[TRANSLATION-Mag] HnA 2010

Please tell us what's there to look forward to in Himitsu no Arashichan this 2010
Jun: Our first attack would be to make everyone laugh.
Aiba: Hey, that's a long shot! Please don't make it any tougher for us! (^_^)
Jun: Okay, so for the meantime, I want to get good results in "Mannequin 5".
Aiba: Matsujun always gets praised in the beginning... but... he gets left behind in the end.
Jun: That's why it's okay for me not to be praised...
Aiba: It's the opposite in my case. The first time they see me, they give me that criticizing look, but they choose me anyways. I'm happy that there's some tsundere* element in there.
Jun: Yeah... tsundere is fine I guess. Being "deretsun"** is tough! That's why I'm gonna throw you out in 2010. Watch out Aiba, Ohno, Nino...
Aiba: You're not including Sho-chan?! (^_^) As for me, I'll do better in "Dame Arashi". I'll iron out my date plans so that I won't fall into that pool again.
Jun: It's fine not to be overly optimistic.
Aiba: Yeah, you're right... (Sweat)

*tsundere - I would like to say "Domyoji-ish". It is a Japanese concept which describes a person with a conceited, irritable, and/or violent personality that suddenly becomes loving when triggered. (Read more @ wikipedia).
** deretsun - according to the things I have read/scanned, deretsun is pretty similar (one post argued that the two are not the same) to yandere which is basically another Japanese concept that describes a person's (I see mostly girls...) character where the person is a doormat at first but eventually becomes deranged when trigerred. Triger - in most cases - is love.

Did any of your secrets get exposed while doing "Himitsu no Arashichan" last year?
Jun: The best secret that got out last year was... Sho's double parka!
Aiba: That was a fair match wasn't it?
Jun: Certainly so. Fashion sense is also an important thing.
Aiba: This program's really something. If you don't have mental strength, you're definitely going down.
Jun: It's quite obvious in how each one acts. Once the take is over, the atmosphere's definitely different.
Aiba: It's like will we just go home without saying a thing... or will we go and eat first... It's confusing.
Jun: At the worst, we go home and sleep. (^_^)
Aiba: Specially "Mannequin". Someone's bound to feel sorry for himself and just go home... together with the geininsan (comedians).
Jun: But you know it's a bit easier for us coz we can change our clothes before going home while the comedians arrive wearing those clothes... they go home still wearing those clothes.
Aiba: Yeah and our guests' words sting you know. (^_^)
Jun: I can't even look at myself in the mirror when I get home.

This year, I'll be participating in the "Coming of Age Ceremony", did you guys feel that transition between being a child (still) and adulthood.
Jun: Lately I attended an alumni meeting, or something to that effect, and everyone was talking about work! This is adulthood, I thought!
Aiba: I feel like I'm an adult at times when I watch my word careful and I become conscious of my actions, making sure that no one gets bothered by it.
Jun: But don't you feel like "these are today's youth" every time you talk to a junior?
Aiba: Yeah yeah. I realize that everyone's thinking about their own stuff too...
Jun: It's kinda fresh isn't it?
Aiba: Yes, yes...
Jun: Plus, whenever I eat hamburger, meat used to be fine with me. But now I put a lot of other stuff like veggies, and I eat a lot of veggies now.
Aiba: Oh! That's pretty mature! As for me, nothing's changed in that aspect. I'm fine with meat, just meat. (^_^)

[THOUGHTS] HnA - Arashi as Counselors

I love the Arashi counselors! ^_^ I was laughing all by myself again while I was watching the episode.

I remember reading something about Nino saying Ohno is popular with girls because he knows how to listen. Based on what I saw, I think Nino is not a bad listener himself. Aside from that, he gives great advice. I also read (in one of his interviews... I think I posted it here...) something about Nino being a "writer". He makes up situations in his head... I guess that's what made him the best counselor for that episode. I wanna see more of this. ^_^

Oh and I'm looking forward to the next HnA... The 2nd half will be Mannequin 5 with Daigo! I can't wait!!! ^_^

HnA で の 新 コーナー は 超 面白い です ね! ニノ が うまい!!! 今度 の ワースト は だれ か な? ベスト は? ワースト は また リーダー か? 逆? ベスト は リーダー 。。。んで ワースト は ニノ? 楽しみ!

