Sakura Storm

I can't believe it took a hiatus announcement for me to blog again. I have not blogged about Arashi for a long time. Reason, life. But it also proofs that I take Arashi for granted every day, not knowing I will be losing them so soon. On Sunday, 27th of January, it went on just like any other day. What I did not remember was that Arashi is my muse. My motivation in life. So I updated myself on anything new from them like I usually do every few hours. And then I saw the most shocking news ever. Arashi will be going on hiatus from the 31st of December, 2020. I remember my initial reaction. I was surprised I wasn't as shocked as I thought I would be. Maybe because deep down I knew something like this will happen sooner or later. And they couldn't have picked the most perfect timing for the announcement. They are in their 20th year, with Tokyo 2020 next year, for us all to prepare ourselves for whatever dark void is coming afterwards. Because a world without Arashi is a w...

Title:「untitled」 Artist: 嵐 Release date: 2017.10.18  Arashi has released another original album in October, per usual, and they went for the Power of the Paradise + Everything cover that look more like singles than an album. I'm still trying to grasp the fact that it has been a year since Are You Happy? , which was not that long ago. Dang, time goes fast when you're an adult. When they first revealed the album title as "untitled" I literally thought it was because they have not yet revealed the title just like what everybody else thought until they confirmed it and I flipped. I can still remember my absolute disbelief when reality hit me. Titling something untitled is like naming something unnamed. It is the lamest of the lamest titles you can ever think of. It is even worst than that lame-ass hot mess ayumi hamasaki naming her albums five and six, with the 6 x's! What happened to awesome titles like The Digitalian ?? And don't g...

*immense shading alert!* Recently, there were news about the bitch army, AKB48, surpassing Ayumi Hamasaki's total sales, gaining the top spot as the best-selling female artist in the history of Japan. Firstly, it is definitely not history . Secondly, it is definitely not artist . I know Oricon only counts physical CD sales (national) to determine general sales, and they don't give crap whether they are solo or a group, but let me tell you why this is wrong on so many levels. I mean, I do support the whole CDs-only thing, but idols are not artists, so what the heck are they saying? Ayu did most of the work on her own, as an artist in general. She produced, composed and written her songs. She create concerts in her own way. That's an artist. What did AKB do? Yeah, you could argue they "worked hard". But, bitch, everybody works hard. It's just whether your efforts had any meaning. And Ayu, she is definitely a legend in her own right. She totally deserve he...

  Our youngest Arashi turned 34 years old yesterday. Fans took to social media to congratulate our beloved MJ on his birthday on 30 August, and Jun himself seemed to enjoy the celebrations. He himself has looked through fans' messages too. He said it on Arashi's blog. He actually revealed quite a few things on his message, like an album and the tour ! Also, this: And if you haven't heard Matsumoto-kun no Uta yet, here it is! (Chinese subbed) Happy Birthday, Jun! I've said again! I wish you all happiness, hope you're stress free and most importantly, as you say so yourself, wish you stay healthy and... Arashi loves you very much, never forget that!

I've mentioned in my "How I turned from idoling ayu to Arashi"  post that it was Mizobata Junpei who got me into Japanese dramas. Although I've seen a few before I found Junpei, it was him who actually started my J-drama craze. One of the very first dramas I saw was Hanazakari no Kimitachi e . Although Junpei only had a small supporting role in it, it led me into the three main stars of the drama, Horikita Maki, Ikuta Toma and Oguri Shun. Long story short, I fell in love with them and it just started spreading from there. I started watching all three's individual starring works, and Horikita Maki became the first Japanese actress I love. She remain very important to me to now. With the recent news about her retiring from the entertainment industry, it did brought me sadness, and my tears did well up in my eyes a bit. I will miss her dearly. The Japanese entertainment industry lost yet another great talent. But I also feel great for her, and I resp...

Title: Are You Happy? Artist: 嵐 Release date: 2016.10.26 Okay, I disappeared again. I'm sorry, it's life. But Arashi gave me motivation to write again. And who would miss an opportunity to talk about Arashi's album of 2016! First of all, Happy New Year! I know I'm late into saying this but, let's hope 2017 will be a year full of greatness. Even though we won't because Trump is new POTUS and this world is ending.  2016 was a year full of many ups and downs. And I felt like there were more negative things that have happened than positive things. You know, what's with the UK unexpectedly changing PMs and the US getting a new president. And not just the whole world is going apeshit right now. The Japanese entertainment industry is crashing too. So many things have happened. What's with SMAP disbanding. Actors and actresses having scandals... leaving the industry... passing away even... yeah you know what I'm talking about. But great achieveme...

So it's official. I'm their fanclub member. I don't know what to feel. It just seems so surreal. Am I dreaming?   I have been Arashi's fan for two and a half years, and during this time, just thinking about joining their fanclub was something of a long-distance dream. Because it would've been a step closer to seeing Arashi live. Joining their fanclub means I get a chance at balloting their concert tickets. And since I'm going to Hakkaido, Japan, this October, it will become my first time in Japan, which means I might get more opportunities to go to other places in Japan in the future. Not that it's that simple because I still need to compete with 1.9 million other fanclub members, but I'm getting nearer, and that alone gives me hope. I actually thought joining their fanclub was something impossible since you have to have a Japan address, which literally means you have to live in Japan, in order to have a chance to join. And it was all thanks to my ...

