[ARASHI] The 33rd thread ~ 45th single Sakura (25.2)

[kiseki89]

Just read on twitter that sakurai might be coming to sg to promote the movie that was filmed on Virgo... Can anyone confirm?

Why arashi's touring in osaka 1 week before my flight arrive!!!!! Argh

[KarenPang]

The whole cast will be coming next Sat , at MBS for the international premiere press conference of Nazotoki

I think it's a private event as MBS did not list it on their website . Movie wise , Nazotoki will open here next month in cinemas on 22nd Aug

[KarenPang]

Seems that today's lian he zao bao reported/wrote about next week's Nazotoki event

guess it's sorta confirmed the whole cast be coming here to promote the movie inclusive of Sakurai?

[KarenPang]

Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de Movie To Be Screened Internationally

The cast of Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de film has attended the press conference for the movie. Toho, the producer and distributor of the film, announced that the film will not only be shown in Japan but also in other Asian countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and in Singapore, where the movie was filmed. Before the film opens in Singapore though, a premiere night will take place there.

Along with their co-stars, lead actors Sho Sakurai, Keiko Kitagawa and director Masato Hijikata were also present during the July 17th press conference. The Eiga is scheduled to be shown in Taiwan on August 9, Singapore on August 22, and Hong Kong on September 5.

Apart from the film which will open in Japanese cinemas on August 3rd, two drama specials are set to air between July 30 to August 2 titled, "Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de SP ~ Senjou Tantei Kageyama" featuring Sakurai and "Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de SP ~ Kazamatsuri Keibu no Jikenbo".

http://www.jpopasia.com/news/nazotok...ly::14488.html

[KarenPang]

Xinmsn & 963FM are both giving away tickets for the gala premiere for the Nazotoki movie & it's officially confirmed the cast will be coming next Sat to premiere the movie worldwide

Including Sakurai himself = O.M.G

How often does a Johnny come here in a non private setting ? The answer is probably never if not rarely damn

I don't know if I'm able to win tickets cos I'm sure I'm not the only 1 who wants to see Sakurai in person but fingers crossed :3

[KarenPang]

Ohno Satoshi to star in 24 Hour TV drama for the first time

On June 17th it was revealed that Arashi Ohno Satoshi (32) will be starring in the "24 Hour TV 36 Love Save the Earth" (NTV) drama special, "Kyo no Hi wa Sayonara" (Farewell for Today) to be broadcasted from August 24th to 25th. In this work, Ohno plays the role of Kota, a 29 year-old who is suddenly affected by cancer and is told to have only 3 months left to live.

Since the revelation of him having a type of blood cancer, malignant lymphoma, Kota will experience a tough illness, relapse and a short life expectancy. This story draws the life of Kota for about two years until his death. Kota was born and raised in Japan, dropped out of college but holds the dream of becoming a chef. Even when exposed to a young and unreasonable destiny, he gazes at his death properly and with determination.

An enthusiastic Ohno commented, "It has a difficult theme, 'Live properly, die properly', I would like to face it earnestly. Also, I want to play the role of Kota carefully, by properly showing off his strong will".

As for 24 Hour TV dramas, in 2008 during the first time Arashi participated as main personality, Matsumoto Jun (29) had the starring role in "Myu no Anyo Papa ni Ageru" and last year, Ninomiya Kazunari (30) starred in "Kuruma Isu de Boku wa Sora wo Tobu". Ohno is the third member of Arashi to take over this role. This drama special faces earnestly what does it mean for people to live or die.

Arashi members have achieved great ratings in this type of dramas, Matsumoto's "Myu no Anyo Papa ni Ageru" received an average viewership rating of 25.6% and Ninomiya's "Kuruma Isu de Boku wa Sora wo Tobu" achieved 23.8%. It's only expected for Ohno to achieve similar if not higher ratings.

Producer Kono explained the theme of this drama, "Currently in Japan, 1 out of 3 people die of cancer. Cancer can suddenly affect any family to the point where could be considered an 'everyday' event. People face life and death alone, wondering how they should go".

This story is based in the original novel by writer Miyuki Kazuya, "Ozora e no Tabidachi ~Gan to Tatakainagara mo Yume Miteita Mirai~" (Bungeisha) and the screenplay is in charge of writer Hashibe Atsuko, known for working in FujiTV's drama "Freeter, Ie wo Kau." (2010), in addition to the same staff who has worked in productions like, "Youkai Ningen Bem" and "Nakuna, Hara-chan".

