Japanese Entertainment News & Info HERE! [part II]

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Actor-singer Terao Akira (60) and actress Momoi Kaori (57) were among the hundreds recognized by the government yesterday for their contributions. They received the Medal with Purple Ribbon, while actor Sugi Ryotaro (63) was awarded the Medal with Green Ribbon, both awards being for contributions to the arts and academia. A total of 738 individuals and 17 organizations were recognized. In receiving his award, Terao followed in the footsteps of his late father, actor Uno Juukichi (1914-88), who was recognized in 1981.

Source: www.japan-zone.com


Ohyama Nobuyo (71), who for many years was the voice of anime cat Doraemon, was hospitalized last week following a mild heart attack. She was working at the Institute of Sound Arts in Tokyo, where she is the principal, when she felt short of breath. She took a taxi to a nearby hospital and was admitted for tests.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

whitedove

[J-POP] Tanimura Nana promotes upcoming new CD single



When we reviewed Tanimura抯 new CD single after observing her before her Avex audition but through another audition last year, we weren抰 sure how they were going to promote her image.

But around the second CD single, we realized that she had larger assets than some J-Pop singers and thus, sure enough in this latest video from Mainichi Shimbun, it appears that the sexy body image will be the path Tanimura will be walking. Not that we don抰 mind one bit.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

whitedove

Shonentai to graduate from PLAYZONE
Mon, April 28, 2008 (2:01am EDT)



This year, Shonentai will appear in the annual musical "PLAYZONE" for the last time. Composed of Kazukiyo Nishikiori, Katsuhide Uekusa, and Noriyuki Higashiyama, the group has been leading the musical since 1986, the year after their record debut. So far, it has seen 957 performances over the past 22 years, and the total attendance has surpassed 1.38 million people.

The musical's 23rd edition is titled "Change ~ SHOW TIME Hit Series." Performances will run from July 6 to August 8 in Tokyo, then from August 26 to 31 in Osaka.

After this year, the show will be led by younger Johnny's artists, though the exact leads have not yet been announced.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Oricon: most moving manga
Mon, April 28, 2008 (3:23am EDT)



Oricon surveyed 900 men and women between the ages of 10 and 40, asking them which was the most emotionally moving manga they had read.

"One Piece" and "Slam Dunk" were ranked #1 and #2, respectively. Among women, those two series were ranked in that same order, while men rated them in the reverse order.

Female voters pushed "Honey and Clover" into #3 and "Fruits Basket" into #4. Behind them at #5 was a three-way tie between "Touch" (#3 on the men's list), "Sunadokei" (#5 on the women's list), and "Aka-chan to Boku."

Most moving manga:

1) One Piece
2) Slam Dunk
3) Honey and Clover
4) Fruits Basket
5) Touch
5) Sunadokei
5) Aka-chan to Boku

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix: Akanishi wins Best Actor
Mon, April 28, 2008 (3:40am EDT)



This week, Nikkan Sports is revealing the winners of its 11th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix, one award each day. The awards cover television dramas that aired between April 2007 and March 2008, with the nominees gathered from the quarterly awards. All winners were chosen by public vote in late March.

The first award, announced Monday, is the Best Actor prize. It was given to Jin Akanishi for his role in the popular "Yukan Club" series that NTV broadcast this past fall. The show was his first drama role after he returned from his temporary absence from the group KAT-TUN.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Matsumoto Jun (24) got a rapturous welcome from fans and students at USC yesterday. He was at the University of Southern California for a special screening of his latest movie, a remake of the Kurosawa Akira classic "Kaku#oride no Sanakunin." The venue was chosen for its connection between Kurosawa's original and USC alumnus George Lucas's "Star Wars." Among the audience were future filmmakers and actor Anthony Daniels (62), who played the role of C3PO. At a discussion following the screening, the 300 attendees gave it a big thumbs up. "MatsuJun" said of his role as Takezo, "I put a bit of Spiderman, a bit of Captain Jack Sparrow, of all sorts of Hollywood heroes into the part. I wanted to capture the essence of Hollywood." A member of the idol group Arashi, who are somewhere in the middle of the Johnny's Jimusho hierarchy, he's probably better known in the U.S. as an actor, especially since a subtitled version of his 2005 TBS drama series "Hanayori Dango" was aired here. But among those welcoming him yesterday were 36 members of the Arashi Secret Agency fan club. The movie opens in Japan on May 10.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

[ Last edited by  whitedove at 2-5-2008 03:58 PM ]

whitedove

Rock trio C-C-B played their first concert in 18 years in Tokyo yesterday. The band, who broke up in 1990 and are best known for the hit "Romantic ga Tomaranai," started a nationwide tour at the Omotesando FAB venue.

