An ideal romance, an ideal future… This month, we asked these five people about a variety of “ideals.” They worry, they dream, and they openly confess their innermost thoughts, revealing their earnest attitudes in the conversation.

I want to become a person who can understand other people’s feelings and has a quick mind.

I often talk about love with my friends. Even though we know that neither of us has a girlfriend, I enjoy asking them “Have you got a girlfriend?” and hearing them say “No.” Sometimes I get annoyed when one of them says “Yes, I have one” (laughs). I used to be the type to fall in love with love. My ideal type is someone who is honest and pure. I also like someone who has a different personality and values ​​than me. When I have a problem, even if I talk to someone, they don’t have the same values ​​as me. If you can only come up with the same answer, I don’t think you can see things from a broader perspective. Instead, someone with a completely different way of thinking might be able to give you better advice. However, in that case, there might be some misunderstandings (lol). There are all kinds of events like Valentine’s Day and Christmas, and while they’re great for people who have a partner, they’re the worst for people who don’t. I had Christmas Eve off last year, and I didn’t have anyone to spend it with, I felt like “What am I supposed to do!?” (lol) If I had a partner, I’d like to have lots of fun… but I’d also like to go along with their wishes. If I had to say, I’m the type who decides everything by myself, and sometimes people don’t tell you how they really feel, right!? It depends on someone’s personality, but I feel it’s best to meet people where they’re at and say what’s on your mind. In the future, I want to perform my work activities well, so learn how to discern various things on a deeper level. I also want to become someone who can understand other people’s feelings and has a quick mind. When giving comments in interviews, you can just talk about what you’ve experienced and what you know, but that’s not the case when it comes to acting in dramas and the like. You’re acting about things you’ve never experienced, so you have to think, “How is this person feeling?” It’s really difficult.

The ideal man is someone who is considerate of small things and a good father.

There are a lot of cool guys in the world. Like the ones who are chosen as the best or whatever. But I don’t want that kind of coolness. I think being cool in a general sense is good, but I think a guy who is considerate of the little things is really cool. I’m trying to be a little bit like that now. In terms of work, I want to be able to do everything, including acting, singing, and dancing. It would be great if I could reach a final form that I could be proud of, but I probably won’t ever be satisfied in my lifetime. I’ve done a lot of different jobs up until now, but I’ve never been satisfied with any of them. On the contrary, I think it’s good that I’m not satisfied. If I keep chasing something, I’ll only grow bigger, right?! After that, I’ll simply become a good father (laughs). My favorite type is someone with beautiful eyes. Nowadays, ganguro girls are wearing amazing makeup, but it’s difficult because you can’t tell where their eyes are (lol). I want to say to girls like that, “Normal is definitely better” (lol). What happens if you fall in love? Or how long have you been together? Or is it unrequited love (lol)? If it’s unrequited love, your feelings lean more and more towards her, and you should be honest and say that you like her. If you confess and get rejected… it’s just like “darn it” and that’s the end (lol). What if you’ve been dating for six months? That’s minor~ We don’t fight or anything. I think we’ll probably end up just listening to music and chatting at home. I don’t like going out. I’d like someone who’s on the same wavelength as me. I don’t like making a big deal out of Valentine’s Day or Christmas. I think it would be better to casually prepare a gift on an ordinary day, as that would be a surprise and make the recipient happy. I prefer that.

Maybe someone similar to me is the right type

My ideal type is someone who looks good first, and who has beautiful hands. When I meet a girl, the first thing I look at are her hands. I often find myself looking at her thin, long fingers (lol). When I look at her hands and think, “She has beautiful hands,” I gradually move my gaze upwards, and then I realize, “Oh, her hands don’t match how I imagined her” (lol). But you can’t really know a person until you talk to them, so you can’t talk about their “ideal” personality based on appearance alone. My true ideal is “someone with the same values.” What’s important is that we can laugh together, cry together, be happy or angry together, being able to share the same feelings. It’s good to have a relationship where it doesn’t bother you even if you don’t say anything when you’re together. When I don’t feel like talking, I don’t like being asked detailed questions like, “What happened today?” So I wouldn’t do things that the other person doesn’t like either. …That means I want someone who is similar to me (lol). When I’m feeling down, I want someone who lets me be quiet and doesn’t comfort me….You can tell a lot about a person from first impressions. If you talk to them and find that you have the same values, you can have a good relationship. Other than that, it’s fine if they’re honest. As for my views on romance and love… I think I’ll lose interest if I fall in love (lol). (Next to me, Matsujun chimes in, saying, “You’re kidding, you won’t be able to think of anything else, right? (lol)) No, that’s not it, I’m someone who wants to enjoy unrequited love. Dramas where it’s like “I like you but you won’t date me” are good (lol). An ideal man to me is, in the future, being a father who can see things from my child’s perspective. I also want my children to have a variety of experiences so that they have choices. Also, for example, if when I’m 30 and I work with a Junior or something (lol), instead of talking about how it was when I was a junior, I want to become an adult who gives someone understanding for how they feel.