[THOUGHTS] Arashi in "Kouhaku"

I got to read a couple or so of articles pertaining to Arashi's first time in "Kouhaku" and somehow it was quite hard for me to feel what they were feeling. After a month, I'm watching it now. And that sense of pride they had whenever they boasted about it in their interviews, now I understand!

I had goosebumps while listening to "Uta no Chikara".
Arashi's (Well, technically, Ohno's part)
Kodomotachi no mirai
Haha to no omoide

short but I'm so... 'proud' ... as a fan! I can't imagine how proud their famillies were... How proud they were with themselves. I bet Ohno's mom was crying while watching her son carry Arashi's flag.


NAKAI VS OHNO
The event was hosted by Nakai right? When he asked Arashi what they had to say about TOKIO, Ohno took the liberty of answering in behalf of the other members... It's good that they were able to put their "Utaban" relationship aside for an evening.

ARASHI's KIZUNA
Sho
We always put our friendship on top of everything, no matter what we're doing... or what things we want to continue doing.
Aiba
When Arashi started, we were all lost and confused, but at that early stage, we had each other.
Ohno
At that time, we had no idea why we were called together. But we were sure of one thing - our lives were about to change.
Jun
Each one might be doing his own job but we find home in each other's company. We've already spent 10 years together and we're not about to fall apart. They mean a lot to me.
Nino
Everyone, including those who are continuously supporting us, is included in that bond. I hope that the relationship we have will only go deeper even after 30 years or 40 years of being together.

-- I loved how Jun said "kaerubasho ha, yappari kono 5nin no tokoro da to omoimasu". It's just so sweet. Arashi means home to him. Plus the part that he said "Taisetsu na sonzai desu" - Arashi means a lot to him. Sweet...

I hope they'll be invited to participate in Kouhaku again next year. ^_^ I know other people don't want them there... but I want them there!!!

[TV PIA] 2010-01 - 2009 Arashi and Kouhaku

Scans are from: pamujung

Each of the members had his own moment to shine in the year 2009.

Who among the other members impressed you the most this 2009?

Ohno: I guess, this year, it was Aibachan. He was busy with his own drama, his own play, I think he was the busiest among us. Everytime I looked at him, I felt how hard it was for him but all I could do was cheer him on.

Aiba: I'm grateful for that.

Nino: There! (^_^) I actually went to watch Aiba's play "Green Fingers" but I was wondering "When is Aiba going to appear?" until the end of the play. I was a bit disappointed.

Aiba: Hey!

- He was the lead role. (^_^) How did you find his drama "My Girl"?

Nino: I'm watching it! I'm watching it! But... where does he appear? The bob haired guy?

Jun: Not that! (^_^)

Nino: Sorry! I'll check it out right away once I get home(^_^).

- Nino-san also did a play called "Strangers on a Train" .

Jun: It's been quite a while since I saw Nino in a play. Doing a play is quite tiring but he did his best.

Sho: That play definitely made me say "So this is how acting as the lead is supposed to be". I know the other members will agree with me here but at that time, it felt like there were flowers around him or it was like he had his own spotlight. At that time, the feeling was so strong, stronger than when I see him on tv.

Ohno: Nino practiced his lines with me so I was so psyched to see the actuall play. I was like "Oh! This is what that part actually looks like". (^_^).

Sho: Seeing Ohno-kun surrounded by those kids in "Uta no Oniisan" is actually something new too right? He doesn't have the image of being an expert on children. (^_^)

- Ohno suddenly remembers that the children weren't so fond of Sho either (^_^) Did you see Ohno and Sho's scene together?

Ohno: About "Yattaman", I only got to the half... (^_^)

Everyone: Laughter

Ohno: I was shooting "Uta no Oniisan" so I don't have much memory of it!

Sho: I also wanna mention "Smile". It's a drama that I personally like, actually I watched it while doing "The Quiz Show". It was a totally different Matsujun, different from Domyoji so I had fun watching it.

Jun: Wait a minute! You're still stuck with Domyoji?!

