ARASHI TRANSLATION

Estimated 2020 sales: 14.52 billion yen.
Consecutively 2nd year top-sale artist.
Nine years top-sale in total.

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[Ohno Satoshi Interview]
Q: Your impression towards ARASHI members before debut?
O: MatsuJun was small. When I first saw him in the “Junior Catalogue” (books introducing Jr. released from 1996 to 2004), I was surprised “there is such a cute kid!”. Nino didn’t give me a feeling that it was our first time to meet. He was so openhearted like we might have met somewhere else before or like my relative. When I had performance in Kyoto, he came to Kyoto as guest, in our free time we played badminton in lobby all along. Sho-chan ... we are in similar age, we have talked about various topics. He was the first one among Jr. to adopt the popular things like colour contact lens. As for Aiba-chan, we only started real conversation at the Jr. concert right before debut, I thought “this person is easy to chat with”. Though I didn’t recall at all what we have talked about, we were very excited talking though it was almost the first time we met (giggle).

Q: What if you direct the member’s solo corners during live?
O: (Without hesitation) I refuse!!!! Because I definitely would ask everyone to do things they normally won’t do. If they do such rare performance, the audience and the staff would think “what is it all about?”, they themselves would also think “why do I have to do this?”, when they are asked to do surreal things, and I watch such freezing atmosphere from beside, I would enjoy it so much like “they’re wretched, they’re wretch” (giggle).

Q: If you are to gift each member a place like house or villa or workplace?
O: I want to gift MatsuJun a tatami room, like a mini temple. So that he can consolidate his spirits when he is tired. As for Nino, a small boat. I want him to overcome his seasick (giggle). Sho-chan is cooking station. The professional cooking utensils are grouped, the facilities are well prepared, lots of ingredients are put in the refrigerator, I want him to be a situation that “you can make whatever cuisine you like”. As for Aiba-chan, a room with muscle training equipment. Whether people, no matter who, would kick and punch a sandbag once it’s put there, I hope Aiba-chan would test this for me. I think he would do it with all his efforts. And I want to put a camera in such rooms I gift to members (giggle).

Q: What visual or theatre work would you like members to make?
O: As for MatsuJun, a documentary like “Jounetsu Tairiku” without “Jounetsu” (Note: passionate) recording his private life for one month. I don’t need passionate comments (giggle). I like the film “Cast Away” (2000), I want Nino to do a film like that. It’s a story of a man’s survival when he’s left alone on an uninhabited island, of course there is no game on an uninhabited island. I wonder what Nino would do in such condition (giggle). As for Sho-chan, a serial drama where there is no scriptline at all. Because I have an impression that he has always been doing drama with lots of scriptlines. Fufu. As for Aiba-chan, I want to watch his theatre work since long time. But there is no way for me to do direction. I just want to see members who are different from what they have been.

[Sakurai Sho Interview]
Q: If you could exchange with members 20 years ago before debut, what would you do?
S: If I became Ohno-san I wanted to paint. He is good at painting, I think he has a different angle seeing and perceiving things. It would be interesting to paint with such talent. As for Aiba-kun, because he has been fashionable since then, I wanted to enjoy his fashion (had I become him). As for Nino, I wanted to play the catcher in baseball tournament. I don’t know how to play baseball at all, if I became Nino I wanted to try grass baseball. As for MatsuJun, um ... He told me that because his high school has lots of celebrities in entertainment industry, it was gorgeous. I wanted to enjoy such gorgeous high school life (giggle).

Q: What if you direct the member’s solo corners during live?
S: As for Ohno-san, I hope he’d sing tranquil ballad. With beautiful dance which is not vigorous at all. I hope to listen to his singing. As for Aiba-kun, because he challenges difficult thing every time, and he had tried climbing to high place with just a cloth, I can only ask him to do swinging in the air. Like a “can you do such thing?” series (giggle). I hope Nino would play guitar. He had played electric guitar few years ago, I hope he’d play an acoustic, calm, and warm song. As for MatsuJun, it’s great if he’d do showy things. I hope he’d do state-of-the-art performance using the lighting and setting which is the very essence of singing and dancing entertainment, like the performance of Michael Jackson. A feeling like doing what MatsuJun wants to do as he likes, with he himself composing the techniques that nobody can ever think about (giggle).

