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news: artistes
A-Kon announces Budo Grape
Tue, December 4, 2007 (2:37pm EST)
The "high energy avant-garde pop band" Budo Grape will make its U.S. debut at A-Kon 19, which is being held in Dallas from May 30 to June 1, 2008.
The group is scheduled to perform on Friday, May 30, and will be available for autograph sessions and panels throughout the weekend.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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news: music show
NHK reveals Kohaku lineup
Tue, December 4, 2007 (3:25am EST)
On Tuesday, NHK finally unveiled the complete rosters for this year's Kohaku Uta Gassen. A total of 56 acts are part of the lineup.
Red Team: aiko, AKB48, Angela Aki, Amin, Ayaka, BoA, Leah Dizon, Dreams Come True, Natsuko Godai, Ayumi Hamasaki, Hello! Project 10th Anniversary Kohaku Special Team (Morning Musume, Berryz Koubou, 癈-ute), Ayaka Hirahara, Yo Hitoto, Sayuri Ishikawa, Miyuki Kawanaka, Sachiko Kobayashi, Kumi Koda, Kaori Kozai, mihimaru GT, Kaori Mizumori, Yoko Nagayama, Shoko Nakagawa, Ataru Nakamura, Mitsuko Nakamura, Mika Nakashima, Ai Otsuka, Fuyumi Sakamoto, Yoshimi Tendo, Akiko Wada
White Team: Masafumi Akikawa, Toshihide Baba, EXILE, Akira Fuse, Gackt, Kiyoshi Hikawa, Ken Hirai, Hiroshi Itsuki, Saburo Kitajima, Takeshi Kitayama, Kobukuro, Kome Kome Club, Kiyoshi Maekawa, Noriyuki Makihara, Kenichi Mikawa, Shinichi Mori, Porno Graffiti, Masashi Sada, SMAP, Masato Sugimoto, Sukima Switch, Akira Terao, Ichiro Toba, TOKIO, Hideaki Tokunaga, w-inds., WaT
This is the first Kohaku appearance for AKB48, Shoko Nakagawa, Ataru Nakamura, Berryz Koubou, 癈-ute, Leah Dizon, Masato Sugimoto, and Toshihide Baba.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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news: artistes
All Your Record Are Belong to B'z
Rock duo B'z have truly established themselves as kings of the Japanese music world. Their latest album "Action" naturally went straight to No.1 on the Oricon charts. Their 13th consecutive chart topper and 21st overall means they share the record for most No.1's ever with 70s folk singer Matsutoya Yumi. So B'z now hold or share the record in all of Oricon's six major sales categories: most No.1 singles/albums; most million-selling singles/albums; most total single/album sales. Oricon say this is the first time in the company's 40-year history that one artist has held all six records. The duo recently became the first Asian artists to be inducted into the Hollywood Rock Walk.
Source: http://www.japan-zone.com/ |
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news: artistes
A somewhat more belated birth announcement came yesterday from actress Matsushima Nanko(34), who revealed that she had her second daughter on November 10. The baby had been due at the end of December. This year, Matsushima had her first movie starring role in almost a decade in "Bizan". She's been working far less since she married actor Sorimachii Takashi (33) in February 2001 and says she is currently undecided about her future career.
Source: http://www.japan-zone.com/ |
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Reply #1808 sads's post
sasuga B'z!  |
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survey
Oricon: who do you want as your lover?
Wed, December 5, 2007 (4:40am EST)
Oricon polled 500 women on which male celebrity they would want as their lover. Masaharu Fukuyama was the #1 choice, just as he was last year when the same question was asked regarding male music artists.
Koichi Domoto made the list at #2, just ahead of Hiroshi Tamaki. Tsuyoshi Domoto tied with Takuya Kimura for #4, while Junichi Okada and Jin Akanishi tied for #6. Joe Odagiri stood alone at #8, but there was another tie at #9 between Satoshi Tsumabuki and Tomohisa Yama#a.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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news: dorama SP
Yu Yamada cast as Nodame's rival
Wed, December 5, 2007 (3:19pm EST)
Actress Yu Yamada has been revealed as part of the cast of the upcoming "Nodame Cantabile" drama special, scheduled to air on January 4-5 on Fuji TV.