"24 Hour Television 36 Love Saves the Earth" will be broadcasted on August 24th and 25th.

http://www.jenewsdaily.com/2013/07/2...he-first-time/

[KarenPang]

[Oricon] First half of 2013: Arashi takes the first place with 10.95 billion yen

On June 20th, Oricon announced the results of their Sales Ranking for the first half of 2013. Arashi took the first place in two categories, "Artist Total Sales" and "DVD Sales". All rankings are based in the period 2012/12/24 to 2013/6/17.

As for Arashi Music Software (Single, Album, Music DVD, Music Blu-ray Disc), they have been awarded with the 1st place in the "Artist Total Sales" ranking, for the first time since 2010 when their sales reached 8.43 billion yen. Though they placed 3rd and 6th in the Single Ranking of the first half of this year, their Music DVD sales took the 1st and 2nd place, selling more than 10 billion yen.

Following Arashi, AKB48 took the second place with 6.86 billion yen in total sales, Momoiro Clover Z had a major breakthrough during the same period by taking the third place, in comparison to their previous position, the 18th.

All artists have released 14 different types of pieces and for the first time, the total sales collected by Blu-ray Discs have reached the 1st place with 1.53 billion yen, the total sales of Albums have placed in the 4th place (1.3 billion yen) and the total sales of DVDs have placed in the 6th (940 million yen). All releases in the TOP 3 sum up a total of 3.92 billion yen, more than three times the amount of last year, 1.08 billion yen.

In the DVD sales department, Arashi's "ARASHI Arafes" (December 2012) has sold 786,000 copies and "ARASHI LIVE TOUR Popcorn" (April 2013) has sold 681,000 copies, monopolizing the top 2 places of the first half of 2013. This is the 3rd consecutive time they achieve this title since 2011 and their 4th appearance in total, they continue to surpass their own records.

In addition, their DVD "ARASHI Arafes" has surpassed the record stablished by themselves in 2011 with their DVD "ARASHI 10-11 TOUR "Scene"～Kimi to Boku no Miteiru Fuukei～STADIUM" (January 2011), which sold 785,000 copies in the first half of 2011. Also, the total sales of the Music DVD department sum up 1.523 million which surpasses its previous record of 1.015 million copies stablished in 2010.

http://www.jenewsdaily.com/2013/07/2...5-billion-yen/

[KarenPang]

Keiko Kitagawa, Sho Sakurai set to attend Singapore premiere of “The After-Dinner Mysteries”

SINGAPORE: Japanese actress Keiko Kitagawa and J-pop boy band Arashi’s Sho Sakurai will be heading to Singapore on Saturday, for the Singapore premiere of their new film “The After-Dinner Mysteries” at Marina Bay Sands.

Their co-star Kippei Shiina and the film’s director Masato Hijikata will also be in town for the film’s Singapore premiere, its first outside Japan.

Partially shot in Singapore, “The After-Dinner Mysteries” sees Kitagawa play Reiko Hosho, a detective who is also a wealthy heiress.

Hosho has to rely on the brilliant investigative skills of her butler Kageyama (Sakurai) to solve a mysterious murder aboard a luxury liner, while dealing with her annoying boss Kyoichiro Kazamatsuri (Shiina).

“The After-Dinner Mysteries” is a film adaptation of a popular 2011 Japanese drama of the same name, which was in turn based on a 2009 mystery novel by Japanese author Tokuya Higashigawa.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...ho/753380.html

For the record , Sakurai was the only person that came today via the normal checkout arrival route . The rest of the cast will arrive on this Sat itself

My younger sister went to the airport earlier on & she totally is freaking out at this point in time xD

The red carpet event for this Sat will be at 6pm . I definitely will go , how often does a Johnny come in public to Singapore in the 1st place ?

The answer's probably rarely if not never + I think Sakurai was genuinely surprised that a lot of people turned up to see him at the airport

And my sister says he looks great , what you see of him in pics/PVs is exactly the same as what you get of him in real life

[kiseki89]

Originally Posted by KarenPang

Keiko Kitagawa, Sho Sakurai set to attend Singapore premiere of “The After-Dinner Mysteries”



http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...ho/753380.html

For the record , Sakurai was the only person that came today via the normal checkout arrival route . The rest of the cast will arrive on this Sat itself

My younger sister went to the airport earlier on & she totally is freaking out at this point in time xD

The red carpet event for this Sat will be at 6pm . I definitely will go , how often does a Johnny come in public to Singapore in the 1st place ?

