motto, motto
We noted from the poll that Countdown was the most popular subject so I hope you don't mind one more post on it! :D It's always fun for us to cap separately and then see what we keep.
To be fair, I also set aside Arashi! As much as I loved their appearance, I've actually already capped it briefly when working on another post and I didn't want to automatically hand them a bunch of caps here. :)
The banner is composed of some HONORABLE MENTION CAPS that didn't fit in. :)
5. RL FRIENDS UNITED
We all know that THIS is the truth purpose of Countdown: seeing friends normally separated by group boundaries come together. I think Inocchi and Taichi have found each other every year? :D :D
I was SO HAPPY they were given Seishun Amigo together! ♥♥ STILL BELTING IT OUT JUST NOT INTO THEIR MICS, I LOVE IT. And then DAKISHIMETEEEE~ING, SO GOOD!
And then one of my perennial favorites, the Nagase/Koichi real life bffery. They always smile SO BIG and are SUCH LOSERS and Koichi laughs SO HARD. It's the cutest.
(Aw, Nagase could just pick him up and put him in his pocket.) I'm glad that Koichi gets to spend the first moment of his birthday with a friend every year. ♥
Okay, I'll be straight with you, an entire NUMBER in Countdown for me should actually always be devoted to UCHI HIROKI. I so rarely get to see him elsewhere that I always treasure seeing his face especially! BUT I even more rarely get to see him with Jimusho people that he's known and loved, since they STILL like to put up wedges between him and Kanjani8/NEWS members. Thankfully there is no such embargo on Kame and they can make their perfectly symmetrical sexy faces together. ♥ They've come so far from being the tiny, baseball-loving dorks they once were!
…Okay, maybe not that far. ♥
4. TAICHI BEING A PAIN IN THE ASS
Meet our Master of Ceremonies, Taichi!
Oh, wait, he's NOT. But seriously, he was such an essential part of this Countdown. If there was a chance to goof around, Taichi leapt on it. XD I swear he single-handedly brought up the dorkery by 60%. HE WAS SINGLE-HANDLY TRYING TO MAKE UP FOR ARASHI.
I NEARLY DIED. omg hahaha, I think this was my most laughed at moment of Countdown. Koichi laughed mid-song! His kouhai cracking up behind up, even poor Koyama who just almost had heart attack when he first laid down. BEST EVERRRRR.
Imitating Matchy behind his back, CLASSIC. Taichi is such an irreverent ham in front of a camera. I can see why he gets along so well with Nino.
Okay this one was more Mabo but LOL THEIR DANCING! Seriously where would this number be without them. XD
THANK YOU, TAICHI, FOR KNOWING THE TRUE PURPOSE OF COUNTDOWN. Maybe not the MC but the MVP. ♥
3. LEADER ON LEADER ACTION
Why, who are the men cutting such dashing profiles? OH only some LEADERS, MY FAVORITE. I swear, JE knows how to pick 'em because these people are so different and yet each so beloved by me. ♥
Who needs like new young kids when you're still this adorable!
Who needs new heartthrobs when you're still this hot! Sakamoto, your Zorro mustache may be giving me mild Tamaki Hiroshi flashbacks (not good) BUT THEN YOU WINK AT ME AND ALL I CAN THINK IS YES.
I love when he's like CRAP, OH WE'RE DOING THIS NOW, SHIGERU IS OUTDANCING ME. XD
They need to start a temporary subgroup, LEADER(S), so I can love on them some more.
