AKB48 to get first anime series in spring 2012
Posted on October 17, 2011 by tokyograph
Idol group AKB48 will have their first television anime next spring, it has been revealed. The story will revolve around 9 young girls aiming to become “legendary idols,” modeled after the Top 8 selection in AKB48's general elections. The voice actresses for the 9 protagonists will be chosen through audition from the approximately 200 girls in AKB48 and their related groups.
Kawamori Shoji of “Macross” fame wrote the original draft and is serving as general director. AKB48 producer Akimoto Yasushi is in charge of planning and supervising. Okada Mari (“Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai,” “Gosick,” “Fractale”) is handling the series composition and the script.
Other staff members include character designer Ebata Risa (“Macross Frontier”), director Hiraike Yoshimasa (“WORKING!!,” “Amagami SS”), and executive producer Otsuki Toshimichi (the “Evangelion” movies). Animation will be done by the studio Satelight.
The first round of audition for the voice actresses will narrow down the field of 200 to 30 candidates, to be announced through a special website in mid-November. The final selection will be done through a publicly held audition in Tokyo.
The 9 winning members will not only voice the characters in the anime series, but they will also sing the show’s theme song.
The series is planned to start airing next spring, though the show’s title and the broadcasting station have not yet been announced. A comic version based on the original draft is also being considered, to be published by Kodansha.
AKB48's Suzuki Mariya stars in first horror movie
Posted on October 17, 2011 by tokyograph
Suzuki Mariya (20), a member of AKB48’s Team B, has landed her first acting role in a movie. She will star in a horror film called “Kokkuri-san: Gekijoban,” based on a popular form of spiritual divination known as “Kokkuri-san” that has similarities to Ouija boards.
Kokkuri-san is often popular among young students in Japan. In this movie, Suzuki plays a high schooler named Eri, and her mother’s mysterious death leads her to confront a curse made through Kokkuri-san.
The movie is written and directed by Nagae Jiro (“2ch no Noroi Gekijoban”). Kataoka Asuka (33) will play a teacher, while retired gravure idol Umemoto Shizuka (18) will make her return to show business playing Eri’s friend.
Auditions held for AKB48's anime debut
ENTERTAINMENT OCT. 19, 2011 - 06:00AM JST ( 8 )
TOKYO —
Voice cast auditions have begun for the anime debut of popular all-girl band AKB48. Tabloid media reported Tuesday that more than 200 members of AKB48 and affiliated groups SKE48 and NMB48 have started auditioning for nine parts in the anime scheduled to air on TV next spring.
The lucky 30 will be decided in November and that number will be whittled down to the final nine parts in December.
The anime will be directed by Yasushi Akimoto, who is the producer and brains behind AKB48. Executive producer is Toshimichi Otsuki (“EVANGELION”). Details about the title, story and musical numbers have not been released yet, except that the story will be about nine girls vying to join a group like AKB48.
AKB48 singer Atsuko Maeda demonstrates 'snow karate' in g.u. commercial
ENTERTAINMENT OCT. 29, 2011 - 06:00AM JST ( 9 )
TOKYO —
AKB48 singer Atsuko Maeda, 20, shows a few karate moves in the new TV commercial for fashion brand “g.u.” In the commercial, which airs from Monday, Maeda—wearing the brand’s winter line—karate chops snowflakes and says “I, Atsuko Maeda, am going to warm the Japanese winter.”
Speaking to reporters at an event to launch the ad campaign, Maeda said: “When I become 20 years old, I would like to be g.u. (a pun on the Japanese word ‘jiyu’ which means free in English). I’ll be an adult and be able to do things at my pace without bothering other people and being thought of as naive.”
AKB48 members to appear on stamps
ENTERTAINMENT NOV. 09, 2011 - 01:00PM JST ( 14 )
TOKYO —
AKB48 members Minami Takahashi, 20, Minami Minegishi, 18, and Mayu Watanabe, 17, attended the launch event this week for stamp sheets featuring the all-girl pop idol group.
