Shorter post this time (or so I intended), with the idea that maybe if they're not so long, I might not get so intimidated by the backlog. Eh, I'm sure you care. XD
Anyway, earlier this week I was thinking about the kind of Arashi fan I am and where I'm coming from/what I'm bringing to the table.
(It was after reading
this article.) Sometimes I wonder if people really understand that I'm a Jun fan--it's not like it's not obvious, so I think it'd be really hard to miss (which is an understatment, yes XD) that he's my favorite. But... sometimes I think people don't quite get that that affects my preferences with Arashi.
Like, yes, of course I'm going to ship Aiba/Jun super hardcore and make a huge deal out of their moments because that's my preference. I'm also going to make a big deal out of Ohno/Jun and Nino/Jun and Sho/Jun moments when they happen. Because I'm a Jun fan. Of course I like all of Arashi's friendships with each other, but given that I am a Jun fan, I'm going to be making a bigger deal out of those moments. I like a lot of pairings. But if you want to know if I'm going to flail loudly over something, pretty much the only question you have to ask is, "Did that moment involve Matsujun? Yes? Okay, superflail is a go."
Sometimes I wonder if people get that. If I were an Ohno fan, wouldn't it make sense if I shipped Ohmiya the hardest and loudest? (Not that you have to, mind! Just that I doubt people would be surprised.) If I were a Sho fan, I'd probably ship Sho/Nino or Aiba/Sho the hardest and loudest, that makes sense, right? But I'm a Jun fan, so I ship Aiba/Jun the hardest and loudest, with a lot of extra flail for the other possible match-ups. It... seems really obvious to me?
I dunno, fandom is weird sometimes. And kind of has entitlment complexes a little bit occasionally. But that's every fandom everywhere, I suppose. */thoughts on yaoi*
I dunno, do I need to warn for spoilers with variety shows? I'm talking about Shukudai-kun #81+82, VS ARASHI #4, Himitsu #4, and C no Arashi #34.
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This English Jun interview and
this article about him have been all over the flist and they're interesting. I do wonder a little at how accurate they are, but I suppose I'm not without my biases and pre-conceived notions as well. (Meaning, who knows. Maybe my view of him is caught up in too much fangirl Kyaaaaaaaaaa!'ing.)
Interesting reads at any rate.
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VS ARASHI #04 [2008.05.03] - I love VS ARASHI. I knew it would be gold from the moment it was announced and was one of the reasons I was okay with GRA ending. I have been a little wary of it, though, and it's tough to explain why without looking like I'm an idiot fangirl who can't stand when her favorite is full of fail.
It's not that I don't love to mock Jun and laugh hysterically at his girly habits or when he's an utter squishie for his stupid bandmates or when he's OCD about how everything has to be done properly. I love it when Jun is a retard.
But it's hard to watch him fail at something, especially if it ruins his cool image, because I know he tends to take it way harder than he should. I don't care, he's a human being and human beings are full of fail sometimes. When the others fail at something, it just makes me love them more! (Though, sometimes it's hard to watch Aiba fail, too, because you can kind of tell when he's genuinely embarassed and trying to play it off.) But Jun's too hard on himself sometimes.
Thankfully, he seems to be getting better over time, he's become much more comfortable with being dorky, instead trying to always have that aura of super-cool around him. And VS ARASHI has been good for him, he seems not especially bothered by it and I'm heartened by how the rest of Arashi gave him a lot of crap over being MDA in the first two episodes. (Like with the episode of Shukudai-kun where they had the headphones/blindfolds on, when it was pointed out that Jun was the most out of tune, Sho immediately darted in to redirect the conversation away from that, which made me think that it probably really did bother Jun more than he let on. But if the rest of the band is giving him crap about it? He's okay then. <3)
And I'm really glad that he's been good about it on VS ARASHI, he doesn't seem bothered by it. But... baby steps, I keep thinking. And the point of this rambling was to get to this: Part of the reason that I'm glad that Nino was MDA this time around is because I don't want it always falling on the same people, especially those who may be too hard on themselves.
