Ya-Ya-yah Obse-shoon || Ya-Ya-yahを忘れていない || 山下翔央鮎川太陽薮宏太八乙女光

05.02.27 Ya-Ya-yah in Music Station

2009-08-15T14:57:00.006+02:00

山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
edit: sorry; by mistake idiot me made private the LJ entry for the comments. It's fixed now.

I'm spending my Summer vacation at the countryside with my family, and for a few days I was without an Internet connection, but not anymore! ^0^ I got myself a pay-as-you-go USB modem and I can't download or upload big stuff, but I can check my mail and surf the Net and update my blog, so it's a huge relief. I suppose it's rather pathetic, but I admit that not having an Internet connection drives me insane. XD;;;

I brought my external hard-drive here as well, with lots of things to watch, like Hyakushiki, Shokura, and the episodes that have been subbed so far of Yabu's and Hikaru's dramas, Nynkyo Helper and Orthros no inu. I've decided I'll be patient and wait for the subbed versions of each episode because it's much more enjoyable to watch when you can understand all that's being said, and the subbing-teams of these two dramas are really fast too. The generosity of fansubbers and fan-translators never ceases to amaze me. I'm a translator myself, and I know how much time and effort it takes to translate something, so devoting your time to do it for free for the enjoyment of others is just downright awesome.

I haven't yet started watching Orthros no Inu -will do so later-, but I did start watching some of Ninkyo Helper, so my next post will be about that. =) This was going to be a rant against stupid JE, who fails to realize again and again that Shoon deserves more. The spark this time was the fact that in the September mags, Shoon is only featured in Duet. ;____; (hence the header - thanks to Enshinge for the lovely scan! ^3^) It worried the hell out of me because... well, Tôshin ended up disappearing from the mags after a while, and I don't want that to happen to Shoon. It would be highly unfair. Doesn't he show, week after week in Hyakushiki what a great entertainer he is? I'm on the brink of starting a campaign, to encourage Shoon fans to send letters or postcards to Potato and Wink Up -maybe even Myojo- to let them know that we want them to continue featuring Shoon. Don't know if it would be of any use, but I just feel the need to do something. It's particularly unfair towards us, foreign fans, as mags are one of the very few legal ways we have of keeping up with our JE idols.

Anyway, I don't want to be a harbinger of doom, so I'm trying to convince myself that perhaps Shoon was just busy with his University exams as Japanese fans suggest. *crosses fingers* That's why I decided that, instead of using this entry to fume and moan, I'd rescue an entry draft I made some time ago and never posted. It featured one of Ya-Ya-yah's appearances in Music Station, together with KAT-TUN, in which they sang Start!, She Said, and Kizuna. Ya-Ya-yah wore their Power Rangers outfits for the occasion. I'll never understand how Shoon managed to look sexy in that, but he did. XD *aside to Hydee* It's weird that Hikaru had yellow instead of blue, and Shoon's outfit looks bluish more than green. *end of aside*

Start! was the first Ya-Ya-yah song I listened to, so it's one of my faves, and it's so energetic and happy it makes me feel energetic and happy too. =) I love the cute/buffonish interaction between Ya-Ya-yah and KAT-TUN and this particular version of Kizuna is awesomely beautiful, especially the end, and Jin's vocal qualities always impress me when I watch this.

2005.05.27 [MS].mpeg Ya-Ya-yah & KAT-TUN ~ Start! + She Said + Kizuna

[DOWNLOAD VIDEO (197MB) .001 .002] - [DOWNLOAD MP3]

For more Ya-Ya-yah performances in Music Station, please visit my site Be Ambitious. =)

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I'm not a hippie

2009-08-04T11:48:00.013+02:00

山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
"Share the fun; spread the love". I think we all agree that's what fandom is about. However, as far as I know, we're not a hippie community, are we? If I pay for something, and then I want to share it, I think I have every right to share it in any way I please.

When I post scans, or a Hyakushiki episode at the Shoon LiveJournal community, and I request (not order) people to "please, wait a week before re-posting" or "please, do not re-post" and then say "thank you" in advance, I am not claiming a monopoly.

As the community maintainer, I'm just claiming an exclusive that will become an added bonus for people to remain members, and for more people to join the community.

I'm not so naive as to think that what I share will not be shared again by somebody else later on. I have no control over it anyway. I just ask people not to re-post it. If they do, all I can do is ban them from the community.

Also, I don't make any profit from sharing what I share. Much on the contrary; it costs me time and money. By saying this I don't intend to pass for a martir or a Jeanne d'Arc.

I spend money on fandom because I want to. I "waste" my time because I enjoy blogging and making fansites. And if I waste my time googling for alternate ways to watch and record a show when nobody will upload or share it, I do it because I myself want to watch it.

But I won't keep quiet when people who try to make profit from fandom and have tried to make profit from noble, if naive, fan projects, criticize me. Yeah, it's a free world and you can place ads on your blog, and webgain links, but if we're talking about the true spirit of fandom, I don't think THAT is the true spirit.

I won't keep quiet when people accuse me of being selfish. I have never tried to make any profit from my blogging (I avoid ads as much as possible because they're annoying and bother me), I have never put a watermark on my scans (yet I respect people who do) or the videos I've shared, and I have organized contests and given away stuff (like clippings and so on), paying for the shipping costs myself, just for the fun of it and for making the fandom more active. Again, I don't intend to pass for a Jeanne d'Arc, and I have many faults, but selfishness is not one of them.

If it's a crime to create a community and keep certain files and scans exclusive to it as little bonuses because you want people to find it worthwhile to be a part of it, then yes, I declare myself guilty.

Why do people upload clips and shows and share them on their blogs? I don't think it's merely for "spreading the love". Try and blog without sharing ANYTHING: not even streaming videos, or news, or pictures. ~~Much the Japanese way, except they do post news, but then they're privileged because they're living where it all happens.~~ Just blog giving your views and opinions. Then we'd see how many people would still follow your blog after a few weeks. The true spirit of blogging is not posting a clip, a download link, saying "Man, this show was great!", and throwing in a couple of witty comments.

Months ago it became increasingly difficult to watch or download Hyakushiki. The clubbox from which we all downloaded it became password-protected, TVU stopped working, so did TVants, J-net closed its doors...

Shoon only appears in Hyakushiki Ou these days, so as a Shoon fan, I was a little desperate to find a way to watch the show; any way. I resorted to a sort of "pay-per-view" online service. Not that much; 3 dollars every once in a while, but it's something I paid for anyway.

Now, I shared it at the Shoon community, happy to have a little exclusive thing I could share and asked people to "please wait a week before re-posting". Not even "please do not re-post"; just "please wait a week". 1 WEEK! Is that too much to ask? Was that selfish of me? I think not.

But of course there's people for whom, you know, blogging is a 24/7 job, and they just HAVE to make a post when there's something worth posting. You have known them for years, and they could have asked: "hey, I know you asked to wait a week, but would you mind if I re-posted it?". I'm so soft I would most likely have said "yes, sure, go ahead".

Well, instead of that they converted the video I had recorded to a different format, and posted it the next day on their blog, not only not crediting me, but passing it as their own. How nice is that?

Me being the obsessive fan I am, I kept on searching for some place where somebody might be sharing the show in good quality, and had the immense luck of finding somebody who can record Japanese shows in HighDefinition (HD). I had nothing to lose, so I asked if they might record Hyakushiki for me every week, and they said yes. Each file is over 3 gygabites, and the quality is amazing.

Now, re-uploading 3GB files every week for other people would be suicide for my connection, and not many people would be interested in such huge files, so I resize and convert them, which takes my computer over an hour and a half, then edit the file to cut the commercials, because with them the files are still too big, then split it with HJSplit, then upload it to MediaFire, then sometimes also make a smaller file for those who cannot download HD files, and then I also upload the whole file to the FTP of a Chinese-speaking Shoon community. Is THAT being selfish?

The person who records the show for me never asked for anything, but I felt awkward and cheeky (especially because once I mentioned I liked Shounen Club and they started recording it in HD for me too, plus Shounen Club Premium), so I asked if maybe I could make a donation, or something. They said it would be appreciated, so every month I make a donation of 15 euros (21 dollars) to thank them for the trouble. No, I don't intend to pass for a Joanne d'Arc, but if I pay for something and want to share it, I think I have the right to ask people not to re-post it. All you need to do to get the show is join the community.

And, as I said, it's the only show Shoon is appearing in these days, so I think it's not selfish if I want to keep the files exclusive to the community. V6, HSJ, Kisumai, ABC and junior fans who might not be the least interested in Shoon but want the show in HD to see Inocchi, Tottsu, Keito, Fujigaya, Takada, or Sanada are more than welcome to join the community, and I've advertised the Shoon community on the HSJ, ABC and Kisumai communities, so they know about it.

So really, is it selfish to ask people not to re-post some of the things I share? Those who know me know what ~~an obsessive~~ a huge Shoon fan I am, what crazy things I do for him, and that all I want is to help in any way possible to make him more popular in the foreign fandom, as well as for him to know how much support he has. If that makes me selfish, so be it.

P.S.: Laughing at a non-English speaker for their English is rather unfeeling when they're making an effort to communicate in a language that's not their own and so different from their own.
P.S.2: Please don't idolize bloggers, it's bad for our health and bad for your self-esteem.

And just for the sake of being "selfish", have a couple of scans. You can re-post them wherever you want as long as you credit me. They are from the 2006.04 issue of a girls magazine called Nicola. =)

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the b-day girl thank-you post

2009-08-02T09:24:00.007+02:00

Nope, not closing down this place. ;) I think this has been my longest absence though, and for that I must apologize. The past 3 months were really tiring, and even though I'm officially on holidays now, I'm still trying to sort some things up. You could say I'm working on a master plan for my life. Well, not for my whole entire life, something for the short term rather.

I've always had lots of interests, which is a good thing I'd say, but I have a tendency to start a thousand things at a time and then it's so hard for me to drop any. But I do need to drop some to focus on things that really matter to me or that will take me somewhere.

I'm not planning on dropping this fandom as long as Shoon is around though, and I still have much to share, Ya-Ya-yah-wise. I want to turn this into a coherent and comprehensive Ya-Ya-yah shrine, like I'm doing for Shoon, little by little, with the Shoon LJ community, and that means going over the group profile, creating individual profiles, scanning the rest of the articles I have... Lots of stuff. This is a looong-term project.

But it's my birthday today and I want to do something special. When I was a kid for me my birthday was all about getting presents and having fun. As you get older you realize that -even though it's always nice to get presents- you're so fortunate that you don't really need anything. It also gets a bit depressing when you go past your twenties because you feel you're not so young anymore and you start thinking of the things you've missed out on, the chances you let go...

But then you put your feet on the ground and you start appreciating the little things, and realize, as my brother J. says that turning a year older means you're alive and well, and there's a lot for you to celebrate and be thankful for.

Fandom-wise I'm thankful for all the nice people I have met, so this is a thank-you post for the friends I cherish in this fandom, in no particular order - you're all much loved by yours truly, and I always, always, always read your LJ entries and keep you in my mind, even if I'm a bit of a disaster and don't comment or e-mail you very often:

♥ Yui ♥ Hydee ♥ Tina ♥ Kelwy ♥ Oza ♥ Esther ♥ Mousie ♥ Mabel ♥ Miia ♥ Aki ♥ Sue ♥ Mandy ♥ Fahlyu ♥ K (mm_seeker) ♥ Geri ♥ Quin ♥ Bre ♥ Akgla ♥ Yuu ♥ Scribe ♥ Stevenica ♥ Enshinge ♥ Mei ♥ Hikaeru ♥ Seca ♥ Rachel ♥ Joanne ♥ blurryeyes19 ♥ Yuki ♥ Marz ♥ Xanderave ♥ Sohee ♥

Much love too to all the people who comment here and on my posts at the Shoon LJ comm. ^_____^

I'll be back... really soon, I promise. =)

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薮くん、光くん・・・ありがとう

2009-04-12T22:07:00.011+02:00

山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
I'm slow, I know; sorry. This fandom moves too fast, and probably all of you have seen this already, or read about it already, but I just had to make a post about this because it made me so happy. I even got a little teary-eyed and then I couldn't believe my eyes and couldn't stop smiling. I'm talking about yesterday's Hi!Hey!Say!'s livestage, in which Yabu and Hikaru performed Himawari no Melody, one of my favourite Ya-Ya-yah songs.

2009.04.11 [HHS] Himawari no melody.avi (94MB) [1280x720]
It was beautiful, simply beautiful, and almost perfect (almost, because two people were missing), and moving, and... and now I feel awful for not watching HHS regularly. I'll try to do so from now on. I just needed to say: 薮くん、光くん・・・ありがとう (Yabu, Hikaru... Thank you).