Source: www.japan-zone.com


[J-Rock] Memorial Concerts for X Japan guitarist planned

JapanToday.com reported, 揟wo memorial concerts for the late X Japan guitarist hide, who committed suicide in 1998, will be held in Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo on May 3 and 4. Current X Japan members and several groups and artists, such as LUNA SEA, T.M. Revolution and DJ OZMA, will take part in the two-day event.

whitedove

Cocorico's Tanaka celebrates second son
Tue, April 29, 2008 (12:44am EDT)



Naoki Tanaka, one half of the comedy duo Cocorico, had his second child last week. According to his management, Tanaka's wife Shie Kohinata gave birth to a boy around noon last Thursday.

The couple married in June 2003, and their first son was born the following year.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix: Horikita takes Best Actress
Tue, April 29, 2008 (1:48am EDT)



The second award of Nikkan Sports' 11th annual Drama Grand Prix has been revealed. The title of Best Actress was won by Maki Horikita, who starred in the highly popular drama adaptation of "Hanazakari no Kimitachi e" last summer.

Horikita actually lost during the summer edition of the awards, receiving less than half as many votes as Haruka Ayase did.

A special episode for "Hana Kimi" was announced in March. Filming has already finished, though Fuji TV has still not yet set a broadcast date.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Budo Grape adds two U.S. shows
Tue, April 29, 2008 (2:56am EDT)



The pop band Budo Grape has announced two shows in the U.S., in addition to their previously announced U.S. debut at A-Kon 19 in Dallas. After performing on May 30 at A-Kon, they will play in San Antonio on June 3, then at the Knitting Factory in New York on June 5 (presented by Karaterice).

Budo Grape's recently released 4th album, "AIMORE," is now available online at JapanFiles.com.

More information can be found in the press release. Manga Cafe magazine also has an interview with the band.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Mika Mutou graduating from H!P
Tue, April 29, 2008 (10:59am EDT)



It was recently learned that Ongaku Gatas member Mika Mutou will be graduating from Hello! Project on April 30. According to the official announcement, Mutou stated that she wishes to return to an ordinary student life.

Mutou was also a member of Gatas Brilhantes H.P. and Hello! Pro Eggs.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Morning Musume to perform in Shanghai in June
Tue, April 29, 2008 (11:15am EDT)



On Tuesday, a ceremony was held in Tokyo to announce that Morning Musume will be performing in Shanghai on June 28. The concert is part of a series being held by the city to celebrate its hosting of the 2010 Expo (World's Fair). Past artists include Celine Dion and Tony Leung. Morning Musume will be the first Japanese artist to participate.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Yui Aragaki tapped for drama theme song
Tue, April 29, 2008 (12:15am EDT)



Actress Yui Aragaki has achieved her first drama tie-in as a singer. Her "Make my day" will be used as the theme song for Fuji TV's "81diver," which premieres on May 3.

Aragaki released her first album, "Sora," this past December. However, "Make my day" will be her first actual single, scheduled to go on sale July 16. It will come with two other songs - an a cappella version of "Make my day," and a currently untitled song that she wrote the lyrics for.

The single, which features jacket art drawn by Aragaki, will be sold in three editions. One will be CD-only, while the other two are limited first press versions that each come with a DVD. One DVD has the music video for "Make my day," and the other has footage of her concert at the Nippon Budokan in December.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

