[2022.01.08] Ride On Time - Naniwa Danshi
Mar. 10th, 2022 10:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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transitions101The Naniwa Danshi members have a frank discussion about their future.
Daigo: I don’t know what will happen to us, but what do you want Naniwa Danshi to be? What sort of group should we be? What kind of idols should we be? It could be something personal, what you think Naniwa Danshi should become.
As they discussed Naniwa Danshi’s future, Nishihata started off by talking about the senpai he admires.
Daigo: I grew up (in showbiz) by watching Arashi. To me, the scenery that they had shown me was so monumental and amazing, and I want (Naniwa Danshi) to be a group like that. A group that can be someone’s source of strength, of help, of encouragement, to as many people as possible.
Ryusei: Just because you get to hold a Dome concert, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve become a national idol.
Joichiro: That’s true.
Ryusei: It’s not about our achievements, but having the nation acknowledge us as idols.
Joichiro: That’s so difficult though!
Ryusei: Aren’t our senpai amazing?
Joichiro: I don’t get it! What’s the basis of calling someone a national idol?
Daigo: I don’t know what the basis would be…
Nagao: It would be nice if we could be a group that made other people smile.
Ohashi: That’s true.
Nagao: When Arashi goes to the countryside, even the grannies would say, “Oh, if it ain’t Arashi!” and come closer. They smile just from meeting Arashi. So I think a national idol is someone who can make other people smile with their presence and is known by everyone.
Ohashi: Personally, I think it’s about becoming someone that can inspire others to think, “Tomorrow will be a happy day,” or “I want to live life fully tomorrow,” and take a positive outlook on life, or just feel happy. I think a national idol is someone who can make each and every person happy. And I hope each member of Naniwa Danshi will become a hero in his own right. It could be in different fields or professions, I hope we become idol heroes.
Michieda: I want to stir up excitement about Johnny’s again. There are now many idols besides Johnny’s, and I want people to think that Johnny’s are amazing, and that they’re pioneers of male idols.
Daigo: So you want us to become a group that others will emulate.
Michieda: That’s right.
Staff: How about you, Takahashi?
Kyohei: I just want to make people happy.
Daigo/Ohashi: (bursts out laughing)
Ohashi: (chuckling) That sounds flimsy, but it’s the most important thing!
Kyohei: I want us to be there as people are going through various emotions. It’s not exactly right if we only see the good things.
Ohashi: I get what you mean. We grow precisely because there are people who would get mad at us.
Kyohei: It makes us notice things about ourselves.
Joichiro: Sometimes people would say, “Not Naniwa Danshi again!” These words may hurt, but that means that they’ve actually seen us!
Daigo: It’s a compliment, isn’t it?
Joichiro: We’ve done so many unprecedented things as Juniors, haven’t we? It was the case with Koshien*, and the CM*. Even after our debut, I want us to continue to do something unprecedented. People would be like, “What, they’re doing this too?”
Nagao: For Arashi-san and SMAP-san, well, Arashi-san travelled along Arashi’s path, right? So I don’t want us to just follow their footsteps, but to create a path for Naniwa Danshi and live each and every moment. I don’t know what the future holds, and we don’t know where our potential lies, right? I just want us to expand our potential. I think once we know what our potential is, that’s the end of it. I hope that we’ll always not know where the limits of our potential are.
Ohashi: It’s scary, but it’s exciting as well.
Daigo: I don’t know what shape it will eventually take, but I hope for Naniwa Danshi to become idols that are representative of Japan.
Joichiro: We’ve never spent time like this, have we?
The members murmur their agreement.
Daigo: When we start talking about stuff like this, the staff usually are about to finish packing up! It would be nice if we could remain a group that could talk about stuff like this without feeling awkward about it, even as we grow older.
Joichiro: It just came to me suddenly, but I really want to take a photo to commemorate the occasion.
Daigo: (bursts out laughing) Are you serious!?
Joichiro: I want to capture this moment, of the 7 of us. I want to cherish this photo.
Ryusei: Let’s take it.
Daigo: Oh no, I think I’m about to cry! Hang on a sec! My tear ducts are crazy right now!