I've wondered many times if Yabu, Hikaru, Taiyô and Shoon were conscious of the significance the four colours (red, blue, yellow/orange, and green) JE had assigned to each of them have for us, their fans. I mean, that combination doesn't seem to be unusual at all in Japan. I've seen it in commercials, manga and anime... and in other groups in JE, other than Ya-Ya-yah. Sometimes JE uses those colours for other occasions as well... like the pamphlet of Full House, the stage play Shoon took part in last year. I'm tempted to get into the subject of ranks according to colours and how this made me happy because of what it meant for Shoon, but it's unrelated to this, so I won't go into it. XD

What I'm trying to say is that, even though for us those colours stand for Yabu, Hikaru, Taiyô and Shoon individually, and for Ya-Ya-yah together, they're not exclusive of them. So sometimes I thought that perhaps they themselves were not so aware of the significance of those colours. In fact, in photoshoots several times two or all of them wore the wrong colour (i.e. Hikaru would wear green instead of blue, etc.). I suppose those days the photographer was a bit careless or felt like humouring Hikaru, whose fave colour, as we all know, is green.

Perhaps they became more aware of the significance of their colours in the last Shounen Club episodes, before uchiwas and signs were banned, when fans used their colours to show their support for them.

Whatever the case, now I'm fully convinced that Shoon wore Taiyô's Sgt. Pepper coat on purpose, and it has made me immensely happy to see that Yabu and Hikaru are so very aware of the colours significance, that they used them on this livestage to show that they haven't forgotten Ya-Ya-yah, and that when they sing Ya-Ya-yah songs, they think of Taiyô and Shoon. I think the song they chose on this occasion was very significant too: "himawari" means "SUNflower" in Japanese, and the lyrics (which you can find translated here by Atarashiiyoake, remind me of what they went through: "I looked back (...) I got the feeling that I couldn't go back (...) saying goodbye like adults (...) Withoug shedding any tears, we might say that we'll be able to meet again somewhere (...) But that time will already be different from now, that's what we both know (...) Today won't come back, it's become our past we both know that without fail". As she says it's at the same time a beautiful song and a sad one. It's the sadness that comes from the realization that things change and you can't turn back time, but you will always cherish the time when you were part of something special.

Back to the colours... there's no way it could be just a coincidence or meaningless. The four colours appear one after another in the lyrics on the screen: first RED (ignore the white), then GREEN, then BLUE, and then YELLOW. The first batch of backdancers is dressed in RED, the second in GREEN, the third in BLUE, and the fourth in YELLOW. Also, Yabu blows a bunch of RED petals from the palm of his hand, then he gets a GREEN cloth out of his jacket (*Yamabu fan squeal*), then we see Hikaru with a BLUE balloon, and then both Yabu and Hikaru hold YELLOW SUNflowers!!! And of course there's no mention of petals, a green cloth, a blue balloon or even sunflowers. *wink-wink, nudge-nudge* I loved the way Yabu opened the green cloth and showed it so close to the camera, and I loved how all the stage ended up filled with yellow. ^_______________^ You know what? Ya-Ya-yah lives~

For the sake of good old times and new fans, here are a couple of old Ya-Ya-yah performances of this song. =)

2005.11.13 Himawari no Melody on Shounen Club:

[VIDEO] [74 MB] (credits: Yungboy) - [MP3]
To watch and download other Ya-Ya-yah performances
on Shounen Club, please visit Never Stop the Music
2005.10.23 Start! + Himawari no Melody on the Ya-Ya-yah show:

][VIDEO] [74 MB] - [MP3]
To watch and download other Ya-Ya-yah performances
on the Ya-Ya-yah show, please visit Singin' For You
And because I love you guys for bearing with me till the end of each entry, here's a little present from me to you. ^__^

2004.08 Kindai - Ya-Ya-yah scans

2005.05 Wink Up - Ya-Ya-yah scans

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I've got my glasses on

2009-03-26T21:29:00.016+01:00

I think life is making me stoical. Last year this might have crushed me, might have made me cry, might have made me angsty. Right now, a couple of days after the storm, I feel... nothing.

Sometimes feelings are like a whirlwind of dust spinning around you, clouding your mind. When that happens, it's better to wait for the wind to die down and the dust to settle, rather than act in the heat of the moment and later regret it.

It's quite fascinating how, little by little, if you let time pass -even just a few hours- you start seeing things in their true dimension. I mean that you realize that something that seemed a mountain is just a grain of sand, that sometimes it's not worth the while feeling hurt or angry or worried about something.

This time hurt came first. On Wednesday morning I woke up in the Middle Ages and found myself being hauled to the public square, where an accusing finger pointed at me and an angry voice shouted: "Witch! We must burn her at the stake!". ... No, wait, it wasn't like that really, though in a way that's what it felt like. Others may need a little drama in their life -you know, Con onor muore, Morte di Butterfly and all that-, but drama is not my thing at all. I'm more into satirical comedy. Word-duelling is a lot more fun... but it must be done in style.

Thing is that, yes, in a figurative sense it was the enactment of a drama, and there were accusations, and the place was very public indeed. It's understandable of course, because to stage a drama you need an audience, don't you agree? Who cares if it's a private matter? We're in the Age of Reality Shows, in which all private matters become public. Also, naturally, the most sublime monologue would be pointless without an audience.

The Prima Donna clenched the hearts of the breathless audience with her singing ~~barking more likely~~. I was rather shocked that the lyrics were about me, harsh and blunt words that made me feel as if my chest had turned into a bleak moor upon which a chilly wind was blowing. I knew some people in the audience, and I could sense them giving me confused looks, but the shock kept me nailed to the seat. My ears were ringing when the curtain fell, and some people still looked confused, but others clapped and cheered "stay strong!" -to the Prima Donna, not me-, and there was even an encore though we had been assured there wouldn't be any. Divas are like that. They make their audience suffer a little but can't deny them anything. So divine. Puccini would be have been proud.

If I ever happen to act like a diva, by the way, please slap me and remind me who I am: just a fan like any other. Bloggers are not fandom gurus, never worship them; they're just people who spend part of their free time doing something they like doing: writing. And no need to thank us for anything. Blogs are aimed to be read, so you, the readers are the ones that give meaning to what we bloggers do. Therefore, it's us who should be thanking you for being there.

Back to the drama of the century... The person sitting next to me was an old acquaintance. When I mentioned the lyrics and pointed out that I was actually the one that had been wronged, she didn't want to make any comments, would rather remain neutral, you know. Funnily enough though, when I was heading towards the exit I heard her praising the Prima Donna: "Stay strong!".

Some people cry or shout when somebody hurts them. I, however, am the type that clenches their fists, holds back the tears, and goes silent. I may seem okay on the outside, I may not make dramatic posts, but that doesn't mean things don't hurt me.

My acquaintance was still talking to the Prima Donna, and my surprise grew when I heard her comment on the lyrics with something that went like "it's okay; what happens happens". I frowned and then blinked repeatedly in bewilderment. What was that supposed to mean? "What happens, happens"?! So somebody punches you, and you tell a friend: "That guy punched me just now, can you believe it?", and all they do is shrug and reply: "Well, what happens happens". Hmmm... Perhaps I should adopt it as my motto now I'm going stoical. "What happens happens"; nice phrase.

I couldn't help overhearing somebody else's words as well. I'd never seen that person before, but they patted the Prima Donna's shoulder and said they understood what she was going through and oh, it was all so terrible, they were so sorry... I stood where I was, feeling like a squashed tomato, shaking inside, and wondered if that person had even considered that there are always two sides to a story and they had only heard one. Apparently not.

Those things I heard turned the hurt into sadness and disbelief. This is fandom and it's something trivial, but it's a reflection of the world out there. That's the way the world goes, with people who judge having heard just one side of the story, and other people who know both sides, and know the truth, and know what is right and what is wrong, but just don't care because it doesn't affect them.

However, there were also friends who were there, at the "theatre", who called to ask if I was okay, and those are the people that count for me. I knew the truth, knew there was no reason whatsoever for which I deserved to be verbally abused like that in public for something that concerned no one, and also... what the hell, it was just fandom! Those thoughts blew away the clouds of sadness and disbelief and let the sun through. I hadn't hurt anyone, I had done nothing wrong, all the ruckus would be forgotten in a few days, and why should I care what opinion people who know nothing about me -and still judge me- could have of me?

As for the Prima Donna... All I'll say is she seems a bit confused about the meaning of the word "mistake". The Webster's dictionary defines "mistake" as: "A wrong action attributable to bad judgement or ignorance or inattention". I wouldn't say something done purposely and with the intention of deceiving can be called "bad judgement", "ignorance", or "inattention". Maybe I'm wrong. Also, my concept of "friend" does not include things like lying, deceiving, or cheating. Actually that's what bothers me the most, that she always seems to think she can deceive me. After so many years she should know better than that. A piece of advice on the subject of friendship: Be careful who you call your friends. Flatterers look like friends, as wolves like dogs. Or, quoting one of my favourite films, Swing Kids:
Arvid: 'Quiz time: Got your glasses on?'
Thomas: 'What?'
Arvid: 'It means you don't know who your friends are.'

Mira lo que te has perdío (See what you've lost)

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no requiem for me yet

2009-03-20T14:44:00.009+01:00

I felt sooo guilty when I logged in today and saw the date of my last post was January 18th. =_= LeBacque (hey! ^^/), an old friend from the JDorama forums, sent me a message a few days ago asking "Is it time for a final requiem? No updates in months now." Yeah, I know, and I want to apologize for that. m(_ _)m

So please excuse the long absence. I have a life, of course, and being busy is the main reason why I haven't updated in 2 months. I just finished my internship at the publishing company, and now I have more free time, so I intend to show up here more often. =)

Anyway. Let's recap because there are several important events I missed - which doesn't mean I forgot about them, but I didn't have the time to post about them, so... ^^

Yabu turned 19 on January 31st, and I did make a header for that day, but I didn't have the time to type a birthday post. Then Taiyô and Hikaru graduated from high school last month. Belated congratulations to you two!!! =D We were actually lucky enough to get two clips of Hikaru speaking to the press on that day. I wonder what's JE's policy on this. Perhaps they leave it up to the boys? I mean that there was no interview to Shoon when he graduated, and the same happened with Yabu. ?_? The two clips below were subbed by NEWSHFAN. =) Hikaru was really great: confident, calm, and charming. <3

Sadly Taiyô is not an idol anymore, so even though I had ~~not so very~~ secret hopes that we'd get to see at least a picture of him with Hikaru in some mag or maybe even see them together in one of these TV clips, it didn't happen. ._. Hikaru at the moment doesn't have plans to go to university, but I imagine Taiyô does, because from the accounts we've heard he's a good student. I wonder what degree course he'll choose. The best of luck, Sun, whatever path you take! I suppose it's unlikely we'll hear from you again now you're out of Horikoshi, but we'll always have a warm memory of you. =)

What else happened? The Romeo & Juliet stage play, in which Shoon plays the part of Mercutio, started... and here I am, stuck in Madrid. =_= Well, actually I couldn't have afforded the flight fares and accommodation expenses anyway because right now my economy is not at its best. However, I've comforted myself with the hope of a DVD of the play and also with the fact that I don't feel ready just yet. I want to improve my Japanese in case I ever get to talk to Shoon. I wouldn't want to make a fool of myself. Ganbarimasu! ^.^o

Also... It's not so bad that I stayed, because after I finished my internship I got a job offer from the publishing company! =D Yes! I'll be doing 2 free-lance jobs for them: translate a novel and proofread a translation of a book. ^_____^ Yay!! Hopefully this will lead to more free-lance jobs with them. I'm really excited. =)

Back to Romeo and Juliet, the media coverage of the play has been rather disappointing. I mean that I expected Shoon and Hasejun to promote the play together with Ueda and Kobayashi Ryoko (who plays Juliet) on 2 or 3 TV shows, but in the end Ueda's done it all on his own. =( Oh, well, at least we got to see glimpses of Shoon at the press conference, the rehearsals (like in the clip below, taking fencing lessons with Ueda) and also in small bits of the play shown in the news entertainment shows.

From the accounts of fan friends who have seen the play it seems Shoon's doing really well. =) JE just announced that Ueda will soon be starring in his first TV drama; I hope they have something good in store for Shoon too. ^^

He hasn't been in Shokura for 2 months now, and I want to believe it's just because he's busy with the play, but Ueda was there as a guest, and he has been in many other shows, so that excuse seems too feeble. ;___; Toma, Kazama, and Hasejun disappeared from Shokura one year after 4TOPS was disbanded (and NEWS was formed), so Shoon's been really lucky to have stayed in the show longer than that.

