I....sort of..... like him in extensions. I don't know, I think it suits him. :laugh But of course the best is always shorter hair.

I'm listening to the Believe single on rotation now. I just love Tobira!

oh wow Kaori :laugh , you must admit he looked really good in that pic that ♥ you! posted

The Believe hairdo's OK but he needs a cut , it's starting to look like what Akanishi's having at the mo :dead2

I so can't wait to get the CD only when stock comes in here to be sold at the local HMV next week :D

I'm still deciding if I want to buy the OS presses of the 2 CD + DVD's . I didn't want to but after seeing the 2 PVs ... :headache :headache

you guys you can download both PVs in mp4/ipod or flv/flash formats via http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=86898

:D

yuckie-chan has scanned up the following goodies

WEEKLY the television 2009.02.28 - 2009.03.06 -- http://community.livejournal.com/ara...uki/77046.html

lol I love it that Maruyama & Ohno are having so much fun together :laugh

Aiba's butai Green Fingers pamphlet - http://community.livejournal.com/ara...uki/76573.html

nice very nice Aiba

I forgot what's the plot like for Green Fingers , can anyone give me a refresher course ? :dead2

i guess i'll be alone in my thinking that jun's hair short be shorter right now, lol. i know he's had longer hair, but personally, i still think he'd look amazing with shorter hair. they film his drama this month, right? so i better see a haircut soon.........or else :mischief

but anyway, aiba looks soooo good in that pamphlet. i forgot the plot of his stageplay, karen :laugh

I said a few posts ago that his hair's starting to look puff up like Bakanishi , hopefully both of them will get a haircut in due time

oops ok :dead2 hopefully someone else will have the answer to that

YES!

http://community.livejournal.com/ohno_daily/252700.html

and my baby's drama is airing on April 17th! :smitten thank god that's during my spring break, lol.

So it's true that Sakurai will be appearing on Uta no Onii-san eh as himself ?

T_T & I thought he will be wearing a costume like Ohno & Maruyama :roflmao

newcaster in Cinema Cinema Vol 17 mag - http://community.livejournal.com/ara...79.html#cutid1

O_O so hot so hot

Any HQ images of the cover of their new single?

^ i don't think there is. johnny's can't put up big images of the boys on sites, right? for privacy purposes or something like that. i forgot the whole story.

are you a new fan, btw? if so, kaori needs to do her job :yes

anyway, arashi will perform at the MUSIC LOVERS dream live, and sho will an MC, too!

i finally got around to watching the "Believe" PV & it's great! i like it a lot. i love the Sho!rap section with the lights. "Kumori..." PV was nice too, but the song's pretty...bad, imo.

i kinda want to buy the CD+DVD version with "Believe", but i'm poor right now. :[

I know , my younger sister's going to have another nosebleed section when she sees this :roflmao

they're not up yet , hopefully soon in due time

because of copyright issues , J Storm's not allowed to release HQ pics of their covers , that goes for other Johnny's bands too

I can't wait for MUSIC LOVERS now :D

:(

I guess Ohno's solo song is something that you either like or don't . I like it :yes & Uta no Onii-san has been fun watching so far & :eek , for ONCE , the KT mistress is liking Believe :thud which's well a 'rarity' if you know what I mean :laugh

there's always OS press Eirynne in which it will be out on 20th March in Taiwan

I'm so tempted to buy both CD + DVD's now because of the PVs :dead2 but I have to see my budget since I'm going for the CD only because of Tobira

Isn't the granma thing Aiba's real story when asked if he had any gardening stories? :laugh
I also remember something about Green Fingers having a plot of gardening as something that changed Aiba's stageplay character. Something like that. :laugh

^ That's an awesome set list. I bet this DVD is gonna sell as good as TIME Final con, if not better.
But why Niji again? I wanted to see Gimmick Game.....

edit: Nino didn't sing Gimmick Game at AAA so owh well just wait for Dream A Live DVD then.

frankly I don't mind Niji once again as that song's just epic & mind blowing

I really didn't like Gimmick Game & the only solos I like in DAL were Aiba's Hello Goodbye & Ohno's Take me faraway

Scans ....