Sho: Yeah. But I didn't watch Domyoji from beginning to end the last time though.

About what they're secretly cooking up for the fans.

- You've been keeping everybody in the dark about your anniversary project, was it hard hiding it from everyone?

Aiba: It wasn't that hard!

Sho: We're not like kids who 'spill the beans' easily. (^_^) It's a trait that's already deeply ingrained in us.

Nino: I just refuse to think about it coz if I kept on thinking about it, there'd be mayhem! I just decided not to touch the topic. (^_^)

Ohno: The feeling of doing that, doing 5000 sheets of signed paper secretly was definitely fun. It was a valuable experience for us.

- Was it fun?

Aiba: Yeah. It's coz every member really wanted to do this.

Nino: The staff had a harder time didn't they?

Sho: It was as if we were doing it little by little. We could've locked ourselves up for a week and finish everything but it wasn't the case. It took us a year and we did it little by little.

- So it's like you drew all the seasons and scenes that had something to do with those memories that you've written?

Sho: Yes. Yes. That's true.

Ohno: After that, we had the Disney Sea event which was planned for more than a year.

Nino: Thank God I didn't fall off the jetski!

Sho: That'd be a big disaster if you fell!

Aiba: It was something I didn't think would happen... not even in my wildest dreams! (^_^)

Jun: Did too! (^_^) Did too!... I didn't notice this while we were doing the show but when I saw it through the wide screen, all 5 of us were shining! We were beside Mickey and Mini but they didn't outshine us you know.

Sho: Really?! That's great!

Ohno: Time flew by so fast while we were doing the show. It was like a dream! While we were doing the preparations, I wanted to try going to the actual spot where we'll be standing. It was really a wonder for me to think that during the actual show, we'll be standing on that spot. Would it be okay standing there? (^_^)

- Arashi's going to (possibly) stir things up in "Kouhaku" on New Year's Eve.

- Once again, I'd like to congratulate you for being chosen to participate in "Kouhaku"

Jun: It's cool you know to be given the chance to participate in a show where people congratulate you just because you're invited to the show.

Aiba: I only get this much greetings on my birthday!

Nino: (^_^) Can you not compare your birthday to Kouhaku", please?

Aiba: Well, you're right. You're actually right! (^_^) But you know, I'm so happy. We're going to have the chance to see artists whom we haven't personally seen yet.

Jun: For me, it hasn't sunk in yet. New year's eve, for me, is the image of my family sitting in front of the tv set watching Kouhaku together. It gives me that warm feeling. When they found out that we're going to participate in that show, they sent me a message.

Ohno: I haven't told them yet but they sent me a message saying "congratulations". I guess they're really happy.

Nino: My mom was like "Oh is that so?". (^_^) I think my grandma will be though... I'll show her how energetic her grandson is. What a doting grandson... not!

Sho: You are! That's also why I'm so happy. In my granpa's house, we'd watch Kouhaku then sleep after we hear the bell. That became a tradition in our house. When I think about that I feel really honored to do this.

Aiba: My parents were also ecstatic. They even said they wanted to attend and watch. I told them I can manage, I can do it on my own. (^_^).

- How will you guys show your support for those who are going to be in Kohaku... Being former "Pro Supporters(Cheerleaders)" back in your "G no Arashi" days.

Sho: I have no idea! (^_^) This is our first time so I really don't know what to do.

Nino: If possible, they (people at Kouhaku) could cheer for us. (^_^)

Jun: But it'd be great if we were given the chance to do a number where we'll be singing somebody else's song.

Aiba: If we were given the chance (^_^). This is our first time so I'll do it looking fresh!

Nino: If possible, I wanna be in the opening.

Jun: Well, if we were in the opening, we won't be as fresh anymore right? (^_^)

★ Continuation will be on another new post ★

[Thoughts] - Arashi no Shukudaikun... Ending?!

True?

If it is, I think I'll have a broken heart for a night. The show means a lot to me because it's one of the few shows that I'm looking forward to every week. But life goes on. Arashi has proven their staying power. Losing AnS would be tough but Arashi's experienced this already before. Not just once actually. They had to say goodbye to C,D,G no Arashi, Mago Mago Arashi, GR Arashi and a lot more... But they're still THERE.

