Almost 7,000 words again. *weeps*
Oh, man, you know you're fighting off a cold when you sleep for 9 hours straight, get up to do stuff for an hour, take some cold medicine, say screw it, I'mma go back to bed now, and sleep another 8 hours like the dead. I felt like total crap yesterday but omg so much better now. *__*
I also finally watched Mago Mago Arashi #34-#35, which is the end of the rowing saga, so, I dunno, spoilers for that, I guess? Assuming you'd be reading this post if you were interested and hadn't already seen the ending. Plus GRA #19, Shukudai-kun #73, and Jun's appearance on SCP subbed.
This may get long again.
It was really hard to watch these two final episodes, having a vague idea of how things would turn out (I cheated a little and asked Ho about the ending as well as just knowing that things could not go that well) and wanting to postpone that sense of heartache just a little while longer. I knew that things wouldn't be devestating or a crushing loss, things turned out about how I expected them to--they took last place but it wasn't a loss as an experience because they ran a race that they weren't embarrassed by--but it was still hard to sit through it sometimes. It was even worse because there were fans there. If it had just been the regular people that turned out to watch rowing competitions, maybe it would have been easier?
As the episodes wore on, as the final race loomed closer, their tone changed as well. Even if the announcer hadn't pointed it out, you would have been able to just look at them and so clearly see it written all over their faces. But more than that, it was the way they talked about the upcoming race and you could really tell that they were getting a clearer picture of just what it was that they'd gotten themselves into.
When they started, there was a really determined spirit to win, even if they knew that might be kind of silly. They still had hope of possbily winning the race or at least a determination to aim for the #1 spot. But, as the months wore on and it seemed like it was one set-back after another--their inability to get past that 4 minute hurdle, Sho's back injury, etc.--they slowly shifted their attitudes towards more realistic goals. By the end, just before the race, they were saying, "I think it'll be enough for me if we can just be satisfied with our race." (Jun) or "We've come this far. As long as we can work as one, that's enough." (Ohno) or "If Arashi's rowing is at its best in the competition.... That's what Hikaru-san is hoping for." (Ohno)
That made it more difficult to watch as well. I'm not sure if they themselves were even aware of the change in attitude--they had to be by the end, of course, Sho says, "I want to win, but... I know we'll just get more anxious if we focus too much on winning. I do want us to run a race we can be proud of... that's what I'm hoping for." In that clip you can really see how much he's been putting into this project and I think... looking back at the training camp, it was right about then that his "slump" began and I started to wonder how much of that is Sho's total sports fail, how much of it was that, the better they all got at this, the stronger they became, the more it highlighted that Sho, god love him, is just not that good at sports.
I wonder how much Sho was trying to make up for that, too, by practicing more than anyone else. I'm sure a lot of it was that he hates losing, you could see how genuinely frustrated he was, since he practiced the most and yet it felt like he wasn't making progress. The shots of him praciticing seperately with Hikaru-san after showing those clips of him talking about how frustrated he was that he wasn't getting it, were really telling. So was the simple shot of Sho watching the others row after he'd hurt his back, it really had to suck for him, and it was one of the first things episode #34 started out with, making it that much harder to watch still yet. (It was really sweet the way the others didn't even dream of blaming Sho for getting hurt, they were all totally positive that he'd be just fine, they knew how hard he'd been working. as;ldfjalsk I love them all so much sometimes.)
I also suspect that Sho getting hurt was sort of a wake-up call for them, since it was immediately after that when they started talking about how they just wanted to run a race they could be proud of, I think that really brought it home how taxing this was on all of them. I mean, Jun even said, between the drama and the rowing after Sho was out of commission, he'd gotten one hour of sleep, and jesus I love you guys and this special and all but please please don't die okay. ;__;
It's about at this point when the announcer also starts saying things like, "Can they really compete against top-ranked college and general teams?" Up to that point, they hadn't really addressed it that much, which I sort of took note of because I was kind of muttering it at the tv a lot. The practice race they ran was against Nihon University and the race was also going up against other Universirty level rowers, people who have been doing this since HIGH SCHOOL or possibly longer.
Even Sho comments about it when Ohno points out that one of the other teams in the race is Keio University's team, Sho's school. He talks about how he'd seen the rowing team using the ergometer machines back in high school and even back then he thought that they practiced kind of a lot. No one really comments on it directly, but you realize that they're competing against people who've been practicing for years and years, people who have conditioned themselves to be the best rowers they can be.
And that Arashi has been doing this for three months.
Ultimately, I think that's what made these episodes easier to watch, knowing that they had to realize what they were going up against and that it was unfair to expect them to row at the same level. As much as I wish they'd said it directly themselves, so that I would know for certain that they weren't being too hard on themselves, I also admire that none of Arashi themselves used this as an excuse. Not a single one of them ever said, "Well, we've only been doing this for three months, right? So, it's not fair to compare the two." No, they were 100% serious the entire time.
(I would have loved to have seen this as a JE thing instead or even just taking people who'd never rowed before and starting them out from the same point that Arashi did. Because the University teams were also putting in hours of practice every day on top of their years and years of experience. I think having several groups of people who were just starting out like they were would have been a much better indication of their actual progress/level of skill.)
And, while I was sad that they didn't break their 4 minute record, I was extremely gratified that the show interviewed some of the other rowers after the race. "That was really amazing," said a member of the Touda Chuo General Hospital team. "They've only been at it for.. what, half a year?"
"No, three months," answers a staff member.
"Wow, it's incredible that they could get that far in three months."
YES. THANK YOU.
Even the chairman of the Saitama Prefecture Rowing Association said, "College teams practice essentially every day, so in comparison, when you consider how much they've practice, I think the progress they made was exceptionally fast." I know that, well, of course they weren't going to put in anything negative on the show, that they would find positive things to say, but it's very true.
