Someone’s on Toma’s lap and he’s lookin too happy.

YADA! All (if not most) of my favorite Jboys together in one place! For those who don’t know, VS Arashi is a variety show hosted by Arashi, a Japanese boyband, and every week they compete in various games with actors and comedians. This is the first Japanese variety show that I’ve watched more than 5 episodes, thanks to drug dealer XY. 😛

This week, we have the castmates of drama Osozaki no Himawari competing against Arashi. It’s a tough battle because they challenge the boys at every turn. Knowing me, I cannot spazz by myself, so am spreading the virus to local drifters. Hop on if you’re interested!

We begin the show today with the boys’ small chat segment in which they discuss Ohno’s upcoming birthday (Nov. 26, this episode aired the 22nd) and his plans. Ohno, we’re SOOOO meant to be, you’re also a November baby! Aiba asks curiously what he wants as a gift from the four of them, and while Ohno seriously contemplates the idea, Aiba offers his wacky clothing. haha, please Aiba, we only need ONE Fashion Terrorist in the form of Nino. You must stay adorable and away from that title!

Judging from their outfits, our birthday boy and Sho (center man) take first and second place in fashion, respectively. Aiba (far left) looks like he’s on the set of Power Rangers, while Nino (far right) is upset that Santa hasn’t fed him. Jun’s overall appearance is too old. =P

They introduce the guests and Ikuta Toma leads his group down the stairs to the roaring cheer of the enthusiastic audience. My sexy boo, Kiritani Kenta, struts down in third and boy he looks dashing, eager, and ready (but wth are those pants?!). I’m going to have a good time ogling at the pretty and handsome. 😀

Today’s plus one guest (joining Arashi Team to even out the number) is comedy duo Black Mayonnaise. While Sho greets Yoshida kindly, he turns and quips, “Who’s this fat person next to you?” and even jokingly implies that maybe Kosugi‘s pregnant: “How many months along are you?” Weight jokes don’t go well with me but they’re clearly not carried out with bad intention.

FIRST GAME: Ohno’s screaming, “FALLING PIPER!!!” They say it has been a year and a half since the game was removed. WHY? I like this game. One reason which I think is fair enough: They want to focus on the chemistry and less of individual battle.

Anyway, piper chooser is Arashi’s visual man, Jun, and pipe catcher is my Kenta (YAYYY!!). Where’s my winning money at? You know, I usually place my ching-ching unanimously on Arashi Team, but today’s different. What? All is fair in love. Plus, Kenta is such an enjoyment to watch. He caters to the cheering crowd very well, blowing kisses every now and then (my dear, I’m this way!) Hard to imagine him as a serious, dedicated actor, right? But he is!

Before the game begins, comedian Yoshida comments on Kenta’s handsome face and predicts that he can’t succeed in catching the pipe. When asked about his opinion, Toma is unwavering in his support, “Since Kenta is an actor with great reflexes and high power, I think he’ll able to catch 50 & 50!” Perfect score prediction?

Jun makes his choices: 2 & 3 and adorable tilts his head to the side, a futile attempt to hide his nervousness. Luckily, Yamapi is not around to amp up the meter. 😆

Kenta watches from a distance with his poker face… he thinks 1 & 3, or 2 & 4. Eek!!

During the 20 second-talk with the goal to distract the pipe catcher, Jun’s strategy is to divert Kenta’s concentration by asking him to do some air drum movements. I’m getting nervous here… Kenta does so and the moment he begins to “choo choo” with his hands, Jun drops the pipes!!!

And….

KENTA CATCHES BOTH PIPES WITH HIS LIGHTNING FAST REFLEX!!

Cough it up ladies, money’s in my pocket.

While Kenta shows off his victory dance,

Jun turns to the camera: “What a fail. It’s a total defeat.”

Up next for pipe chooser is our lovable Toma against Arashi’s Sho.

Sho tries to mimic Kenta’s catch earlier but couldn’t grasp how he was able to pull off such fast hand movement. He turns to Kenta, “How did you catch it from behind? That’s amazing.”

Kenta’s in heaven of smugness, “Well, I did it neh~~~~”

The MC reminds Sho how long it has been since the return of Falling Pipe and he gripes, “Doesn’t matter how long, I still suck at it anyway!” His fellow teammates are surprisingly supportive today, “You can do it! Believe in yourself!”