And at least his still a regular in Hyakushiki, which airs every week. With my poor Japanese I don't understand everything, but it's fun to watch, and every week the cast surprises us with some crazy thing, like this: (this episode was about Yokohama and the Hyakushiki boys performed a medley of songs by a popular Japanese group from the 70s called Yokohama Ginbae. =))

For all things Shoon, please join us at the Shoon LiveJournal community... which has reached 1000 members this month!!! =D

And, to finish this entry, a little reflection. A friend wondered in an LJ post, a few weeks ago, if "the few old bitter Ya-Ya-yah fans that are left will have turned into HSJ fans in a year or so". She was -and is- a big Ya-Ya-yah fan and I know she just means to tease =p , but I'd like to share with you all my thoughts and feelings on this matter.

Speaking for myself, I don't think I'll turn into a HSJ fan no matter how many years pass. Actually, it's been more than a year already, and instead of getting used to it all I seem to be going backwards. At first I wanted to overcome my feelings of rejection towards HSJ for Yabu and Hikaru, but just seeing them perform together or seeing pictures of them in the mags brings back all the hurt and anger inside of me. I know I'm not being fair, I know what happened was not their fault, but nobody will ever convince me that it didn't most likely make Taiyô and Shoon feel bitterly disappointed and hurt. For that I'll never forgive JE. I'm also sure that many of the current HSJ members had mixed feelings when their debut was announced. I don't like the way it works, and knowing it's "just business" doesn't help any. Sometimes reality is a hard pill to swallow.

I'll never get used to HSJ singing Ya-Ya-yah songs either, but Stevenica left a comment on one of the previous entries that made me reconcile with the idea in a way: (Thank you so much for this, Stevenica! <3)

About (...) Yabu and Hikaru (...) performing Itoshi no Play Girl (with the rest of HSJ in the HSJ Winter concert), I would like to clarify this because I feel it's something we should appreciate instead of complain about. (...) This winter concert was organized by Yabu & Hikaru. They discussed & prepared about the song list, rundown etc etc. Therefore, to perform Itoshi no Play Girl, and putting Yuuki 100% in the concert song list, was an act for Yabu and Hikaru to show they haven't forgotten their former group, Ya-Ya-yah, and will not forget it. (...) Actually, in the Winter Concert pamphlet, on Yabu’s page, when talking about how he and Hikaru planned and organized the concert, he says: The two of us had discussed performing songs from the past this time. There were many really good songs we had performed before we joined JUMP. Moreover, for both of us, those actually represent many of our memories. (scan of this)"

That's truly thoughtful and sweet of Yabu and Hikaru, isn't it? Yes, I do appreciate it. *hugs the two of them* I feel much better now knowing it was your idea =) ...even if I'll never ever get used to seeing you performing those songs with the rest of HSJ or at the HHS show, without Taiyô and Shoon. m(_ _)m

So no, I'm afraid I won't be turning into a HSJ fan any time soon. XD Maybe I'll tolerate their existence when things start to really look up for Shoon. =p Like... when he gets the same chances as Toma ^^v or at least as the other juniors, instead of being (literally) pushed into a corner in the profile page of the junior calendar with a picture smaller than Shintarô's, getting just 1 page and one pic (on a page with the rest of the Hyakushiki cast), and being left out of all the inter-group pictures, as if he had the plague. ¬¬ *fumes* see offending profile page)

PS: Oh, and... we're not sulking quietly now; just in a cozy, private place. =p Thanks, 'Dee-chan for giving us a home. <3

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happy b-day, Taiyô!

2009-01-18T13:24:00.004+01:00

山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
Dear Taiyô,

please excuse the slightly rushed header. m(_ _)m The fact that the middle finger of my right hand has been swollen for 3 days doesn't help either. =_= It's hard to type without using that finger too!

It wasn't hard at all to choose the pictures, though. Taiyô doesn't have a bad photo! Okay, maybe he has a few, but the total percentage would be a very small one. I think it might be because has always been comfortable with himself and has never tried to be anything else. Or at least that's the impression I get. =) Also... well, Taiyô is very good looking, but even if he were ugly his features would still be beautiful.

Does that sound like a contradiction? Well, probably it does, but it isn't really . I know people who are ugly, but have such a good heart and are so endearing that when you get to know them they don't seem ugly to you anymore. That would be the case with Taiyô if he were ugly... which he isn't!

He's such a good person that I'm sure he'll never be lacking in friends who love him. I'm sure those friends, and among them Yabu, Hikaru, and Shoon, have helped him get through this year.

It's great to see you doing well, Taiyô, and I can't do much other than repeat the wishes I expressed last year: I hope you'll be happy whatever path you chose. You've turned 18 and soon you and Hikaru will graduate from high school. We're hoping to get at least a little glimpse of the two of you together holding your diplomas. ;) May all of your days be sunny, and may you keep on shining and making happy all those around you.

Love and hugs,
Irea

PS: Thanks a million everyone for your comments. I'll try to reply them later. =)

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saved by your smile

2009-01-11T11:58:00.011+01:00

山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
I really need to update this blog more often because things I want to blog about keep piling up. -_-;;; Sorry this will be a bit of a mish-mash post.

First a little something that made me happy. The Horikoshi Highschool site has a piece of news featuring Taiyô. ^___^ (http://www.horikoshigakuen.ed.jp/secu/news/news2009110.html) It's nothing too exciting really, and the picture that accompanies the article is rather small, but it's good to hear about Taiyô. He's still wearing his hair short, and he looks even taller next to that man. XD Good to know you're doing well, Taiyô-kun! =D

A rough translation (corrections are most welcome): On December 8th of last year, the president and vice-president of the student council, Ayukawa Taiyô and Okamoto Kengo, paid a visit to Tanaka Daisuke, ward headman of the Nakano Ward Office. They donated 100,000 yen, raised during the Horikoshi festival through the sales of refreshment booths and others. They expressed their wish that this money be used for social welfare in the Nakano ward. On January 7th of this year, they received a letter of thanks from the Nakano Ward Office.

And speaking of Taiyô... Does anybody know who this junior is, the one in the background in the white jacket and the blue t-shirt? Tina pointed it out to me and we were both wondering if Taiyô might have a cousin because that boy looks like a younger version of him! ^_^ For a moment I thought Taiyô had come back.

Also, these are strange days for the Ya-Ya-yah fans. It seems HSJ is going to record a new version of Yuuki 100%. I don't know how I feel about it. Numb, I guess. Tired too. But mostly sad when I see that to some it means nothing. Certain songs are not just songs, the same way certain words are not just words. Some entail an emotional attachment you cannot get rid of, and I can't ignore the memories songs like Yuuki 100% bring when I listen to them. Old episodes of Nintama Rantarou, the anime series of which Yuuki 100% is the opening song, are being aired again in Spain, and a couple of weeks ago, the TV was on in the sitting room when I was tidying up the bedroom, and all of a sudden I started hearing the song in the background, the original Hikaru Genji recorded, and it brought a smile to my lips. HSJ singing it doesn't bring a smile to my lips though; it arises sad memories instead. It's hard for me to explain it to some friends who liked Ya-Ya-yah and are into HSJ now (which doesn't mean they don't still like Ya-Ya-yah of course), but that's the reason why I can't make myself watch HSJ videos and why I wince when I see HSJ pictures.

In the New Year episode of Hi!Hey!Say!, once again, Yabu and Hikaru sang another Ya-Ya-yah song, HaruNatsuAkiFuyu. (Thanks, Sue for letting me know!) And, as usual, there was no mention of the taboo word in the credits: Ya-Ya-yah. It was a pretty cool version, and so was the coreography, but of course it made me miss seeing Taiyô and Shoon with them. Actually, I have nothing against Yabu and Hikaru singing Ya-Ya-yah songs, because they are their songs as much as they are Taiyô's and Shoon's, though it makes me wonder why can't Shoon sing them too, on Shounen Club, for example, or his old solo, BadxNice. I mean, if for JE songs are just songs, why can't he sing Ya-Ya-yah songs too? ^^ He still wears his old Ya-Ya-yah outfits, so he should have every right to sing Ya-Ya-yah songs too, but that probably will never happen either.

2009.01.01 HHS LS HaruNatsuAkiFuyu.avi [credits: SayBest]
And, oh, the irony of Yabu and Hikaru wearing their old pink and silver Ya-Ya-yah outfits in the Winter HSJ concert, where HSJ performed Itoshii no Playgirl! Can you imagine them performing it on Shounen Club? What if Shoon was wearing the pink and silver outfit too that day? O_O That would be the most awkward thing for the three of them, but I doubt that will ever happen. I hope it won't happen, that is. It seems that with JE you can never know.

And since we're on the subject of Ya-Ya-yah let us turn to more pleasant things... Tinuviel sent me scans she's made of the 2004.03 issue of Myojo. Thanks again! ^__^ (and sorry about posting them this late m(_ _)m

2004.03 Myojo Ya-Ya-yah scans (courtesy of Tinuviel)

And now let us take another turn to talk about Shoon in last week's Shounen Club. Not much screentime this time around either, but at least we got to hear him wish us a happy New Year in the opening song, Hatsu no uta...

...and he was absolutely amazing in the theme medley, in which he sang solo a bit of Kirameki no kanata e with Taiga and Uekusa doing chorus for him. ^____^ Did I say Hasshi sang better than him? I don't care if there's a hundred people with a better voice than Shoon's. I'd rather listen to Shoon singing than anybody else in the world! =D And I suppose NEWS fans won't agree, but I think he sounded better than all of NEWS together. Actually I never liked that song much, and I've been listening to it a hundred times on my mp3 since last Sunday. And that lovely smile in mid-song... *dies*

2009.01.04 [SC] kirameki no kanata e.avi (23MB)
2009.01.04 [SC] kirameki no kanata e.mp3
Speaking of Shoon... He had mentioned in some article that he had been to a SMAP concert recently (the Super Modern Artistic Performance Tour), but he didn't mention Yabu and Hikaru were there too!! O_O Thanks a mil again to Tinuviel for this clip. *hugs* Shoon appears just a few milliseconds as she says, but I took a few screencaps and edited the clip, making it slow motion so you can see him more clearly. It's all kinds of awesome to see the three of them together, but it's somewhat bittersweet because he had to sit behind them with the chibis, and that he didn't get to ride on the cart with Yabu, Hikaru, Inoo and Keito, but had to walk behind it, with the chibis again. He looked a bit sad as well. <=( These things must be hard for him.

2008 Super Modern Artistic Performance Tour bit.avi
Actually I was getting a little worried and depressed after watching today's SC, because he seemed very serious on the short seconds he appeared, but then I discovered the beginning of a smile on his lips during the opening, right before he got cut off from camera. That beginning of a smile blew the clouds of worry away. Don't lose your smile, Shoon. =)

He was wearing my fave outfit today, and the SC staff added a sort of skirt to make it look a bit different. Nice touch! =) And today he sang with so much feeling! *_* Thumbs up, Shoon. ^0^ It's a damn shame they don't let you sing more. ;__;

PS: Thanks for reading, everyone, and please bear with me for being so slow in replying comments. m(_ _)m

PS2: You need to friend this blog's LJ extension to leave a comment or read comments on this entry. Click here to friend Ya3 Obse-shoon's LJ; you'll get updates on your f-page too. =)

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bah <=/ JE, you fail

2008-12-31T17:17:00.005+01:00

山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
I just needed to say that JE fails for leaving Toma, Kazapon, HaseJun, Tôshin, and Shoon out of Countdown this year. It's been a huge disappointment. *grumbles* It's unfair and shocking that they should leave some of their best talents out of such an important event. *grumbles even more*

Oh, well, happy New Year everyone! <3 明けましておめでとう、翔央くん！ <3 Thanks for being there and for reading, and please forgive me once again for being such a slow replier with comments and e-mails. m(_ _)m

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another play for Shoon!!!

2008-12-22T17:02:00.015+01:00

山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
While everybody is busy watching the Christmas Shounen Club special... I just got home and found out the most wonderful news: Shoon is going to be in a play again!!!
山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
This time with KAT-TUN's Ueda Tatsuya, who it seems will play the main role, and Hasegawa Jun. I like Jun very much, so it will be interesting to see how they get along. ^____^ The title of the play is... ロミオとジュリエット (Romeo & Juliet)! *_* I wonder what Shoon's role in it will be! This is so exciting! \^0^/
山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
There will be a total of 33 performances, that will be held in March of next year (2009.03.04-2009.03.29) at the Tokyo Globe theater, and in April (2009.04.02-2009.04.05) at the Sankei Hall Breeze (サンケイホールブリーゼ) ~~what a funny name XD~~ in Osaka. ^____^
山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
Congratulations, Shoon!!! <333 This is so wonderful. What a birthday/Christmas present! =D
山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
I'm looking forward to all the interviews, mag articles and... oh, God, this has to be like the busiest year for me, but if I could just manage to squeeze a trip to Japan in March... I finish my internship at the beginning of March... *makes plans and dreams*
山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
PS: the pic on the left is the play's schedule; a screencap taken from Johnny's Net.
山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
PS2: from now on to comment here you'll need to friend this blog's LJ account. Sorry about the inconvenience, but I have my reasons to do this. m(_ _)m If you don't have an LJ account and don't want to get one, you can always leave a comment using the comment box on the side bar (at the bottom, where it says "contact Irea").
山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah

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happy birthday, Shoon!