I guess falling in love happens after having a stimulating conversation…

An ideal type of girl?… I don’t really have one. The girls I have liked so far don’t really have anything in common either. There must be something about her that draws me in, but I don’t know what it is. I almost never fall in love at first sight, so even if I think she’s cute playing sports, I don’t feel anything more than that. I fall in love after we’ve had a stimulating conversation or I feel like we communicated well. After that, I’m like “I want to talk more. Maybe I like this girl,” and it’s then that I realize (lol). In a relationship, it’s better to be laid back than overly affectionate. Of course, being clingy is fine too (lol), but I think a relationship will last longer if there’s some distance between you, right? The ideal situation is when you both do the things you like, value your own time, and respect each other. In the future, when I get my driver’s license, we might go on date in my car, but right now, I don’t really want to go to popular or messy places. Because there are so many people there and it’s tiring. When I was in elementary school, Valentine’s Day was a big deal, and girls would bring lots of chocolates to school. I even got two from the same girl (lol). But I don’t really understand confessing your feelings on Valentine’s Day. I’m a guy, after all (lol). People say that men are lazy, but maybe girls are just too strong? That’s how it is in my family, too (lol). But maybe that’s the secret to making it work? My idea of an ideal man is someone who looks normal but has a strong mind. It’s what’s on the inside that counts. I’m sure there are people in the world who are my age but seem like a grown-up. Conversely, there are also people who are grown-up but still have a youthful spirit. Both are attractive. I’ve accumulated good experiences too, and I’m aiming to become a cool adult.

I can’t say “I like you” and I might seem cold…

My ideal type is someone I don’t have to be careful with when we’re together. They’re easy to talk to, or even better, someone I don’t need to talk to all the time. I think that creates a natural atmosphere where neither of us has to be careful. So ideally, meeting someone develops into a friendship. Then, as I get to know them better, we start dating in a natural way. When I’m dating someone, I don’t have any desire to make myself look good. I think it’s best if they treat me the same way they treat their male friends, and like me for who I am. I want them to feel the same way, too. Of course, when you fall in love with someone, they take up a larger portion of your heart, but that doesn’t mean I feel any distance from them, or that I have no time for myself. I don’t believe in the idea that “men are superior to women” or that “men should protect women”; I believe in equality. However, I want to be a man who can protect a girl when it matters. And a certain level of manners are necessary for both men and women. When it comes to girls’ manners, what bothers me is when they sit on the ground. It’s just too rude. There are a lot of girls on the train who are not well behaved, and it bothers me when I see that (lol). A confession? I can’t say that! I might end up coming off as pretty cold and rude. I’d be too embarrassed to say “I like you” (lol). Valentine’s Day is coming up soon, but for us in middle and high school, at an all-boys school, Valentine’s Day isn’t fair. I thought, “What in the world!” (lol). Valentine’s Day is a day for girls, so I want to put effort into the other person’s birthday. I’d do some research or something beforehand (lol). In the future, my ideal is someone who values ​​both work and family, but also has their own hobbies, or someone like Kitano Takeshi, who can balance comedy and directing, and has a unique sensibility.

Special Series!! ONE of 嵐

“I want to be on TV” – from a small curiosity…

In terms of how I got into the entertainment industry, television was a big influence after all. During middle school, I saw them playing 3 on 3 basketball on the show “Ai Rabu SMAP” and thought, “You can play sports like that on TV.” At that time, I was also in a basketball club at school. And somehow I got curious about trying to get on TV, so I wrote a resume and sent it out, and a few months later I got a letter saying come to this place at this time. I went thinking “Well, I might as well go and see,” but I still hadn’t gotten serious about being in the entertainment industry (lol).

After having about 3 lessons…it wasn’t really that interesting. I mean, I didn’t have any friends or anyone to talk to…. I was thinking maybe I should bring my friends with me (lol). Maybe just one. That’s a joke, but eventually you become friends with the people that take the same route home, and after that things started being fun. It felt like an extracurricular activity or just an extension of school.

