games, kabuto, and arashi
I have played about 45 minutes worth of FF:Ring of Fates and... it really kind of is like a cross between a regular FF game and KH's button-mash-happy system, isn't it? I miss being able to move my character around with the stylus (I hate trying to get used to the arrows, especially since everything in this freaking game is diagonally slanted) but I'm getting the hang of defeating enemies and figuring out where the game wants me to go.
It is super cute and kind of reminds me of FFIII with the graphics, which is totally a good thing, because I loved that game a lot. Even the opening video is beautiful just like FFIII's was. *__* I'm still in the first cave and I've got, like, two or three stamps so far, but! I finally figured out where the save crystals are! AND THEY HEAL YOU. AWESOME. I HAVE MISSED THAT.
Anyone know about how long this game will take to complete? A ballpark figure is all I'm looking for. ....o-or if I should get that Dragon Quest game that just came out in English? >__> (I think it's... DQIV?)
ETA: .....go to hell, CLAMP. I AM STILL NOT READING YOUR STUPID MANGA ANYMORE, I DON'T CARE WHO YOU PUT ON THE SPLASH PAGE. *DETERMINED*
Anyway. Usual blah, blah, blah, and then on to Kamen Rider Kabuto ep 37, with SPOILERS for the episode listed at the very least (and very likely all the way to the end, especially once the plot starts ramping up), I don't plan these things in advance, we'll see from there.
Kamen Rider Kabuto episode 37: They start with flashbacks of KagamiSr burning the Rider Project notes and of Kabuto's new Level Up and then a really kind of weird scene to start the episode's storyline off properly, where the lines of baseball players are running by each other. Then Tendou is riding his bike and stops for a moment to look at the setting sun, obviously wondering what Tachikawa meant by looking for the eclipse and I think the shot of the sun looking like it had been eclipsed was just Tendou's imagining it, not an actual moment of eclipse, because he doesn't really react to it and it disappears really quickly.
Afterwards is a really cute scene with Tendou and Juka and I remember the first time I watched the series, I was a little confused, because Tendou was obviously upset and worried about Hiyori and then... he was all smiles and serene older brother like normal with Juka? I wasn't sure if it was just lazy writing or what, but the second time through... I think maybe it's done deliberately, because Tendou is kind of crazy when it comes to his sisters. (No lie, I know.) But I think a lot of it is also speaking of how he has lived only for them for a long time now and how much he pushes away/represses to create this perfect life for Juka.
It's not-- it's not that bad, Tendou is genuinely happy to see her happy, I imagine he gets a lot of strength from seeing Juka still happy and safe and content, but I also keep thinking that this is something he needs to move past and is a lot of why I'm actually really okay with him going to France at the end of the series. Because that was for him, probably the first major thing he did purely for himself in years. I think I'm expressing this badly, because I don't think the relationship between Tendou and Juka is fucked up, so much as I just think that Tendou is kind of emotionally fucked up/unstable, but he gets better eventually.
Anyway, Juka's all excited about camp next week because she was sick during elementary school camp and she's really, really looking forward to this! A-also. How much do I love her TOTAL GRANDMA PJS? You know Tendou picked those out for her as the only ones he'd approve of, especially if there were going to be BOYS around. *hiss* After that, she tells him about the cursed mirror in her school and SERIOUSLY, SHOW. WHERE ARE THE MIRROR PUNS? YOU FAIL ME.
Then there's a scene in La Salle where Kagami's like, "WTF, Orders from Tendou to investigate [the school]?? God, Tendou's bossy. ~_~" and asd;flkjas;lkjaslkj YES. I know it's the writers' way of drawing Kagami and Misaki into the storyline, but it would have been just as easy to have the orders come from ZECT. Instead they have Tendou being bossy right after their big moment in the previous episode where Kagami didn't take his hand and it's still part of the whole, "I will keep everyone important to me nearby." but it's also partly, "....Kagami's not doing what I told him to do. Time to torture him by sending him on inane missions for my little sister." because that's kind of how Tendou expresses his affection for Kagami. Any normal person would punish their boyfriend because they were mad at him. I half-suspect Tendou's punishing Kagami because he's happy with him. (And partly that he wants to keep a close control on what's happening at Juka's school, too, but Tendou's a multi-tasker.)
Kagami and Misaki discuss the case, she even says that at first there were normal orders to go investigate because so many people had disappeared, but then they were immediately canceled. Oh, yeah, and these are also orders from Commander Tendou: Kagami-kun is to take care of Renge. (So totally punishing him because Tendou loves him even more now.) And the MATCHING LOOKS OF HORROR on Kagami and Renge's FACES OMG. Especially when Misaki is like, yay, you finally got a subordinate! and Renge's all, I don't think I'm lower than Sempai ^__^ and I seriously don't know how Kagami does it. Sure, he's ready to tear her head off a little, but he's just venting, he knows Misaki will stop him and it's just.
Kind of interesting. Because, seriously, he's Gatack, their favored Rider! He could probably long had his own squad now if he wanted it! They gave one to Kageyama, they'd easily give one to Kagami as well. All he'd have to do is say the word and ZECT would give it to him, but he doesn't really want that. He knows what he wants and it's never been about ambition or power for him, he likes this little psuedo-family he's built around him, even if Tendou drives him crazy sometimes.
He had command for awhile as TheBee and he did like it a little, but ultimately realized that's not what he really wanted, which is why it only lasted a couple of episodes. It's why he's a regular policeman at the end of the series, instead of what he could have used Gatack or his father's influence for or even just his own skills, because Kagami is actually really awesome. But that's not what he wants. (Oh, he feels competition with Tendou, he wants to be better than Tendou in a sense, but that's not really the same. Mostly just Tendou annoys the crap out of him sometimes and Kagami kind of gets tired of the superior attitude.)
So, they go to the school anyway and Tendou's setting up a yakisoba stand, saying he won't miss a single thing this way when Kagami goes wtf at him again. And it's also for the success of Juka's camp. Which Kagami is like, CAMP?? That's why we're here?? and you can see the look on his face as he re-realizes yet again that Tendou is crazy.
The scene also has just about the only pun in the entire episode and I remember being all gleeful about it, because the girl student over hears their conversation and says the baseball team was awful, they deserved it, especially after they wished on that cursed mirror. "Cursed mirror?" Renge repeats and sloooooooowly turns to look at Kagami, who twitches in her direction. I still LOL over that.
They go to investigate the mirror, which apparently grants wishes, Tendou says. Kagami steps up and wishes that he would succeed Tendou, who is clearly waiting very patiently for just the right moment because as soon as Kagami's done with his wish, Tendou has this look on his face. This look that is so very clearly that he is fucking with Kagami, because he is such a predictable boy and of course he'd wish for that. So Tendou let him and then dropped the other shoe that you disappear after you make your wish. And seriously. The look on Tendou's face as he says it, he totally did it on purpose to mess with Kagami and he enjoyed it.
(I-- I don't know why anyone would get the impression that Tendou is not unlike Jun. >__>)
And, sure, a lot of this is played up for the LOLZ, because it's Kamen Rider and it's a show aimed at kids and they liked their sillier episodes after they just had a really heavy episode, so I take a lot of stuff with a grain of salt (like Kagami's flailing, I don't really think he'd be that freaked out over a mirror, but it was funny and that was the point) but there's still a lot of interesting stuff here. Also also a lot of lol-worthy stuff, like Tsurugi in Juka's class omg. And Jiiya getting thrown out!