Q: If you need to decide the residential places of members other than yourself?
S: As for Ohno-san, it should be a calm house near the seaside. To build him a house like those that can been seen in Kahala of Hawaii. As for Aiba-kun, a house embraced by greens where he can energetically do farming or gardening. As for Nino, it seems he doesn’t go out of his home (giggle). It seems a house near shopping streets with sense of living would suit him. As for MatsuJun, right in the middle of New York! Because he likes going to watch theatre works and concerts, it’d be great for him to live in an environment where he can go to Broadway.

Q: If you need to do casting of members for film or drama?
S: As for Ohno-san, action film. The action scenes he acted in “Shinobi no Kuni” was marvellous. As for Aiba-kun, also action film. He recently watched the latest film of “Mission Impossible”, he himself likes action films. As for Ohno-san, it’d be action film with refined movement like those of Bruce Lee. As for Aiba-kun, it’d be actions “can such action be done?” like those done by Tom Cruise. Aiba-kun is doing life-risking things even in variety shows, I think he’d survive no matter what happens (giggle). As for Nino, a large-scale historical drama like Taiga drama portraying the life of a person. Seems he fits such a drama for Ninomiya Kinjiro? (giggle) MatsuJun would do SF. There is a drama “Black Mirror” using various technologies. I want to see him acting in such near-future real SF.

[Aiba Masaki Interview]
Q: If you could exchange with members 20 years ago before debut, what would you do?
A: It’s difficult (giggle). Is it fine to talk about my impression to the members when we were Jr. before debut? Well ... because Leader has been staying in Kyoto for long time for theatre performance every day, well, if I became Ohno-san at that time ... I probably would have a scenery trip in Kyoto (giggle). I was very impressed that Sho-kun took care of both his study and his Jr. career at that time. He came to the lesson room in his school uniform. I had an impression that MatsuJun was very short and small at that time. Nino was pretty much the same as he is now (giggle). But, because his skin has always been pale, if I became Nino in the past it’d be great to go to suntan salon! (giggle)

Q: What if you direct the member’s solo corners during live?
A: As for Leader, I want to hear him sing the refreshing songs of Medium Tune. I like very much the last solo vocal chorus of Leader in “Season” (2009). I want to deliberately hear him sing on a simple stage setting. As for Sakurai-san ... surprisingly he seems fit rock music. With one mic stand. It seems I can see the side of him which I’ve never seen before. As for MatsuJun, a sorrowful ballad. As for Nino, I want to hear him play acoustic guitar.

Q: If you are to gift each member a place like house or villa or workplace?
A: Because Leader has to keep his dark skin, anyhow let’s gift him a house with terrace (giggle). What suits MatsuJun? It’s good to be in the metropolitan. Let him live in the very center of metropolitan! Because Sho-kun usually dines out, a house near restaurant should be good, right? The very top floor of the building where various types of tenants operate substantially below! Because it seems Nino doesn’t quite go out of his home, anyhow it’s good to gift him a house with completed facilities. A comfortable home where he can have anything even he doesn’t go out.

Q: If you need to do casting of members for film or drama?
A: I would have Leader act an adventure film like “Indiana Jones”. A role who conducts research on archaeology, intelligent, and rides horse. That would actually be exactly the role of Indiana Jones (giggle). As for Sho-kun, a work muddling with human relationship and era, I hope he would show us a new side that we don’t know at all. As for MatsuJun ... what about horror film, like zombie film? Same as Sho-kun, a “series showing the new side”. Ahahaha. As for Nino, historical work. Even it’s not the Japanese setting it’ll be fine ... like “Sangokushi”. Maybe he suits the role of Zhuge Liang Komei!

