Thoughts on the most recent Arashi variety shows?

[kohanu.livejournal.com]

I find it interesting how their early shows like G no Arashi, D no Arashi, and especially Mago Mago Arashi focused on interacting with normal people, helping them and such. It was such a great feeling to watch them honestly do that, especially in MMA.

And now that they have more money I guess, their shows focus more on other famous people as well, like in Arashi no Shukudai-kun, VS Arashi, and Himitsu no Arashi (especially, but they still have childminder episodes).

What do you guys think?

I love the new shows, but I miss the ones like GnA and MMA when they mainly focused on helping people. :)

EDIT: One more question: Do you guys think that Arashi is enjoying it? From what I watched, it seemed like they do to some extent, but they don't look like they're having as much fun as when they did older shows.

Comments

[silverxrainx.livejournal.com]

me too! And they used to be really hyper when they go on location shootings, especially Riida XD I miss those days :(

[kohanu.livejournal.com]

!! Riida WAS a lot more hyper! I miss them too >

[epinette.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I think MMA was really one of the best shows they did. Cooking for kids, helping out grandparents - definitely touching and full of fun! :)

The new shows are good too, still full of Arashi crack no matter what.

Would love them to continue with MMA someday :D

[kohanu.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I actually just started watching MMA because I heard it was really good, so I'm watching all the episodes in order and it's really touching :D

[flange5.livejournal.com]

I was just thinking how much harder it would be now for them to do a show like MMA or G no Arashi, as much as I adore both of those shows . . . partly because of their schedules (which to be fair, were insane then as well, but seem even worse now . . . ) and partially because of the level of saturation they have in terms of visibility now . . . hmm . . .

[kohanu.livejournal.com]

... saturation? what do you mean? :O

Good point - their schedules really ARE crazy. I'm guessing epecially Sho, I mean, Zero right after the last Kokuritsu concert where they became soaking wet? >

[xoalice88ox.livejournal.com]

I also LOVED (times infinity) the old shows.
I loved watching Arashi interact with normal citizens, and I loved seeing them with kids xDD

The new shows, such as HnA, VSA and AnS.

Personally, I like AnS a lot, even though it doesn't show Arashi interacting with normal people or kids.
I think that show shows the most "natural" Arashi, and I love the bakaness we can get from it XD

As of HnA, I think the latest ones are nice. I like looking at the mature side of Arashi (ie. Host Royale. that corner's just plain hilarious :P)
But the HnA from a bit before, the ones before this new one, was quite...boring. I don't find it interesting watching Arashi watch... YouTube videos. I wanna see them moving and being themselves. loll.

VSA. I've never fully loved that show, although I do like it a lot. You can get many Arashi dorkness/cuteness/rabuness(xD) from that show, I think. That show requires team work, and I like watching their team work from it ^^

But I must say, I want to see more MMA kind of things from these shows :)
Hopefully, HnA would have those corners again. Or AnS.

[kohanu.livejournal.com]

ME TOO - I found HnA kinda boring... currently I actually skim some of the episodes to parts that look interesting, or just dl the clips. The bakkoi thing was really cool. But yeah, I think that's their most mature show yet.

My favorite ones are actually AnS and MMA. You're right, AnS really IS crazy... and I'm hoping they'll have another show as wacky as that once the contract ends... :(

The goodbyes on MMA really make me cry sometimes.... xD I loved it, so touching, and especially the fact that they're interacting with the eldery (not just youth).

[harunomasu.livejournal.com]

Well, if you consider their schedules, it's better for them to have shows that didn't require them to go out of location (even though I miss MatsuPi tv shopping and the nakimushi team T___T)

VS show us just how well their teamwork is in a game, so I personally think it's a good show (my fave one, of course :D). They occasionally talking with each other using the casual words in VS, so that's why I love VS a lot. And from where can we know that Sho fails in sports with flying colors except in VS? xD

Up until now, I still can't like HnA. I only watch some episodes and get bored easily. I prefer the first format. I think it's good. The newest one is not a show about revealing secret anymore.