After that, they have mock test scores posted and Juka is #1 yet again, which isn't really surprising, but still really awesome and I love the Tendou/Kusakabe kids. All ridiculously pretty and talented and smart and will probably devestate any boy they wrap around their little finger. ♥
So Keiko sees that she's #30 on the mock test scores and runs out in anger and frustration, throwing down her little owl charm that was supposed to make her smarter. And this storyline should have been kind of dumb, but somehow it really pulls it off--Kageyama comes along and says that the little broken owl charm is him, picking it up gently. "I have been broken into many little pieces," he says gently at the fragments in his hands. It's so over the top and overly dramatic, but I love it because that's who Kageyama is now and there's a lot of truth there.
And when Keiko says, what the hell, humans don't break that easily. Tomorrow I won't rely on that charm and instead will keep working hard on my own! and the look Kageyama gives her is kind of awful. Like he really does feel the pain of being tossed away and broken and discarded like that girl's owl. But he still transforms when a Worm pops up and tells her to run while he beats it up. It doesn't take Kabuto and Gatack long to show up as well, riding side by side on their Extenders. The Worm rushes off before they can properly chase it (I'm not sure why they didn't Clock Up to go after it, other than that the show wanted to prolong the storyline) and Tendou says that the Worm being there might mean that something really is happening in Juka's school, so he'll send the rest of them in undercover, too.
After that, Kageyama has tried to glue the little owl charm back together and I should be lolling at how ~*dramatic*~ it is, but I just. I feel for the broken, abandoned little bitch. I want to give him a hug and feed him cookies and pay attention to him and make him feel special. While he's looking at it, Yaguruma approaches and you know this can't end well. The whole scene is ridiculously gay, from Kageyama's bitch collar to the way they sit side by side and facing in opposite directions, the sun setting around them, all leather and chains and spiked accessories and "aibo" and "aniki" and how they're not allowed to even grab onto a tiny little bit of light and you can see how much Kageyama still wants it, but there's no way back for him and I just. Blankies and cookies and warm milk and snuggle time, that's all I want for him during this storyline. ;___; He deserves every bit of this after all the shit he's pulled and yet. I still love the little bitch anyway.
So, the next day, they've infiltraded the school. Tendou, being kind of a major bitch, has chosen Kagami for the rugby team and Misaki for a teacher (who looks really, really hot that way), which Kagami pitches a fit about, why does she get to be a senseiiiiiiii!? and it's so hard not to respond with, "Because Tendou likes you and you know how Tendou shows his affection. And also, you won't do what he says anymore and you took charge on your own, so now he has to punish you. And possibly make out with you a whole lot, so at least it balances things out, right?"
Renge, who currently lives to make his life miserable, dumps a teapot full of water over his head and I-- s-seriously, I could maybe do Kagami/Renge in another lifetime. She just leaves him to nearly get run over by the rugby team and, seriously, Kagami's going to need a lot of food and makeouts with Tendou to make this not the most irritating day ever. :<
And, you know, I can't hate these episodes for making Kagami such a spaz (even when he's not really that much of a spaz) because all the girls get to be super-awesome and it's kind of nice. Juka is #1 in her class, Renge gets the last word in several times, and Misaki doesn't fall for the eraser trick and kicks it back up into her hand without getting a single hair out of place. It's not that the show doesn't often send this message, but you notice it especially in this particular episode. I love that it's not about AHAHAHA BOYS ARE STUPID, but just that boys are such boys (and whatever Tsurugi is XD) while the girls get to be consistently awesome. It balances out how there's not a female Rider.
So Jiiya sneaks back into the classroom when both Tsurugi and Juka recognize "Misakihara" and then Tendou looks REALLY PRETTY in the scene at the yakisoba stand where he's watching the studying girl. And I love this scene because she asks what's the stuff he's putting out and Tendou answers that it's bread he made himself, so she asks if it's good. "It's deliciousness is on a different level," he answers and she grins a little and goes, I see. Well. If I feel like it later, I'll buy some. and you can tell Tendou has found a bit of a kindred spirit. It's so adorable the way he smiles at her attitude. ♥
Back to Misaki in the classroom and they're doing a math problem, which Tsurugi volunteers to answer, but says, who wants the honor of taking my place? Jiiya pops up from outside the classroom and is all OOH ME ME ME LET ME ANSWER FOR YOU, BOCCHAMA!, which he does. And that's interesting, because one assumes that Tsurugi is smart enough to answer it, but it also felt like it could have been a fakeout to reveal that he's actually not as smart as he pretends. Which I would consider more, but he totally kept up with Tendou while playing all those games and the piano, so I'm assuming he actually is smart enough to know the answer.
Oh, and you know what else? Kagami is more than welcome to wear track suits with the jacket unzipped and a black t-shirt underneath more often. More than welcome. He looks very nice in the scene where he and Renge are discussing what else they could find out, which is only that Kagami heard another rumour, about a choral team winning a championship several years ago, but then they disappeared suddenly and even now they can hear the singing. Kagami makes his dramatic speech and when he gets to the climax of it, the skeleton's hand taps Renge on the shoulder and she shrieks and runs over to Kagami, which, okay, is less than awesome as before (shush) but Tendou totally messinge with her is still funny. Especially because Kagami was kind of freaked out, too.
He's, j-jesus, don't scare us like that, Tendou. Who doesn't even blink, just comments first a cursed mirror, now a missing choir club, hmm, interesting. Oh, and I need you guys to help out. and he says this in a sort of wide-eyed hopeful way that is totally deliberately fucking with them. (Not that I wouldn't blame even Tendou for being freaked out/overwhelmed by those kids scrambling all over him to get at the bread. He is a little snappy at them, just a bit.)
This is also the episode where Tsurugi has been running into Juka a lot, remembering her from the time she gave him food previously, and when they both spot the kids screaming over the yakisoba stand, she tells him a little about it and then they see Tendou and she says, Ah, it's Onii-chan!, which Tsurugi realizes means she's Tendou's little sister. The first time through the show, I was kind of half-shipping Tsurugi/Juka because I thought it would be super awesome and Tendou's head would totally explode and he hadn't really started seeing Misaki for herself. And... maybe in another lifetime I would still go for them, because Tendou's head exploding is still pretty funny.
Tendou seems to be a little winded by allt he kids screaming for bread, Renge's back to handling things with her usual cheer, and Kagami is still being punished by making him run all over for things, while he mutters, "Tendou, that guy, why is he doing this!?" Renge skips over and says, I'm sure Shishou has some sort of idea! :D and Kagami's like, Eh? o_O and I'm not sure if that was the idea that Tendou might know what he's doing (which would be really strange because Kagami has, you know, met Tendou) but I like to think it's because he's confused that Renge would think to try to tell him that about Tendou. Either that or Kagami just thinks Tendou's being a bitch about the whole thing and punishing him? XD idk.
But his day is about to get worse when Tsurugi spots his best friend, KaGAmi!, and he has NO IDEA WHY TSURUGI IS THERE. I love the scene of devestation afterwards, too--Renge slumped over the table, Kagami sitting like such a typical boy against the back wall, and Tendou... who probably made them do all the work, still polished and smooth as he hands Keiko an extra yakisoba. "If you work too hard, it's bad for your body," he says. I love Tendou sometimes. I love him. Make your subordinate and your boyfriend work themselves until they practically drop and then turn around and tell your new BFF, it's bad for you if you work too hard. I love him.
I know what the show is getting at and Tendou's actually being really nice to that girl, but it still makes me lol a whole lot. While she says that it really is super-delicious, Tendou and the others hear the chorus and, as Tendou looks down over the side of the school, he sees the baseball team running in practice again. As we get a close-up, their eyes glow bright green for a moment. And the ending of that scene is so dramatic, "So, the devil's door has been opened?" Renge asks and Tendou ~*dramatically*~ says, "Then... the dead have revived??" and I love this arc for being so totally silly and reveling in it.
