Tribute post: Remembering Himitsu no Arashi-chan

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

The End of an Era: Remembering Himitsu no Arashi-chan



In case you haven't heard, Himitsu no Arashi-chan is ending in March 2013, i.e. it's got around 2 months left! I thought it was time for a tribute post of sorts, so I hope this doubles up as a HnA introduction for the newer fans and a reminiscence for the older more experienced ones.

For the fans who were around since 2008, HnA was actually Arashi's first prime time show; it coincided with Arashi's meteoric rise of fame, even as Japanese audiences were on a Hana Yori Dango* high.

T/N: Both HnA and HYD were TBS programs, this explains the tie-ups between the two shows, such as the "Hana Yori Matsujun" Arashi-chan Special.

HnA began as an investigative "social studies" program, where the members uncovered the secrets (himitsu) of different subjects ranging from Disneyland to Instant Noodles. As the producers seemed to run out of interesting social trivia, they then delved into the infamous Ageha Princesses, a corner which was spearheaded by a rather enthusiastic Aiba.

Since then, HnA has undergone several changes, which included...

Aiba and Ohno hunting for hornets…

Jun and Sho doing extremely ordinary things in a super cool manner…

dumping the guys in ice cold water (a JE first, apparently)…

...before finally arriving at the format which exists today.

What are some of your favorite Himitsu no Arashi-chan moments? Share your memories here! The more pictures and gifs rainbows, the better!

Here's mine: I call this "The Difference Between A Model Student and Leader".


Screen caps and gif credits: jharashi, AST, Stormy, yuckie-chan

Comments

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

I get what you mean when you lost interest during the New Half "era", so to speak. My gripe was about the excessive use of VTRs, I wanted to watch Arashi do stuff, not Arashi watching VTRs.

I agree wholeheartedly with you on the point of the show running out of ideas. The mythbuster and Ristorante Botsu corner never really did catch my interest.

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Aiba needs to win a M5 SP! I really do love his fashion sense, but he seems to buckle under pressure when it comes to important occasions.

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Actually I felt that HnA producers carried the Nino Ghostly apparitions thing too far. Nino had severe back problems then, hence he would often sit when off screen. I thought it was unfair of the producers to turn that into a practical joke when it really was a health problem of his.

Otherwise, Doubt Action was not bad. Fun, but got boring after a while. I wish they would bring back Child Minder.

[cugami.livejournal.com]

That's true. While I'm happy for Sho and that still means that Arashi will show up eventually in this new show, I also feel sad that we just lost one show where Arashi are all together. Then again, I suppose they hadn't been showing up as 5 in HnA for over a year now unless it's SP.

I actually really liked the first format as well, when they get to go around and investigate stuff on their own. But I guess as their popularity got bigger, it became harder to send them out to locations without disrupting a crowd o.o or putting them in dangerous situations. That hornet trip was still fun though lol

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Actually, I got tired of most segments when they kept repeating the same thing, with the exception of Childminder Arashi because they didn't do enough of it!

[resha-ueda.livejournal.com]

Its really sad to see it end, the show marked epic moments

[coolohoh]

ah so botsu was the word haha! i was thinking b something... :P

i was thinking - ah i wont be too sad if the program ends then... but sharehouse came, and was interesting and then i remembered mannequin SP...

the myth buster was HORRID! I prefer A no arashi so much more! I wish A no Arashi will get revived someday... even if its just a celebratory one off event. Well they did have quite a few of those experiment special where they asked the professors to predict the results (name too long, can't remember!)... meh maybe cos I'm a science person so i really loved those, even if our dear aibaka is a bit baka sometimes XD

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

(http://s1171.photobucket.com/albums/r541/greytints/?action=view&current=leejinkies0.gif)

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Mario! I didn't think I'd be so excited seeing a bunch of people play Mario on prime time TV. It was nice for a one-off SP.

