Archive for the 'quotation qorner' Category

May 01 2008

Dream A Live

I’m a little late on mentioning this, but first week sales for Arashi’s latest album “Dream A Live” came in at 220,722 copies. *cheers* That’s higher than all their albums except for the very first one (which I have never listened to…maybe I ought to). Now, I’m pretty sure that “Time” was a better album overall, but DAL does have some nice tracks. I particularly like “Sirius”. I think it’s safe to say that Arashi’s popularity is still on the rise. I wonder just how far they can go? Edit: Just found out another bit of news. Arashi will be the main supporters for 24 hour Terebi this year. It’s on Matsujun’s birthday too!

I looked, and it’s been almost a month since I’ve posted any quotes! That’s long enough to wait between bouts of bombarding you with quotations, right? In celebration of successful album sales, here are some quotes from my favoritest member.

First, it seems fitting to have some of his thoughts on their own rising popularity. He’s smart, ne?

Nino: Arashi is not the type of group who is frequently praised. Therefore we are not used to being commented on our rising popularity(laughes). … Hence when I was told that we were to hold a concert in a place as big as Tokyo Dome, it was a bit surrreal. At first, I thought it was a prank by a variety show. The big deal about performing in Tokyo Dome is not about the size of the place. When I see the fans filling up all that vast space, in my mind, thinking in the opposite direction, I can imagine that a time would come when all these people would disappear. No matter what venue it is, the fact that there are fans who are coming to the concerts means everything to us. This is something that will never change

January 2008, Nikkei Entertainment
Source

Nino: It was about 1:00 AM and I was already asleep and he called me three times!
Jun: Leader did?
Nino: Yeah. So I thought, “What IS it?” and answered, and in a drunken voice he said, “Ahh, Nino-chan aishiteru yo~ (I love you)
Daily dose of Ohmiya love. <3

2007, Utaban

 

Nino: For me, the meaning of being myself is when I am part of Arashi.

2007, Concert Speech
Source

Nino: I don’t really find much value in acting. After all, I’m not an actor. I don’t really have much attachment to my work or roles.

Now this is interesting, isn’t it? If anyone in Johnny’s deserves to call themselves a legitimate actor, it’s probably Nino by virtue of having a main role in “Letters from Iwo Jima”, but the thing about him is that he is very aware of his status as an idol. He knows that’s what he is, and he’s perfectly content to just be that. Proud of it even.

April 2008, Non’no
Source

Nino (to Ohno): Did you make something today? Your nails are black.
Ohno: I was using resin.
Nino (holding up Ohno’s hand): What? *disgusted* It looks like KAT-TUN or something!
Ahahaha! True, some members of KAT-TUN have a tendency to paint random nails black, but it’s funny how awful Nino thought it was that it looked like Ohno was copying some of their tricks. Oh why can’t my two favorite Johnny’s groups just get along?

2008, HeyHeyHey Audience Report

Source

 

A few comments on the new album…

 

Ohno (on inspiration for his solo track): I had gotten a lot of fish that day.

Nino: It’s a great fishing song! When you sing it, you should have the Johnny’s Juniors lined up behind you fishing.

 

Ohno (on Jun’s solo the title of which is “Naked”): Are you going to be naked for this song too?

Matsujun: I’ll be arrested if I do that. There are security officers all over Tokyo Dome.

Sho: Matsumoto! Secure him!

Nino: And if your arms are being held down by the cops, even if you want to cover your front you couldn’t do it

Matsujun: Well, I’ll be naked in spirit then.

Aw. C’mon Jun-kun. Just a little bit of nakedness couldn’t hurt…

June 2008, Kikinini

Source

 

And finally, one really really cute quote from Aiba who is still trying to make a name for himself in the Member-Ai category. He’s making some gains, but he’ll probably have to do something a little less “awww” and a little more “gay” if he wants to join the elite ranks.

Aiba: It’s already been 9 years since we debuted. Thinking back to Jr. days when I would go play over at Nino or Matsujun’s house makes me nostalgic. Arashi: my friends, family, rivals, companions. For me, ‘member’ is a whole new genre. Everyone is strong so we don’t talk about our problems much, but you can feel the stregnth of our bonds when we’re doing something with all of us, ne. We get along so well. I love Arashi.