And... okay, so, Kagami can't stand it and decides to go after them right now, yelling at the others to HURRY IT UP, COME ON. Tendou says flatly, no, if they're just ghosts, you can handle them, and Renge agrees. Kagami snarls his hands through his hair and yells THAT IS OBVIOUSLY NOT THE CASE, JESUS and takes off running again. He stops short when the baseball team has disappeared and... two seconds later, Tendou comes running full tilt up behind him. .....bzuh? Weren't you just the one who didn't want to go running after them? "Be careful," Tendou says. "They're here."
In the middle of the fog, you can see Reina's underlings and several Pupa-staged Worm walking behind them. The Zecters fly into their hands and they transform together, while there's a quick shot of one of the underlings looking really surprised that they were there, so I'm guessing they were not expected at all. They battle their way through the group of Worms, but there's the last dark blue/purple one they saw before, which Gatack charges towards with a "Not gonna lose!" shout and Kabuto calls the Hyper Zecter to himself and the two underlings continue to watch while in human form.
"Will you tell me about the type of Worm called Native?" he asks them. One of them smiles a little and says, "Doesn't ZECT know that best?" Tendou seems half-surprised, half-not when he asks what they mean by that, and she says, "First defeat it [the Worm] without Hyper Clock Up. "You people underestimate my power," Tendou says. "My grandmother said this: 'My evolution is faster than light. Nothing in the whole universe can keep up with my evolution.'" Sometimes you get the impression that maybe Tendou's grandmother was pretty special herself. >__> And this is when Tendou gets his new special sword and-- you know, what Circe said has kind of stuck with me. ZECT was all OMG OUR STRONGEST RIDER EVERRRR when Gatack showed up and there was the whole bit with him being the God of Fighting, so... did Tendou have to get a special Level Up with the Hyper Zecter and the sword in order to keep up? I... would buy that, especially since Gatack never really got the same Level Up, yet doesn't fade into obscurity.
It is still called Kamen Rider Kabuto and not Kamen Rider Gatack, so Kabuto's always going to be the one in the center of attention and the one with all the flashy new moves, but.... One wonders sometimes. Also, this episode has more of the Tendou = the sun parallels, which the show had been easing up on for awhile. Then Keiko stands in front of the mirror and says she wants to be #1 during the next exam and hears the chorus, but doesn't see the second reflection of herself smiling from the mirror.
Next episode is the second half of the storyline and I actually like this episode a lot, even if I suspect it may break my whole, "any given Worm can only hold one personality at a time" theory, though, I'm perfectly willing to chuck these two episodes out of canon for the most part because they're obviously filler episodes and anything that's not backed up in a more serious episode, I have no problems disregarding. Mostly I remember this being where Renge and Kagami finally start getting along and I love that. ♥ Plus the tag at the end is cute, Tendou is translating for Natsuki (and did I just spoil myself for Boukenger? Crap. ~_~) and Kagami's like HOLY SHIT YOU UNDERSTAND THAT? and Tendou's all, ":> He's saying Tendou is cooler than Kagami." And Kagami'is "..... *tired* Liar." is great.
Also, hey, Kagami? Wear that white shirt and those black pants more often, okay? *__* (Wow, that was a lot of talking for an episode that really didn't have that much happening in it. .__.)
And, of course, more Arashi stuff. Spoilers for anything listed under the cut:
→ random YouTube clips
→ Arashi no Shukudai-kun #33 [2007.05.21] subbed
→ Arashi no Shukudai-kun #90 [2008.06.30] subbed
♥ - Link snatched from blood_opal, VS ARASHI SP to air on Oct 1st which is great news, but EVEN BETTER.
NAGASE IS GOING TO BE ON FOR ONE OF THE GAMES. (Falling Pipe Catch, it looks like?) OMG YES YES YES DO WANT DO WANT DO WANT.
♥ - So, I was browsing YouTube tonight (because I don't have enough crap to kill time with) and stumbled over a bunch of fun little links. First up? Utaban interview from several years back (around Gokusen era, I think?) and it's all about Sho bitching about Jun calling him up at 4am and oh my god SAKURAI SHO. DID YOU JUST TELL MATSUMOTO JUN TO SHUT UP????
AND OH MY GOD. JUN LOOKS SO EMBARRASSED.
I AM CRYING HERE.
HIS CRUSH ON SHO.
SO OBVIOUS.
AND THEN SHO SAYS, "IDIOT, OF COURSE I WASN'T AWAKE."
TO MATSUMOTO JUN.
DYING.
As amusing as it was just for the lolz sake that was also... w-wow. Seriously. Seriously. I mean, I'm kind of half-kidding when I talk about Jun's total crush on Sho or, at the very least, I'm trying to be objective about it. But he just radiates embarrassment and OMG I EMBARRASSED MYSELF IN FRONT OF MY CRUSH I WANT TO DIEEEEEE here. Like seriously.
Also happily Sho/Jun is a brief Himitsu clip where Sho just totally shoves that poor woman away from Jun and I love it because it's Sho looking out for Jun. It's not about being posessive, it's about knowing that Jun's got issues sometimes (and also it was funny) and taking that pressure off him. Awww.
Then there's Itou-san giving Sho crap and Sho being an adorable dork! OH MAN DO I EVER WANT FULL VS ARASHI SUBS LIKE BURNING. Or! Sho promising to catch 400 points in Falling Pipe Catch!
OH AND. The Dude, you can't have my job clip! I LOVED THAT ONE. Or the Daruma-san ga...? game! OGURA-SAN SAYING THE ROLE OF THE ONI SUITS NINO. *cracked up* And, OF COURSE, Ogura-san is then the first one out. (I really, really love how LONG Nino takes to do the next part, you know that little bastard enjoyed stretching that out. Same for when it was Jun's turn, he took FOREVER to call them out, you know he was laughing at them. And I still go LOL LOL LOL LOL FOREVER LOL when Jun takes his flying leap and THE BITCHES SHO CALLS HIS BANDMATES SHOVE HIM OVER TOWARDS JUN. JUST TO BE LITTLE FUCKERS.)
There were lots more, but I finally forced myself away from YouTube after that. orz
♥ - Arashi no Shukudai-kun #33 [2007.05.21] subbed - OMG. I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOREVER FOR THIS ONE TO BE SUBBED. *GLEE* I-- I have this thing where I am very fond of Taichi and I grow more so every time I see him in something and this is one of the few times where Shukudai-kun has had a JE-related guest and I LOVE STUFF LIKE THIS.
And it starts off pretty rocking with Arashi totally giving Taichi crap by staying DEAD SILENT when Ogura-san asks if they have a lot of respect for Taichi, who's a sempai to them in JE. Why, on the contrary, he's almost like a kouhai! OR. How Taichi and Nino went out to eat the other day and Taichi was talking on and on, so Nino just goes STFU AND EAT. *cracked up*
You know, I actually don't have a whole lot to say about the food segment (other than that it made me kind of really hungry for a salad orz) but I did notice that, hey, Nino actually ate. MORE THAN ONCE, EVEN. Which makes me wonder if it's a more recent thing that he's just getting worse about or one of those cyclical things or what.
There are some interesting little notes in the image homework segment, though, where Taichi says that he's gone out for drinks with all of the members of Arashi at least once, but Nino's the one that he's gotten the most calls from. And I know there's actually a fair amount of crossover friendships between the groups and Nino is that guy who's friends with, like, EVERYONE, but it's still kind of interesting to see how often this pops up.
THEN. Taichi tells a story about how Nino called him to go out to eat one time and, despite that Taichi's the sempai and Nino's the kouhai, when they finally do meet up after Taichi finally gets off work (because Nino called at 2pm when NORMAL PEOPLE WEREN'T DONE WITH WORK YET XD) Nino's like, well, first we're going to make a stop at the drug store! Oh, and Taichi-kun, could you please go look for the body soap? asdlfkjasljk I love Nino.