It's the same with how really heartwarming and completely awesome it was that they made friends with the Nihon University team, who seemed to genuinely like the guys. You could tell that there was a lot of mutual respect and fun there without sucking up to each other. Arashi was genuinely impressed at how hard the Nihon U. guys worked and the Nihon U. guys were genuinely impressed with how hard Arashi was working here and how seriously they took the sport. I think it says a lot about how Arashi wasn't treating this lightly and, yes, it was a promotional thing and they wouldn't have gotten into this if not for using it as a series of television episodes, but that they still took it seriously. I respect that a lot more than if they'd tried to be "cool" about it. (But, then, most of the boybands out there that I like would probably do the same. ♥)
And I'm cynical enough to think that it's possible that they just got a team on there to say nice things so they could get on TV, but I was watching for that, and I still felt like there was a real genuine quality to their interaction just the way it was. Obviously I want to believe that, so I could be biased, but... I think they all really did like each other.
It was the same with how Hikaru-san said that this was still the best race he'd ever coached and... it could have come off like empty praise and I'm sure there was still a lot of regret--that they didn't break their 4 minute goal, that they didn't have more time, that they couldn't somehow pull off an impossible miracle--but I think it was genuinely a positive experience for everyone.
They may have placed last, but one of the things that made the whole experience worth it, made the ending that much more positive was that the audience still cheered for them. Even though the poor things were too exhausted to move after the race (they all looked totally wiped), even though I knew that ending was coming, even though Sho's oar got caught in the water at the last second (which I felt badly over mostly because I know Sho himself absolutely hated that mistake), when the audience cheered, I felt better. I remembered all that they'd done to get as far as they did and that it was an impressive feat, how far they'd come.
I remembered the way the staff and the Nihon U. guys (I think?) cheered for them as they begin to prepare for the race. I remembered the adorable encouragement that Hikaru-san gave them just beforehand (Sho and Hikaru-san's Hug of Manliness! So great!) and how, during their final practice that morning, Hikaru-san had just as much praise for them as he had criticisms for them, how the experiences from previous months had stuck. I remembered how Jun said thoughtfully that they'd never really faced something like this head on and they've learned a lot about each other, that he could really sense how the others felt about rowing/this project and how I think that was true for all of them.
And that moment, where they're heading out for the big race at last, when it's just them in the boat, and they say, "From now on, it's just the five of us." as they row off. That moment was--
asd;flkasl;kjaslk I know there are a lot of groups who have a lot of love for each other, but they guys are my darlings and that moment just about slayed me.
It wasn't a perfect race. There were things they wish they could have done differently, I'm sure. Sho was still frustrated afterwards and I strongly suspect he would probably do it all over again if he could. But there were a couple of things that were important to note--they had a really strong start and they definitely held their own in the first half of the race, only falling behind in the second half. I think it was just a case of needing more rowing stamina than anything else, which is something you cannot build in only three months.
You just can't.
So, whatever the ultimate result, however much it might seem like all their words could just be empty praise for the cameras, I honestly think that this experience was one they could be happy with. And, for me, it's important to remember that, while watching the end of the rowing chapter, even if it felt like an ending, Arashi still goes on together. What they learned here isn't something that ends here, the closeness they felt here is taken with them back to their regular jobs. They're still Arashi, this is just one project they did together.
Part of me wishes they did have more time, I think they genuinely could have won, given the proper amount of time. But I also wouldn't want them killing themselves for a year just for a rowing club, because running on ONE HOUR OF SLEEP A NIGHT TO FIT EVERYTHING IS NOT COOL, TAKE A NAP, JUN.
Plus, there were so many great little moments! Kazuko-san's necklaces in their individual colors! Jun constantly wearing hats to cover his hair--because, god, he must have hated his Hanadan hair. (He seems to be undoing the curls for Hanadan Final every chance he gets, too, his hair looked kinda fried on the recent Step and Go TV appearances/performances and you can totally tell he'd just had his hair done. You can just tell he'd rather sit in make-up for three hours a day to have his hair done than to actually have to live with that hairstyle for several months. XD Which is too bad, I really like that look on him.)
♥ - I also watched GRA #19 [2008.03.01] and... you know, I'm trying to be patient with this show. And it has gotten loads better. And I understand that they're airing in prime time, so they can't do the batshit stuff they do on the late night shows. I understand that they're trying to appeal to a broader base of fans. And there's been a lot of progress, some episodes are downright enjoyable. I love that they're getting the boys to be more interactive with the questions they ask or having them actually do these various things. I love that at the very least, Jun'll cook something every other week and I could probably watch half an hour of that every week just fine.
But it's a little disheartening to look back at a lot of their shows and think that they'd found their groove by this point with them, that by #19 Shukudai-kun was pretty hilarious, D no Arashi had figured out what they wanted to do, etc. And, sure, maybe I just had certain expectations of the show and what I want from it isn't what they (or the rest of Japan, I have no idea how good the ratings for the show are?) want from the show.
So, it's probably never going to be my favorite show for them. But there are moments of adorableness that make it worth watching for hardcore fans. (Though, I'd advise skipping the show if you're only casual fan, probably even the subtitled episodes.) This week had them trying to figure out the way to make a certain kind of tea and it is never not funny to watch Sho be made of total fail. N-not that he really did anything terribly wrong, but it's still really, really funny to watch Ohno try to drink Sho's Tea of Fail and make scrunchy faces at it and I realize all over again that Sho should never be allowed to cook anything. Not even tea.
Actually, there were several things that made this one worth the half hour or so it takes to watch:
→ I-- I do get amusement out of the way they always seem to sit on their various blocks. Jun and Nino almost always sit perfectly proper, with their legs neatly crossed and hands folded in their laps. Ohno just sort of slouches and splays his legs whatever way they go. Sho tries to look dignified but usually ends up flopping his legs/feet wherever, too.
→ Once again, you can spot Ohno's painted nails, except you can see that they need retouching by this point. Which got me thinking, actually.
It's fun to say that it's Jun who painted Ohno's nails because we know Jun used to paint his nails a lot and he's girly enough to probably still enjoy it, even if it clashes against his current image. And Ohno's the kind of person that Jun would paint the nails of who would just let him and not bother to take it off afterwards.
I wanted to be objective, though. Maybe it was for a role in a play Ohno's currently doing? But if that were true, why was it only randomly done, why not all the nails? And you'd think he'd touch them up or the play staff would have done it for him. You'd think it would also be more consistent, show up more often, rather than just this one time before it started chipping.
And, well, Jun has been off in Hong Kong or Vegas/LA for filming Handan Final a lot. It does lead the crazies one to speculate a little.
I suppose Ohno could have just randomly done it himself, but when you pause the GRA episode to look at it, you can see that the polish is mostly on his right hand and if Ohno's right-handed....
It was vaguely around this point, when I'd spent five minutes talking about a boybander's nails in a conversation with Ho that I realized all over again that, yes. Yes, this is my fandom now.
→ .....s-so. When Jun kicks Ohno out of his seat to try the food+tea... he just takes over Ohno's chopsticks, too? And, at first he has his own glass of water, but then he tries the green tea and I'm pretty sure that was the same glass Ohno had been drinking out of.
And I-- I know, okay. Only elementary school kids make a big deal out of that sort of thing.
B-but.
That's really comfortable with sharing your bandmates' germs there, Jun. .___.
It also resulted in this conversation about how they share stuff all the time:
(I love Nino so much. Seriously. I mean, sure, part of it is that Nino is actually observant and genuinely smart, but part of it is also that he is such a cheapskate, that it's reached, like, supernatural levels.)
→ AWWWW. Jun showing Ohno how to eat the single strand of pasta, even reaching a hand over to politely cover Ohno as he first ate it.. ♥ And then Ohno tries to show Nino and they try it together at the same time and as;ldfjal;skj of course they are adorable little tards and wind up choking on it as tiny little boyfriends of dual fail.
→ Another conversation:
→ Ohno making adorable faces! Jun making adorable faces! Jun making pasta! I don't care if these are things that happen semi-regularly I never get tired of them.
♥ - I also watched Arashi no Shukudai-kun #73 [2008.03.03] (and aatash has a wonderful summary/translation of the first half) and I actually didn't like it that much on the first time through. It's hard to out-do the first AibaLand episode and even the most retarded game of tag ever can't measure up to the cornstarch mix. But I went back to grab a few caps and rewatch a few sections and I started to pick up a few things that I'd missed the first time around and I started to like a lot more.
One thing I did like immediately was that Jun seemed in a very good mood! He whacks Aiba over the head for being silly! (Sho does the same for Ohno after a bit and a;lskejlakjs I loved that, too. ♥) He made Sho feel about 2cm tall just by mildly saying, oh, he hadn't eaten the cookie yet. as;dlaslklkjs he says it in this really mild, calm tone and it's not like his bandmates haven't known him for about a decade and it's not like he's not the baby of the group and as;dlfkjaslkj yet Sho still freezes and sliiiiides back over to put the cookie back on Matsujun's plate with every ounce of politeness he can summon. (Of course they both crack up right afterwards, but it's still SO HILARIOUS.) He even tries to first kick Ohno and then grope him!
Clearly, Jun is having a good day at work.
(He makes some SUPER ADORABLE expressions, too! His, "I'm thinking really hard right now. 9_9" look makes me flail truly ridiculous, pitiful amounts.)
I-- I also may have shrieked with laughter when Jun accidentally drops the ball (I had to rewatch a couple of times to make sure that, yes, Sho and Jun drop them at the same time, so they're both standing still, but Nino encourages Ohno to go after Jun instead) and he tried to growl at Ohno to not tag him and Ohno isn't even phased by it.
And then. ;laksfl;kas Jun starts going back after Ohno again and then I think Nino starts gleefully shrieking about how Jun is a real demon? And then Jun kicks/gropes Ohno to re-tag him and seriously I had to watch that scene about ten times just to get a decent cap of it. Totally worth it, though.
♥ - I also finally sat down to watch the subbed version of Jun's appearance on Shounen Club Premium and it's actually a really interesting interview, highly recommended as one of those interviews that really shows a lot about Jun and the insights he has on the rest of Arashi. I really like this interview (I'd watched it raw and read summaries of it, but it's not the same as seeing it subtitled), but I have to admit, it's kind of, "....um." when I feel like I've reached the halfway point and I've not really learned anything new about Jun yet. And I have another moment of, "Oh god why am I that fan? ;__;" all over again.
Anyway. It is still a really fun interview, it's mostly stuff we've heard about before (the haphazard way Arashi was formed, how Jun didn't audition, etc.) and Jun's thoughts on the other members that we sort of already knew, yet you can see him putting so much time and care into the answers that he gives that it's interesting just for that.
Like, how he talks about Ohno not really doing anything as Leader of Arashi, but he's a stabilizing presence. "He really doesn't talk, like, at times when we're all deciding on things... he'll be doodling and laughing to himself. There's points like that. But, he listens to what you're saying... kind of, since he's one-step removed he sees the whole picture. We'll all get together after a long time and I think that he's actually the one who looks the most at how everyone is."
Which is pretty much how I've thought of Jun's/the rest of Arashi's feelings on Ohno, he might not be a traditional leader type, but he connects them all together, he... stabilizes them, that's a really good way to put it.