June 2008, Popolo
Source

As Always,

 

~Celestia~

 

One response so far

Apr 07 2008

Quotation Qorner: Because I can’t resist queer Arashi Love (I really just can’t)

Published by celestia under quotation qorner, video

I found a collection of translated concert MCs from Arashi’s Summer 2007 concert here, and since I seem to feel that this blog is not inundated with enough Arashi Love, here are a few of the choicer bits. My comments in purple

Aiba makes an attempt at expressing more queer arashi love in order to distinguish himself. They’re talking about songs they like to sing.

Aiba: ‘Only Love’!

Matsujun: So who are you in love with right now?

Aiba: These four people *points to the rest of the group*

A solid effort, but Ohno (group whore) can outdo that easily

 

Sho: And then I said, “Captain, lend me some lip cream (like chapstick)” and he said, “Hmm? Oh, I see” and then *puckers lips towards audience* (there is some debate amongst the boys about whether or not Sho wanted to accept his offer to take it directly from his lips)

Nino: Leader…. (jealousy Nino?)

Sho: I honestly didn’t think he’d take that path

Matsujun: But even so, he was kidding, right? After such a long time..

Sho: Well, it would be great if we could pass this off as a gag, but he’s pretty serious about it

 

A comment by Matsujun in response to that conversation

 

Jun: After all, within the five of us, it wouldn’t be that weird if two of us ‘came out’

 

Truer words never spoken, but let’s cut to chase and let Ohmiya, the undisputed masters of queer Arashi love, have the floor

 

Nino: He kept staring at me that entire set! (referring to Ohno)

Ohno: Well, he always touches me, and he suddenly didn’t do anything today. I kept looking at him and wondering why he hadn’t touched me at all

Matsujun: Why do you sound so disappointed? Shouldn’t it be, “he always touches me and I don’t like it”

Ohno (poutily): but…but…he always touches me. He always touches me!!

 

Of course, Nino gave Ohno what he wanted, groping his butt for a while and then escorting him off-stage with his arm around his shoulder.

This last one is long, but an excellent example of Ohmiya suspicious behavior.

 

Sho: Kitael (concert venue) has only 4 shower stalls

Nino: And how many members in Arashi?

Jun: 5! very good jun, you get a cookie

Sho: Therefore, there is always one person who gets left behind (talks about Ohmiya invading his shower stall together to steal his shampoo, but then forgetting the shampoo and leaving without it because they’re too busy chatting)

Nino: But then when we went back there were no wash cloths

Aiba: Oh, there were five of those in my stall

Sho: You should have said something earlier then, like “Oh, there’s 5 in here!”

Aiba: I thought that everyone had brought their own *shakes head fondly* oh Aiba…

Nino: Therefore, we washed each other with our hands. We rinsed each other’s backs…

Ohno: He washed my butt too

Nino: He has a nice butt

Ohno: Nino also has a very nice…

Jun: Stop that! It’s gross.

. Aw Jun. Why’d you have to spoil the fun? They did return to the subject though and make plans to shower together again after that concert. Then there’s this video, most of which comes from that concert series’s MCs as well. The rest is just bonus Ohmiya love. When Ohno’s calling Nino “futoshi” that’s just a character name from the ohmiya sk skit things. Oh, and I didn’t make this video, btw.

So trouncing around stage like that is obvious fan-service, but I ask again, if it’s all an act for the fans, why is so much going on behind the scenes? Even if it is Japan, I can’t believe that straight men who are just friends would lovingly wash each other’s naked bodies, asses included, with their bare hands just so they have a good story to tell the audience later. Also, in reference to the tackling clip, for god’s sake Ohno, stop making sex noises, and Nino, stop panting like that! You can hear that even the fangirl-filled audience is starting to get weirded out!

Rabu rabu,

~Celestia~

One response so far

Apr 02 2008

Welcome to AibaLand

Published by celestia under quotation qorner, ramblings, video

I’ve decided to do a feature on Masaki Aiba today. This is to make sure that Aiba gets his due, because he’s my least favorite Arashi member, so I’m not usually inclined to write about him very often. I still do love him though. It’s just that he can be kind of…annoying sometimes with his hyperness and his speaking voice. His singing voice is not unpleasant, but it is disconcertingly feminine, so that’s a whole ‘nother problem right there. Plus, he’s the least attractive Arashi member, at least to me. All of that aside though, it’s impossible to hate Aiba. He’s so like a child in so many ways: enthusiastic, sweet, ditzy, emotional, clumsy, and naive. Hating Aiba would be like kicking an unusually cute puppy. Let’s start this off with an attempt to find a decent picture of him.

Now, some quotes!

