Sorry this was so long in coming! For this month, there was a a group nabe party to celebrate the end of the year with a ton of talking as they did a recap of most (if not all) of the things they tried for Gekkan Arashi during 2007.

Comments are always loved; enjoy!

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The Television Monthly - Gekkan Arashi - 2007 12 22/2008 01 31

Year-end custom. ♥ It's a lively introspection conference with all five members! Since it's rare for all five of them to gather together, let's hold a happy end-of-year nabe party as we recall 2007's Gekkan Arashi and speak of Arashi's prospects for 2008!


2007 started with yamanba make-up, and the mini 4WDs and curry making also had a great response!


In this past year of 2007, there has been many challenges in Gekkan Arashi. Thank you everyone for your hard work! We've provided nabe and some side dishes for you, we hope everyone can have a happy, adult-like end-of-year party. ♥ Before you start, let's take a group picture!

Matsumoto: I'm hungry~ Hurry up.
Ninomiya: Then, let's do a shot for Aiba-san's birthday (December 24th) party.
Aiba: Yay! (peace sign)
M: Then, let's do a toast?
Ohno: Because we have other work after this, it's too bad we can only use water to toast with (tear)
Sakurai: Then, with the passing of another year, thank you for all the hard work in 2007!!
All: Yeah~!! Itadakimasu!
N: (watching as Sakurai immediately reaches for the meat) Just as expected, Yatterman really likes meat~
S: (happily dunking his meat) Meat is super tasty ♥
M: Hey, pass me that seasoning over there~ ah, I want to eat white rice.
A: Me too! Two bowls of rice.


---Experiencing the atmosphere of an end-of-year party with Arashi, we recounted the event to everyone like a live broadcast.

M: Please give us five hand towels.
S: Then, what did we do for Gekkan Arashi in 2007?
M: Yamanba!
S & A: Oooh~
A: 2007 started off with yamanba make-up, right? (laugh)
S: Yamanba was really fun. That project was a big hit.
N: And you guys even sent us the pictures you took of it.
O: It really suited you guys. You were even prettier than actual girls.
A: I know, right?
M: I gave a really good suggestion. (<- yamanba idea originator)
N: Nice assist!


---The Yamanba-sans on duty also gave you guys yamanba nicknames of 翔にゃん (Shonyan) and マサキィ (Masakii) too.

M: That's awesome. (laugh)
A: But, that really was fun. Though the spots on my skin where they used white felt tip markers turned a bit rough after. Just as expected, those are things you use to write with, not to draw on your face (laugh).
M: I'm putting in the tofu~ (<- in charge of the nabe that day. Cooking seriously.)
O: There was a really good reception amongst the fans with the yamanba make-up too, right?
N: It was probably really good, since it became a topic of conversation amongst the fans. This kind of thing is very hard to come by (laugh).
S: Speaking of good reception, that should be Ohno-kun and Aiba-chan's mini 4WDs, no? The three group shots with the mini 4WD instructor were really good.
N: That instructor's impact was too strong, you couldn't even tell who's the main character anymore.
All: (loud laughter)
S: The instant I opened that page, I burst out laughing. (laugh) Who the heck was that person between Ohno and Aiba?
A: That time when I made cookies with Leader was really fun too. We made members' faces out of cookie dough.
O: It was really tasty ♥
M: (looking at pictures from the cookie making) Wa--wait a minute! What are you guys doing? What's with this picture at the bottom?!


Faced with a love-love photo of Ohno and Aiba biting into the same cookie together, MatsuJun was really stunned.

S: It's so gross~ please don't do this anymore! (laugh)
A: I don't even remember it anymore~
M: You can't remember because you did it naturally without thinking, right? You did it because you were already in a hyper mood, that's very dangerous. (stern lecturing for some reason)
O: (ignores MatsuJun's lecturing) It's really tasty when the baked cookies are a bit raw still~
M: Ah! This is the cookie with my face, I received this!!


That's right. We brought it to the set for Hana Yori Dango 2~

S: The cookie with my face was broken.
A: We originally wanted to make a 3D cookie with Sho-kun's. But even though I made the cookie, it broke off while baking (laugh).
N: So Shonyan broke?
S: That's enough isn't it, this Shonyan.
N: Me and Leader made candles.
M: You did that?
O: So that was in 2007~
S: The curry project with Aiba-chan was really fun too. I immediately ate the curry that I took home with me. It was really delicious.
A: I made ma po tofu.
S: And then we made curry together. Which kind did I make?
A: It was that kind of curry from soba restaurants. It's really good when you add dashi to it~
S: That's right that's right. It doesn't matter which one, they were both really delicious.
M: Sho-kun can cook now too.
S: Ye--yeah. Though I really just stood beside our instructor Tokyo curry banchou-san and served as his assistant.