Daigo: I don’t know what will happen to us, but what do you want Naniwa Danshi to be? What sort of group should we be? What kind of idols should we be? It could be something personal, what you think Naniwa Danshi should become.
As they discussed Naniwa Danshi’s future, Nishihata started off by talking about the senpai he admires.
Daigo: I grew up (in showbiz) by watching Arashi. To me, the scenery that they had shown me was so monumental and amazing, and I want (Naniwa Danshi) to be a group like that. A group that can be someone’s source of strength, of help, of encouragement, to as many people as possible.
Ryusei: Just because you get to hold a Dome concert, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve become a national idol.
Joichiro: That’s true.
Ryusei: It’s not about our achievements, but having the nation acknowledge us as idols.
Joichiro: That’s so difficult though!
Ryusei: Aren’t our senpai amazing?
Joichiro: I don’t get it! What’s the basis of calling someone a national idol?
Daigo: I don’t know what the basis would be…
Nagao: It would be nice if we could be a group that made other people smile.
Ohashi: That’s true.
Nagao: When Arashi goes to the countryside, even the grannies would say, “Oh, if it ain’t Arashi!” and come closer. They smile just from meeting Arashi. So I think a national idol is someone who can make other people smile with their presence and is known by everyone.
Ohashi: Personally, I think it’s about becoming someone that can inspire others to think, “Tomorrow will be a happy day,” or “I want to live life fully tomorrow,” and take a positive outlook on life, or just feel happy. I think a national idol is someone who can make each and every person happy. And I hope each member of Naniwa Danshi will become a hero in his own right. It could be in different fields or professions, I hope we become idol heroes.
Michieda: I want to stir up excitement about Johnny’s again. There are now many idols besides Johnny’s, and I want people to think that Johnny’s are amazing, and that they’re pioneers of male idols.
Daigo: So you want us to become a group that others will emulate.
Michieda: That’s right.
Staff: How about you, Takahashi?
Kyohei: I just want to make people happy.
Daigo/Ohashi: (bursts out laughing)
Ohashi: (chuckling) That sounds flimsy, but it’s the most important thing!
Kyohei: I want us to be there as people are going through various emotions. It’s not exactly right if we only see the good things.
Ohashi: I get what you mean. We grow precisely because there are people who would get mad at us.
Kyohei: It makes us notice things about ourselves.
Joichiro: Sometimes people would say, “Not Naniwa Danshi again!” These words may hurt, but that means that they’ve actually seen us!
Daigo: It’s a compliment, isn’t it?
Joichiro: We’ve done so many unprecedented things as Juniors, haven’t we? It was the case with Koshien*, and the CM*. Even after our debut, I want us to continue to do something unprecedented. People would be like, “What, they’re doing this too?”
Nagao: For Arashi-san and SMAP-san, well, Arashi-san travelled along Arashi’s path, right? So I don’t want us to just follow their footsteps, but to create a path for Naniwa Danshi and live each and every moment. I don’t know what the future holds, and we don’t know where our potential lies, right? I just want us to expand our potential. I think once we know what our potential is, that’s the end of it. I hope that we’ll always not know where the limits of our potential are.
Ohashi: It’s scary, but it’s exciting as well.
Daigo: I don’t know what shape it will eventually take, but I hope for Naniwa Danshi to become idols that are representative of Japan.
Joichiro: We’ve never spent time like this, have we?
The members murmur their agreement.
Daigo: When we start talking about stuff like this, the staff usually are about to finish packing up! It would be nice if we could remain a group that could talk about stuff like this without feeling awkward about it, even as we grow older.
Joichiro: It just came to me suddenly, but I really want to take a photo to commemorate the occasion.
Joichiro: I want to capture this moment, of the 7 of us. I want to cherish this photo.
Ryusei: Let’s take it.
Daigo: Oh no, I think I’m about to cry! Hang on a sec! My tear ducts are crazy right now!
*Koshien refers to the National High School Baseball Championships.
**Even as Juniors, Naniwa Danshi did CMs for 3 companies, including the one for Hi-Chew candy.