Translation With 2018.12 edition 4Q x 5P
4Q x 5P
Q1: The live concert where you burn calories the most?
Q2: The scene during your live concert which left a deep impression to or the one which you consider as the turning point?
Q3: Something you like from the members’ solo or the one which left a deep impression?
Q4: If you go on a trip with one of the members, where will you go and what will you do?
Ohno Satoshi
Q1: It was ‘ARASHIC’ tour in 2006 where we performed three times in a day, I remember that we danced a lot. We danced, left the stage, changed the costumes and danced again. We did that three times a day. We were young back then, doing that wasn’t a problem, but if we were told to do the same thing now, it’s definitely impossible (laugh).
Q2: I think it’s Kokuritsu (National Stadium) live tour. When the show began, I was busy doing fan service and didn’t really pay attention on the size of the stadium. When I watched the wide show the next day, I was so surprised that there were many people in the stadium (laugh).
Q3: I love Sho-kun’s ‘Sunshine’. Sho-kun has two types of solo, the ‘assailant Sho’ and ‘healing Sho’. This song is heart-warming and the ‘healing Sho-kun’ was there, I can watch it over and over without getting tired of it. I love Nino’s ‘Niji’, the intro ‘ta ta ta ta ta’ (piano intro), thanks to this song that I can play the intro. Aiba-chan’s ‘Disco Star’, because Aiba-chan is the only one who can do that. All of Matsujun’s solo are good, but I’m confused to choose between ‘Yabai yabai yabai’ and ‘Naked.’
Q4: I want to go to Kyoto with Matsujun and visit the historical places while mumbling ‘it’s great’ to each other. I want to have a peaceful trip with him. Nino can’t ride the boat, so I want to go to the far side of Kyushu with him and do fishing from ashore. As for Sho-kun, I want to go fishing with him. Formerly, we have magazine interview while fishing at Tokyo Bay. This time, I want to go further, I want to catch a fish for him and prepare the sashimi, I’ll give him the best hospitality. I want to go to India with Aiba-chan. I can picture saying something like ‘should we jump to Ganges River?’, we will surely have fun there. Even if we eat too much curry and get a stomachache, it will still be a fun trip.
Sakurai Sho
Q1: It was ‘Iza Now’ live tour. We danced for fifteen minutes for the opening. We were young back then and didn’t think it was hard. But now? One more? I think we can still do it (laugh).
Q2: The turning point was ‘AROUND ASIA’ live tour. We got positive respond in Asia and wanted to do the same thing like what we did in Japan. The number of the people who wanted to watch our concert increased so we began to do it in the Domes, that was when we performed at Kokuritsu National Stadium for the first time, the scale of our stages changed. But I can say that we are still the same person.
Q3: I love Ohno-san’s ‘TOP SECRET’, he created the choreography by himself, that dance was fantastic, the movement has a very difficult accent. I love Aiba-kun’s ‘Disco Star’ he created some kind of special atmosphere in his solo, it was very Aiba-ish. I love Nino’s ‘Himitsu’, it was a cute song, the choreography was also cute, it made us want to dance with him. I love Matsujun’s ‘Yabai yabai yabai’, he did MJ walk, he did it upside down during the show in Tokyo Dome. I wonder how he could think of something like that.
Q4: I want to go fishing with Ohno-san. Formerly, we went fishing together as part of the work. He had prepared the fishing rod and the bait for me with great consideration. As for Aiba-kun, I want to go for a ride with him to a distance place. It’ll be great if we can go to the hot spring, he loves taking a bath. I want him to do ‘Ore no Chiba part II’. With Nino, I want to play the game he likes (laugh). When Matsujun visited my house, he was the only person who reacted to my favorite artist’s art work. I think it’s nice if we can go together to museums, even though I’m not that well-informed about art works. But I want him to take me to Prado museum in Spain.
Aiba Masaki
Q1: None of them tired me that much, but during ‘Japonism’ tour, I climbed onto the rope and went around and round, that was quite exhausting. If I didn’t prepare myself at best for that, my eyes would go around and I couldn’t stand in balance afterwards, it was hard (laugh).
Q2: When we performed three times a day in Arena, I think it was during ‘Time’ live tour, aaa, it was ‘ARASHIC’ prior to that. I think it was a challenge for us. The number of fanclub members increased rapidly, so we held three times performance to occupy the fans who couldn’t watch the concert. I guess that was the turning point.