As they recalled the Gekkan Arashi from 2007, someone was very attentive to the nabe.

M: Don't just eat meat, it's about time to put in vegetables. Excuse me, please give me a pair of serving chopsticks!


Ohno and Ninomiya sat facing each other and continued eating fugu chiri nabe [T/N: puffer fish hot pot].

M: You're not eating the meat over here?
O & N: Nah~
M: You two really don't eat a lot of expensive seasonal meat (laugh).
N: Fugu tastes better.
O: The speed was really fast. So fast that it ended up falling off.
All: What was?
O: Mini 4WDs.
S: You're back to talking about that again?! (laugh)
A: There were a lot of cars there that we hadn't been able to buy when we were kids, so it was a dream-like project.
O: That's right~
M: Here, Ma-kun, tofu.
A: Ah, thanks~ ♥
M: Here Sho-kun, tofu.
S: Thank you~!
M: Eat the vegetables too.
A: Okay, I'll eat them~
(for some reason, MatsuJun went from being coordinator to mother)
M: Me and Leader's watermelon splitting was really fun too. I hadn't participated in Gekkan Arashi for a long while.
O: We got a lot out of watermelon splitting!
A: (tosses mochi into the pot)
S: (dashi splashes out) Hot! That was scary~ Aiba-kun, don't put things in. Just let MatsuJun do it.
A: Sorry sorry. I went to a ryoutei [T/N: Traditional expensive Japanese restaurant] with MatsuJun too.
S: You actually did something like that?!
A: The ryoutei was really nice.
M: We had a great time.
N: With me it was making bookmarks together. But because Matsumoto-san had other private arrangements after, it was really rushed.
M: (laugh) There was such a thing?
N: I finished up at 9.
M: Was there something that day? Excuse me, please add some more soup! (revival of the coordinator)
S: And then, the last one was BBQ birthday right? Shiritori [T/N: Japanese word game, also basis for how each challenge is decided upon] really is neat. Because you think of things you normally won't think of. I originally thought yamanba was going to be uncomfortable, but when we did it that turned out surprisingly fun.
A: Like a new discovery.
S: Like a miracle.
A: Should we continue with shiritori for 2008?
N: Let's continue until the battery for Matsumoto-san's electronic dictionary runs out, and even if that happens Matsumoto-san can help provide ideas.
M: No worries. I just changed the battery a while ago (laugh).
N: 2008 starts with "yu".
M: Making yukatas.
S: Yugoslavia. If "kyu" works too, then Cutie Honey.
O: Kyuukei. [T/N: rest/break]
S: Ohno-san will rest for a round (laugh). Kyuushoku [T/N: school lunch], yuinou [T/N: engagement], yuigon [T/N: will]!
M: Yuuenchi. [T/N: amusement park]
A: I want to go! And yukimizake. [T/N: watching falling snow while drinking sake]
S: That sounds nice~


In the midst of enthusiastic brainstorming for 2008's projects, we also looked forward to even greater activities from this group called "Arashi".

N: Leader, how was 2007? It was a great year wasn't it.
O: And my hobbies also increased with fishing.
All: Ah?!
N: Sorry. What you meant was that it increased just now, right?
A: The truth finally comes out. Up until now we heard about the fishing from time to time, but it turns out it really is something that just began recently, isn't it? (laugh)
O: I finally got it off my chest. Actually, I only started liking it in 2007 (laugh).
N: Speaking of increasing, I think the number of times Arashi appeared on television has increased. Especially CMs, because a lot of people have said so. They see a lot of Arashi CMs.
S: I'm really thankful to have different people talk about us like that. And we haven't changed, we're happy to be together like we always have been. Especially the first day of our tour, it was really enjoyable when everyone ate out together.
N: We were all very youthful that day.
M: We ate and drank a ton, it was really lively.
N: These past 8 years we always mistakenly thought "we're famous!", but it's come true now.
M: It'll come true as long as you make a wish~ (laugh)
S: But the souvenirs that Aiba-san brought back from Thai still haven't changed, the're always things with tigers on them.
N: In that aspect, nothing really changed. Things like always buying souvenirs for other members.
M: I really want this kind of thing to continue like this.