Monthly the television 2009.02.26 - 2009.03.31 (Sakurai & MatsuJun) - http://community.livejournal.com/ara...uki/77475.html

MatsuJun was the 1st person I saw on that link , Sakurai's O_O & he's also O_O :eek in MISS (April 2009) - http://community.livejournal.com/ara...uki/77642.html

DAMN :dead2

STORMYTEAM has subbed a couple of clips in which 1 of them's AnS , the episode where Sakurai's dressed up in that cat costume :roflmao

you can download it via http://community.livejournal.com/stormy_team/59387.html

The guys in TV Navi 2009.02.27-2009.03.31 - http://community.livejournal.com/ara...uki/77898.html

all :thumbsup except MatsuJun

:no to the hair & the outfit it's just wrong on all levels T_T . Ohno looks fantastic & I swear it's the red outfit & scarf that's talking :laugh

a preview of sho in utaoni!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUUI9nbtuh0

somemore of our newcaster in FLIX - http://community.livejournal.com/ara...34.html#cutid1

nice :thumbsup

The guys scored in the 23rd Japan Gold Awards - http://community.livejournal.com/arashi_on/1439720.html

well done :D , it's awesome that they nabbed single of the year & having the most amount of entries in The best 10 singles categories

& I so agree with the part of ARASHI SUMMER TOUR 2007 FINAL Time ~Kotoba no chikara~ winning in The best music videos :yes , it's a great concert DVD for sure

that's my boys! :cool i'm so happy for them :weep

2008 has been great for them , hopefully they will continue to do even better than last year :yes

1st day sales of Believe / KNK - 214,618 !! :thud

according to http://community.livejournal.com/arashi_on/1445673.html ... & from this week onwards , Oricon will be reporting the actual sales no.s instead of doing the whole x1.75 now

amazing , further fuel proof on why I love supporting them from last April/May onwards :weep

I think it's more or less possible that they're able to clear about 300K+ by the end of 1st week

scans of them in Weekly The Television 2009.03.07 - 2009.03.13 -- http://community.livejournal.com/ara...uki/78428.html

lmao such a fun photoshoot

their new calendar scans - http://crystalove87.livejournal.com/61958.html#cutid1

calendar diary scans - http://crystalove87.livejournal.com/62460.html

:D

Believe shop photos preview/s - http://tenjostyle.livejournal.com/400842.html

so many O_O

Believe / KNK sold more than truth / kaze no mukou e's first day sale by 4k

OMFG YES! :thud

:smitten totally deserved!

^ oh. Arashi_on had 「ｔｒｕｔｈ／風の向こうへ」： 119,227 so I taught it was correct.

Anyway has anyone see the anime version of Believe? If not here you go!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-T7hxmEKPQ

Scans of both CD + DVD's for Believe / KNK - http://community.livejournal.com/boy...76.html#cutid1

Ohno's one's just so adorable :love

i'm too lazy to watch the anime PV now, lol. i'll watch it later.

ohno's scans are so cute! :love and omg, arashi is on utaban tomorrow! :cool

lmao they will be on Utaban later on today ? (it's already Thurs here)

:roflmao , can't wait for that

====

30 *,*39,669 ***,882 Beautiful days / 嵐 08/11/05 累計 461,545
37 *,*26,883 **1,132 truth/風の向こうへ / 嵐 08/08/20 累計 645,112
43 *,*25,071 **1,199 One Love / 嵐 08/06/25 累計 549,340

amazing all 3 are still selling well :thud :weep

ohh, well today in other countries, but not in mine :P

i really can't believe those singles are still charting :cool

not to mention still clearing about 1K & above per week , man this's just great

mmm looks like I wouldn't be buying both CD + DVD's / OS presses for Believe / KNK now since I already have downloaded the scans for them

I still the animated version of Believe's PV earlier on , it's very cool . I can't wait for the HQ to be up now :D