Yamada plays Son Rui, a Chinese prodigy who becomes rivals with Nodame. Although Yamada had no prior experience in playing piano, she recently took lessons and practiced on her own at home before the performance scenes were filmed.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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news: dorama SP
Ami Suzuki to star in 'Oishii Ginza' adaptation
Wed, December 5, 2007 (3:44pm EST)
Singer and actress Ami Suzuki will star in a TV Asahi drama special titled "Oishii Depachika," it was announced on Wednesday. This is only her second lead role in a drama, with the first being NHK's "Fukaku Mogure" in 2000.
The drama is based on the manga "Oishii Ginza" by Ikuko Sakagawa, which has been serialized in Office YOU since August 2001. The story is set in a Ginza "depachika" - a term referring to the food section of a department store, located in the basement - where Suzuki plays a seller struggling to keep her place in the store.
Kazuhiko Nishimura plays a manager at the department store, and Mansaku Fuwa plays a pig farm owner.
TV Asahi has also announced a promotional tie-in with its shopping site, which will sell two original dishes that appear in the drama after the show is broadcast. "Oishii Depachika" airs on January 4 at 11:30pm.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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survey
Oricon: who do you want as your girlfriend?
Thu, December 6, 2007 (4:12am EST)
Oricon published the female half of its "who do you want as your lover" survey, and the #1 woman was actress Yui Aragaki, who has seen a large surge in popularity this year. She outranked two other popular young actresses, Masami Nagasawa (#2) and Maki Horikita (#3).
There were ties at #4 (Yukie Nakama and Haruka Ayase) and at #6 (Ai Otsuka and Aya Ueto). Saki Aibu, Aki Hoshino, and Yuri Ebihara completed the top ten.
Who do you want as your girlfriend?
1) Yui Aragaki
2) Masami Nagasawa
3) Maki Horikita
4) Yukie Nakama
4) Haruka Ayase
6) Ai Otsuka
6) Ai Otsuka
8) Saki Aibu
9) Aki Hoshino
10) Yuri Ebihara
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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news: anime movie
Minomonta takes on voice acting in "One Piece" film
Thu, December 6, 2007 (3:59pm EST)
TV personality Minomonta, known as the busiest man in Japanese television, has been given his first voice acting role in the movie "One Piece: Episode of Chopper Plus." He plays Luffy's enemy, an original character made for the film.
Because of Minomonta's hectic schedule, producers are expecting to make use of his ad-libbing abilities (in addition to the script) in order to get the recording completed in time.
The movie opens in Japan in March. The theme song, "Mata ne" by Dreams Come True, will be available on the duo's new album that goes on sale next week.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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news: artiste
Utada celebrates start of 10th year with free "Automatic" ringtone
Thu, December 6, 2007 (4:38pm EST)
December 9 marks the anniversary of Hikaru Utada's 1998 debut single, "Automatic." To celebrate the start of her 10th year as a singer, she is making the song available for free as a ringtone.
The promotional campaign starts on December 7 and lasts until December 10. Distribution is being handled by major mobile phone download sites such as Recochoku and MOBAEMI.
Also on the 7th, Utada fans will be able to purchase the ringtone for "Stay Gold," a new song from her double single that is being released on February 20. It is currently being used in Kao's Asience commercials.
Utada is reportedly working on a new album, to be released in the spring.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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news: movie
Kagawa, Koizumi star in Kurosawa's "Tokyo Sonata"
Thu, December 6, 2007 (5:03pm EST)
 
Teruyuki Kagawa and Kyoko Koizumi are co-starring in "Tokyo Sonata," a new film by Kiyoshi Kurosawa.
Scripted by Australian director/writer Max Mannix, the movie tells the story of a family's collapse and revival. Kagawa plays the father of two, who is hiding the fact that he has been laid off by his company, while Koizumi plays his lethargic wife.