[Ninomiya Kazunari Interview]
Q: Please tell us what members evolved and improved in these 20 years.
N: I haven’t perceived members individually at all (giggle)! Each of us has various works other than ARASHI’s works from time to time, depending on this, I think our visual aspects and experience will be different, and there has been a lot of changes over these 20 years. Therefore, ARASHI still wants to experience more even now. Though it may be said to be “evolving”, the fact that experience makes a person should be the same for everyone, right? Well, what we have changed vastly over these 20 years, if I were to say, I think it’d be “composure”. I think having composure not only in terms of feeling but also in various other aspects is a very big thing in terms of getting old.

Q: Have you thought of “Don’t get old!”?
N: In these 20 years, we ARASHI five people, there hasn’t been once that we felt something was lost or declined, not even our physicality. In terms of ARASHI, since we think our utmost work is to respond the wishes of people from time to time who seek us and want to see us, what we do is just to pick up these wishes well and manage ourselves. Though I think one day our skills and physicality would decline, I think our audience don’t want to see us doing things as we did in our teenage ages. Since I think it’ll be fine as long as we always think about what “ARASHI nowadays” is, I don’t consider at all things like “decline”.

Q: If you could exchange with members 20 years ago before debut, what would you do?
N: I didn’t quite remember what they were at that time (bitter smile). If I at this moment may say one word to us at that time, “from now on, if you all work earnestly, it isn’t such a bad thing”. Just this word.

Q: What if you direct the member’s solo corners during live?
N: It’s difficult! I haven’t tried this in my work, and I don’t think I can do this (bitter smile). I am the one who is directed to perform but not the one who directs others to perform!

Q: If you are to gift each member a place like house or villa or workplace?
N: I can’t think of any because I didn’t pay much attention to the life of each member ... (giggle). Even I give a house to another member in an excited manner like “log house is good~”, if he doesn’t like it he won’t live in it. In the first place, if I can manage to gift a house to others, I’d rather build my own house first (giggle). Though it’s just my thought, there is two-family house, isn’t it? So if it’s possible to make a five-family house, it may be good to build a five-family house to group us into one building. It’ll be a building which isn’t share house, but each house is totally independent from others, the interior design of each house would also be different according to the preference of each member. The entrances are also different, just they are all in the same building. It’d probably be interesting (giggle).

[Matsumoto Jun Interview]
Q: Looking back the live over the past 20 years, which solo of yours was impressive to you?
M: What should it be?? Um, which year was it. About 2003 or 2004, though I could only roughly remember, the song “La Familia” (recorded in DVD “2004 ARASHI! Iza, Now Tour!!”). Thinking about having lyrics that could reflect my own feeling at that time, it was the first time I wrote lyrics myself. At last, it was in a co-composing manner, half of the lyrics was composed by others (Note: SPIN-san). When I did this I thought “I am not suitable to lyrics writing” (giggle). I had to consider the creation of live, there was almost no time for me to concentrate and write lyrics, it was a very difficult delivery. In fact, it was fine if I saved the stock, but by all means, I’d think about “what I want at that time”. As for creating thing, in my case, it’s not “because there is such thing, let’s use it”, but with such idea “because I want to do this, I shall create this”. If the content of the live is not confirmed, I can create nothing. Because I had to create the live along with lyrics writing, it was relatively difficult. From then I almost don’t write lyrics myself. However, as for “La Familia”, I write the lyrics that could only be written at that time, the content was like telling myself the story of future while looking back the past. Because it’s the timing we vividly rush into our 20th anniversary, singing “the time thus far and now and future”, I think this is the song that I would mention.

