Question about the AnS No Money Specials.

[chiyame24.livejournal.com]

This may be a stupid question and you can delete if you want but i was just wondering about something.

Why is it that Arashi no Shukudai-kun has so many No Money specials? Not that i'm complaining, i think they're really funny and entertaining when it's just Arashi but i just can't understand how the show seems to go broke so often! Does it not have good ratings in Japan or something? I find that hard to believe, especially as it's been airing since 2006. It is because they use so much money on all those really expensive foods?
This is my first time asking a question and i'm not sure if it's already been answered before so sorry if it's annoying. I'm just a curious Arashi fan!

Thanks in advance!

Comments

[corlee1289.livejournal.com]

Eto, if you watch the shows...

You should realize that they spend a fortune on the food segment for the guests!!

For example, there was that one with all the cakes (the one with many flavors and the one with the panda). Those cakes alone were quite expensive and the show actually buys them...

One of those, anything to please the guests things...

So Food Segment = BIG MONEY SPENDAGE!! So they need to "save" money.

But come on! I love the No Money Specials!! Bring the Stockings BACK!!

[chiyame24.livejournal.com]

Hehe yeah that's what i thought but wasn't sure.
Yeah i love the No Money Sp's too! They're always so fun!! ^-^

[onlythepresent.livejournal.com]

There is the food which can get quite pricey especially if the guests request gourmet things. Then some of the guests themselves are pretty popular and the show probably has to pay quite a bit to get them on. Also they recently said that their No Money Specials seem to be getting higher ratings than the other episodes. Also there are props they have to bring in for certain games and such.

All in all it's not really that surprising that the show goes broke every so often. But really so long as they keep on doing the dice game I'm all for these specials.

[chiyame24.livejournal.com]

I wonder do they fully realise that fans are watching the show for them and not the guest! They totally don't need expensive guests! Just as long as they keep doing those baka Ailand games!! ^_^

[j-halo7.livejournal.com]

I have to disagree with you on this. Sure, ultimately fans are watching for the Arashi crack but I think that the guests and Ogura-san too are important as a catalyst to produce even more funny moments. If it's always Arashi x Arashi, it might get boring sometimes. Arashi x Guest/Ogura-san = room for unexpected things to happen. For example, if they made the show like C/D/G no Arashi, what are the chances of them talking about Sho and Aiba taking a bath together, them playing the epic oppai game since it was themed to Ayase Haruka and other pretty epic moments too. Lastly, I enjoy knowing and learning more about the guests. Before watching AnS, all I knew were JE people, some singers and groups and some actors and actresses but now I know more comedian groups.

[kohanu.livejournal.com]

Which all the more proves that we should have a JUST arashi show again, like C/D/G no arashi :D

[chiyame24.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with you there!! ^_^

[corlee1289.livejournal.com]

Really? Wasn't Aiba the one who said that because the viewership dropped was why he did the Arashi Around the World board game?

But I don't care!! Having Degawa + Arashi was a win! They really should bring back the stockings! <3

[onlythepresent.livejournal.com]

I think the money special before that Jun said something about the no money specials being popular. (I haven't seen the around the world one yet so I don't know)

They should but I think he's still scared of Jun from the Ni no Arashi prank Arashi pulled on him. :)

[ninosuki.livejournal.com]

Yeah they also said all their money went to the $$$ food, but really I also wonder why they don't get a higher allowance for their show. Not all dishes they present are that expensive. A lot of them are under 1000 yen. hahahaha~~~

[charurei.livejournal.com]

I don't think they are really broke. It's just the staffs' evil way to show dork!Arashi. They've been doing this since DnA.

[chiyame24.livejournal.com]

Hehehehehe yay for the staff then! :P

[silverxrainx.livejournal.com]

LMAO that's what I thought too

[lowlyfruit.livejournal.com]

I wondered that too but, from Arashi's explanations when the start of the Okane ga Nai Special, it really is because of the show's costs, with the food (those cakes were just.... *drools*) and the props that sometimes get damaged or whatever (MarvelousJun's wine and plates were also counted as expenses) but it's mainly on the food. :D

And I agree with charurei! :D The staff has been with them for years and know of the possibilities that can run wild when Arashi is allowed to run free. :DD Aiba Sugoroku and those weird experiments are love. :DD

[a-monchan.livejournal.com]

well it started 'cause of all the expensive food for the guests and stuff... but then, i think they got better ratings, or something, 'cause at one point, they were doing them every other week!!
don't get me wrong, though, i love these things XDD they remind me of old DnA and GnA<3

[rininjapan.livejournal.com]

lol. I think "No money" is an excuse to have Arashi fooling around. The first one probably was due to a lack of funds (or perhaps their guests had to reschedule too,) but I think it happens so often now because the staff actually saw that ratings go up even without the guests.