As one half of the hugely successful Johnny's Jimusho duo Kinki Kids, Domoto Koichi (29) may be something of a prince of J-pop. But in New York he's now better known as the "Sushi Prince." He was in the Big Apple yesterday for the U.S. premiere of the movie "The Sushi Prince Does New York," which was held at the Walter Reade Theater in the Lincoln Center. Somewhat surprisingly given his status in Japan, it's Domoto's first movie in 13 years and his first starring role. The action comedy, a mix of sushi and martial arts, was first conceived by director Tsutsumi Yukihiko when filming another movie in New York in 2003. He and his staff tried to come up with an idea that would be a hit in the U.S., but the payoff so far is not encouraging. Last year's not very successful TV Asahi drama series (average audience rating only 7.5%) was actually developed more as a prequel to the movie. The cast also includes fellow Johnny's singer Nakamaru Yuichi (KAT-TUN), Ihara Tsuyoshi ("Letters from Iwo Jima") and Shaku Yumiko. You may notice that the casting of Nakamaru and the movie's catchphrase, "nigitte yaru," are also in keeping with the N.Y. theme. The movie opened in Japan on April 19.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

whitedove

[J-ENT] Sanada Hiroyuki attends US premiere of 揝peed Racer擺/b]



JapanToday.com reported, 揂ctor Hiroyuki Sanada, 47, took part this week in the world premiere of his new film 揝peed Racer擺/b] in Hollywood, with about 4,000 fans in attendance.

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Charts: Boy bands on top
Wed, April 30, 2008 (11:15am EDT)



As expected, popular boy band Arashi topped the charts this past week with their 8th album, "Dream A live." It sold close to 221,000 copies, easily beating out BENNIE K, who made the #2 spot with "BEST OF THE BESTEST" (74,000 copies). No other new releases made the Top 10, but Perfume led the rest of the pack, selling 60,000 more copies of "GAME."



Meanwhile, TVXQ's "Beautiful you / Sennen Koiuta" took #1 on the singles chart with 62,000 in sales. Maaya Sakamoto, C-ute, and Ryu Si-won all had around 30,000 in sales with their latest singles, but they couldn't budge male idol trio Shuchishin, who stuck around at #2 for the third week in a row.

Aside from B'z at #6, the rest of the Top 10 were new releases: w-inds., WaT, Shunsuke Kiyokiba, and v-u-den (with their final single before they officially disband).

Source: www.tokyograph.com

[ Last edited by  whitedove at 2-5-2008 04:10 PM ]

whitedove

Coconuts Musume's Ayaka leaves H!P to pursue acting
Wed, April 30, 2008 (1:02am EDT)



Hello! Project has announced that Ayaka Kimura, the only remaining member of the unit Coconuts Musume, is leaving the group as well. The official announcement says that she has graduated from Hello! Project as of Wednesday, April 30.

Ayaka said that she aims to pursue her dream of becoming an actress, though no concrete plans have been revealed yet.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix: Ikuta voted Best Supporting Actor
Wed, April 30, 2008 (1:37am EDT)



On Wednesday, Nikkan Sports revealed the winner of the Best Supporting Actor prize in its 11th Drama Grand Prix. Following up on the previous day's announcement of Maki Horikita as Best Actress, the drama series "Hanazakari no Kimitachi e" found its second winner in Toma Ikuta, who had his breakthrough role as Shuichi Nakatsu.

Ikuta has been gaining in popularity since that drama. Last season, he co-starred with Riko Narumi in the high-profile adaptation of the hit manga "Honey and Clover."

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Tsunku's twins are born
Wed, April 30, 2008 (10:53am EDT)



The wife of musician/producer Tsunku gave birth on Tuesday. The couple are now the proud parents of twins - one boy and one girl.

Tsunku's wife is a former model named Kanako. They married in June 2006.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove

Kawasaki to direct live-action "Neko Rahmen"
Thu, May 1, 2008 (12:52am EDT)



Kenji Sonishi's 4-panel gag manga "Neko Rahmen" is being turned into a live-action film titled "Neko Rahmen Taisho." The original comic, which is currently serialized in Comic Blade, is a surreal comedy about a cat that runs a ramen shop. Two tankoubon have been released so far, selling a total of 150,000 copies.

Director Minoru Kawasaki is taking on the project. Known for movies such as "The World Sinks Except Japan" ("Nihon Igai Zenbu Chinbotsu") and "The Rug Cop" ("Zura Deka"), Kawasaki also has a history with offbeat films featuring animal characters, such as "The Calamari Wrestler," "Executive Koala," and "Kani Goalkeeper."

The film is being distributed by Tornado Film, who is also distributing Kawasaki's upcoming "The Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit" ("Guilala no Gyakushu: Toyako Summit Kiki Ippatsu"). "Neko Rahmen Taisho" will see limited theatrical release across the country this fall.

Source: www.tokyograph.com