Japanese Entertainment News & Info HERE! [part II]

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Aya Ueto to play "Japanese Paris Hilton"
Sun, August 10, 2008 (5:38pm EDT)



This fall, Fuji TV is producing a drama series called "Celeb to Daihinmin," a romantic comedy starring Aya Ueto and Yusuke Kamiji. Ueto's role is said to be inspired by American celebrity Paris Hilton.

The story revolves around Alice Hirata (Ueto), the spoiled and naive daughter of a wealthy hotel magnate. On the other hand, Kamiji plays an impoverished widower raising three children. Between the two contrasting characters, romance is born.

In charge of the drama are producer Hiroyuki Goto and director Hidetomo Matsuda, who both worked on the popular "Hanazakari no Kimitachi e" television series. Fuji TV will broadcast "Celeb to Daihinmin" at 9:00pm on Tuesdays, starting in October.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Among the performers at the weekend's major Summer Sonic rock festival was a familiar but unexpected face. Many in the festival crowd were not born when Koizumi Kyoko's major hit "Nantettatte Aidoru" was released in 1985, and she hadn't sung the number in more than 15 years. She arranged open auditions to assemble a 21-member brass section specially for the number, and got a rapturous reception from the 5,000 who gathered to watch her early morning performance. Though she has been more of an actress than a singer for many years - her last concert was a year and a half ago - Koizumi (42) is still best known as "Kyon-Kyon", one of Japan's first and most popular idol singers. And she wasn't the only blast from the past at the weekend event held in Makuhari, east of Tokyo, and Osaka. In addition to the current chart toppers like Coldplay and Alicia Keys were names like the Sex Pistols, Devo and The Jesus and Mary Chain. The Japan Zone award for best band name is shared by Dallas group Forever the Sickest Kids and locals Maximum the Hormone!

Source: www.japan-zone.com

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X Japan vocalist Toshi (42) and his new band performed for the first time on Saturday night. "Toshi with T-Earth" played four songs, including "Fire City," for 300 fans at the Rockmaykan club in Tokyo's Meguro, a venue where X Japan performed before making their major label debut. The band kick off a nationwide tour on Tuesday, with Luna Sea drummer Shinya scheduled to join them for the latter half. They are also scheduled to perform in Sao Paulo, Brazil on October 10, Toshi's birthday.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

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The "Gorgeous Kano Sisters" are now officially anime characters. And for once, surrounded by cosplay fans of all kinds at the weekend's "Otakon" convention in Baltimore, they didn't look quite so out of place. The pair were at the event to launch the "Abunai Sisters" DVD, which features ten 3-minute episodes of the busty crime-fighters Koko and Mika. Presumably it was decided that elder sister Kyoko needed a simpler name for the non-Japanese audience. The animated heroines were created by Matsu#a Susumu, one of Japan's leading character designers. The DVD is being sold by pre-order via a group buying service. This means that the more copies are ordered, the cheaper they become, a handy safety net for a product likely to appeal only to the unpredictable otaku crowd.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

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"Detroit Metal City," the Matsuyama Kenichi rock comedy vehicle, has been invited to screen at two international film festivals in Canada: in Toronto in September and Montreal in October. Matsuyama (23) and co-star Kato Rosa (23) attended a talk event held yesterday at the Shibuya branch of Tower Records in Tokyo, which was used as a location in the movie.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

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[J-ENT] Televiews / Tumultuous teen romance a hit (of course there抯 a cell phone involved)



In a recent column for 揟eleviews

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[J-ENT] Fans, celebrities say goodbye to comic manga artist Akatsuka Fujio



Mainichi Daily News reported, 揅elebrity friends and fans of the late manga artist Fujio Akatsuka bid farewell to him at his funeral early Thursday at a temple in Tokyo.

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Manami Konishi to star in "Nonchan Noriben"
Mon, August 11, 2008 (1:18am EDT)



Actress Manami Konishi has been chosen as the star of Akira Ogata's new film "Nonchan Noriben." The film marks her first time playing the role of a mother.