Japan Post is taking orders at post offices until Jan 6 and online until Jan 9. The stamp sets will be distributed in February.
There will be three sets of stamps, representing Team A, Team B and Team K. The 50-yen stamp sheets come with a premium holder, letter set, postcard and passbook case. A package costs 5,700 yen.
Takahashi from Team A said: “It amazes me because there are so many historiocally famous people who will not be on stamps and there we are.”
From Team K, Minegishi commented: “I cannot believe that I will be on a stamp. I can brag about it to my family.”
And Watanabe from Team B gushed, “I’m thrilled. This is so unexpected.”
AKB48's Oba Mina to return from suspension in January
Posted on November 12, 2011 by tokyograph
AKB48 member Oba Mina (19), who has been on suspension since September, will resume her activities in January of next year. Oba made a surprise appearance at the AKB48 handshake event at Makuhari Messe on Saturday, where her return was announced.
Oba was previously captain of AKB48's Team 4. In August, fans discovered descriptions of having a boyfriend and drinking alcohol (as a minor) in her personal blog from her pre-AKB48 days, and the “scandal” quickly spread online. As a result, she stepped down as captain and went on self-suspension, which also meant withdrawing from AKB48's 2nd Senbatsu Janken Taikai.
Oba tearfully apologized again during the event on Saturday, and she admitted that she even considered retiring from the group.
Shimada Haruka (18) is currently serving as the captain of Team 4. A source associated with the group says that it is not yet decided whether Oba will regain the position of captain.
Eikura Nana, Maeda Atsuko, Sorimachi Takashi, Chinen Yuri join Yamapi’s new drama
More cast members have been revealed for Yamashita Tomohisa’s next drama series “Saikou no Jinsei no Owarikata ~Ending Planner~.” Eikura Nana will play the heroine of the story, while Yamashita’s siblings will be played by Sorimachi Takashi, Maeda Atsuko (AKB48), model Ono Ito, and Chinen Yuri (Hey! Say! JUMP).
“Saikou no Jinsei no Owarikata” stars Yamashita as a young man who inherits his father’s funeral service shop. The story is a human drama about his growth as he deals with the various bodies that are brought to him.
Eikura plays a rookie police detective who will be the main female character. She last worked with Yamashita in the drama series “Proposal Daisakusen” in 2007.
Other cast members includes Otomo Kohei and Yamazaki Tsutomu.
The series begins on January 12 and will air on Thursday nights at 9:00pm on TBS.
AKB48's Akimoto, Miyazawa lead Team U in “Ultraman Saga” movie
Posted on November 21, 2011 by tokyograph
Seven members of the idol group AKB48 will make an appearance in the upcoming “Ultraman Saga” movie. They will play a special Earth Defense Force known as “Team U,” consisting of Akimoto Sayaka, Miyazawa Sae, Shimada Haruka, Masuda Yuka, Umeda Ayaka, Kobayashi Kana, and Sato Sumire.
It was announced about two weeks ago that DAIGO is playing the main character Ultraman Zero, who is trying to save Earth from a mysterious alien invader. Along with Ultraman Dyna and Ultraman Cosmos, he joins forces with Earth’s Team U to fight against the invader.
This is the first time in the series that there has been an all-female Earth Defense Force. Akimoto will play the leader Anna, while Miyazawa will play the special attack unit captain Sawa. The other characters are vice-leader Misato (Umeda), maintenance team members Nonko (Masuda) and Maomi (Kobayashi), medical chief Riisa (Sato), and communication chief Hina (Shimada).
“Ultraman Saga” opens in theaters on March 24, 2012.
AKB48 tops DAM’s 2011 karaoke rankings
Posted on December 1, 2011 by tokyograph
Daiichi Kosho, the company behind the DAM karaoke machines, has released its karaoke song and artist request rankings for 2011. The biggest artist of the year was AKB48, who had three songs in the top 10, including “Heavy Rotation” at #1. AKB48 was also the top requested artist, finally breaking EXILE’s streak of ranking #1 for the past three years.
