Universe still owes me cookies. :|
I've been kind of AWOL lately, I know. A lot of it is my city is flooding right now and I've been getting sick (the flu that's been going around, lovely) and just generally being a useless lump of lazy whenever I can. Oh, and playing Dragon Quest V, asd;lfkjaslkj which is trying to make me choose who to marry. Screw you, DQV, for making me feel guilty about choosing between them!
Anyway. The universe owes me cookies, I feel, and has been somewhat providing them in the form of Arashi awesomeness. Now if only I could concentrate long enough to finish one of the THREE HUNDRED MILLION Kabuto fic ideas in my head. orz And incoherent post is incoherent, but at least I'm not dead?
Anyway. Usual blah, blah, blah, and then on to Kamen Rider Kabuto ep 45, with SPOILERS for the episode listed at the very least (and very likely all the way to the end, especially since this is the final stretch), I don't plan these things in advance, we'll see from there.
Kamen Rider Kabuto episode 45: So, Tendou gets out his magical fairy wings and mows through the Worm army in a single blast while Hiyori is attacked by Dark Tendou, who then runs off crying and screaming at the sky and stumbling down sidewalks. The two Nogi Reijis approach him and say he's close to being their nakama, because he hates everything, and I wonder about that. Hiyori wanted to stay in this world, so is he really trying to destroy her along with it in a childish attempt to lash back or is he trying to destroy the world so that she'll come back to him, which isn't any less childish but still at least he loves something. Possibly a mix of the two, I suppose.
But Dark Tendou's not having any of this, so he transforms to fight against them (and actually he doesn't say anything, it's the suit that says "henshin" for him?) and they basically brush him off like an annoying fly and say that he's like a newborn child, someday he'll need their power.
At the same time, Tendou's still dragging Kagami along and, wow, seriously, how long have they been stumbling along together? It was light out when the fight started, the sun was setting while they were walking down the dusty road, and now they're back in city proper (well, out of Shibuya, I mean) and it's dark out. They stumble over an unconcious Hiyori and Tendou proceeds to flip out over her, not that I blame him at all.
The next day, he's wheeling her outside from the hospital, gently asking her what happened, but she turns away from him and says it's nothing. That it's her fault Because she's weak. Because she's selfish. Not because she wasn't strong enough to fight back, but because she came back to this world, she wasn't strong enough to give it up and so she feels she brought this on herself.
Tsurugi is also in the hospital, while Misaki visits him, calling his name, and he wakes up enough to realize that he managed to protect her, which is all he wanted. If there's anything she can do... and he says, it's fine, you must have way more important places to be, right? Even he can see that. And WAH, STOP BREAKING MY HEART, TSURUGI. ;___; She does eventually leave, but slowly and thinks about what he did for her against Cassisworm, so she pops her head back in just long enough to ask how old he is. Twenty, why? No reason~ :D and asd;lfkjasljk STOP IT. She wonders just what she's thinking, but she's smiling while doing so, and you know she's softening. And the show is mean for doing this at the end of the series where you think they might just have a chance! After that, Jiiya pops into the hospital room, flipping out at Bocchama having gotten himself hurt.
After that, a busload of people is attacked by Worms and Kagami's well enough to go after them (or probably pushing himself too much) and transforms to deal with them and I have a stray thought about, huh, we've seen Kagami mimcked before, of course, we see almost every major player in the show being mimicked, but you never see it after he gets Gatack, you never see anyone else using Gatack. I'm not sure you can count Dark Tendou using the Kabuto Zecter, because they use them at the same time and it looks like a different version of Kabuto, not actually Kabuto itself. But, the point kind of remains that no one else ever used Gatack or even a copy of it, and I'm sure it could be tied into the themes of the show and whatnot, but part of me also thinks it would be because, if they tried, Gatack Zecter would have chewed their arm off.
Anyway, Kagami transforms and it only takes one hit from the cannons to destroy a Worm and that was kind of shockingly easy. Meanwhile, Negishi-san is walking into ZECT headquarters and, wow, I really thought he appeared earlier. This is the fifth to last episode of the series and I could have sworn he had a stronger role in it. He gives off such creepy vibes right from the start, too--part of it is that he's so cheerful and smiley while the atsomphere around him is tense and KagamiSr and Mishima-san are both serious faced and the music is tense, yet he's still friendly and cheerful and it's just. Off. He waves off their politeness and instead asks about the rumored Tendou-san, who approaches from off-screen and I love Tendou because he just casually takes the chair offered to Negishi-san, like he owns it. Mishima-san's snarl that he should know his place is kind of A++++, would enjoy that again, too.
KagamiSr puts a hand out to stop him while Tendou looks like he only heard the sound of a fly buzzing angrily and the dynamics of this are interesting. It wasn't too long ago (ep 42, I think?) where Tendou decided to trust KagamiSr, so I get why he's here. Negishi-san says, wow, you are just as interesting as rumored! while KagamiSr leans over to introduce the two of them properly and it's Creepy City all the way around. Tendou seems to think the same, he doesn't even flicker a glance at the hand Negishi-san holds out to him, instead saying, aah, so that's it, I was wondering what you wanted. But, don't worry. If he's here, everything will go well. Negishi-san finally withdraws his hand when Tendou points skyward and says, "There is no one who can defeat the rising sun."
Negishi-san says, aahhh, that's really good! ploinks their fingers together briefly, and says, is it okay if I become your fan? :D :D :D Tendou's like, eh, do whatever you want, and leaves, obviously not thrilled. After he leaves, Misaki calls him and says there are more Worm attacking and it looks like Tendou's properly working for ZECT now (but most likely still on his own terms) and Kagami's still working his way through spades of them, but it's like they're endless. While Kagami is fighting a group of them, Kageyama's ready to run over and help out, but Yaguruma asks what he thinks he's doing, who says he's going to go help, like Aniki did before! Yaguruma said he was a fool back then and look at him, shrugging his jacket off and showing his arms chained up and, oh, Yaguruma, I love your crazy. Every time I think it can't get more hilariously awesome, you prove me wrong.
And instead of going WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU when Yaguruma gives his speech about how he can retake more darkness this way, Kageyama goes OMG THAT'S AMAZING, ANIKI, YOU'RE WAY TOO AMAZING and seriously, you two. You deserve each other. I love that it's not even proper chains half of the time, it's coiled springs stretching across his chest. This show loves me a lot. At the same time, Jiiya is properly serving Tsurugi food, who notices a Santa outside the hospital window saying Merry Christmas to everyone. Tsurugi remembers the previous Christmas and it's a little bittersweet for him and he suddenly doesn't have any appetite when Jiiya tries to feed him, puffing up his cheeks and looking away when Jiiya tries to feed him. Misaki enters and is like, that's no good! You have to eat properly in order to heal! And feeds him herself, which he easily accepts, and I feel like I should hate this because it's so sappy compared to her usual no-nonsense attitude, but sometimes you just gotta be a dork who likes the idiot sitting on the hospital bed. And she's so happy when he lights up at her--!
He's TOTALLY RECOVERED NOW~! and Tendou stands in the doorway and says that's good news for him, then. He wants Tsurugi to join ZECT again and fight because they don't have enough people right now and I kind of love the artfully messy hair. Back at La Salle, Renge has made chestnuts (kuri) and trout (masu) because it's a really, really terrible "Kurisumasu" pun and he just sort of stares at the plate in shock while Kagami storms up and is like WHO CARES ABOUT THAT!? WHY THE HELL DID YOU HAVE TSURUGI JOIN ZECT AGAIN!? (I lol a little, because Renge's like, "Look at what I made, Shishou~!" while Kagami storms over and is like WHO CARES ABOUT THAT! and it's kind of easy to look at the scene wrong. XD) What's the problem with that, Misaki asks, which has Kagami continuing to flip out, because his true identity is--!! and stops himself at the last minute. Tendou's giving him an interested look again, prompting him for an answer, "What is it? If there's something you want to say, then be upfront about it." Which, again, seems to be what Tendou wants from Kagami, he gets kind of pissy when Kagami hesitates or doesn't just plunge straight forward, doesn't he?
