Nothing Taboo

It's hard to get attention for the donation efforts done by Arashi outside-Japan fandom eh.

So I wonder... There is one Arashi item we can access legitimately.

The Nippon no Arashi book.

Maybe fans can leave messages/reviews in the review section on the online retailers and state their countries. The section is open to the public, so... ^^

It'd be fun to read support messages and where everyone is from. ^^

Just a thought. ^^

Ohno's masterpiece in AnShi - 22 May 2011

Love the episode so much~ ^^

Let's talk about the masterpiece...

Click image to enlarge. If that doesn't work, here's the direct link to bigger image:

http://imageshack.us/f/857/onyusuke1.jpg/

- Wonder why the illustrator put a wolf silhouette on Ohno's portrait. And again Ohno's shadow in the masterpiece is that of a werewolf. I suppose it showed the on/off side of Ohno's?

- The details on the artwork is amazing. I totally would've missed the Arashi kanji on the horse, had they not highlighted it in the clip.

- The horse is galloping at full speed ahead. I wonder if it symbolises Arashi as a group?

- Aiba got a full frontal view (and a big smile), while the rest are just side profiles. Though Aiba was like, Why 'Tori ningen', 'Bird man'? Why only cranes?

- At first Jun didn't see where he is in the painting and was a bit disappointed, until they all noticed his huge face in the background. ^^
Ohno said something about the fishing rod which blended into Jun's forehead. Definitely showing Jun as a visionary for the concerts and stuff.

- The fish looks like it's gonna smooch Sho. XD

- Nino in his Gantz suit, playing DS and the trump cards with only the Ace facing up.

- The illustrator must have done a lot of research on Arashi. He's the one who filled in the colours for the painting. He got their member colours right. Sho's tie in the shade of red, Jun's hair is purple, Ohno's vest in blue, Aiba with green and Nino with the yellow sky backdrop.

- The roses and brick wall are a tribute to Shiyagare, I suppose.

- Wish I can see more. The map next to Aiba looks like Japan? I wonder if we connect Aiba to Sho, the map would become whole? Cause the basketball seem to roll over to Sho's side. I would've expected a football with Sho, not basketball.

- I see Saturn. He got the land, sea, sky and the universe together. ^^

I have to re-watch this episode in HQ to see if there is a good clear shot of the whole piece.

Anyway, what else do you guys see and interpret? ^^

Sho's Architecture Study Trip serial on Casa Brutus magazine

Some of you might remember that Sho was first featured in the interior design/architecture magazine, Casa Brutus, back in September 2010 issue. He was on the front cover and was in the top feature on 'where is the most impressive art museum?'.

Sho became the front cover again in the April 2011 issue. The issue commemorated the 100th anniversary of Japanese artiste, Taro Okamoto.

Now it looks like Sho has a regular serial in Casa Brutus. It's called 集中連載！ '櫻井翔のケンチクを学ぶ旅', roughly translated, Serial compilation! 'Sakurai Sho's Architecture Study Trip'.
It is listed under Regulars on the list of contents for June 2011 issue on Casa Brutus website. Also listed on JNet under Arashi's Media: Magazine section.

JNet listed that Casa Brutus comes out on the 10th of every month.

The latest one is in the June 2011 issue which just came out on 10 May 2011.
Vol.3 of Sho's study trip brought him to Kagawa Prefecture. They went for a day trip to Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art (MIMOCA). They were there to attend the Hiroshi Sugimoto exhibition.

Price: 880 Yen (~US$10.85).

Official website:

http://magazineworld.jp/casabrutus/135/

Twitter where the staff talked about their trip with Sho ^^:

http://twitter.com/#!/casabrutus

The magazine is available on CDJapan.

Sho is broadening his horizons (and fandom's...?) even further~<3

AnShi - Why Why Why?! :D

Air date: 14 May 2011
Aniki: Tatsuya Kawagoe (Celebrity Chef, Italian cuisine)

Theme: Italian cuisine
No individual corner.