Aiba: I’d like to try riding on a whale’s spouting water
Interviwer: Is that even possible?
Aiba: Probably not, but isn’t it dreamy?

source

Matsujun: These guys (sho and nino) were shooting a drama, so the other three of us were doing various things to prepare for the concert. Riida was working on choreography and I was planning various things like staging and song order, and Aiba-chan… Aiba was just eating.
Aiba: Yes! In order to keep everybody’s energy up!
Nino: Ohno used his body and Matsujun used his brain, but he didn’t do anything, did he?
Aiba: If I’m not eating, I can’t give energy to everyone!

Interview Question: A song you always sing at karaoke?
Aiba: Arashi’s live song list for two and a half hours. It’s fun! It’s like, “Ah. Just as I thought. I am in Arashi!”

source


Interviewer: How long do you want to keep doing concerts?
Sho:
We can still do them right up to the last minute, can’t we?
Aiba:
I can still dance, even with a cane!

Eep. Lost the source. Sorry.


Interviewer:
You and Aiba-chan have known each other for 11 years now. What is the most unforgettable thing about him?
Nino: Basically, he is a BAKA. (laughs) He can’t do 2 things at the same time. I was talking to another member about that and he got mad and said, “I can so! I can eat newspaper and read breakfast at the same time” I remember I said “That’s amazing. I can’t do that”.

He tells this story too often…
Aiba: When I was in high-school on a class trip I was in the bathroom and a woman came in. I thought, “Oh crap!” and I couldn’t decide whether to hide my crotch or my face.

Aiba: Every day I have a feeling of thankfulness for all of the members. That’s basically because I like everything about all of them. Since we did lots of solo activities, whenever we are together as Arashi I can feel that “sensation”. I think about that kind of thing a lot, but I can’t quite find the words to explain it.

Finally, videos! First, a clip of a concert MC that mostly focuses on Aiba. Subbing credits are in the clip. The subs are in the boy’s image colors (Aiba=green, Jun=purple, Nino=yellow, Sho=red, and Ohno=blue) so you can tell who’s saying what. After you get past the Arashi “YAY!” stuff (they really like to say ‘yay’) it’s pretty much all Aiba trying to make the scoreboard light up, falling on the ground naked, empathizing with birds, and making Matsujun pissy because he’s talking too much. More importantly, it’s a really good sample of Aiba’s personality. really funny.

And a Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi performance. It’s not only Aiba, but there’s lots of Aiba in it. It’s the fake-out ending to last year’s concert tour (there’s still the encore) and he is already just bawling. To be fair, I’m pretty sure I see tears in the eyes of several of the members, but Aiba is definitely the worst.Isn’t he just the cutest thing? I also enjoy this clip because of Matsujun’s facial expression at 3:17 or so (could he be any happier?), Sho patting Aiba on the butt around 2:52 (I’m surprised! usually sho is one of the least gropy members), and because of their costumes. I get the impression that they’re covered with stickers advertising something. Just like racecars!

Now Exiting AibaLand,

~Celestia~

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Apr 01 2008

Step and Go

Published by celestia under quotation qorner, rankings, video

Here is the promised “fun thing” that I have been working on. I’ve made a video ranking what I consider to be Arashi’s funniest choreographed dance moves. Making this video has left me wondering what kind of magic Arashi has that allows them to perform this kind of thing all the time without getting laughed off stage. All too often while making this video, I found myself squinting cross-eyed at a particular dance section and saying, “well sure it’s ridiculous, but is it unusually ridiculous?” I’ve limited it to single choreography because if I included free-style stuff I’d probably have to include 50 clips of Matsujun alone. I did sneak a bit of unchoreographed shenanigans into the introduction though.

This video is kind of an experiment in combining media with commentary to make one neat video package. There are still a few kinks to work out. Some of the volume levels are weird, and I didn’t have high enough quality versions of some of the clips I wanted to use. Still, I’m pretty sure that the end result is amusing. If you are an Arashi fan you will probably grin appreciatively, if you hate them you can go ahead and laugh mockingly, and if you are indifferent, who knows, this might even change your mind. Anyway, be nice. I’m still figuring out this video editing thing.

I think I’ll end with a nice Arashi quote or two. It’s been a while since I posted any. Let’s call these,”Evidence that Arashi lives in their own little Arashi world”

MatsuJun: You know, the other day I thought out of the blue, wouldn’t it be interesting if we held the press conference announcing our marriages all together? (laughs)
Other four: Ahahahaha!
Sho: Just like when we made our debut, the five of us get together, show off our rings (laughs).
MatsuJun: In Hawaii, aboard a boat.
Nino: They’ll be like, “Leaving your brides alone…just how much do you guys like Arashi!?”