A-also. The interview is totally worth watching for Jun's thoughts on Sho:
"Although in the past he had a strong image of burning with desire for something, he's mellow lately. He's become able to see various things... you could say it's kind of a 'mother-type' feeling."
....you know, you get used to the dichotomy between "canon" and "fanon" with them, things like calling Sho "mom" is hilarious, but they don't really say that. Until you watch an interview like this and, as;dlfkjas;lkjsl, did Jun really just say Sho was "mother-like"?? al;ska;lskj I love them forever.
As for Aiba... Jun really takes a looong moment to think about it, searching for the right words, eventually settling on, "Well~, he makes the place brighter, ne." Which was totally adorable, I have to say.
And then Nino (who hangs out with Aiba a lot and who the hell decided that that was a good idea, those two would destroy the world together!) who does pranks on people, that sort of thing, "but he actually has a poisonous nature, you could say. Kind of like... he seems incredibly easy to get close to, so sometimes when you get closer he'll be like 'ugh' to you." Which is a really interesting take on Nino and probably says a lot about Nino's odd nature. Nino really is an interesting little shit, he's so snarky and yet so touchy-feely with everyone and gets lonely a lot and yet he's so stand-offish with certain things and... as;dflkalks he's so hard to read. >:|
As for Jun's own role in Arashi, he says that they're all really considerate so they don't fight, they all get along really well. He says that he's the only one in the group with the role of being pushy, "who has the duty of not being cautious of others and continuing to insist on things.... Like, 'I want to do it like this', or proposing things like, 'I want to do it like this...', if there isn't anyone to propose things then no one talks at all, with us. I guess I do that kind of thing ne."
Every time you hear the story about how Arashi was formed, how they didn't really even know that they were debuting until it was practically happening, how they never get official acceptance letters for JE at all, they're just told to show up, and so on, you start to think that they probably don't get the management talking to them about anything unless they press things. So I can see why Jun acts that way and why it's okay/acceptable that he does/why he fills that role.
And you'd think it'd directly clash with how much he thinks about other people and their motivations for why they're telling him to act a certain why or what directors want from him/the rest of Arashi when they're telling them to do such and such a thing, with how earnest (and "painstaking" XD) he is (as he talks about right afterwards), except it really goes hand in hand with Jun's seriousness in just about everything he does for his job. He's very intense and very determined and he can get pretty pushy about it in an attempt to do it the best he can, I think.
(a;slda;lskjlas;kj oh my god Taichi's "step and go" pun was the worst in the history of ever and you can just see Jun trying not to crack up while thinking that was the worst pun in the history of ever and hearing the laughter of the staff in the background was not helping especially when Taichi's perfectly earnest face wasn't cracking and a;sldfjalskj the interview was totally worth watching for that right there.)
AND THEN RYO'S VTR. ♥
"It's to the point where it feels like, among all my sempai at Johnny's, Matsumoto Jun-san... is the only one I get along well with."
And, seriously, that is the gayest story I have ever heard Ryo tell (aside from pretty much anything he does with Uchi), because they... they ran into each other in Shibuya, Jun took them out for food, then they decided to go to a movie together, but they had some time before it started, so they went for drinks, then watched the movie, then afterwards they went to Ryo's place and had champagne in his dirty room.
AND THEN.
"What is it, I, um... I'm always a member of the groups Kanjani8 and NEWS, but... I'm not really the one who gets hit, like scolding. Since Matsumoto Jun is the only sempai who hits me... I'm scared of him."
I just--
I'm not even making any of that up.
It's just so great that, no matter how long anyone has known him or how bitchy they themselves are, no matter how much you know that 99% of the time Jun is just fucking with you, you're still kinda scared of him.
Of course, right after that, when Taichi says, ohhh, you get along well with Nishikido then? And Jun says, yeah, though, when he gets drunk, he gets really problematic. And that's Matsumoto Jun for you. Ryo comes on a VTR to talk about how Jun scares him and Jun watches this and then starts criticizing Ryo. Of course.
Then he does say that he and Ryo are very similar (which is why it's amusing for Jun when he gets drunk and starts saying stuff) and that he's also gone drinking with Jin and that they're fairly similar, too. Which kind of surprises me, since... well, I know I've talked about this before, since their interaction was interesting in the 2007-2008 Countdown, but I know that Jun and Jin probably get along perfectly well all things considered, that it's just simply fun and amusing to pretend they're bitch fighting every time they're in the same room together. But I wouldn't have said that they were similar, even setting aside the fun "fanon" stuff.
(A-apparently the two of them got mad at Jun one time because they got drunk and started saying things like, "It's because you're like that that you're no good." to him and I was kind of dying along with the staff at that because you just know that's true and you know that Jun probably thought it was the funniest thing ever that his little baby kouhai were trying to be bitchy drunks. You know, after he crushed their souls and dreams. <3)
I think this definitely turned out to be one of my favorite Jun interviews ever. You can see how thoughtful he is about his answers, he tells a lot of amusing stories, there's a great appearance by Ryo, and Jun looks really fantastic throughout the whole interview. I have no complaints at all.
.....j-jesus, that whole thing was about 12 pages in my Word file. .____.
I also finally watched Mago Mago Arashi #34-#35, which is the end of the rowing saga, so, I dunno, spoilers for that, I guess? Assuming you'd be reading this post if you were interested and hadn't already seen the ending. Plus GRA #19, Shukudai-kun #73, and Jun's appearance on SCP subbed.
This may get long again.