2008-12-20T11:04:00.014+01:00

Dearest Shoon,
山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
I need to apologize for something. ._. Of late I've been complaining and complaining about how I wish JE would give you more screen-time in Shounen Club, and more opportunities, and after reflecting on it, I think it's not quite right. I mean that pestering about the unfairness of the situation doesn't lead anywhere, especially when it's something that doesn't depend on us, does it? Also, you're doing your best and working hard, and even though of course I'll always want more for you, I treasure even the briefest glimpse of you in The Shounen Club and wait eagerly for Tuesdays to watch Hyakushiki.

What really matters for every thing you do in life, big or small, is to "wrap it up with love", as a song by Noa says. And that's the essence of the traditional Japanese way of life, isn't it? The tea ceremony, ikebana, calligraphy... Paying attention to the smallest details and doing things with love. If you enjoy what you do, Shoon, care about nothing else. Just enjoy the moment. When you do something and you enjoy doing it, it shows, and the people for whom you do it will enjoy it too. =)

This year we, your foreign fans, put our heart into a very special birthday present for you, a Dreambook. For the no-nonsense that would be a scrapbook; for the romantic like me, and in the words of my friend Hydee, it would be "tickets for a trip around the world" or "the door to another dimension" in which, "as you travel, your guide is your imagination". ;-)

I sent the Dreambook to another wonderful friend called Rachel who's currently living in Tokyo, and she took it to Johnny's Family Club. We were a bit worried that the JFC staff might reject it, but on December 16th I got a message from Rachel that said: "JFC has accepted it. :)", and in that moment I felt all our efforts had been worth.

I wish I could see your face when they give it to you, Shoon. We hope you will like it! ^3^

Happy birthday, Shoon! All the best.

Yours,
Irea

The fans present to Shoon

Dear readers,

Some of you are not members of the Shoon community, so I thought you'd like to see our present to Shoon if you haven't. There's pictures, a video and a slide-show below, but you can also browse the pictures I took of the Dreambook here, on my Flickr album if you want. It's made up of messages of fans from different countries, pictures, and inspirational and witty quotations in Japanese. =) Some of the photographs were actually taken by the fans who sent the messages - we have talented photographers in the Shoon community as you can see. ;-)

(note: this video has no audio)

(different pages from the Dreambook)

(this one below is the slideshow)

Also, I included a little something else with the Dreambook, a self-addressed, stamped letter in case Shoon wants to send a message to his foreign fans and asked him ten questions. If you don't speak Japanese you might also be curious to know what kind of questions they were. Well, of course there were thousands of personal questions I would have loved to ask him, about university and stuff like that, but an idol has the right to keep his private life private, and I wanted it to be something original, so I chose ten questions from different memes in Japanese (what the Japanese call "baton"). =)

1. What would you like to be if you were reborn?
2. If you could only ask for one wish to be fulfilled, what wish would it be?
3. If you could meet some person who passed away already, who would it be?
4. Something you always do before going to bed.
5. What do you do to cope with stress?
6. Apart from your current job, what other kind of work would you like to do?
7. If you died, what would you ask God when you get to Heaven's doors?
8. Three things that scare you.
9. What's your best quality?
10. What's your worse defect?

The typed text in the first picture says: "Dear Shoon, this has been a hard year for you, so we, your fans, wanted to show you our support. This album is a "Dreambook". It contains messages and pictures from us. We hope you will like it. Whatever happens, we will still support you. Keep it up."

PS: The text on the header says: "Take a dandelion, make a wish and blow. If no seeds remain on the stem, your wish will come true".
PS2: I have classes this evening, but I'll try to reply comments tomorrow. m(_ _)m

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multipost

2008-12-14T21:27:00.014+01:00

山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah

There are times when things escape your control and there's simply nothing you can do. I wish I could blog at least once a week, but sometimes life "gets in the way".

I'm doing an internship in the mornings at a publishing company, and then my evenings are busy as well with house chores and such, so I haven't had much time for blogging lately.

So please forgive my long absence and the possible lack of coherence of this blog entry. I've called it a "multipost" because it has three entries in one.

The first one contains my belated congratulations to Hikaru on his 18th birthday.

The second one is about this month's Shounen Club episodes and info about Shoon's bits in the January ones.

The third entry is filled with... yes, Hyakushiki love. ^3^

[+][+][+][+][+][+]Ya-Ya-yah Obse-shoon[+][+][+][+][+][+]

Happy belated birthday, Hikaru!

Every year I tend to neglect poor Hikaru because his birthday is the first one to come. =_= Isn't it a curious thing that the birthdays of our Ya-Ya-yah boys all come in a row? First Hikaru, on December 2nd, then Shoon, on the 20th, later Taiyô on January 18th, and finally Yabu, on the 31st. Two Sagittarius and two Capricorns. =)

Anyway, even though many days have passed, I still wanted to wish Hikaru the best in this 18th year of his life. I miss him and I miss Yabu, which may sound illogical when they're on TV every week, but I only follow their activities through other blogs and such now, so for me it's as if they had parted on a long journey to a distant coast. That's why I'm so happy whenever they appear as guests on Shounen Club. Shounen Club still feels like home because Shoon is in it, and when Yabu and Hikaru visit it's like a reunion. =)

One of the last times Hikaru and Yabu were on SC though, it was a bit of a disappointment that Hikaru missed the chance to do what all of us were hoping he'd do. He was standing right next to Shoon, but Hikaru didn't put his arm around Shoon's shoulders, or even looked at him. He looked awkward and nervous, and let himself be distracted by Kawai. =( *smacks Fumi-kyun on the head* Shoon kept on looking at him in the most loving way, waiting, but Hikaru was utterly oblivious. =_=;;;

So I have a message for you, Hikaru: Please don't feel guilty about what happened. We know you loved Ya-Ya-yah, and it was not your decision. We loved the Hikaru from the old, Ya-Ya-yah times, but we love HSJ's Hikaru just as much. You and Yabu deserved to debut, and we're happy to see you shine and grow even if somebody decided you had to part ways with Taiyô and Shoon. Please keep true to yourself always and be happy. =) Next time you're standing next to Shoon on Shounen Club you better not miss the chance again, though. =p

[+][+][+][+][+][+]Ya-Ya-yah Obse-shoon[+][+][+][+][+][+]

Shounen Club

I want to believe it was because of the after-effects of the EbiKisu concerts that Shoon got so little screentime again this month. U__U You know, all those Kisumai members solos and such. Oh, well, at least he gets plenty of screentime in Hyakushiki every Tuesday -and there will be a 2 hour special at the end of this month!!-, but I was still hoping for a little more. In the January SCs (which were recorded yesterday) he doesn't get a lot more, but he seems to have achieved a solo part in the theme medley on a regular basis:

+ Opening of the first episode: はつうた - Hatsu Uta (First Song) This is a song that was sung last year at the CountDown concert, in which Shoon took part - watch clip below (the song starts at about 1:20) Shoon wore his white suit for this one.

+ Medley of the first episode (未来メドレー Mirai medley - Future medley): Shoon sang solo a bit from NEWS song きらめきの彼方へ (Kirameki no kanata e) (YouTube clip)
+ Opening of the second episode: Shoon wears a black suit and if I understood correctly the Japanese blog entry I read, he wears a blue cloth tied around the waist like that outfit he wore in the Daibouken concerts (the one that was like a pirate costume)?
+ Theme medley: Favourite Song medley: Shoon sang フレンズ (Furenzu - Friends) with someone else I think.
+ Ending: キ・セ・キ (Ki·Se·Ki)

Anyway, back to this month's Shounen Club... Shoon is still fighting, but being a group-less junior doesn't make things easy for him.

This is my Xmas wish list:
1) New clothes for Shoon: add two or three new outfits and store away the older ones (i.e. the blue-white one and the Sgt. Pepper one too). I want him to keep the white one, the black one (my favourite), the black and orange one, the red one, and the pink, white and silver one.
2) A full solo per show for Shoon, because he deserves it, dammit. ABC-Z, Kisumai and Question all get their own performance, don't they? Well, then why on earth can't they give Shoon at least 3 minutes? Before HSJ debuted, there was always one Ya-Ya-yah performance per show, so why not allot that time to Shoon?
3) I want Shoon to be present in every opening and ending song, and I want him to have a solo line now and then like others do.
4) During the ending song, I want Shoon to stand at the center of the stage because he deserves it too and I want the camera to focus on Shoon more than just once.
5) Give Shoon an ear microphone now and then so he can have better choreographies in his performances.
6) I want to see Shoon in the junior league more often.
7) A role in a drama/stage play for Shoon in 2009.
8) I want Shoon back in Myojo. Popolo too, why not?

Is that too much? Okay, I'll settle for one or two things from my wish list then, but the new outfits are not negotiable. =p Damn, I will design them if necessary. XD

So yeah, December SCs didn't have a lot of Shoon in them, but I've squeezed it all in the following video:
1) The opening of the first episode, in which Shoon put his arm around Takada's shoulder -I'm getting fond of Takada; he has something Taiyô-ish about him.
2) Miracle Starter, which Shoon sang very nicely, with a very cute, Japlish pronunciation of "surprise". XD Oh, and whoever types the lyrics... "Marry Marry Starter"? Hello? XDDD
3) Junior League segment of the first episode. This particular game consisted in embarrassing the boys by making them utter cheesy phrases. The phrase for Shoon and Miyata would translate as "Wipe your tears; let's run towards that sunset!". Shoon got Tamamori to help him. In their skit Tama-chan pretends to be speaking on his cell phone, and Shoon thinks he's crying and tries to cheer him up. When he tells Tama "wipe your tears and let's tun towards that sunset!", Tama gets up and Shoon realizes he wasn't crying. Okay, so maybe it wasn't the funniest thing ever, but Shoon was really cute, and much though I like Miyata, his sketch was a lot more elaborate. Hm, not fair, and Shoon looked a little down when they declared Miyata was the winner. =(
4) A cute moment from the junior league of the second episode in which Shoon comforted an embarrassed Kitayama. XD I felt so jealous! I wonder if these two are good friends, because I can recall another time Kitayama went to Shoon to be comforted, and a few days ago I found this old screencap in which Kitayama is hugging Shoon: click here Any idea which episode that is from? Perhaps from the one in which Shoon declared his "love" for Massu?
5) Two bits from the junior league of the second episode. Would somebody translate for me what Shoon says when he remains lying on the floor? XD
6) The brief instant during which the camera focused on Shoon in the closing song of the second episode - he looked sooo handsome!

Oh, and I just had to take a few screencaps, because... well, just because. =)

[+][+][+][+][+][+]Ya-Ya-yah Obse-shoon[+][+][+][+][+][+]

Hyakushiki love

Of late some people leave comments or send me e-mails telling me they miss Shoon, and I kept on wondering how could that be. Then it occurred to me that perhaps they don't watch Hyakushiki, and if that's the case, it's a shame! Here are a few clips from the latest episodes so you can see what you're missing. ^__~ Come join us at the Shoon community. =) I upload each episode every Tuesday right after it airs. ^_^v

In this episode, Shoon and Takada took a lesson in capoeira. =) Shoon was really impressive! He's a fast learner. =D

In this other one they took a lesson in Soul Dance, and it was soooo funny!! They wore afro wigs and 70s clothes and danced to 70s songs. Hilarious.

This one was even funnier because Shoon, Sanada, and Keito cosplayed as girls! XD Who knew Shoon could be such a sexy girl? LOL

And this show was from last week, about magic, and they learned some magic tricks. =) Shoon is a very cute magician, isn't he?

P.S.: I swear I will try to answer the comments from the previous entry tomorrow. m(_ _)m

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Not dead

2008-12-11T23:36:00.002+01:00

Nope, this blog is not dead. I've just been horribly busy lately, and I'm exhausted @__@ , but also very happy and I feel accomplished. ^__^ (more about this is a post to come, hopefully tomorrow) That's also the reason why I wasn't able to make any post on Hikaru's birthday. ;_; For now I'm changing the header to wish our very own Hachibee a happy belated birthday. =)

諦めないで - don't give up!

2008-11-12T11:21:00.013+01:00

山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
This entry includes a little rant, comments and clips on and from this month's Shounen Club episodes, and some old Ya-Ya-yah scans. =)

Sorry about the long absence. m(_ _)m I've been busy with several things. For starters, I'm taking a Master's Degree in Editing that lasts eight months and includes training in a publishing house. Also, I'm starting to get small, freelance proof-reading jobs, and fandom-wise I'm busy with the project for Shoon's 20th birthday. =) Below you can see a couple of pics of our "dreambook" for Shoon.