Kagami doesn't answer, just says that he won't be responsible for whatever happens. You'd think it would actually not be a bad idea, at least this way they can keep an eye on Tsurugi instead of having him randomly show up? On the other hand, they gave Tsurugi his own squad. I lol and lol and lol, especially as he starts giving his dramatic speech about how they're going to defeat all Worm, but especially to protect Misakinu~~! *wriggle of glee*, while the Zectroopers are like, Wtf is a Misakinu?? and I love it. Because, they're practically hovering over her, catching her when she trips while running to the video store and if she's late, she'll have fees, so Tsurugi uses the squad to STOP THE VIDEO STORE FROM CLOSING (by force even!) and declares the video returned, mission complete! while Misaki wonders just what the hell he's doing. Hey, you chose him, Misaki, you live with him. ♥♥♥♥♥ The look on her face when she realizes that Tsurugi is absolutely going to abuse his power to "protect" her, is beautiful.
The days and nights are filled with wave after wave of Worm attacking, even Misaki's van is attacked, but Tsurugi is there to drive the Worm off and defeat them while the Zectroopers form a protective barrier around her. He asks if she's okay afterwards and she says, HEY, you joined to defeat the Worm, remember? Do you understand that at all? He just smiles and rolls up his pants legs to wade into the water to fetch her shoe, even ordering the rest of the Zectroopers in with him. She's frustrated because that's not it at all and... I feel like I should be annoyed at Tsurugi for this, but I kind of love his utter persistance.
THEN. MY FAVORITE SCENE JUST ABOUT EVER. It's a forest with the morning fog still lingering, two people in black sitting on a log together while two others approach. Yaguruma and Kageyama sit patiently while Kagami and Tendou approach--and I love that the show makes a point of having Kagami here, when Tendou could have just done this himself, but I suppose it could be explained that Tendou wanted someone to watch his back in case they decided to fight, but that really doesn't stop Tendou most times--and they're obviously there to recruit the Hoppers. "Yo. You guys help, too," Tendou says bluntly. "We don't have enough hands for fighting the Worm."
They both shake off their jackets, showing the chains wrapped around them, saying no one's voice can reach the darkeness and Kageyama puts his hands over his ears and Tendou just STARES at them, doesn't even twitch a muscle, for a single beat and then just as bluntly says, "We're leaving." and zips around to leave. Then Kagami's WTF face as he stares at them and then leaves as well, asking if Tendou's really sure about this. Yeah, Tendou says he was a fool for thinking they'd help.
And seriously.
The scene itself is hilarious enough, but what really makes it is Yuuki and Hiro's reactions, the expressions (or non-expressions for Tendou) on their faces are just.
Priceless.
I lose it every single time I watch this scene, you'd think it'd eventually stop being kind of super hilarious, but it doesn't! Especially because, you know, you'd think that Kagami would be used to the batshit crazy after awhile, I mean, he likes Tendou. But after the last ten episodes or so, Kagami's kind of started to understand a lot about Tendou, I think, he's started to figure out a lot about him, so, okay, the rest of the universe must make sense, too, right? Except, no! The Hoppers still manage to break his brain.
Afterwards, the Zectroopers leave Tsurugi because they just can't follow this nonsense anymore, but Tsurugi keeps looking for Misaki's shoe, while Misaki tells him to cut it out, too, because it's like he hasn't changed at all from before with this. What a stupid guy, but... somehow it's not entirely bad. Awww. <3 When he finds the shoe finally, she thanks him, and he asks her out on a date, because it'll be Christmas soon and she agrees. ;__; He also starts knitting her a muffler and Misaki tells Kagami about going out on a date with Tsurugi and he's like ARE YOU SERIOUS WTF WTF WTF and he's COMPLETELY AGAINST IT, so she's been meaning to ask, why does mentioning Tsurugi always provoke him? He says he just thinks it's just not good to be dating in this situation, which is obviously a little bit true but mostly a lie, because he doesn't want to give up Tsurugi's secret. Which she knows, but... well, she likes him.
So, Jiiya works on the muffler and Misaki buys him a bracelet while Kagami stalks follows her and realizes that she might be serious about this. Which is just crazy talk! Really! Misaki and Tsurugi, that's just... but... she does look really happy.... Tsurugi wakes up and realizes he's going to be late if he doesn't hurry, Misaki is waiting by the fountain, and it's such a happy, cute scene! Traffic is backed up and so Tsurugi's going to run the rest of the way! He's clutching the bag with the pink muffler and practically skipping on the way there! Goddamn this bastard of a show! He runs into the Worm from before and a whole group of Pupaworms behind him, while Tendou rides up on the Extender elsewhere, running into the other one with a bunch of Pupaworm, mowing through the Pupaworms without even having to transform. He's shocked that that bastard is still alive, but he'll defeat the guy as many times as needed.
They both fight, Tsurugi getting tossed over the side of a walkway and half-transforming, which seems to surprise the Nogi Reiji clone (I assume it's the clone? Not that it really matters.) while Kabuto keeps fighting. He summons the other Zecters (a;lsdkfj seriously, what about Tsurugi fighting right then? Clearly Tendou does not care. XD) and levels a Maximum Hyper Typhoon at them, defeating them.
Tsurugi finally stumbles toward Misaki, but he's tripping and half-transforming and Kagami runs up just in time to witness everything and the silver Scorpion Worm goes for Misaki. Stupid show, breaking my heart like this. :< The next episode is all about the fallout from Tsurugi being a Worm and breaking my heart and trying to mend it a little with the total OTP gay of Kagami/Tendou. The tag is cute (and spoilery for Boukenger, but that's my own fault for not keeping up with it XD) especially when Tendou and Kagami fight for the center stage... well, Kagami just steps around Tendou, who STARES AT HIM reeeeeally close and, yeah, that's lessening the gay, show. .___.b
And, of course, more Arashi stuff. Spoilers for anything listed under the cut:
→ Arashi no Shukudai-kun #124 subbed
→ Arashi no Shukudai-kun #125 [2009.03.09] subbed
→ Magomago Arashi #60 subbed
→ Arashi no Shukudai-kun #127 [2009.03.23]
→ Arashi Around Asia 2008 in Tokyo DVD
♥ - Arashi no Shukudai-kun #124 subbed - You know what I love about Arashi lately? All their shows have been going to widescreen, which means they are perfect for watching on my regular TV. So, I grabbed a bunch of episodes, plunked them in the dvd player, and started de-stressing. This is one of the first ones I chose and it's an episode I mostly skimmed before, with Sho's Yatterman castmates, but is even better with subs, oh, man.
Like, right from the beginning they have Sho's "rival" in the box and this'll be a battle and all and Ogura-san is like, "Hah? Isn't Sho-kun easily beaten all the time?" and Sho's FACE. Even Ogura-san is getting in on the bullying! ♥ And it really is a great episode for Sho-bullying/Sho-fail in a really cute, adorable way. Like when Nino notices the different set, but they all say its a regular episode. But Sho wants it to be a Yatterman SP! So the editors put up, "We're in SP mode on the inside." asl;dkfjal;sjk lolz.
Then Sho's bandmates are total bitches because they have him describe the Yatta! pose and act like they need more explanations, so Sho keeps going and then, well, NOW WE WANT TO SEE THAT. :D :D :D And Sho just totally falls for it and it's super adorable fail. And they're all like, yeah, that part is going to be cut out from the episode, and Nino, because he loves his BFF deeply and truly, explains the Y arms formation for the Yatta! pose because Sho's part was going to be cut out and Sho's face at that. XD
And I'm okay with the bullying Sho because they clearly all do it out of love. It's an episode centered around his movie and they like to do shit like this whenever someone is the center of attention and you can tell this most especially from Nino. Because Nino LOVES Sho, like, more than the rest of the audience put together, and yet Nino is the biggest bitch of a bandmate out of them all. He's the one to immediately pounce on the Yatta! in the food homework segment and make both Sho and Ohno do it. His two favorite people and his favorite activity. Clearly, the love is about to burst forth out of Nino sometimes.