About AnS, I have no complain. Even though I'm not crazy about it, I don't like it that much ^^;

[fseventh.livejournal.com]

We can't avoid these changes right. They practically had almost no time to do those kind of old format shows. Just for comparison in the past, Jun barely had time to do Mago Mago Arashi, for now we can imagine all of them had a tight schedule like Jun. 3 regular shows per week, 4 for Aiba, more for Sho that had to be newscaster and prepared a lot of things. Plus they have concerts in large scale areas that need more preparation and everything because we know Arashi involved themselves in concert preparation. Not to mention of hectic schedule for drama.

I think Arashi had past "that era" when they still had more time in their hand. I bet they must be miss those old days, but situation that they have now is different. Although we, fans, love to see those old days back, but we must consider their health too.

Personally, I think those old shows have introduced Arashi to a lot of people from different age, sex and social status. And because they did that with sincerity, people was touched with that and continue to support them. Perhaps those people (as their "partner" in MMA, GnA, DnA etc) when they see how big Arashi now, they will remember their memories with them and said to people around them "Hey, these guys are the guys who... They are really nice" I always have that image in my head.

Now actually it's the time for their kouhais to interact with normal people in their shows. If they can touch people's heart like Arashi, they will have improving careers like what Arashi has ^__^

[godsgirl7.livejournal.com]

Exactly. They just don't have time for regular location shoots anymore. :/ Since they're so much more famous now than they were back in the day, it can't be helped.

[heysaydye.livejournal.com]

The child minder parts still have a celebrity focus since all of the parents were famous at one time or another.

[extirpate.livejournal.com]

双子は同じと思います。

Though I am still glad Degawa is still on their shows, if only to have ice poured down his back haha

But then they are more popular now and have golden time slots, I guess because of that they have to produce more... less crazy shows. At least Shukudai is still late evening/early morning so it can be more... outrageous (where is the outrageousness lately? it's still no air guitar in G haha MINOR SPORTS BANCHOU, sugoi).

[smile-arashi.livejournal.com]

Yea I miss those shows too. =[ Especially the dorky, hyper Riida. XDD
But I am glad that Arashi still works with the same producers. ^___^ Haha I honestly love when the staff would be shown on tv. XDD I want to at least see some kind of reunion with some of those people on D and G no Arashi as well as Mago Mago. XD It'd be fun to see Meguro-san again! 8D

[c-alen.livejournal.com]

hmm...
make me wonder what happend to meguro-san now..
is he still big or getting smaller..?

[missmomoko.livejournal.com]

I miss the kind of intimacy you got when you were watching things like D No Arasi, G No Arashi e.t.c. It was more like watching five boys mess around and have a laugh. I still love watching ANS though, especially when they have the no money specials and aibaland!

[novemberbaby.livejournal.com]

I really do miss the older shows. It's just fun to see the five of them goofing around (not that they aren't doing that right now) and actually spending time with people that they might have never thought they'd meet.

[kohanu.livejournal.com]

Really great point. They've outgrown thigns like MMA, but I'm hoping they'll never truly outgrow their wackyness. It's a big part of what makes people love them so much, after all.

[floweranza.livejournal.com]

I miss those shows too! But really - with popularity comes prudence. And I would rather they be safe. :\

Do you remember the HnA where they went to meet with the very tall guys from China? They had to have a security team follow them and stand guard on the sidewalk. They can't really do things like walking around with their staff and crew anymore. It would definitely draw big crowds and be super unsafe for them.

AnS is still in the spirit of the old days, even though they probably have more forces to answer to now. They still have the same staff and everything. That's a good thing!

[sapah-fu.livejournal.com]

IAWTC :)

[abtomat.livejournal.com]

basically since they got more money, they can afford to do things outside of location shooting and become more studio centered. Plus, they're able to have a live audience now in all their shows, so that also kind of restricts them inside the studio. I really miss arashi messing around with local pple too! and doing crazy things. I suppose they think more pple will watch if they do stuff in the studio? or that they already exhausted location shooting? I dunno but I really wanna see them do their old stuff. I feel like they're more entertaining that way too!

[sunghyeon.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I definitely miss DnA. ;A; It was so interesting and fun, and there was alot going on.
I wish they'd sit in the studio less and go out and do stuff.