Fandom-wise too I've been a little melancholic lately, and I didn't want to post when I was down and drag people with my mood. Shoon has become a sort of compass for me, and whichever direction he points to, that's where my mood heads to. When he's happy and energetic I can distract myself from the hole in the floor, but when I sense something's bothering him my mood goes down and I start missing the Ya-Ya-yah days all over again and feel the sting of resentment in my chest.

I'm happy for A.B.C. and Kisumai finally holding their own concerts, I truly am, but some things hurt a little. Like A.B.C. performing Higher Fly with Hasshi (on Hi!Hey!Say! and at their concerts) when it was an A.B.C.-Shoon song. Like Hasshi doing Shoon's trademark back-flip - and it hurts too to have to admit that he seems to have mastered it by now, judging from last Sunday's Shounen Club. It also hurts to see the logic behind Hasshi joining A.B.C. Not that I ever wanted Shoon to join A.B.C., but it makes you wonder why Hasshi and not Shoon. Well, Hasshi is younger than Shoon and until now his acrobatic skills were practically zero, but he's a hard-worker and he learns quickly - plus he has the best teacher one could wish for, Tsuka-chan. I guess JE thought that Shoon wouldn't have added anything new to A.B.C. He merged so well with the group when they performed Higher Fly that he seemed just another A.B.C. member. Hasshi is younger and hence malleable, he admittedly has a better voice, and he has a certain Akanishi Jin style that JE clearly wants to exploit.

Also, for some time now I've fully realized the extent to which the amount of attention any junior gets at a certain time is proportional to JE's plans for him, be it for an isolated project (like promotion for a coming drama/play/etc. in which he takes part), or as long-term investment (like they're doing with Hasshi or Shintaro). It's kind of depressing that everything serves a purpose. I mean that when they choose whatever pair for the letter exchange segment on SC, for example, it's always because they want to pimp those two juniors for some particular reason. The only time Shoon has appeared in that segment was in 2005 with Tôshin, and it was a very evident promotion for West Side Story. I've always liked that segment because it allows us to get a peek of the comradeship the boys have behind the scenes, so to say, but it would be nicer if we could get random pairs now and then, without having to wait for some reason for X and Y to be pimped.

Or, to give another example, how is it fair that Shoon gets less screentime than the chibis? ;_; Not that they're not talented, and they deserve screentime too, but... does JE value loyalty at all? Shoon deserves a full solo and not just a few lines, dammit. Sometimes I think he should pull an "Asaka" and quit JE to join another agency. *grumbles* And it was so awkward how on the second episode they made Shoon appear at the very end of the closing song just to say "arigatou". =_= No wonder he looked peeved. Being left out like that is not nice.

Shall he have to wait until he lands another role in a play to get some decent screen time in Shounen Club? I'm curious (and a little anxious) to find out how much attention he'll get next month. Will the pimping of A.B.C.-Z and Kisumai dilute after the concerts, leaving some space for Shoon, or...? I'd rather not think about the other option. ._. I hope he'll remain in Shounen Club as long as possible, and once again I have to be grateful he is a regular in Hyakushiki. Tôshin didn't have anything like that, as far as I know. Ganbatte, Shoon!

Anyway, believe it or not this post was supposed to be about this month's Shounen Club episodes. ^^;;;

This first clip is a comparison between Arigatou sang by "Ebikisu" and by Ya-Ya-yah in June of last year. I so missed Ya-Ya-yah when I was watching that! ;_; The thing about Ya-Ya-yah is that they sang soooo many songs both on their show and SC that almost every song reminds me of them. ;__; Also, I know comparisons are always unfair, and I suppose I'm totally biased, but I liked Ya-Ya-yah's version much better. Ya-Ya-yah had such a unique sound! =)

[DOWNLOAD 2007.06.10 arigatou.avi]

This second clip is a mix of several things:
1) Shoon being introduced on the first episode and blowing a kiss to the camera ~ ♥
2) The bit of the V6 song The Light in Your Heart Shoon sang solo, which I absolutely loved - the song fitted him really well. =D
3) Yabu's short appearance in the theme medley of the first episode.
4) A short bit from the Junior League in which Shoon didn't get to do anything =( but he did guess one song correctly, and I suspect that often, in Hyakushiki too, he knows the answer and doesn't dare say it in case he's wrong. You should have more trust in yourself, Shoonie-kun. ^o^
5) the ending bit I was mentioning before, with the boys saying "arigatou" to the camera.
6) Shoon performing Kansha shite with Kitayama and Fujigaya. I would have preferred a solo, but you can't have everything, right? ^^ And Shoon gave such a sweet look to the camera at the end ~ ♥ It also made me very happy that Shoon sang this song because it was one of the songs Ya-Ya-yah performed in their show when they were younger, and they sang it in September of last year in Shounen Club as well. I suppose it's just a coincidence, but Shoon was wearing the same white suit last time. =) And once again theirs was a beautiful performance, especially because the beginning was sung a capella. ^__^ I've included that old performance at the end, and I've left the so very suspicious performance Daybreak in too... suspicious at the time because Yabu and Hikaru sang it with Keito. ^^

I'm not posting them here, but I want to mention at least how much I enjoyed Fujigaya's performance of Ne, ganbaru yo and Kitayama's Kansha kangeki ame arashi - those two sing so effortlessly; they should get solos more often - and how impressed I was with Uekusa and Taiga when they performed a full song with Massu and Tegoshi. I was telling somebody a few days ago that for some reason -several, actually- Taiga reminds me a bit of Taiyô, and it makes me happy when he gets some attention. He's a good dancer, but I didn't know he could sing so well too! I hope they'll pimp him more from now on. =)

[2008.11.02 Light in Your Heart.avi] [2008.11.09 Kansha shite.avi]
[2007.09.09 Kansha shite+Daybreak.avi]
And finally I'm posting -how could I not?- Yabu's performance of School kakumei. They should give Yabu happy, childish songs like this all the time and forget about the ballads -he himself has more or less admitted he's sick of them after all. XD And it's so obvious that's what he enjoys singing the most; you just need to see that big smile he can't hold back, as if he was a child again, about to do something naughty. It's so odd to see him so grown up, with those loooong legs and still smiling the exact same way he used to when he was a child. Also, I wonder if it's weird of me that when I see him clad in jeans and a short denim jacket like that, he reminds me so strongly of a girl. ^^;;; It's not just the long, model-like legs and the hips; it's also the way he stands and holds his knees together. XD

[DOWNLOAD 2008.11.02 School Kakumei.avi]

On to other things... I've been scanning more old articles. =) This time I bring you both the Japanese and Taiwanese editions of the 2003.12 Wink Up issue. ^^v (see preview below)

2003.12 Wink Up - Ya-Ya-yah scans (Japanese & Taiwanese editions)

They are, as you can see, different except for one page. I'm saving one of the pics of this article for the next header, but the one I'm using today has Shoon in it, because I think he needs more support right now. The text is a translation of a poem you may have read before somewhere else:

Don't Quit

When things go wrong,as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low
and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a person turns about
When they might have won had they stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow.
You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failture turned inside out
It's pressing on past fear and doubt
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

I've also added a little gadget to the side bar in case you want to listen to some music while you read. =) Those are some of my fave songs, and I'll change the selection every now and then.

Oh, and I really am sorry I'm not updating as I often I'd like to of late, but if you want to keep up with me you can subscribe (use the subscription box on the side bar) or you can get updates on your friends-list through LiveJournal if you friend this blog's LiveJournal extension.

Okay, back to answering comments! ^^b Take care everyone!

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the language barrier

2008-10-19T20:41:00.013+02:00

山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
I love languages, and learning languages, but when you're not fluent in one and you want to understand what is being said, it's so.damn.frustrating! T___T I guess my problem is that I'm too impatient. It took me years of reading, writing, and listening practice to become fluent in English, but of course when you achieve your goal you never think of the long way you had to walk to get there. So in short I'm jealous of all the people who are fluent in Japanese.

Last week I finally decided to take up my Japanese again. For real, I mean. I started learning Japanese by myself several years ago, just for fun, and then decided to take a test at the Official School of Languages here in Madrid, passed it without a problem and entered 2nd grade of Japanese directly. I completed 2nd year as well, but then, because of work, I didn't start 3rd grade, and even though I always promised myself I'd take it up again... I never seemed to find the right moment.

I guess it would be easier if I took classes again, instead of learning by myself, but it annoys me to think that I might have to go through 2nd grade again. I've forgotten part of what I learned, but I'm convinced that that knowledge is just lying dormant in my brain, that as soon as I start brushing off the cobwebs I'll recover it. However I find myself wanting to speed up the process. I watch old Ya-Ya-yah shows, or Shounen Club, or Hyakushiki, or read an article, and I want to understand what I'm listening to or reading. I feel as frustrated as Tom Hanks in The Terminal.

I feel somewhat impaired as a blogger and as the moderator of the Shoon LiveJournal community not being fluent in Japanese. I could have so much better an understanding of Shoon, Hikaru, Taiyô, and Yabu if my Japanese wasn't so poor. Also, I scan all these old articles, but I'm fazed by the task of translating them and sometimes feel like I'm just throwing them at you like a copy machine and that what I offer here is of little value.

I try to keep up with the Shoon-related news reading Japanese blogs, but half of the time I'm not sure if I'm understanding correctly what I'm reading. Back in February it took a great deal of courage for me to post the news about Shoon's play. I couldn't stop thinking I might have misunderstood something and somebody was going to point it out and I'd feel horribly embarrassed.

For all these reasons I feel immensely thankful to people like Yui, Enshinge and others who have translated so many Ya-Ya-yah and Shoon-related articles, to 33_snowfish and arigatou313, who have started subbing bits of Hyakushiki, and to NEWSHFAN, who must be the most prolific subber I've ever known and to whom we owe so many subbed episodes of the Ya-Ya-yah show. You all have my most sincere admiration and gratitude. =)

All this came about because a couple of days ago NEWSHFAN posted 2 more Ya-Ya-yah episodes subbed by her: 2003.08.17 Comedy contest pt.1 & 2003.08.24 Comedy contest part 2. These two are among my favourite 2003 episodes, but it was so much more enjoyable to rewatch it this time, being able to understand what they were saying and to laugh, knowing why I was laughing.

Before, Hikaru's skit seemed cute to me, but after watching it subbed I understood why somebody decided he HAD to be part of Ya-Ya-yah. He's as adorable as my 3 year-old niece; I want to hug him and kidnap him. Plus he had a good voice and the ability to always come up with a wisecrack. I don't share nor understand some of the decisions JE makes, but Hikaru definitely brought something good to Ya-Ya-yah and to the Ya-Ya-yah show.

But maybe the biggest surprise when I rewatched these episodes in this subbed version was to realize how funny Taiyô and Hoshino's skit was. It made me laugh so much! It was the best of all in my opinion. Kudos to whoever scripted it and drew those pictures. =) And Taiyô was so cute, stumbling upon the words, and so cheeky when he said he had drawn those pictures! XD And Hoshino sure made a great job not cracking up at any moment. LOL

Subaru was utterly unfair with the skit Shoon, Akama, Inoo and Koyama did, in my opinion. It WAS funny. Well, maybe not all the time, like Taiyô and Hoshino's was, but it had some very funny moments, like Koyama and Akama harassing poor Inoo-chan, and Shoon and Akama's fighting coreography was pretty cool and so well coordinated with the swoosh and whack sounds! XD

Yabu's skit with Shige was... well, it was okay, but Yabu was far funnier in the karate episode of 2005. ^^

[subbed by NEWSHFAN]

And speaking of these episodes, I just remembered I had a HQ clip of Shoon's skit. It was posted long ago at the Ya-Ya-yah LJ community by a Japanese girl I never heard of again after that, but I thought some of you might not have it, so I've reuploaded it: 2003.08.24 [Ya3 show] Shoon skit.avi [73MB] Click here or here to see a couple of screencaps. She also posted a HQ clip of Hikaru's skit, but I don't know why I don't have it anymore! ;__; If anybody has it... would you reupload it for me? ^^

I've scanned a couple of 2002 articles, or rather, the same article, only one is from the Japanese edition and the other one from the Taiwanese edition, plus the photographs are different. =)

I myself hadn't seen scans of the Taiwanese edition before I bought the clippings from a Singapore fan.

The Japanese article is one of my favourites because it has one of Shoon's coolest photographs. How could he be so cool at 13? >^-^<

But my very, very favourite is the photograph on the contents page, the one I've used for the new header.

Shoon looks so, so, so lovely with his short, shiny, puppet hair, his arm around Hoshino's shoulders and his head tipped towards Yabu. X3 And the red-soled runners make him stand out too~ ♥

2002.08 Wink Up (Japanese and Taiwanese editions)

PS: Almost forgot... I'm organizing a little fan project for Shoon's 20th birthday (December 20th), so if you're interested and would like to take part in it, please go here for more information.

