Arashi Bangumi Reviews!

To be honest I didn’t want to review this episode of AnShi. I don’t like doing AnShi… it’s a talk bangumi and that means a ton more talking, difficult vocab, and a much harder time translating… BUT after watching the entire episode yesterday… I just can’t get over leader’s cute facial expression that I must share it with you guys. Its worth watching the episode just for it seriously. Even if you don’t understand a word of Japanese… (just skip the boring parts in between maybe). Okok, I’m biased towards leader but still…! You won’t regret watching this I assure you!

That said…  I won’t be translating some parts in the middle… mostly the talk in the Ninomi house segment. (That segment makes up the bulk of the whole show anyway.) I didn’t understand quite some bit of the talk so… :P I ended up translating most of it anyway.

EDIT: Between my urge to re-read fics, doctor visits and a day surgery, this thing took me way longer to finish then expected. Gomen ne ><
Also, after a long time of consideration, I've decided to change to using LJ cut instead of spoiler tags... Let me know if you prefer otherwise... I wish LJ lets you close back spoiler tags the way you can collapse the LJ cuts back...

Warning: This episode is FULL of screen caps of Ohno. Like literally FULL of it. Split into three parts partly because of my over screen capping, and because of a technical problem.

Notice: Will be going to Genting for holiday from this Friday till next Monday, so I guess I’ll be skipping some weeks VSA… I already can’t keep up with watching all their shows when I’m not even working… gosh how will I be able to keep up when I actually start work next year? ><

Skip to Part 2 or Part 3.

Are you ready? Let’s go!

It’s the delicious but tedious restaurant segment first! This week’s doesn’t look as good as last week’s ( has to do with the type of food as well) but still… its been a few months since i last had ramen… *stuffs ice cream in my mouth before i drool*

Its aimiya today! Aiba starts off with some gag… he clearly is high today. No guest for this segment today. Aiba comments about how its because of the timing, they can anyone at this timing. (I wonder just how late they do their filmings!)

It’s a ramen shop that they are visiting today!

Inside the shop!

This guy is the shop owner

MC asks if they are interesting in the posters on the wall… Nino replies that he is more curious about the aquariums at the corner

Its FULL of koi fish.

There’s an estimated 300 koi and goldfishes inside…

A: Is he selling this?
MC: Nope The shop owner explains that when he was young and doing part time jobs, he did some road construction work in front of a bungalow, and there was a lot of koi swimming around… and he thought to himself ‘when will i be able to do that?’ and that became his dream…
In his house, his whole garden is a pond, filled with plenty of koi. Loads of koi posters in his shop.

Its all about koi! You won’t notice that it’s a ramen shop at all!

Nino asks how much it costs… “its just fish right?”
MC asks the shop owner how much a koi like the one in the poster will cost. His reply? 50,000,000 yen.

Our boys looks stunned XD

Aiba asks how long the fish can live for. Shop owner: Ah this… you don’t know when it will die.

Stunned yet again. The shop owner gives some philosophical talk about how that’s the joy of being a man, that for that purpose he works hard etc… (*something* like that)

N: In that case… when are we going to eat the ramen?
Hahaha! MC: Ninomiya-san, please continue talking more about koi!

MC: By the way, the 300 koi + goldfish over there. If the customers want it, he will give it to the customers for free!
And our boys are stunned yet again XD
The shop owner confirms that this is true. He said that he used to have over 1000 koi fishes, so he’s given out a lot of them already. He does this because he hopes to increase the number of people who love and keep koi fish like him. Especially for kids, they get really happy when they hear ‘I’ll give it to you as present’.

The MC talked about how after the customers keep/breed the koi they can give koi back to the shop owner as presents. Then he goes on to say that since this tedious restaurants segment started, this is the first shop where its alright for them not to eat the ramen (food). Its alright to go to the shop just for the sake of viewing the koi.

They finally get onto the main topic. The ramen..

Here’s the shop’s menu! 4 items… but its all the same thing! The only difference is the portion of ramen and char siew given and the price. Everything else - as in the taste, ingredients used etc - are the same.

They get surprised for the Nth time today. This shop has a concept of making ramen that goes well with rice.

Besides koi and ramen, the shop has one more ‘focus’ - sumo.

The shop owner is a former sumo wrestler

This board has all the sumos names and ranks written on it

After all their talks, they finally place their ramen orders. Nino goes got the smallest one, the special ramen. Aiba goes for the biggest, the ‘big bowl big ramen’.

MC: And after that how many koi fish do you guys want?
Aiba: No thanks
N: Let’s just concentrate on the ramen first!
Shop owner: I can bag them in an instant!
N: No its fine no its fine! this is the 700 yen special ramen.

The soup is boiled with pork bones and chicken bones etc for 8 hours

The soup is added to a special shoyu sauce that hasn’t been changed since 31 years ago

The noodles match perfectly with the soup - it’s of medium thickness and straight.

topped with loads of locally produced spring onions

And this is the one Aiba ordered… the extra big portion for 1000 yen.

The char siew is made from specially selected pork shoulder roast, that is then cooked in a specially made sauce for 4 hours

and on top of that, there’s a service that the shop owner delightfully provides for free.

Japanese farmed rice, cooked to perfection and provided with the ramen at absolutely no cost!

The shop owner tells them the order to eat the food.

First up is to try the rice. Plain.

A: Mochi mochi! (soft but chewy?)

Next is to take the char siew that’s been in the soup...

And use the char siew as a wrap for the rice...

N: Ah umai!

A: Ah umee!

Next they try the soup

Aiba is pleased with the ramen. I think he said something like ‘i can eat this everyday'

Nino commented on how the soup is thick, but you won’t get sick of drinking it. N: You can keep eating and eating… (Aiba is) standing up to eat?