I didn't expect Nino to get MDA this soon, episode #4 is way early for Nino messing up. And I did feel a little badly for him during the announcer trying to keep the suspense going and say, well, who could it be~~? and Nino's tone was like, "It's me, I know. *kicks rocks*" Except I imagine Nino's frustration as being like tiny little infuratiated gamer rage instead of actually feeling like crap personally.
Plus, you know. HE TOTALLY DESERVES IT, the little bastard.
And watching him practically be eaten by the foam cubes while Aiba laughs like it's the greatest thing ever and Jun kind of SMIRKS DOWN AT HIM while putting an arm around Ohno, smirking like "I'm touching Ohno and there's nothing you can do about it."?
Priceless.
You know what else is great? How the guests always seem to pick Aiba for the rolling coin tower. I'm sure it seems like the flaily idiot would of course knock everything over and your team would win. Except Aiba is really good at the game and I don't think he's made a mistake at it yet. (He... he's good with his hands, that one. *______*)
Oh, and, if there aren't a million and one ball-catching jokes at Jun's expense, I am going to be disappointed in you, fandom.
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Arashi no Shukudai-kun #81 [2008.04.28] - It was a little hard to top the previous week of Aiba feeding Jun the blue freakbagel off his own fork (I have my own priorities, okay?), but this episode certainly made an awesome effort at it.
From Nino wearing the BRIGHT PINK PASTEL pants (*thumbs up*) to Sho's BRIGHT PINK shirt (ILU SHO!) to the food segment! Where they yelled at Aiba for not going "Maximum umai!" and Jun puts his arm around Aiba in this move that is a total, "nobody yells at my boyfriend but me!" move. It's extra amusing because they do kind of stop after that. (They were just done teasing Aiba, but it made me laugh anyway.) Seriously, A++++ for that, you guys.
The best part was the AiLand game, though, with Nino and Jun on the same team (seriously, how do they let that happen when they know Nino and Jun will combine Super Bitch Powers and crush all who oppose them??) and how utterly merciless Arashi is to their own. When Sho had to get into the chair, they spun him with every ounce of strength they had! When it was Nino's turn, no consideration for the fact that he has motion sickness (or so I would assume that he'd be affected by spinning around if he gets seasick?) or that he's so much lighter so he spins faster. No, they just spin him as fast as they can, while Jun stands off to the side and goes :D :D :D like it was a really, really great day at work.
I actually felt kind of badly for the little demon, he looked like he felt really sick, but even still they managed to guess the right charade in about .00000007 seconds, practically as Nino was going SPLAT on the floor. (I felt way worse for him during this than during VS ARASHI. As someone who spends THE ENTIRE REST OF THE DAY feeling sick after stuff like that, he has my sympathies.)
Seriously, Nino/Jun will take over the world someday. (And then fandom will write me hot, bitchy makeouts.) And crush all of you.
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Arashi no Shukudai-kun #82 [2008.05.05] - I was talking with Tammaiya as she was watching this episode and this is about the fourth time or so that I've conned her into it, which makes me glad that... it seems like the last month or so of the show has been really rocking? Shukudai-kun has always been a strong show, but it feels like the last several episodes have been just about perfect, that there haven't been any lulls in the episodes. Usually the guest segment or the food segments can kind of drag. But these have been GREAT all the way through.
Maybe it's that they're getting through the segments faster? Or maybe they've just had a string of fun guests. The lady doctor--who had a gold stethoscope, jesus--was really cute and fun and the episode started off with Aiba OF COURSE being the one to go over and volunteer to be the patient. Of course, when they have a pretty lady doctor on, of course Aiba is the one to go over, make up a bunch of nonsensical symptoms, ask if she's REALLY a doctor, then start to take his shirt off so they can play doctor. Of course.
(I love Aiba so much.)
Even the food segment was awesome! Jun and his perfect cake cutting skills that everyone goes OOOOH~~ at! OGURA-SAN even noticing that Jun needs to EAT A SANDWICH, so he says, HEY, MATSUJUN, AREN'T YOU GOING TO EAT? and the rest of them have to join in to get him to eat a piece! Except Aiba has just about stolen the rest of the dessert and I am convinced that you should not let those two be around each other during lunchtime if there's a) no supervision or b) no camera around.
