Just as Ang Lee thanked the movie god for his Oscar win, I want to thank the pop god for Arashi. No day passes without Arashi making me laugh… or cry, but all for good reason. And this fan-made video encapsulates most of the reasons why:
I have extensively discussed why I love Arashi in previous posts, but it bears repeating again: they inspire and bring happiness. And through them I understand the role of entertainers in this world. They’re not there to look good while the rest of us feel like shit, or rob us of our hard- earn-ed money that we will never earn in this lifetime. Neither are they there to parade on social media sites their fabulous lives while we can only sigh in envy and wishful thinking. When I hear Arashi saying they want to be an oasis and make people feel good when they watch them (yes, I’m looking at you Sho-kun), I know that it’s not just empty words, but that is the precious truth.
I think this photo below fits the video’s message:
Arashi do not have Twitter, Facebook or Weibo–at least, what the public knows. They do have their “blogs”, where they write about their work (behind-the-scene) and post photos they themselves took, but managed by their agency, and they occasionally send mail to members of the fan club (now topping 1.5 million members!).
I don’t know much about their personal lives except the “scandals” that surface every now and then (yes, you, Cyzo, which exists to bring Arashi down) and I don’t even hear them addressing these scandals personally except through official statements from their company. The thing is, I do not need to know. Not that I don’t care about their personal lives because I do. I want them to be happy individuals because if they are, then they will be inspired with their work. And that is what I care for most: their music, films, dramas and TV shows. Whoever they date, I respect that it’s their right and freedom to do so. I may have my opinion but I’d always trust that they know what they’re doing in the same way they know what they’re doing with their work.
However, some celebrities attract comments (mostly negative) on their personal lives precisely because they invite such attention. They parade their lives on social media and then cry foul when they feel their privacy has been violated. Please. Then stop parading yourself on the Internet or in public. And more importantly, if you can’t be honest, then better to just shut your mouth instead of saying things that you think your fans want to hear. Celebrities who legitimize their lies by selling them to their public in order to save their rice bowls and careers are the lowest form in the entertainment business. They don’t deserve an iota of success. Unfortunately, there are lots of them out there.
But then I watch Arashi and my faith in entertainers is revived. They are not perfect but do they pretend they are? No. They don’t live holy lives but they try their best to be good role models because they have a good grasp of the responsibilities of a public figure. There are times they fail (Cyzo won’t allow them to succeed, for one) and there are painful decisions they have to make and challenges they have to face. But at the end of the day, they meet all these with the same dedication and enthusiasm they did as five teenagers in 1999, embracing whatever life throws them. And that’s why they’re inspiring because they teach us that… okay, here goes some Arashi cliche but it’s true… LIFE IS HARD DAKARA (because) HAPPY. Or it can also be LIFE IS HARD DAKEDO (however) HAPPY.
So what does Arashi mean?
For Nino, it’s four people and he’s the No. 1 fan. For Sho-kun, he wants Arashi to be an oasis to their fans. For Aiba, he wants them to create a storm around the world.
I Googled and found someone asking “Why is Arashi so popular in Japan and outside?” and the answers were all very interesting and amusing (I mean, compare them to Exile?). But then this question was posted four years ago when the boys were just on the brink of reaping the seeds of the hard work they have planted all these years.
For me, Arashi gives me faith that entertainment is not an overpaid, overrated, pointless industry. But more than that, these dorks make me laugh… then they make me cry because I’m glad that it’s not a total waste of time being a fangirl.
The five bakas are having their Kirin green label, I’d like to have one too.
Rating for this post is WHITE. More about the tea ranking here.
Copyright © theasianpopculturist. Blogging since 2001. All rights reserved.
orange jasmine purple yam 
HELLO~
I’ve been following your blog for quite a while and i love reading all of your posts so far(: and i especially lovelovelove whenever your posts are ARASHI RELATED!!! XD
ARASHI IS JUST SO AWESOME PERIOD. They never fail to cheer me up! And i can just believe and rely on them(: i’m so thankful for them, and so so happy for them whenever something good happens to them(:
anyway, i just wanted to thank you too for your posts! just so you know, you’re the reason i started to watch bubujingxin, it was like the first chinese drama i ever intentionally watched. I got hooked hahaha, but now i’m indefinitely stuck at episode 30 lols 😛
Thanks again!
lots of love
Mei
LikeLike
Dear Mei,
oh I’m so glad you like the blog and my posts on Arashi!!! they’re my ever reliable happy pill and obviously to many others like you too! it’s so heartwarming reading fangirls’ account on how Arashi accompany them through their highs and lows. these boys know they have millions of fans but I hope they also know the impact they have on us and what a difference they make in all our lives 🙂
and you are in episode 30 of BBJX! wah, you’re even more ahead than me. I’m stuck at 10! any special reason why you’re stuck at 30?? I’m guessing you’re for Fourth, right, for you to have watched that far hahahaha!
thanks for dropping by and commenting! I checked your profile and was hoping you’d have a blog so I can follow you too. it would be interesting to know your thoughts on the dramas you watch.
XD
Y.