I missed ordering Kumori Nochi Kaisei/Believe from Playasia yesterday!! Only able to get the limited edition 1 while the LE 2 is outta stock. Now it's outta print on Yesasia. What am I gonna do now....I need to ask someone from another country to buy it for me and mail it here...
*hits myself for being late to order*

there's always OS presses Alice even though I know you don't tend to buy them (OS press of Believe / Kurominochi , Kaisei will be out in Taiwan on 26th if you want to know btw)

the local HMV already has stock on the CD only of the single HURRAH :D , I'm going to pick a copy up either later today or tomorrow after school

There's no LE sold in Spore? And I thought of asking my friend to check out the local stores there.....Btw the CD only of the single you mentioned, it's Japan version or OS?

oops I made a mistake , the OS presses for all 3 editions of the single will be out on Taiwan on 20th & not 26th :dead2

& yes HMV's unable to import both CD + DVD's over here due to

1) censorship board T_T
2) region code differences . Japan's region code 2 while in S'pore it's region code 3

but it's mainly because of the censorship board & the CD only that I mentioned just now , it's directly imported from Japan . HMV only can import CD only of albums/singles in here to be sold from Japan but I suppose it's better than nothing

I almost got a shock when I asked the staff over the phone the price of it . I thought it was S$36.95 but it's actually S$26.95 :laugh

but still it's quite steep as the yen's not working in my favour :dead2 but I don't care I still will buy it , only the best for ARASHI :D

If I can't get the Japan version of LE2, I'll have to consider getting the OS press cause I really want Riida's single. I could get a store to specially order it for me, but they charge me too much in addition to the price of the single itself.

Spore has quite strict censorship board for not importing CD+DVD versions. Does that mean the only way to get CD+DVD is ordering online? Region codes aren't a big problem now since most players are region free.

I don't know what you use to purchase stuff online Alice but if you use credit card , you can consider YesAsia (even though they're a pain to me imo) or HMV HK in due time

if you use PayPal , even better . I can PM you my Taiwanese friend Cliff's email details in due time should you want an OS press for LE2 since buying directly from him's cheaper :)

That's what I do for OS presses of items that I can't find in S'pore

EDIT - I just found out that HMV HK is selling all 3 Japan presses for Believe / Kumori Nochi , Kaisei via http://hmv.com.hk/search/search_2008...arashi&fmt=Any

I think it's pricey to your standard ? :shrug . If not then I suggest you wait for OS press & HMV HK only accepts credit card as payment

you got that right :yes

That goes for OS presses of stuff that I can't find in S'pore which speaks mostly of items containing DVDs , as much as the CD stores want to bring them here to be sold , they can't at all .

You need a local distributor in the form of a record label & also the censorship board to get approval on the ratings of DVDs . I know countries like Taiwan , Hong Kong , Japan don't have such a thing but in here there's T_T

EMI used to be ARASHI , KAT-TUN's local distributor in S'pore but since last year after its S'pore branch was closed down , OS presses & let alone Japan presses of their stuff with DVDs couldn't be brought in here to be sold :(

HMV used to be able to do that easily/freely but after stricter censorship board rules were implemented , they can't do that anymore

========

Arashi's new single, already this year's 4th best selling single on its release date - http://community.livejournal.com/arashi_on/1447441.htm

great :D

ok, those sales are CRAZY.

at least i approve of this single, yes? :lmfao

lmao Eirynne , Kaori , Lisa & Alice will be happy to know that :laugh

*_*
i just saw their wall calendar & just had a "BRB I'M DYING" moment.

however, i do not approve of cowboy stripper Sho. LMFAO.

yesterday's sales: 214,618
today: 135,103

214, 618+135,103 = 349,721

Doesn't this mean that they have the #1 of 2009?

haha

I don't know but I'm not feeling their calendar pics that much at all :(

:eek , it already more or less shattered the NINKI index & it suppressed the total sales of KT's ONE DROP within 2 days O_O

I'm so proud :weep

JESUS F. CHRIST THOSE SALES!! o_o;;

Karen, REALLY?! are you sure we're talking about the WALL calendar, not the...other one (there's 2 parts, right)? i haven't seen all of it, yet, LOL.

but i'm a fan of the photographer's work. i love her emphasis on RED.