I know it'll be hard for the boys to lose it but I'm sure they will be given something else. Who knows, what's in store for them might be something better. If it's Arashi, I know it will be. ^_^ Of course I also understand why this has to happen. Just keepin' an open mind. ^_^ I'm looking forward to what's gonna happen next.

★UDPATE★

NTV's page for Arashi no Shukudaikun has that BBS section (I dunno if it was there all this time) but it's where fans from all over Japan write their thoughts about the show and I read a lot of "I'm sad that it's ending" messages so I guess it's true. Oh well, here's the link: NTV AnS BBS.

2010 TV Guide

New Year's Messages to the Fans


SHOEveryone, please support "Tokujo Kabachi"!

NINOWe're still doing "GANTZ" but please watch out for it!

AIBALet's all charge up for the Nagoya Dome concert!

JUNDo watch "Wagaya no Rekishi (My Family's History)"!

OhnoThe most awaited appearance of all Arashi members in a drama "Saigo no Yakusoku(The Final Promise)" will be shown soon!


Arashi's Message to Each Other

From SHO to NINOI know that doing a movie is a lot of work but don't forget to take care of yourself.

From NINO to AIBAGood luck with "Tensai Shimura Doubutsuen"! I'm looking forward to the "big surprise"(?)!

From AIBA to JUNHappy new year! Be careful not to eat too much rice cake!(^_^)

From JUN to OHNOYou've been fishing a lot, so this year I hope you don't get too dark.

From OHNO to SHOLet's do "News Zero" together this year!


Arashi's 2010 Battle-plan Meeting

Arashi's battleplan meeting has commenced!

Sho: Happy new year to everyone! 2009 was pretty much a fulfilling year but it's about time to face 2010. Which is why we decided to open this battleplan meeting on how and what Arashi will be this 2010.

Jun: "Wagaya no Rekishi" will be shown soon.

Nino: I can't wait!

Jun: I'm going to give the script away.

Sho: Yeah the script's so thick! Please show it to us once you're done with it.

Jun: They just started editing the video and it has some computer graphics in it.Well, "Titani..."

Aiba: Huh? "Titanic"?

Nino: What did you boil? (^_^) *Pun: The Japanese word for boil or cook is "taku", which becomes "taita" in its past tense.*

Jun: That's all I can say for now. But please watch out for the drama!

Nino: As for me, we're currently filming "GANTZ". Though it's a bit too early to promote, the movie's going to be shown in 2011.

Ohno: However, I'm a little anxious you know. Are you guys going to wear green tights? I'm pretty much left in the dark as to how it'll end up. (^_^) This January you'll be going to the countryside to film. Quite a large-scale location.

Aiba: Could it be an explosion-packed film? I wanna go and watch!

Sho: Are you going to bring miso soup?

Aiba: It's not a relief operation! Yeah, I'll bring miso soup!(^_^)

Jun: It's pretty hard since it's a big location.

Aiba: We're also going to have a live concert in January.

Sho: Aiba-san will also have a minidrama,he'll also have to do some relief operations plus we'll be having our concert so I think it's about time you took some time off. It's tough for you right?

Aiba: No! No! Let me do the concert! Arashi has 5 members right!?

Jun: So you mean Aiba-san will do his solo while carrying a bowl of miso soup? That's definitely new! (^_^)

Aiba/Ohno/Sho/Jun: ("Dakishimete... dakishimete... dakishime-te-" he'll be stirring the soup while singing "Pikanchi")

Nino: Isn't that great?!

Aiba: Isn't that a bit too much?! (^_^)

Ohno: And he's going to give each fan a warm bowl of miso soup! Everyone will be ecstatic, I think. As for me, I'll be painting again this year. I won't be sunburnt anymore... I guess... Surely.

Aiba: Are you going to be fine?!

Sho: Where will you hold the exhibit? I wanna go and view it.

Ohno: Right now, I'm doing a pretty detailed drawing so I think it'll take time.

Nino: After you finish the drawing... are you willing to give it as a present?

Ohno: Eeeeh?! Okay. I... I'll give it to someone (teary-eyed)

Sho: Who will be the lucky guy then?