THEN MINI-SPORTS! \o/ And Sho makes me laugh and want to marry him all over again with the hardcore running and AAAUUUUGGGHHHH as he goes around SIX times intsead of five and then Aiba makes me think a whole lot of REALLY FILTHY THOUGHTS because he's got those amazingly long legs as he runs really fast and Jun might have looked really silly but he only half a second off from Aiba's time and Aiba wins and asdl;fkjaslkj I enjoyed that way too much. Also, Aiba. I miss your blond hair. ;__;
After that is the Nittere "borrowing item" race (where they go around the NTV studio to "borrow" various things) and they each choose something to go get.
Sho: Three bad things about Aiba from the Shimura Doubutsuen staff (which I remember this one and it makes me kind of :< faced)
Ohno: A celebrity from a dressing room
Nino: Soy sauce
Taichi: Someone with the same family name as you
Jun: Go to the "Guruna" staff room and ask for three bad points about Taichi
Aiba: Rain boots
.....wtf on some of those. XD Though, the start of the race is BEAUTIFUL because Taichi totally tries to psyche Aiba and Sho out by molesting them and SHO TOTALLY SCREAMS LIKE A GIRL WHEN TAICHI PINCHES HIM. IT IS THE FUNNIEST THING EVER. FUNNIEST THING EVER.
It's also interesting for the brief glimpse of Arashi's dressing room at NTV we get when Nino goes back there to get soy sauce and it actually was a good idea to go get some of the soy sauce packets from their lunches, but! No soy sauce today! FOILED AGAIN. And he's running around the offices and the announcer asks, "Well, you'd think there'd be soy sauce in the cafeteria, right? Well, since he doesn't usually go, maybe it doesn't occur to him?"
NINOMIYA KAZUNARI. YOU GO DOWN TO THE CAFETERIA RIGHT NOW AND YOU EAT THE MOST FATTENING THING ON THE MENU RIGHT THIS MINUTE. IF YOU NEED HELP FINDING IT, AIBA OBVIOUSLY KNOWS THE WAY.
Sho manages to find the Shimura Doubutsuen staff room and the first thing out of the staff's mouth is, well, he needs to be more aware of the fact that he's an idol. YOU GUYS SHUT UP, AIBA IS ADORABLE THE WAY HE IS. When Sho finally gets back (a;sldkfj the shocked look on his face when three other people were there first XD) and reads off the list, the first complaint from the staff is, "What's with that blond hair?"
AND YOU GUYS STFU RIGHT THIS FUCKING SECOND THAT BLOND HAIR IS SMOKING HOT ON AIBA. THERE IS NOT ENOUGH D:< IN THE WORLD FOR YOU GUYS.
I'm also not particularly fond of the Tensai! staff after this because they said his English was terrible and, yes, it obviously was, but. It was right around the time this episode aired that I started noticing that Aiba never really spoke much Engrish again (or, if he does, it hasn't made that much of a splash lately, but I only rarely watch Tensai!, so I could be off about this) and I think that might have actually kind of hurt him. Which makes me sort of want to kick the Tensai! staff a whole lot, because Aiba's not the type to say something about it.
♥ - Arashi no Shukudai-kun #90 [2008.06.30] subbed - I am determined to catch up on all the subs coming out lately (GRA and Himitsu are going to make me cry, though, with how far behind I am) and I realized I hadn't yet watched this one! It's the episode that starts out with them going through all their stuff at the back of the Shukudai-kun stage room and Aiba's mopey because they've been cutting so much of the AibaLand games, while everyone else points out, we only get 30 minutes on TV you know so we have to use the best stuff. I'm not sure why I like the beginning of this so much, it's just one of those little glimpses into their daily routine before the show starts, everyone going through magazines or on their cell phones or whatever. That stuff is fascinating to me.
So, it's a bunch of games that were originally cut or they didn't have time for before, starting with the knapsack relay and I LOVE this game because Ohno just keeps saying good morning to Sho even while he's trying to pick everything up and he's such an adorable little bastard about it. And you can actually see, as Hoshino-san is picking up the things from Sho's dumped bag, Nino scoots forward to bump his elbow against Ohno's, who then knows what he is thinking and says, "Sho-chan, good morning!!" and Sho turns around to start saying it back before he snaps "Good mor--I GET IT!! YOU CAN STOP WITH THE GREETING!!" and you can totally hear Nino's devil laughter in the background.
Omg you guys. You should always fuck with your boyfriend like that. ;___;b
And Aki-chan is totally adorable in this game, too. And, huh. It looks like she wasn't the one who brought up her chest in the first place, it was Ogura-san who mentioned that the director was trying to get a game where she'd have to bend forward and she just played along, then felt really self-conscious about it. SHE IS CUTE OMG.
The weird thing about this game--and, you guysssssss, why do you waste the awesome Aiba/Jun/Nino trio on this game where they hardly interact?? though, it was cute to see Aiba and Nino lightly teasing Jun about having probably been a really obediant little kid--is that it seems like the Aiba/Jun/Nino team goes way faster, but they go about 15 seconds longer than the Ohno/Sho/Hoshino-san team. I know it's editing and all, but it really felt like they were moving faster.
There's also the scarecrow game with the laundry pole which you could pretty much get everything from the raw, but was totally worth watching again. And then the newspaper hat game! I love this one! Nino is such a little bastard at it! And I love it because the guest is like, "....is this fun?" or saying that it's really embarrassing and Sho's like, "What? What's so embarrassing? I don't understand!" and, oh, Sho, they've crushed that dignity right out of you, haven't they? And I LOVE Nino's way of winning, too. The guest's newspaper hat is about to fall off, so Ogura-san goes to fix it for her, and Nino looks like he's helping for a split second and then NO, HE'S TAKING IT. I LOVE HIM. I love him because everyone is like, "You should be easier on her!" and he responds with IF I WAS EASIER ON HER, WE WOULDN'T HAVE WON. *cracked up*
Then Ohno vs Jun! And it's still really still totally adorable fun because Jun's got those long arms of his and just yanks Ohno's hat off, who gives him this OMG UNFAIR USING YOUR HEIGHT TO AN ADVANTAGE even while he's laughing at the whole thing. And then Aiba does the same thing with Sho, who I keep forgetting just RUNS AWAY, but Aiba's got that long reach so he just snatches the hat off anyway and al;sdkfjalsk I loved this game. (And, jesus, those jeans are still awesome on Aiba, they emphasize his height so well and just. a sdfl;kajslkj I love the stylist or whoever bought those jeans forever.)
I love the roller skate tug of war just as much as ever, too. You can tell how stupid they all think this is and that's what makes it so hilarious. I love how hard it cracks Sho up, as soon as they start going (and of course Ohmiya both go flying because YES put the two tiny midgets on the same side, opposite the two tallest ones, GREAT IDEA I LOVE THEM) especially because they all end up in a pile of tangled limbs and Sho is like THAT IS THE FUNNIEST THING EVER while Ogura-san is like, I totally couldn't tell what was going on, let's do it again. u__u
I love that Sho is like, "I could watch this over and over *cracking up*" and then they swith the teams around so it's more balanced, with Nino pointing out that it makes more sense to have the two heaviest ones be the anchors (Aiba and Jun) and, sure enough, they pretty much meet in the middle, maybe a little more towards the Aiba/Nino side. Or at least they drifted that way. And it's one great big hug pile. \o/
I love the Daruma-san game as well, mostly because Aiba and Nino had to keep holding hands while they took steps at the end and Aiba/Nino trying to work together while Nino's bitching and Aiba's laughing is A+++++ material. Seriously, only Nino can make me laugh that hard when he's snapping I ALREADY TOOK A STEP YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING EARLIER because Aiba's mentioning AS he's taking a step that they should coordinate.
