Himitsu no Arashi-chan

So. The day has finally come - the end of Himitsu no Arashi-chan.

The show started airing in 2008, just after I became an Arashi fan. I didn't really realize they were starting a new show until it finally started airing and honestly I wasn't all that interested in the concept. I had fallen in love with Arashi by watching Shukudai-kun, CxDxG no Arashi, and MMA. This new 1-hr info-show wasn't that appealing and I actually barely watched the show at all for the first year. Sure I've seen the main stuff, Hana Yori MatsuJun, the Haunted House Clips, the Super Mario tournament and Child Minder but that's about it. Then when all that stopped I totally dropped the show and ended up coming back when they started the Mannequin 5 segment.



I was pretty surprised at how much the show had changed in just a year. I didn't even know what all these different segments were. (Looking back at the episode list I actually still don't know what most of these are...?). I only watched Mannequin 5, and Mote Arashi Dame Arashi, and VIP room if I knew the guest. Also the episodes I watched were quite limited because I still needed subtitles at this time and I sure wasn't watching the show un-subbed, it was boring enough when I could understand it.

Then I went to Japan for a year. I realized I could watch Arashi shows real time, on TV and I took that to my advantage. If I was bored I could switch channels, I didn't need to download the episodes, and I was able to practicce my Japanese. It was a win-win situation so I started watching the show more. Not weekly but more often than I used to - and I realized that VIP room was pretty damn funny. And Mannequin 5 was a GREAT show to watch with friends. After I left Japan I also learned how to search up Arashi shows on Chinese streaming websites and other ways so that I could watch them without streaming.

Now that Shukudai-kun had ended and Shiyagare was really hard for me to understand without subs, and I've never been the biggest fan of VSA (I don't think it's boring but it's not something I'd go out of my way to watch, it was the show I'd catch on TV if it happened to be on). So I started watching HnA regularly, although I only watched the segments I mentioned earlier and Ranking Derby. When they changed to VIP Limo though, I lost interest again. I didn't mind the fact that they had to split up into pairs, but I'll admit there are some pairs I like than others and the guest really factored in to whether I watched the show.

At this point the only part I watched were the ones with the female guest. VIP Limo and then Share House. I really didn't watch anything else, not even Mannequin 5. I loved Share House by the way - I love how relaxed they were and overall how pointless it was. I knew that I just felt that way as a fan though - I could definitely see why more casual viewers would be going 'wtf is this show, this is stupid'. I had a feeling the show would be ending. and when the announcement hit didn't really blink. I was like "oh ok, that sucks" and then that was about it.

Then the final episode actually aired. When they were going through the cardboard boxes the only thought in my mind was 懐かしい～ (natsukashii) - because there really isn't an english word to describe the feeling. I wasn't sad though, not even when they started going outside the door. The Ohno turned off the lights, and the darkness really was depressing. What really got to me though was the animation at the end with Still... playing. It was amazing and I loved being able to spot out the different moments (which they talked about) and the transitions between one thing to the next. It was honestly so moving and just so great. A final hommage to the show.

After Shukudai-kun ended, Himitsu no Arashi-chan was my most favourite show of theirs. It was the only one I would watch a bit of at least every week and I really am quite sad to see it gone. I really loved how it was geared towards female guests because I love seeing them interact with female costars.

With that being said I was a bit happy cause I thought it meant the boys would get less work, have time for other stuff, relax, but then Nino, Aiba, and Sho got their own shows. I'm probably not going to watch them. Arashi has always been 5 to me, I rarely follow their single-member stuff unless it's Ohno, Jun, or Nino doing a drama/movie, but even then.

Bye bye Himitsu no Arashi-chan! You shall be missed... :( My Thursdays are going to feel so empty from now on.