Ohno: This is happiness right now, when we’re saying these things.
Other four: You just said something good just now!
MatsuJun: The happiness when the five of us can be together

November 2006, TV Guide
Source

You know, you could solve the problem of abandoning your brides to hang out with your group-mates if you all marry each other. Just sayin’

Matsujun: No matter what, if it’s Party or GOKON, if someone puts “A.RA.SHI’ in Karaoke, we will just have fun just the 5 of us. All surroundings are left behind! (Laugh)
Aiba: I agree! (Laugh) After finishing the entire song, we may just leave.
Sho: “Thank you for today. Will do it again!” Like that? (Laugh)
Nino: Is that a concert or what? Though people who are in the place will be dumbfounded, we will really be satisfied!(Laugh)

May 2008, Popolo
Source

Oh man. Can’t you just imagine this happening? Someone puts A.ra.shi. on karaoke and they break into full song and dance routine, and then go frolic off somewhere together after the song ends, completely forgetting about their dates who are just sitting there going, “WTF? They’re coming back…right?”

Welcome to my happy place,

~Celestia~

free hit counter script

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Mar 09 2008

Quotation Qorner: Pretty boys don’t always play nice

Published by celestia under quotation qorner, ramblings

I might be addicted to quotation qorners. It has been a whole 2 entries since I did one though! BTW, I think that this entry might have been skipped in all the confusion, and I kinda like it, so check it out if you want. For today’s entry, it’s Jin being an ass and Nino being…difficult. I don’t want to call him an ass, so we’ll go with difficult. And yes, I am very biased and I do write about my favorites much more often than the rest of them.

I’ll do Jin first (yeah I will) . I’ve gone to such great lengths to prove that he’s an air-head lately, haven’t I? Truth is, he can be clever on occasion, but those occasions are almost always when he’s taking shots at the other members, particularly Nakamaru and Taguchi.


Jin: If you hear this, it will appear in your dreams.
Ueda:
Jya, everyone, let’s go back.
Jin:
Close your eyes.
Maru:
But its scary…
Jin:
Imagine it vividly in your head.
Ueda:
Iyada! Iyada!(no! that’s awful! similar sentiments)

*dramatic pause*

Jin: Nakamaru when he had long hair!

Summer 2007, Cartoon KAT-TUN

Kame: I heard that if you only think and don’t move for a long time your arms and legs could become paralyzed.

Junno: I’ve never had that happen. I only know sleeping or awake.

Jin: Well, that’s all you know.

November 2007, Cartoon KAT-TUN


Scene: KAT-TUN members have just undergone a personality test where they have to befriend a dog.


Kame:
And coincidentally both Akanishi-kun and Taguchi-kun decided to call the dog ‘John’

Jin: I almost called it ‘Jun’ but then I thought that someone would get mad at me again

Matsujun: *’I hate you so much’-type smile*

Jin and Jun don’t get along (though Jin seems to be trying to mend fences lately). It’s sad because if they were friends I would call them Junji and their combined sexiness could take over the world.

2004, Utawara

Scene: Writing about going on a location shoot to Hokkaido with Nakamaru.

Jin (writing): Nakamaru no baka (Nakamaru the idiot) was asleep for almost the whole trip. I thought about burying Nakamaru no baka in the Hokkaido snow, but Nakamaru no baka was sleeping so peacefully that I stopped myself.

February 2008

So like a spoiled little kid, mad because Maru wasn’t paying attention to him. At least he stopped himself, right?

Scene: Talking about misplacing train tickets

Junno: It makes me feel like I really wasted something

Jin: I know what you mean. I feel like I’m wasting my time talking to you right now.

Cartoon KAT-TUN

Interviewer: Do you ever look at yourself and think, “Man, I’m really cool”?

Jin: Yeah, whenever I’m standing next to Nakamaru.

Unsure, sorry


As for Nino, he’s certainly not mean, but he’s infamous for being difficult to interview. Getting a straight answer out of him that’s not, “<3 Games!" or "<3 Arashi!" is damn near impossible. I think that interviewers must hate him, but oh how I love reading what he comes up with. Sometimes he’ll flat out refuse to answer the questions, sometimes he’ll make up something ridiculous, and even when he gives a plausible answer, since it’s Nino you can never be quite sure if he really means it or not.

