In the Garage: Ohno Satoshi [Iza Now concert pamphlet 2004] (part 2/2)
I didn't think I'd be "drowning in feels" from an article, but Ohno's words are just overwhelming. In hindsight, they make so much sense.
In The Garage - Part 2
Ohno talks about the transitions in the members' personalities and his hopes for Arashi in the future.
And then there’s Matsujun… Previously, I mentioned that Aiba-chan is someone who gives various issues a lot of thought, but he [Jun] ponders over them even more. (laughs) All the members do think about what should be done, but he’s amazing. There are just so many things I respect about Matsujun; especially his work ethic, it’s incredible. He is always precise, accurate and detailed. He doesn’t like to wing it, and when something catches his attention he pursues it to no end. He’s a perfectionist! In that respect, I’m totally different. In whatever I do, I’m the type who tends to think, “Isn’t this fine already?” (laughs) I can respect and learn a lot from Matsujun’s dependable nature. And he’s someone who places a lot of importance on the words he uses. He takes responsibility for what he says. He doesn’t say things halfheartedly. Taking that into account, I think he’s just a perfect person.
As for Sho-kun, although he’s a funny guy, the surprising thing is he gets depressed easily. When he was younger, this was especially true. Whenever something didn’t go smoothly, he had this habit of saying, “Ah~ this isn’t going to work.” I’m sure he wanted the people around him to tell him, “Hey, it’ll be alright.” When that happens, I’m sure he’ll cheer up straightaway. Recently, I think he’s become completely positive. However, as a joke, he occasionally goes, “Ah~”. Whenever I hear that, I feel somewhat nostalgic. (laughs) He’s also unexpectedly simple, or rather, someone who’s easy to understand. You can see his mood transitions very clearly. Whenever he’s happy, he has an elated look on his face; when he’s looking at something in earnest, he fully concentrates on that one thing. His face is just so expressive.
In addition, Sho-kun is someone who labors endlessly. I mean, when he was attending university, he had to juggle between school and work. Even though it was really tough for him, he never complained. It was especially tough when [his studies] clashed with the concerts, but he’d just come to rehearsals as usual and say, “I went to school this morning…” And after rehearsals were over, he’d go, “I have an exam tomorrow so I have to work hard tonight.” That’s when I thought, “Oh man, what’s up with this guy!?” (laughs) What’s more, he had a drama filming the next day. I wanted to ask him, “When did you memorize your lines?” but I felt that it was a stupid thing to ask, so I gave up. (laughs) I couldn’t even simply tell him, “Hey, all the best.”
Ah, Nino… The thing about him that hasn’t changed is how he attaches himself to you straightaway. (laughs) He was just like that when I first met him. When I took a seat, he sat down next to me and stared. Back then, I thought, “I have NOTHING to say to you!” but he felt like a dog at that time. (laughs) How should I put this… Rather than being affable, whenever someone catches his attention, I guess he wants to immediately approach the person and talk to him or her. Maybe I’ve been influenced by him, nowadays whenever I see someone whom I want to talk to, I’m able to start a conversation with that person relatively quickly. In addition, although Nino may not seem to be thinking about anything at first glance, he’s actually thinking very quickly on his feet. I mean, he’s so skillful! Whenever goes into his left ear doesn’t come out through his right ear, it stays within his brain.
For example, he can remember very precisely something which I said a few hours ago. It’s to the extent where I’ve already forgotten about it, so I’d say, “Eh? Did I say that?” Furthermore, he heard it while he was gaming… His memory is incredible. It’s the same case when he’s acting. Even though he kept gaming during the filming breaks, he could say his lines when it came to the actual take. Even though I’m shocked, thinking, “When did he memorize his lines!?” but that’s just one more piece of proof that he’s really smart. He’s also well-informed, with an extensive vocabulary. And he’s pretty optimistic. I think I’ve been influenced by Nino in that respect too. There are so many things that I respect about each member, so I think I’ve been influenced by them all.
Talk about Arashi from henceforth? I see… I’d love to hold on to that desire for the 5 of us, as a group, to continually improve. If even one of us lacks that desire, I’m sure everyone would be lost. I often feel that we need to share the common desire to level up. Right now, we aren’t just working as a group, various solo assignments have come in. Amidst all that, our interests would increase… That is certainly very enjoyable, but given that the group was formed in this way, I really hope for the 5 of us to level up together. Right now, we’re pretty close, but I hope for us to communicate even more, to the point where we share a common desire. As long as our feelings remain the same, we can be at ease even though we may be doing different things.
Personally, I feel that I carry out my solo assignments as an Arashi representative, in a certain sense. Certainly, I’m not just doing it as Arashi’s Ohno, but as Ohno Satoshi. That’s especially true for stage plays. However, there’s just this feeling of being a representative… Somehow, whenever I’m working by myself, it feels like I’m off on a journey. (laughs) There’s this place called Arashi, and I’d say, “Hey guys, I’m going off on a journey, I’ll be back later.” That’s the image I have. And when I return from my journey, everyone says, “Oh, welcome home! It’s great that you’re back.” Then the other members would also go on a journey, saying “Hey, I’ll be off and back again.” They’d work as a representative of Arashi, and everyone would welcome them back. In that manner, although each member goes out for a journey, whenever they return to Arashi for a concert or Arashi activity, we’d say, “Aah, so everyone is back. Let’s take a short trip to Hakone, shall we?” (laughs) It’s truly pleasant whenever the 5 of us are together, and when we’re talking, I somehow feel that it’s passionate. So while I treasure that feeling, I think it’s fine for us to aim for the top from henceforth. We don’t have to set things in stone, saying, “This is what we want to be,” right? I’m sure each member has something that they want to do. In any case, in whatever we do, we will go forward as five. As long as we have that, things will be okay.
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Scans were graciously provided by ll13jl. I LOVE this pamphlet and would gladly buy it off anyone.