Taichi: STILL TROLLIN'. :DDD
2. GROUP-TO-GROUP SHOUTOUTS
The bread and butter of Countdown for me is always the shuffling they do, whether it's mixing groups together or moments like these, when groups give little nods to each other and show that Johnnys know Johnny's music. :D
POINTING AT THE EYES: NOW A UNIVERSALLY RECOGNIZED SIGN OF ARASHI? :DD
My favorite thing now is how when Eito retains ownership of Ryo, they all enthusiastically backdance/sing/dork up the NEWS songs. AW! I like that they've taken what's honestly a weird situation and made it so cute. Baru way up in the back was the clear winner this time! :DD
Dawwwww, was Pi's flute playing a veiled Jin reference or is the microphone flute just a very popular instrument among JE boys? ♥
Ryo showing his other bandmates how a Zukkoke Otokomichi hip thrust is done.
hahaha, I love how diligently the Juniors and Yasu are doing their senpai's choreo… and then there's Yoko flopping around and calling MOTTO, MOTTO. BOTH ARE EXCELLENT STRATEGIES IMHO.
My favoooooooorite: LOVE SO SWEET. I adore seeing Arashi songs done by other people but Shige, Koyama and Massu really outdid themselves with their CIRCLE OF ENTHUSIASM AND LAUGHTER. They were just having so much fun with it! ♥♥
1. SUSHI SUSHI SUSHI
MY HANDS DOWN NUMBER ONE OF THE EVENING, OBVIOUSLY. Ryo is roe, oh my god, oh my god.
ASLJKDFHKJDHGFJ I CAN'T EVEN. HIS STICK LEGS!!
I WANT TO GET THIS IMAGE, WITH "MEANWHILE, IN JAPAN" WRITTEN ACROSS IT, TATTOOED ON MY BODY.
PINK CHUCKS: OFFICIAL FOOTWEAR OF SUSHI. Oh god, I can't look at this and not laugh even harder knowing that Ryo and Subaru really wanted to lie on the ground too but couldn't because there would be no way to get up again. XD
SHOYU ATTAAAACK! CRIES HOW ARE THEY SO GENIUS. HOW DID YOKO COME UP WITH THAT. How does he contort himself so hilariously! I love how hard these guys work to keep their audience both entertained and completely on their toes. HOW DID I LIVE BEFORE I KNEW LIFE GOT THIS GOOD!!
And the perfect ending, SUSHI CANNIBALISM. HEY, SUSHI KNOW HOW AMAZING THEY ARE. AND THESE ARE THE MOST AMAZING SUSHI.
To be fair, I also set aside Arashi! As much as I loved their appearance, I've actually already capped it briefly when working on another post and I didn't want to automatically hand them a bunch of caps here. :)
The banner is composed of some HONORABLE MENTION CAPS that didn't fit in. :)
5. RL FRIENDS UNITED
We all know that THIS is the truth purpose of Countdown: seeing friends normally separated by group boundaries come together. I think Inocchi and Taichi have found each other every year? :D :D
I was SO HAPPY they were given Seishun Amigo together! ♥♥ STILL BELTING IT OUT JUST NOT INTO THEIR MICS, I LOVE IT. And then DAKISHIMETEEEE~ING, SO GOOD!
And then one of my perennial favorites, the Nagase/Koichi real life bffery. They always smile SO BIG and are SUCH LOSERS and Koichi laughs SO HARD. It's the cutest.
(Aw, Nagase could just pick him up and put him in his pocket.) I'm glad that Koichi gets to spend the first moment of his birthday with a friend every year. ♥
Okay, I'll be straight with you, an entire NUMBER in Countdown for me should actually always be devoted to UCHI HIROKI. I so rarely get to see him elsewhere that I always treasure seeing his face especially! BUT I even more rarely get to see him with Jimusho people that he's known and loved, since they STILL like to put up wedges between him and Kanjani8/NEWS members. Thankfully there is no such embargo on Kame and they can make their perfectly symmetrical sexy faces together. ♥ They've come so far from being the tiny, baseball-loving dorks they once were!
…Okay, maybe not that far. ♥
4. TAICHI BEING A PAIN IN THE ASS
Meet our Master of Ceremonies, Taichi!
Oh, wait, he's NOT. But seriously, he was such an essential part of this Countdown. If there was a chance to goof around, Taichi leapt on it. XD I swear he single-handedly brought up the dorkery by 60%. HE WAS SINGLE-HANDLY TRYING TO MAKE UP FOR ARASHI.