Pre-Shukudai-kun days, I'm sure fewer people were watching the show, but with the introduction of ZERO, a studio audience, and the concept of proper stars as guests, as well as with Arashi's rising popularity, more people began to watch it late at night. (Technically, Jun himself is a viewer, simply because he's gotten addicted to ZERO and then just watches Shukudai-kun after.) I think after a while, they forgot about Arashi x Arashi because well that wasn't bringing in ratings. Then they run out of money, and HOLY WHIZZER, Arashi is more popular than they thought! Especially with Arashi's tenth year, (and their upcoming takeover of NTV, "The Shukudai-kun Channel") they're also probably trying to give Arashi more air time.

Besides, you would have thought D no Arashi would have had "No Money" specials too. That show spent money on popular guests, location shoots, materials for Aiba's experiments, AND PAID its viewers to send in info. G no Arashi lost the guests, toned down the studio and stopped paying viewers. Interesting...

PS The show itself isn't as popular as you might think. It's in the middle of the night, is hosted by five of Johnny's prettiest boys and Ogura-san, and features random, well-known but only semi-popular guests (usually popular to female fans either Arashi's age, or Ogura-san's age, due to what they've featured.) What is there for the business man, second-year male college student, or older male to watch? The show itself is also not actually advertised at all. If however, you get Arashi doing stupid things or you have "Oppai Games", that's entertainment and will attract even male attention simply because we all love to laugh! <3

Again these are my theories. Arashi themselves (as well as their Jimusho) are fascinating case studies of marketing a product to the public.

PPS Location shoots are far more expensive than any of the food they bring out. Those cameras cost a fortune to "hire out" and transport safely. So with the introduction of proper guests, AND food, they've become a lot more studio based.


PPPS My fave "super no money" special of Shukudai-kun was when they had an NTV reporter in the booth going over 2008's 24 hr TV and Sho-chan jumped in straight from ZERO. That was great! That's REAL "NO MONEY" for you! (Bet Sho-chan appeared out of the goodness of his heart, because I doubt he was paid for that appearance. Fan service!)

[corlee1289.livejournal.com]

Eh?!

Do you recall what episode it is with the one where Sho comes straight from ZERO?

[rininjapan.livejournal.com]

The episode straight after 24hr TV 2008. So one of the Mondays around 30th August 2008.

He gets there at the end of the ep because he's in a whole other studio but he's in his full ZERO outfit. It is one of only two times you will see "Sakurai-san" and Sakurai Sho as the same, more-relaxed person.

[shokim.livejournal.com]

Its the episode aired on Sep 1, 2008.

That episode also showed Jun being gifted with his olive oil birthday present from the other members. Member ai!! <333

[twinklestarlove.livejournal.com]

ep 99, i think, it's subbed by stormy team

[albafica-35412.livejournal.com]

Sounds interesting. I heard about it some time ago. Do you know where i can watch that episode?

Thanks in advance

[rininjapan.livejournal.com]

The episode straight after 24hr TV 2008. So one of the Mondays around 30th August 2008.

He gets there at the end of the ep because he's in a whole other studio but he's in his full ZERO outfit. It is one of only two times you will see "Sakurai-san" and Sakurai Sho as the same, more-relaxed person.

[twinklestarlove.livejournal.com]

think it's ep 99, subbed by stormy team...

[godsgirl7.livejournal.com]

I agree! Except that I would argue D no Arashi did have no money specials. They just called them "udauda" specials back then. XD

Of course, maybe they really do run out of money still. I have no idea. I mean, it is a late night show, like you said. (I was reading through these to see if anyone else was going to point that out.) But Arashi x themselves being awesome enough to make the show awesome is also a factor, I'm sure. Which is probably why they've been trying to find more ways to mix it up, like bringing back Sugoroku so much lately, when they almost never did it in Shukudai-kun before.

I personally think it's about time Shukudai-kun got revamped. It's been the same for a really long time, and I for one am ready for a change.

[harunomasu.livejournal.com]

Actually, it's just a segment for fun. Just take it as a joke :D

They've been doing this since DnA era. Except in DnA they called it "Uda Uda", literally means meaningless, useless, etc.

[rininjapan.livejournal.com]

lol Good point! We miss those UDA UDA specials, but when they tried to bring it to ANS, they didn't work as well. It's just not as great without the handycam look! <3

[abtomat.livejournal.com]

it's cuz of the recession, its also hit the tv world in japan. ratings have generally gone down around the time of the recession too so it's getting pretty hard for those tv channels. and I guess since no money specials are doing well they don't mind doing it again and again.

