I feel that they ARE real when I watch them being like dorks and everything (especially aiba). But I read the aiba 10 000 word interview and he seemed so different from his normal self on TV. He said that they had to be interesting, so he tried his best to be interesting. That got me thinking if aiba is really that hyper and all off screen, or if that hyper aiba is just to capture the interests of people. Also, Takki said that aiba was a very quiet and mature kid when he was a jr... He seems so different now! So like, which is the real him? D:

when i see them
act stupid ,silly or crazy
thats when i think there real
because i do things like that to
and i know im real

the boys have always just been characters on my screen (tv, pc, etc..) and although i know they are REAL people, i see them as people truly different from me ~ not having the same life, habits and cravings as i do. weird ne? for me, it's like they live in a different world.. a fictional world (though only about 5 hours away from mine).

just remembered this episode in my life when i saw a pic taken by a friend when he went to shibuya... can't believe that there's a big arashi billboard along that supposedly popular intersection. a REAL billboard in a picture of my friend...not in some picture i've downloaded from the net. made me think: OMG. they are so real !! as in real living beings. and my friend's pic is testament to that... and has became my connection to that world.

funny and confusing but that's how i see the boys.

i do think that they are real.. and i'm saving my money right now just to go to japan.. to investigate whether they are real or not.. hehehehe like im ever gonna see them in person..

To me they seem really real. When i watch there shows, i don't get the sense that they are trying to hard to act a certain way, i see them just acting natural...the way that they would usually~ Also it seems that all the Arashi members are close to each other, so they have like a bond, so they dont need to try to act that they like each other.

to me, its obvious that they're real human beings, but as far as the way we see them, i often wonder how much of that image is real...let's drop the fangirl curtain for a minute and be honest...the guys are owned by a business man. johnny's is a "dream salesman" as i like to call it...everybody he hires is beautiful and talented...but in order to capture fangirls (and their money), he needs the guys to be perfect prince charmings...so sometimes i wonder if the things arashi says in their interviews are their true answers, or if they come from public relations coaches (yes, there is such a thing). japan has always been big on standards and appearances...so if jun says he wants a young lady who will be attentive, if sho says he wants a girl who is up on the current events, if aiba wants a girl who "will take care" of him, thats gonna result in a lot of women subconsciously changing themselves to fit this image, thus increasing/maintaining the number of "perfect" wife-like young ladies...

but this has been bugging me for a few weeks b/c i'd like to believe they show us their true faces, but in the entertainment business, its hard to tell

My views and perceptions on how 'real' they are are very complicated/mixed.

Yes, they are humans, just like me. They feel, breathe, laugh, walk and talk just like any other human, but sometimes to me... they seem 'fake'. I say this because well... I sometimes find them as 'mannequins'; appearing as every girl's perfect dream man and stuff like that, so I can't really think of them as 'real' because of that. I hope no one misunderstands me with what i just said, I still love our stormy boys! D:

and I sort of agree with what hoshimi said; if Aiba's dream girl was someone who'd take care of him, some people might change just for that, which is a bad thing in my opinion.

I think like a lot of things in Japanese society, there's an image or outer face (omote) one upholds and then their true character lies behind that (ura). I find myself thinking that Aiba's probably a lot smarter than he lets on and that the "baka" is just a character or a small part of his personality that he's exaggerating. Even though we mostly see him jumping around and being loud and clumsy, when we see footage of the group riding around in buses and planes while on tour, he's usually off in the corner quietly reading or thinking about something. I think that's a human aspect because he either has different aspects of his personality that he plays up or plays down in certain situations, or he's worked hard to create a character for the sake of entertainment.

But my most "real" Arashi moment was probably last summer when I was lucky enough to get down close during the Time concerts. Even though Arashi was in front of me talking during their MC, I had to remind myself that I wasn't watching them on TV and that they're standing right there. Also, from that viewpoint, the audience can see the little preparations and signals they give each other while performing. (Adjustments of the microphones, stage directions, etc.), and that really hit home with me because it made me think, "This is their JOB. This is one aspect of their WORK. Even though I'm enjoying this and it's fun, it's their profession and they're at work right now." At that time, I felt very grateful for all the effort they put into their performance.

I think they are real. I feel that despite how people are trying to act differently, the basic of their characters will prevail in certain subjects especially personal one.


FOR ME .....


I see Nino despite being all cute and charming, i feel that he is antisocial, easily irritable and only close with certain people (that he selected). He looks very secretive to me.

Matsujun, despite he acts like a DoS, he is the most caring person in ARASHI, and very protective too. Which nino seems to be from his performance on tele

Aiba, is innocence but mature. do u guys notice how he always say gomen ne, sumimasin. he is a guy who seem to me always try to step away from argument despite it is actually the other one fault, and taking good care of the rest of members feeling. But yes he is clumsy

Sho kun just a straight forward man, hence sometimes tend to do things without thinking. he is smart, but due to this i feel that his mind just turn blank to possibilities sometimes

O-chan is himself but will stood up for what he like. For me he is not a total M as he claim to be.


WEll, certainly that is what i see and evaluate from televisions, intervioews ect ect..

If only I know them in person

it was interesting reading everyone's replies to this question.. very interesting.. lol. i too have a mixed response. they seem real enough to me, in the sense that their sincerity is genuine and for the most part they are acting naturally as themselves. otherwise i probably wouldn't like them very much (ahhh! i can't even imagine this >_<). At the same time, they are very surreal, since i don't know them personally, to sorta quote from someone's earlier comment, they are mentally and physically distant from me. but i'm ok with that. i'm perfectly satisfied with arashi just as i know and see them as. if that makes sense... ?_? oh well, i had fun rambling! yay for arashi!

I have to agree with what Melonz and Morgan has said for the most part...
They seem to be real to me but I don't really know them personally. After watching most of their shows somehow i can tell that its really them.

I wish I get to meet them and actually know them.

i have think about it before, as they are really far away from me. Its like i think my whole life i would not be able to meet them. But after thinking real carefully, they ARE real& they seem the same on TV& in their personal life:D

I hope that one day they would go around the world:)

This is a really good topic

Well when I watched the Hanadan F Special I kinda realised that they're real becuz for a second I thought they're not..,. and then I thought "These are humans no anime character or so"