Thanks for the link to HMV Hong Kong, Karen! Gosh, it IS pricey. Already a few USDs more expensive than the other sites and added with the shipping cost, it's even more expensive. I can't use normal shipping since I've already experienced my orders getting lost using the standard mail. :weep Once bitten, twice shy.

I order online using credit card, so I'd be checking Yesasia for the OS press. I think that's my best choice now. Well OS is better than nothing, right?

You don't get problems with your package at the customs?

===

Believe/Kumori Nochi Kaisei sold so well.....I'm so happy for Arashi!

HELL YES BABY :cool kill the charts! ::smitten i'm beyond happy right now, LOL.

the utaban performance was HOT. the dancing is just simply awesome :cool they all looked hot, too. (but jun STILL didn't get a haircut..........:grumpy) but anyway, it was such a great performance, lol. :weep

Yeah, seems shocking sales to Ayu fans - but maybe Ayu should congratulate them. Ayu's single hit number one last week - but that's really a different story, because 350,000 for Arashi!? I mean - that's over 3.6 times of Ayu's weekly sales of her new single - and we're not even halfway with the Oricon week yet...!!!

It's just like this year's Oscars when it got #1 for the week but is actually lower than the one in 1998 when compared in viewership ratings...

^ so......is that supposed to be a good thing to you? or...? :shrug

I would say yes unless a surprise comes along out of nowhere. Its already charting better than Truth did. :thud The only one who might be able to take the yearly number one away from Arashi is....Arashi.

...WAITWAT. lol.
you really...shouldn't compare the current sales to those in 1998. things have gone digital and there are MANY MANY factors why Arashi's getting these monstrous numbers & why Ayu only got 95k last week.

sorry if i'm misinterpreting anything. ^^;;

& i think for Arashi to grab #1 from KAT-TUN next week, they'll have to clear 300k, imo. i haven't seen a JE single with big 2nd week sales since "Seishun Amigo".

yeah I'm serious & not kidding on what yesterday Eirynne

the pics didn't make my brain short circuit & the same thing goes for KAT-TUN's calendar too

I don't know why but something's wrong with me :lmfao

well Alice , HMV HK uses registered airmail be it for normal or express so I don't know if that's a good or bad thing to you . I use them a lot of times before & they're really good & very professional & my items come within 4-5 days

& nah I don't get problems with my packages at customs at all , never so far

if you want to wait for OS presses to be out via YesAsia or HMV HK , go ahead & do so . The OS presses of the single will be out on 20th March in Taiwan btw

:yes it's not fair to compare sales that's of 11 years ago & now . It's not easy frankly for a solo artiste to sell a lot of singles these days sadly as compraed to boybands

& ya Eirynne I haven't seen that as well for Seishun Amigo *time to play Kizuna now :lmfao*

i was kinda crazy how "Seishun Amigo" became the #1 single of 2005, with it being released just 3 weeks prior to the new ORICON year.

dude, if i had the money, i'd totally buy Arashi's calendar. but i don't and there are other releases coming my way, so i gotta make some sacrifices.

i was sad the Japanese market didn't have the "Believe" single. i was totally going to buy it too. xD i'll just wait for the OS.

I know that's very insane , who would have thought it sold SO much prior to the end of Oricon :thud , it was still in the top4/5 ranking the next year too (I think)

I never believe in buying artistes's calendars Eirynne no matter how much I like them . It's a waste of $ imo & besides I always am getting free calendars every year & I can make do with soft copies scans of it

There's always HMV HK Eirynne & they accept only credit card as form of payment & it's quite pricey (kinda expected since it's Japan press we're talking about) - http://hmv.com.hk/search/search_2008...arashi&fmt=Any

I gave that link a few posts back to Alice as well but I have a feeling she might not buy it as it's pricey even though I really enjoy using HMV HK's services as compared to stupid YesAsia

The way HMV HK packaged my items & it's shipped using normail registered airmail , my stuff comes within 4-5 days & it's <3

if not there's always OS press & I'm still pondering whether I want to buy both CD + DVD's of the single when it's out in Taiwan in exactly 2 Fri's time but at the moment I already told my friend Cliff to reserve both copies for me in due time :D

for me, it's a collector's thing. and having owned KT & T&T's previous calendars, they are worth the money, imo. scans of their calendars don't do justice, tbh.