It was really hard to watch these two final episodes, having a vague idea of how things would turn out (I cheated a little and asked Ho about the ending as well as just knowing that things could not go that well) and wanting to postpone that sense of heartache just a little while longer. I knew that things wouldn't be devestating or a crushing loss, things turned out about how I expected them to--they took last place but it wasn't a loss as an experience because they ran a race that they weren't embarrassed by--but it was still hard to sit through it sometimes. It was even worse because there were fans there. If it had just been the regular people that turned out to watch rowing competitions, maybe it would have been easier?
As the episodes wore on, as the final race loomed closer, their tone changed as well. Even if the announcer hadn't pointed it out, you would have been able to just look at them and so clearly see it written all over their faces. But more than that, it was the way they talked about the upcoming race and you could really tell that they were getting a clearer picture of just what it was that they'd gotten themselves into.
When they started, there was a really determined spirit to win, even if they knew that might be kind of silly. They still had hope of possbily winning the race or at least a determination to aim for the #1 spot. But, as the months wore on and it seemed like it was one set-back after another--their inability to get past that 4 minute hurdle, Sho's back injury, etc.--they slowly shifted their attitudes towards more realistic goals. By the end, just before the race, they were saying, "I think it'll be enough for me if we can just be satisfied with our race." (Jun) or "We've come this far. As long as we can work as one, that's enough." (Ohno) or "If Arashi's rowing is at its best in the competition.... That's what Hikaru-san is hoping for." (Ohno)
That made it more difficult to watch as well. I'm not sure if they themselves were even aware of the change in attitude--they had to be by the end, of course, Sho says, "I want to win, but... I know we'll just get more anxious if we focus too much on winning. I do want us to run a race we can be proud of... that's what I'm hoping for." In that clip you can really see how much he's been putting into this project and I think... looking back at the training camp, it was right about then that his "slump" began and I started to wonder how much of that is Sho's total sports fail, how much of it was that, the better they all got at this, the stronger they became, the more it highlighted that Sho, god love him, is just not that good at sports.
I wonder how much Sho was trying to make up for that, too, by practicing more than anyone else. I'm sure a lot of it was that he hates losing, you could see how genuinely frustrated he was, since he practiced the most and yet it felt like he wasn't making progress. The shots of him praciticing seperately with Hikaru-san after showing those clips of him talking about how frustrated he was that he wasn't getting it, were really telling. So was the simple shot of Sho watching the others row after he'd hurt his back, it really had to suck for him, and it was one of the first things episode #34 started out with, making it that much harder to watch still yet. (It was really sweet the way the others didn't even dream of blaming Sho for getting hurt, they were all totally positive that he'd be just fine, they knew how hard he'd been working. as;ldfjalsk I love them all so much sometimes.)
I also suspect that Sho getting hurt was sort of a wake-up call for them, since it was immediately after that when they started talking about how they just wanted to run a race they could be proud of, I think that really brought it home how taxing this was on all of them. I mean, Jun even said, between the drama and the rowing after Sho was out of commission, he'd gotten one hour of sleep, and jesus I love you guys and this special and all but please please don't die okay. ;__;
It's about at this point when the announcer also starts saying things like, "Can they really compete against top-ranked college and general teams?" Up to that point, they hadn't really addressed it that much, which I sort of took note of because I was kind of muttering it at the tv a lot. The practice race they ran was against Nihon University and the race was also going up against other Universirty level rowers, people who have been doing this since HIGH SCHOOL or possibly longer.
Even Sho comments about it when Ohno points out that one of the other teams in the race is Keio University's team, Sho's school. He talks about how he'd seen the rowing team using the ergometer machines back in high school and even back then he thought that they practiced kind of a lot. No one really comments on it directly, but you realize that they're competing against people who've been practicing for years and years, people who have conditioned themselves to be the best rowers they can be.
And that Arashi has been doing this for three months.
Ultimately, I think that's what made these episodes easier to watch, knowing that they had to realize what they were going up against and that it was unfair to expect them to row at the same level. As much as I wish they'd said it directly themselves, so that I would know for certain that they weren't being too hard on themselves, I also admire that none of Arashi themselves used this as an excuse. Not a single one of them ever said, "Well, we've only been doing this for three months, right? So, it's not fair to compare the two." No, they were 100% serious the entire time.
(I would have loved to have seen this as a JE thing instead or even just taking people who'd never rowed before and starting them out from the same point that Arashi did. Because the University teams were also putting in hours of practice every day on top of their years and years of experience. I think having several groups of people who were just starting out like they were would have been a much better indication of their actual progress/level of skill.)
And, while I was sad that they didn't break their 4 minute record, I was extremely gratified that the show interviewed some of the other rowers after the race. "That was really amazing," said a member of the Touda Chuo General Hospital team. "They've only been at it for.. what, half a year?"
"No, three months," answers a staff member.
"Wow, it's incredible that they could get that far in three months."
YES. THANK YOU.
Even the chairman of the Saitama Prefecture Rowing Association said, "College teams practice essentially every day, so in comparison, when you consider how much they've practice, I think the progress they made was exceptionally fast." I know that, well, of course they weren't going to put in anything negative on the show, that they would find positive things to say, but it's very true.
It's the same with how really heartwarming and completely awesome it was that they made friends with the Nihon University team, who seemed to genuinely like the guys. You could tell that there was a lot of mutual respect and fun there without sucking up to each other. Arashi was genuinely impressed at how hard the Nihon U. guys worked and the Nihon U. guys were genuinely impressed with how hard Arashi was working here and how seriously they took the sport. I think it says a lot about how Arashi wasn't treating this lightly and, yes, it was a promotional thing and they wouldn't have gotten into this if not for using it as a series of television episodes, but that they still took it seriously. I respect that a lot more than if they'd tried to be "cool" about it. (But, then, most of the boybands out there that I like would probably do the same. ♥)
And I'm cynical enough to think that it's possible that they just got a team on there to say nice things so they could get on TV, but I was watching for that, and I still felt like there was a real genuine quality to their interaction just the way it was. Obviously I want to believe that, so I could be biased, but... I think they all really did like each other.