The answer's probably rarely if not never + I think Sakurai was genuinely surprised that a lot of people turned up to see him at the airport

And my sister says he looks great , what you see of him in pics/PVs is exactly the same as what you get of him in real life

Yup was there. The fans occupied a large area almost causing a jam for the passengers arriving the hall

[KarenPang]

^ lol you didn't need to work yesterday ? o_O I could have gone with my sister but I was working so I didn't



https://twitter.com/memehoi/status/360403574146088960

Sakurai looks really good & I think he's staying at MBS ?

Anyway for tomorrow's red carpet event , I most definitely will go , it's a once in a lifetime chance to experience it , even though he's not my fave member in ARASHI

[KarenPang]

OMG my younger sister managed to win tickets for tomorrow's world premiere of the Nazotoki movie

She never won anything super big like this until earlier on . She totally freaked out & started screaming when I told her she was picked as 1 of the winners

To think I'll be tagging along tomorrow afternoon for the red carpet + then the world premiere of the movie (with it opening it much earlier than Japan's) , it's such a surreal feeling

so going to write a report on this <3

[KarenPang]

200,000 ChariT-shirts designed by Ohno Satoshi sold in record time

On June 24th, the President of NTV held a production announcement conference in Shiodome, Tokyo Tower. During the event, the full list of personalities to appear in the main show "24 Hour Television 36 Love Saves the Earth" (August 24th-25th) were announced.

During the conference, Director Watanabe Hiroshi talked about the release of this year's ChariT-shirts, "The design of this year is selling at the rate of four times the rate of last year". The sale started on June 14th and sold 110,000 copies on its first 3 days, which is already a record. Until June 23rd, a total of 200,00 t-shirts have been sold. Last year, during the same period sales reached 50,000 copies. This sale rate has been pointed out as "crazy" due to the magnitude of the response.

Last year Ohno worked with contemporary artist Nara Yoshitomo and their design sold 764,198 copies, making it the most succesful in history.

This time, the chariT-shirt has the theme of "Love" and Arashi Ohno Satoshi (32) served as main personality, in collaboration with avant-garde artist, Yayoi Kusama. This year the t-shirts have a mesh design with dots as motif. Kusama has received numerous awards; including Gold Rays with Rosette as 4th class of the Order of the Rising Sun.

http://www.jenewsdaily.com/2013/07/2...n-record-time/

===

This's it , going to see Sakurai later on today in the afternoon at MBS for the red carpet event , alongside with the world premiere of the Nazotoki movie

[kiseki89]

Saw sho! The movie is nicer than the drama!

[KarenPang]

^ I guess you were able to win tickets too ?

OMG the after movie Q&A was priceless . The Red Carpet however was SO disappointing

Sakurai looked amazing in person , especially that I love the military inspired jacket he wore + what you see of him in PVs/pics , is exactly the same as him in real life

Kitagawa Keiko looked really beautiful , I love her cocktail dress but the necklace she wore looks heavily than her D:

Shiina Kippei was awesome , ahahaha , the K Lion & his KK609 cracked me sooooo badly

All in all a very priceless experience I had with my sister <3 to think at 1st I didn't want to go but this means more to her than anyone else & for that , I have my gratitude towards her

And she was SO lucky she was able to win tickets at the very last min yesterday

I don't think she will be able to sleep well tonight lmao + I don't have any reasons to see ARASHI in concert anymore as how often this kind of an experience happen in our tiny island <3

===

Waiting for xinmsn to publish their interview they did with Sakurai & co. but for now



https://twitter.com/xinmsn_en/status/361014835342884864

At least Sakurai's red carpet + movie premier outfit was way better than this xD I don't really like the styling of his hair there D:

Kitagawa Keiko's so pretty in person <3 didn't realise her birthday falls on the same day when the Nazotoki movie opens here officially on 22nd Aug , awesome

^ I guess you were able to win tickets too ?

