Arashi

Arashi

Thursday, December 5, 2013

My Arashi Wish List

Chances are really low that anybody with any power over Arashi's projects will ever see this post, but I'll put it out there anyways. Here are some things I would really really want to see Arashi do, in no particular order (and I might keep adding to this list as I randomly think of more things).

* Do another plot-based PV (like the ones for アオゾラペダル"Aozora Pedalu" and マイガール"My Girl")
I thought it was really cute to see MatsuJun as the encouraging friend who was trying to get the girl to confess to Sho (and that moment when he realizes she's been rejected and he looks at Sho just sitting on the back of the truck; it was like a scene from a dorama, only better because it made my mind jiggle with all those precious Sakumoto fanfic moments...kyaaa!!). And I've always been a sucker for the concept of all five of them as brothers because in my mind, they are kind of like a special family to each other. 

* Do another silly "let's let Arashi loose in a room and see what they do" PV (like the ones for "Happiness" and ハダシの未来 "Hadashi no Mirai") 
Oh my! I really love the PARADOX PV, don't get me wrong. I must have watched it 30 times or more in the first few days it came out, but recently, I rewatched the Happiness PV, and could not. stop. laughing. It was just gold. Pure gold. Arashi wasn't even doing anything that special. There wasn't really choreography, or plot, or any concept except being bright and happy, I guess. But it worked so well just because it was so random. Like, oh yeah! Let's throw in a giant surfboard. And then have Sho in a kimono performing tea ceremony while. And then have Ohmiya grind against each other while the other three goof off the choreo. And then randomly have them in a car. I also liked the PV for "Kitto Daijobou" a lot. It was less improvised since it had some choreography, but it still had the same feeling to it, that these were just five bakas who wanted to have fun! I know Arashi are going in a new, more mature direction right now with LOVE and with the new ANiShi format and all, and I like that side to them (they are in their 30's after all!), but it wouldn't hurt to once in a while remind us that you can be unabashedly sunshine and rainbows still! And hey, maybe there's a way you can be silly and mature at the same time; the concept of the PV could be an alumni reunion or something, and then the five of you get shut into a room filled with random stuff that you play with, and be reminded of the silliness you used to exude as teens. Just a thought. I mean, MatsuJun and Ohno are both doing dramas next year. Nothing's been confirmed, but I'm guessing that means two singles for Arashi, right? Make my PV dreams come true, director-san! Onegaishimasu!

That famous Ohmiya moment in the "Happiness" PV.
*Make a funny detective/action drama starring all five of them as a team. 
I'm thinking something with the team dynamics of Lucky Seven, where there's a lot of verbal bantering between Eita, Jun, Naka Riisa, and Oizumi Yo, with a leader figure like Matsushima Nanako looming as a steadfast, powerful presence that can quell all quarrels between members. Obviously, Ohno has to be the leader! And all five should get equal screen time, but most importantly, their strong bond of friendship/trust in everyday life as well as during glamorous missions should be portrayed. Wouldn't it be cool to see Sho reminding an annoyed Nino to water his cactus as he leaves for a break? Or to see all of them refuse to give up on a member's innocence when they all read slanderous magazine articles about him? Or to see Jun making fun of Aiba's fashion choices as they all spy on his nervous first date with a woman? Or to see Aimiya accuse Jun of being a shameless womanizer?

I realize that they've already sort of done something like this with Saigo no Yakusoku, and if you really want to count it, with the little animation short video included in the All The Best! Clips 1999-2009 collection where they were all superheros (and Sho was Yatterman, of course). However, I don't think there was much characterization of each of them in either of those. To get a good character development and a sense of personality for all five, you really need something longer, like a ten episode drama. Then , you can really get into some backstories/comic side stories. And their personalities don't even have to reflect their real-life images! They're all capable of acting, after all. The real selling point would be their camaraderie (and also the kakkoii of them doing action scenes). 

* Play a prank on Sho-kun while he's at NEWS ZERO
Remember that episode of some V6 show where they pranked all five Arashi members by sending crossdressed boys into their dressing rooms and making them do all sorts of weird things to the members to see if they could get away without being discovered? I want more of that! It would be fun to have Ohno Satoko back again, perhaps as a pretty AD-san, or a fan, or an intern or whatever. And just see how far he can get without Sakurai recognizing him. I mean, Ohno looks so passable as a girl that he could walk the streets of the busiest mall in Tokyo without getting recognized! Obviously, he'd have to change it up a bit since Sakurai's already seen Satoko, or another member could do it. I'm sure that with the right make-up and wig and clothes, they could be pretty unrecognizably beautiful women. Then, they could do things like write weird things on the prompting boards for Sho, and seeing how well he improvises his lines (which he should be capable of doing). They could also screw with his powerpoint screen presentations by hijacking it and inserting a video, related to the topic, but with Nino and Aiba narrating and reporting. It would be fun to see them both effectively steal Sho's limelight on purpose in front of everyone. They could even cheekily say, "Okay! It's our turn! Poor Sho-kun should have a rest now ne~ He sleeps so little, so we've decided to help him out since he always looks after us in Arashi! So we're doing this report!" Sho would be shocked. I know the probability of the networks agreeing to do this is like zero, because News Zero is not a variety show and it's a pretty serious show at that. But maybe if it was a special occasion like April Fool's, the programmers would be more lenient? A girl can dream, you know...