I had never done any dancing before, so of course I was in the back and I couldn’t see how the people in front were dancing…even I didn’t know when I was going to be able to dance. It wasn’t until much later that I realized how fun dancing was; the pain was greater than the enjoyment. Even to this day when I make a mistake I get really frustrated.

That’s why the whole time I was taking lessons, I still preferred my extracurricular activities. It’s not like anyone was forcing me to do it, and it wasn’t really that fun either. I wanted to be on TV, but when I think about it now, it’s like I was being drawn to it by some mysterious force.

I kept the fact that I was a Junior a secret from my school friends and decided that even if I got caught I would just stay quiet. Then, eventually I started getting magazine work and stuff, and after half a year I got caught (lol). When I had to miss club activities I would make up excuses about having stuff to do, but after I wasn’t able to make it to the basketball matches my teacher got mad. So I told them the truth and they said “I’ll keep your spot, so come whenever you want”….what a great teacher. In the end, I became a ghost member (lol).

In the beginning, it was hard to juggle both basketball and Junior activities, but through my own volition I decided I wanted to continue both. But once I started working full-time, that was so difficult…in the end, I gave up on extracurricular activities.

As for school….I looked forward to club activities and school lunches (lol). I also went to a cram school. They taught me one-on-one and I was studying things that were ahead of my school studies, so I was able to understand most of the lessons.

If I had to say what changed after entering this world, I guess it’s that it gives you a sense of responsibility and self-awareness. Ah…but, to be honest, that’s only been the case recently, since I joined Arashi (lol). When I was a junior, I had a slightly naive idea that someone else would fill in for me if I was absent from a concert (lol). Of course, that’s never really the case, and I was careful not to catch a cold. I still do that now.

Even when I did my first stage performance “Stand By Me”, I still didn’t have a strong sense of responsibility yet….it was like going to practice, memorizing the script, performing. When I think about it now, that’s kind of scary (lol). At that time, there were staff that took care of us, thinking about that too, they took such good care of us brats. Nowadays I have a bit more awareness of my environment so I can say all this, but I’m scared of the things I don’t know (lol).

I’m 17 now, and I hope I’ll understand myself a little better, but even though I think I understand myself, I don’t really understand myself (lol).

I find it very difficult when people ask me about my strengths and weaknesses. People say that my strengths are that I’m kind and can see what’s going on around me, and that my weakness is that I space out and don’t seem to be thinking about anything. Yeah, I suppose that’s true, but I think that spaced-out nature is both a strength and a weakness. Because spacing out is an important part of my time. I guess, basically, I just go at my own pace. Because I’m not too swayed by other people’s opinions. However, I’m extremely shy, which is a problem (lol). I’m not good at expressing myself to people I meet for the first time… I have to fix that if I’m doing this kind of work.

Recently, since I joined Arashi, the other members have been saying that I’ve become more talkative… but I’ve never been one to be quiet. However, I didn’t spend much time with Ohno and Sho, so they might have thought that.

When I was a Junior, I didn’t really talk to Ohno much…when we first met, he was part of a group with the bigger Juniors, so I thought he was much older. But it was weird, when I heard the age of the Juniors in that group, it turned out there were members that were only 1 year different from me (lol). On the other hand, Sho-kun was so small back then, so I thought he was younger (lol). He’s also just one year older. Same for MatsuJun. He was so small that I thought he wasn’t just one year younger, but waaaay younger. At that time I was like, are those 2 in elementary school? They had that kind of vibe (lol). Now, when you see them, they’ve grown up and have changed (lol). As for Nino…he was average (lol). He’s not especially hard to get close to and I’d say he’s easy to talk to.

I haven’t thought about my future in detail yet. Of course, I want to have Arashi concerts or a regular TV show would be good. Personally, I think the best thing is to be multi-talented and able to do anything, and if you can also establish yourself in a specialized field, that’s even better. That’s why right now is an important period. I need to try many different things, absorb everything, and improve my skills. I want to find out what suits me.

What do I want to acquire now? I wonder…? I guess it’s mental strength. When I have a problem, I’m the type to think about it alone and get stumped (lol). It’s not bad to worry, but not too much (lol). Even if you consult with others, in the end it’s up to you to find the answer…and to follow through. Even if I’m troubled, I want to become a strong person who, instead of thinking negatively, can think about it in a positive way and use it as a springboard. I also want to develop discernment and flexibility…it might be challenging (lol).

Ah… I talked a lot today. This is the first time I’ve ever talked this much during an interview (lol).