But. As much as I love the Sho bullying, it's the Aiba/Jun stuff that sends me over the moon. I know everyone is surprised by this. There was Jun smacking Aiba in the face after obviously dragging him over, but the subs just make it even better. Jun is totally giving Aiba shit in this episode, starting with the last time Kyoko was on the show and she had the tempura short cake, which was apparently GOD-AWFUL. And Jun reminds everyone that it was Aiba who made her eat it, because he loves Aiba.
And Aiba's like, "Let's just say that she began to like sweets because of that..." and Jun immediately responds with, "No, we won't!"
Then it gets even greater with the subs because Jun's supposed to do the Yatta! thing solo and Aiba is like YEAH, DO IT SOLO, but Jun is having none of this shit. NO, YOU'RE DOING IT, TOO and pulls Aiba back over, who is totally whipped and meekly agrees. And just.
This is why I ship them.
If that's not an old married couple, I don't know what is. I mean, this is after Jun is like, yeah, I'm not sure this food is good and has totally sold Aiba out. Aiba still meekly does what the bossy princess tells him to do and just. a;lsdjkfal;sjk so married.
Sho's insistence that the Yatta! reaction IS NOT EMBARRASSING is just as funny as ever. And then Nino's too-sweet voice when asking Jun how the melon homework was and Jun's face. Nino is clearly setting the trap and Jun looks flatly at him like he is not falling for this, you bitches. So, Sho does the Yatta! FOR him! ♥ And, of course, it's NINO who gets that it's a 1 yen coin in the glasses. Of course.
So, overall, an episode that was really worth watching twice, surprisingly. A lot of that is probably because it had my favorite match-ups--a lot of Ohno/Sho/Nino OT3ness and a lot of Aiba/Jun--but it was a solid episode all the way around. I was kind of "...." over the way they treated Kyoko in that outfit, it got a smidge uncomfortable at times, especially when the guest was tell the, "Dude, this is our chance! WE HAVE LOOK AS MUCH AS WE CAN!" story and Kyoko just kind of sat there stiffly, but it was only a small part of an otherwise really fun episode.
♥ - Arashi no Shukudai-kun #125 [2009.03.09] subbed - I think I skipped this episode when it first aired, so I was watching it for the first time with these subs (though, stuff is getting subbed so fast lately that sometimes I get turned around about what I've just read reaction posts on and what I've actually sat down and watched), but I'm kind of glad of that. There are some great moments that I would have missed otherwise. o/
Like the stuff with their producer. God, I love the Shukudai-kun staff, because they are clearly just as big of fuckers as the band themselves are, that producer was staring back at them so serious faced during the whole No Money Sp thing. You could see the rest of the staff trying not to crack up in the background and only being somewhat successful. <3
And I love that, of course, they immediately make Ohno try the fried bread monstrosity first. And it's good! \o/ Even Jun says to, though, he was clearly dying to say it was bad so he could scold Aiba for it some more. Hell, even NINO ate half of his! A red letter day if there ever was one. o/
What I could have done without--except it was also kind of lolarious--was Arashi showing each other their half-chewed food. Like, it was hilarious the first time, but then it just got kind of gross. Except the hilarious part is that everyone kept showing Aiba, who just. He went right ahead and looked like it was perfectly normal and als;dkfjal;ksjda;lksj BOYS. Crying.
Oh, also! The whole exchange with Ohno eating his eco-yaki while they were trying to guess what it was? What's it taste like?
Ohno: It's good.
Staff: LOL.
Nino: That's not what we're asking!!
Me: CRYING.
Especially combined with how no one knows WHAT they were eating by the end. Seriously, I would watch Arashi eat unidentified foods and try to guess what they are and NOBODY HAVING ANY SORT OF CLUE forever.
The best part was totally the Ailand games, though. Just. a s;dlfkja;lskjsal;kj crying. They're going to throw balls at Jun's face for the Aibaland game and oh my god, Jun's FACE while he's staring at Aiba, who's explaining the rules. Like, if you could make one expression that said, "Aiba Masaki, you are DEAD, no matter how much I love you.", Jun's :| face would have been it. I was kind of crying.
Especially because Jun played the game anyway and had this TOTAL LACK OF ENTHUSIASM, like, you bitches are SO DEAD, the entire time. God. I love that Jun is much happier lately, but I have missed the bitchy princess who will kill them all dead for bullying him.
But they're saved when a) Ogura-san points out that THEY'RE JUST PLAYING JANKEN AND THEN THROWING BALLS, while Aiba is like, So you finally noticed! :D, and b) Ohno clearly throws the end of the game so that they can just get it over and c) they all move on to bullying Sho next.
Normally I'm not that fond of the game where they try to use ~*supernatural*~ powers to doge the ball at the back of their head, but this one was kind of spectacular. Ohno didn't even TRY to dodge it, which had me just about crying with laughter again.
Then they WHACKED SHO WITH A MALLET. THEY ARE BITCHES. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH, THEY ARE SUCH BOYS. I loved that Jun was clearly behind the mallet and I love that they're all such boys because Aiba's like, STOP LOOKING OVER HERE, when Sho nervously turns around because HIS BULLYING SENSES ARE TINGLING, YOU GUYS.
And Ohno. a s;dlfkja;lskjalsk;j "This is kind of turning into bullying." when they're all ganging up on Sho and yet nobody even considers stopping, not even Ohno. Jun immediately goes right back with the mallet to Sho's head.
And then ALL FOUR OF THEM GANG UP ON NINO and just. a;lsdkfja;lksj I could watch Arashi fucking with each other FOREVER. Seriously, it was one of the best episodes to watch, just Arashi being adorable goof-offs. I can't say it was as good as their previous No Money SP, but it was certainly well worth watching. ♥
♥ - Magomago Arashi #60 subbed - I haven't watched an MMA episode in aaaaages, but I have been feeling a lot of the Sho/Nino love lately (which I blame the flist for, seriously) and this one was actually kind of really, really great.
And by really, really great I obviously mean "really, really gay". Because wow.
The thing was that the entire episode kept focusing on how in love the grandparents were, how the husband never gave her a reason to scold him, how well they got along, how well they knew each other, how much fun they had doing stuff together, etc. And then they would directly compare Nino and Sho against them. As soon as they make a comment about how obaa-chan never scolds ojii-san, the next scene? Nino scolding Sho! After awhile I kind of started to wonder if they were doing it on purpose.
(I don't really think so, but it was kind of hard NOT to think of it anyway. >_>)
Nino is adorable in this whole thing, I swear, being around Sho always brings out the little brat side of him. Not the evil demon that being around Aiba or Ohno does or the bitch that being around Matsumoto does, but the adorable little brat that Sho brings out in him. Right from the beginning, Nino whines that they're not supposed to be filming if it's over 30 degrees outside and he is clearly a lying liar who lies, but Sho just laughs and thinks his tiny BFF is adorable. They keep constantly selling each other out in this episode, too, it is SO ADORABLE.
Then! Nino goes with the grandma to make lunch! And HE KNOWS WHAT SHO LIKES. And apparently. "Sho-chan likes them big." CHOKING, NINO. I mean, aside from how well he knows his BFF, that should have come with a warning. :< (Also, I love that the mochi really was huge and you can hear the staff cracking up in the background. XD)
The most blatant part, though, was when they were eating lunch and the grandparents were super adorable and they were really madly in love and Nino directly compares himself and Sho to them and how different he and Show are from the love-love couple who get along so well. "I'm definitely going to beat him up later," Nino says. a sdl;fkjasl;dkjal;ksj not enough hearts in the world.
Oh, oh, and! That paper/hair pun? I SAW THAT COMING A MILE AWAY, GRANDPA. IT WAS A TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE PUN. I love it.