The movie is based on the manga of the same name by Kiwa Irie, which was published in the latter half of the 1990s and became the basis of a TBS afternoon drama that ran for two seasons.

In the film, Konishi plays the heroine Komaki Nagai, a woman in her early thirties who finally gets fed up with her husband, who has no job because of his desire to become a writer. She divorces him and moves to the Kyojima area of Tokyo, taking their young daughter Non-chan with her. Unsuccessfully struggling to make ends meet, she suddenly decides to try opening her own bento shop.

Filming is already under way. Theatrical release is scheduled for 2009.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Oricon: favorite video game characters
Mon, August 11, 2008 (1:53am EDT)



Oricon took a look at video game characters in a survey conducted last month. The company asked a thousand men and women to name their favorite character, and it was no surprise that Nintendo's iconic plumber Mario ranked #1.

Cloud, the protagonist of popular RPG Final Fantasy VII, was voted #2, finding popularity among both men and women. Mario's dinosaur friend Yoshi was #3.

Three characters tied at #4: Pikachu, Solid Snake, and the "cute" Slime from the Dragon Quest series. The Chocobo from the Final Fantasy series was right behind them at #7.

Doraemon tied for 8th with the Mario Kart version of Toad. At #10 was another three-way tie, with Professor Layton (of the Professor Layton puzzle series) matching the popularity of Yuna (Final Fantasy X) and Squall (Final Fantasy XIII).

Favorite video game characters:

1) Mario
2) Cloud
3) Yoshi
4) Pikachu
4) Solid Snake
4) Slime
7) The Chocobo
8) Doraemon
9) Professor Layton
9) Yuna
9) Squall

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Masatoshi Akihara directs another Kyusaku Yumeno adaptation
Mon, August 11, 2008 (2:28am EDT)

Director Masatoshi Akihara is doing another film based on a Kyusaku Yumeno novel. Last year, he adapted Yumeno's "Shirotsubaki" with Hiroko Hatano as the star. Now, he has chosen Hatano once again for his version of the bizarre murder mystery "Nijushinzo."



The supporting cast includes Yoichi Nukumizu, Yosuke Saito, Yoji Matsuda, and Shiro Maggy. The completed film is already set to make its premiere on September 20, though it won't be screened in Tokyo until October 4.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Singer Wada Akiko (58) was diagnosed with some potentially serious health problems during a medical checkup on Sunday's edition of her TBS show "Akko ni Omakase." The so-called "Godsister" of Japanese showbiz, Akko is a renowned boozer and heavy smoker so such health issues hardly come as a surprise. Her current condition was diagnosed when she went for a second checkup following signs of pulmonary emphysema on the first screening. The doctors told her she had chronic respiratory problems and possibly hardening of her coronary arteries, putting her at risk of suffering a heart attack. She was urged to give up smoking. Meanwhile another guest on the show, Degawa Tetsuro (44), was diagnosed with kidney stones in both kidneys and inflammation of his liver. And it was revealed yesterday that Degawa had suffered a broken collarbone while filming a TV show just days before.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

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Woo takes on epic film with 'Red Cliff'
Sunday 10th August, 05:18 AM JST

By Taro Fujimoto



TOKYO

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Emily Deschanel has a few bones to pick
Monday 11th August, 06:55 AM JST



TOKYO

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Kou Shibasaki finishes nationwide tour
Monday 11th August, 12:41 PM JST



TOKYO

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"Pokemon" movie franchise reaches 50 billion yen
Tue, August 12, 2008 (1:26am EDT)



With the 11th "Pokemon" film still showing in theaters, the movie series is expected to reach a total gross of 50 billion yen on Tuesday. The movies have been released once a year since 1998, when the first one brought in over 7.2 billion yen. With the subsequent films averaging about 4 billion yen apiece, the series totaled about 46.5 billion before the latest one opened in theaters.

"Giratina to Sora no Hanataba: Sheimi" has so far made more than 3.3 billion yen after four weeks, which means that Tuesday's box office receipts should push the franchise over the 50 billion mark.

