smile again and again
Almost a year into the hiatus announcement, and I think the fandom is doing FINE. Some of us have accepted things as they are, some are still scared, most of us are sad however else we feel about it, but they’ve been throwing announcement after announcement that it’s sometimes hard to stop and catch our breaths! At least, that’s my observation from my tiny corner of the fandom. I haven’t been that active in a long time, and I’m mostly just lurking and talking to the same fandom friends I’ve been talking to since forever.

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New 5×20 Goods List
Pamphlet * | 2,200yen
Jumbo Uchiwa 2nd Ver. | 600yen (5 types)
Poster 2nd Ver. | 800yen (6 types)
Clear File 2nd Ver. | 600yen (7 types)
Super Duper Original Photo Set 2nd Ver. | 800yen (Group *, 5 types)
Penlight * | 2,500yen
Shopping Bag * | 2,800yen
Mini Tote Bag | 2,000yen
T-Shirt * | 2,800yen
T-Shirt (Grey) | 2,800yen
Hand Towel | 1,000yen
Masking Tape Set * | 800yen
Pouch * | 1,600yen
Multi-Blanket * | 3,200yen
Strap * | 300yen
Karuta * | 1,600yen
Luggage Tag | 1,200yen
Venue Limited Charm 2nd Ver | 600yen
Mini Uchiwa 2nd Ver | 400yen (6 types)
Accessory Case | 800yen
* same as first leg of concerts
I was kind of hoping for the goods list to remain the same as it would be safe for my wallet, but it looks like the list is updated with small changes! There will be new jumbo/mini uchiwas, posters, clear files, and photo sets (except for the group photo set, which remains the same), as well as charms, a grey t-shirt and entirely new items like the mini tote, hand towel, and luggage tag. And the accessory case! I’m really curious about that one as it was list listed as “komono ire” and sounds like something I might really like more than one of.

Arashi 20th Anniversary Tour 5×20 (December 7th)

To be honest, I couldn’t believe that I actually hit the ballot for their 20th anniversary tour. This was THE tour for me, and not just because it’s their 20th anniversary. It marked my 10th anniversary as a fan, and their 5×10 concert was the first I’ve ever seen on DVD. When my late sister and I went for Arafes, we were awed by the sensation of being there, watching everyone walking by with the concert bags, hearing the sound of cicadas, because we had watched that DVD so many times. We had envisioned ourselves walking down that same path every time, and it was almost eerie how it felt when we were actually THERE.

Ideally, she would be the person I’d take with me for 5×20. Even my friend (whose address I used for my FC) had said that because hitting the ballot for the second time was such an impossible thing to do (we thought), that it felt like this was a gift from her, because I missed Japonism when she passed away. I normally don’t believe in sentimental stuff like that, but it really did feel that way.

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Arashi ni Shiyagare #004

Aired On: 15th May, 2010

I’m going to start off by saying that I love Sho-kun’s mom. I wrote my post on the Bakatono episode sometime after watching it, so I forgot that one thing that annoyed me from that episode – when Aiba showed his messy make-up, someone (Sho?) said that he looked like someone from a transvestite bar at the crack of dawn. So after that episode, Sho-kun’s mom messaged him saying that it was offensive to transvestites, so he properly apologised. Thank you, Sho-kun’s mom!

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Arashi ni Shiyagare #002

Aired On: May 1st, 2010

They started the show explaining that they had no idea what would be happening, and talked about how in the last episode they learned the Cream Stew rules to MC-ing and whether they should be trying to use what they’ve learned. MatsuJun commented that with Cream Stew, it was alright for them to say things that might’ve been inappropriate with other people, but he had the feeling that their guest that episode was a big-name guest. Ohno commented that (if that were the case) he should’ve peed before filming XD (more…)

Arashi ni Shiyagare #001

Aired On: April 24th, 2010

I told my friend (who is currently also binging on Shiyagare) that I’m going to stop watching old shows til their hiatus starts, so that I’d have even more content later, but obviously that’s not happening. I’m still reorganising my files, after all. I’ve decided to renumber my Shiyagare files, too – the kazunari@DW numbering system which I used labeled this first episode as episode 0, for example. And then there was the Breathless Encounters SP which didn’t have a number… so I’ll just start from the beginning and use my own system. (I’ll change the numbers for episodes I already wrote about as I get to them.) (more…)

5 – 1 = 0

I’m not going to write a long post, because I’ve already written a lot on my LJ. The gist of it was: just a little bit after my last post, I saw the message on the FC site, and I was heartbroken. The press conference made me feel a little bit better, and last Monday’s News Zero reassured me a lot. Yes, nothing is certain, and there’s a possibility that they won’t come back. There is also the possibility that they would, and the fact that Sho-kun said so made me believe in Arashi, because I trust Sho-kun completely.

I’m still scared and sad and a mess and I probably will be for a long time, but I trust that Arashi will be okay, and that they’ve got each other’s backs. And if they’re okay, then I’ll have to learn to be okay, too.

Originally I had my own plans for next year, but this news really hit me hard, and made me decide that if Arashi is giving their all for the next two years, then so am I. I will support them and try to love them as much as I can for the next two years.

Vs. Arashi! 2019.01.24

Aired On: January 24th, 2019

Last week’s VsA! I’ve been wanting to watch this one so much because of the screencaps/clips I kept seeing on twitter. This ep was aired the day before Sho’s birthday, which they talked about during the opening. Sho talked about how turning from 35 to 36 felt like a big leap, which Aiba agreed, mimicking his surprise to realise that he was now 36. Sho added he felt the same about being 37 now, and then Riida chimed in, “I’m… 38!” Sho then thanked his mother who was often a subject in his OP talks, and Nino and MatsuJun prompted him to make a resolution that he won’t fight with her anymore, so he did. (more…)