Jun: Let's raffle it!

Nino: Among us.

Aiba: How about we do janken?

Jun: I'm psyched!

Ohno: Ye... Yeah! Just go with the flow.

Sho: Yeah. Arashi's theme this year is "Just go with the flow"!

Nino: With that, the battleplan meeting is over!

2010 February - Duet

New Year
Arashi's Promise
2010

After their huge success last 2009, what will Arashi be this 2010?

Let's all take a closer look as the guys talk about their personal and work-related aspirations and goals for the year 2010.

Each represented by symbols and Kanji characters.

Plus a peek on what the guys are up to from the start of November to mid-December of 2009.


Represented by the character: 寅 (Tiger)
After all, it's the year of the Tiger right? Like the tiger, I'll mercilessly dig my teeth into everything I see, in other words I'll do my utmost best. Working~
Ninomiya Kazunari

Represented by the character: 籠 (Cage)
In total isolation. I'll be locking myself up in a room to finish the painting I'm currently working on. That seems a little private but I'd want to display it in another personal exhibit someday. I have my work too.
Ohno Satoshi

Represented by the character: 一 (One)
The number 1 in Chinese.
One thing at a time, a day at a time, a step at a time... I'll be committing myself to one thing at a time. I don't want to spend each day by letting it just pass by but I like to relish each passing day.
Matsumoto Jun

Represented by the character: 明 (Light/Bright)
However you look at it, the brighter the better. I'd like this year to be a bright year in all aspects. I'd prefer to be somewhere bright than somewhere dark (^_^)
Aiba Masaki

Represented by the character: 次 (Next)
Next stage, or something to that effect. For us and for the people around us, reaching our 10th year is an amazing moment. It makes me want to go one stage higher. It's really hard to express though, what I mean is that I don't want to just stop and stand in one place but I want to move forward.
Sakurai Sho

Arashi's Dreams and Plans for the Year 2010 Personal and Work-wise Plus What's Currently Happening

Ohno Satoshi

2010/Work

First of all, we'll still be doing some live performances for our 10th year so we'd have to deal with that first. But I want to do another live immediately after that. Of course, I'd prefer a live concert tour. I want to go to the concert halls similar to those we have gone to so far, and to our provinces. not just large venues but it'd be great if we were also given the chance to hold concerts in all kinds of places. For our individual jobs, I'd like to do a drama, if there's a good story... I've been doing dramas for the last 2 years (2008, 2009) and I realized from there that doing a drama is also a good opportunity to meet great people. Yeah, getting to know your co-actors is great but it's also fun meeting the people behind the scenes. What's interesting is that some staff from the drama "Saigo no Yakusoku" (The Last Promise) that we're currently shooting are the same people who took care of me when I was doing "Uta no Oniisan". With that, I realized that doing a drama is also a good way of meeting people with whom I can make wonderful music.

2010/Personal

I wanna go into arts. Right now I took a little time off drawing. While on that break, I decided that I'm going to complete my unfinished drawing by the year 2010 (^_^). That's why I'm planning to restrain myself from fishing. I wanna focus on my drawing. Just the other day, I went to go fishing with Shige (Katou Shigeaki) and we caught an ocellated octopus. Shige caught a lot of fish, while I only got a good tan. After that, Shige and I went fishing again. We're the prefect fishing tandem you know. I'm planning to invite Yaracchi (Yara Tomoyuki) into the team. He also goes fishing. He sent me a photo of the fish he caught but I wasn't able to catch any in the same place this year. It'll be the first time I'll be taking him along with me so if I had to take him with me, I'd better give him the experience of having a good catch (meaning: that fish must be in season). It's quite hard for us to find time to hang out together so for this year I'd like to make a little change and put "Yaracchi and fishing" together.