Also, you can totally see both Nino and Sho writing the Arashi kanji coming a mile away and yet my heart totally went, ".....BOYS, ILU. ♥♥♥" when they did. Even more when Obaa-chan is like, see, you two do get along well! XD And, hell, when Nino and the grandma go shopping for yakiniku? Again Nino totally knows what Sho likes.
So totally married. <3
Overall, a really fun episode for anyone, I enjoyed the hell out of it and it went by really fast, but a total must-see if you like these two at all. *wistful* I miss MMA sometimes.
♥ - Arashi no Shukudai-kun #127 [2009.03.23] - Okay, this one is probably worth watching for the most part, but I also think you might want to have a deft finger on the fast forward button because a lot of it is preview stuff that you could probably just skip. But! There's also unaired footage stuff! And it's kind of delightful! They have stuff from the episode with Audrey and still_ciircee is totally right that Sho is wearing a purple scarf with skulls on it and clearly Jun is marking his territory. ....someone should write that fic. *__*
The best part of the whole episode was the food homework segment parts that didn't get aired, where the guests keep giving Ohno the food and he keeps eating it and he keeps saying it's good. And just. as;ldjkfal;skj that's Ohno for you. Put some food in front of him and he'll eat it and probably like it.
At least until the very end, when Ohno is like NOT GOOD :< and everyone just dies at him. a;sldfkja;slkj I would seriously watch that show every week even more than we already get it--a little like those old Life commercials. YOU EAT IT. NO YOU EAT IT. NO YOU EAT IT. I KNOW, LET'S GIVE IT TO NINOMIYA, HE DOESN'T LIKE ANYTHING.
The Nagase part was funny as well, I know I shouldn't lol quite so much at their antics, they're just flailing around with those slipper/skis around the racetrack and it's so dumb and yet. And yet. I lol like crazy because they are clearly aware of just how dumb it is! Plus, it's kind of hilarious when they FINALLY get good at it and it's always funny seeing Nino be part of a failing team. ♥ Though, it does remind me that I haven't properly watched the Nagase episode yet. orz ....o-or the previous Odoroki SP yet, either.
Anyway, it was worth watching, but not a super must see. You'll probably do a lot of skimming, especially if you went for the Jikkan SP first, but Aiba's super smoking hot hair right now makes up for a lot of it? :D?
♥ - Arashi Around Asia 2008 in Tokyo DVD - a;sdlfkja;lskjalskj I-- I don't even know where to start with this dvd, seriously. I want to do picspam, except I know that I would NEVER RESURFACE AGAIN, NOT WITH JUN'S UTTER FABULOUSNESS THROUGHOUT THIS CONCERT. And also people have covered that pretty well--some of the gifs out there are just. a ;sldfkja;lskdjalksj as if watching the concert wasn't flail-inducing enough, the posts are amazing.
Like, I don't even know how I could have anything to say after posts like this or this because they are just so awesome. Seriously, you should just go read those posts instead.
Except how am I supposed to let this dvd pass by without commenting on stuff like Jun's solo? Where they GIVE HIM A FLAMETHROWER? al;sekfjasldkjaslkj CRYING AT JUST THE THOUGHT ALL OVER AGAIN.
I mean, I want to be coherent and reasonable and stuff, but I think we all know that's probably not going to actually happen. So, bullet-points style! (Sort of.)
→ I cannot express how much I love their concerts, how much I love when they first come on stage. All that energy and focus! Watching them getting the crowd to jump along with them! All that amazing love and energy and tension and it just EXPLODES into this amazing epic concert!
→ Watching the crowd start to really get going during Oh Yeah! MY HEART. IT IS YOURS, YOU GUYS.
→ There were a lot of really interesting artistic shots in the first half of this dvd, there was so much sky behind the guys when they were singing, while they were almost tucked into the corner of the shot. Maybe it was just the camera guys not really being able to get right on target at first, but I like to think it was deliberate. It looked amazing and made me just itch to break out the capping programs and then make a thousand icons of them.
→ The Hadashi no Mirai performance. *___* My heart, it is still yours, you guys.
→ I love that you could constantly see the others singing along to the songs even when it wasn't their part. Nino and Jun were especially guilty of doing this, you can tell how much they're just really into these performances, but it's also the two squishiest members who love their bandmates ridiculous amounts. You can just see how much Nino and Jun both really love this band.
→ It's not that I don't love the slow songs, too, but that explosion of lights and color and movement when they got to Lucky Man? Now that's a fucking epic concert. *__* Seriously, you guys are so lucky I am too lazy to learn to gifs because you would get SO MANY of those gorgeous wide shots with all the flashing lights and colors and fireworks.
→ Dancing on the center stage during Lucky Man! Each of them doing their own little thing! Ending with NINO DOING A BACKFLIP. MY HEART. IT IS EXPLODING OMG.
→ Carnival Night II omg omg omg. *___*
→ Kaze no Mukuou e, too, omg. *______*
→ MATSUMOTO JUN. YOU KEEP YOUR FINGER OUT OF YOUR MOUTH RIGHT NOW. Because I do NOT appreciate the filthy thoughts like that. Seriously, you are supposed to be the fabulously pretty gay one, I do not want to have that kind of filthy thoughts about you!
→ a;sldkfja;slkja oh my god I cannot even talk about the Re(mark)able performance in any sort of coherency. Just. My brain, it has dribbled out of my ears and onto the floor because my love for Arashi has completely gooified it.
→ God, every song with the red and gold costumes was just ridiculously epic. *__*
→ Okay. OKAY. I know Jun's solo is totally ridiculous and yet. That leather jacket, those jeans, those long, long legs of his, the sheer fabulousness of everything, the sweat-slicked skin. I-- I would hit that. Just once. Also, FLAMETHROWER. LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL NEVER GOING TO STOP LAUGHING LOL. And yet I'd still hit that once. I don't even know what that says about me anymore.
→ The ending of Jun's solo. I just. Ffffffffff. The 3... 2... 1... and then FIREWORKS. I-- I'm weak, okay?
→ OMG THE BALLOONS FOR ONE LOVE. SO GORGEOUS. *__*
→ Their arms around each other for One Love! Nino's hand being inches away from grabbing Jun's ass! Aiba's hand lingered on Ohno's! Aiba's arm around Ohno later, too! ALL THINGS THAT MAKE ME RIDICULOUSLY HAPPY.
→ Omg, the water fountains during One Love were amazing. *__*
→ Janken during Fight Song! Sho, Nino, and Jun are clear! SHO AND NINO HUG OF TOTAL STRAIGHTNESS!
→ Ohno trying to sing into his mic but apparently he broke it after getting wet from the tank! Which was COOOOOOLD, YOU BITCHES, except they were their usual caring, sensitive selves about it and just laughed their asses off at him. But then Ohno's mic breaks and Jun gives him his! ♥ And then snuggles with him! As they share a mic! Oh, Ohno/Jun concert hijinks, I have missed you. ♥
→ Nino splashing the backdancers at the end! Getting splashed back by them! Clearly telling them to scram! I LOVE HIM SO MUCH.
→ Sho sliding through the water on the stage like a big kid! And then EVERYONE GETS INTO IT! Ohno does the same and Nino scolds him! Then Sho and Ohno get in on it together! And then Jun goes sliding face down! All things I love! And OMG Jun's crazy slide where he's just all over the place and his legs are flung all over and just as;ldkfja;lskj a bunch of little BOYS playing in the rain!
→ And of course it all ends in the rain, after Arashi has called up a storm. Perfect. ♥
Overall, I just. I can't even be coherent about this. I can't do caps because I'd come up with, like, FIVE THOUSAND of them. It's quite possibly one of the best concert dvds for them yet, imo, right up there with the previous AAA one for me, it's one that I really kind of want to rewatch already, despite that I just watched it, I'm not a rewatcher in general, and I've got a ton of other Arashi stuff to watch first. It was just. It was epic and magic and amazing and lolarious and wonderful and everything a silly Japanese boyband concert dvd should be.