Korean groups KARA and Shoujo Jidai had the #2 and #3 songs, respectively, though they were not in the Top 20 for the artist ranking.
Data for the rankings was collected between January 1st and November 30th.
AKB48 – Heavy Rotation
KARA – Mister
Shoujo Jidai – Gee
GReeeeN – Kiseki
AKB48 – Aitakatta
Ikimono Gakari – Arigatou
AKB48 – Ponytail to Chouchou
Takahashi Yoko – Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis
Hitoto Yo – Hanamizuki
MONGOL800 – Chiisana Koi no Uta
Sakamoto Fuyumi – Mata Kimi ni Koishiteru
AI – Story
AKB48 – Everyday, Kachuusha
EXILE – Lovers Again
Shonan no Kaze – Junrenka
Ishikawa Sayuri – Amagigoe
Koda Kumi – Ai no Uta
Shonan no Kaze – Suirenka
Nishino Kana – Aitakute Aitakute
Kaoru to Tomoki, Tama ni Mook – Maru Maru Mori Mori!
Ozaki Yutaka – I LOVE YOU
GReeeeN – Aiuta
Spitz – Cherry
Kobukuro – Sakura
BEGIN – Shimanchu nu Takara
EXILE – I Wish For You
Remioromen – Konayuki
Yuzu – Eikou no Kakehashi
HY – 366 Nichi
Hilcrhyme – Shunkashuutou
Kobukuro – Ryuusei
Ayaka – Mikazuki
Nishino Kana – Best Friend
Sasuke – Aoi Bench
Remioromen – 3gatsu 9ka
Nishino Kana – Kimi tte
Ishihara Yujiro – Kita no Tabibito
KARA – Jumping
Ayaman Japan – Poi Poi Poi Popoi Poi Popii
EXILE – Ti Amo
BUMP OF CHICKEN – Tentai Kansoku
Itsuki Hiroshi – Oshiroi Hana
Porno Graffitti – Agehachou
Yoshi Ikuzo – Sake Yo
T-BOLAN – Hanashitaku wa Nai
Kawanaka Miyuki – Nagasaki no Ame
Tendo Yoshimi – Futari no Funauta
SMAP – Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana
Fukuyama Masaharu – Sakurazaka
Teresa Teng – Tsugunai
The top 20 artists were:
AKB48
EXILE
Hamasaki Ayumi
Koda Kumi
Arashi
Mr.Children
Nishino Kana
Ikimono Gakari
Kobukuro
Kitajima Saburo
Misora Hibari
Itsuki Hiroshi
L'Arc~en~Ciel
Ishihara Yujiro
Southern All Stars
BUMP OF CHICKEN
GReeeeN
Fukuyama Masaharu
Shonan no Kaze
B'z
AKB48's Iwasa Misaki to make solo debut as enka singer
Posted on December 6, 2011 by tokyograph
AKB48 Team A member and Watarirouka Hashiritai 7 member Iwasa Misaki (16) is launching a solo career. On February 1st of next year, she will release her solo debut single under Tokuma Japan Communications.
Iwasa will sing in the enka/kayokyoku genre, making her the first AKB48 member to go solo in that direction. This past April, she changed agencies to Nagara Production, which manages several top enka artists, including Hikawa Kiyoshi, Mizumori Kaori, and Yamakawa Yutaka.
Iwasa is already scheduled to participate in Nagara Production’s big “Shinshun Enka Matsuri” event, which is being held in Nagoya, Osaka, and Yokohama in February.
More details about her single will be announced in the near future.
AKB48 groups launch Google+ project to interact with fans
Posted on December 8, 2011 by tokyograph
Idol group AKB48 celebrated their 6th anniversary today (December 8), and they took the occasion to hold a press conference to announce a new project. Along with sister groups SKE48 and NMB48, AKB48's members have created accounts on Google’s social networking service Google+. They will use the service to communicate with their fans worldwide, as there are plans to have their posts translated into at least five languages: English, Chinese, Korean, Thai, and Indonesian.