So, you don't really gain that much by watching the subbed version, but there were a couple of really golden moments and it was totally an episode worth watching again. <3
It is super cute and kind of reminds me of FFIII with the graphics, which is totally a good thing, because I loved that game a lot. Even the opening video is beautiful just like FFIII's was. *__* I'm still in the first cave and I've got, like, two or three stamps so far, but! I finally figured out where the save crystals are! AND THEY HEAL YOU. AWESOME. I HAVE MISSED THAT.
Anyone know about how long this game will take to complete? A ballpark figure is all I'm looking for. ....o-or if I should get that Dragon Quest game that just came out in English? >__> (I think it's... DQIV?)
ETA: .....go to hell, CLAMP. I AM STILL NOT READING YOUR STUPID MANGA ANYMORE, I DON'T CARE WHO YOU PUT ON THE SPLASH PAGE. *DETERMINED*
Anyway. Usual blah, blah, blah, and then on to Kamen Rider Kabuto ep 37, with SPOILERS for the episode listed at the very least (and very likely all the way to the end, especially once the plot starts ramping up), I don't plan these things in advance, we'll see from there.
Kamen Rider Kabuto episode 37: They start with flashbacks of KagamiSr burning the Rider Project notes and of Kabuto's new Level Up and then a really kind of weird scene to start the episode's storyline off properly, where the lines of baseball players are running by each other. Then Tendou is riding his bike and stops for a moment to look at the setting sun, obviously wondering what Tachikawa meant by looking for the eclipse and I think the shot of the sun looking like it had been eclipsed was just Tendou's imagining it, not an actual moment of eclipse, because he doesn't really react to it and it disappears really quickly.
Afterwards is a really cute scene with Tendou and Juka and I remember the first time I watched the series, I was a little confused, because Tendou was obviously upset and worried about Hiyori and then... he was all smiles and serene older brother like normal with Juka? I wasn't sure if it was just lazy writing or what, but the second time through... I think maybe it's done deliberately, because Tendou is kind of crazy when it comes to his sisters. (No lie, I know.) But I think a lot of it is also speaking of how he has lived only for them for a long time now and how much he pushes away/represses to create this perfect life for Juka.
It's not-- it's not that bad, Tendou is genuinely happy to see her happy, I imagine he gets a lot of strength from seeing Juka still happy and safe and content, but I also keep thinking that this is something he needs to move past and is a lot of why I'm actually really okay with him going to France at the end of the series. Because that was for him, probably the first major thing he did purely for himself in years. I think I'm expressing this badly, because I don't think the relationship between Tendou and Juka is fucked up, so much as I just think that Tendou is kind of emotionally fucked up/unstable, but he gets better eventually.
Anyway, Juka's all excited about camp next week because she was sick during elementary school camp and she's really, really looking forward to this! A-also. How much do I love her TOTAL GRANDMA PJS? You know Tendou picked those out for her as the only ones he'd approve of, especially if there were going to be BOYS around. *hiss* After that, she tells him about the cursed mirror in her school and SERIOUSLY, SHOW. WHERE ARE THE MIRROR PUNS? YOU FAIL ME.
Then there's a scene in La Salle where Kagami's like, "WTF, Orders from Tendou to investigate [the school]?? God, Tendou's bossy. ~_~" and asd;flkjas;lkjaslkj YES. I know it's the writers' way of drawing Kagami and Misaki into the storyline, but it would have been just as easy to have the orders come from ZECT. Instead they have Tendou being bossy right after their big moment in the previous episode where Kagami didn't take his hand and it's still part of the whole, "I will keep everyone important to me nearby." but it's also partly, "....Kagami's not doing what I told him to do. Time to torture him by sending him on inane missions for my little sister." because that's kind of how Tendou expresses his affection for Kagami. Any normal person would punish their boyfriend because they were mad at him. I half-suspect Tendou's punishing Kagami because he's happy with him. (And partly that he wants to keep a close control on what's happening at Juka's school, too, but Tendou's a multi-tasker.)
Kagami and Misaki discuss the case, she even says that at first there were normal orders to go investigate because so many people had disappeared, but then they were immediately canceled. Oh, yeah, and these are also orders from Commander Tendou: Kagami-kun is to take care of Renge. (So totally punishing him because Tendou loves him even more now.) And the MATCHING LOOKS OF HORROR on Kagami and Renge's FACES OMG. Especially when Misaki is like, yay, you finally got a subordinate! and Renge's all, I don't think I'm lower than Sempai ^__^ and I seriously don't know how Kagami does it. Sure, he's ready to tear her head off a little, but he's just venting, he knows Misaki will stop him and it's just.
Kind of interesting. Because, seriously, he's Gatack, their favored Rider! He could probably long had his own squad now if he wanted it! They gave one to Kageyama, they'd easily give one to Kagami as well. All he'd have to do is say the word and ZECT would give it to him, but he doesn't really want that. He knows what he wants and it's never been about ambition or power for him, he likes this little psuedo-family he's built around him, even if Tendou drives him crazy sometimes.
He had command for awhile as TheBee and he did like it a little, but ultimately realized that's not what he really wanted, which is why it only lasted a couple of episodes. It's why he's a regular policeman at the end of the series, instead of what he could have used Gatack or his father's influence for or even just his own skills, because Kagami is actually really awesome. But that's not what he wants. (Oh, he feels competition with Tendou, he wants to be better than Tendou in a sense, but that's not really the same. Mostly just Tendou annoys the crap out of him sometimes and Kagami kind of gets tired of the superior attitude.)
So, they go to the school anyway and Tendou's setting up a yakisoba stand, saying he won't miss a single thing this way when Kagami goes wtf at him again. And it's also for the success of Juka's camp. Which Kagami is like, CAMP?? That's why we're here?? and you can see the look on his face as he re-realizes yet again that Tendou is crazy.
The scene also has just about the only pun in the entire episode and I remember being all gleeful about it, because the girl student over hears their conversation and says the baseball team was awful, they deserved it, especially after they wished on that cursed mirror. "Cursed mirror?" Renge repeats and sloooooooowly turns to look at Kagami, who twitches in her direction. I still LOL over that.
They go to investigate the mirror, which apparently grants wishes, Tendou says. Kagami steps up and wishes that he would succeed Tendou, who is clearly waiting very patiently for just the right moment because as soon as Kagami's done with his wish, Tendou has this look on his face. This look that is so very clearly that he is fucking with Kagami, because he is such a predictable boy and of course he'd wish for that. So Tendou let him and then dropped the other shoe that you disappear after you make your wish. And seriously. The look on Tendou's face as he says it, he totally did it on purpose to mess with Kagami and he enjoyed it.
(I-- I don't know why anyone would get the impression that Tendou is not unlike Jun. >__>)
And, sure, a lot of this is played up for the LOLZ, because it's Kamen Rider and it's a show aimed at kids and they liked their sillier episodes after they just had a really heavy episode, so I take a lot of stuff with a grain of salt (like Kagami's flailing, I don't really think he'd be that freaked out over a mirror, but it was funny and that was the point) but there's still a lot of interesting stuff here. Also also a lot of lol-worthy stuff, like Tsurugi in Juka's class omg. And Jiiya getting thrown out!
After that, they have mock test scores posted and Juka is #1 yet again, which isn't really surprising, but still really awesome and I love the Tendou/Kusakabe kids. All ridiculously pretty and talented and smart and will probably devestate any boy they wrap around their little finger. ♥
So Keiko sees that she's #30 on the mock test scores and runs out in anger and frustration, throwing down her little owl charm that was supposed to make her smarter. And this storyline should have been kind of dumb, but somehow it really pulls it off--Kageyama comes along and says that the little broken owl charm is him, picking it up gently. "I have been broken into many little pieces," he says gently at the fragments in his hands. It's so over the top and overly dramatic, but I love it because that's who Kageyama is now and there's a lot of truth there.
And when Keiko says, what the hell, humans don't break that easily. Tomorrow I won't rely on that charm and instead will keep working hard on my own! and the look Kageyama gives her is kind of awful. Like he really does feel the pain of being tossed away and broken and discarded like that girl's owl. But he still transforms when a Worm pops up and tells her to run while he beats it up. It doesn't take Kabuto and Gatack long to show up as well, riding side by side on their Extenders. The Worm rushes off before they can properly chase it (I'm not sure why they didn't Clock Up to go after it, other than that the show wanted to prolong the storyline) and Tendou says that the Worm being there might mean that something really is happening in Juka's school, so he'll send the rest of them in undercover, too.
After that, Kageyama has tried to glue the little owl charm back together and I should be lolling at how ~*dramatic*~ it is, but I just. I feel for the broken, abandoned little bitch. I want to give him a hug and feed him cookies and pay attention to him and make him feel special. While he's looking at it, Yaguruma approaches and you know this can't end well. The whole scene is ridiculously gay, from Kageyama's bitch collar to the way they sit side by side and facing in opposite directions, the sun setting around them, all leather and chains and spiked accessories and "aibo" and "aniki" and how they're not allowed to even grab onto a tiny little bit of light and you can see how much Kageyama still wants it, but there's no way back for him and I just. Blankies and cookies and warm milk and snuggle time, that's all I want for him during this storyline. ;___; He deserves every bit of this after all the shit he's pulled and yet. I still love the little bitch anyway.
So, the next day, they've infiltraded the school. Tendou, being kind of a major bitch, has chosen Kagami for the rugby team and Misaki for a teacher (who looks really, really hot that way), which Kagami pitches a fit about, why does she get to be a senseiiiiiiii!? and it's so hard not to respond with, "Because Tendou likes you and you know how Tendou shows his affection. And also, you won't do what he says anymore and you took charge on your own, so now he has to punish you. And possibly make out with you a whole lot, so at least it balances things out, right?"
Renge, who currently lives to make his life miserable, dumps a teapot full of water over his head and I-- s-seriously, I could maybe do Kagami/Renge in another lifetime. She just leaves him to nearly get run over by the rugby team and, seriously, Kagami's going to need a lot of food and makeouts with Tendou to make this not the most irritating day ever. :<
And, you know, I can't hate these episodes for making Kagami such a spaz (even when he's not really that much of a spaz) because all the girls get to be super-awesome and it's kind of nice. Juka is #1 in her class, Renge gets the last word in several times, and Misaki doesn't fall for the eraser trick and kicks it back up into her hand without getting a single hair out of place. It's not that the show doesn't often send this message, but you notice it especially in this particular episode. I love that it's not about AHAHAHA BOYS ARE STUPID, but just that boys are such boys (and whatever Tsurugi is XD) while the girls get to be consistently awesome. It balances out how there's not a female Rider.
So Jiiya sneaks back into the classroom when both Tsurugi and Juka recognize "Misakihara" and then Tendou looks REALLY PRETTY in the scene at the yakisoba stand where he's watching the studying girl. And I love this scene because she asks what's the stuff he's putting out and Tendou answers that it's bread he made himself, so she asks if it's good. "It's deliciousness is on a different level," he answers and she grins a little and goes, I see. Well. If I feel like it later, I'll buy some. and you can tell Tendou has found a bit of a kindred spirit. It's so adorable the way he smiles at her attitude. ♥
Back to Misaki in the classroom and they're doing a math problem, which Tsurugi volunteers to answer, but says, who wants the honor of taking my place? Jiiya pops up from outside the classroom and is all OOH ME ME ME LET ME ANSWER FOR YOU, BOCCHAMA!, which he does. And that's interesting, because one assumes that Tsurugi is smart enough to answer it, but it also felt like it could have been a fakeout to reveal that he's actually not as smart as he pretends. Which I would consider more, but he totally kept up with Tendou while playing all those games and the piano, so I'm assuming he actually is smart enough to know the answer.
Oh, and you know what else? Kagami is more than welcome to wear track suits with the jacket unzipped and a black t-shirt underneath more often. More than welcome. He looks very nice in the scene where he and Renge are discussing what else they could find out, which is only that Kagami heard another rumour, about a choral team winning a championship several years ago, but then they disappeared suddenly and even now they can hear the singing. Kagami makes his dramatic speech and when he gets to the climax of it, the skeleton's hand taps Renge on the shoulder and she shrieks and runs over to Kagami, which, okay, is less than awesome as before (shush) but Tendou totally messinge with her is still funny. Especially because Kagami was kind of freaked out, too.
He's, j-jesus, don't scare us like that, Tendou. Who doesn't even blink, just comments first a cursed mirror, now a missing choir club, hmm, interesting. Oh, and I need you guys to help out. and he says this in a sort of wide-eyed hopeful way that is totally deliberately fucking with them. (Not that I wouldn't blame even Tendou for being freaked out/overwhelmed by those kids scrambling all over him to get at the bread. He is a little snappy at them, just a bit.)
This is also the episode where Tsurugi has been running into Juka a lot, remembering her from the time she gave him food previously, and when they both spot the kids screaming over the yakisoba stand, she tells him a little about it and then they see Tendou and she says, Ah, it's Onii-chan!, which Tsurugi realizes means she's Tendou's little sister. The first time through the show, I was kind of half-shipping Tsurugi/Juka because I thought it would be super awesome and Tendou's head would totally explode and he hadn't really started seeing Misaki for herself. And... maybe in another lifetime I would still go for them, because Tendou's head exploding is still pretty funny.
Tendou seems to be a little winded by allt he kids screaming for bread, Renge's back to handling things with her usual cheer, and Kagami is still being punished by making him run all over for things, while he mutters, "Tendou, that guy, why is he doing this!?" Renge skips over and says, I'm sure Shishou has some sort of idea! :D and Kagami's like, Eh? o_O and I'm not sure if that was the idea that Tendou might know what he's doing (which would be really strange because Kagami has, you know, met Tendou) but I like to think it's because he's confused that Renge would think to try to tell him that about Tendou. Either that or Kagami just thinks Tendou's being a bitch about the whole thing and punishing him? XD idk.
But his day is about to get worse when Tsurugi spots his best friend, KaGAmi!, and he has NO IDEA WHY TSURUGI IS THERE. I love the scene of devestation afterwards, too--Renge slumped over the table, Kagami sitting like such a typical boy against the back wall, and Tendou... who probably made them do all the work, still polished and smooth as he hands Keiko an extra yakisoba. "If you work too hard, it's bad for your body," he says. I love Tendou sometimes. I love him. Make your subordinate and your boyfriend work themselves until they practically drop and then turn around and tell your new BFF, it's bad for you if you work too hard. I love him.
I know what the show is getting at and Tendou's actually being really nice to that girl, but it still makes me lol a whole lot. While she says that it really is super-delicious, Tendou and the others hear the chorus and, as Tendou looks down over the side of the school, he sees the baseball team running in practice again. As we get a close-up, their eyes glow bright green for a moment. And the ending of that scene is so dramatic, "So, the devil's door has been opened?" Renge asks and Tendou ~*dramatically*~ says, "Then... the dead have revived??" and I love this arc for being so totally silly and reveling in it.
And... okay, so, Kagami can't stand it and decides to go after them right now, yelling at the others to HURRY IT UP, COME ON. Tendou says flatly, no, if they're just ghosts, you can handle them, and Renge agrees. Kagami snarls his hands through his hair and yells THAT IS OBVIOUSLY NOT THE CASE, JESUS and takes off running again. He stops short when the baseball team has disappeared and... two seconds later, Tendou comes running full tilt up behind him. .....bzuh? Weren't you just the one who didn't want to go running after them? "Be careful," Tendou says. "They're here."