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Rain of Desire

2008-10-12T14:34:00.013+02:00

山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
Shoon had a tiny weeny bit more screentime on today's SC. When Nakamaru and Koyama introduced the SC theme, 秘密 - Himitsu (secret), Nakamaru read a postcard sent by a Shoon fan - weee! =D - and Shoon did a short skit called "Real Face no shitauchi, otona version" (Real Faceの舌打ち・大人バージョン), which means "Real Face tongue clicking, adult version". And if somebody could explain to me what that was about I'd be very thankful, because it seems funny. XD

DOWNLOAD THIS CLIP - 18MB

And then came his short solo bit in the theme medley, which was Kinki Kids' Yokubou no rain (欲望のレイン - Rain of Desire). To be honest, I don't like the song, but it was so wonderful to hear Shoon's voice without any backsingers. =) And maybe I'm biased, but I think he was great. ^3^ I only have one stupid complaint: why did he button up the jacket? It looks much better when he leaves it unbuttoned. X3

DOWNLOAD THIS CLIP - 14MB

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Autumn is here

2008-10-07T20:45:00.015+02:00

山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
~~Man, I sigh every time I look at this picture. *-* The October mags have some really nice pics of Shoon.~~ This post has 2 parts. The first is about last Sunday's SC, and the second is a little surprise, some 2003 rare Ya-Ya-yah scans - an article about Autumn-, and a translation by me. =)

Okay, Shounen Club first then. ^^

Shoon's presence in this one was minimal, and I'm starting to show Shoon-withdrawal symptoms after 2 weeks without Hyakushiki (they're taking a little yet much deserved holiday), but... what can I say?, even these 3 seconds of Shoon can bring a smile to my lips every time I remember THAT look he gave to the camera. ^_~

This was during the song that closed the show, but if you notice, these days he never fails to wave at the camera or even blow a kiss to it during the opening song. ^3^ That's so sweet of him~ ♥ I guess that the abstract idea of the anonymous fan is to an idol what an idol is to us fans. =)

The anonymous fan is a reason for them to give their best, while an idol's waves and smiles give us fans wings to daydream. And who doesn't like indulging in daydreams? You can always imagine it's you and only you he's waving and smiling at, and in a way it's true, because for him, whatever your name is or wherever you are, you're the anonymous fan.

So yeah, hopefully more Shoon in the next SC. ^^v What we did get this time was one solo performance by Yabu and another by Hikaru that I was expecting eagerly... and they didn't disappoint me at all. =)

I wonder why they chose to "revive" Angel come to me and Akogare no egoist at this point. ^^ Watching Yabu and Hikaru sing these songs made me a little melancholic, but at the same time I realized how much both of them have grown as performers and it makes me glad to have seen them go from their very first steps to where they are now.

I've cut the juggling part before Hikaru's actual performance because it made the clip a bit too long. It's so nice to finally hear the full version of this song. I hope one of these days he'll sing Kuroi asa, shiroi yoru, because that's my favourite Hikaru solo. ^-^

Yabu sang a bit of My Everything (Yabucchi, you still need to work a little on this one ^^) and then Angel Come to Me. I want to remember when was the last time he sang this one, because I'm positive he sang it recently (apart from the 2005 performances, I mean), but for the life of me I can't! D: Anyway. I have some issues with this song - like the lyrics XD -, but I liked the coreography a lot better - less robotic than the old one - ...except for the hand movements in the "come to me" line. *facepalm* =_=;;; And there were some subtle differences in the way Yabu sang it that made it better too. =)

And now let's take a dive in the waters of the past, shall we? ^__^ I've scanned a 2003 article from a magazine called 小学六年生　(Shougaku rokunensei), which, as the title says, is aimed at elementary schoolers. Ya-Ya-yah appeared regularly on this magazine for several months, and they even had a manga (comic) there! I've scanned a few pages of the manga, but before scanning the whole thing I was wondering if somebody might want to help translate it and make an scanlation of it. ^^ It's a triumph for me to translate such short texts as the one in this article. ^^;;; I need to improve my Japanese. Corrections are most welcome, by the way.

Anyway. The manga on this issue is really funny and cute, as Shoon and Akama accidentally "exchange" bodies. It's hilarious to see Shoon portrayed as a tea lover, surrounded by roses, and as an excellent cook. LOL For some reason I like indulging in the fantasy that he's a good cook, and I say "fantasy" because the only time we saw him cook in the Ya-Ya-yah show he was lousy. XD Admittedly he was very young, so maybe he has improved?

Below you can find previews of the article and a couple of the manga pages, the link to the album set, and my loose translation of the article, which has all the innocence of childhood. My favourite bit is Shoon's complaint about a certain prop they gave him for the photoshoot. ;-) Poor Shoonie, he hadn't realized yet exactly how pretty he ~~was~~ is. ^-^

2003.11 shougaku rokunensei - Ya-Ya-yah article and a few manga pages

Naughty boys - Ya-Ya-yah's check-it-out-yo!
Aiming at our Autumn.

[speech ballons]
Shoon: Why am I the only one with a rose? It's not that I have a problem with it, but... *laughs*
Yabu: Autumn arts. For the school's arts festival I played the role of Iwa (?).
Akama: Autumn has this typical image of red and orange hues, doesn't it?
Hoshino: I turn 16 on October 10th! Please wish me a happy birthday!
Taiyô: In Autumn you can get out in nature with your bike.

Eating something delicious? Having fun? Doing something that's a little dangerous? These five talk about what they associate the word "Autumn" with!

Yabu: I think Autumn is a heart-warming season because of the leaves turning red...

Taiyô: Yes, Autumn has the typical image of the gingko tree. And when you have to sweep the fallen leaves (on your backyard) there's so many of them, right?

Hoshino: But when you make piles with them you can have a "fallen leaves fight" with your friends.

Yabu: I love lying down on the piles; they're so fluffy.

Shoon: Autumn is the season when people roast sweet potatoes too. It's the "sports season", and of course roasting sweet potatoes is a sport too. *laughs*

Akama: True, you can make a fire with the dead leaves too.

Yabu: And Autumn is a season for being outdoors as well, isn't it?, a season in which everybody wants to have fun doing things outdoors. Mountaineering? [I think this is suggested by some of the mag staff] What do you mean?, not going up a mountain trail but actual rock climbing? *laughs*

Taiyô: You can also go fishing on a river, and grill and eat the fish you catch.

Akama: Eeh? I'm not much of an outdoors person. I'd rather go to a covered swimming pool. *laughs*

Shoon: I'd like to do something reckless, like go somewhere without a plan. Not here in Japan; I'd go to a foreign country. *laughs*

Hoshino: In other words, anywhere in the world! And speaking of Autumn... my birthday is in October! So now all of you must congratulate me. *laughs*

Yabu: That day we'll slip into your house.

Shoon: Are you planning on doing something?

Taiyô: We'll slip into his house and we'll go: "Waaah!".

Akama: Yeah, we'll be like: "Surprise!".

Hoshino: No way; even if you did that without telling me, I'd still be embarrassed. *laughs*

Yabu: Anyway. There are lots of things to do in Autumn, so (whatever we do) we'll have fun, right?

NOTES:
1. Apparently in Japan Autumn is considered the season for sports, though I'm not completely sure if Shoon is just being ironical when he says roasting sweet potatoes is a sport too, or if he means it's like the national sport. ?__?
2. Anybody knows what Yabu means by "Iwa"? (literally that means "rock/stone", but I doubt he played the role of a stone in a school festival. XD)
3. This article reminded me that Hoshino's birthday is coming up... as will Hikaru's and Shoon's in a couple of months! D: And then Taiyô's and Yabu's!

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forget-us-not

2008-09-23T20:43:00.012+02:00

山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
[it's still September 23rd here in Spain, but it's the 24th already in Japan - has been so for a good many hours -, so treat this post as if it was written on the 24th]

Feel like having a collective hug? I'd like to gather you all in that symbolic hug, to thank all those of you who follow this blog, whether you comment or not. Thanks for still being there. It's largely thanks to you that I'm still here. Today it's been a year since Ya-Ya-yah was disbanded, and one year after I still get e-mails from people who have discovered them one way or another and want to say "I'm a late-comer, but I've fallen for Ya-Ya-yah and I wish they were still around". They're all heart-warming, passionate e-mails that remind me why I am a Ya-Ya-yah fan. =)

It seems like fate decided this had to be the day for another painful event for me, one year after. Today I went to bid farewell to the people I've been working with for the last 6 years. ~~And Ya-Ya-yah had been around for 6 years too... spooky!~~ I'm such a sentimental there were a couple of moments when I got teary-eyed when I was talking to my "boss" and then to one of the proofreaders who used to check my translations. ._. Oh, well, it was a chapter of my life that needed closure, and now I'm starting a new one, like Hikaru, Taiyô, Shoon and Yabu were a year ago, albeit for them it was against their will. I hope they'll lend me some of their strength so I'll face these changes in my life as bravely as they did.

I wish I had something deep and meaningful to say on this anniversary we all wish we didn't have to celebrate, but we can choose to be sad, or turn it into a day to remember Ya-Ya-yah as they deserve. For Japanese fans the four-leaf clover is a symbol of Ya-Ya-yah, an idea I've always liked. However, for some reason, a couple of weeks ago I saw a photograph of forget-me-nots on a webpage while surfing the Net and thought of Ya-Ya-yah. Forget-me-nots, for those who don't know, are those flowers on the current header, tiny yet strong flowers that can grow even on the Arctic tundra. Memories are like that too, stubborn, and so are we, Ya-Ya-yah fans. Let's be stubborn one more year, shall we? Go watch a Ya-Ya-yah episode, or a clip, or a livestage, and let the magic work once again; forget them not. =)

Forget Me Not, by Lucie Silvas

Forget me not, I ask of you
Wherever your life takes you to
And if we never meet again
Think of me every now and then

We had just one day to recall
Now all I want is something more
Than just a fading memory
Left wondering what could have been.

Isn't it a shame, that when timing's all wrong
You're doing what you never meant to,
There's always something that prevents you.
Well I believe in fate, it had to happen this way
But it always leaves me wondering whether...
In another life we'd be together.
We should feel lucky we can say... we've always got yesterday

And as I leave it all behind
You're still emblazoned in my mind
And for that very special day
Nobody loved me in that way

Forget me not, I ask of you
Wherever your life takes you to
And if we never meet again
Think of me every now and then

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an essential guy

2008-09-18T20:58:00.010+02:00

山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
I felt the need to write this entry after reading a certain post on the LJ of a fan friend, Hydee(a.k.a. ixarese).

I've been trying to avoid writing entries like this because I want to stop angsting over fandom stuff, but for once I'm perfectly calm and content fandom-wise, so I thought I might as well try to dispel the fog of worry that seems to be settling down around Shoon.

In the past months I've learned what it is like to feel down and worried for 4 Japanese idols I became a fan of. Time has passed, and their lives go on, and so does mine, and the world didn't crumble, but there were moments when I felt really, really deppressed. It felt as if somebody I loved had died. Looking back at it now I don't feel ashamed of having felt so strongly about it (and I still do), but I wish I had found a way to see it more rationally and suffer less, or at least recover earlier.

That's why in the past weeks I've let many "rant occasions" pass.

A couple of weeks ago, for instance, there was all this commotion because of a letter JE sent to the members of JFC (Johnny's Family Club) to ask fans to behave properly (i.e. no stalking, etc.) A number of messages supposedly written by each of the members of Arashi, NEWS, KAT-TUN and HSJ, and by Hasshi on behalf of the juniors started spreading on line. When I learned about it, it made me feel so disgusted and so bad that I read everybody's rants and comments on the matter, but I was unable to voice my opinion. You know, much like when you have a lump in your throat.

Now we know the messages were fake (several JFC members have confirmed they only received a letter; no messages), that they were most likely made up by some Japanese fan, but at first nobody knew where they had come from, so naturally all of us felt awful. It only felt all the more awful with all those supposedly real messages. It doesn't matter that they were false though, because they're probably based on things that really happen, like some cases you can read about here.

Anyway. I didn't write a rant about it, so... how did I react to it?
1) Felt awful and, being a bit of a masochist, read every rant/comment I found.
2) Felt guilty even though I've never stalked or harassed any JE boy (or anybody else for that matter).
3) Deleted the paparazzi pictures from my Flickr album. I haven't deleted the ones on my hard disk, though, I must admit; I'm weak. .__. Shoon is too cute/cool in many of them. ^^;;; But they're all pics I found online; I don't own a single paparazzi pic. In fact... how come it isn't illegal in Japan to take paparazzi pics of underaged celebrities? Here in Spain it is.
4) Considered leaving the fandom because I kept thinking "I don't want to ever get obsessed to that point; I don't want to cause, even indirectly, any harm to Shoon".
5) Realized I was exaggerating.

