The Fountain of Youth

My skin is glowing, my heart is light, and my eyes sparkle like puppies frolicking in sunshine. I walk, nay skip, with a youthful buoyancy. (Which could be due to my new Dr. Scholl's gel insoles...I be gellin'...like a...um, melon? Never mind.)

In fact, I feel like a teeny bopper again. I feel a compulsion to tease and hairspray my bangs, tuck my pegged jeans into my double socks, obsess over a suspicious red spot on my face, pout sullenly at dinner with my parents, and squee on my pink princess phone with my bestest friend in the whole world. (Yes, I am a child of the late '80s…sigh.)

So what brought this on, you ask? One word, three syllables, five pretty boys of squishable cuteness and hotness: Arashi. What is Arashi, you ask? Oh just the most awesome Japanese-pop boy band EVER.

(Click image to enjoy full-size Arashi Kawaii-ness )

I discovered them by accident last year while watching "Hana Yori Dango" and "Hana Yori Dango Returns", a Japanese drama series based on the manga of the same name. Arashi sings the theme songs for the drama, and also features one of the group members, Matsumoto Jun (squee!) as one of the male leads.

My interest in the theme songs, and Jun, led me to the group, and thanks to the magic of Youtube, I discovered the wonderfulness that is Arashi. From the music videos (PVs) to live performances, to subtitled clips from their variety shows (all hail fansubbers…they are gifted, generous, dedicated super-people who can walk on water) I have come to know, and love, all the members of Arashi. This love was solidified when I went to their concert in Shanghai. (See my looooong regaling of that fangrrl weekend here.)

Now, I can go on and on about these boys (and I have...I will, however, spare you from the fangrrling which is all documented in my FanGrrl LiveJournal!) but suffice it to say that for me, Arashi is more than just pretty boys who dance and sing...through the genius of multiple channels of Arashi exposure (in addition to their music-related commitments, they collectively host three weekly TV shows, each member has a radio show, and they all have solo gigs acting or hosting) we get to see Arashi as wacky, funny guys who have amazing chemistry with each other (they celebrate their 10th anniversary this year), and who are not afraid of showing their un-idol-like, dorky sides, be it via wacky science experiments, quirky athletic trials (aka Idiot Athletic Meets), and insane culinary creations. (By the way, what is it about cute guys who act like dorks? Adorable. Sadly, this does not hold true for dorky-looking guys who act cute. Hey, that's life...things are tougher for the un-cute. I should know. Thankfully, some of the un-cute get brains, personality, rich parents or other things that level the playing field.)

My love for Arashi grew to epic proportions when I watched them, for the 101st episode special of one of their shows, drag a fresh giant whole tuna (worth US$10,000) into the Fuji TV headquarters in order to thank Fuji TV for their continued support. Yes, they put a visitor's badge around the tuna's neck. Yes, they conned a top executive, drunk on fresh ootoro, into signing a proclamation giving Arashi a prime TV spot during Golden Week. And yes, they asked the executive to put his thumbprint (using fresh tuna blood) on the proclamation. My God, these boys are funny. And cute. I watched that episode three times in a row and giggled every time.

Yes, I giggled. Like a giddy schoolgirl. And that, my friends, is truly proof that fangrrling is the fountain of youth.