201711 H Interview (IV) – ARASHI

[arashitranslation]

Q: The moment you feel responsibility of being ARASHI.
S: Though it’s bit similar to the third question, I think it’s the moment we are able to do concert at Dome. Before that when we worked on concert, for instance when an album was made, 90% of the songs of that album will be included in the concert. In other words, “Now we hope to show audience this”, “Now we want to do this”. But, at certain time point we added major songs which everyone knows such as “A.RA.SHI”, “Happiness” and “Hadashi no Mirai” into the set list. When we hold the live at Dome, maybe there would be more people who are “I don’t know ARASHI in details but let’s go watch them”, so we started to have a responsibility of showing ARASHI which everyone knows and likes. I remember that we had extensive discussion on this.

But, frankly saying there was moment of bewilderment.

Speaking of (Mikan’s) rap, after “so vain at that time” there is phrase “now, the future beyond dreams”, this is exactly depicting what I’ve just said, that beyond those days “is it a joke?” and then we come to now. Though it may sound tough if I have to explain it (giggle). Indeed I thought about ARASHI when I wrote this rap.
M: And then simply, I feel strongly the responsibility that “this is not ARASHI if any member is missing”. We have been working for 18 years, while there were lots of moments that someone was ill or someone got injured, when I get ill or get injured, indeed I think that I cannot cause trouble to the other four members. Therefore, though it may be easy in some sense that if a member is missing another person can enter the group and says “this is ARASHI”, this is something that definitely cannot happen. Basically we don’t have such thing like “today I am bit ill, let’s work with just four members!”.
O: We are strong.
M: (Strong) in terms of health (giggle). But, though it may sound like a fundamental thing like premise, I do feel it.

O: Though in private if I feel bit ill, I won’t force myself.
N: While you get such sunburn (giggle).
M: When in private you feel ill, you can’t force yourself to go fishing (giggle).
O: I won’t go, even in windy days I won’t go.
N: (Giggle) It’s weather issue.
O: If the ship overturn, I would be pulled out by helicopter like this and then this will be reported by Sho-kun in “(NEWS) ZERO” (giggle).
A: You are trying to go so far (giggle). You are not fisher.
O: I shall not do this in order not to come to such situation (giggle).

Q: But you all always have such awareness that you are a member of ARASHI.
S: How to say. Though we have such awareness all the time, we don’t think about it round the clock. How should I say, it’s like “this is so”.
M: You don’t even feel that you have such awareness, right?
S: Right. I don’t feel “Because I am ARASHI”.
A: But when I got pneumothorax before and saw the stage with only four members, I felt strongly the responsibility.
M: At that time (it was so serious that) as long as you could come with us it’d be fine.
A: I got pneumothorax around one week before the fan event at Hawaii. Though I might not be able to ride on the plane, with the extraordinary recovery I went there on plane (giggle).
N: You don’t say this yourself (giggle).
A: (Giggle) I was just about to catch up. Though I couldn’t dance and sing at that time, I joined the talk part, at that time I was bit regretful like “why am I get ill in such timing?”.
M: This is somehow connected to the 15th anniversary.
A: Yes. It is a great story from those who know about this (giggle).
M: Well but, I think that that is a great resolution. Because, I thought that it would be only we four to go to Hawaii. Though you say extraordinary recovery yourself, actually you didn’t recover that time (giggle).
A: (Giggle) I didn’t. I was still on treatment.
N: If it happens now you won’t be allowed to go. Because (your lungs) might or might not break in plane. If it happens now, no matter what you say, you won’t be allowed to go.

Q: Since long time ARASHI five members have strong sense of responsibility.
N: Yup, strong.
S: Though we’ve strong sense of responsibility, I feel that this is something normal.

Q: Message that ARASHI five members want to convey via “untitled”.
N: What did you think while listening to the title? Did you think it cool?
S: Leading question (giggle).

Q: (Giggle) First of all, I thought about what other artists than ARASHI would fit this title.
M: Tell us more tell us more (giggle).

S: I’m glad to hear this (moderator’s comment).
M: My friend thought “you still haven’t decided the title” (giggle).
N: (Giggle) It’s pretty good.

S: We wanted to try challenging things. It’s certain that every year we try new things, after “THE DIGITALIAN” we had “Japonism” and that moment was new thing, after “Japonism” it was happy “Are You Happy?”, in various moments we tried new things, this time we wanted to make an album summarising the challenges. But, we didn’t only challenge cool things, we also challenged very happy songs we haven’t done before, and we challenged ballad which is very touching. Just we five dancing smartly is not challenge. We made this title with the aim to try new things in a broad sense.

M: Speaking of recent years, “THE DIGITALIAN” was made with the theme of thinking about future, then “Japonism” was with a focus of recall of the country which bears us and brings us up, and Johnny’s entertainment which cultivates us, and with a theme of by knowing the past, what can we here-and-now do? And then “Are You Happy?” wanted to depict us at that time, us in 2016, so the next album would certainly be about future. In these years, we are like stepping one step back then start going one step forward, so this album also included our expectation towards “what will there be in front of us?”.

Q: By the way, did you all on the same ground?
S: No, it was turns and twists, it was extremely tough. We couldn’t somehow reach a conclusion.

Q: Was “untitled” decided smoothly?
N: How was that.
O: I don’t recall (giggle).
N: It seemed we spend lot of time setting the theme?
S: Though I forgot the detailed process, I recalled it was tougher than usual.
M: Well, even we talk about “future” there is no concrete thing about it. If we talk about “here-and-now”, we just need to think about what we want to do now, what music we like, during “Japonism” it was easy for us to think about our solo, performance and what we wanted to try. In terms of “future” each of us is groping around, even we five talked about this, it is difficult to convey our thoughts in words, so the discussion turned to silence frequently (giggle).

(I) https://arashitranslation.dreamwidth.org/131495.html /
(II) https://arashitranslation.dreamwidth.org/131652.html /
(III) https://arashitranslation.dreamwidth.org/131921.html /
(IV) https://arashitranslation.dreamwidth.org/132698.html