The Ultimate Arashi starter guide

[winkychan]

So you're a new Arashi fan/you want to help your friend getting into Arashi/help other find stuff without being bothered, but it's quite complicated to get yourself around. Search no more my friend because you've come to the right place (without pretention of course!). I'll try not to write too much because it can get overwhelming, but I'll try to concisely list ressources, along with the correct method to search and download stuff (that's the number one request I generally get: "Do you know where I can find XXXXX?").

The big Arashi starter pack

Without further ado, we'll start with a big zip file with many awesome/must see videos, because videos... are better than words!

Download links: Mega | MF (1.91Gb)
Click here if you don't know how to download from those websites and unzip and join files

Inside the pack I also added some shortcut links to useful ressources to watch short clips and such, and a "read me" describing each file. Here is what's inside of it:

*whispers* You should watch "[Live] Arashi - Hope in the Darkness (THE DIGITALIAN)" first ~(˘▾˘~)

Pimp posts

If you don't know what a pimp post is, basically, in any fandom, a pimp post is a post to introduce an interest or idea to other people in hopes that they will like/follow the interest/idea due to a wealth of information.
I made just a quick graphic, because a lot of Arashi subs are color-coded, and when you're new to the fandom, it's easy to get lost (just notice, for the future, that Aiba-chan and Jun's colors are inverted in C/D/G no Arashi and Arashi no Shukudai-kun).

You will find many great pimp posts in this entry made by justfever .
I'll just add my three favorite links to start quickly with Arashi:

• Days of our Arashi twitter account, you will find many awesome little moments that will help you discover more about Arashi :)


• The Storm x Rainbow x Ridiculousness  FB video page, lots of short clips compilation, sometimes subbed, and cute fanvids!


• [RESOURCE POST] Useful Arashi links by gonindeiru@LJ, not really a pimp port, but a great awesome addition to the sources you can find listed here :D

Getting started with Arashi fan communities

As of April 2017, a big part of the international fandom is present mainly on Twitter and Tumblr.
If you're new to those social networks, I suggest the following:

• for twitter, you can start by checking the list of accounts that I follow here, that will give you a general overview (you can also check who those accounts follow too), and then twitter will give you recommendations later, so you will be able to adjust your timeline according to YOUR taste. Here is a more in-depth tutorial on how to start with twitter.


• for tumblr, check the Arashi tag, from there, you can see which accounts post often and which one you want to follow. Also checking the tag only will get you up to date informations too. Here is a more in-depth tutorial on how to start with tumblr.

But here you are on dreamwidth/livejournal, and while even Facebook and Instragram (and I believe, also Pinterest) have a lot of Arashi fans (also a lot discuss in LINE groups), this is where the real business is happening because mainly here will you find subs!
nicefinalbeam made an awesome tutorial for Livejournal, so I highly suggest you read it carefully because there are many unspoken rules in this fandom that you should be aware of.
You also should know that, since the new TOS of Livejournal, a lot of people and communities are migrating to Dreamwidth, it's basically a clone of Livejournal, so the same etiquette should be applied there as well.
If you want to try your hand at Dreamwidth, I highly suggest that you read this tutorial by coolohoh.

Arashi communities

Now that you're all set for Livejournal, here is the very basic list of Arashi communities you should follow in order to be always up to date with what is happening in the fandom (especially if you're looking for subs). As of now, I'll refer to Livejournal with "LJ" and Dreamwidth with "DW":

• arashi_on


• arashi_off


• storm_freaks(this community is great if you want to bring up your comments counter and make friends, because it's really active, with games, and a good place to chat)


• arashi_bangumi (a community to post reviews on episode. It's great if you don't know what to watch, to bring up your comment/posting history, and sometimes, if you couldn't find subs for a certain episode, you can get an overview reading the corresponding the summary)

How to get your Arashi medias

Now we've come to the real reason you're here :)
I've made a big flowchart at the end with the tried-and-tested process to find almost every Arashi file you may need to find.


1/ How to search efficiently

• First, you want to know what you're looking for. For many files, you will need to search sometimes in Japanese, sometimes in Korean, so you should refer to this guide I made.


• You will also need sometimes, somewhere, to type in Japanese, so please follow this tutorial on how to install the Japanese keyboard on your computer.


• You should also know that Japanese files are almost always listing the airdate in this order: YYYY/MM/DD. You should try different formatting if you cannot find what you need on the first try: YYYY.MM.DD | YYMMDD | YYYY年 MM月 DD日


• If you're looking for a video where you only have a gif or a picture, and if you cannot get informations from what could be written on the picture, try using Google reverse image search (here's a tutorial).


