That day I had adoration for them
Arai Akihiro is dubbed “the foster parent of SMAP” as recognition for his merits of training SMAP from pure idols during their young days into comprehensive talents like they are today. He was the mastermind (producer) behind SMAP’s past shows including Yume ga MORIMORI, and SataSMA, as well SMAPxSMAP and SanTaku during their early years. However, in July 2007, he was promoted to the Planning Senior Manager of the Production Department, and has stopped being involved in the work of producing since then. He is now the Chief Producer of Fuji TV, supervising new projects within the corporation.
At some time between 1998 and 1999, Arai-san wrote a series of essays under the column called “TV Yomoyama Banashi” (TV Miscellaneous) in Kyoto Newspaper. A part of the series was called “Variety Paradise” in which he mentioned about his first meeting with SMAP and a couple of interesting facts about SMAP’s color codes, as well as SMAPxSMAP like how and why the show had bistro SMAP,….
(This is different from the summaries of SMAP stories told by Arai-san that a Smappy posted at SCS some time ago. Hope that I can go back to those with full details some day in the near future.)
Story 1:
There are two kinds of variety shows. One is a show developed around particular projects. Its clear examples are “Naruhodo World” of FujiTV, or on other stations like NTV it is “Magical Junou Power! !” Since it is a show that firmly goes with a project planned in advance, it is a dream to do a show like that for people who work on the producing side. The other is a show developed around the names of TV personality stars, or talents. For example, shows with the names of talents include “Tunnels no Minasan no Okagedeshita” or “SMAPxSMAP,” which I’m in charge.
The second production department under FujiTV’s entertainment section where I’m working is specialized in shows with talents. It seems to be simple to entrust the show to talents, but until we make it to the prime time slot, there are lots of troubles that we together with those talents have to go through. Also, we don’t know if those talents can bloom into flowers or not, so we have to bet on it. But you could say that it’s fun to start from scratch.
The people who come in contact with talents the most are assistant directors (AD). I also went through that phrase together with Downtown and UN duos. Although it was the time when “AD is not allowed to sit,” they told me “Please come here, let’s sit together.” Even though I hid myself in a store room and ate because I was hungry, whenever I came back, they asked me: “Arai-chan, did you have your meal?” Although I was blustering something like “No, I’m not eating,” it helped deepen our fellowship. Such fellowship developed more when U-chan (one of the UN duo) told me: “If it’s the debut work of Arai-chan as the director, I’ll appear on it.” These days, young people who work in the industry these days said “I want to become a director quickly.” But, later they would be questioned about to what extent they have sweat together with talents during the time they work as ADs.
Since I say it is a bet given that we don’t know if a talent who is burdening the show on their shoulders will become big names or not, I would be asked: “Why SMAP?” I then would reply: “That’s luck. It happened by chance.”
Then what are the personalities of people who work in the industry? It’s not that I particularly studied theatrical plays, but when it comes to parties, I get along with the chiefs or so. I wonder if my only special skill is that people I want to meet would naturally get gathered around me. When I think “I want to do this project,” helpful people would pass by me, and phone calls would come to me. SMAP was also no exception.
The chance was the show “Yume ga MORIMORI” that started in the spring 1992. It was then I met SMAP.
Story 2:
Spring 1992, after the big hit “Yume de kaetara,” we started “Yume ga MORIMORI” with Moriguchi Hiroko and Moriwaki Kenji as the main casts. Because the existence of “Yume de kaetar” was like a monster, to come to par with it, we thought about doing things which were not common in “Yume kae.” First of all, we would have a corner to show supports to Moriguchi-san until she appeared on the NHK no Kouhaku Uta Gassen. As the corner just took a short time, we talked about doing sport games like kick base and golf on the show.
As music programs were reduced, to sing on TV, singers had no choice but appeared on variety shows and sing drama theme songs. At that time Johnny Kitagawa-san of Johnny’s Jimusho talked to the producer in charge then: “Although we can raise the group called SMAP who are the next to Shounentai and Hikaru GENJI, we don’t have any place to do so. They are idols, but it’s okay for them to put pies on their head, and it’s fine to ask them to do anything except nudity. So could you take care of them for me?” That producer then, in turn, contacted directors in an order, starting from superiors, but everyone refused it. Every member of the second production department under the entertainment section had pride in producing TV programs of entertainers. To deal with idols were the section of music programs, and we were aware of not invading each other’s territories.