OMG the after movie Q&A was priceless . The Red Carpet however was SO disappointing

Sakurai looked amazing in person , especially that I love the military inspired jacket he wore + what you see of him in PVs/pics , is exactly the same as him in real life

Kitagawa Keiko looked really beautiful , I love her cocktail dress but the necklace she wore looks heavily than her D:

[KarenPang]

xinmsn has finally published their interview on the Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de cast

http://entertainment.xin.msn.com/en/...-actors#page=1

Pity that no pics of Sakurai are included , ah well :3 at least last night was so unforgettable

[Bigtop]

I'm kind of wondering here...we already know how much Arashi's tied in with NTV (such as Sho's NEWS ZERO), but does NTV have any investment in Arashi at all (in terms of cash value)?

[KarenPang]

Sakurai promoting JINS glasses in Kageyama mode



omg *_*

[kiseki89]

Originally Posted by KarenPang

Sakurai promoting JINS glasses in Kageyama mode



omg *_*

Some kind soul gave me and my friend individual tickets right before they enter

I totally cant even see Sho at red carpet...

[KarenPang]

Sho Sakurai & Keiko Kitagawa Appear At Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de Movie Premiere in Singapore

It was announced before that the upcoming movie "Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de" will be having its international premiere and on July 27th, the cast attended the event held at the Marina Bay Sands' The Sands Theatre, Singapore. Aside from the lead stars Arashi's Sho Sakurai and actress Keiko Kitagawa, Kippei Shiina and director Masato Tsujikata were also present.

Sakurai sung the movie's theme song "Meikyu Love Song" by Arashi which is already used during the drama's air. He also greeted and gave his gratitude to the fans and all the people who worked with them during the filming in Singapore thru Malay language saying "Terima Kasih".

On the other hand, Kitagawa who's dressed in a unique black dress, expressed her thanks in English after getting advance greetings from the audience as she mentioned that the movie's release in the country is exactly her birthday, August 22nd.

Meanwhile, Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de movie will open in Japanese cinemas on August 3rd.

http://www.jpopasia.com/news/sho-sak...re::14572.html

I was seated on the top tier with my sister so I wasn't able to get any good pics when the cast came out but man those seated below & also in the front were super lucky

At least jpopasia was able to include quite a good photo of the cast . Sakurai's outfit for last night was great & so's Kitagawa Keiko's black cocktail dress

It was hilarious when Sakurai was using Singlish xD All the lah , hor , huh he threw in was epic xD

And the cast left S'pore on a midnight flight soon after the event finished =(

===

[KarenPang]

Sakurai Sho Gets in Line in Raffles Hotel’s “Hall of Fame”

Singapore- Arashi‘s Sakurai Sho recently attended the premier of his upcoming movie, “Nazo toki wa dinner no ato de“, which was held in Marina bay Sands Theater. 1,500 fans attended the event where fans even sang “Meikyu Love Song” while the cast was walking on the red carpet. Together with Sakurai is Kitagawa Keiko and Shiina Kippei.

Sakurai did the stage greeting with a mixture of Malay and Singlish (Singapore-English), which was received greatly by the audience.

Aside from the movie’s premier, Sakurai’s photograph was also inducted in Raffles Hotel’s “Hall of Fame”, which includes VIPs who have stayed in this globally distinguished hotel, like: Charlie Chaplin and the British Royal Family.

Sakurai’s usual calm demeanor was broken after seeing his photograph, “I- oh–George Lucas! Err, to be with someone so amazing, it’s unbelievable.” The said hall in the hotel consists of VIP photographs who have stayed in Raffles Hotel. Sakurai used his mobile phone to take a picture of his own photograph in the hall.

“This is something I can boast to my child and grandchild. Raffles Hotel is a place basked with history and dignity; I must work harder so I can catch up with this photograph,” he commented.

There are a total of 128 photographs in the said hall, Sakurai is the second Japanese entertainer to be inducted in the hall of fame after Japanese actress, Fuji Sumiko. Sakurai stayed at the hotel for 1 night during the filming for Nazodi last year and 2 nights this time around.

“Nazo toki wa dinner no ato de” will hit the theaters in Singapore on Aug 22nd, Taiwan on Aug 9th, and Hong Kong on Sept 5th.

http://jnewseng.wordpress.com/2013/0...ame/#more-2333

And in today's Strait Times , there's an article written on them in the Life section , page 3 to be precise

ST also included a group photo of the 4 of them onstage after the Q&A movie session finished

My sister & I were 2 of the 500 lucky fans who were able to attend the screening of the movie on Sat night . A total of 1,600 guests were invited to see it , 1st in the world before the movie will open this coming Sat in Japan