Source: www.japantoday.com

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Guitar prodigy Ruri Namiki to make major label debut
Tue, August 12, 2008 (1:43am EDT)

11-year-old Ruri Namiki is launching her major music career on October 1 with a single called "Gakuen Tengoku." Namiki is known as a gifted guitarist, discovered through the TBS variety show "Sanma no Super Karakuri TV."

Her debut single is a cover of the hit song by pop group The Finger Five, originally released in 1974. Since then, it has been covered by popular artists such as Kyoko Koizumi in 1989. The single will also come with another cover, a guitar instrumental of "Tsunami" by Southern All Stars.

"Gakuen Tengoku" is being released through For Life Music Entertainment.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Karina joined by sisters for drama special
Tue, August 12, 2008 (2:03am EDT)



It was announced last month that actress/model Karina is starring in the Fuji TV drama special "Real Clothes," scheduled to air on September 16. Now, it has been revealed that she will be joined on screen by her two older sisters, models Anna Nose and Erena. This will be the first time they have appeared together in a drama.



Based on a manga by Satoru Makimura, the drama tells the story of Kinue (Karina), a plain-looking department store worker who gets thrown into the world of fashion when she is transferred to the women's clothing department. Her boss Miki is played by Hitomi Kuroki. Anna will serve as Miki's assistant, while Erena plays Kinue's first customer.



Sousuke Takaoka, Taro Yamamoto, and Natsuki Kato have also been confirmed for the cast.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Dir en grey unveils new North America tour
Tue, August 12, 2008 (1:49am EDT)



Rock band Dir en grey has announced an upcoming North America tour, starting in Florida on November 5 and ending in Colorado on December 5. A total of 22 dates have been scheduled, including stops in Montreal and Toronto. Touring with them is the Los Angeles-based band The Human Abstract.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Oricon: best "T-nist"
Tue, August 12, 2008 (10:26am EDT)

Following in the same vein as PR fashion awards like Best Jeanist and Best Leathernist, Oricon conducted a survey asking a thousand people to name the best-looking celebrities in T-shirts.



Singer aiko led the list as best female "T-nist," relegating pop star Ayumi Hamasaki to #2. Talento Becky took 3rd, while Ai Otsuka and Kaela Kimura ranked behind her.

The duo Puffy came in at #6, followed by Aya Ueto and YUI. Haruka Ayase tied with Angela Aki to make the list at #9.



Among male celebrities, George Tokoro was voted as the best in T-shirts, surpassing even Takuya Kimura, Keisuke Kuwata, Yuji Oda, and Masaharu Fukuyama, who ranked #2 through #5, respectively.

The next three on the list were Kenji Sakaguchi, Takashi Sorimachi, and Eisaku Yoshida. At #9, Teppei Koike was the youngest of the top 10, followed by the slightly older Tomohisa Yama#a, who tied for #10 with Tsuyoshi Kusanagi.

Best "T-nist" (female):

1) aiko
2) Ayumi Hamasaki
3) Becky
4) Ai Otsuka
5) Kaela Kimura
6) Puffy
7) Aya Ueto
8) YUI
9) Haruka Ayase
9) Angela Aki

Best "T-nist" (male):

1) George Tokoro
2) Takuya Kimura (SMAP)
3) Keisuke Kuwata (Southern All Stars)
4) Yuji Oda
5) Masaharu Fukuyama
6) Kenji Sakaguchi
7) Takashi Sorimachi
8) Eisaku Yoshida
9) Teppei Koike (WaT)
10) Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (SMAP)
10) Tomohisa Yama$hita (NEWS)

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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MAX's AKI to leave at end of month
Tue, August 12, 2008 (10:22am EDT)



AKI, a member of the vocal group MAX, is leaving at the end of August to pursue a solo career as a singer-songwriter. The news was announced through the group's official website and fan club.

AKI joined MAX in 2002 after lead singer MINA became pregnant and left the group. With AKI's departure, the group will be back down to three members.

Source: www.tokyograph.com