More later when I can maybe muster up some coherency about it. *_______________*
Anyway. The universe owes me cookies, I feel, and has been somewhat providing them in the form of Arashi awesomeness. Now if only I could concentrate long enough to finish one of the THREE HUNDRED MILLION Kabuto fic ideas in my head. orz And incoherent post is incoherent, but at least I'm not dead?
Anyway. Usual blah, blah, blah, and then on to Kamen Rider Kabuto ep 45, with SPOILERS for the episode listed at the very least (and very likely all the way to the end, especially since this is the final stretch), I don't plan these things in advance, we'll see from there.
Kamen Rider Kabuto episode 45: So, Tendou gets out his magical fairy wings and mows through the Worm army in a single blast while Hiyori is attacked by Dark Tendou, who then runs off crying and screaming at the sky and stumbling down sidewalks. The two Nogi Reijis approach him and say he's close to being their nakama, because he hates everything, and I wonder about that. Hiyori wanted to stay in this world, so is he really trying to destroy her along with it in a childish attempt to lash back or is he trying to destroy the world so that she'll come back to him, which isn't any less childish but still at least he loves something. Possibly a mix of the two, I suppose.
But Dark Tendou's not having any of this, so he transforms to fight against them (and actually he doesn't say anything, it's the suit that says "henshin" for him?) and they basically brush him off like an annoying fly and say that he's like a newborn child, someday he'll need their power.
At the same time, Tendou's still dragging Kagami along and, wow, seriously, how long have they been stumbling along together? It was light out when the fight started, the sun was setting while they were walking down the dusty road, and now they're back in city proper (well, out of Shibuya, I mean) and it's dark out. They stumble over an unconcious Hiyori and Tendou proceeds to flip out over her, not that I blame him at all.
The next day, he's wheeling her outside from the hospital, gently asking her what happened, but she turns away from him and says it's nothing. That it's her fault Because she's weak. Because she's selfish. Not because she wasn't strong enough to fight back, but because she came back to this world, she wasn't strong enough to give it up and so she feels she brought this on herself.
Tsurugi is also in the hospital, while Misaki visits him, calling his name, and he wakes up enough to realize that he managed to protect her, which is all he wanted. If there's anything she can do... and he says, it's fine, you must have way more important places to be, right? Even he can see that. And WAH, STOP BREAKING MY HEART, TSURUGI. ;___; She does eventually leave, but slowly and thinks about what he did for her against Cassisworm, so she pops her head back in just long enough to ask how old he is. Twenty, why? No reason~ :D and asd;lfkjasljk STOP IT. She wonders just what she's thinking, but she's smiling while doing so, and you know she's softening. And the show is mean for doing this at the end of the series where you think they might just have a chance! After that, Jiiya pops into the hospital room, flipping out at Bocchama having gotten himself hurt.
After that, a busload of people is attacked by Worms and Kagami's well enough to go after them (or probably pushing himself too much) and transforms to deal with them and I have a stray thought about, huh, we've seen Kagami mimcked before, of course, we see almost every major player in the show being mimicked, but you never see it after he gets Gatack, you never see anyone else using Gatack. I'm not sure you can count Dark Tendou using the Kabuto Zecter, because they use them at the same time and it looks like a different version of Kabuto, not actually Kabuto itself. But, the point kind of remains that no one else ever used Gatack or even a copy of it, and I'm sure it could be tied into the themes of the show and whatnot, but part of me also thinks it would be because, if they tried, Gatack Zecter would have chewed their arm off.
Anyway, Kagami transforms and it only takes one hit from the cannons to destroy a Worm and that was kind of shockingly easy. Meanwhile, Negishi-san is walking into ZECT headquarters and, wow, I really thought he appeared earlier. This is the fifth to last episode of the series and I could have sworn he had a stronger role in it. He gives off such creepy vibes right from the start, too--part of it is that he's so cheerful and smiley while the atsomphere around him is tense and KagamiSr and Mishima-san are both serious faced and the music is tense, yet he's still friendly and cheerful and it's just. Off. He waves off their politeness and instead asks about the rumored Tendou-san, who approaches from off-screen and I love Tendou because he just casually takes the chair offered to Negishi-san, like he owns it. Mishima-san's snarl that he should know his place is kind of A++++, would enjoy that again, too.
KagamiSr puts a hand out to stop him while Tendou looks like he only heard the sound of a fly buzzing angrily and the dynamics of this are interesting. It wasn't too long ago (ep 42, I think?) where Tendou decided to trust KagamiSr, so I get why he's here. Negishi-san says, wow, you are just as interesting as rumored! while KagamiSr leans over to introduce the two of them properly and it's Creepy City all the way around. Tendou seems to think the same, he doesn't even flicker a glance at the hand Negishi-san holds out to him, instead saying, aah, so that's it, I was wondering what you wanted. But, don't worry. If he's here, everything will go well. Negishi-san finally withdraws his hand when Tendou points skyward and says, "There is no one who can defeat the rising sun."
Negishi-san says, aahhh, that's really good! ploinks their fingers together briefly, and says, is it okay if I become your fan? :D :D :D Tendou's like, eh, do whatever you want, and leaves, obviously not thrilled. After he leaves, Misaki calls him and says there are more Worm attacking and it looks like Tendou's properly working for ZECT now (but most likely still on his own terms) and Kagami's still working his way through spades of them, but it's like they're endless. While Kagami is fighting a group of them, Kageyama's ready to run over and help out, but Yaguruma asks what he thinks he's doing, who says he's going to go help, like Aniki did before! Yaguruma said he was a fool back then and look at him, shrugging his jacket off and showing his arms chained up and, oh, Yaguruma, I love your crazy. Every time I think it can't get more hilariously awesome, you prove me wrong.
And instead of going WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU when Yaguruma gives his speech about how he can retake more darkness this way, Kageyama goes OMG THAT'S AMAZING, ANIKI, YOU'RE WAY TOO AMAZING and seriously, you two. You deserve each other. I love that it's not even proper chains half of the time, it's coiled springs stretching across his chest. This show loves me a lot. At the same time, Jiiya is properly serving Tsurugi food, who notices a Santa outside the hospital window saying Merry Christmas to everyone. Tsurugi remembers the previous Christmas and it's a little bittersweet for him and he suddenly doesn't have any appetite when Jiiya tries to feed him, puffing up his cheeks and looking away when Jiiya tries to feed him. Misaki enters and is like, that's no good! You have to eat properly in order to heal! And feeds him herself, which he easily accepts, and I feel like I should hate this because it's so sappy compared to her usual no-nonsense attitude, but sometimes you just gotta be a dork who likes the idiot sitting on the hospital bed. And she's so happy when he lights up at her--!
He's TOTALLY RECOVERED NOW~! and Tendou stands in the doorway and says that's good news for him, then. He wants Tsurugi to join ZECT again and fight because they don't have enough people right now and I kind of love the artfully messy hair. Back at La Salle, Renge has made chestnuts (kuri) and trout (masu) because it's a really, really terrible "Kurisumasu" pun and he just sort of stares at the plate in shock while Kagami storms up and is like WHO CARES ABOUT THAT!? WHY THE HELL DID YOU HAVE TSURUGI JOIN ZECT AGAIN!? (I lol a little, because Renge's like, "Look at what I made, Shishou~!" while Kagami storms over and is like WHO CARES ABOUT THAT! and it's kind of easy to look at the scene wrong. XD) What's the problem with that, Misaki asks, which has Kagami continuing to flip out, because his true identity is--!! and stops himself at the last minute. Tendou's giving him an interested look again, prompting him for an answer, "What is it? If there's something you want to say, then be upfront about it." Which, again, seems to be what Tendou wants from Kagami, he gets kind of pissy when Kagami hesitates or doesn't just plunge straight forward, doesn't he?
