Aiba-chan - Every Girl Needs a Friend Like Him

Unnecessary newsflash: I'm in love with Aiba.

A sign of Aiba-chan getting comfy: when his socks are half-off ^-^

Heh, tell me something I don't already know, right? 

Well, anyways, after watching two nights of 24時J家が生で悩み解決できるの (2014.04.02 and 2014.04.09, if you're curious), I have come to the conclusion that there is really no part of Aiba I don't like. 

And I promise this post won't be just about me flailing over Aiba. I promise. Really. I will restrain myself, hard as it might be to do so.

Pikanchi 2.5 - Back to the slummin' days when nothing mattered but their friendship

It all started back in 2002. In some movie theater in some corner of Tokyo, a group of the strangest five delinquents were brought to life on the silver screen. It was done without much fanfare, this curiously titled coming-of-age movie: ピカ☆ンチLIFE IS HARD だけど HAPPY (Pik☆nchi Life is Hard Dakedo Happy in English). Just an unremarkable indie film at the time, some castaway project handed down to some floundering Johnny's group, something I would probably have just shrugged at and glanced past if I had known of its existence back then. I'll admit that I'm the kind of person who usually likes the big flashy blockbusters; I'm easily lured by awesome effects and slick cinematography and all those other things in a movie that typically requires deep pockets on the part of the producer. So yes, if I hadn't become a fan of Arashi, I would probably never have looked twice at a movie like Pikanchi.

And my my, how deprived I would have been if that had been the case.

Put your hands up if you want more slummy Arashi acting nothing like the idols they
are today! Wink at me twice if you remember what they're watching in this scene (¬‿¬)

My Seal of Approval Given to the Powered Up Arashi ni Shiyagare (嵐にしやがれ)

Guys, remember when I said that I had hope for the powered-up Shiyagare, despite its faults? Well, hmm... let's think, what has it delivered so far?

There was that funny Yowakutemo SP (aired 2014.04.05) where Arashi had a friendly competition on how who could take the ever-kawaii Arimura Kasumi on the best date and then spent the night trying on leather jackets, roasting meat, and singing (badly) in a smoky BBQ mise with three of the ikemen cast. 

And then, there were the two episodes (2014.04.12 and 2014.04.19 eps) where Arashi once again (seriously, they're never going to outgrow this) donned the good old high school uniforms and attended lectures from Miura Asami and Suzuki Nana, who both showed an exceptional talent at bringing out the cute, the droll and the awkward in our five boys. Not the mention that the Suzuki Nana episode had another segment which featured some sorely missed Arashi Engrish as some, um, Hollywood 'sturrs' came to visit? *hint hint, Jamie Foxx, Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield*