, Ohno-san?

Ohno: Personally, I didn’t remember much of Kokuritsu in 2008. 

Nino: You say that a lot. 

Jun: (laughs) What do you mean by that?

Ohno: I was extremely busy! (chuckles)

Sho: You were also filming the drama “Maou” then, right?

Ohno: That’s right. However it’s our 10th year anniversary this year, and I don’t think another opportunity like this will come by again where we get to hold our concerts in Kokuritsu for two consecutive years. Therefore, I made it a point to remember this concert.

Jun: And then, when you put your heart and soul into it, you ended up crying on the first day. (laughs)

Ohno: Hmmm. I have no idea how that happened! (laughs)

CUT: Did any of the other four members notice something different about Ohno-san’s enthusiasm?

Jun: I absolutely did not feel any difference at all. (laughs)

Aiba: I felt that it was Ohno Satoshi being his usual self. (laughs)

Sho: He was noisy before the actual show! (laughs) On the last day of the concert, the weather forecast said that it would rain. Whilst it was possible to see the stadium from our dressing room, when we drew back the curtains the fans were already there. Matsujun went outside, Aiba-kun slept in another room and I inadvertently fell asleep on the sofa. However, when I did that Nino and Satoshi-kun did a short skit where one of them played a celebrity who wanted to open the curtains no matter what, whilst the other acted as the manager who was trying to hold him back. They kept doing it! I couldn’t sleep at all! (laughs)

Jun: Hahahaha. 

CUT: Was there any difference between the moving emotions you experienced in 2008 and 2009?

Aiba: This time, we appeared from above, right? (The members made a flying appearance above the stage) It’s only from the sky that you could see the entire stadium. That was a first for us, so the moment we went on stage I was so touched. 

Sho: That was the highlight of the entire show (for you), right?

Aiba: Yeah. It was outdoors and bright, and the stadium was packed with people.

Nino: We could see everyone’s faces, so that made all the difference. 

Jun: That’s because if the concert was held indoors, the first thing that floods your field of vision are the penlights. Moreover, people came to the concert for various reasons, but I felt that the audience didn’t come just to enjoy the concert, there’s this added feeling that it’s our 10th year anniversary and a brand new start for us. I strongly felt the warmth that the audience exuded from the opening of the concert right up till the end. 

CUT: The way you congratulated each other made this concert feel like a wedding, isn’t it?

Jun: I get what you mean. That’s it!

Sho: You could say that both the performers and audience had the same motivation to make a fresh start; there was this wondrous feeling of “Ah, right here and now, we feel the exact same way.”

Jun: We’re also touring the Domes right now, but the 10th anniversary tour was definitely the big thing for all of us. We felt that we wanted to create something which the audience could see as they reflected back on their memories for the past ten years. 

CUT: As the viewers watched you from their living rooms, you appeared for a total of 50 hours on Nihon TV during the Arashi Challenge week, collaborated with Tokyo Disney Sea, acted in a drama SP, Saigo no Yakusoku, which will air in the coming year. The viewers felt, “Arashi is doing some amazing things.” What kind of feelings do you hold towards all that has happened?

Sho: It’s hard to talk about all these things together at the same time, but with regards to the Challenge Week, it was a big deal that Nihon TV decided to celebrate our 10th year anniversary by allowing us to appear on its top-ranking shows, something that has never been done before. On the other hand, it was good to for a group like ours to have been through ten years together and to be thought of in that manner. With regards to Disney Sea, I would like for many people to say, “Arashi really suits stuff like that.” So when Disney Sea works with other groups, people would go, “Oh, it has an Arashi feel to it.”

Nino: Oh, really?

Sho: Therefore, people might happen to address us during various chance encounters; as with things like the “Challenge Week”, rather than having this huge idea where “we want to attempt something new!” Every single assignment had a slightly different nuance to it. They just happened to come at the same time.

Nino: That’s right. It feels different from attempting something new.

Aiba: But I was really surprised when I heard that Arashi was going to appear in the NTV popular primetime programs for a week. I thought, “Can such a thing even happen?”