[eyeslikefirefly.livejournal.com]

I just miss them interacting with children.
On the short-lived Childminder episodes of HnA, Sho with that celebrity's baby girl and how she clung to him, and Nino being fed soup by the baby... NOTHING can top those kinds of moments. :(

MMA was definitely THE best show they ever did. I almost cried when I heard it was ending.

[amyrose92.livejournal.com]

Yup I definitely agree! The early Arashi days were super sweet, especially MMA. I love when they were helping as "grandchildren" because you could really see their personalities. They were really sincere. I can't say for our recent shows (as far as I know, they're still honest I guess) but the early days were a lot more memorable.

[kohanu.livejournal.com]

I totally know what you mean.

It's a sort of restricting feeling in studios, you know? I still enjoy it, but it can't compare to when Arashi was going different places and doing different things, interacting with different people.

[squints63.livejournal.com]

LOL I like how you said "normal" people. Weren't most of the people they showed like somewhat strange or outliers of status quo? I'm speaking from d arashi.. g arashi, i guess one or two instances... mago mago had really old people or young children..

what I really love is no matter who they are interacting with, they are pretty much the same in the way they behave... so I haven't really noticed much of a difference. Famous people are famous, but in the end they are still people who have to participate with group activities, and eat the expired food they happen to open up.

[elizajet.livejournal.com]

I really loved the older shows, and I would love to see them do more skits like that, but I feel like right now they are at a place where due to schedule, age and visibility it wouldn't be possible.

Plus, I think if they still did it and didn't change their shows a lot, it wouldn't be as special if that makes sense.

I like watching them interacting with certain celebrities (like Becky and the Hana Yori Dango thing was hilarious) especially when they just act goofy. The Host Royale and VIP Rooms are great seeing them in suits :D because it shows a more mature side of them.

[lowlyfruit.livejournal.com]

Oh, I agree exponentially. XDD

I really miss those times that they frequently went out of the studio and worked with people. Seems like they're always in the 4 corners of the studio more often than not. Well, those times I guess they were still kind of free to move around since they were still somehow looking for their place. STILL, I miss their craziness whenever they went to location shoots. I mean, I'm not totally missing them, since they do go back and play A no Arashi and Aiba Sugoroku from time to time. :D

I read the first comment about a hyper Riida and YEAH. I MISS THAT SOOO MUCH.I noticed that after starting Shukudai-kun, Riida gradually reduced his talking. He was still really noisy in the earlier episodes, but toned down a lot since then. D: I miss Riida's flail.

XDD Nice question. Thanks for making me think.

[mjlights.livejournal.com]

yea.....i wonder what happened?.. I notice that when sho started hosting the whole show....ogura san and ohno have lesser screen times... he's a good host but sometimes I wish that these two would talk more like the olden days of AnS

[melonz139.livejournal.com]

I think one of the reasons we all love arashi is because of their dorkiness, hence that is why we yearn for more older type bankumi. the reason I love AnS is that they are able to show this side of them, like in the food segment and ailando. HnA was boring in the midseason because for me it seems it is not arashi show but like the othello duo show. even what pissed me off was in the summer vacation special ( do you remember the one that they went to chiba peninsular), nino and ohno loss the right to eat while they didn't have to compete at all. now, maybe it just me *being protective towards our ichibans* but hontou that annoyed me. I found that if arashi who conducts the show (like the first couple of episodes), the momentum and feeling is different as they will show their dorkiness and genkiness, especially aibachan, eventhough that meant watching 6 episodes on ageha! XD

sorry for the long comment. please be assure i have neutral feeling and favourabilty towards the orthello duo, eventhough lately, I find matsushima is annoying.

[zephyr-reef.livejournal.com]

your not alone melonz139. i to0 find matsushima is annoying recently. plus i can't believe that she didn't even know that nino starred in hollywood movie directed by clint eastwood. i thought they did a big promos out of it. impossible she wouldn't know.

[matsujunki3.livejournal.com]

So far, I have enjoyed all their variety programs(that I have seen). I like seeing the members be put in many different type of situations such as being grandkids, cooks, hosts, mannequins, game contestants, youtube video audience(lol), and the like. It shows me more about them than just seeing them in one format.