Current Events

All the members will soon be doing "Saigo no Yakusoku". It's been quite a long time since all 5 of us worked on a drama together. But since we're almost always together, it doesn't feel odd working with them (^_^). Anually, towards the end of the year we do special programs, of course countdowns, it's actually exciting while the crossover happens, though this year we'll be doing the usual stuff plus a drama and the "Kouhaku". So it's really work until the end of this year. When the news broke that I'm going to do "Kouhaku", I received a lot of e-mails then from people like classmates... more than when I celebrated my birthday (^_^). My mom also congratulated me, so for the mean time I'm thinking of doing my utmost best. O yeah right, I went to watch Michael Jackson's "This is It". I received an invitation to watch it, actually, but I gave it to my mom. Just when it was about to end, I realized I wanted to watch it so I bought a ticket and I watched it. I'm glad I did. That 2 hours was quite short. In the movie, Michael's choreographer, Travis, was also our choreographer when I did "PLAYZONE". I was happy to see that face again after such a long time-.


Ninomiya Kazunari

2010/Work
We'll be filming a movie called "GANTZ" and it will be a two-part series. We're currently going to different places for the filming of the first part. Though it's quite hard since the taping goes from morning up to the next morning, I'm doing my best. And there are a lot of action scenes so I have to train my body. I asked someone to beat my abs with a log to make my muscles stronger... of course that's a joke. I train through WII fit, actually, and now my muscle's so firm. While doing the movie, we also have our Nagoya Dome concert but that's not new so it's not so hectic for me as of the moment. It's our 10th anniversary so I have to do my best. I've got 3 movies lined up for 2010. "GANTZ" has 2 parts so that'd be 2 movies and the first part will be shown winter of 2010 while the second part will be shown spring of 2011. After that I will also be doing "Oooku", which will be shown fall of 2010. It seems the year's just going to pass by with the filming of the movie and the promotions. By the way, "Oooku" is originally written by Yoshina Gafumi-san and is mainly about the role reversal of men and women inside the palace. Shibasaki Kou-chan will be playing the role of General Yoshimune while the man who's going to enter the palace would be = ME. I'll be playing the role of Mizuno, the shogun's servant. Though that'd be a handful already I'd still want to do a concert tour, drama, still movies, plays. That's how it would be and this 2010, I'll do my best!

2010/Personal
I wanna go out. Where'd I go? O I just bought a blue bike. I wanna go to Hokkaido riding my new bike. But that's impossible so I'm thinking of just riding around the metro calling my manager up when I wanna go home. But the only thing I'm worried about is, when I bought that bike, I called my manager to pick me up. We put the bike in the car the the handle was pressing against my cheek throughout the ride. But the truth is I don't know if I'll ever have the time to ride that bike as I please.

Current Events
I'm doing "GANTZ" and all 5 members are doing "Saigo no Yakusoku". We've been filming individually until yesterday. We filmed that scene where all of us were together and the filming ended 2 hours after midnight. It wasn't just us, we were with
Masahiko Tsugawa-san, Fujiki Naohito-san, Ootsuka Nene-san, Kuroki Meisa-chan. It was fun you know. It'll be shown immediately after the year starts so please watch out for it. Please enjoy it with your family. I'll be under the spotlight! And we'll be having a meeting regarding the NHK special "Kouhaku Singing Festival" and a special singing program... The year is, without a doubt, coming to an end.


Matsumoto Jun
2010/Work
Actually it doesn't depend on the year or whatnot, what I do is that I live each day to the fullest. So it's not about what level we are right now. Up to now, we're still given the chance to hold concerts and I wish that it would still be the same for the year 2010. Yeah we're still doing our 10th anniversary concert tour, which extends up to January next year but I do wish that before 2010 ends we'd still be given the chance to have another concert tour.

2010/Personal
I don't have any detailed plans about this too but I'd like to go on a trip. After our filming for "Smile" I was able to go to Yakushima twice this year. Somehow if the plan pushes through I'm thinking of going up a mountain. I'm not yet sure whether I'd go mountain climbing within Japan or outside the country. Which reminds me, when I went up a mountain in Yakushima it just felt so great! It took us 5 hours but it was really fun. Because of that, I'd want to go mountain climbing again. Of course I wouldn't go up high mountains just yet. Little by little, I'll challenge myself to take on a bigger mountain after each climb and someday I'll go climb those high mountains outside Japan. The problem is, these stuff take up time and I don't know if I'd have the time to be able to do them. Well, that's basically what I want to do this year.