One of my favorite examples comes from an attempt to psychoanalyze the boy’s romantic tendencies through a series of questions. This kind of thing is quite common in Japan. Sho, Matsujun, and Aiba gave sincere answers (though Aiba’s were predictably spacey) Ohno gave answers like responding to the question “what time would you pick her up” with the current time and “what music would you play on your date” with the song that was currently playing in the room. Nino seemed to make it his personal goal to stump their psychologist, and I’d say that he thoroughly succeeded.

Q. You have a date with a girl on Valentines day. What time to you meet?

A. Valentines? Let’s see, 3 AM in the morning I think. We should use that day fully.

Q. You’ve gone out for a meal. What is her outfit today? (I’d like to note that Aiba’s answer to this one was ‘Naked!..oh wait, was that bad?’)

A. A judo outfit. Black belt… no, green belt. I guess she’s not strong enough for a black belt yet.

Q. After the meal is over you receive a Valentines present from the girl. What is it? o:p>

A. The belt she was wearing. She’ll say, “because I’ve risen to black I’ll give it to you”

Q. You both are now full. Where to next?

A. Batting center I guess. She’ll catch the ball with her bare hands. It’s to measure the strength of her grip. She’ll catch a ball flying at 120km with her bare hands, release it, then catch another one and another one.


The poor psychologist’s final analysis of Nino is (summarized): Those were some very unusual answers… If I have to pick one, I’d say that rather than romance he just wants to play actively. He really values uniqueness.

You can just hear the psychologist getting more and more pissed off as the interview goes along. It’s great!

March 2008, Duet

source

The little bastard truly enjoys messing with the interviewers.


Nino:
Recently, I always just tell interviewers about playing video games. I’ve really only talked about playing video games in all my interviews for the last three months. They’ll ask me, “What have you been doing recently” and I’ll answer, “Playing video games” and they’ll have this expression on their face like, “AGAIN??” So… I’m going to continue answering that way for the next 3 months too *laughs*

Baystorm (his radio show)


Later Skater,

~Celestia~

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Mar 03 2008

Quotation Qorner: Akanishi says the darndest things

Published by celestia under quotation qorner

I posted some of Jin’s brilliant one-liners already, but this time I’d like to focus on a few that are a bit longer as well as one very short audio clip that you MUST listen to. I’ve come to realize that the thing about Bakanishisms is that they’re really best taken in context, because a lot of the humor comes from how the things he pipes in and says often are from way out in left field and barely connected to the current conversation at all. Don’t worry though. I still have plenty of choice moments to share that don’t require me to transcribe ten minutes worth of dialog. They’re not all exactly stupid…per say, but of that special random/dumb/adorable hybrid nature that can only be classified as ‘Bakanishi’. Hard to describe, but watch Jin for a while and you definitely know it when you see it. My comments are in purple.

Interviewer: If the members of KAT-TUN were musical instruments, what would they be?

Jin: Kamenashi would be castanets… no, the director. Tanaka would be the drums, and Taguchi the flute. Ueda is the guitar… wait, no, the piano. Nakamaru is the amp and connecting cord, and I’m the castanets.

1. ‘director’ is not an instrument

2. Neither is ‘amp and cord’

3. WTF castanets??

March 2008, Potato

source

Scene: Shounen club, some Johnnys are telling stories of when they first met. These are great examples of things that aren’t so much dumb as random and out of nowhere.

Nakamaru: The first time I met Jin was on the second day of our audition. He came up to me and asked, “Are my eyes swollen?” And I thought, “How should I know? I’ve never met you, so I don’t know what your eyes looked like in the first place”, so I just said, “Maybe a little bit”

Jin: What? I don’t remember that at all!

Koyama: I remember the first time I met Jin too. We were at a studio recording and he suddenly came up to me and said, “Your eyes are really narrow”

Nakamaru: Eh??? That was what he said to you on your first meeting? That was the first thing he ever said to you? as a greeting??

Jin: I definitely didn’t say that!

Koyama: You did! I didn’t know what to do, but since Akanishi-kun was my sempai I bowed and said, “Thank you very much!”

2007, Shounen Club

Scene: The members have to write little individual messages about their new single “Signal”. Koki is reading Jin’s aloud.

Koki: This time the world’s attention is focused on the 5 of us. (NOTE: kat-tun has 6 members). We have released our 2nd single. Please listen to it before sleeping! The song name is (various things have been written here and then scratched out)…eh…so please listen to it!