In the middle of the fog, you can see Reina's underlings and several Pupa-staged Worm walking behind them. The Zecters fly into their hands and they transform together, while there's a quick shot of one of the underlings looking really surprised that they were there, so I'm guessing they were not expected at all. They battle their way through the group of Worms, but there's the last dark blue/purple one they saw before, which Gatack charges towards with a "Not gonna lose!" shout and Kabuto calls the Hyper Zecter to himself and the two underlings continue to watch while in human form.
"Will you tell me about the type of Worm called Native?" he asks them. One of them smiles a little and says, "Doesn't ZECT know that best?" Tendou seems half-surprised, half-not when he asks what they mean by that, and she says, "First defeat it [the Worm] without Hyper Clock Up. "You people underestimate my power," Tendou says. "My grandmother said this: 'My evolution is faster than light. Nothing in the whole universe can keep up with my evolution.'" Sometimes you get the impression that maybe Tendou's grandmother was pretty special herself. >__> And this is when Tendou gets his new special sword and-- you know, what Circe said has kind of stuck with me. ZECT was all OMG OUR STRONGEST RIDER EVERRRR when Gatack showed up and there was the whole bit with him being the God of Fighting, so... did Tendou have to get a special Level Up with the Hyper Zecter and the sword in order to keep up? I... would buy that, especially since Gatack never really got the same Level Up, yet doesn't fade into obscurity.
It is still called Kamen Rider Kabuto and not Kamen Rider Gatack, so Kabuto's always going to be the one in the center of attention and the one with all the flashy new moves, but.... One wonders sometimes. Also, this episode has more of the Tendou = the sun parallels, which the show had been easing up on for awhile. Then Keiko stands in front of the mirror and says she wants to be #1 during the next exam and hears the chorus, but doesn't see the second reflection of herself smiling from the mirror.
Next episode is the second half of the storyline and I actually like this episode a lot, even if I suspect it may break my whole, "any given Worm can only hold one personality at a time" theory, though, I'm perfectly willing to chuck these two episodes out of canon for the most part because they're obviously filler episodes and anything that's not backed up in a more serious episode, I have no problems disregarding. Mostly I remember this being where Renge and Kagami finally start getting along and I love that. ♥ Plus the tag at the end is cute, Tendou is translating for Natsuki (and did I just spoil myself for Boukenger? Crap. ~_~) and Kagami's like HOLY SHIT YOU UNDERSTAND THAT? and Tendou's all, ":> He's saying Tendou is cooler than Kagami." And Kagami'is "..... *tired* Liar." is great.
Also, hey, Kagami? Wear that white shirt and those black pants more often, okay? *__* (Wow, that was a lot of talking for an episode that really didn't have that much happening in it. .__.)
And, of course, more Arashi stuff. Spoilers for anything listed under the cut:
→ random YouTube clips
→ Arashi no Shukudai-kun #33 [2007.05.21] subbed
→ Arashi no Shukudai-kun #90 [2008.06.30] subbed
♥ - Link snatched from blood_opal, VS ARASHI SP to air on Oct 1st which is great news, but EVEN BETTER.
NAGASE IS GOING TO BE ON FOR ONE OF THE GAMES. (Falling Pipe Catch, it looks like?) OMG YES YES YES DO WANT DO WANT DO WANT.
♥ - So, I was browsing YouTube tonight (because I don't have enough crap to kill time with) and stumbled over a bunch of fun little links. First up? Utaban interview from several years back (around Gokusen era, I think?) and it's all about Sho bitching about Jun calling him up at 4am and oh my god SAKURAI SHO. DID YOU JUST TELL MATSUMOTO JUN TO SHUT UP????
AND OH MY GOD. JUN LOOKS SO EMBARRASSED.
I AM CRYING HERE.
HIS CRUSH ON SHO.
SO OBVIOUS.
AND THEN SHO SAYS, "IDIOT, OF COURSE I WASN'T AWAKE."
TO MATSUMOTO JUN.
DYING.
As amusing as it was just for the lolz sake that was also... w-wow. Seriously. Seriously. I mean, I'm kind of half-kidding when I talk about Jun's total crush on Sho or, at the very least, I'm trying to be objective about it. But he just radiates embarrassment and OMG I EMBARRASSED MYSELF IN FRONT OF MY CRUSH I WANT TO DIEEEEEE here. Like seriously.
Also happily Sho/Jun is a brief Himitsu clip where Sho just totally shoves that poor woman away from Jun and I love it because it's Sho looking out for Jun. It's not about being posessive, it's about knowing that Jun's got issues sometimes (and also it was funny) and taking that pressure off him. Awww.
Then there's Itou-san giving Sho crap and Sho being an adorable dork! OH MAN DO I EVER WANT FULL VS ARASHI SUBS LIKE BURNING. Or! Sho promising to catch 400 points in Falling Pipe Catch!
OH AND. The Dude, you can't have my job clip! I LOVED THAT ONE. Or the Daruma-san ga...? game! OGURA-SAN SAYING THE ROLE OF THE ONI SUITS NINO. *cracked up* And, OF COURSE, Ogura-san is then the first one out. (I really, really love how LONG Nino takes to do the next part, you know that little bastard enjoyed stretching that out. Same for when it was Jun's turn, he took FOREVER to call them out, you know he was laughing at them. And I still go LOL LOL LOL LOL FOREVER LOL when Jun takes his flying leap and THE BITCHES SHO CALLS HIS BANDMATES SHOVE HIM OVER TOWARDS JUN. JUST TO BE LITTLE FUCKERS.)
There were lots more, but I finally forced myself away from YouTube after that. orz
♥ - Arashi no Shukudai-kun #33 [2007.05.21] subbed - OMG. I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOREVER FOR THIS ONE TO BE SUBBED. *GLEE* I-- I have this thing where I am very fond of Taichi and I grow more so every time I see him in something and this is one of the few times where Shukudai-kun has had a JE-related guest and I LOVE STUFF LIKE THIS.
And it starts off pretty rocking with Arashi totally giving Taichi crap by staying DEAD SILENT when Ogura-san asks if they have a lot of respect for Taichi, who's a sempai to them in JE. Why, on the contrary, he's almost like a kouhai! OR. How Taichi and Nino went out to eat the other day and Taichi was talking on and on, so Nino just goes STFU AND EAT. *cracked up*
You know, I actually don't have a whole lot to say about the food segment (other than that it made me kind of really hungry for a salad orz) but I did notice that, hey, Nino actually ate. MORE THAN ONCE, EVEN. Which makes me wonder if it's a more recent thing that he's just getting worse about or one of those cyclical things or what.
There are some interesting little notes in the image homework segment, though, where Taichi says that he's gone out for drinks with all of the members of Arashi at least once, but Nino's the one that he's gotten the most calls from. And I know there's actually a fair amount of crossover friendships between the groups and Nino is that guy who's friends with, like, EVERYONE, but it's still kind of interesting to see how often this pops up.
THEN. Taichi tells a story about how Nino called him to go out to eat one time and, despite that Taichi's the sempai and Nino's the kouhai, when they finally do meet up after Taichi finally gets off work (because Nino called at 2pm when NORMAL PEOPLE WEREN'T DONE WITH WORK YET XD) Nino's like, well, first we're going to make a stop at the drug store! Oh, and Taichi-kun, could you please go look for the body soap? asdlfkjasljk I love Nino.