Sho: It must have been days of pure agony for the people who disliked Arashi. (laughs)

Ohno: Hahahahaha.

Aiba: (laughs) They wouldn’t switch to the Nippon TV channel at all. 

Nino: They would go, “There they are on TV again~” (laughs)

Jun: “Enough of them already!” they’d say. (laughs)

CUT: (laughs) This being your 10th year anniversary, I would think that people would have strongly wanted the five of you to be together. Once again, are there any thoughts which you feel about Arashi?

Nino: But you know, we said the same thing last year. “Since many people came to know about us this year, it was a year where the 5 of us were together.”

CUT: Well, you’ve been saying, “Many people came to know about us,” since the year 2006. 

Sho: That’s true. 

Nino: Yeah. Since we say the same thing each year, we haven’t changed our stance of carrying out each assignment which lies before us. Furthermore, in the first place, Arashi is made up by the 5 of us, so we don’t pay special attention when the 5 of us come together, I think.

Sho: This is slightly off topic, but one of the things which I’m glad about touring this year was that we got to go for dinner together. We’ve been able to do that so far, but it feels somewhat different when the 5 of us come together for a drink. 

Nino: Everyone’s somewhat grown-up at the beginning. (laughs) We’d go, “What a great concert it was…”

Sho: (laughs) That’s right. Normally, we could hardly make it to dinner together. That’s why the times which the 5 of us spend drinking together… it’s not a big deal, but somehow it felt special. To me, that is. But there were many instances during this year where I felt, “Ah, this bunch of guys is great.”

Jun: It gives you a sense of peace, somehow.

CUT: Does it feel like it’s a place where you are free to be yourself?

Jun: I feel more like that when I’m at home. 

The other four: Ahahahaha!

CUT: (laughs) Is that so?

Jun: (laughs) I do feel that “Wow, it has been 10 years.” I think it’s an amazing thing to be together for 10 years, on the other hand, I also feel that we’ve been given the privilege to stay together for 10 years. It’s precisely because the tour had the theme of gratitude, when we went for a meal together after the concert, even [the meal] had a warmth to it. It’s not the lingering euphoria of the concert, but that happens amongst us too, right?

Sho: Therefore, rather than paying attention to what happens what the 5 of us are together, I think Nino’s answer makes more sense. But, how do I put this… It’s difficult to explain, though… Explain it for us, Aiba-kun. 

Aiba: Hmm, you see, I think that warm feeling has been around for the looongest time. We get really excited when the 5 of us are drinking together, right? (laughs) I’d think, “This is AWESOME!”

Sho: It’s more of when we’re on the way home, rather than when we’re drinking, right? (laughs)

Aiba: (laughs) Yeah, on the way home. It’s sad when we had to part ways. (laughs) 

Nino: When we drink, we’re very stoic about it. 

Ohno: We drink quite a bit, don’t we? (laughs)

Aiba: (laughs) We don’t get worked up over it, and it feels like it’s a place where we belong. Then at concerts and stuff, when the 5 of us do something as one, that [sense of belonging] feels even stronger. It’s an indescribable sense of security.

Ohno: There is a sense of security, yes? I totally felt [the lack of] it when I appeared on Music Station by myself. [Ohno was referring to the time where he sang the Uta no Oniisan theme song.]

The other four: Hahahaha. 

Ohno: I was lonely! Or rather, I felt anxious. We’ve always gone on the show as five people, so I thought about it all the more.

Sho: Aah, and you were sitting by yourself all the time as well, weren’t you?

Nino: And when your turn came, you had to keep talking, right?

Ohno: I think the other performers would have thought, “What happened? Where are the other 4 members?” 

Sho: I’m sure they wouldn’t think, “Why did this fellow come alone?”! (laughs)

Jun: Ahahahahaha.

Ohno: (laughs) Man, I ended up thinking about lots of things whilst sitting there.

Sho: You were THAT anxious, huh.

Ohno: Yeah. That was strange.

scans: jesychan 



Part 2: Coming soon