So far, I feel that the most serious of their shows is C no Arashi. They were placed in many difficult real life situations and had to handle difficult people. D:

But all shows have shaped up our boys nicely, so I am happy that they have grown to be a such considerate and sincere group. ^-^

[godsgirl7.livejournal.com]

I agree~ I really like their current shows, but nothing compares to D no Arashi. I miss them having a low budget. XD I guess, before they were as famous as they are now, they were more free to do what the wanted. Now I think they're a lot more restricted, especially on shows like Himitsu, since it airs on prime time and, like the boys themselves have said, they have to make sure that the show can appeal to anyone, not just Arashi fans. Hence, less random crap, more famous people.

Of course, the longer G no Arashi aired, the looser the definition of "helping people" became. XD

[nezuko2109.livejournal.com]

As much as I love the old shows (I admit that sometimes I miss Matsupi TV Shopping and minorsports too much >__<), I don't think I can be happy if it's revived, `cause taking their hectic schedule into account, it's just more and more work, which is the least thing I want them to do now T___T

For the recent shows, I love AnS and VSA.
At first I thought VSA would be boring, `cause they would play the same game, but I'm glad to find out it's not. I love to see they boys' teamwork, their determination not to lose and most importantly, their fail after fail, `cause their reactions are the cutest, ever! It's not everyday that you can see Jun taping his feet in regret or Nino sulking in the corner :P

In AnS, we can see the boys interacting more with each other, and how they adapt to various kinds of guest. Besides the food corner is amazing, not only because of my love for food and my obsession over my OTP Arashi x food, but I've always considered food = culture, and that corner made me look up more about the dishes and find something new ^^

The same happened with HnA's old format. Somehow it got a little boring, but I learnt a lot from that ^^ The new format is fun, but it lost original meaning of the show .____.

Anyway, what I'm going to say is cheesy, but whether new or old, as long as Arashi is still Arashi in their TV shows, I'm still watching them ^^ That what matters most for me.

[harunomasu.livejournal.com]

Wow, you miss the Matsupi TV shopping too! xD We're totally the same on this haha. I really want to watch their stupidness while presenting the items for their tv shopping show lol

Somehow, I really like the old format of HnA, the first one. It really gives you the impression of "revealing secrets". Now, it's not like that anymore. It's just them having fun lol

I love VS the most too! :D Too bad I'm not that interested in AnS haha

[zsilverdragon.livejournal.com]

I've been having these same sentiments recently as well. Their current shows just aren't like what they used to be. The only one I still enjoy is AnS but only because it still feels like DnA and GnA, and Aiba is reviving his old games =D. HnA's original concept was good, but somewhere along the line they lost their focus and now I'm not sure what the show is about (I did enjoy the youtube videos though which felt like they were trying to return to their original concept of discovering 'secrets'). I think the problem with HnA is that it is longer than their other shows so sometimes things feel dragged out. VS hasn't been too bad with lots of fail, but there really isn't much I can comment on it ^^; I think I might be different from most fans in that I don't like MMA that much (it consitutes most of the Arashi vids on my HD waiting to be watched, lol). There were a lot of golden moments in MMA but there were also slow moments too. I think its mostly the slow episodes I have left ^_^ Overall, I understand how they have moved on from those days with their maturity, popularity and tighter schedules (I remember Nakai teasing them by calling MMA 'Mago Mago Ohno' becuase he was the only one free to appear on it the most xD) but it doesn't mean we can't miss them or admit they were better~ :)

[ultravi0l3t.livejournal.com]

i'm with you!
i miss the MMA and stuff like that. where they interact with normal ppl
that was soo cute:D

but now their shows are still hilarious so i love them too...but i guess they should have at least 1 show that interacts with normal ppl...

like someone said before tho...they're prob way too busy now ...
and i seiruosly don't understand how they can do 3 shows a wk, concerts, photoshoots each month, solo shows, dramas and movies when they are in them, recording their music
seriusoly...crazy busy!!!

all the more respect =D