Filming wraps up at the end of this month, and the picture will see release sometime next year. Kurosawa is hoping to take the movie to Cannes.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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news: singer
Rock singer Otomo Kouhei (51) gave evidence at the Tokyo District Court yesterday on the first day of the complicated case against his former management agency. The dispute between the "Mother Enterprise" agency and the Hound Dog vocalist began in 2005, the band's 25th anniversary. Otomo was accused of doing deals and "going solo" behind the backs of management and the other band members, while he claimed he was unhappy with their small-scale approach to business. The band had been one of Japan's most popular in the late 1980s but went into decline in the early 90s. Otomo set up his own agency Iehok, in April 2005. Mother announced that the "Omega" album, released that June, would be the band's last original recording and that they would split after a Nippon Budokan concert in July. On stage, Otomo insisted the band would continue and he managed to persuade three other members to join him at Iehok. But the following months saw further disputes break out between the members and a series of legal suits and counter-suits.
Source: www.japan-zone.com |
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news: celebrities
 
Actor Kurobe Susumu (68) and actress Hishimi Yuriko (60) attended an event in Tokyo yesterday to celebrate the 41-year history of "Ultraman". Kurobe played the lead role of Hayata Shin in the original 1966 series, while Hishimi played the heroine Yuri Ann in "Ultraman Seven" the following year. Real name Yoshimoto Takashi, Kurobe is the father of actress Yoshimoto Takami (36), who played the heroine Yanase Lena in the 1996 series "Ultraman Tiga", though he was originally totally opposed to her entering show business.
Source: www.japan-zone.com |
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news: music
Charts: B'z achieves dominance
Tue, December 11, 2007 (1:17pm EST)
As expected, rock duo B'z took the top spot in the albums chart this week with their latest original album, "ACTION," which sold 293,000 copies. This is their 13th consecutive #1 album. It is also their 21st overall, which finally brings them to a tie with Yumi Matsutoya for the all-time record for most #1 albums. B'z already holds five other major records: most album sales, most single sales, most #1 singles, most million-selling albums, and most million-selling singles. This makes them the first artist to hold all six records in Oricon history.
Yui Aragaki stood no chance against B'z, but her first album "Sora" managed to sell 73,000 copies to take the #3 spot. She is the first actress-turned-singer to reach the top three with a debut album since Kou Shibasaki in 2004.
Other new albums this past week included AI (#4), DJ OZMA (#7), and Hitomi Shimatani (#11).
On the singles chart, Southern All Stars' Keisuke Kuwata stood on top with 94,000 copies of "Darling." As a solo artist, it is his 6th consecutive chart-topper. The last three were released this year, which is the most so far by a solo artist in 2007. In total, he has 7 number-ones, tying for the record with Kyosuke Himuro among solo male singers who originally came from a group.
abingdon boys school and SID entered the charts at #2 and #4, respectively. MISIA barely made the cutoff for the top ten, followed closely by Aya Hirano (#11), The Birthday (#12), and Yo Hitoto (#13).
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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news: artistes
ketchup mania to perform at Sakura-Con 2008
Fri, December 7, 2007 (5:59am EST)
Sakura-Con has announced that pop-punk band ketchup mania will perform at next year's convention, which takes place March 28-30 in Seattle, Washington. The band is being brought by JapanFiles, who first introduced the band to the U.S. this past June at A-Kon in Dallas, Texas.
ketchup mania won the Best Japanese Punk Group award in Shojo Beat's 2007 Music Issue.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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news: anime/music
Some anime themes announced
Fri, December 7, 2007 (8:55pm EST)
 
Starting in January, rock band the brilliant green is handling the theme song for TBS's "Mobile Suit Gundam 00." The tune is titled "Ash Like Snow" and will go on sale February 6. It was also announced on Friday that new artist Stephanie will provide the show's ending theme, titled "Friends." That song will be released on January 30.
mihimaru GT also will be heard on an anime series this winter. NTV's "Yatterman" remake starts on January 14, and its ending theme is being provided by the popular duo. "diverge" is a reworking of a demo song they wrote in 2003, before their debut. The single will also be released on January 30.
Meanwhile, idol Shoko Nakagawa has been chosen for the ending theme of Fuji TV's "Hakaba Kitaro," which premieres on January 10. The ballad, "snow tears," is Nakagawa's first time writing her lyrics. The single is also being released on January 30, and a limited number of CDs are being shipped with stickers depicting her as Neko Musume, the character that she is voicing for the series.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Post time 10-12-2007 05:00 PM