Q3: I love all of Riida’s solos. When he performed ‘Bad Boy’ last year, he showed us the free-acting part. I like Sho-kun’s ‘TABOO’, we had a chance to become his back dancers, it was a cool song. I love Nino’s Niji or ‘Himitsu’. We wore stuffed-animals costumes for ‘Himitsu’, it was so hot (laugh). I love Matsujun’s ‘Yabai yabai yabai’, he always does something hard, I think he’s great.
Q4: Riida took me to a bar at Ginza when I was 20, I want to go to the same bar with him, even though I can’t remember its name (laugh). All of us planned to go to Hakone for private, but Sho-chan’s schedule didn’t permit him to go, so we ended up go there with only the four of us. That’s why I want to go to Hakone with him. I want to go abroad with Matsujun. I want to visit the cities rather than resort island, something like watching Major League together. I have watched WBC with him in Tokyo Dome, it was so much fun. With Nino, we had planned to watch Muitai (Thailand kick boxing) in Thailand in New Year, but we haven’t gotten any chance, maybe it’s nice if we go visiting Thailand (laugh).
Ninomiya Kazunari
Q1: It was when we were hit by hard rain in Kokuritsu. It was during our 10th anniversary tour, our mikes weren’t work and we had to be very careful or the performance would be stopped if one of us got hurt.
Q2: The scene which left a deep impression was Hawaii live concert during our 15th anniversary. It made me think that I was so grateful I’m in Arashi, I’m grateful for the members who support each other. But the turning point was our 10th anniversary tour (laugh). We have prepared various segments for our anniversary, but in the end, the rain poured very hard that we couldn’t do it as planned. There were many things happened on the stage. But, we can still feel the vibe of celebration from the fans. I think that particular heavy rain was also important for Arashi, that we still faced it with so much fun.
Q3: They’re all come from ‘Are You Happy’ album. Matsumoto-kun’s ‘Baby Blue’, Aiba-kun’s ‘Amore’ Sho-kun’s ‘Sunshine’, Ohno-kun’s ‘Bad Boy’. I think those songs showed their potential. They seemed more relax, in a good way. They can concentrate very well on the lyrics and matched it with their expression.
Q4: First of all, I will never go on a trip with any of them (laugh). If I have to choose, I want to go a one night and two days fishing trip with Ohno-san. It’ll be better to go to a calm sea to avoid seasickness. The meals will be the fishes we catch. I want to go to the zoo with Aiba-kun. I want him to take me to the zoo he likes the most. Matsumoto-kun probably will take to European museums, we’ll visit them until he satisfied. But maybe I’ll play game while he walks around the museums. As for Sakurai-kun, we’ll take a month off and go the visit the world heritage site. It’s kind of different from the museums tour. I’ll leave the choice to Sakurai-kun. Basically, instead of going together, I’d rather support his budget (laugh).
Matsumoto Jun
Q1: It’s ‘Japonism’. I did parkour, it was very hard, I wouldn’t do that again now (laugh). It was 2-3 years ago, but I already think was hard (bitter grin). I got a few damages in different part of my muscles.
Q2: It was the National Stadium. Now it has been renovated so we will never see the same scene again, kind of nostalgic.
Q3: Riida’s ‘TOP SECRET’. The song wasn’t included in the album, but he sang for the live performance. He danced with high accent during the interlude part. He was so stoic in deciding what kind of move he wanted to do for the particular part in the song. I have very clear vision on that song and I can feel how he works very hard for that. When he finished dancing for the interlude part, the audiences’ reaction was great. I love Sho-kun’s ‘Hip hop Boogie’. He portrays the hip hop and pop nuance at the same time, Sho-kun’s true value is the middle of those two things. Aiba-kun’s solo which left deep impression was ‘Disco Star’. He had been preparing himself for harder challenges for the recent years, he made a decision on what kind of solo performance he wanted to do, I think it’s great. I love Nino’s ‘Himitsu’. The reaction from the audiences was fantastic when he performed this song.
Q4: I want to go to the sea with Riida, yes, sea, and fishing. I want to ride a ship where we can spend a few nights and fish from there. Something like cruising ship will be nice. I want to go to various museums with Sakurai-san. I want to go to the US with Aiba-kun to watch sport like basketball or baseball. As with Nino, maybe Kyoto is nice. We’ll go around shrine and temples, eat delicious food, and spend the night in a old ryokan. I think two nights will be his limit (laugh).
t.n. The interview in this magazine is very cute, there are still two different segments (one is the solo interview and the other is the long group interview). I hope I still have time to translate them. I still need to work on a bunch of papers and essays until December.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.
P.S. Did you listen to the latest single? I particularly love ‘Sky Again’ and ‘Fake It’. ‘Count on Me’ also cute, I think it’s a kind of new genre for Arashi.