I'm glad I didn't write that rant and spent that time doing other things instead. Now the commotion has passed I can put things in perspective, and I'm thinking of doing something that might be of actual help, like starting an awareness campaign against paparazzi pics if people didn't buy them, the paparazzi wouldn't bother taking them, right?

Another recent instance in which I managed to escape the temptation to rant was when it was reported that a certain Japanese tabloid had published an article about a rumour that claimed some Japanese A.B.C. fans had attended Summary with Shoon-bashing uchiwas.

I believe certain fans capable of that shameful behaviour, but it was a rumour, and it was coming from a tabloid as well, so I told myself to calm down. Actually, even if it were true, I'm sure Shoon can tell sensible, respectful fans apart from petty, unfeeling fanatics. Also, he's strong, and I'm sure he wouldn't let it bother him for long. As Socrates once said, if an ass kicked you, would you go and sue it? =)

Yeah, I didn't let that dampen my spirits, and that was another rant ocassion successfully avoided. 8Dv

Now, there's a bit of angst in the junior fandom lately surrounding A.B.C., Hasshi... and Shoon as well. It's strange for me in what regards Shoon because I'm "happy" with his current situation. I say "happy", with quotation marks because of course I'll always want more for him, but what really matters is that almost one year after Ya-Ya-yah's break up he's still standing. Plus he's still fighing... and how! With nails and teeth. =)

Tinuviel228 left a comment on one of the previous entries saying: Sometimes, when I see Shoon now, I wonder why he couldn't have been like this a bit sooner... is it because he didn't try as hard before or was it because he didn't get the chance?

My reply was that -and this is mere speculation on my part- I think he went through a rough period and was somewhat indifferent towards his job for a while, roughly between mid 2004 and early 2006, during the time he became little else than Yabu-Hika's shadow with Taiyô. Also, I don't mean to say it was traumatic for him, but mid 2004 was the time when Hoshino left JE, and they were undeniably close, so that probably brought him down quite a bit. Back to what I was saying, neither Taiyô nor him got to do much for a long while, and Shoon strikes me as a person who doesn't want to stand out (i.e. be the star of the show), but who loves challenges and doing new things.

He had a couple of challenges/chances during that time though, West Side Story and Satomi Hakkenden. I think WSS was a bit too stressing for him to enjoy the experience fully - after all he was measuring himself against people like Ohno, Matsumoto Jun, or Ikuta Toma. JE clearly had high expectations from him at the time. Pity those expectations seem to come and go. =/

Shoon himself has admitted he wasn't much more comfortable at first when filming Satomi Hakkenden, surrounded by older people, and that's where the big-hearted senpai episode took place - meaning Takki, most likely. =) He looked very happy and comfortable when he appeared on Tokyo Friend Park with the rest of the cast afterwards, though. ^___^ It was just a small role, like in WSS, but sufficient for him to be noticed. =)

I think I need to clarify that when I say he went through a "rough period" I don't mean it was rough for him all the time. It obviously had its ups and downs. ^^ But largely, and in particular in what regarded his place in Ya-Ya-yah and the juniors, just like Taiyô, he was hardly getting attention. You can't call "getting attention" to being little more than a backsinger/backdancer whenever they performed. On the Ya-Ya-yah show he didn't get lots of attention either, just ocassionally and with the exception of the AiQ skits. There are several rankling examples of Ya-Ya-yah episodes in which Taiyô and Shoon merely trailed behind Yabu and Hikaru like ducklings.

Anyway, my point is that partly I'd say that yes, he didn't get many chances to show what he was worth other than the ones I mentioned above, and also that I have a feeling he came to a point at which he didn't care much because he probably felt things were not going to change. I mean that for a long while it looked as if, even if they debuted, Taiyô and him would always be in the background.

Things started to look up gradually sometime in 2006 - I'd say in the Summer, when he was given his own original solo (BadxNice), when he had some lines and a bit of spotlight in SummerxSummerxSummer, and also when Hikaru became part of Kitty and was away and busy with the KittyGYM stuff for a while.

Little by little Taiyô started getting some more attention too, and they both started looking happier, and increasingly more self-confident. In short, things were getting more levelled inside Ya-Ya-yah, and then came rumours of debut and... well, you know what happened then, so I'll just skip that part. You don't mind, do you? ^^ We've talked about it long enough, and that was a hurtful period that's best buried and forgotten.

Though I imagine that must have hurt a lot more for Shoon, he was really brave and mature about it, just like Taiyô, Hikaru, and Yabu were, and he hardly let it show. For a while he had the look of a boxer who's a bit groggy after having been hit hard, but he hadn't been knocked out, and little by little he regained his ground and started punching back, harder every time. =) And that's the way to go about anything in life, you know, because when life punches you in the face, you have to punch back harder.

Now Shoon knows there's a lot of people who support him and he looks content and confident and seeing him go through all this has made me see that I shouldn't worry so much about him, and believe in him. Or, as a Chinese proverb says: "You cannot prevent the birds of worry and care from flying over your head. But you can stop them from building a nest in your head."

What's going to become of Shoon?, many wonder. Only JE knows, but I'm not going to let myself fret. Whether he joins A.B.C. or not, whether he debuts with other juniors HSJ style or not, whether he becomes the next Toma or the next Tôshin, I know he's going to be okay. Once I described Shoon as a "lonely reed", and everyday I'm more convinved it's a fitting description. Reeds are not broken even by the strongest wind. They bend with the wind and then straighten again. Shoon is flexible too and has shown he can face any challenge and pull it off gracefully.

And he is going to be fine... because he is an essential guy. *points to the pic below* That's a page from a beauty/entertainment magazine called Voce (ヴォーチェ), from February of 2005, and lo and behold Shoon is sharing printed space with Matsumoto Jun, Yamapi, and Ryô. According to the magazine he's among "the essential guys", and he's "the next heroe". ~~The philologist in me snickers evilly at how they refer to the other three as "the OTHER heroes" LOL~~ This was back when Shoon was doing WSS (remember mags always go like 2 months ahead), but I know Shoon's got it in him to take his rightful place in the spotlight again. He just needs a little chance... and he'll make the most of it. =)

PS: I'm still catching up; if anybody wants my scans of the September Shoon pages, click here

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Hyakushiki love

2008-09-17T01:22:00.004+02:00

山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
[FORENOTE: A piece of good news: Shoon will be performing a solo song in one of the October SCs. =D *dances* The song's title is 欲望のレイン (Yokubou no rain - Rain of Desire) and you can watch it here on YouTube performed by Toma & Yamapi. There's a lyrics transcription and translation on the right as well, and the lyrics are really... um... steamy. XDDDDD ~~For once I'm glad my Japanese is not so good, or I'd die listening to Shoon saying those things. D:~~ I hope this means a "real" solo, with no backsingers, and not a 1 and a half minute of the song. *crosses fingers*]

Hyakushiki is so much love of late that I can't resist x-posting from the Shoon LJ community my latest Hyakushiki-centric entries and clips. For those of you who are not members of the comm. They go in reverse chronological order (newer to older).

September 16th

The theme of today's Hyakushiki was "chicken"... ~~who on earth comes up with these themes? XD~~ ...and I discovered a side of Shoon I didn't know: Shoon the poet. Apparently there's a rumour that he has a gift for literature (wow, who knew? =D), so he's asked to compose an ikku (一句 - a one haiku-poem) to yakitori (skewered, grilled chicken). LOL And just as it was to be expected it was both sweet and witty. ^3^ Forget Shakespeare; I prefer Shoon's verses. ^-^ [click here if you don't know what a Haiku is]

translation of Shoon's ikku: 焼き鳥や　君がタレなら　僕は塩　[Yakitori-ya. Kimi ga tare nara; boku wa shio] Yakitori-shop. If you were the tare (a type of sauce), I'd be the salt. ("Kimi" is an intimate form of "you" men use to address their girlfriends/wives, and "boku" is one of the masculine forms of "I/me") [yakitori is usually served with salt and tare sauce - wikipedia]

The new header was inspired by this. =)

September 9th

Today's Hyakushiki can be summarized in a 6 minutes video. The rest of the show was clips from old episodes. =/ But seeing the guys mimicking the Gokusen cast (I guess?) was fun. My favourite bit is where Shoon shows Sanada how to really dance. 8D

September 2nd

A rough explanation of what Shoon and the woman say (or what I grasp, rather): Shoon tells the others about a dream he sometimes has, in which he wakes up, looks at his reflection in the mirror and realizes in horror that his hair is gone. ~~And knowing how coquetish he is and how fond he's of his hair must be a real nightmare. LOL~~ The lady says his dream reveals he's a secretive person (himitsu shugi - 秘密主義). ~~Not that we didn't know before, right? Even the voice over describes him as ミステリアスな山下 (the mysterious Yamashita). XD~~ Then she also adds that his dream means his character is marked by rationality ("shikou" 思考), strength of will, I think (意思 - "ishi")", and also says that it expresses leadership (リーダーシップを表す - "leadership wo arawasu") and if I'm not wrong she concludes that it indicates he's a person that doesn't want to stand out but does? (目立つ人 - "medatsu hito") (in fact she says that a bald person stands out, which is true) I believe that's so because she explains something I'd already heard somewhere, that when you dream you're naked or bald as Shoon does, you're afraid of standing out or that you're worried your secrets will be exposed somehow. That's an interesting analysis of Shoon's personality, isn't it?

note: the full clip has been subbed by 33_snowfish and smalltownsburns and can be downloaded here

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Higher! Fly!

2008-09-07T23:29:00.013+02:00

山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
What can I say? It was a great performance, and Shoon outdid himself so as to not lose to A.B.C. =) His dancing, singing, acrobats and rapping were great, the song and coreography were really cool... and it's late, so I'll just post the talk and performance and update this post tomorrow. ~~Plus one part of the SC is not up yet.~~ Also... new header because the pic is worth a header. ;-) Thanks to Enshinge for the scan! ^0^

*Para Coni: Recibí tu e-mail y te he intentado contestar, pero mi servidor me devuelve el mensaje. Escríbeme a esarein8@yahoo.es =)*

PERFORMANCE :: TALK :: SONG MP3

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radish boy

2008-09-01T18:45:00.013+02:00

山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
I'm definitely back home. In the city, I mean. ^^ I spent this past week with my parents at their Summer house in the countryside, which is about an hour from the capital, but still within the province of Madrid. I love the place. I spent many happy Summer holidays there during my childhood and teenage years, and I still escape there whenever I can take a break. The only thing I dislike about going there is that my Internet connection there is horribly slow, so I decided to wait till I came back to update and catch up with all the stuff I missed while I was away. Like Hyakushiki. =)

Yesterday night I downloaded last week's Hyakushiki from Kamichan's site, and Shoon made me laugh so much in the game at the end of the show! I subbed that part (well, not all of it) for those of you who haven't seen it yet or didn't understand it. Please bear in mind that it's a loose translation and also that my Japanese is just so-so. Corrections are most welcome. =) ~~I miss Kato Kan T___T When is he coming back?~~

He's so funny! ^____^ ...and random! XD But then that's the kind of humour I like best, the kind of absurd humour that makes me laugh. And it's kind of amazing to see how quickly he goes from one character to another: he's playing a tough rapper, and then all of a sudden he turns into an idiotic foreigner speaking Japanese. LOL That was hysterical. I always wondered what foreign people must sound like to Japanese ears when speaking Japanese, and now I know! XD ~~Not us, Spaniards, I hope, since we have the same vowel sounds.~~ That was mean, Shoon! XD ~~But funny. XDDDD~~

I also loved the little, silly ~~and slightly gay XD~~ dance Shoon was doing when it was Takada Sho's turn. LOL Oh, and I can't wait to see the next episode... Shoon in pajamas. *__* I sleep in the exact same position as Takada! XD *gets shot* And I can't wait to get a HQ version of this episode to take like a dozen screencaps of this part.

Actually I was curious and searched for the song on YouTube... and found it! These Kome Kome Club (米米 Club) guys are pretty hilarious too. XD

Anyway, it's been some time since the last time I scanned some Ya-Ya-yah pages, so I chose two Stand by Me articles from 2004 that are pretty rare. They all look so young and cute. ^0^ But poor Shoon gets his name spelled wrongly in both ("Shon" in one and "Syon" in the other XD) Please don't repost these scans, thanks. =) Feel free to use them for icons, graphics, or translations, though. Credits appreciated but not necessary. Remember that header I used some months ago, on Shoon's 7th anniversary in JE, when things were not looking good for him? The one that said "how much higher will Shoon have to jump for JE to realize that he deserves more chances?" or something like that? Some of you asked where was that from, well, it's from one of these articles as you can see. =)

2004.07 TV Life :: 2004.09 Candy
And this has nothing to do with Shoon nor Ya-Ya-yah, but I'm so ridiculously proud of my digital camera I just wanted to show you a few of the hundreds of photos I've taken this past week at the countryside. XD I always got frustrated with my old, non-digital camera, but a digital camera makes things so much easier. =D

Left: back view of my parents Summer house, taken from beneath a fig tree in the corner. Right: wood pidgeon that has its nest on the pine tree in front of my parents Summer house. Wood pidgeons are a type of wild doves. I dislike doves because they're like air rats, but wood pidgeons live in the countryside and have a much more healthy diet of insects and such than city doves.