It was the same with how Hikaru-san said that this was still the best race he'd ever coached and... it could have come off like empty praise and I'm sure there was still a lot of regret--that they didn't break their 4 minute goal, that they didn't have more time, that they couldn't somehow pull off an impossible miracle--but I think it was genuinely a positive experience for everyone.
They may have placed last, but one of the things that made the whole experience worth it, made the ending that much more positive was that the audience still cheered for them. Even though the poor things were too exhausted to move after the race (they all looked totally wiped), even though I knew that ending was coming, even though Sho's oar got caught in the water at the last second (which I felt badly over mostly because I know Sho himself absolutely hated that mistake), when the audience cheered, I felt better. I remembered all that they'd done to get as far as they did and that it was an impressive feat, how far they'd come.
I remembered the way the staff and the Nihon U. guys (I think?) cheered for them as they begin to prepare for the race. I remembered the adorable encouragement that Hikaru-san gave them just beforehand (Sho and Hikaru-san's Hug of Manliness! So great!) and how, during their final practice that morning, Hikaru-san had just as much praise for them as he had criticisms for them, how the experiences from previous months had stuck. I remembered how Jun said thoughtfully that they'd never really faced something like this head on and they've learned a lot about each other, that he could really sense how the others felt about rowing/this project and how I think that was true for all of them.
And that moment, where they're heading out for the big race at last, when it's just them in the boat, and they say, "From now on, it's just the five of us." as they row off. That moment was--
asd;flkasl;kjaslk I know there are a lot of groups who have a lot of love for each other, but they guys are my darlings and that moment just about slayed me.
It wasn't a perfect race. There were things they wish they could have done differently, I'm sure. Sho was still frustrated afterwards and I strongly suspect he would probably do it all over again if he could. But there were a couple of things that were important to note--they had a really strong start and they definitely held their own in the first half of the race, only falling behind in the second half. I think it was just a case of needing more rowing stamina than anything else, which is something you cannot build in only three months.
You just can't.
So, whatever the ultimate result, however much it might seem like all their words could just be empty praise for the cameras, I honestly think that this experience was one they could be happy with. And, for me, it's important to remember that, while watching the end of the rowing chapter, even if it felt like an ending, Arashi still goes on together. What they learned here isn't something that ends here, the closeness they felt here is taken with them back to their regular jobs. They're still Arashi, this is just one project they did together.
Part of me wishes they did have more time, I think they genuinely could have won, given the proper amount of time. But I also wouldn't want them killing themselves for a year just for a rowing club, because running on ONE HOUR OF SLEEP A NIGHT TO FIT EVERYTHING IS NOT COOL, TAKE A NAP, JUN.
Plus, there were so many great little moments! Kazuko-san's necklaces in their individual colors! Jun constantly wearing hats to cover his hair--because, god, he must have hated his Hanadan hair. (He seems to be undoing the curls for Hanadan Final every chance he gets, too, his hair looked kinda fried on the recent Step and Go TV appearances/performances and you can totally tell he'd just had his hair done. You can just tell he'd rather sit in make-up for three hours a day to have his hair done than to actually have to live with that hairstyle for several months. XD Which is too bad, I really like that look on him.)
♥ - I also watched GRA #19 [2008.03.01] and... you know, I'm trying to be patient with this show. And it has gotten loads better. And I understand that they're airing in prime time, so they can't do the batshit stuff they do on the late night shows. I understand that they're trying to appeal to a broader base of fans. And there's been a lot of progress, some episodes are downright enjoyable. I love that they're getting the boys to be more interactive with the questions they ask or having them actually do these various things. I love that at the very least, Jun'll cook something every other week and I could probably watch half an hour of that every week just fine.
But it's a little disheartening to look back at a lot of their shows and think that they'd found their groove by this point with them, that by #19 Shukudai-kun was pretty hilarious, D no Arashi had figured out what they wanted to do, etc. And, sure, maybe I just had certain expectations of the show and what I want from it isn't what they (or the rest of Japan, I have no idea how good the ratings for the show are?) want from the show.
So, it's probably never going to be my favorite show for them. But there are moments of adorableness that make it worth watching for hardcore fans. (Though, I'd advise skipping the show if you're only casual fan, probably even the subtitled episodes.) This week had them trying to figure out the way to make a certain kind of tea and it is never not funny to watch Sho be made of total fail. N-not that he really did anything terribly wrong, but it's still really, really funny to watch Ohno try to drink Sho's Tea of Fail and make scrunchy faces at it and I realize all over again that Sho should never be allowed to cook anything. Not even tea.
Actually, there were several things that made this one worth the half hour or so it takes to watch:
→ I-- I do get amusement out of the way they always seem to sit on their various blocks. Jun and Nino almost always sit perfectly proper, with their legs neatly crossed and hands folded in their laps. Ohno just sort of slouches and splays his legs whatever way they go. Sho tries to look dignified but usually ends up flopping his legs/feet wherever, too.
→ Once again, you can spot Ohno's painted nails, except you can see that they need retouching by this point. Which got me thinking, actually.
It's fun to say that it's Jun who painted Ohno's nails because we know Jun used to paint his nails a lot and he's girly enough to probably still enjoy it, even if it clashes against his current image. And Ohno's the kind of person that Jun would paint the nails of who would just let him and not bother to take it off afterwards.
I wanted to be objective, though. Maybe it was for a role in a play Ohno's currently doing? But if that were true, why was it only randomly done, why not all the nails? And you'd think he'd touch them up or the play staff would have done it for him. You'd think it would also be more consistent, show up more often, rather than just this one time before it started chipping.