Current Events
We just had our concert at Tokyo Dome and it felt like we've been away for so long. The concert tour started at the national stadium then we went back to Tokyo. When we got back to Tokyo, I couldn't help but say to myself "This city's warmth feels so great". Our concert at Nagoya will be on January 16 and 17 and we'll still be doing the Johnny's countdown at Tokyo Dome but it feels like it's the last live performance we are going to do this year so I saw to it that I'd make the most out of it. During the last encore, when I saw a strip of silver tape fall, I picked it up and tied it around my head! When I realized what I was doing I got totally embarrassed and took it off. (^_^). That's how fun it was. Soon we'll be having our concert in Nagoya, and when we say Nagoya, Sho got injured during the 2nd month of our rehearsal. So it's been quite some time since all 5 of us sang with much vigor together. But, the mid of December is a pretty hectic period. We're going to shoot "Saigo no Yakusoku" (FujiTV Jan. 9 OA), and we'll be doing a year-end special, a New Year's special, and we'll be appearing in the annual "FNS Kayousai" (FNS Best Hits Festival), the year's really nearing its end... The year just flew by didn't it? "Saigo no Yakusoku" is not a product of Arashi, it is a product where all 5 of us were given a chance to appear in. It is a collaboration of some of Japan's greatest actors, so please watch out for it. That's how it is... It's all work every month (^_^)

Aiba Masaki

2010/Work

It feels like the 2009 and 2010 is crossing over. For example, "Saigo no Yakusoku" which we're shooting right now (end of 2009) is going to be shown at the start of 2010. There's really no clear boundary between this year and the next so I was wondering if I could do it just like that. 2009 was a year of many firsts for us and closing this year with "Kouhaku" is really a great thing for me. I used to watch "Kouhaku" when I was a child and I think that it's a great venue to meet people within the music industry that we don't normally see or get acquainted with. That's how it is for me and I also know how big its impact is. When we first learned that we'll be appearing in "Kouhaku" I received a lot of e-mails! It's really cool! After that, I'm very happy to say that we're going to show Arashi's drama "Saigo no Yakusoku". It was really a great 10th year for us, we had the "Arashi Challenge Week", the Disney event, and a whole lot more. Those stuff we really unexpected, they were really a series of fortunate events and I'm hoping that it'll be the same also from here on.

2010/Personal

I wanna play golf! I haven't had the chance to go the last few days. It's actually connected to [Arashi ZM] page 179. It's about clothes suitable for playing golf this winter. It's about looking for clothes that are more functional than stylish. While shooting dramas I can't really play golf right? When I watch somebody else play golf on TV, I really want to just go. Coz I record golf tournaments. I record Ishikawa Ryou-kun's tournaments. (^_^) Though it's better to memorize my lines while taking a bath at night, I read Aoki Isao-san's (pro golfer) articles! What else, I'd also want to watch movies through DVD. I haven't seen Michael Jackson's "This is It" yet. I used to go to DVD rental shops and take home a movie or two but due to my schedule, I wasn't able to continue doing so from the mid of this year. That's why I wanna go and rent a movie! Those are my goals! (^_^)

Current Events

Our Tokyo Dome started December 4 and the excitement's rising, my body's already telling me. I've got muscle aches allover! On the first day of our Tokyo Dome concert, Nino and I went out to eat. All 5 of us usually went out to eat after the concerts we held outside Tokyo, but it's not really unusual. Nino hates oily food so we didn't have yakiniku (barbeque/grilled meat), we had shabushabu. On the final day of our Tokyo Dome concert, we all drank and made a toast to everyone's success. We followed Riida's lead and thanked everyone for their hard work. I'm so thrilled to do the Nagoya concert! Well about stuff aside from work... the other day I went to a golf shop. For me, I get really excited when I'm in a golf shop, just like when I'm in an appliance store or a video shop. I find happiness just by looking at the stuff, even if I don't get to buy anything. I have loads of fun just by checking out the stuff and trying them out even in such a short span of time.