XD Aiba x Food = high tension

You can taste the chicken, the pork and the vegetables...

Its fit for daytime, or at night after drinking… A: it’ll probably taste best in the day...

MC: Please look at the aquarium while eating

Aiba commented that the menma tastes great. Its home made by the shop. It takes them 4 days to ferment the bamboo shoots.

Nino: *eats a mouthful of ramen* umai ne? *looks at aquarium*
MC: Thank you! For looking at the koi Shop owner: the koi fish are happy too

Shop owner: everyone (the fish) is looking here to give their greetings

MC: Please give ninomiya-san 10 fishes!
N: no no no! Shop owner: How about a hundred?
N: No no no not its fine! The boys insist that today they came for the ramen and not the fish

Shop owner: I can have them deliver to your house!

N: No its fine, no its fine, we came for the ramen ONLY! Thank you very much!

And that was good restaurants, tedious restaurants, file no. 22!

Now for the main part of the show!

The guest for today is the Japan academy prize winner Kimura Tae. I keep thinking Kimura Takuya when I hear them say her name haha. I shall just call her KT for short XD

It starts off with the horn sounding as usual. I noticed that lately they haven’t been showing the preparation room? scene. Guess there’s not enough time :P

Gentleman Sho guides the guest to the centre

It’s the first time KT has been with all 5 of them (for work etc). Previous KT has only worked with Nino together during dramas.

They acted together in 拝啓、父上様 (Haikei, Chichiue-sama) and the SP drama 天国で君に逢えたら (Tengoku de Kimi ni Aetara). Sho commented that Nino alone had worked together with KT a lot. N and KT have been drinking together. Like when he went to the shop to meet his friend and KT is there as well, and they drink together.

KT’s impression of N: He is littler, but a little perverted

LOLOLOL

N: that’s wrong! isn’t this weird?

N: Is there such a thing as a detailed pervert???

S: Its like saying “a productive rest day"

O: In what way is he a pervert?
N: In this direction? Not going to ask about the detailed part?
Hahaha Ohno you pervert :P KT explains that she feels that as actors, they have to have a little bit of a pervert in them, otherwise they won’t have it as actors. So she meant pervert as a compliment.

Nino looks pleased. Until sho says: Isn’t that good? Hentai-kun (pervert-kun)?

N: No no no!
Ohno jumps right in!
O: Hentai! Ganbatte yo! N: He said ganbare yo hentai to me! What does he want me to work hard on???

Ohno is such a joker today XD

S: So last time, he opened a select shop… Don Matsumoto J-san *laughs* please do a fashion check for today’s guest! J praises her for wearing green really well. (As in, the green matches her) Looking at her wearing this green, you can feel a healing aura coming from her, I think its really great

S: So that was a really positive comment, let’s see how many J will KT get?

(Immediately after S finishes his talk) J: 3 J!
S: That was fast!

It’s the brats corner! Ninomi-house! (I like it how they called him Ninomi in the concerts too ^.^ guess this corner will stick around for a loooong time)

Nino warns that today’s segment will be bad. N: On the whole its all very dark.S: Indeed, looking at the centre parts, all the ‘hit rock bottom’ episodes 1,2, 3
S: but there’s the love talk… N: Even the love talk is… kinda dark...

DOB: 1971 Mar 16. Born in Tokyo… some where in Tokyo. Blood type A.
N: We searched, for the famous ppl who were born in the same area
Everyone: *laugh*
S: This part has become a joke… Because a few times previously the ‘famous’ people were either totally not famous, or were so longggg dead that there was only drawings of them (in an era before cameras)

This time round the famous people are really famous though… (but i don’t know them… :X )

A movie director and two more guys.

N: If we were to continue the list it’ll be Kazama-kun
S: Ah, Kazama Shunsuke ne? (he’s also a Johnnys)

A photo of KT when she was 7.

And when she was 10. N: Her legs are long! J: Her hair is long!

and another photo of her when she was 10.

S: How should i look at this? *tries to turn his head*
KT: This is the wrong way up… This is the metal bar, and me trying to do a somersault.

The staff finally turns around, ending their agony of trying to tilt their heads to view the picture properly.
N: You left it opposite for so long! (to staff) We didn’t understand at all! S: Earlier her hair looked her X Japan! (A visual key heavy metal band)

Her teenage love story… she confessed to Tatsuya-kun 3 times, and was rejected 3 times.
N: This is really scary, please listen to her explanation

S: that’s incredible. Normally after one time, you get heartbroken already…
Anyway KT explains her story. In kindergarden she liked this boy, and wanted to give him chocolates during valentines. She was about the give him the chocolates when he came up to her and asked ‘you like me don’t you?’. And since she was asked like this, she could only deny it, and in the end she didn’t give the chocolates to him.
After that we went into an all-girls school and didn’t meet him at all. Later in secondary school, she saw him at the train station. But unsure as to whether he remembers her or not, she didn’t call out to him.

Since she was in an all girls primary school, she didn’t meet any boys and was only thinking of him all throughout till secondary school.

J: Tatsuya-kun are you watching this? Tatsuya kin! *waves*
Next was around 3rd year of high school… O: *laughs*
S: Wait, the 2nd time has ended already?
KT: Yes
S: So the 2nd time ended at the train station, and now it’s the 3rd incident?
KT: yes. I was going to visit my friend at their house when i saw him playing badminton with his girlfriend right beside my friend’s house.

She was excited to see him again, but she saw who she believes is definitely his girlfriend, and then she just hanger head in disappointment and walked off.
N: What i find scary is that she said she got rejected 3 times!

S: I noticed it halfway too.
J: She didn’t get rejected at all right?
N: Indeed, she didn’t even confess! Her first turning point in life came at age 18 when she to a school to study musicals...

---------------------------------------------

Continued in the next part!