It's different on camera, but if no one else was there? You know Jun would totally give Aiba his lunch after about five seconds of Aiba looking hungry in his direction. (Sho would have to come along and go WE HAVE HAD THIS DISCUSSION BEFORE. IF THE TUPPERWARE CONTAINER HAS YOUR NAME ON IT, YOU HAVE TO EAT IT, MATSUMOTO. ALL OF IT. YOURSELF.)
Though, man, Aiba has been looking kind of skinny again lately, EAT A SANDWICH YOU, TOO.
Also, Sho stealing the guest's ramen, to which everyone else pretty much leaped in to smack him for? And yet Sho didn't seem SORRY AT ALL? A++++++++
(Ho and I were talking, it felt like Nino was kind of quiet this episode, he really wasn't as energetic as you'd think he would be in an episode with Sho drawing. He wasn't pissy or mopey, just... quiet, not bad or anything. And she thinks maybe that's why Sho was so high energy this episode, which got me thinking about it, too.)
Oh, and Sho making the comment about Jun leaning his nipples forward? To which Jun was all I WAS LEANING THE MIC FORWARD. >_> with this "I'll kill you later. >_>" look. Super, super hilarious. It always is when Sho takes his life in his hands like that.
Those bits alone would have been enough to make a good episode, but #82 continues to deliver with SHO DRAWINGS again! \o/ And I was pretty much crying with laughter at Sho's totally fail drawings. His attempt to draw a rhino was just the BEST THING EVER, especially because you could tell he was totally defensive about how he got the horn in the right place and Ohno's totally had a horn ON ITS BACK which, um, I don't know what kind of rhinos he's ever seen, but....
Nino hovering behind both Ohno and Sho to watch as they drew was great, too.
My favorite part of the episode may just have been the final segment, though. Between the compliments to Jun's skipping (I think Aiba looked like he was having the most fun, but Jun's looked... kind of surprisingly really natural XDDD) and AIBA PLAYING BASKETBALL, I was kind of dead from the awesome. I've never been much of a fan of basketball (it's even more boring to play) but Aiba? Can make anything hot, basketball is no exception.
Seriously, oh my god that was so very, very nice, mmmm. *___* Those long long legs of his and I swear it wasn't more than four or five steps across the entire stage to get the ball through the hoop and what I wouldn't give to watch Aiba play basketball in a full-sized court so we could properly see him. Just. I haven't been that enamored with his current haircut (I still miss the blond *sadface*) so I've forgotten a little bit how Aiba can be so smoking hot, but um. NOW I REMEMBER. *_______*
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Himitsu no Arashi-chan #04 [2008.05.01] - I haven't blogged much about Himitsu no Arashi-chan much (I still haven't watched more than the first ten minutes of the first episode) and it's not because it's a bad show... it's certainly a very pretty show! Though, I wish Jun would wear his contacts more often. I love you a lot, Matsujun, but even you cannot make those glasses look stylish. No, you just can't.
I do like a lot of the aspects of it, I like the stage, I like that they still manage to totally give each other shit sometimes, I like the aspect of trying to achieve a goal (even if I think, bzuh? why would you want to be blasted with a gust of wind like that, totally destroying your previously perfect hair? XDDD), but... those VTRs are really, really long. I'm glad that mostly the guys don't have to invest much time in the show themselves, because I know they're busy and that's not what they need right now, but... they're really, really long and I'm pretty sure that even if I understood all of what was being said, they'd still be pretty boring.
And this is where I kind of do a little I TOLD YOU GUYS SO about GRA not being all that bad.
But #04 was actually kind of really fun! There were BABIES. Aiba trying to handle cute little babies! And a really great photographer who was so much fun. And Sho with the simultaneous interpreter! Who was so much fun. And even Jun with the sush-go-round and the teasing Jun about his cool image! (aatash has a wonderful translation/summary up
here, which I caught most of the gist of, but that cleared a lot of stuff up)
I think the best part was when they made Ohno go over to try to get the baby to smile for the picture and you could sort of tell how uncomfortable he was (I get the impression that it's not that he dislikes kids or anything, just that he's not that good with them and doesn't know how to handle them) and of course they don't send Sho over there at all. Instead, they play my favorite game ever--Fucking With Sho.