I NEARLY DIED. omg hahaha, I think this was my most laughed at moment of Countdown. Koichi laughed mid-song! His kouhai cracking up behind up, even poor Koyama who just almost had heart attack when he first laid down. BEST EVERRRRR.
Imitating Matchy behind his back, CLASSIC. Taichi is such an irreverent ham in front of a camera. I can see why he gets along so well with Nino.
Okay this one was more Mabo but LOL THEIR DANCING! Seriously where would this number be without them. XD
THANK YOU, TAICHI, FOR KNOWING THE TRUE PURPOSE OF COUNTDOWN. Maybe not the MC but the MVP. ♥
3. LEADER ON LEADER ACTION
Why, who are the men cutting such dashing profiles? OH only some LEADERS, MY FAVORITE. I swear, JE knows how to pick 'em because these people are so different and yet each so beloved by me. ♥
Who needs like new young kids when you're still this adorable!
Who needs new heartthrobs when you're still this hot! Sakamoto, your Zorro mustache may be giving me mild Tamaki Hiroshi flashbacks (not good) BUT THEN YOU WINK AT ME AND ALL I CAN THINK IS YES.
I love when he's like CRAP, OH WE'RE DOING THIS NOW, SHIGERU IS OUTDANCING ME. XD
They need to start a temporary subgroup, LEADER(S), so I can love on them some more.
Taichi: STILL TROLLIN'. :DDD
2. GROUP-TO-GROUP SHOUTOUTS
The bread and butter of Countdown for me is always the shuffling they do, whether it's mixing groups together or moments like these, when groups give little nods to each other and show that Johnnys know Johnny's music. :D
POINTING AT THE EYES: NOW A UNIVERSALLY RECOGNIZED SIGN OF ARASHI? :DD
My favorite thing now is how when Eito retains ownership of Ryo, they all enthusiastically backdance/sing/dork up the NEWS songs. AW! I like that they've taken what's honestly a weird situation and made it so cute. Baru way up in the back was the clear winner this time! :DD
Dawwwww, was Pi's flute playing a veiled Jin reference or is the microphone flute just a very popular instrument among JE boys? ♥
Ryo showing his other bandmates how a Zukkoke Otokomichi hip thrust is done.
hahaha, I love how diligently the Juniors and Yasu are doing their senpai's choreo… and then there's Yoko flopping around and calling MOTTO, MOTTO. BOTH ARE EXCELLENT STRATEGIES IMHO.
My favoooooooorite: LOVE SO SWEET. I adore seeing Arashi songs done by other people but Shige, Koyama and Massu really outdid themselves with their CIRCLE OF ENTHUSIASM AND LAUGHTER. They were just having so much fun with it! ♥♥
1. SUSHI SUSHI SUSHI
MY HANDS DOWN NUMBER ONE OF THE EVENING, OBVIOUSLY. Ryo is roe, oh my god, oh my god.
ASLJKDFHKJDHGFJ I CAN'T EVEN. HIS STICK LEGS!!
I WANT TO GET THIS IMAGE, WITH "MEANWHILE, IN JAPAN" WRITTEN ACROSS IT, TATTOOED ON MY BODY.
PINK CHUCKS: OFFICIAL FOOTWEAR OF SUSHI. Oh god, I can't look at this and not laugh even harder knowing that Ryo and Subaru really wanted to lie on the ground too but couldn't because there would be no way to get up again. XD
SHOYU ATTAAAACK! CRIES HOW ARE THEY SO GENIUS. HOW DID YOKO COME UP WITH THAT. How does he contort himself so hilariously! I love how hard these guys work to keep their audience both entertained and completely on their toes. HOW DID I LIVE BEFORE I KNEW LIFE GOT THIS GOOD!!
And the perfect ending, SUSHI CANNIBALISM. HEY, SUSHI KNOW HOW AMAZING THEY ARE. AND THESE ARE THE MOST AMAZING SUSHI.