Toma makes his choices: 3 & 4 but Sho is so wrapped up in his own pressure balloon that he simply forgets to look at the pipe chooser for some hints. In the end, he faces pipe 2 & 3 because he figures that he cannot carry out Kenta’s back catch earlier. This fella. heh.

20-second talk: Toma describes an incident that happened 15 years ago between him and Sho. They were stuck in an elevator, and Toma heard him scream, “I’M SCARED!!!!!” Toma screams out this line and promptly drops the pipes. Sho only catches one pipe for 20 points. Gahh.

The full story, recited by Toma, after the game: They were stuck in an elevator after rehearsal for 10 minutes. Rather than calming down the younger one, Sho was screaming, “I’m scared!”

2nd Game: Rolling Viking! Arashi Team is up first and you gotta love how they pep-talk themselves in regards to their low score:

Jun: “This is a good handicap right?”
Nino: “Right? That gap is there so we can reverse the game!”
— Other members nod in agreement —
Nino: “We’ll go for 400 points!”
Sho: “We will —- WHAT??!!”

At the important orange zone is Black Mayonnaise. Even though they flunk the first two balls, they manage to gain 255 points for the Team. Impressive save. If there were more balls, they could’ve earned more points. Oh well.

Next up, Himawari Team takes the challenge. Is it me but the ladies are quiet and not as rowdy as the boys? The girls paired up with Kenta has a pretty smile. She knows exactly what to say to stay on my good side, “Kenta is like an older brother to me…”

The girl standing opposite Toma is his co-star, Kashii Yu. She makes some brief statements and appears quite cold to the camera.

Toma says he’s not very confident, taking the opportunity to tease Sho by yelling out, “I’M SCARED!!”

Sho’s reaction:

Himawari Team scores 150 points. Not bad.

To celebrate their score, Arashi Team urges Toma to do Kosugi’s gag line:

“I did it my own way, Hii HAAA!!”

Aiba introduces the next game: PINBALL RUNNNNER! One of the funny things to watch out on this show is the boys announcing the game names in English. 😛

The runner on Arashi Team is Nino, doing a little karate chops here:

Nino successfully gets the pink ball (double the points) but loses the second pink ball instead. His total score is 140 points but the man isn’t happy, throwing the basket to the floor with a thud. He sits down and complains, “You four are SO SLOW in giving the numbers.”

The Himawari Team watching the exchange and cracking up.

Moving forward, Toma is running for his team (Gahhh, boy don’t rest?) while the three lovely ladies act as commanders. He observes that Nino ran sideways and goes with the same strategy. The Arashi boys, especially Ohno, adds in cheekily, “You should run facing the camera.” haha, Ohno doesn’t want Toma to see the numbers obviously. Nino quickly chirps, “You should do it that way, many people would like to see your face.” Worrying about his cast mate, Kenta shouts, “Don’t get fooled!” heh.

Toma’s goal is to surpass Nino’s score by aiming for 150 points. He misses the first pink ball because the middle girl is a lousy announcer, standing there rigid when the round object shows up. Seriously, girl, wake up! At least, Toma ends up with 170 points.

4th Game is Bank Bowling, my least favorite because it’s boring!

But here, a gif of angry Jun. Because Arashi is losing.

Last game, and probably one of my favorites along with Falling Piper is Kicking Sniper!

Leading by 45 points, Himawari Team is up first. When asked about his sports, Kenta confesses that he doesn’t have experience with soccer (proven by his zero points from his last guest appearance). Instead, he used to be a captain of the Rugby and Tennis team.

Toma’s awkward dance when he misses the cans.

Kenta, you’re so bad at this.

70 points for Toma!

The game begins and ends pretty fast, as in they’re so terrible at it, only garnering a low score of 150 points. Eeeeekkk!! Arashi is totally gonna wipe the floor with them! The gap is now 195 points.

Arashi’s kickers are Ohno, Aiba, and Black Mayonnaise. Ohno shows off his skills today and knocks down all the cans for the first two rounds. Things get a little off course but they manage to pinch the winner title in the end. Awww man! So close!

Overall an entertaining episode. Toma’s positive attitude and Kenta’s laid-back/goofy personality go well with this show.