Then, the message came to me, the youngest director at that time. As I was also on the last end of the entertainment section, when receiving the order, I thought: “Idols are egoistic. How will it become?”
I remember that their names and photos were not put on the same side, but on one side of a card their names were written in English, and their photos were put on the other side. Because it was necessary to make audience remember their names quickly, I used color codes to extinguish them. We asked for a VTR of them from another channel, and all of us studied it to decide their colors. Kimura Takuya looked passionate, so he was red. Nakai was blue like the sea. Inagaki Goro was playful pink. Katori Shingo seemed to be pure, so he was green. Mori Katsuki was white which was upright. For Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, we totally did not understand him. Which color was left? Ah, yellow. Well, then he was yellow. And, because we had already chosen colors for each of them with their images, we made a skit of six boys.
When I went to meet them for the first time, I roused myself: “They won’t be able to make fun of it~” But, as they read and studied the skit’s script, they smiled, asking in a polite and honest way: “Here, what should I do?” “Here, it’s better to add a little bit gap, isn’t it?” Then, I thought: “If it’s with these guys, I’ll do it with my heart.” That day I had adoration for them.
Story 3:
Every day we dreamt about the golden time slot. For the show “Yume ga MORIMORI,” we rehearsed on Monday, and filmed on Wednesday. For Fridays, I had a reviewing meeting with SMAP members and we together watched VTRs. “This time, where were you looking to? There was not only one camera, you know?!” “Too bad.” I think I was really strict then.
The guys were idols, so I knew about audience’s responses of “kya~” “wah~” to them. But even when they just dropped a pencil, they still received excited rustlings from the audience, so I had some hallucination that it was interesting. I was then under impression that they could do comedy. Since they had drawn audience, the next thing was due to their habit of saying their lines, altogether they were a bit late to do tsukkomi. That’s why during “Yume Mori,” we didn’t put in audience. At the beginning, they were really shy. I made them do the same thing for many times on purpose. When the cameraman filmed for the first time, they laughed. But from the second time, they didn’t.
Comedians usually make staff laugh as they perform in one shot, but the guys were not comedians. They were actors and singers. They could do the same thing for many times, but if it was not funny, it would be no good. That’s why I told them to rely on guests. Occasionally, they gathered at FujiTV dome on Saturday and Sunday to play kick-base. When Nakai Masahiro asked me: “When will us appear on golden time slot?” I answered him: “You will.” Like that we continued working every day for quite a time. And then in the spring of 1996, SMAPxSMAP started and it must end each show with songs. Because people would have more interest in them when they realized that the people who wore animal costumes and cooked really were singers and thought how the singers had gone that far.
For comedy, the skills followed you for the whole life. However, if they used words of comedians and did things like comedians, during editing phrase, we would cut all of them. Even though an exchange of jokes was interesting, we would not broadcast them by all means.
The SMAP now, even though one could call them entertainers normally, they went through it with their true ability. It is very natural for young comedians to say: “If SMAP appear, we will lose the means of living.” Four years prior to their debut, SMAP were also juniors who back-danced for Hikaru GENJI, and they also studied variety shows from the bottom. Therefore, if people did not put into efforts more than that, they would not be able to win SMAP.
And yet, the rhythm they learned through dancing also absorbed into their body. For the pace of funny comedians, there is music and rhythm. For Tamo-san to appear on the “Drifters and Crazy Cat” earlier, he started as a musician. The foundation of comedy is rhythm.
Story 4:
When we started the show SMAPxSMAP, which is being enjoyed by three generations of a family, my objective was to create a show which would be watched by my family. Now it is the time when there are three, four televisions in each household, but at that time, we made shows that could be watched by parents and child, well, three generations together. It was mortifying to be told that “Recently TV is worthless.” “There’s nothing to watch.”