• If you ever need to request something, you should do it here at arashi_on but please be careful to read the rules first and be mindful on how you do it or you will get banned. Once again, please read nicefinalbeam 's guide to Livejournal to know the proper etiquette to adopt.

2/ Get your tools ready

• I highly highly highly recommend that you get Jdownloader 2, because it will simplify your life immensely. It's a download manager, that support almost every plateforms, it will unzip your file, join them, manage their passwords etc... it's just that amazing and time saving! Here is a very simple tutorial. Jdownloader will deal with the 5 points below, it is THAT amazing!


• You will need to know how to download from Mega


• You will need to know how to download from Mediafire


• You will need to know how to extract archives using winrar


• You will need to know how to join split files using HJsplit


• It's a bonus, but you can also get a video downloader extension for your web browser like Video Downloader Professional (free) if you want to download from streaming sites


• You will maybe later need Clubbox and/or Baidu, but we'll get to this part later.


• I recommend that you update all your video codecs using K-lite codec pack.


• Also I recommend the use of VLC as your video player. And here is a tutorial on how to add subtitles to a video using VLC (this will only work with softsubs, most usually you will get them for dramas and movies, the subtitles are in a separate file and not directly on the video).

3/ Find your subs

There are great listings of subbed files around, so I'll list them all here. Just know that you will encounter MANY locked entries and unfortunately behind that, EVEN MORE dead links (because of the great Megaupload tragedy). I highly recommend, if you have not done it yet, that you really read nicefinalbeam 's guide to Livejournal because it covers that aspect.

• we_make_storm (updated until 2013, not updated anymore)


• arashic_index (updated until 2014, not updated anymore)


• gonindeiru (starts from 2013 onwards, still updated)


• JE index (updated until 2011, not updated anymore)


• kazunari (updated until 2013, not updated anymore)


• arashiproject (a huge revival project, if you encounter a dead file, you should check this site)

4/ Find your audios and raws

Sooner or later you will need to get raws ressources (raw means not-subbed here), here is a list of places to go:

• arashigoodies (audios, pvs, concerts, dramas, movies etc...)


• ninotendo (tv shows, dramas, movies etc...)


• yumenohashi  (recent TV shows, fast at updating after the airdate)


• amnos_n0_asa (recent promotionnals shows, fast at updating after the airdate)


• There are other LJ communities for raws that are really up to date but they don't allow to link back to them. I suggest you look for the raw provider credit on subbed files and errr.... ask your friends for "KnH" and "DSS".


• Pan.baidu is a Chinese online cloud storage and is the number one raw provider for Arashi stuff. You can read my tutorial to learn how to use it.


• Clubbox is a Korean online cloud storage, really slow, but also a great source and easier to find stuff (especially old) than baidu. You can read my tutorial to learn how to use it.


• Naver is a Korean social plateform where you will be able to stream almost every video you want. Here is a great tutorial by shelketuesti.


• Bilibili is a Chinese video streaming site.


• Youku is a Chinese video streaming site.


• Tudou is a Chinese video streaming site.


• MioMio is a Japanese video streaming site


• Pandora.TV is a Japanese video streaming site


• And ultimately, here is my tutorial on how to watch to Japanese TV and listen to Japanese radio live online :)

5/ The ultimate flowchart on how to search for your Arashi stuff

Works better if you've read the 4 points above or else you will feel lost!

Thank you for reading all of this, now you're fully prepare to buy another external HDD to download all those amazing Arashi stuff :D
Feel free to link this post anywhere :)
Also feel free to make suggestions in the comments to complete this guide!
But most of all: BAIT YOUR FRIENDS (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ ✧ﾟ･: *ヽ(◕ヮ◕ヽ)

Comments

[piyyah]

Thank you for the tutorial! This really covers everything step-by-step. I've been a fan a long time before but tacking subbed videos after years is hard! So, thank you! And i loooove the last comment! Bait your friends! hahahaha. My brother has taken the bait. It counts, doesn't it? xD

[nijee87]

Hello, winkychan!

Thank you so much for this! You are awesome! This is such a heaven for me! I have downloaded the starter pack and wow! I can't thank you enough!

I am not a new arashi fan, I've liked them since 2002, but its quite difficult to find their videos especially with english subs. I've been desperately looking for international fans I can connect with Arashi. After years of searching, thank God I finally found you and all the wonderful fans here in LJ/DW.

Being a fan for so long, yet I still get hyped watching them.

Keep it up dearest! You have my support!
Thank you so much!!!

