151017 Arashi ni Shiyagare - Ito Atsushi, This is MJ & Aiba Japan

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Hello! nijininare here! I posted this review on a new community called storm_freaks! :) We're a new ARASHI loving community with a little something special for active community members. (Check out the community to see what I mean!)

This is a lengthy episode review, hope you enjoy!

Episode Number: 236
Guest: Ito Atsushi

Today's guest it Ito Atsushi who is best known for his first ever role which was a show called Kamen Norida back in 1989! A show which even Riida remembers!

But wait a minute...before you think he's an old man with babyfaced features, he isn't! He's actually the same age as Nino and Matsujun (born Nov. 25, 1983) and he's a meat lover! Hence 3 meat-related segments! :)

SEGMENT WITH THE GUEST -- PART 1: MEAT QUIZ

The show starts with 3 battles about Ito-san's favorite food...

For the first round we go to a yakiniku shop that will recommend different cuts of meat and later on mentioning certain foreign celebrities that match the type of meat. By the third, recommendation you already hear Matsumoto-san saying "腹減った~" (Lit. I'm hungry!)

For this part though, there's nothing too interesting going on. It's mostly a VTR full of different cuts being explained and cut. And by the end of that VTR, the narration just says that the three cuts (the shank cut that looks like a chili, the rump cut and the mid rib section) are the rewards for the winner of the first game.

What's the first game you ask? They titled it "Fast press meat quiz!" So it's one of those buzzer type quiz, where the first person to push the button gets to answer. First team to get 3 points, wins. It's ARASHI vs. Ito-san...
Hmm...we have 3/5 members of ARASHI who like Yakiniku (Note: Riida and Nino are known not to like Yakiniku that's why they avoid going to Yakiniku restaurants together cos Riida and Nino go for the offal type meats not the fatty red meats)

Here are the questions (TRY ANSWERING THEM TOO!):
1. When you grill meats, usually the meat sticks to the grill. What is the ingredient that you can rub on the grill to stop the meat from sticking?

Ninomiya-san answered this question, Riida remarks "You had such great confidence!" but why do the other three members seem unhappy?

Even Matsumoto-san says they can't unravel the answer. Hmm... wonder what that could be!
(Note: Answers to this part are at the end of the review so those who want to watch it don't want to be spoiled of the fun)

2. Which part of a cow is looked at to identify them?
3. "Tan" in English means tongue. "Karubi" is Korean, what does it mean?

Uh oh. Looks like everyone's clueless...

So Ninomiya suggests to stop the game.
Thankfully they didn't because no one has won yet, hence the next question!

4. Lining up the beef (which makes it easier to pick it up) and providing gum are services provided in Yakiniku restaurants. At present, it's said that it was a yakiniku shop named Jojoen that made this an expected service. But aside from that, it was also Jojoen's customers' that started a (now) common way of eating yakiniku. What is that (way of eating yakiniku)?

Watch the episode to find out who gets to eat their choice cut of meat! :)

SEGMENT WITH THE GUEST-- PART 2: BBQ TARUKA

Prize for this segment: a 140 day cured beef worth 38,000 Yen!
All they have to do is play a card game (karuta). They will have to grab the card that pertains to the description read first to get a point. First to get 5 points wins.

I'll give you a sample question but I won't mention everything.
"In a cow it's a lateral isolated membrane. It's not found in the belly meat."
The answer is: Harami or skirt steak. It's found in the diaphragm cut of beef.

On the left is how the card looks like when it's laid out for the game, on the right is what's underneath it when you pick it up. To know if it's correct, the text should match the description mentioned.

and for this one...Ito-san gets this one immediately right before Riida even has a chance to move! XD (Riida, your reflexes need some speeding up for these things)

Let's just say in this game ARASHI didn't have the best start (no) thanks to the OhMiya pair. But we do have Miracle boy, Mr. Perfect and Keio boy...can they do a reversal of fortune?

THIS IS MJ- RICE!

I'll skip the intro talks for this one. Let's just do the episode!

MJ says "(I had some time) I woke up this morning, went to eat fresh rice" (I guffawed at this. Haha!)

I suggest you watch the VTR before he gets started with what's he's supposed to do.
It's just...hilarious. Even for someone who isn't a die-hard MJ fan.
You'll see how the Directors really milk the most laughs out of Jun's oshyare image.XD



Off he goes driving to the country side because he wants to eat freshly milled rice.