Kagami doesn't answer, just says that he won't be responsible for whatever happens. You'd think it would actually not be a bad idea, at least this way they can keep an eye on Tsurugi instead of having him randomly show up? On the other hand, they gave Tsurugi his own squad. I lol and lol and lol, especially as he starts giving his dramatic speech about how they're going to defeat all Worm, but especially to protect Misakinu~~! *wriggle of glee*, while the Zectroopers are like, Wtf is a Misakinu?? and I love it. Because, they're practically hovering over her, catching her when she trips while running to the video store and if she's late, she'll have fees, so Tsurugi uses the squad to STOP THE VIDEO STORE FROM CLOSING (by force even!) and declares the video returned, mission complete! while Misaki wonders just what the hell he's doing. Hey, you chose him, Misaki, you live with him. ♥♥♥♥♥ The look on her face when she realizes that Tsurugi is absolutely going to abuse his power to "protect" her, is beautiful.
The days and nights are filled with wave after wave of Worm attacking, even Misaki's van is attacked, but Tsurugi is there to drive the Worm off and defeat them while the Zectroopers form a protective barrier around her. He asks if she's okay afterwards and she says, HEY, you joined to defeat the Worm, remember? Do you understand that at all? He just smiles and rolls up his pants legs to wade into the water to fetch her shoe, even ordering the rest of the Zectroopers in with him. She's frustrated because that's not it at all and... I feel like I should be annoyed at Tsurugi for this, but I kind of love his utter persistance.
THEN. MY FAVORITE SCENE JUST ABOUT EVER. It's a forest with the morning fog still lingering, two people in black sitting on a log together while two others approach. Yaguruma and Kageyama sit patiently while Kagami and Tendou approach--and I love that the show makes a point of having Kagami here, when Tendou could have just done this himself, but I suppose it could be explained that Tendou wanted someone to watch his back in case they decided to fight, but that really doesn't stop Tendou most times--and they're obviously there to recruit the Hoppers. "Yo. You guys help, too," Tendou says bluntly. "We don't have enough hands for fighting the Worm."
They both shake off their jackets, showing the chains wrapped around them, saying no one's voice can reach the darkeness and Kageyama puts his hands over his ears and Tendou just STARES at them, doesn't even twitch a muscle, for a single beat and then just as bluntly says, "We're leaving." and zips around to leave. Then Kagami's WTF face as he stares at them and then leaves as well, asking if Tendou's really sure about this. Yeah, Tendou says he was a fool for thinking they'd help.
And seriously.
The scene itself is hilarious enough, but what really makes it is Yuuki and Hiro's reactions, the expressions (or non-expressions for Tendou) on their faces are just.
Priceless.
I lose it every single time I watch this scene, you'd think it'd eventually stop being kind of super hilarious, but it doesn't! Especially because, you know, you'd think that Kagami would be used to the batshit crazy after awhile, I mean, he likes Tendou. But after the last ten episodes or so, Kagami's kind of started to understand a lot about Tendou, I think, he's started to figure out a lot about him, so, okay, the rest of the universe must make sense, too, right? Except, no! The Hoppers still manage to break his brain.
Afterwards, the Zectroopers leave Tsurugi because they just can't follow this nonsense anymore, but Tsurugi keeps looking for Misaki's shoe, while Misaki tells him to cut it out, too, because it's like he hasn't changed at all from before with this. What a stupid guy, but... somehow it's not entirely bad. Awww. <3 When he finds the shoe finally, she thanks him, and he asks her out on a date, because it'll be Christmas soon and she agrees. ;__; He also starts knitting her a muffler and Misaki tells Kagami about going out on a date with Tsurugi and he's like ARE YOU SERIOUS WTF WTF WTF and he's COMPLETELY AGAINST IT, so she's been meaning to ask, why does mentioning Tsurugi always provoke him? He says he just thinks it's just not good to be dating in this situation, which is obviously a little bit true but mostly a lie, because he doesn't want to give up Tsurugi's secret. Which she knows, but... well, she likes him.
So, Jiiya works on the muffler and Misaki buys him a bracelet while Kagami stalks follows her and realizes that she might be serious about this. Which is just crazy talk! Really! Misaki and Tsurugi, that's just... but... she does look really happy.... Tsurugi wakes up and realizes he's going to be late if he doesn't hurry, Misaki is waiting by the fountain, and it's such a happy, cute scene! Traffic is backed up and so Tsurugi's going to run the rest of the way! He's clutching the bag with the pink muffler and practically skipping on the way there! Goddamn this bastard of a show! He runs into the Worm from before and a whole group of Pupaworms behind him, while Tendou rides up on the Extender elsewhere, running into the other one with a bunch of Pupaworm, mowing through the Pupaworms without even having to transform. He's shocked that that bastard is still alive, but he'll defeat the guy as many times as needed.
They both fight, Tsurugi getting tossed over the side of a walkway and half-transforming, which seems to surprise the Nogi Reiji clone (I assume it's the clone? Not that it really matters.) while Kabuto keeps fighting. He summons the other Zecters (a;lsdkfj seriously, what about Tsurugi fighting right then? Clearly Tendou does not care. XD) and levels a Maximum Hyper Typhoon at them, defeating them.
Tsurugi finally stumbles toward Misaki, but he's tripping and half-transforming and Kagami runs up just in time to witness everything and the silver Scorpion Worm goes for Misaki. Stupid show, breaking my heart like this. :< The next episode is all about the fallout from Tsurugi being a Worm and breaking my heart and trying to mend it a little with the total OTP gay of Kagami/Tendou. The tag is cute (and spoilery for Boukenger, but that's my own fault for not keeping up with it XD) especially when Tendou and Kagami fight for the center stage... well, Kagami just steps around Tendou, who STARES AT HIM reeeeeally close and, yeah, that's lessening the gay, show. .___.b
And, of course, more Arashi stuff. Spoilers for anything listed under the cut:
→ Arashi no Shukudai-kun #124 subbed
→ Arashi no Shukudai-kun #125 [2009.03.09] subbed
→ Magomago Arashi #60 subbed
→ Arashi no Shukudai-kun #127 [2009.03.23]
→ Arashi Around Asia 2008 in Tokyo DVD
♥ - Arashi no Shukudai-kun #124 subbed - You know what I love about Arashi lately? All their shows have been going to widescreen, which means they are perfect for watching on my regular TV. So, I grabbed a bunch of episodes, plunked them in the dvd player, and started de-stressing. This is one of the first ones I chose and it's an episode I mostly skimmed before, with Sho's Yatterman castmates, but is even better with subs, oh, man.
Like, right from the beginning they have Sho's "rival" in the box and this'll be a battle and all and Ogura-san is like, "Hah? Isn't Sho-kun easily beaten all the time?" and Sho's FACE. Even Ogura-san is getting in on the bullying! ♥ And it really is a great episode for Sho-bullying/Sho-fail in a really cute, adorable way. Like when Nino notices the different set, but they all say its a regular episode. But Sho wants it to be a Yatterman SP! So the editors put up, "We're in SP mode on the inside." asl;dkfjal;sjk lolz.
Then Sho's bandmates are total bitches because they have him describe the Yatta! pose and act like they need more explanations, so Sho keeps going and then, well, NOW WE WANT TO SEE THAT. :D :D :D And Sho just totally falls for it and it's super adorable fail. And they're all like, yeah, that part is going to be cut out from the episode, and Nino, because he loves his BFF deeply and truly, explains the Y arms formation for the Yatta! pose because Sho's part was going to be cut out and Sho's face at that. XD
And I'm okay with the bullying Sho because they clearly all do it out of love. It's an episode centered around his movie and they like to do shit like this whenever someone is the center of attention and you can tell this most especially from Nino. Because Nino LOVES Sho, like, more than the rest of the audience put together, and yet Nino is the biggest bitch of a bandmate out of them all. He's the one to immediately pounce on the Yatta! in the food homework segment and make both Sho and Ohno do it. His two favorite people and his favorite activity. Clearly, the love is about to burst forth out of Nino sometimes.