Title:「 I seek / Daylight 」 Artist: 嵐 (ARASHI) Release date: 2016.05.18 Haven't done a song appreciation post in a while. I know I should've done one for Fukkatsu LOVE , but something happened and I couldn't get my copy of the single, so that made me unhappy so I didn't bother with a post. I'm sorry. Fukkatsu LOVE deserves its own justice. But now I've decided to get my depressing ass back on track and do a song review. Well, this time not one, but two at the same time. Because my favourite Arashi pairing, Juntoshi (Jun and Ohno), decided to star in dramas that air around the same time, so Arashi decided to sing both of the drama theme songs and then put both of the songs together in a single, to their dear fans' delight. I used to write long posts on these things so to prevent wasting your precious time, I'm going to make this short and brief. Recently, I've been so busy with work and the fact that I'm moving houses, I've been lazy, s...

I'm so sorry, Sho-kun! For this belated birthday message! I've been so busy with life, I didn't even have the time and mood to write this post. So I'm just going to make a brief message to our dear Sho-chan, wishing him a happy 34th. Sakurai Sho was the first member who caught my attention when I was still discovering Arashi. He was the hilariously cute failboat who loved to eat when I watched their older variety shows. Not that he's not now, but it was much more funnier back then. Sho is always the MC at the centre in their shows, it doesn't matter whether it's VS Arashi, Arashi ni Shiyagare, Arashi no Shukudai-kun, or any of their other shows. And along with NEWS ZERO, Sho has become a well-respected host in his own right. And at 34, I hope he continue to stay as great as he is now but also not forget to rest more, and don't over-work himself. That's all I want to say. Thank you, Sho, for being part of Arashi! And I'm going to end this shor...

These are like the 3 months birthday posts or something. Ohno, Aiba, then Sho. Seriously. I'm so sorry I've been so busy with life and well, collecting Arashi stuff, that I didn't have time to even show you what I've collected. Sigh. Anyway, let's get onto what this post is about. Aiba Masaki has come a long way, and he did take some time to get into my heart. And even though I love him now, there was a time in the beginning where I didn't pay much notice of him. And I even found him annoying. But things changed, and now I have a different view on Aiba Masaki. He is one precious and special person. And that is a fact, not opinion. Aiba is sunshine. He is happiness. He is the dorky, loveable, baka that everyone loves. His baka image kind of faded in recent years, but he remain to be the always-smiling, always-laughing, Aiba. The one with the teddy-bear-huggy voice. The one who shrugs off negativities. The one who smiles through even hardships and full of enthus...

I feel like with each year Ohno Satoshi ages, he look younger and younger. Maybe it's just me. But everytime I look at him, all I could see is a bundle of cuteness that I can't even. He is just... so cute . And because I share my room with my sister, I sometimes look at a picture of Ohno and will go " Oh-chan! You're so cute!! " in this cute voice, and she would be like "gross". Lol, I wish Ohno would know how much dignity I sacrifice for him. Not that I actually mind, haha. I sometimes come across other Arashi fans in Hong Kong (like, in real life), and then they would ask me who my favourite member is. Surprisingly they are all Ohno-ichibans too. I guess we're too yasashii, like Ohno, that's why he's our favourite, lol. But it's pretty funny when I think about it. I mean, Ohno Satoshi is like, 16 years older than me. And I find him cute. Sigh. Well, he's an idol after all. And idols are like, genetically mortified to look perfectl...

Title: Japonism Artist: 嵐 Release date: 2015.10.21 You know what Arashi is good at with their albums every year? Getting better and better with one after the other. And this year is no exception. They once again release an album filled with absolute amazingness. And, well, seeing as it sold over 820,000 copies in its first week, what else do you want me to say? But really, this album is gold, I'm telling you. The theme, the outlook, the content and everything is on point. When it was first announced that the album was to be called Japonism , I knew straight away that it's going to be very interesting. And Ohno and Nino are the star vocalists here. They sound so good in this album. This year Arashi focuses on the theme of 'Japan' and 'Japan viewed from the outside' and something like that. And puts out new and fresh sound for people to hear. They released three versions of this album. All worth buying of course. Darn it, they know how to sell! Oh wells,...

Can you believe it's been a year already? Me neither. Doesn't seem like that long ago when Arashi had their 15th Anniversary and those concerts in Hawaii that no one can forget. And of course I wasn't able to attend it, but I feel like I've accomplished many too. Last September, I just moved back to Hong Kong, and didn't know what to do with my life, but still got my very first job. And to me, getting your first job, and being payed ,   is definitely an accomplishment. And at that time, Arashi was celebrating their fifteenth year of being together. Now, I only started to become their fan at around January 2014, so I don't think I have, like, any rights to say anything about them before that, older fans know better. But like any other new interested artists, you look them up and their whole history just to know them more and realise how much you've missed. And if you're reading this, it means you're a fellow Arashi fan too, so I won't go on a ...