Oooh, the ladies are pleasantly surprised. As expected from the ever loved MatsuJun!
(He really stands out, ne? Afterall, who goes to a country side, much more a rice field, in a SUIT? XD)

Japanese rice has been repeatedly said to be Japan's National Treasure. The quality and texture of it is undeniable. This segment was able to present information in a way that didn't sound like a lecture and was fun. I appreciate shows that execute informative bits like this in such manner.  It mentioned different ways to know if the soil is healthy and sharing simple indicators of good rice growing conditions. Japan is rapidly urbanizing yet with its agricultural techniques, it manages to have a secure food supply despite urbanization. These are valuable bits of information for both the Japanese youth and viewers. Let's be honest, chances are we most likely won't know.
(I shall stop with my geeky babbling since I love agriculture and move on to Masaki-niichan's segment XD)

There are so many processes and bits in this part but I'll just summarize and say MJ goes not only shows us the indicators of healthy soil and growing conditions BUT he also helped out in the process before getting his reward of eating fresh rice! (You work to get what you want, right? :P )

He eats his meal and by the end of it gets reminded that if he doesn't hurry up...he'll miss the shinkansen! XD
(Notice an irregularity with his modes of transportation? Hahaha! )

AIBA DAIKO CHOUSA - AIMING TO BE JAPAN'S #1: AIBA JAPAN
Aiba's team has challenged 3 different games and all three were failures. XD But our Miracle boy is not shaken.
This time he has 1500 people to for Digging!

It's a "HUH?" Right? Even Matsumoto had to ask if
But apparently it's a national competition with a simple rules.
RULE: 1 team of 6 People with the deepest hole dug within a time limit of 30 minutes—WINS.

He will be competing with a team of old men who work by digging holes for the manufacturing industry. They're known for making over 3m deep holes in 30mins.

He's got competition! These guys have experience!
Luckily, looks like Aiba-san is getting the hang of this. He says "Choosing members is important" (FINALLY), and becomes more strategic.

They even asked an expert on what kind of muscular built is suitable for digging. Haha!

You need athletes with:

1. Leg strength


2. Back strengh


3. Arm Strength


4. Experience

He gathers:

1. A wrestler


2. A guy with monster leg muscles


3. Arm wrestlers


4. A farmer (makes sense)

He tries it out with the members he gathers and in 3 minutes they've dug more than the opposing "King of Digging" XD

BUT! They're also fairly exhausted.
So...will they end up winning? Or will this add to their lists of failures? Find out!

FINAL GUEST SEGMENT
They had to do kick the panels with ingredients and for the panels they knock out, they get that ingredient for teppanyaki. Think kicking sniper but with panels and the center is the rare cut of delicious beef.

There was no meat in this segment. Didn't bother to review it as much since the boys ended up cooking smelt ( a teeny tiny fish).


RATING?
I'll do ratings per segment before I give the overall rating. By the end of this post you'll see how many "lightnings" (it's storm-freaks afterall) the episode gets from me! :)



GUEST SEGMENTS
I love yakiniku and I love food, so I would willingly grade this  segmentwith a 5/5.

BUT if you aren't such a fan of food related topics OR you prefer ARASHI doing more active activities than quiz type activities the segment with the guest will definitely bore you.
Even more so if you don't feel the need to learn about the different parts of the cow. XD

I wish they did more active style games like they did for the last than having 2 quizzes. We prefer our adorkables running about right? XD
So that gives a cost for some demerits! -2! So...3/5

Before we give a final digit, let's do a thorough evaluation!

THIS IS MJ
This episode had me laughing at the way Matsumoto was narrating his episode. It was very...unnatural yet so amusing. (MJ sometimes can be a bit boring for my liking but this one amused me.) I also liked how MatsuJun does something down to earth (get the pun? XD).

But I'm all for variety shows showing an educational side in a way that won't let our internet glued generation change channels.
Jun didn't snap as much as he does and he seems to be genuinely interested in what he's doing. (I honestly, think amidst all that glamour Mr. Stoic is just a good natured guy)

I'm not Jun-biased but this episode makes me want to give it 5/5

AIBA JAPAN
This time he's against very well experienced men who work in an industry that requires them to do such work!
You have to give it to Miracle boy. He never loses heart. Haha! <3
I like that he's more strategic. So...4/5!

Answers to questions from Meat Quiz #1
Tell me how well you did if you tried answering! XD

1. Lemon (Look who's so marching so happily after getting the answer right. XD


2. It's the nose!


3. Rib bone!


4. Eating ox tongue with lemon.