4 posts from October 2008

Just informing you all that I changed my name here. I don't know any other Destini's in fandom anyhow but I'm going through a legal name change soon so I'm changing it on my accounts 'cause....I want to? Haha.

Feel free to still just call me Destini though. No, really. Just call me Destini. :)

To add: Thank you all who commented on my Sho Anniversary Post! Some of the comments were so amazing and well-thought! It really made me emotional. I was glad to see that my somewhat radical feelings in regards to both Arashi and Sho were not chastised or judged. I'm glad to see we have such open minds in this fandom. <3

I'm catching up to replies now and so I apologize it took so long. Busy week. Why is school so hard?!

Also...fan meet date is 95% chosen. I need to call Oiwake and ask what kind of establishment they "turn into" after dark to prevent any run ins with chaos if it's  mostly drunken adults. We don't need that in a Arashi fan meet. Arashi is fake drunk enough. ^.^

Hello, hello. Today is Sho’s 13^th Anniversary in Johnny’s Jimusho. Well, it was yesterday technically but you get the point.

I’m not at my own computer so I can’t do a picture spam. Besides I promise there will be about 50 of those sprawled all over your neighborhood pages. I’m not against pictures but you know. As a hardcore Sho ichibanner, I just want to do something different so. I will just write about it instead of showing pictures or making graphics.

I do remember things like the exact moment I knew I really wanted to follow and support Sho’s career, the first time I was brought to tears by something that involved him, the first thing of his I saw that make me laugh uncontrollably. I think these moments that I’ve had with such strong emotions and are tied together with Sho have left a lasting impression in me.  You’d think I’d know him personally and I know I don’t, but at lot of times I feel that I’m looking at the Sho way past the good looks and esteemed educational career. I believe I’m a fan of a ‘different Sho’ than a lot of others. I’m not trying to be insulting or stand on a higher pedestal. However, I know my reasons for liking Sho and I do honestly think they differ from others in a ton of cases.

I like Sho’s infamous anger issues. I like the fact that he used to be a bit of a jealous person. I like all the times he messes up. It makes him human! He’s one of the most human to me – even amongst the flesh and bone I see walking past me every day. Even as a Johnny, he still amazes me with an ability to stand out in a company of essentially “perfect men” because he’s the complete opposite. Sho Sakurai is not perfect and he never will be – and that’s why I love him. I wrote a speech about Sho once and I ended it with this,

“Moreover, Sho truly cares about his friends. I want to become this type of person in my later life as well. With that, I know I can say with full confidence that I will strongly support Sho Sakurai for as long as I feasibly can.”

This has nothing to do with being in love with Sho. I’m going to be real and say that it is hard to fall in love with someone you’ve never met. Nevertheless I can say with the utmost confidence that I do love Sho Sakurai with all my being. He is one of the examples of what I want to become as a student, a worker, and a friend. He’s broken boundaries that he probably didn’t even imagine possible. He’s become such a strong presence in his country with all the opportunities he’s been given and it’s truly a blessing to see him not abusing the gifts he’s been given.

For the longest, I think that I kind of lost hope in human beings (let alone boys) so Arashi as a whole has really reminded me that there are truly wonderful people in existence. I’ve met some of the greatest friends. I’ve met amazing fellow fans. I’ve been exposed to so much. I’ve been given so many chances to help spread the name of International Arashi fandom all the way to Japan and back. I will still fight that battle to get our favorite boy-band out here too. Arashi for some people is a group of five young men. For some it’s a carbon-copy of contrived pop music. For some, they are just “pretty men” or generally “talentless.” For some Arashi is a nice group to listen to sometimes.

However for me, Arashi…Arashi is like a lifestyle, you know? We follow their careers. Wish for their well-being. Some need Arashi’s music to continue into the new day. Some need to see their ichiban’s smile to carry on. Some need to read their words to be inspired. Arashi really have caused a storm in so many of our lives and has washed away any sort of ache or hurt we once though would never subside. Arashi did that for me many a time and to this day, I know if I am feeling like I need to be shaken alive again, I can turn to them.

I know we International fans really are touched by Arashi. It is more than just being a fangirl. They are a huge part of our lives. Think about the support and sweat we’d pour into any cause if we knew someone or something was trying to come against Arashi. We saw it during this summer even. Don’t mess with our men, right? Haha.

I haven't changed it since I got here on Vox so I got the urge and decided to fix it up....

Lyrics are from Sho's Kaze no Mukou e rap!
Scans are from PIKANCHI photobook (scanned by Winky-chan @ LiveJournal)

And the graphical rendering was done by me. Yaaay.

I hope you guys will still recognize me without my goofy close-up face icon of Sho. XD

I flipped out so hardcore!!!

I mean.....................how do I explain this?

I know I'm only me! I don't claim to be a super powerhouse with marketing prowess and skills.

However, I am a fan!
And.....I want Arashi to gain Intl recognition.

So this really made me just go, "Ok! We can't stop now! We gotta keep showing that they do have a fanbase even farther than Asia!"

So this was the jump-start I needed! I'm hoping to be able to do more in helping us all get recognized.

Firstly though, I'm mailing the radio shows tonight and mentioning their being in an American magazine. Even if they don't read it on air, they may read it off air and so...I'll do it. Ganbarimasu~

EDIT: Here's the link to the post on LiveJournal with the scan: http://community.livejournal.com/arashi_on/936925.html#cutid1

EDIT 2: I just realized the the OP of the scan on LJ locked the post so I will post the text in the article here with full credits to Billboard Magazine.

You're not missing a picture -- it's not even Arashi, it's Touma-chan. XD I'm not sure why they used his image but some speculate it's because he isn't a debuted Johnny.

No matter, here's the blurb on Arashi.

#10: Song Used As A "Tie-Up" Theme In TBS Network Drama Series "MAOU" Stars the frontman of J-pop act Arashi
WEEKLY VIEWERSHIP OF ABOUT 15.1 MILLION
"Maou" is a weekly drama series about a lawyer seeking revenge against the killer of his younger brother. It stars Satoshi Ono, leader of J-pop hitmaker Arashi. The band's song "Truth" is used as the show's title tune. A single was released Aug. 20 and had sold 450,000 copies as of Sept. 16, according to SoundScan Japan.