[abtomat.livejournal.com]

just to clear up-when I said ratings have gone down, I mean for all shows and channels, some more so than others. if you noticed, drama ratings have been going down each season, the new high is like 13%

[drigby.livejournal.com]

I think that the No Money specials are also a way of coming out with episodes on their very tight schedules. I think that time is a more important commodity in these episodes than the actual budget. Note that they almost always seem to have a strict deadline. You can easily squeeze in the filming of each episode after filming another. Having no guest or a guest they can easily schedule also allows for easier casting. As they are very very busy as a group this year, hence more No Money specials.

About the food, it is entirely possible that they do not spend as much as we think because oftentimes, the name of the store is mentioned and that is advertising, so they may be getting food for free or at a discounted rate. Didn't they get matsutake mushrooms from the distributor at wholesale prices?

Also, these episodes give the boys a chance to be dorky and to kinda relaxed in a way as they do not have to interact with guests that much.

[arisan.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I was going to say just that about the food. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if certain restaurants agree to give 1 dish free in exchange for advertising... especially with Arashi's target audience. A lot of them probably are the type to keep up with trends, etc - people restaurants would be interested in advertising to.

[drigby.livejournal.com]

Also, a lot of times, the owner, chef or a representative (especially if it were a foreign restaurant) would come down and prepare the food. This makes me think that the stores or restaurants want to have their food presented in the best way possible, and thus most probably are sending the food for free in exchange for free advertising.

Another thing, during the board game No Money episodes, exotic food are also provided Arashi as rewards so I really think that food expenses are just an excuse.

[faifantc.livejournal.com]

In their first-ish specials, they often said that the economy was bad, and everyone has a budget for shows, and since AnS costs lots and lots of dinero, they have to keep that in mind and be careful not to overspend and stay within the budget and cut down when necessary.

[nicadj.livejournal.com]

I think the first No-money ep was because of the food. The subsequent ones were just excused to have arashi fooling around and being too darn adorable. haha. I love no-money specials. They're fun to watch

[shakanen.livejournal.com]

sometimes the No Money specials show the VTR that are cut out of the episodes, and I think that it is also a way of saving money, getting the unused videos out of the waste basket XD XD

... and yes, just like the meaningless episodes in DnA <3 <3 <3

[ringononohara.livejournal.com]

That's a really good question... I had thought that it's just an excuse for Arashi to play around, or if they couldn't schedule a guest for that week?

As to the show being broke because of the expensive food, I had thought of that, but then the restaurants gets advertising! Imagine how much money they'd have to pay to have air time, not to mention to have Arashi eating the food and riida's "umai!" comment! It'd probably be way more expensive to have Arashi eat the food and display it on TV than to just provide the dish?? I'm sure even if some restaurants won't provide the food for free, there would be tons of others willing to do it...

And I've always been curious... does anyone know of a site that lists shukudai-kun's ratings?? And Himitsu and VS's too??

[coolncute.livejournal.com]

I think you can use this site ^^ http://yamakaze067.vox.com/library/posts/tags/audience+rate/

[missmomoko.livejournal.com]

I don't really think the show is broke. It's just entertainment!!!

[fukyouwaon.livejournal.com]

this :D

[(Anonymous)]

actually the no-money specials get lower viewership ratings than the normal episodes with the guests, every time a no-money special airs, the ratings fall by 2% or so.

But I agree, I don't think it's because the show really lacks money. It's more likely because they were not able to schedule guests for those episodes, and it's always nice to have some variety tossed up into the show's programming! Good fun for themselves, the staff and us fans too, like you said :)

[miquilis.livejournal.com]

I think originally the no money specials started out as a way to save money because you do save a lot of money by not having to use an editing suite but also I think recently they've been having so many because Arashi's schedule is so packed because they're working on the tour and all their other jobs. If you think about it they're only needed in the studio for like 24 minutes exactly and maybe a bit of preparation time so it saves them a lot time - I mean it must take a lot longer to record a normal show with a guest and an audience, and arashi's just been so busy recently.

though I'll never complain I love the Arashi crack <3

[ultravi0l3t.livejournal.com]

soo true...
seriously...the food is damn awesome!!!
and plus..they also haveta pay for guests as well...

the no money specials save tonsa money...cheap guest...no editing...cheap food...

[arashiphile.livejournal.com]

I was also wondering about this one.

I'd have to agree with those who said that it was due to the recession going on. lol. I don't know how much the global financial crisis affected Japan's entertainment industry but I do know that a lot of Japanese companies (including the one I'm working at) have cut down on their expenditures.