Left: two lovely pansies and a shy one with a peculiar shape. Pansies are my favourite flowers. =) Right: community gardens near my parents Summer house. I like how this one turned out because it looks sort of like part of a Japanese garden. =)

Left: an evening view of another part of the community gardens, where you can see my favourite tree in the place: an acacia. ^__^ Right: this is a flower from one of my mother's fuchsias, which we call "pendientes de la reina" (queen's earrings) in Spanish. I love trees, plants, and flowers.

Left: the sky seen from beneath the pines. I took this one while I was sitting on a bench in one of my favourite spots for daydreaming. =) Right: my late Summer read: The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. It's a great book; I loved it. ^^v

Left: some lovely lavender bushes. Right: from the camping and park sets of my Playmobil clics "collection". =D It's not exactly a "collection". Playmobil clics (those articulated plastic dolls you see on the picture) were my siblings and mine favourite toys when we were kids. They were really popular in the 70s and 80s. We got clics sets on Xmas, on our birthdays... and with five children (counting me) that's a lot of sets. When we grew up my brothers and sisters lost their interest in them, so I've been the one who took care of them. I put away each set in separate boxes, and they are all at the atic of my parents Summer house. This Summer, with the help of my new camera, I decided to start taking pictures of each set. =) I'm thinking of donating our collection to some toys museum, but the idea of parting with them breaks my heart a little.

If you want to see more of my pictures click here. You can also see them all on a slide show. =)

PS: sorry I still have many comments to reply. m(_ _)m I'm still catching up after the holidays.

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home again

2008-08-20T21:29:00.000+02:00

山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
I'm back in Madrid! ^__^/ The 6 days I spent abroad on vacation were lots of fun, but exhausting as well. ^^ We didn't just stay in London; we also went to visit Hampton Court palace, in Surrey, Windsor castle, and Oxford. =) I want to go back already. ^0^ There were so many places we didn't get to visit!

The first three days it was a bit cold and very windy, and we had dark clouds and light rain showers, but in the last three days it was sunny most of the time and even a little hot.

Before going there I was aware of the difference in habits of British people, but some things still seemed curious to me even after six days. XD The "keep left" signs in the underground (here in Spain we always keep to the right when walking), the three-pin plugs (here they have only 2), bus shelters facing the façade of the buildings on the street instead of the road (it's the other way around here), the fact that many shops and tourist atractions closed at 5-6 PM (here they close around 8 PM)... It felt a bit like the world turned upside down. LOL But I loved it there anyway, and people were all so kind and nice. =)

I didn't have the proverbial fish 'n' chips, but I did try the beef and ale pie with potato mash and peas. When we visited Hampton Court I learned something curious: In Henry VIII's time people didn't eat the whole pie. They ate the meat inside and left the crust pastry. The baked pie was a mere serving dish, as it was made of flour and water and thus not very tasty.

A few photos. =D I finally bought a digital camera and I'm so happy with it. ^__^v Took lots of pictures. XD

The first one is from our visit to Hampton Court. The tour guides were dressed in medieval style. She was really witty, and I loved listening to the history of the palace, which was very interesting. =) The second and third pictures are two views of different parts of Windsor castle. It's HUGE! =O It's a pity photographs are not allowed inside the buildings, because St. George's Hall in particular is so amazing!

The picture on the left is from Magdalen College, in Oxford. It is so beautiful, and it was so peaceful there! ^^ The second picture is a stained glass window from Christ Church's cathedral, in Oxford too, which shows Edith Liddell as St. Catherine. Edith was the younger sister of Alice, the Alice for whom Lewis Carroll wrote "Alice in Wonderland". I'm a big fan of Lewis Carroll's works. =) When we visited Christ Church college I was more excited because Alice and her family had lived there, at the deanery, and because Lewis Carroll had taught Mathematics there than because some scenes of the first 2 Harry Potter movies were filmed there. XD Oh and there was "Alice's Shop" as well, the place where supposedly Alice bought her sweets as a kid, there in Oxford. =) Now it's a shop that sells "Alice in Wonderland" related souvenirs. I bought a couple of very cool things there. ^__^v The third picture of course is the Big Ben.

The picture on the left is St. Paul's Cathedral. We were so lucky we had a private guided tour with a Spanish volunteer guide. =D She was really nice and friendly. The picture on the right is a view of Westminster Abbey. I absolutely loved Westminster Abbey. It's so amazing... and Gothic. ^-^ I love Gothic architecture. =) And I was so impressed by the ancient treasures it holds - like the coronation chair (also known as "King Edward's chair") from the 13th century.

The picture on the left is a monument to the Celtic queen Boadicea, who led her people against the Roman invaders. You literally stumble upon this monument when you go out of the Westminster undergroung station. The picture on the right is the famous "Harry Potter" starcaise at Christ Church college in Oxford that leads to the dining hall.

And these are two views of Christ Church from outside. =) The buildings and the gardens were so beautiful!

And these are from Shakespeare's Globe theatre. It's a reconstruction, but it still felt magical to be there. =) And the guide's talk was so interesting. I really want to go back to London and see a play staged there. =D

And finally these two are from Hampton Court. ^__^ The one on the left show two other guides that were dressed in medieval clothes too. XD I wouldn't mind doing that sort of job. =) The second one is a picture from the kitchen's area. I love seeing those sort of recreated scenes, so you can imagine what the place was like centuries ago. ^__^

PS: This entry will end on a sad note because this afternoon there was a terrible accident at Madrid's airport, Barajas. There was a plane crash and more than 140 people died. Only about 26 people survived, and many of them are injured. I feel so bad for all those people and their families. ;___; I also feel incredibly lucky it was not us.

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言葉はいらない

2008-08-10T21:25:00.003+02:00

Why, oh, why do I have to go to bed now? ;___; To get up at 5 a.m. tomorrow to be at the airport at 6, I know. (I'm leaving for London! =D I'm spending a week there on vacation! \^0^/) But I want to stay up and watch the last part of today's SC and post an entry! T___T Today's SC is so great for so many reasons: Shoon being introduced on his own at the opening; Shoon is the king of skirts; exhibitionist!Shoon is just... hfjfeigasgf H___H ~~um, yeah, nosebleeding~~; Shoon rapping; Reon gets some screentime, even though he's just backdancing and being an assistant in the Jr. League segment again (yay!)... and his dancing has improved immensely! go, Reon!! ^0^ ; Shoon is so cute being such a scaredy cat; Yabu as surprise guest!!! ^3^ ~~pity they didn't show Shoon being surprised =(~~ Anyway... unfortunately I really don't have the time to type a proper entry, no matter how much I want to T___T ...but as the entry title says, 言葉はいらない (kotoba wa iranai - no words are needed, right? ~~I hope so at least XD~~ That's my excuse to turn this post into a clips post. XD Talk to you in a week! Will reply comments when I get back. Take care! *hugs everyone*

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yesterday's SC

2008-08-04T08:10:00.014+02:00

山下翔央, Yamashita Shoon, Ya-Ya-yah
First of all... thanks to those of you who congratulated me on my birthday yesterday. =) When I was younger I always looked forward to my birthday and always wanted to celebrate it in a big way; now I prefer just a small celebration with my family. I don't like aging. Have you noticed how you're "growing up" until you get to your twenties and then you start "aging" past your twenties. That's so unfair. Sounds like it's all downhill past your twenties. =( In the Middle Ages, when life expectancy was 20-30 years old, anybody past their thirties was considered an old person, but now life expectancy is well past sixty years old, so being thirty-three is not being too old, is it? ^^

Anyway. Yesterday's Shounen Club was not as great as I had expected it to be. I really should stop reading Shounen Club recording reports, because it's disappointing when the cameras do not show certain bits mentioned in the reports and when you realize the camera time your favourite johnny gets is not half as much as you had thought it would be. The opening medley had too much Koyama and Shige. Also, Sanada and Nozawa were wearing some new outfits that were very cool, while Shoon had to wear his old blue and white outfit which is... well, not so cool. =/ And he didn't get much screen time in that part. Nor did he get much at the ending song either, which not only had to have Koyama and Shige in it (???) but also HSM (Hey Say "Mix" - no, that's not a new group, it's just that there were some random members: Daiki, Yuto, Yamada, and Chinen). =(

And I was disappointed by Tsubasa's photos of my country as well. What the...? =__= He visits Spain and they just show a typical street in a Southern town and a bridge at night? Gah. ^^

Oh well, at least Shoon appeared in the Junior League segment, in which he had his fair share of screen time, and he was really funny. That goes to show how well suited he is for comedy. He really is amazing, the way he seems to become a different person when he acts, leaving behind his shyness. =) And he has such a wide range of expressions. I just wish my understanding of Japanese was better. =_= [edit]Forget about that. Our wonderful NEWShFAN has subbed the whole SC!!! O____O Is that amazing or what? So here's Shoon and Akun's part; subs thanks to NEWShFAN. You can download the whole thing here. ^______^ ~~Man, Shoon is the best. XD~~

DOWNLOAD RAW CLIP
I couldn't help myself and took lots of screencaps. It's not everyday you get to see Shoon looking like Hermione Granger in the first two Harry Potter movies. XD The huge cell charms and the glittery phone itself were so ridiculous. LOL

So this SC was not as good as I had expected, and there's one other thing that hasn't made me too happy: HS7 singing 勇気100% (Yuuki 100%) at Summary. =( I know it's not an original Ya-Ya-yah song, but Ya-Ya-yah recorded a single of that song in 2002, and it's one of the songs Ya-Ya-yah is best known for. For those who don't know, it was originally sung by Hikaru Genji and it was the opening theme song of the anime series 忍たま乱太郎一 (Nintama Rantarou - Ninja Rantorou), while Sekai ga hitotsu ni naru made was the ending theme song. Below you can watch the original opening with Hikaru Genji's version, and on the right the one with Ya-Ya-yah's version.

In any case for me the true Yuuki 100% will always be Ya-Ya-yah's version, either the 5 member Ya-Ya-yah version (with Yabu, Akama, Taiyô, Shoon and Hoshino), or the "adult voice" version Yabu, Hikaru, Taiyô and Shoon sang in the 2005.10.16 SC first, and then in the 2006.03.05 SC. The first one has grumpy Shoon -he didn't smile very often in that period- and Taiyô and him didn't do much except backdancing and singing the chorus part, but I love the part in which each of them dances surrounded by small groups of chibikos. =) And the second one... well, the second one has them wearing their "Power Rangers" outfits. XD When you find Shoon sexy even in that outfit, like I do, you know you have it bad. ^^;;; But what I really love about that second performance is the little bit in which they sing a line with the word "taiyô" (sun) and Hikaru gestures towards Taiyô. ^3^

[DOWNLOAD CLIP - 51 MB]

[DOWNLOAD CLIP - 37 MB] - [DOWNLOAD mp3 rip]

Mabel, who is in Tokyo, sent me an e-mail now, telling me about the dangerous acrobatics Shoon is doing with A.B.C. [Yes, he's taking part in Summary after all, performing with A.B.C. =) Good for him; otherwise he would have felt left out.] Shoon, be careful, please. m(_ _)m Oh, and congratulations to the Kisumai and A.B.C. fans as there's going to be a Kisumai-A.B.C. concert in October!! =D About time too! Both groups deserved it. =) Wonder if Shoon will appear with A.B.C. ^^

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Ya-Ya-yah Obse-shoon || Ya-Ya-yahを忘れていない || 山下翔央 鮎川太陽 薮宏太 八乙女光

05.02.27 Ya-Ya-yah in Music Station

I'm not a hippie

the b-day girl thank-you post

薮くん、光くん・・・ありがとう

I've got my glasses on

no requiem for me yet

happy b-day, Taiyô!

saved by your smile

bah <=/ JE, you fail

another play for Shoon!!!

happy birthday, Shoon!

multipost

Not dead

諦めないで - don't give up!

the language barrier

Rain of Desire

Autumn is here

forget-us-not

an essential guy

Hyakushiki love

Higher! Fly!

radish boy

home again

言葉はいらない

yesterday's SC

Ya-Ya-yah Obse-shoon || Ya-Ya-yahを忘れていない || 山下翔央鮎川太陽薮宏太八乙女光