The chef is cute. Somehow his looks remind me of Yoshitaka Yuriko (Nino's admirer in GANTZ). ^^

Highlights:
- Arashi in chef's whites~<3
- Arashi pasta battle
- Why? Why? Why? moment XD

The preview for next episode:
- The guest is Tomoyasu Hotei. www.hotei.com
In his wiki, his occupations are listed as guitarist, singer, composer, lyricist and actor. He had performed with David Bowie and his songs had been featured in Kill Bill, Transformers and Nintendo DS games. ^^
If the Chef Tatsuya-aniki episode allowed Jun to shine, Nino will have a blast this time, I'm sure. ^^
The preview showed Arashi members being taught to play guitar and a jamming session. All of them yo~<3
I sure hope Arashi got some inspiration for their upcoming album from Hotei-aniki. ^^

Hotei-aniki tweeted about it: (cap and rough translation done by me)


I guess 'mission' is a reference to GANTZ. ^^

The aniki guests in Shiyagare kept getting better and better. ^^ Some of the anikis rarely make appearances in variety shows. It's amazing that they are willing to come on the show.
I reckoned someone in their family has to be a fan of Arashi, so perhaps indirect family 'pressure'...? XD I love love love Arashi ni Shiyagare. ^o^

AnShi - Red alert! XD

Air date: 7 May 2011
Aniki: Sasaki Kuranosuke (actor, works include Hanchou, Bambino, Yasashii Jikan)

Theme: Learning about the charms of Kyoto
No individual corner.

Ah~ I love Arashi ni Shiyagare~<3 Better in HQ. :P

Highlights:
- Sasaki's souvenirs for Arashi: Red boxer briefs. Of course, size fitting is obligatory. ;)
- A janken game with the maiko/geisha from Kyoto
- Food tasting~<3

The preview for next episode:
- The guest is celebrity chef Tatsuya Kawagoe. He owns an Italian restaurant. www.tatsuya-kawagoe.com
Arashi donned chef's whites (yummy!) and looked like they, all of them, were having a cooking battle. Sho cooking will always be a delight! ^^

People should watch Arashi ni Shiyagare more~ Admittedly more epic with subs when you can understand them. ^^

Himitsu no Arashichan - The Ohno dare ;)

Air date: 5 May 2011 - Tsuchiya Anna and Tominaga Ai
MCs: Sho and Ohno. ^^

VIP Limousine only - Mama friends date plan

This is an awesomely epic episode! ^^

It's Children's Day in Japan. They started off shopping for the guests' children's clothes. With the kids making a surprise appearance.
Arashi + kids + shopping = <3

Then they went kick boxing. Man, Sho kicking and punching is hot~<3 Notable moments include Sho's punch hitting the coach in the face and Ohno becoming majorly pissed when he was unmanned by Rena, the kick boxing champion. :D

Ooh... And this, for me, is the highlight of the episode. On their way to the restaurant, their bus have to go through Shibuya. Solve this equation: Sho x Shibuya = ???

Yes, the 01City building with Sho's Great Cycling Cap Mannequin massive poster! ^o^

So Ohno was like, you know the poster is only there until the end of April. Have you taken a commemorative picture with it?

Sho was like, I've been to see it once, but didn't take any picture.

Genius Mastermind Ohno then said, you should. Sho though a bit worried, agreed.

So armed with the staff's sage advice, "If panic ensued, run away", Sho and Ohno went off to take the pictures. XD

I won't say anything more.

Must watch! Must watch! Must watch! ^_______^

The date finished off with the restaurant corner. At least this time they explained why only the middle guesses can eat the food.

Anyway, preview for next episode - the guest is Kanjani 8's Ohkura Tadayoshi with MCs Aiba and Jun in the studio with a new corner. More Kanjani 8 x Arashi interaction. Yay! ^^