[resha-ueda.livejournal.com]

And to add, some of my fave eps would be
1. the magcian episode where nino grced us with his skills
2. The ageha episodes
3. Ooshima's victory for a date with matsujun
4. Childminder <3 esp koharu's ep!
5 vip room

[coolohoh]

oh YES i totally forgot the haunted house... yes i loved it too, wateched and rewatched that episode quite a number of times...! Members' over reaction VS Ohno's no reaction... XD

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Aiba agrees!

(http://s1171.photobucket.com/albums/r541/greytints/?action=view&current=botanbutton01.gif)

[detfanny.livejournal.com]

i'm agree with you..
maybe aiba just need to stop overthinking about winning strategy and believe in his own fashion sense..
he IS best jeanist ne~
let's hope aiba win M5 SP with dignity (without cheating).. XD

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

LOL! Koharu was the only childminding session which probably went well and ended on a good note. The rest... not so much. XD

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Actually the Darts Trip and the Asu ni Kakeru Tabi trips were great! Too bad they aren't TBS projects. Oh well, Sho's a workaholic, so I'm sure he's happy about his new show. XD

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Aiba approves. =D

(http://s1171.photobucket.com/albums/r541/greytints/?action=view&current=circuslights01.gif)

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Share House... has its hits and misses. The misses being Sanma and Miyazato Ai, to name a few. It's really dependent on the guest, and I guess that's the risk you have to take when it comes to talk shows like this.

[ulilulelo.livejournal.com]

childminder! whats better than pretty men with kids ? <3
also for m5 and mottedame, urgh need more mottedame.
and, I need more sharehouse, the setting looks so damn cozy
oh, and episode we will never get bored of, hauntedhouse(s) special!
oh and the karaoke sp when they went to ARAOKE.

its sad to face another ending of arashi's show, but on the other hand, I hope they will get more freetime to rest, or better schedule, maybe.

<3

[lady-yu.livejournal.com]

Ah~, it'll be so strange without HnA（ ＴДＴ）, it's just been there forever and I can't exactly imagine the fandom without it.
I loved childminder and the Haunted House SPs - it would have been great if they took them on again (╯︵╰,) .

[coolohoh]

yeah, really dependent on the guest... i can't help but remember Ohno's epic crashing of Sho's room from the unaired episode though XD that was really memorable for me XD

[risa-kim.livejournal.com]

Seeing this post really brings back memories~~ ^^ I was happy when they change the format of ageha series into VIP room.. but then they changed it into VIP limousine and Share House where only a pair of the member showed up.. >__<

My favorite Segment:
1. Ranking Derby (Cuz I can see them in horse costume ^^)
2. Ohno fishing Club (kkk, I really love it when he shows his hobby in their variety shows)
3. Aiba-Sho one day date in Chiba (Totally love this episode!!!)
4. Mannequin Five Special (Cuz I can see Jun lost in most of the SPs, Sho's calculated movement in choosing his clothes, Nino's cheeky way to win, Ohno's free way in choosing his clothes n his weird reasoning in price, and Aiba showy fashion)
5. Share House (I love this better than VIP limousine~~ but it means bye2 to Ohno fishing club)
6. Haunted House SP (Cuz I can see Ohno's expressionless, Sho n Aiba screaming all the way~~~ XD)

Seeing this post and comments, makes me want to re-watch all HnA episodes~~~

[qonyta.livejournal.com]

thanks for the gif :D

and why i forget about mannequin5 SP. it showed members competitiveness and their crazy ideas
they should make the last ep of mannequein5 SP and lets aiba win and oh-chan lose :D

[qonyta.livejournal.com]

YES i watched and rewatched so many times although i couldnt watch it at night had i got scared too :P

[coolohoh]

haha yes and i totally 'forced' my non-arashi fan friend to watch it too. her conclusion was that she likes nino the best out of the lot hahaha XD

[bec2224.livejournal.com]

My favorite ep was this HnA 10 08.6.12 Ageha Aiba - Childminder Ohno&Sho, it wasn't the Ageha part but the very first Childminder with the beautiful little girl falling asleep on Sho and Sho was so adorable. Then the little girl falls asleep and Sho calls for Ohno and he's sleeping too. Loved it, it was great. I'm gonna miss this show. They keep dropping the shows I love :-(

bec