I loved the photographer just joining right in to treat Sho like one of the babies they were trying to get a smile out of. I loved her impression earlier on in the episode, too, because that is a true fan right there. DOING AN IMPRESSION OF MATSUJUN'S GIRLY DANCES AND THEN AIBA POINTING OUT, HEY, YOU KNOW HE'S GOING TO BE WATCHING THIS RIGHT? And no no no no she's a fan really! ;___; I loved her.
The best best part was when Sho finally started to smile, Aiba snapped a picture, Nino looked at the picture, and promptly cracked the hell up, going OMG SHOW IT TO EVERYONE. XDDDD He's such a little dick, I love him so much.
The simultaneous interpreter was really interesting as well, it was SO COOL to see that happening as she did it, even if she made it look almost effortless, I bet it's incredibly nervewracking. She was so friendly (and pretty), it was a great segment. I haven't really been that enthused about Himitsu no Arashi-chan (Nino's bit about the planes was fun and I would have seriously loved Jun to go a segment on the shopping channel, but alas) but if they keep having good episodes like this one....
(Seriously, just give Arashi a bunch of babies to play with, and you're all set.)
→ C no Arashi #34 [2003.02.26] subbed - Usually, I take forever to watch the subbed stuff after it comes out (I keep telling myself that I'll go curl up on the couch and watch on the tv or something, which I never do) but this one I had to zip over and grab because it's one of my favorite C no Arashi episodes. (I agree with Taiji, generally I'm not very fond of the show because they're almost kind of really mean to Arashi in the episodes! It's hard to watch sometimes.)
It's the episode with Ohno and Jun demonstrating the little zappers for molestors on the train. And it is super, super hilarious.
Right away, Ohno volunteers to be the gropee and, as Ho pointed out, you know it's because that way Ohno gets to zap Jun. (I love Jun's whole, "....bzuh?" reaction to Ohno being the gropee, like he's surprised that Ohno volunteered for that part.) Which Ohno does WITHOUT HESITATION.
And every time Ohno gets this TOTALLY OFFENDED look on his face when Jun goes to grope him, I just totally lose it. Seriously, Ohno's faces are the best thing ever. His OH LOOK A PERVERT, DID THAT HURT WHEN I ZAPPED YOU? :D :D :D expression is pretty hilarious, too.
Then, when it's Jun's turn to be groped (and he takes forever getting the zapper out) and zap Ohno, the HOLY SHIT I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT look on Ohno's face as he flails in pain and Jun's HURTS, DOESN'T IT? look of revenge is just. It's beautiful.
I feel this conversation with
honooko sums up my feelings on that part as well:
BECKY: You know Jun wanted to take it home and just start randomly zapping his stupid bandmates whenever they said something dumb.
HO: It's like a bark collar for stupid!
BECKY: Someday--when the zapper doesn't work--Jun's going to give them actual bark collars.
HO: Everytime Nino opens his mouth, ZZZAP
HO: And everytime Aiba starts to say something pervy, ZZZAP
HO: and everytime Ohno starts to fall asleep on camera, ZZZAP
BECKY: Sho will just get random, 'just because he felt like it' zaps. Mostly to watch him lose his temper because it's funny.
(I love that they sent Jun into a room full of girls talking about being molested on the train while each of them has a zapper in their hands. It's like they're trying to traumatize him into being afraid of girls!)
Aiba and Ohno going around the Yoiko no Mikata set was pretty great, too. Those kids were adorable and I love that Aiba and Ohno are bastards enough to just. Spring the whole thing on Sho without warning him ahead of time.
I love how they do it, too.
Sho's like I SAW YOU GUYS WALKING AROUND, what are you doing? *suspicious*
And Aiba and Ohno were all, "We're working really hard for you, Sho-chan! Look at how many people we got to give complaints about you! :<"
Plus, Ohno's "But when it's done... I want him to end it crying." was kind of beautiful. WHAT A LITTLE JERK. I LOVE HIM FOREVER.