[winkychan]

Thank you for your kind comment, I'm glad I could be of help :)

[kate400066]

Hi winkychan!

Seriously, as a new fan I feel blessed by this post! I find myself coming back to it again and again and every time I find something new. It is truly the ultimate starter pack.
Thank you so much for your hard work! Here and every other community you are involved in (I keep seeing your name like everywhere). It is because of fans like you that the international Arashi fandom is alive for us new fans to discover.
Cheers! and Thanks again! :)

[winkychan]

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this sweet comment, it means a lot to me. I'm always glad to know this guide is helpful to someone :D

[peachsakura.livejournal.com]

Thank you so so much for this incredible and helpful guide!!

I think that i am still new in the Arashi fandom because i just starting to get into them like from October or November last year and Arashi is going to celebrate their 20th Anniversary soon, so, i think i am still new into the fandom!

This guide is helping me in anyway to search Arashi videos and getting into them more!

You are so awesome!! <3

Thank you so much too for the starting guide folder~~ !

hai winky-chan

[masakihae]

So sorry if my question is already in your list up..
but do you know where i find a list of episode of Arashi ni Shiyagare where they start a death match?
because i want to collect death match series.. i love it so much..
thaks before

Re: hai winky-chan

[winkychan]

You'll find a guide here.

[kamepi]

I got back into the Arashi fandom this year so this guide was very helpful. Thank you!

[rollingdaysdays]

thank you very much for this 😍 this is really helpful and I'm really enjoying the starter pack 😆 thank you 😊

[kt_pride]

I loved your starter pack zip xD
So many memorable moments
Thank you so much!

[chansung]

As a fan coming back from hiatus from 2012, this was SO helpful. Thanks for all your help in the fandom.

[lilbabyeds]

winkychan!!! this post is so helpful. Thank you so much! i've been in fandom is 09, but i fell off the train because of RL... since the heartbreaking announcement, this will help me get back on track. Thank you again :)

[winkychan]

Thank you for your kind comment ^^

[shiawasenajinsei]

Oh wow this is super useful! I've been in the fandom for a long time but I'm looking for some old variety show vids that I lost when my first external HD crashed. With the hiatus announcement I feel like I want to consume more Arashi stuff, and I'm so glad to have found your post! Your starter pack has the HnA haunted house vid too I'm so happy :)))) Thank you for your hard work! :D

[winkychan]

You're welcome, always glad to know this is helpful to someone :)

[awapi]

I'm loving your journal each time i click a post. Even though i've liked them for a long time, this post is still so helpful for someone like me who had a break. the flowchart is what i love the most. Thank you, your journal shows sincerity!

[winkychan]

Thank you very much for your kind comment, I'm always glad to know this guide is helpful ^^

[azel24]

omg! this list is soooo complete and really help me! I have even bookmark this lol.

thank you sooo much for creating such an amazing list!!!

[blue_sapphire]

Hi winkychan!!!

I honestly feel thankful to this starter pack, as I'm a very new fan myself :") I watched the Hope in the Darkness from THE DIGITALIAN like what you said, and its so cool! Really, thank you for this <3 I would be so lost right now if I didn't see this helpful starter pack!

[winkychan]

Thank you for your kind message :) I'm always glad to know that this guide helps someone ^^

[shardaunei]

Thank you for your hard work in putting this together. When I first started, (oh, about 11 years ago...), I don't remember anything like this. I pretty much grabbed the recent ones then, you know, when MegeUpload (RIP MU) was still alive, na djust basically followed paths down the rabbit hole.

One question, where do I get the recent hi-res scans now? Back then, my main source was Boys_paper@LJ, but that isn't updated in a while. Please let me know. Thanks. (If it's not much trouble, PM me over at shardaunei@LJ? Thanks)

[iix-pinkustar.livejournal.com]

Thanks for providing a starter park. Been a long time fan but this is great!

thnak cuticle

[atyca3026_vrd]

Aaaa!!
I remember this make me fall to Arashi,
Thank you for your hardwork

[wing1158]

The guide is so detailed and helpful. I know it' been a while since it was posted but it still has valuable information, Thanks so much for putting it together!

[arashi143]

Thanks for this guide! Bookmarking!

[ribon]

thank you, can't wait to send this to a friend <3

I couldn't thank you enough in a lifetime

[azul10]

You are amazing! This guide has helped me soooooooo so much. There is so much to navigate and learn and I would NEVER have figured it out on my own. Thanks to you, I'm enjoying some wonderful Arashi goodies even now in 2024. Thank you!