On a lighter note... I think the series of "Okane ga Nai SP" they have is like a breath of fresh air. It's always fun to see a very relaxed Arashi just like in the "Uda Uda" specials they used to have back then. ^^,

[shokim.livejournal.com]

Besides the issue of money (or lack thereof), I think the other factor pointed out for more No Money SPs is Arashi's tight schedules.

Dont forget, at any given time, one of the members is always involved in a drama/butai/show. Hence given that they've other variety programs to film plus always numerous magazine shoots and media appearances to make, these SPs really save them a lot of time to shoot. (LOL I love how Aiba-chan always gets his tension so high reminding everyone to hurry up due to time running out! <3)

Besides, we get more natural members interaction without guests around. I guess NTV wont mind the ratings going down a little for these SPs when they can get them back up again with a special guest's appearance.

Sorry this is a random comment but I am still waiting for the day when a SMAP member appears. Those guys should totally return the favor when Arashi appears on Utaban so often grrr!!

I mean, if Nagase Tomoya-senpai from TOKIO can put in a guest appearance, why not a SMAP member? Or is their contract with Fuji TV, the station that broadcasts SMAPxSMAP, so ironclad that it bars them from doing so?

I am aware Johnny's Jimusho has a rule that bans (or discourages) JE from appearing in fellow JE's programs, which was why I was surprised by Toma, Yamapi and Tegoshi guesting on VS Arashi on different occasions. <333

Sorry I digressed but if anyone has an answer to my question, I'd be very grateful. Thanks!

[(Anonymous)]

I don't think a SMAP member will ever appear in AnS or any other JE shows again. Nakai went to 5LDK just once to promote his movie. Nakai is very close to TOKIO since the old days so that appearance was more like a personal gesture between Nakai and TOKIO. I don't think any SMAP member has that kind of personal relationship with Arashi members.

A SMAP member is a lot different from TOKIO's Tomoya Nagase. I have to be honest and say that, in Japan, they are bigger than any other JE. Heck, they are even bigger than about 98% of any other Japanese celebrities. Technically, they are no longer a JE band. They have their own subdivision that operates on their own and don't participate in any JE-related activities. So it's really very rare for them to appear on any JE show. Plus, Arashi is managed by Julie (Johnny's niece), who is rumored to NOT be in a good term with Iijima Michi (SMAP's chief manager. Each SMAP member has their own managing team who report to Iijima) It's reported in the news that Julie and Iijima are currently fighting to get the top position in the Jimusho when Johnny retires.

And NO, it's not a favor to SMAP when Arashi appears on Utaban. Utaban is a music/variety program and it's NECESSARY for Arashi to appear on the show to promote their single/album. Besides, Arashi's appearance doesn't give Utaban any significant rise in rating so we can't say it's a favor to SMAP or Utaban.

[shokim.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the reply, whoever you are. But I always wonder why anonymous replies are allowed when one should be accountable for what he / she has to say...oh well...I guess this is one question for the mods. o.O

Yup, I am aware SMAP is bigger than anything in Japan, which is why Kusanagi Tsuyoshi can return to the fold so soon after his drinking incident. [which I believe was a frame]. In the end, seems the added publicity has only enhanced his popularity!

All the $$$ to replace his appearance? - unthinkable! And I cannot imagine SmaSma with only 4 members tsk tsk...that few eps in different format they had without him was torture. =(

Hehe for the record, I dont regard Utaban as a SMAP program since Nakai's been hosting with Ishibashi-san all along. Favors or not, we know to expect kouhai JE groups to debut on Utaban. Arashi's guestings there = bonus to us. <3

In any case, I am just thrilled to see SMAP x Arashi x Kanjani8 in PusMa. (Aiba-chan and Murakami Shingo-kun were guesting on PusMa for My Girl.) Yay for TV Asahi!

I guess since there's bad blood between Julie and Ijima-san, we'd never see SMAP on VS Arashi, or have the boys on SmaSma. Sigh. Politics...*shakes head* My view on the top post fight - may the best woman win. LOL I love a good catfight! MEOW.

Sorry chiyame24, for hijacking your thread to talk about unrelated stuff. I hope you had fun reading, even if it might've been too dry for you. ^^

Lastly, great question! ^_^

[lunathique.livejournal.com]

i think the first "no money sp" is really to save money, but later on they just did it for the fun or the tight schedule xD

anyway, i don't really mind seeing "no money sp" every once in a while, it's refreshing and batsu games usually bring out the dorks of them all ♥

only disappointment is no stocking no more X(

[chiyame24.livejournal.com]

Hehehehe and coincidentally they just had another "No Money SP" this week!

[madsci12.livejournal.com]

haha ,,,i always think that they use the okane nai specials as an excuse to just play around,,,, those dorks.... LOL