* Play a prank on Nino or Aiba on their solo shows
This could definitely happen. See above. Cross-dressing, appearing as a stalker, or as a guest in disguise, or just messing around in general would be hilarious! I would particularly love to see Sakumoto working together to try to prank Aiba. 

* Do more of those good old Arashi ni Shiyagare skits!
You know what I mean! When an actor aniki comes, they often like to teach Arashi how to do a certain type of acting. Like how to be a yakuza, or how to be a samurai, or how to be a comedian, or that classic SP episode where they were all James Bond type detectives! The new ANiShi format doesn't really leave room for these sort of skits anymore, and I'm sad. I think they should just reserve a corner of ANiShi for Aiba to just pull a paper out of a box that tells them what scene they have to act out. Or maybe they could do tributes to their guests by rehearsing a skit that best exemplifies the guest beforehand and performing it for him/showing him on VTR in the waiting room before they come out. Just a thought. But I do really want the skits back. 

That time on Arashi ni Shiyagare where they had to act as hosts.
 * Make a PV of "Love Situation," "Up to You," and "Intergalactic"
 Oh Kami-sama of the Japanese entertainment world, please make this happen! There are so many songs that I would like PV's to be made for, but I'll just ask for these three for now. Love Situation could be a story, with loads of good dance moves interspersed in between. The dance alone is enough of a reason it should be made into a PV, I think. "Up to You" is just too fun not to be made into a PV. I mean, I can see all sorts of squiggly effects and crayon marks when I hear this song! It's screaming for good computerized images to go along with our boys! And "Intergalactic" is about a dance party on a spaceship. 'Nuff said.

* Release another DVD collection of the PV's released since 2009!
It's the 15th anniversary year, so why not give us poor fans who couldn't buy the Limited Editions the chance to get the PV's for awesomeness like "Wild at Heart" and "My Girl" for guilty home entertainment? One of the best ways I spend my nights is listening to Arashi take me through the years in PV's (and nonchalantly hilarious commentary). I just don't want to have to wait until their 20th anniversary to get all those PV's!

*Release a short video compilation of all Ohmiya SK skits ever done
Please. There are loads of fans like me who couldn't make it to the concerts, and probably never will be able to since we don't have fan club membership. And there are loads of fans in Japan who can't attend concerts since space is limited. But we all really really love seeing those Ohmiya SK skits, even if we're not Ohmiya shippers! And it just kills me that there is probably footage of all those concerts that didn't make it into the DVD's, or when Johnny decided to cut the MC and skit parts out of the DVD's. I mean, that footage could just be lying around somewhere! Please for the love of Arashi just let us have it!

*Have members lip sync/sing each other's solos
Ever since I saw the footage of Ohno dancing and lip-syncing to the other members' solos, I've been itching to see more of it! I also really liked the Yama pair's duet "Oretachi no Uta" or whatever it was called. Please do more things in this vein! Because I bet a "Shake It!" by Sho will have blood spurting out of fangirls by the thousands and I'd love to see the ever macho MatsuJun try to dance to a cute Nino solo like "Himitsu" or "1994##11."And let's make Oh-chan rap! God, I love his rapping voice. And someone should do "Yabai-Yabai-Yabai" because even though no one will top Cute!Jun for that song in my book, I would love to see Aiba try it :PP. Oh, my imagination is making my insides all jelly now!

*Do a HanaDan skit
Remember that one Secret Talk they did (I think it was for the WISH single), where they were acting out a HanaDan scene? Jun actually had the script and I think Ohno or Aiba was playing Makino. I laughed my head off at that, but they didn't really pursue the topic that much in the talk. And I was so so disappointed they didn't decide on who the other F4 members were going to be! Haha, even if they don't do the skit, please someone make them rank each other or assign each other F4 +Makino roles within Arashi! I'd love to see Aiba's reaction when Sho assigns him to be, say, Hanazawa Rui. Haha. Oh this is really trivial, but it would make my day.

*Do more Arashi dates
Remember that episode of Himitsu no Arashi chan where Aiba took Sho out on a date in Chiba? Please oh for the love of all your fangirls, do more of these dates! I want to see all the combis on hour long dates. You should satisfy all your shippers, Johnny-san, not just the Sakuraiba fans.

*More Kanjani - Arashi fun
I loved whenever Kanjani 8 guested on ANiShi or when they had a Mannequin 5 face off or when they had their brief interactions on Kouhaku. Please, do a SP of AniShi or something where Arashi and Kanjani can goof off together!

No comments:

Post a Comment