He knows neither the number of members in his group nor the title of their new single? It’s a one-word title! Also, for the record, his handwriting is atrocious. Oh Jin, I do worry about you sometimes.

July 2007, Music Station

Scene: Cartoon KAT-TUN episode with Erica Toda. They’ve prepared her favorite noodle dish using her mom’s recipe. Erica tastes it.

Erica: Ah! This tastes just like my mom’s!

Jin tries it.

Jin (with his mouth full): Mommy!

This earns him a well deserved swat on the head.

January 2008, Cartoon KAT-TUN

Scene: Cartoon KAT-TUN concert MC. The topic is “dramas”

Nakamaru: Speaking of dramas…

Jin:Anou, Dreamboys…

Nakamaru: No!! (Note: Dreamboys is a stage play, NOT a drama.)

2007, Concert MC

And I could go on and on and on…really, you have NO idea how many of these types of things I have. Oh, and don’t feel bad for Jin being shot down by Nakamaru like that, because he’s always taking shots at Nakamaru. Actually, ‘Jin being an ass’ will probably be featured in a future quotation qorner.

And finally, a very short clip from Jin and Junno’s radio show. Apparently Jin is trying to come up with a catch-phrase for himself like Junno’s “iriguchi deguchi taguchi desu!” thing. What he comes up with is just….wow. Just wow. DOWNLOAD ME!!

Another Server

Source


Still here? Okay then, I can’t resist posting another adorable Ohmiya exchange that I just found.

Interviewer: Okay then, were there times in 2007 that you looked at your work partner and thought about how cool he is?
Ohno: Nino’s altogether cool.
Nino: Leader’s also altogether cool.
Ohno: Even when we’re eating, I really don’t know, but he’s cool.
Nino: From the time he comes onto the scene, I think he’s cool. As expected, I think I just respect him.
Ohno: Yeah. I was thinking I feel respected. That’s what I had felt (laugh).
Nino: I adore Ohno-san. Anytime, anywhere.
Ohno: Nino’s profile is really nice when he’s playing games and other such things.
Interviewer: So then, what about points of cuteness?
Nino:
Every bit’s cute.
Ohno: Every bit’s cute. I think he’s cute every day

2007 Fan Club Letter, source

Admittedly, the interviewer is baiting them but still… If I heard a normal, straight and openly dating couple say those things I’d think it was kind of nauseating, but coming from Ohmiya I just think, “Awwwwwwwwwwwww”. You know, Ohno and Nino are many wonderful things, but I’m not so sure about ‘cool’. Also, every bit huh?

Celestiafuuuu~

Don’t get the sign-off? Listen to the audio clip then.

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Feb 28 2008

Quotation Qorner: The Mystery of Ohmiya

Published by celestia under quotation qorner, ramblings, video

Warning: Post contains little to no KAT-TUN.

“The Mystery of Ohmiya” might sound like a good title to a Nancy Drew book or perhaps even an Indiana Jones movie, but what I actually want to write about is one of the most unusual and fascinating features of Arashi: the Ohmiya relationship. Ohmiya of course stands for Satoshi Ohno and Kazunari Ninomiya, who are known to be a little bit too comfortable around each other, making a regular habit of holding hands, playing grab-ass, and generally being joined at the hip whenever Arashi is together. Sure, it makes the fangirls squeal, but after watching 8 years of this and hearing the other members say time and time again that, if anything, they’re even worse when they’re not on camera, makes it difficult to believe that what we’re seeing is mere fan-service. So what the hell is going on? Is there some kind of romantic relationship? Are they just doing this, as they claim, because they’re good friends and it amuses them? Do they like each other that way but they’re in denial so they tell themselves they’re just playing around? Have they gotten so used to the fanservice thing that they do it when the fans aren’t watching just out of habit? Does my collection of Ohmiya quotes have the answer? Here are some of the better recent ones, arranged from “aw, they’re good friends” to “have you no shame!?”

Nino: Even if we meet every day, I still always mail leader (note: he’s talking about cell-phone mail)
Sho: Really? You guys sure get along well.
Nino: If we’re counting, I probably mailed him about 6 times yesterday.

