Arashi ni Shiyagare 2014.07.05 Review

It continues to be an unusually busy summer for me, so please forgive me for the delay in posts. I’m especially mortified at having left this two-hour special of Arashi ni Shiyagare (嵐にしやがれ) for so long, since the segments each seem like they’ll be really interesting.

This is the “It’s Summer! Shibuya Harajuku Deluxe Arashi ni Shiyagare Summer Fest 2-hour special.” See:

Ah, those obnoxiously crowded titles, how I’ve missed them! Anyway, before we get to Matsuko Deluxe, the Arashi guys tackle the Harajuku portion, and naturally when you think about Harajuku and who might appear as a guest to represent that district of Tokyo, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu immediately comes into mind.

Now, there are many things I don’t rate Kyary Pamyu Pamyu highly for, but there’s no doubt that Harajuku fashion is her specialty, and that’s what she’s here to share. Get ready to see the Arashis in some totally ridiculous clothing.

Arashi ni Shiyagare 2014.06.14 Review

I have been hoping to see a male guest on Arashi ni Shiyagare (嵐にしやがれ) for a while now – just to make sure that they were still keeping the door open to that possibility. I have to admit, though, that Sasaki Kuranosuke-san is a lot more laid-back a character than I was hoping for.

He’s been in something like twenty dramas in the past five years, and I’ve seen precisely none of them. Mostly, that’s because I’m counting each season separately and he’s involved in the multi-season dramas Iryu and Hancho. I tend to avoid multi-season dramas if I haven’t already watched the first season.

In keeping with Kuranosuke-san’s personality, it’s a fairly mild and slow start to the episode.

Once again, the editor tries to make things more interesting with the tabloid thing . . .

. . . and once again I find it completely unconvincing.

Arashi ni Shiyagare 2014.06.07 Review

This episode of Arashi ni Shiyagare (嵐にしやがれ) took place in a Westin Hotel suite.

Ahem, my thoughts exactly. Why? I’m all for the Arashis getting out of the studio, but only if they place they’re going to is larger and allows them more space to be active (i.e., not a restaurant). This clearly goes in the opposite direction, and I’m already dreading an hour where they’re just sitting on couches talking to their guest, Matsuda Seiko-san. Matsuda-san is most famously known as a pop singer in the Eighties – she has 25 number one singles to her name – and the last time I saw her in a drama was the 2007 Hanazakari no Kimitachi e – one of the first dramas I watched – in which she played the school principal.

Apparently they’re supposed to have a party, but the look of the place doesn’t really shout “party”. There’s the distinct lack of things that could cause fun to happen. Well, except for the Arashis and their guest, of course.

Arashi ni Shiyagare 2014.05.31 Review

At the very beginning of this episode of Arashi ni Shiyagare (嵐にしやがれ), they put big dramatic letters up asking whether Ayase Haruka-san can make delicious miso soup, and my heart sank.

Actually, it was fun watching Ayase-san and Ohno-san cooking – Ayase-san was in an especially bubbly mood and Ohno-san is the perfect Arashi to work next to someone in that mode.

We didn’t get to find out how the miso soup came out just yet, as they decided it was time to bring Ayase-san before the studio audience. The director is clearly trying to set us up for some mayhem . . .

. . . but keep in mind that this is the same director who wanted to make cooking miso soup seem dramatic.

They started out talking about working together on the 64th Kouhaku – the most recent year-end music festival.

Arashi ni Shiyagare 2014.05.24 Review

Okay, so I found what I think will be a stable source for Arashi ni Shiyagare (嵐にしやがれ) and VS Arashi – at least I got the episodes I missed. The upside is that the files are better quality, but the downside is that the compression is a bit glitchy, causing an issue with screenshots so that there will be fewer of them. Anyway, I’m eager to catch up on what I’ve missed, so expect a flurry of Arashi stuff as the spring season concludes.

The guest for this episode was Ishihara Satomi-san, who has primarily worked with Matsumoto Jun-kun among the Arashi members. She was in Shitsuren Chocolatier and the Lucky Seven Special with him recently, but also had a part in Kimi wa Pet all the way back in 2003. Of course, she was also in Rich Man, Poor Woman with MatsuJun’s brother-in-arms Oguri Shun-san.

So . . . are we going to get that MatsuJun corner again? No, thankfully not. Instead, we’re going to get the challenge where each Arashi member will take Ishihara-san on a mock date. Do you suppose she looks a bit nervous about this plan?

Actually, she looked nerve-wracked right from the start with a strained smile. Her smile relaxed a bit thanks to some Ohno humor. And after Ishihara-san explained her expectations for the date – that it should be a romantic date in a pretty place, and something appropriate for their age (not something high schoolers or even college students would do) – it was Ohno-san’s turn to be dismayed.