Arashi ends their read-aloud series with French fairy tale
Top Japanese idol group Arashi has reached the eighth episode of their Arashi's Picturebook Storytime series where they read aloud stories for children and parents stuck at home due to COVID-19.
Unfortunately, the eighth episode is also the last. This was announced by member Sho Sakurai at the beginning of their video.
"This 8th picturebook storytime will be the last for our little reading club," he says.
"More than two months have passed that so many people were stuck at home. We started this series to give something for the kids and parents to do during lockdown.
"And while things are still far from normal, it does seem to have calmed somewhat. And so this will be a good time to pause our efforts," he continues.
The last story they will be presenting is a French fairy tale called "Drakestail."
It tells the story of a duck who finds a coin only for the king to take it, promising to repay it later. However, the king does not fulfill his promise.
The members noted that Jun Matsumoto has never been the narrator so they assigned the role to him. Satoshi Ohno will play the Turkey and the servant while Sho Sakurai got the main role as the Duck. Masaki Aiba will play three roles, the Fox, the Wasp, and the people. Kazunari Ninomiya will be the river and the King.
Watch Arashi read "Drakestail" in the last episode of Arashi's Picturebook Storytime series.
Arashi has read popular fairy tales like "The Three Little Pigs," "Jack and the Beanstalk," "Little Red Riding Hood," and "The Emperor's New Clothes" for the series.
They have also read Asian folktales like "The Adventures of Son Goku," "Father" from Sumatra, and "The Battle of Monkey and Crab."
Aside from the read-aloud series for kids, Arashi has made a few of their past concerts available full and for free for a limited time to entertain people during the pandemic.
They have also participated in We Are One: A Global Film Festival's COVID-19 fundraiser by streaming some exclusive footage of their past stage performances.