The project includes at least all of the official teams and research students for AKB48, SKE48, and NMB48, though HKT48 and JKT48 have also been mentioned as part of the project. Although Google+ currently is limited to people at least 18 years of age, the underage members have been lumped together under the “Heyakko” account, which will post on their behalf.
The members plan to make use of Google+’s Hangout feature, which is a built-in group voice/video chat feature. This allows members to interact in real time with fans around the world. Hangouts currently allow for 10 people in a group at a time, so there are plans to have individual members to have chat sessions with 9 fans at once.
The members are already posting plenty of photos and videos to their accounts. They also plan to use the service to post live from their events and concerts, including their “AKB48 Kouhaku Taikou Uta Gassen” on December 20 and their “AKB48 Request Hour Setlist Best 100 2012? on January 19-22.
Google+ has a project page with links to all of the individual AKB48, SKE48, and NMB48 accounts.
Maeda Atsuko to play Moriyama Mirai’s love interest in “Kueki Ressha”
AKB48 member Maeda Atsuko (20) will take on the role of the heroine in the movie “Kueki Ressha,” it has been revealed. As previously announced, the movie stars Moriyama Mirai (27) and Kora Kengo (24) and is being directed by Yamashita Nobuhiro (“Linda Linda Linda,” “My Back Page”).
Set in 1987, “Kueki Ressha” is an adaptation of an Akutagawa Prize-winning novel about a young man named Kitamichi (Moriyama) who leaves home after finishing junior high school and ends up working a manual labor job at the harbor for 5,500 yen a day. Burdened by his past and his sex offender father, he has no friends nor love life. One day, he meets Kusakabe (Kora), a vocational school student with a bright future, but jealousy gets in the way of their friendship.
Maeda will play Sakurai Yasuko, an employee at a used book store. The character was not in the original novel, but she will be key to the story as Kitamichi secretly falls in love with her.
Filming started on November 25 and is expected to wrap up before the end of this year. The movie will be released in 2012.
AKB48 breaks multiple records as best selling artist of 2011
Oricon has released its sales rankings for 2011, and as expected, AKB48 holds the top 5 spots on the single charts. Their total sales – counting CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays – add up to 16.28 billion yen and 8.911 million copies sold. The group has set a new record for ranking #1 in 7 of Oricon’s 16 categories, including achieving their first #1 in the Total Artist Sales ranking.
Just last week, AKB48 released their 5th single of the year, “Ue Kara Mariko.” All five have sold more than a million copies, making them the five best selling singles of 2011. Up until now, three artists had achieved the top 3 singles for the year (Pink Lady in 1978, Hikaru Genji in 1988, and Arashi in 2009), but AKB48 is the first to take the top 5. Flying Get – 1,587,229
Everyday, Kachusha – 1,586,840
Kaze wa Fuiteiru – 1.419 million
Ue Kara Mariko – 1.199 million
Sakura no Ki ni Narou – 1.079 million
For singles released by a female group, “Flying Get” broke the previous record of 1.554 million copies, set by Pink Lady’s “UFO” in 1978.
AKB48 also now holds the record for most million-selling singles in a year, surpassing B'z and Mr.Children’s previous records of 4, set in 1995. They sold a total of 7.346 million singles, breaking Mr.Children’s record of 6.63 million (also set in 1995).
The 7 categories topped by AKB48 in Oricon’s yearly rankings are: Total sales by artist (16.28 billion yen, new record for a female group)
Copies sold for a single (“Flying Get” – 1.587 million, new record for a female group)
Total sales for a single (“Everyday, Kachusha” – 2.15 billion yen)
Total sales by artist, for singles (9.59 billion yen)
Copies sold for a music Blu-ray (“AKB ga Ippai” – 148,000)
Total sales for a music Blu-ray (“AKB ga Ippai” – 1.01 billion yen)
Total sales by artist, for Blu-rays (1.01 billion yen)
Post time 31-10-2011 10:50 PM
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