nahhh, i'll just stick with YesAsia. :P as much as i would like to try other services, i can't back down a site with multiple OS versions, free shipping & free toys, lol. it's just more convinient for me, really. and in all honestly, i've never had a complaint about them.

yeah I understand where you're coming from . Maybe because I'm not really that much of a collector & I find it pointless to buy a calendar where I can get free ones :laugh

my younger sister did wanted to buy ARASHI's from the local Kinokuniya but in the end she didn't cos it's not cheap at all (even though they imported it directly from Japan)

:laugh ok ok

I used HMV HK a lot to get OS presses of stuff (most recently for Koda Kumi's TRICK) & it's good

after what YesAsia did to ONE DROP in my case I'm quite hesistant to use their services again T_T

The standard shipping is registered airmail? If I opt for the speedpost I'd have to pay more than double the price of standard airmail. If you've used the standard airmail before and it arrives safely then I might just buy from HMV Hong Kong.

I just want it to arrive safely. Sometimes stuff from Yesasia don't arrive, you know. Or it arrives with cracked case or something.

:yes , you can read more details about it Alice via http://hmv.com.hk/help/availability.asp

trust me , I have been using HMV HK for almost a year now & I can guarantee you on that they're fantastic & wins over YesAsia (even though customer service wise it's a different issue altogether)

HMV HK's a bit tricky in that they don't tend to post pics of the items that they're selling online but you can roughly guess whether is it Japan or OS presses based on the price & also the catalogue no & record label

these 3 attributes are big giveaways in distinguishing between both presses .

I don't know where you're living & all but for me , I get my items within 4-5 working days from HMV HK . They shipped out Koda's TRICK on Mon morning & I got it on Fri morning :thud

:)

1st pic I see in the April issue of Duet :

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/7919/73178994.jpg

:D & I'm getting my CD only of Believe / KNK later on from the local HMV , hurrah !

I'm living in Malaysia ^^. So I'm rather surprised that the standard airmail arrives in Spore within 5 days.

1st day sales: 214,618
2nd day sales: 135,103
3rd day sales:47,280

214,618+135,103+47,280 = 397,001

what you're living just across the Causeway/Tuas checkpoint ?! :laugh

so which state you're living in then & yes it's fast :yes

& guess what ?



you can download scans of it which I did up earlier on via http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showth...45#post1851045

===

April Wink Up Scans - http://community.livejournal.com/ara...oms/10775.html

:no to MatsuJun's hair still & were the pics shot in Aust ? :shrug

===

April Duet Scans - http://community.livejournal.com/ara...oms/11245.html

pretty cool :yes

===

Ohno in the cover of the latest Only Star - http://community.livejournal.com/arashi_on/1453140.html

I can't wait for Sakurai to make a cameo on Ohno's show now :D

===

TV LIFE scans - http://community.livejournal.com/arashi_on/1452825.html

1 word on Sakurai - WOW

===

3rd day Believe / KNK total sales updates :

1st day sales: 214,618
2nd day sales: 135,103
3rd day sales: 51,063

214,618 + 135,103 + 51,063 = 400,784

awesome , it has officially crossed the 400K mark ! & they officially have the biggest sales for the year , for a 1st week opening & total , single wise .

I'm so proud *pretends to wipe away tears* truth / Kaze no Mukou e 1st week sales btw was 467,288 . I don't know if Believe / Kumorinochi, Kaisei can suppress that but you never know . There're still 3 more days before the 1st week of Oricon finish but in anycase , a big congrats to the guys :D

===

AAA In Tokyo '08 DVD cover :

http://www.johnnys-net.jp/__image__/...-21280-227.jpg

:dead2 boring but it's the material/content that matters , I can't wait for the OS press to be out in due time in Taiwan :D

omg it's over 400k?! :weep

karen, i wish i had my single already :weep

yeah within 3 days it has cracked 400K :thud & don't worry Lisa , you will get your single in due time

I'm so proud of them :weep & I wouldn't be surprised if Believe / KNK's 1st week sales will suppress truth / Kaze no Mukou e's one

I'm actually in Sarawak, you know the in the island just south of Spore? So I'm actually across the South China Sea. :laugh
Gosh, I might just order from HMV HK the LE2 single. Since the Japan press is sold out everywhere, I'll just go for it then.

arashi @ MUSIC STATION!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhJ9Y74-CDU

what no way Sarawak ?! I also have another friend living there too , she stays at Kuching , how about for your case ?