In fact, I think that children can overreach themselves, but adults do not bend their tastes. For instance, my parents do not have any interest in GLAY or SPEED. But children are different. Even though they do not know Matsuzaka Keiko and Takakura Ken, when they act in movies, the children will go like: “This person is surely amazing, right?” That’s why I thought about making shows that could get consent from my own parents. Because of that reason, I thought it was necessary to invite a big actress that my parents know to guest on SMAPxSMAP. Moreover, I had to make a corner that that big actress wanted to guest on. What was the best thing to do…I wondered. What if SMAP as idols came and cooked for her at a restaurant to keep her entertained? As we investigated thoroughly, it became “BISTRO SMAP.”
Nakai Masahiro always does hosting from the beginning, but originally he was probably reluctant about it. As their cooking ability started to get varied steadily, only he was left behind. So I told Nakai: “It’s not only about guests enjoying the meal, but also about them enjoying the atmosphere. As you’re dealing with the characters of guests, you should have confidence.” And he had put great efforts into hosting. I think his accumulation of such great efforts had things to do with his hosting the NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen. It’s because even though there must have been big pressures in talking with a big actress he’s never met, he does it successfully every week.
Guests told us with amazement: “They really cook it.” It leaves a deep emotion on them to see the figures of four men who keep silent, cooking for them. Until you get the rating of 20%, that figure was a dream. But, now that you have taken the 20%, you’ll be under a pressure that it is not good if you don’t keep that. There’s energy when you have taken the 20%. Occasionally when the rating is down to 18% or 19%, you are told: “Recently you don’t have energy, right?” To keep the 20% rating is like riding a light motorbike (550 cc) at 200km/h on an expressway. It feels chilly to think about when the engine breaks down…Yaen (wild monkeys- a music unit including the Tunnels duo) will appear on SMAPxSMAP on Feb 22. Now they are in a special dance training to sing the song “Minasan no okagedeshita.”
Story 5:
Of the SMAPxSMAP that is getting popular greatly is the skit Furuhatake Takusaburo - a parody of Furuhata Ninjaburo, a unique detective drama starring Tamura Masakazu-san. Kimura was good at imitating Tamura-san and he was good from the beginning, but I was worried about it. A murder case can’t start if someone doesn’t die. But I decided not to do it with nudity and violence, yet I violated that rule. For instance, we make the scene when one raises his hand over his head into slow motion. It reflects the time of hitting and the next time someone collapses. There was also a time when I made surreal things.
Outsiders who see a person do things they don’t understand would feel that person is cool. They could think: “I don’t want to watch it, so I should change the channel. It was normal as usual.” But, suddenly they noticed it.
“Televisions are increasing ruthlessly at households. Even if people do not want to watch television, the media still make them watch it.” For this reason, I do not want to deal with nudity and violence. It’s the conclusion of a person who works in the industry and who used to enter the route of surrealism. We usually fight with fear. Aren’t we slow? Are we walking with half of step forward? Such obsession drives us to a narrow corner. However I think that as a person who works in the industry it was wrong to have such obsessions. I tell young directors: “Other than writing a project for a late night show, write one for the golden timeslot show.” A show which is said “as it’s late night, it’s interesting, though” is not the direction of TV.
Then, to walk with half step forward, what should you do? As I like movies and plays since I was in the high school, I decided to read 100 books a year. I couldn’t help but believe that I was taking a half step forward by reading more than others. After all, the grief of variety is that it cannot see the goal, right? For example, dramas have like 11 episodes and end at 12th episode. Once they start they can see the goal. But for variety, I don’t know what I’m running to. When I took over the production job of “Waratte Iitomo,” a senpai told me: “You are the last shogun; you become Chikayoshi*, right?” I then replied him: “No, I will become Yoshimune* or Tsunayoshi*.” Thanks to God, “Waratte Iitomo” is now in its 17th year. If it continues for another 17 years after this, it has been decided that there are still five sections to reach the mountains. To not know where you are now again is a scary thing.
*Chikayoshi was the last lord of the Matsudaira Clan (1656-1871) in Funai Domain.
*Yoshimune and Tsunayoshi were the eighth and fifth shogun of Tokugawa shogunate (1600-1868).