Fall 2007, Anan
Source

Nino: That’s what nakama are (kind of a hard word to translate. maybe companions, but with more friendship implied). In my case, I get the feeling of nakama when I’m alone too. I could really feel it when I was in America, and I watched TV shows with the other four members in them.
Ohno: Who was it that you wanted to see again most?
Nino: Eh!? It was you of course!
April 2007, Non’no

Ohno: Yeah, I dream about Nino-chan all the time.
February 2008, Oricon Style
Ohno answers a question directed at Nino about himself, and surprises everyone by giving the right answer. Note that it’s notoriously difficult to figure out what Nino is really thinking, even for the other members of Arashi.
Sho: Amazing! You two really seem to understand each other. How do you understand Nino so well?
Ohno: Because I love him
November 2007, Polo Polo
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Interviewer: The two of you (Nino/Ohno) seem really close, ne?
Nino: That’s because we’re going out!
Sho: Coming out at last?
Ohno (sheepishly muttering to interviewer): Please don’t write that down…
Nino: Ah, just joking, ne?
June 2007, Wink Up
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Messages on wink-up message board (celebrities leave messages to each other)

It is well known that Chinen from HeySayJump really admires Ohno.
To Chinen from Nino: I will never lose to you!
To Ohno from Nino: Lately there’s a kouhai who’s suddenly appeared and is aiming for Satoshi, but I will never lose, because I’ve always been watching Satoshi!

This exchange is seperate from the one above:
Ohno: Nino, compared to meals, I would rather eat you.

And Nino’s reply in the next issue:

Nino: Me too! I want to eat you too!

2007/January 2008
source

The members are asked to write New Years messages to each other:
Ohno’s message to Nino: Love doesn’t change~(laugh). Shall I say it more? Love for all eternity…
February 2008, Potato
source


Love for all eternity???? Even in jest that’s a very not-normal thing for one guy to write to another, right? Then there’s this video….

Oh, and the clip is mislabled. They were actually in Sho’s bed. Ohno’s bed is the one he retreats to, and Nino is supposed to be rooming with Matsujun. I notice that all too often Sho is an accessory to these quotes and situations. Maybe he’s in on it? I do believe that Matsujun and Aiba are as baffled as I am by their behavior, but Sho… maybe Sho knows something…

Anyway, the best part of that clip is where Sho tells Jun that he found them asleep and cuddling and Jun’s response is not “WTF?” but rather, “They did that again?” And then he just calmly moves on to talking about the book he’s reading.The most incriminating thing is how sheepish and embarrassed Ohno acts. Just look at him in that video. Nino’s cutely confused and sleepy (huh? is it morning already?) but Ohno goes and hides like a little kid who just got caught doing something bad. It’s the kind of illogical, ‘I just woke up’ thinking that probably prompts him to think, “maybe if I don’t show my face they won’t know it’s me!” I think he got woken up when Sho came in and then sort of panicked. If it was all a big joke, then shouldn’t they be laughing and playing along more? Actually, whenever Ohno gets questioned about why they’re so touchy he gets kind of annoyed at the interviewer/the other members and changes the subject. Also, if Ni no Arashi has taught me anything it’s that Nino can’t keep a straight face for very long when he’s playing a trick on someone. Whatever they’re doing, there is no way that I can believe it’s all just a joke.


On the other hand… if there really were something going on there, it’s hard to believe that they would be so damn obvious about it. I know plenty of real life couples who are no where near this affectionate in public. I dunno. Then again, convincing the world that they’re just good friends messing around when they really are secretly more than that is exactly the kind of joke that Nino would enjoy most. It almost fits. Ohno becoming embarrassed because he’s afraid that if Nino reveals too much, their cover will be blown, and Nino vastly amused by seeing how much he can get away with. He totally would…

I suppose that another option is that one of them secretly has romantic feelings but he’ll never admit it because the other one just thinks they’re playing around. Or they both like each other but they think the other is just playing around so neither will admit it for reals! Fanfiction fodder, no? Meh. I don’t believe it. Such pretty stories probably don’t exist in real life.

As happy as it would make me if they would just get married already, my gut feeling is that these two are just both rather strange people (TRUE!) and that whatever this unusually close bond they have is, it’s nothing sexual. Don’t ask me what it actually is because I’m not sure that even Ohmiya themselves know that. Is it possible for two straight guys to fall in love with each other? What if you met someone who you were compatible with in every way except that you weren’t physically attracted to them? Because if so, maybe that’s what’s going on here. Okay, so my official position on the “are they or aren’t they?” question is: They’re not, but they kind of wish they were.