& if you can't wait for the OS press to be out , then I guess you might as well order the LE2 single from HMV HK since they have plenty of stock for both CD + DVD's

great thanks Lisa :D

EDIT - scans of the guys in TV Life, TV Guide, TV Pia - http://community.livejournal.com/arashi_on/1452825.html

lovely scans :D , I will download TV Guide & TV Pia later after I get up from sleeping . My younger sister will have a fit when she sees the Sakurai ones :roflmao

It's flowers galore for TV Guide & TV Pia :D & MatsuJun MatsuJun , Lisa & I will gladly do a nice haircut for you now :innocent & the outfit he wore in TV Guide oddly looked like PJ's a bit :rofl

^ LOL kaori, tohoshinki are probbably jealous :laugh

I'm quite sure that RESCUE will overtake them when it's out next Wed

but regardless the case it's ok because I support both bands so it's fine regardless of the outcome

I didn't know Aiba came to S'pore 3 years ago to the Jurong Bird Park as part of his show :O - http://community.livejournal.com/ara...oms/10307.html

have you guys downloaded the MS talk that has been subbed ? http://community.livejournal.com/ara...52.html#cutid1

The screencap's already :roflmao

the whole #1 thing doesn't really affect me. sales improvement and the music is all i care about. if they overtake "ONE DROP" & "White X'mas" first week, they've done their job. i prefer "RESCUE" over "Believe / Kumorinochi, Kaisei" so being #2 won't stop me from listening to it, lol.

but yeah like i said, Arashi would probably have to clear a solid 300k or better to get that #1.

in the 1st thread for Rule / Sparkle , people were discussing about them , on how come since last year they have a rebound of popularity , just like what happened to Namie

it's quite something considering that they have been around for so long but yet it took them a good 8-9 years+ to get to where they're

you often don't see that happening at all which's a rarity

it's quite simple. they have face-value now. i don't necessarily think Arashi's selling purely because of their music (this is said of all Johnny's, but Arashi's been all over the place lately w/ TV, magazines, & other projects). you see all 5 members with big projects and Japan recognizes them a whole lot more than they did years back.

in all honesty, i love JE music, but is it the best that's out there? oh i don't think so. Johnny's just happen to have the greatest promotional aspects to them that other artists don't have. though, i think KANJANI8's the only JE group that doesn't rely on heavy promotional tie-ins and yet they sell as much as NEWS now.

it's different for Amuro, but i hope you see the point.

yeah I agree with what you mentioned Eirynne , it's the amount of extensive promo that the guys be it individually or on whole as a group has done & it didn't hit a peak until last year if you realise

actually Musekinin Hero already outsold practically all of NEWS's singles that they put out last year so hats off to Eito :D

Me too! I'm living in Kuching as well. ^^

===

And about Arashi's growing popularity - I think that they just managed to be really really popular because the members have been in various big projects for the past few years. And I have to say, thanks to Matsujun starring in Hana Yori Dango, Arashi's become more well known for their music and other work. They deserve their 'big break' for their hard work over the past years....

oh wow such a small world Alice :laugh

& yeah I guess you can say that HYD kinda played a part in pushing their popularity up especially from the 2nd season onwards

the 1st season was a stepping stone , single sales wise but after Love so sweet onwards , they were given a big boost in popularity

there was a gap period sales wise from We can make it ! to Happiness but after Step and Go , it's :D

I think Hana Yori Dango and to a lesser extent Letters from Iwo Jima is what got more non fans interested in Arashi beginning in 2005. Those were the door openers and then what made them stay I believe is people realized through their variety shows what great personalities they have and they've kept coming back for that ever since. Lets hope it continues on and grows even more!

