np. 244ENDLI-x – Kurikaesu 春

This week’s SmaSma, and it seems that the last in a few weeks, since there were no previews for the next weeks’ shows, was nicely over an hour long.
Instead I think we will be getting (for SMAP’s anniversary!) four 2-hour specials after that, meaning that April the 14th there is a Sports-special, the 21st a Music-special etc.

So.. if anyone wants me to sum+clip something else while SmaSma takes a break, tell me. Or then I can just go and translate some songs and get them subbed ^^

Anyways, on with SMAPxSMAP from March the 31st, 2008.
We have an.. shall I say, interesting bistro with one of my favourite Japanese politicians, Calligraphy-challenge and a Pineapple-skit that makes you totally crack up. Plus an absolutely astonishing ballad-medley in the end.

As I already mentioned, the bistro is interesting. The gues is 橋下徹 [Hashimoto Toru]. He is a very well-known TV-personality and lawyer who graduated from the prestigious university of Waseda.
He is also, most importantly, the fresh governor (the election and campaigns that gathered a lot of attention, was held in January 2008. He btw got 1,8 million votes, winning his opponent by over 800.000!) of Osaka.
For further, check out the wiki-page here and click yourself further to the OHPs and blog. The man sure has interesting ideas.

When talking about the order 大阪新名物 [Osaka Shin Meibutsu, Osaka's new specialities], Nakai messes with him and asks if he’d go with Miyazaki-prefecture’s cuisine instead of Osaka’s and mentions the Miyazaki-governor that has lately been guesting in SmaSma

The talk itself focuses, of course, in Hasmoto-san’s governership and what things have changed, are hard etc. I was very interested in the Osaka elections myself and very happy with the result ^^
Nakai was his supporter too
Nakai also mentions his own family (his mother and grandmother are actually from Osaka), and tells a funny story.

When they go down to meet the chefs, they talk about Hashimoto-san’s huuuge family (and Nakai of course pokes him first that they could make a family baseball-team and then about people being very energetic “that way” in Osaka )

Kimutaku’s next season’s anticipated drama CHANGE also gets promotion, because not only will he play a normal teacher who becomes the prime minister of Japan but he also has filmed in Osaka for the law-related drama HERO. So there are similarities in the roles and Hashimoto-san’s life in the terms of politics, law and location.

When Shingo came out, it was no more TOKYO TOWER. No, it’s all Osaka now. And he sang the SMAP-song with kansai-ben and then spoke it and I was honestly.. tearing up. So

Oh my, and then show an old clip from PIE!LOT with Hashimoto-san we have.. lot of fun. I clipped this.

And then Kimutaku bites Goro.

Calligraphy-challenge! The guest is another “celebrity governor”, the earlier in the show -mentioned 東国原 英夫 [Higashikokubaru Hideo].
These caps are from what they did to practise, not the ones they did in the end.

Since someone asked me, what did the guys write, here you go:
Nakai: 間 [Ma, engl. time/space]
Kimutaku: 拓 [Taku, the first one of the kanjis in his name 拓哉, Takuya]
Goro: 光 [Hikari, engl. light]
Tsuyoshi: 剛 [Tsuyoshi, the kanji for his first name]
Shingo: 動 [Ugo, engl. a change/motion/move]
They also give very nice explanations for their choices (though, Goro tries to sneakily affect the judge , but the others).

The pineapple-heads.
This was so funny. Not only do we get a guest-appearance of なだぎ武 [Nadagi Takeshi] (He is btw actually really famous for his Dylan McKay-impression and just last February the succeeded in grabbing the first consecutive victory in the famous R-1 Grand Prix), but also ippatsu-gags with the police-theme.
(it’s so bad that it’s absolutely hilarious; take my word for it)
And then in the end Shingo and Tsuyoshi do a Dylan&Catherine-scene too. Gahh.

As I said, in the end we get a nice performance.
There’re a huge bunch of chorus-children. SMAP talk a little (and seem to get along very well) and then they perform そのまま and a classic Japanese graduation song, 旅立ちの日に [Tabidachi no Hi ni] with a strings orchestra. Piano and then the children join in for the second song.

Download-links:
- [MU] PIE!LOT clip
- [MU] SMAP – Ballad medley
And the usual, if you post the links forward/clips to streaming, link me back. Thank you.

Drop me a line in the forums/via mail (or here) about the next two weeks

JEs singles’ release dates.

06.02 KAT-TUN – Lips.

20.02 ARASHI – Step and Go.

20.02 TOKIO – Sugar.

27.02 NewS – Taiyou no Namida.

05.03 SMAP – Sonomama.

12.03 Kanjani8 – Wahaha.

so i’m kind of like hoping,

maybe,

like,

Hey! Say! JUMP?

or,
Hey! Say! JUMP.