Sakurai Sho
2010/Work
For the mean time, I'm loaded with dramas. As of now (date of interview: End of November) we're shooting "Tokujo Kabachi" (TBS Sunday 9:00 pm, Starts on January 17). We had an early crank in so the shooting will take 5 months and I wanna focus on that. After that, come February, I'll be covering the Vancouver Olympics. I don't know how far I'll go for this opportunity but with the Beijing Olympics, I was given the chance to go there and witness the actual event while I was covering it. I'm just focusing on the early half right now. About the later half of next year, that I'd want to relish a bit more. Just like what I've been saying for 2 years now (^_^). Well, this year really is just crossing over to next year without a clear boundary. Coz everything we're doing right now will be shown next year. At any rate, I'll just do my best in doing my job! All 5 of us were talking and it felt like everything's so fresh! Now we're targeting that 20th year mark!

2010/Personal
If I had the time, I'd like to travel. It's been a year since I last went on a trip. Anywhere's fine but I'd like to go out of the country. And I wanna go on with going to the gym and studying english. I wanna learn more stuff. There are a lot of things popping up in my mind but I'd rather not say them coz I don't wanna hate myself for not being able to do them.(^_^) Once I start, I'll let everyone know!

Current Events
Drama filming takes up much of my time as of now. We just finished filming "Saigo no Yakusoku" and "Kabachi" but I still have the "15th Year Commemoration of The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake for Kobe newpaper" which will be broadcasted January 16 by FujiTV, then I still have to gather materials for "NEWSZERO" then on January I'm going to appear in a special "Sakurai Sho x Ikegami Akira Sou ka! Omowazou Naru Tokujo News!", it's really all work. This is probably the busiest year-end I've had so far. We had the chance to guest in a lot of music programs, do dramas, and hold a concert, it's definitely awesome! The year-end music program is really fun! It's a great venue to meet other artists. But still, even though we get to meet a lot of people, I guess there's not much time to chat. We were also given the chance to be the MC for "2009 Best Artist"... Then we were also called to be the chairpersons for "Music Lovers" (March 2009)... Everything happened one after the other. I'm happy to say that I've already made a commitment to do a year-end special. The program was about to finish when I heard about it but working with the likes of Hatori Shinichi-san and Nishio Yukuri-san (Nihon Terebi Announcers), my old and trusted colleagues, I wanna have fun doing it with them. I only have a set of winter clothes so I went shopping the other day. I bought a jacket, a coat, 2 pairs of pants, boots. Then I bought a new heater. After all these, I'll be dashing off again so right now I'm just preparing for the unexpected.


★Finished★

最後 の 約束

「最後 の 約束」って 今年、 嵐 の 一番目 ドラマ です。 これ を 見て、 うれしいん です よ。
こう いう 風 に 2010年 を 始める って 最高 だ! ^_^

この ドラマ って さ・・・ 重い ドラマ じゃない から 大好き です。 エンディング は 面白かった です。 なに が 面白かった か? たとえば、 ”VENT" に いる 時 に (逃げってる から) 話 を かけました。 本当 の はんにん だったら そこ に 止まらない と 思う ね。 んで、 嵐 だったら なんか、 危ない こと が 付けない。 嵐 と ばくだん が ちょっと ”INCOMPATIBLE" ね? だから その ばくだん の タイマー は 0 に なった 時 に 花火 が 出て きて、 面白かった です。 最高 だった! 「最後 の 約束」って は 私 の 一番目 大好き な ドラマ、 今年。

この ドラマ から:
”前 に すすもう!”
ー本当 です。 明日 の こと が まだ わかんない けど どう やって わかります か ね? 前 に 進む しか ない ね。^_^

I just watched the drama "Saigo No Yakusoku" and I think it'd be the very first drama I'll be tagging as my favorite for this year. The 5 were great! Fabulous! Especially Matsujun. Hands down to this man! He's such a good actor! Actually all 5 were great but there was a part (rather, several parts) where Jun was able to show his " excellent acting skills". He just proved that he's not just a face. ^_^

I love how the drama ended. I'm already stressed out in everything. (Life, work... everything!) and watching a drama with such a light mood is very relaxing!

The part that I loved the most was when they said something like (Can't remember who said what)
"I wonder what we'll be 10 years from now..."
"I guess we have no other choice but to move forward to find out."