But. As much as I love the Sho bullying, it's the Aiba/Jun stuff that sends me over the moon. I know everyone is surprised by this. There was Jun smacking Aiba in the face after obviously dragging him over, but the subs just make it even better. Jun is totally giving Aiba shit in this episode, starting with the last time Kyoko was on the show and she had the tempura short cake, which was apparently GOD-AWFUL. And Jun reminds everyone that it was Aiba who made her eat it, because he loves Aiba.
And Aiba's like, "Let's just say that she began to like sweets because of that..." and Jun immediately responds with, "No, we won't!"
Then it gets even greater with the subs because Jun's supposed to do the Yatta! thing solo and Aiba is like YEAH, DO IT SOLO, but Jun is having none of this shit. NO, YOU'RE DOING IT, TOO and pulls Aiba back over, who is totally whipped and meekly agrees. And just.
This is why I ship them.
If that's not an old married couple, I don't know what is. I mean, this is after Jun is like, yeah, I'm not sure this food is good and has totally sold Aiba out. Aiba still meekly does what the bossy princess tells him to do and just. a;lsdjkfal;sjk so married.
Sho's insistence that the Yatta! reaction IS NOT EMBARRASSING is just as funny as ever. And then Nino's too-sweet voice when asking Jun how the melon homework was and Jun's face. Nino is clearly setting the trap and Jun looks flatly at him like he is not falling for this, you bitches. So, Sho does the Yatta! FOR him! ♥ And, of course, it's NINO who gets that it's a 1 yen coin in the glasses. Of course.
So, overall, an episode that was really worth watching twice, surprisingly. A lot of that is probably because it had my favorite match-ups--a lot of Ohno/Sho/Nino OT3ness and a lot of Aiba/Jun--but it was a solid episode all the way around. I was kind of "...." over the way they treated Kyoko in that outfit, it got a smidge uncomfortable at times, especially when the guest was tell the, "Dude, this is our chance! WE HAVE LOOK AS MUCH AS WE CAN!" story and Kyoko just kind of sat there stiffly, but it was only a small part of an otherwise really fun episode.
♥ - Arashi no Shukudai-kun #125 [2009.03.09] subbed - I think I skipped this episode when it first aired, so I was watching it for the first time with these subs (though, stuff is getting subbed so fast lately that sometimes I get turned around about what I've just read reaction posts on and what I've actually sat down and watched), but I'm kind of glad of that. There are some great moments that I would have missed otherwise. o/
Like the stuff with their producer. God, I love the Shukudai-kun staff, because they are clearly just as big of fuckers as the band themselves are, that producer was staring back at them so serious faced during the whole No Money Sp thing. You could see the rest of the staff trying not to crack up in the background and only being somewhat successful. <3
And I love that, of course, they immediately make Ohno try the fried bread monstrosity first. And it's good! \o/ Even Jun says to, though, he was clearly dying to say it was bad so he could scold Aiba for it some more. Hell, even NINO ate half of his! A red letter day if there ever was one. o/
What I could have done without--except it was also kind of lolarious--was Arashi showing each other their half-chewed food. Like, it was hilarious the first time, but then it just got kind of gross. Except the hilarious part is that everyone kept showing Aiba, who just. He went right ahead and looked like it was perfectly normal and als;dkfjal;ksjda;lksj BOYS. Crying.
Oh, also! The whole exchange with Ohno eating his eco-yaki while they were trying to guess what it was? What's it taste like?
Ohno: It's good.
Staff: LOL.
Nino: That's not what we're asking!!
Me: CRYING.
Especially combined with how no one knows WHAT they were eating by the end. Seriously, I would watch Arashi eat unidentified foods and try to guess what they are and NOBODY HAVING ANY SORT OF CLUE forever.
The best part was totally the Ailand games, though. Just. a s;dlfkja;lskjsal;kj crying. They're going to throw balls at Jun's face for the Aibaland game and oh my god, Jun's FACE while he's staring at Aiba, who's explaining the rules. Like, if you could make one expression that said, "Aiba Masaki, you are DEAD, no matter how much I love you.", Jun's :| face would have been it. I was kind of crying.
Especially because Jun played the game anyway and had this TOTAL LACK OF ENTHUSIASM, like, you bitches are SO DEAD, the entire time. God. I love that Jun is much happier lately, but I have missed the bitchy princess who will kill them all dead for bullying him.
But they're saved when a) Ogura-san points out that THEY'RE JUST PLAYING JANKEN AND THEN THROWING BALLS, while Aiba is like, So you finally noticed! :D, and b) Ohno clearly throws the end of the game so that they can just get it over and c) they all move on to bullying Sho next.
Normally I'm not that fond of the game where they try to use ~*supernatural*~ powers to doge the ball at the back of their head, but this one was kind of spectacular. Ohno didn't even TRY to dodge it, which had me just about crying with laughter again.
Then they WHACKED SHO WITH A MALLET. THEY ARE BITCHES. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH, THEY ARE SUCH BOYS. I loved that Jun was clearly behind the mallet and I love that they're all such boys because Aiba's like, STOP LOOKING OVER HERE, when Sho nervously turns around because HIS BULLYING SENSES ARE TINGLING, YOU GUYS.
And Ohno. a s;dlfkja;lskjalsk;j "This is kind of turning into bullying." when they're all ganging up on Sho and yet nobody even considers stopping, not even Ohno. Jun immediately goes right back with the mallet to Sho's head.
And then ALL FOUR OF THEM GANG UP ON NINO and just. a;lsdkfja;lksj I could watch Arashi fucking with each other FOREVER. Seriously, it was one of the best episodes to watch, just Arashi being adorable goof-offs. I can't say it was as good as their previous No Money SP, but it was certainly well worth watching. ♥
♥ - Magomago Arashi #60 subbed - I haven't watched an MMA episode in aaaaages, but I have been feeling a lot of the Sho/Nino love lately (which I blame the flist for, seriously) and this one was actually kind of really, really great.
And by really, really great I obviously mean "really, really gay". Because wow.
The thing was that the entire episode kept focusing on how in love the grandparents were, how the husband never gave her a reason to scold him, how well they got along, how well they knew each other, how much fun they had doing stuff together, etc. And then they would directly compare Nino and Sho against them. As soon as they make a comment about how obaa-chan never scolds ojii-san, the next scene? Nino scolding Sho! After awhile I kind of started to wonder if they were doing it on purpose.
(I don't really think so, but it was kind of hard NOT to think of it anyway. >_>)
Nino is adorable in this whole thing, I swear, being around Sho always brings out the little brat side of him. Not the evil demon that being around Aiba or Ohno does or the bitch that being around Matsumoto does, but the adorable little brat that Sho brings out in him. Right from the beginning, Nino whines that they're not supposed to be filming if it's over 30 degrees outside and he is clearly a lying liar who lies, but Sho just laughs and thinks his tiny BFF is adorable. They keep constantly selling each other out in this episode, too, it is SO ADORABLE.
Then! Nino goes with the grandma to make lunch! And HE KNOWS WHAT SHO LIKES. And apparently. "Sho-chan likes them big." CHOKING, NINO. I mean, aside from how well he knows his BFF, that should have come with a warning. :< (Also, I love that the mochi really was huge and you can hear the staff cracking up in the background. XD)
The most blatant part, though, was when they were eating lunch and the grandparents were super adorable and they were really madly in love and Nino directly compares himself and Sho to them and how different he and Show are from the love-love couple who get along so well. "I'm definitely going to beat him up later," Nino says. a sdl;fkjasl;dkjal;ksj not enough hearts in the world.
Oh, oh, and! That paper/hair pun? I SAW THAT COMING A MILE AWAY, GRANDPA. IT WAS A TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE PUN. I love it.