Or maybe I’m totally wrong. I can only hope that when they’re old and retired one of them will write a tell-all book, and then maybe the mystery will finally be solved. Knowing them they won’t though…

Confused, but too entranced to look away,

~Celestia~

Okay, I’ll dedicate one line to KAT-TUN. Remember how I have a student named Tanaka Koki? Well, I was tutoring him today when one of his friends called from across the room, “Oi! Kattun!” and he looked up and said, “What?”. The guy answers to “Kattun” rofl

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Feb 27 2008

New Feature: Quotation Qorner

Published by celestia under quotation qorner

Did I just give this feature the worst title ever? Possibly, but I’m kind of in a weird mood, so just go with it. I have a habit of collecting, amongst other things, translations of interesting things said by my favorite idols in interviews and such. Let’s just say that I have pages and pages and pages of word documents full of them, all sorted by category of course. I think it might be fun to share some of them with whatever readers might stumble upon my humble blog. Even if you’re not a Johnny’s fan, I guarantee that you’ll find at least some of them to be entertaining.

Ah, but what should be the themes for this first set? We’ll have to go with my two favorite types, stupid things Jin says and Arashi being all lovey about their group. Since these are by far my most prolific categories, you may expect more in the future. Where I didn’t do the actual translating, I’ve provided links to where I got them from. Credit where credit is due, right? I can’t promise that the translations I did are 100% accurate, but I think they’re pretty close.

Jin: Such an Adorable Idiot- Probably already known to any fan of KAT-TUN, but worth sharing anyway. I mostly got this particular set from a forum…but I forgot where. Gomen ne!

Jin: (During a concert MC) Thanks to all the fans who gave me a Japanese dictionary with the note ‘please get more intelligent soon’. (he has…problems reading Kanji sometimes, lol)

Koki: I’ve started going to the gym recently
Jin: Ah, but don’t eat too many proteins! It’ll make your eyebrows change color.

Jin: I often see molesters, especially on trains. There’s men and women. Actually… more men than women. *considers* Actually…it’s like 5 or 6 times more men than women.

(Out of nowhere when Nakamaru had been talking about his interest in space)
Jin: There are people living on Mars
Maru: Huh?!?!
Jin (totally serious): No really! It’s true!

Jin: I fell asleep on the train and missed my stop. You can’t blame me though! In my dream, I was also on the train, and when it was my stop, I got out like I was supposed to.

Jin: At the moment I don’t have a bed, so I sleep on a futon. I jumped on the bed I had before and now one of the metal pipes is bent and I can’t use it anymore.

Jin: One of my ancestors was Italian, so Italy is practically my hometown!


Arashi Wuvs Each Other -These are my favorite recent quotes, one per member! +1 more of nino because I love him


Nino:
When there are the other four around, I don’t need other friends because it’s enjoyable, and that is enough for me.

Jun: Ah! He said it! He is the person in charge of saying “I love Arashi” *laughs*

May 2007, More Magazine

Source


Sho:
There’s a conclusion that I got recently, that for me Arashi are friends, work partners, and family… If asked, for our 10th anniversary how would we want Arashi to be, then the answer is, ‘to not change’ because I keep thinking that our present selves now are the best!

September 2007, Nikkei Entertainment
Source

Question: What do you treasure most?

Aiba: Arashi

2007, Myojo

Interviewer: Do you feel different when you’re working with the five members of Arashi than when you’re working alone?
Ohno: Different hmm? When I’m alone I sometimes think “Ah! The other members aren’t around!” When the five of us are together, I feel safe. They are guys that I really trust and so I really rely on them a lot. ha ha
Interviewer: Of course. It does seem like the relationship between Arashi’s members is always rapidly improving.
Ohno: It is, huh? I feel that way too. It feels like Arashi’s atmosphere has somehow been improving every year. Could this be the best year so far?

February 2007, H Magazine

Jun: The relationship with the members… I can’t really put it into words. I feel like it’s a combination of various things. If someone asks me “are you family?” I don’t think it’s that we’re family, but if someone asks, “Are you friends?” I don’t think it’s that we’re friends. It’s more like friendship and family combined. There are things that we can do because it’s us five. If it wasn’t the five of us, we couldn’t have done it!

2007, Myojo Magazine

Nino: We are able to do anything for each other. It’s because we trust each other that we’re able to go out and do the things we like (solo projects). Because there’s a place to return to. There’s this feeling of “I’ve finished what I wanted to do. Now I’m back”

January 2008, Nikkei Entertainment
Source

Lots of Warm Fuzzies!

~Celestia~

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