And, well, Jun has been off in Hong Kong or Vegas/LA for filming Handan Final a lot. It does lead the crazies one to speculate a little.
I suppose Ohno could have just randomly done it himself, but when you pause the GRA episode to look at it, you can see that the polish is mostly on his right hand and if Ohno's right-handed....
It was vaguely around this point, when I'd spent five minutes talking about a boybander's nails in a conversation with Ho that I realized all over again that, yes. Yes, this is my fandom now.
→ .....s-so. When Jun kicks Ohno out of his seat to try the food+tea... he just takes over Ohno's chopsticks, too? And, at first he has his own glass of water, but then he tries the green tea and I'm pretty sure that was the same glass Ohno had been drinking out of.
And I-- I know, okay. Only elementary school kids make a big deal out of that sort of thing.
B-but.
That's really comfortable with sharing your bandmates' germs there, Jun. .___.
It also resulted in this conversation about how they share stuff all the time:
- BECKY: Eh, if they were going to catch anything from each other, they'd have caught it by now. *shares food*
HO: It's kind of amazing they don't seem to catch each other's colds, considering.
BECKY: I'm sure that's at least partly due to mother hen's fault over there. As soon as someone starts sniffling Jun stares at the rest of them until they agree to take some of his herbal stuff.
HO: He's a walking pharmacy, that boy. Although I giggled terribly when Nino mentioned in his nikki that it was almost spring, and therefore Jun and Aiba would be suffering from allergies shortly.
BECKY: It's almost sweet that Nino thinks of that kind of thing, that he's thinking of/noticing his bandmates, if I didn't automatically picture a >:D look on Nino's face when he wrote that.
HO: EXACTLY.
(I love Nino so much. Seriously. I mean, sure, part of it is that Nino is actually observant and genuinely smart, but part of it is also that he is such a cheapskate, that it's reached, like, supernatural levels.)
→ AWWWW. Jun showing Ohno how to eat the single strand of pasta, even reaching a hand over to politely cover Ohno as he first ate it.. ♥ And then Ohno tries to show Nino and they try it together at the same time and as;ldfjal;skj of course they are adorable little tards and wind up choking on it as tiny little boyfriends of dual fail.
→ Another conversation:
- BECKY: .....WHY IS "It's Not Unusual" PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND?
HO: BECAUSE THE SOUND GUYS ARE AWESOME, THAT'S WHY.
HO: I died when the latest Shukudai had a song from MOULIN ROUGE.
BECKY: I think they should use all Tom Jones songs from now on.
BECKY: It'd be awesome.
HO: XDDD
HO: I would love and pay a lot of money to see Ohno doing an impression of Tom Jones.
HO: JUST PUTTING THAT OUT THERE
BECKY: My life is not going to be complete until Sex Bomb plays in the background of something with Arashi.
BECKY: ....I'd pay a lot of money for that imitation.
→ Ohno making adorable faces! Jun making adorable faces! Jun making pasta! I don't care if these are things that happen semi-regularly I never get tired of them.
♥ - I also watched Arashi no Shukudai-kun #73 [2008.03.03] (and aatash has a wonderful summary/translation of the first half) and I actually didn't like it that much on the first time through. It's hard to out-do the first AibaLand episode and even the most retarded game of tag ever can't measure up to the cornstarch mix. But I went back to grab a few caps and rewatch a few sections and I started to pick up a few things that I'd missed the first time around and I started to like a lot more.
One thing I did like immediately was that Jun seemed in a very good mood! He whacks Aiba over the head for being silly! (Sho does the same for Ohno after a bit and a;lskejlakjs I loved that, too. ♥) He made Sho feel about 2cm tall just by mildly saying, oh, he hadn't eaten the cookie yet. as;dlaslklkjs he says it in this really mild, calm tone and it's not like his bandmates haven't known him for about a decade and it's not like he's not the baby of the group and as;dlfkjaslkj yet Sho still freezes and sliiiiides back over to put the cookie back on Matsujun's plate with every ounce of politeness he can summon. (Of course they both crack up right afterwards, but it's still SO HILARIOUS.) He even tries to first kick Ohno and then grope him!
Clearly, Jun is having a good day at work.
(He makes some SUPER ADORABLE expressions, too! His, "I'm thinking really hard right now. 9_9" look makes me flail truly ridiculous, pitiful amounts.)
I-- I also may have shrieked with laughter when Jun accidentally drops the ball (I had to rewatch a couple of times to make sure that, yes, Sho and Jun drop them at the same time, so they're both standing still, but Nino encourages Ohno to go after Jun instead) and he tried to growl at Ohno to not tag him and Ohno isn't even phased by it.
And then. ;laksfl;kas Jun starts going back after Ohno again and then I think Nino starts gleefully shrieking about how Jun is a real demon? And then Jun kicks/gropes Ohno to re-tag him and seriously I had to watch that scene about ten times just to get a decent cap of it. Totally worth it, though.
♥ - I also finally sat down to watch the subbed version of Jun's appearance on Shounen Club Premium and it's actually a really interesting interview, highly recommended as one of those interviews that really shows a lot about Jun and the insights he has on the rest of Arashi. I really like this interview (I'd watched it raw and read summaries of it, but it's not the same as seeing it subtitled), but I have to admit, it's kind of, "....um." when I feel like I've reached the halfway point and I've not really learned anything new about Jun yet. And I have another moment of, "Oh god why am I that fan? ;__;" all over again.
Anyway. It is still a really fun interview, it's mostly stuff we've heard about before (the haphazard way Arashi was formed, how Jun didn't audition, etc.) and Jun's thoughts on the other members that we sort of already knew, yet you can see him putting so much time and care into the answers that he gives that it's interesting just for that.