Also, you can totally see both Nino and Sho writing the Arashi kanji coming a mile away and yet my heart totally went, ".....BOYS, ILU. ♥♥♥" when they did. Even more when Obaa-chan is like, see, you two do get along well! XD And, hell, when Nino and the grandma go shopping for yakiniku? Again Nino totally knows what Sho likes.
So totally married. <3
Overall, a really fun episode for anyone, I enjoyed the hell out of it and it went by really fast, but a total must-see if you like these two at all. *wistful* I miss MMA sometimes.
♥ - Arashi no Shukudai-kun #127 [2009.03.23] - Okay, this one is probably worth watching for the most part, but I also think you might want to have a deft finger on the fast forward button because a lot of it is preview stuff that you could probably just skip. But! There's also unaired footage stuff! And it's kind of delightful! They have stuff from the episode with Audrey and still_ciircee is totally right that Sho is wearing a purple scarf with skulls on it and clearly Jun is marking his territory. ....someone should write that fic. *__*
The best part of the whole episode was the food homework segment parts that didn't get aired, where the guests keep giving Ohno the food and he keeps eating it and he keeps saying it's good. And just. as;ldjkfal;skj that's Ohno for you. Put some food in front of him and he'll eat it and probably like it.
At least until the very end, when Ohno is like NOT GOOD :< and everyone just dies at him. a;sldfkja;slkj I would seriously watch that show every week even more than we already get it--a little like those old Life commercials. YOU EAT IT. NO YOU EAT IT. NO YOU EAT IT. I KNOW, LET'S GIVE IT TO NINOMIYA, HE DOESN'T LIKE ANYTHING.
The Nagase part was funny as well, I know I shouldn't lol quite so much at their antics, they're just flailing around with those slipper/skis around the racetrack and it's so dumb and yet. And yet. I lol like crazy because they are clearly aware of just how dumb it is! Plus, it's kind of hilarious when they FINALLY get good at it and it's always funny seeing Nino be part of a failing team. ♥ Though, it does remind me that I haven't properly watched the Nagase episode yet. orz ....o-or the previous Odoroki SP yet, either.
Anyway, it was worth watching, but not a super must see. You'll probably do a lot of skimming, especially if you went for the Jikkan SP first, but Aiba's super smoking hot hair right now makes up for a lot of it? :D?
♥ - Arashi Around Asia 2008 in Tokyo DVD - a;sdlfkja;lskjalskj I-- I don't even know where to start with this dvd, seriously. I want to do picspam, except I know that I would NEVER RESURFACE AGAIN, NOT WITH JUN'S UTTER FABULOUSNESS THROUGHOUT THIS CONCERT. And also people have covered that pretty well--some of the gifs out there are just. a ;sldfkja;lskdjalksj as if watching the concert wasn't flail-inducing enough, the posts are amazing.
Like, I don't even know how I could have anything to say after posts like this or this because they are just so awesome. Seriously, you should just go read those posts instead.
Except how am I supposed to let this dvd pass by without commenting on stuff like Jun's solo? Where they GIVE HIM A FLAMETHROWER? al;sekfjasldkjaslkj CRYING AT JUST THE THOUGHT ALL OVER AGAIN.
I mean, I want to be coherent and reasonable and stuff, but I think we all know that's probably not going to actually happen. So, bullet-points style! (Sort of.)
→ I cannot express how much I love their concerts, how much I love when they first come on stage. All that energy and focus! Watching them getting the crowd to jump along with them! All that amazing love and energy and tension and it just EXPLODES into this amazing epic concert!
→ Watching the crowd start to really get going during Oh Yeah! MY HEART. IT IS YOURS, YOU GUYS.
→ There were a lot of really interesting artistic shots in the first half of this dvd, there was so much sky behind the guys when they were singing, while they were almost tucked into the corner of the shot. Maybe it was just the camera guys not really being able to get right on target at first, but I like to think it was deliberate. It looked amazing and made me just itch to break out the capping programs and then make a thousand icons of them.
→ The Hadashi no Mirai performance. *___* My heart, it is still yours, you guys.
→ I love that you could constantly see the others singing along to the songs even when it wasn't their part. Nino and Jun were especially guilty of doing this, you can tell how much they're just really into these performances, but it's also the two squishiest members who love their bandmates ridiculous amounts. You can just see how much Nino and Jun both really love this band.
→ It's not that I don't love the slow songs, too, but that explosion of lights and color and movement when they got to Lucky Man? Now that's a fucking epic concert. *__* Seriously, you guys are so lucky I am too lazy to learn to gifs because you would get SO MANY of those gorgeous wide shots with all the flashing lights and colors and fireworks.
→ Dancing on the center stage during Lucky Man! Each of them doing their own little thing! Ending with NINO DOING A BACKFLIP. MY HEART. IT IS EXPLODING OMG.
→ Carnival Night II omg omg omg. *___*
→ Kaze no Mukuou e, too, omg. *______*
→ MATSUMOTO JUN. YOU KEEP YOUR FINGER OUT OF YOUR MOUTH RIGHT NOW. Because I do NOT appreciate the filthy thoughts like that. Seriously, you are supposed to be the fabulously pretty gay one, I do not want to have that kind of filthy thoughts about you!
→ a;sldkfja;slkja oh my god I cannot even talk about the Re(mark)able performance in any sort of coherency. Just. My brain, it has dribbled out of my ears and onto the floor because my love for Arashi has completely gooified it.
→ God, every song with the red and gold costumes was just ridiculously epic. *__*
→ Okay. OKAY. I know Jun's solo is totally ridiculous and yet. That leather jacket, those jeans, those long, long legs of his, the sheer fabulousness of everything, the sweat-slicked skin. I-- I would hit that. Just once. Also, FLAMETHROWER. LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL NEVER GOING TO STOP LAUGHING LOL. And yet I'd still hit that once. I don't even know what that says about me anymore.
→ The ending of Jun's solo. I just. Ffffffffff. The 3... 2... 1... and then FIREWORKS. I-- I'm weak, okay?
→ OMG THE BALLOONS FOR ONE LOVE. SO GORGEOUS. *__*
→ Their arms around each other for One Love! Nino's hand being inches away from grabbing Jun's ass! Aiba's hand lingered on Ohno's! Aiba's arm around Ohno later, too! ALL THINGS THAT MAKE ME RIDICULOUSLY HAPPY.
→ Omg, the water fountains during One Love were amazing. *__*
→ Janken during Fight Song! Sho, Nino, and Jun are clear! SHO AND NINO HUG OF TOTAL STRAIGHTNESS!
→ Ohno trying to sing into his mic but apparently he broke it after getting wet from the tank! Which was COOOOOOLD, YOU BITCHES, except they were their usual caring, sensitive selves about it and just laughed their asses off at him. But then Ohno's mic breaks and Jun gives him his! ♥ And then snuggles with him! As they share a mic! Oh, Ohno/Jun concert hijinks, I have missed you. ♥
→ Nino splashing the backdancers at the end! Getting splashed back by them! Clearly telling them to scram! I LOVE HIM SO MUCH.
→ Sho sliding through the water on the stage like a big kid! And then EVERYONE GETS INTO IT! Ohno does the same and Nino scolds him! Then Sho and Ohno get in on it together! And then Jun goes sliding face down! All things I love! And OMG Jun's crazy slide where he's just all over the place and his legs are flung all over and just as;ldkfja;lskj a bunch of little BOYS playing in the rain!
→ And of course it all ends in the rain, after Arashi has called up a storm. Perfect. ♥
Overall, I just. I can't even be coherent about this. I can't do caps because I'd come up with, like, FIVE THOUSAND of them. It's quite possibly one of the best concert dvds for them yet, imo, right up there with the previous AAA one for me, it's one that I really kind of want to rewatch already, despite that I just watched it, I'm not a rewatcher in general, and I've got a ton of other Arashi stuff to watch first. It was just. It was epic and magic and amazing and lolarious and wonderful and everything a silly Japanese boyband concert dvd should be.
More later when I can maybe muster up some coherency about it. *_______________*