LikeLike
Thanks for the reply!!! And i’m so so sorry for my very late reply here >< I've stopped halfway in too too many dramas D: Like, i'm also stuck somewhere in Rich Man Poor Woman (ohno, is the title even spelt correctly? i'm incorrigible hahaha), for probably more than a year (!) even though i'm totally swooning over Oguri Shun, and the plot is interesting and all!! sighh…Ironically, i manage to stay loyal to dramas better when i'm busy and a teeny bitty stressed =.= Like while studying for my year-end examinations last year =,=
By the way, I'm quite excited to watch Platina (platinum?) Data! It looks so cool! Hahaha
~Mei(:
LikeLike
hi! yes, it’s RICH MAN POOR WOMAN and there’s an SP coming your way already!!! hahahaha!
I want to watch PLATINA DATA too… but I haven’t even watched GANTZ (or pantsu as Arashi would tease Nino) yet ><
LikeLike
Hi. Just stumbled upon your blog~! You got an awesome blog here. ^^; I love Arashi too~ I agree that Arashi makes people happy. Personally, I was feeling down a few hours ago and then I saw Breathless/Calling performance on Music Station SP then BAM, they cheered me with with their performance and Arashi x SMAP interactions. XD
I really like your blog. Will check this from time to time. 🙂
LikeLike
thank you for dropping by and commenting!
glad to know you feel better after taking a dose of the Arashi happy pill XD
LikeLike
Hi,
Thank you for your posts. They are all very interesting and “to-the-point”!!! I totally agree with what you write about Arashi!! Having read most of your entries about Arashi, I am so glad to find someone share the same feeling and thoughts towards Arashi as I do. 🙂
I am “addicted” to Arashi not long ago (around 1 year plus) and I understand their attractiveness same as the way you describe/feel towards them. Despite this short time, I learn a lot of things because of them (like converting videos, grabbing clips online and all sort of other things that I have never imagined I will need to know or I will know in my life). All of their bangumis laugh me to death and cheer me up! Concerts are especially AMAZING!!! Again, I have never imagined that I can be that exciting/high when I watch their concert DVDs~ Their concerts move me!!! (for example, Arafes~ They let fan vote for their favourite songs and you can really taste and see their thankfulness towards their fan through the efforts made and shown in the concert!!)
They are indeed a very special idol group who you can hardly find in the entertainment industry (I would say TOKIO is also quite a special one). The dynamics between the 5 of them are great! They don’t mind being teased and always do baka things~ They work very hard but then will often downplay that, and it is particularly obvious when we look back on their old bangumis such as Mago Mago Arashi, the A/D/G no Arashi… It’s very interesting to know that they do not care their images that much. As long as they can make people laugh, they do not mind being stupid. They are idols, you know, from the super talent company which famous for producing SUPER glamorous and gorgeous idols and of course, and the 5 of them indeed are also very handsome but they can be extremely dork for most of the time. I mean, they never pretend that they don’t want to be called kakkoii (e.g. Nino once said that he didn’t want to admit himself as an actor. He wanted and always wants to stay as an idol because he loved to be thought and called as an idol, always kakkoii and shine and at the same time, could explore many things.) However, they do not show only the “kakkoii” sides but also their baka sides which make them more “real” than other artistes. Of course, Japanese idols/celebrities are famous for being “fake” but then but I do not really care because I can tell that the 5 of them have already tried their very best to reveal as much of their truth selves as they can.
Hmm… it seems that I start to go off-topic~ haha… What I really try to say is… thank you very much for writing the blog entries and I agree with your opinions. I am actually very new to this fandom and when I have spent a year plus to catch up their 12 years of showbiz, I am more convinced that they are really very special. Their wish and goal of sending happiness and dream to people have never changed, just the same as the very early days of being Arashi. Thanks for your post and please keep “analyzing” and writing about Arashi, sharing your insightful thoughts and views about Arashi with us (please~). どうぞよろしくお願いします~
LikeLike
hi Jac, thanks for commenting! I learned a new thing from your comment: “bangumis”. I Googled and as far as I can deduce, it means “TV shows”. am I correct? is that Japanese or something else? first time I encountered that!
LikeLike
Thanks for your reply~ 🙂
Yes, “bangumi” is Japanese, written in Kanji as 番組, means tv show or broadcast programme~ That’s another example of how much I have learned from knowing them. I don’t think Japanese textbooks will teach us this vocabulary… it’s really something very popular culture. Just when I’m typing and thinking for the right expressions I need to say what I want to say here, it reminds me one more thing that I gain from following Arashi – English. English is my second language and I am never fluent with it. But then, when I find out the rich resources and information I can get from the English speaking Arasian communities as well as tumblr, I step out of my comfort zone and communicate with other in English so as to get more information about Arashi. Amazing to me that after knowing Arashi, both my Japanese and English have improved quite a lot~ (maybe not that a lot but I’m pretty sure that some of the vocabularies are so local that they won’t be taught in textbooks~ :D) And of course, by reading your posts, I learned many other vocabularies too~ 🙂 Once again, nice to meet you and I enjoy reading your entries very much!!! :3
LikeLike
I love looking at the positive effect that fandom has to people. like you strengthening your skills in your second language for example just to get more information about Arashi. for me, fangirling is not as empty and superficial as others paint it to be. we learn so much and one of the biggest lessons is how it has broken down cultural barriers. it’s a gift that not even politics can give!
LikeLike