^Gosh, you can't be more right about that. It's not only their music we love and it doesn't matter how handsome they look - it's their personalities that got non fans to become fans of Arashi. Where else can you find idols who do embarassing things like put stockings over their heads and wear nipple revealing shirts?

^ lol. What episode was THAT? :)

Well their nipple shirts and stocking date back to, I don't know, 2006? Some examples would be episode 30 of G no Arashi, or Arashi no Shukudaikun episode 74.

1st day sales: 214,618
2nd day sales: 135,103
3rd day sales: 51,063
4th day sales: 27, 343

Total sales: 428, 127

nipple shirts and stockings on heads is from G no Arashi! they do it as a part of aiba's dice game in some G no Arashi specials, lol. god, its just too hilarious! i recently watched an episode of D no Arashi and jun wasn't there because he had a drama shooting, so instead they used a carboard cutout of him, LOL. IT'S SO CUTE! he has the best smile ever. at the end, he comes back and gets pissed at ohno because he lost points (or "ninomiyas") from the show. :laugh i gotta take caps of carboard jun later, it's beyond hilarious.

anyway, i totally agree with your post, SunshineSlayer. :yes

so have the sales outsold truth/KnMe's sales yet? either way, it's higher than i ever expected, so that's amazing. hopefully yatterman will help sales.

lmao I always love those antics they pulled in Arashi no Shukundai-kun or in Himitsu , you can trust them to come up with weird stuff like cosplaying (Sakurai in that french maid outfit is still a CLASSIC :roflmao)

& Lisa , truth / Kaze no Mukou e's 1st week sales was 467,288 . They still have 2 more Oricon day sales before 1st week's finished

I do hope Believe / KNK can be on par if not suppress truth / KnMe slightly since its current total tally's 428,127

but it doesn't matter , it's already the top selling single for the year , be it 1st week or for overall :D

talking about HYD Kaori , I do know for a fact that MatsuJun didn't want to take the role of Domoyoji provided if the staff gave the role of Hanazawa Rui to Shun Oguri which's cool & MatsuJun wanted to play Hanazawa in which thankfully that didn't happened because he portrayed Domoyoji extremely well

& I said a few posts ago in that the 1st HYD season was a stepping stone for them but thankfully the 2nd & HYD Final did even better than the precessor which's great

I have to agree with you on this because they're not like KAT-TUN (where everyone's probably too cool for their own liking on 1st impression) , ARASHI on whole , they seem very friendly/easy to get along on 1st impression (well to me I mean)

^ the commoner's idol charm, right? Their fans can relate to them in a way. Plus one good point is their relationship with each other. The fact that they weren't really close at first is a good thing, it shows that they really put effort to get along with each other - which I think should be the case in any relationship.

that's right Alice & the fact that you see Ohno in Mago Mago ARASHI taking care of the old folks among other things , it kinda show them that they're still normal at the end of the day despite their idol status

well NEWS & KAT-TUN couldn't get along in the beginning of their formation just like ARASHI

but unlike the 2 groups I mentioned , at least for ARASHI's case , I can see a bond onscreen/offscreen when they appear together on TV or not . There's a sense of belonging going on in them if you know what I mean

yeah that's also another strength of theirs in that each of them are equally popular in his own right which you don't often see that happening to other bands , be it boy or girlbands & that's a rarity

your all bringing up such amazing points, it makes me wanna cry :weep

call me dumb, but arashi really didn't get along with each other in the beginning? it's so hard to believe because their all such dorks, lol.

:laugh Lisa & yes everyone was so reductant to debut at the beginning of the group , they even said so themselves in HEYx3 5 years ago in which I saw the clip of it myself

I was scratching my head when everyone all said that but luckily all of them stuck together & ta dah :D

:yes Sakurai & Nino were the ones who wanted to quit & that goes for Ohno too

I still can't believe that Aiba joined Johnny & Associates because he wanted to play basketball with SMAP -_-''' :laugh