THEN MINI-SPORTS! \o/ And Sho makes me laugh and want to marry him all over again with the hardcore running and AAAUUUUGGGHHHH as he goes around SIX times intsead of five and then Aiba makes me think a whole lot of REALLY FILTHY THOUGHTS because he's got those amazingly long legs as he runs really fast and Jun might have looked really silly but he only half a second off from Aiba's time and Aiba wins and asdl;fkjaslkj I enjoyed that way too much. Also, Aiba. I miss your blond hair. ;__;
After that is the Nittere "borrowing item" race (where they go around the NTV studio to "borrow" various things) and they each choose something to go get.
Sho: Three bad things about Aiba from the Shimura Doubutsuen staff (which I remember this one and it makes me kind of :< faced)
Ohno: A celebrity from a dressing room
Nino: Soy sauce
Taichi: Someone with the same family name as you
Jun: Go to the "Guruna" staff room and ask for three bad points about Taichi
Aiba: Rain boots
.....wtf on some of those. XD Though, the start of the race is BEAUTIFUL because Taichi totally tries to psyche Aiba and Sho out by molesting them and SHO TOTALLY SCREAMS LIKE A GIRL WHEN TAICHI PINCHES HIM. IT IS THE FUNNIEST THING EVER. FUNNIEST THING EVER.
It's also interesting for the brief glimpse of Arashi's dressing room at NTV we get when Nino goes back there to get soy sauce and it actually was a good idea to go get some of the soy sauce packets from their lunches, but! No soy sauce today! FOILED AGAIN. And he's running around the offices and the announcer asks, "Well, you'd think there'd be soy sauce in the cafeteria, right? Well, since he doesn't usually go, maybe it doesn't occur to him?"
NINOMIYA KAZUNARI. YOU GO DOWN TO THE CAFETERIA RIGHT NOW AND YOU EAT THE MOST FATTENING THING ON THE MENU RIGHT THIS MINUTE. IF YOU NEED HELP FINDING IT, AIBA OBVIOUSLY KNOWS THE WAY.
Sho manages to find the Shimura Doubutsuen staff room and the first thing out of the staff's mouth is, well, he needs to be more aware of the fact that he's an idol. YOU GUYS SHUT UP, AIBA IS ADORABLE THE WAY HE IS. When Sho finally gets back (a;sldkfj the shocked look on his face when three other people were there first XD) and reads off the list, the first complaint from the staff is, "What's with that blond hair?"
AND YOU GUYS STFU RIGHT THIS FUCKING SECOND THAT BLOND HAIR IS SMOKING HOT ON AIBA. THERE IS NOT ENOUGH D:< IN THE WORLD FOR YOU GUYS.
I'm also not particularly fond of the Tensai! staff after this because they said his English was terrible and, yes, it obviously was, but. It was right around the time this episode aired that I started noticing that Aiba never really spoke much Engrish again (or, if he does, it hasn't made that much of a splash lately, but I only rarely watch Tensai!, so I could be off about this) and I think that might have actually kind of hurt him. Which makes me sort of want to kick the Tensai! staff a whole lot, because Aiba's not the type to say something about it.
♥ - Arashi no Shukudai-kun #90 [2008.06.30] subbed - I am determined to catch up on all the subs coming out lately (GRA and Himitsu are going to make me cry, though, with how far behind I am) and I realized I hadn't yet watched this one! It's the episode that starts out with them going through all their stuff at the back of the Shukudai-kun stage room and Aiba's mopey because they've been cutting so much of the AibaLand games, while everyone else points out, we only get 30 minutes on TV you know so we have to use the best stuff. I'm not sure why I like the beginning of this so much, it's just one of those little glimpses into their daily routine before the show starts, everyone going through magazines or on their cell phones or whatever. That stuff is fascinating to me.
So, it's a bunch of games that were originally cut or they didn't have time for before, starting with the knapsack relay and I LOVE this game because Ohno just keeps saying good morning to Sho even while he's trying to pick everything up and he's such an adorable little bastard about it. And you can actually see, as Hoshino-san is picking up the things from Sho's dumped bag, Nino scoots forward to bump his elbow against Ohno's, who then knows what he is thinking and says, "Sho-chan, good morning!!" and Sho turns around to start saying it back before he snaps "Good mor--I GET IT!! YOU CAN STOP WITH THE GREETING!!" and you can totally hear Nino's devil laughter in the background.
Omg you guys. You should always fuck with your boyfriend like that. ;___;b
And Aki-chan is totally adorable in this game, too. And, huh. It looks like she wasn't the one who brought up her chest in the first place, it was Ogura-san who mentioned that the director was trying to get a game where she'd have to bend forward and she just played along, then felt really self-conscious about it. SHE IS CUTE OMG.
The weird thing about this game--and, you guysssssss, why do you waste the awesome Aiba/Jun/Nino trio on this game where they hardly interact?? though, it was cute to see Aiba and Nino lightly teasing Jun about having probably been a really obediant little kid--is that it seems like the Aiba/Jun/Nino team goes way faster, but they go about 15 seconds longer than the Ohno/Sho/Hoshino-san team. I know it's editing and all, but it really felt like they were moving faster.
There's also the scarecrow game with the laundry pole which you could pretty much get everything from the raw, but was totally worth watching again. And then the newspaper hat game! I love this one! Nino is such a little bastard at it! And I love it because the guest is like, "....is this fun?" or saying that it's really embarrassing and Sho's like, "What? What's so embarrassing? I don't understand!" and, oh, Sho, they've crushed that dignity right out of you, haven't they? And I LOVE Nino's way of winning, too. The guest's newspaper hat is about to fall off, so Ogura-san goes to fix it for her, and Nino looks like he's helping for a split second and then NO, HE'S TAKING IT. I LOVE HIM. I love him because everyone is like, "You should be easier on her!" and he responds with IF I WAS EASIER ON HER, WE WOULDN'T HAVE WON. *cracked up*
Then Ohno vs Jun! And it's still really still totally adorable fun because Jun's got those long arms of his and just yanks Ohno's hat off, who gives him this OMG UNFAIR USING YOUR HEIGHT TO AN ADVANTAGE even while he's laughing at the whole thing. And then Aiba does the same thing with Sho, who I keep forgetting just RUNS AWAY, but Aiba's got that long reach so he just snatches the hat off anyway and al;sdkfjalsk I loved this game. (And, jesus, those jeans are still awesome on Aiba, they emphasize his height so well and just. a sdfl;kajslkj I love the stylist or whoever bought those jeans forever.)
I love the roller skate tug of war just as much as ever, too. You can tell how stupid they all think this is and that's what makes it so hilarious. I love how hard it cracks Sho up, as soon as they start going (and of course Ohmiya both go flying because YES put the two tiny midgets on the same side, opposite the two tallest ones, GREAT IDEA I LOVE THEM) especially because they all end up in a pile of tangled limbs and Sho is like THAT IS THE FUNNIEST THING EVER while Ogura-san is like, I totally couldn't tell what was going on, let's do it again. u__u
I love that Sho is like, "I could watch this over and over *cracking up*" and then they swith the teams around so it's more balanced, with Nino pointing out that it makes more sense to have the two heaviest ones be the anchors (Aiba and Jun) and, sure enough, they pretty much meet in the middle, maybe a little more towards the Aiba/Nino side. Or at least they drifted that way. And it's one great big hug pile. \o/
I love the Daruma-san game as well, mostly because Aiba and Nino had to keep holding hands while they took steps at the end and Aiba/Nino trying to work together while Nino's bitching and Aiba's laughing is A+++++ material. Seriously, only Nino can make me laugh that hard when he's snapping I ALREADY TOOK A STEP YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING EARLIER because Aiba's mentioning AS he's taking a step that they should coordinate.
So, you don't really gain that much by watching the subbed version, but there were a couple of really golden moments and it was totally an episode worth watching again. <3