Like, how he talks about Ohno not really doing anything as Leader of Arashi, but he's a stabilizing presence. "He really doesn't talk, like, at times when we're all deciding on things... he'll be doodling and laughing to himself. There's points like that. But, he listens to what you're saying... kind of, since he's one-step removed he sees the whole picture. We'll all get together after a long time and I think that he's actually the one who looks the most at how everyone is."
Which is pretty much how I've thought of Jun's/the rest of Arashi's feelings on Ohno, he might not be a traditional leader type, but he connects them all together, he... stabilizes them, that's a really good way to put it.
A-also. The interview is totally worth watching for Jun's thoughts on Sho:
"Although in the past he had a strong image of burning with desire for something, he's mellow lately. He's become able to see various things... you could say it's kind of a 'mother-type' feeling."
....you know, you get used to the dichotomy between "canon" and "fanon" with them, things like calling Sho "mom" is hilarious, but they don't really say that. Until you watch an interview like this and, as;dlfkjas;lkjsl, did Jun really just say Sho was "mother-like"?? al;ska;lskj I love them forever.
As for Aiba... Jun really takes a looong moment to think about it, searching for the right words, eventually settling on, "Well~, he makes the place brighter, ne." Which was totally adorable, I have to say.
And then Nino (who hangs out with Aiba a lot and who the hell decided that that was a good idea, those two would destroy the world together!) who does pranks on people, that sort of thing, "but he actually has a poisonous nature, you could say. Kind of like... he seems incredibly easy to get close to, so sometimes when you get closer he'll be like 'ugh' to you." Which is a really interesting take on Nino and probably says a lot about Nino's odd nature. Nino really is an interesting little shit, he's so snarky and yet so touchy-feely with everyone and gets lonely a lot and yet he's so stand-offish with certain things and... as;dflkalks he's so hard to read. >:|
As for Jun's own role in Arashi, he says that they're all really considerate so they don't fight, they all get along really well. He says that he's the only one in the group with the role of being pushy, "who has the duty of not being cautious of others and continuing to insist on things.... Like, 'I want to do it like this', or proposing things like, 'I want to do it like this...', if there isn't anyone to propose things then no one talks at all, with us. I guess I do that kind of thing ne."
Every time you hear the story about how Arashi was formed, how they didn't really even know that they were debuting until it was practically happening, how they never get official acceptance letters for JE at all, they're just told to show up, and so on, you start to think that they probably don't get the management talking to them about anything unless they press things. So I can see why Jun acts that way and why it's okay/acceptable that he does/why he fills that role.
And you'd think it'd directly clash with how much he thinks about other people and their motivations for why they're telling him to act a certain why or what directors want from him/the rest of Arashi when they're telling them to do such and such a thing, with how earnest (and "painstaking" XD) he is (as he talks about right afterwards), except it really goes hand in hand with Jun's seriousness in just about everything he does for his job. He's very intense and very determined and he can get pretty pushy about it in an attempt to do it the best he can, I think.
(a;slda;lskjlas;kj oh my god Taichi's "step and go" pun was the worst in the history of ever and you can just see Jun trying not to crack up while thinking that was the worst pun in the history of ever and hearing the laughter of the staff in the background was not helping especially when Taichi's perfectly earnest face wasn't cracking and a;sldfjalskj the interview was totally worth watching for that right there.)
AND THEN RYO'S VTR. ♥
"It's to the point where it feels like, among all my sempai at Johnny's, Matsumoto Jun-san... is the only one I get along well with."
And, seriously, that is the gayest story I have ever heard Ryo tell (aside from pretty much anything he does with Uchi), because they... they ran into each other in Shibuya, Jun took them out for food, then they decided to go to a movie together, but they had some time before it started, so they went for drinks, then watched the movie, then afterwards they went to Ryo's place and had champagne in his dirty room.
AND THEN.
"What is it, I, um... I'm always a member of the groups Kanjani8 and NEWS, but... I'm not really the one who gets hit, like scolding. Since Matsumoto Jun is the only sempai who hits me... I'm scared of him."
I just--
I'm not even making any of that up.
It's just so great that, no matter how long anyone has known him or how bitchy they themselves are, no matter how much you know that 99% of the time Jun is just fucking with you, you're still kinda scared of him.
Of course, right after that, when Taichi says, ohhh, you get along well with Nishikido then? And Jun says, yeah, though, when he gets drunk, he gets really problematic. And that's Matsumoto Jun for you. Ryo comes on a VTR to talk about how Jun scares him and Jun watches this and then starts criticizing Ryo. Of course.
Then he does say that he and Ryo are very similar (which is why it's amusing for Jun when he gets drunk and starts saying stuff) and that he's also gone drinking with Jin and that they're fairly similar, too. Which kind of surprises me, since... well, I know I've talked about this before, since their interaction was interesting in the 2007-2008 Countdown, but I know that Jun and Jin probably get along perfectly well all things considered, that it's just simply fun and amusing to pretend they're bitch fighting every time they're in the same room together. But I wouldn't have said that they were similar, even setting aside the fun "fanon" stuff.
(A-apparently the two of them got mad at Jun one time because they got drunk and started saying things like, "It's because you're like that that you're no good." to him and I was kind of dying along with the staff at that because you just know that's true and you know that Jun probably thought it was the funniest thing ever that his little baby kouhai were trying to be bitchy drunks. You know, after he crushed their souls and dreams. <3)
I think this definitely turned out to be one of my favorite Jun interviews ever. You can see how thoughtful he is about his answers, he tells a lot of amusing stories, there's a great appearance by Ryo, and Jun looks really fantastic throughout the whole interview. I have no complaints at all.
.....j-jesus, that whole thing was about 12 pages in my Word file. .____.