Q: What if you direct the member’s solo corners during live?
M: It’s difficult. What is it, what I want Satoshi nowadays to do (giggle)? ... I want nothing but him singing famous songs. I want to see Satoshi sing folk song or Japanese ballad without dancing. As for Sho-kun, I want him to play brass musical instrument like trumpet or trombone. Simply, the visual will look cool, isn’t it (giggle)? As this would be a rare chance, just don’t make it a solo corner, instead I want him to play at chic place like Blue Note Tokyo (giggle). I want Aiba-kun to act musical number. The number of “The Greatest Showman”. I want Aiba-kun to play the role of Hugh Jackman (giggle). It’ll also be good to play the role of Danial Day-Lewis in “Nine”. As for Nino, I want his solo corner to be in a style with playing musical instruments as well as dancing, like what Prince did at the early stage. I want him to do something like when audience thinks he’d played solo guitar, suddenly he dances. The costumes would also be very exaggerated like those of Prince. Surprising this may suit him.



Congratulations to 5x19.
Welcome to 5x20.
I wish you all the very very best, with peace, health, joy and lots of love be with you five angels.

While I have met Udo-san when I appeared on Asaichi and worked as MC of Kouhaku Uta Gassen, it is the first time we work in such format.

When we met during the first work meeting, she gave me souvenir from overseas and handwritten letter. I was very happy that she had me in mind even during overseas.

The new news zero would be a “conversational programme”. I am very much looking forward to how rich the conversation we could conduct with Udo-san who is experienced and with audience’s perspective. It would be much appreciated if we would have your support.

Source: Twitter @tekuteku55555 https://twitter.com/tekuteku55555/status/1046193496057470977

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

Q: The moment you wanted to make ARASHI bigger.
S: To me it was the moment when Aiba-kun read the letter during 24HTV in 2004. “Let us do make our dream to be top come true” he said, I thought that was the common awareness of we five at that time. What a coincidence that it was the timing of ARASHI’s fifth anniversary then, though we were able to work on 24HTV for the first time, but frankly saying it was a reliable situation for just us five to host it. In fact, though it was fortunate that Higashiyama (Noriyuki)-senpai helped us…… we wanted to work harder, we wanted to work harder, but we somehow couldn’t fit the host work skillfully, and among such atmosphere, Aiba-kun read his letter, and at that moment I once again thought that “I see, we five are looking at the same direction”.

A: Of course (I remember it) (giggle). When I wrote the letter, I somehow asked the staff of the company to check the contents for me. At first I wrote “we five should become a salable group”, as expected I was told “such expression is better to be revised a bit”.
S: Because it was too green to say so?
A: Yes (giggle). So I changed it to “Let us do make our dream to be top come true”. Therefore, I have put in my thoughts in that phrase.

O: Around 2~3 years since our debut we have thoroughly talked about it, wasn’t it. After that, because Aiba-chan said so during 24HTV, I noticed that we worked with the same aspiration.
N: But, I thought that it was extraordinary for him to say so. Even we might have thought about this, as a group we barely put it in words.
A: We barely expressed it directly.

S: Somehow, for the discussion among us such as what Ohno-san just talked about, as a result it was me and MatsuJun who talked a lot. Therefore, when a member who normally didn’t say thing like this specifically talked about this dream, what’s more in a surprise manner, that moment I was in great impact.
N: I see, he wouldn’t have said that if not at that moment.
S: However, I had no idea what he was talking about because he cried too hard (giggle).
A: (Giggle) Well, that was the case.
N: I was most touched by that (giggle).
A: I wrote something good (giggle).

S: Speaking of the atmosphere at that time, we wanted to be a group that could do various things. Simply speaking, we wanted to be a group that can do various solo works and various group works. But somehow there was no impactful result and influence left, and we were somehow in frustration.
M: There were moments that we wanted to stand on Dome or Kokuritsu Stadium. I went to watch lives of not only Johnny’s senpais but also other artists, from those time onwards I thought “so live can be held in such places”. We specifically wanted to make this wish come true, and now this wish came true.

Q: So, Aiba-san, has this dream come true?
M: Have we reached the top?
A: We have (giggle).
All: (Giggle)
M: It hurts to be put into words (giggle).
A: It hurts. Let’s not do this (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