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news: movie
"Homeless Chugakusei" to become film
Fri, December 14, 2007 (8:08pm EST)
Toho has announced production of "Homeless Chugakusei," a screen version of the best-selling autobiography by Kirin comedian Hiroshi Tamura. The story depicts his life of poverty during his junior high days.
Tamura's novel is the second best-selling book of this year, despite being released only three months ago. It achieved 1 million sales in just two months. Several other studios also fought for the film rights, but Toho was able to secure the deal.
Casting for the film will be revealed at the start of 2008. No director has been announced yet. The film opens in June.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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news: music charts
Charts: EXILE sells 670,000
Tue, December 18, 2007 (4:43pm EST)
EXILE's new album, "EXILE LOVE," ended its first week with approximately 670,000 copies sold, making it the top seller. DREAMS COME TRUE also did well with their "AND I LOVE YOU," selling 374,000 copies to make the #2 spot.
FUNKY MONKEY BABYS achieved #5 with their second album. TUBE (#7), Ulfuls (#9), and INFINITY 16 (#10) also made appearances in the top ten.
In singles, V6 topped the chart with "way of life," selling 91,000 copies. ZARD's posthumous release "Glorious Mind" was the #2 seller at 50,000 copies.
Several other artists had new releases in the top ten: Remioromen (#3), YUKI (#4), BoA (#6), and Shunsuke Kiyokiba (#9).
Meanwhile, Kanjani8 was #1 in the overall DVD rankings with their "47." It sold 208,000 copies, which is the highest opening week sales for any music DVD released this year.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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news: artiste
Sukima Switch's Ohashi to release solo single
Sat, December 15, 2007 (4:55am EST)
Takuya Ohashi of pop duo Sukima Switch will release his first single as a solo artist next year. He will continue working with his partner Shintaro Tokita, but he has plans for future releases and solo performances.
His first song, "Hajimari no Uta," goes on sale February 6. It will be coupled with a song titled "Shonen to Sora." Both were written and composed by Ohashi. "Hajimari no Uta" has already been selected for use in a U-CAN commercial, which begins airing on New Year's Day.
Tokita also has a solo project and has established his own private label named doppietta. In addition, he is currently active as a producer. However, he and Ohashi will continue working both on their own and as a group.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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survey
Oricon: Yoshio Kojima, Gakky named this year's top stars
Sat, December 15, 2007 (6:04am EST)
 
Oricon has released the results of its end-of-the-year survey asking men and women who they thought was the most successful young star of 2007. With two thousand people participating in the survey, the answers were actress Yui Aragaki and comedian Yoshio Kojima.
Aragaki has had a phenomenal year, which included her first starring roles in film and television, the start of a music career, and an increase in commercials. Erika Sawajiri, who ranked 2nd among female celebrities, also saw similar success this year, though it was marred by the "Closed Note" PR incident.
The rest of the women's top five were Kanako Yanagihara, Sumiko Nishioka (the oldest of the list at 33), and Maki Horikita.
Kojima easily topped the men's list, as he was ranked first by all age groups. His silly routine has become amazingly popular, and his catchphrase "Sonna no kankei nee" was named one of the top ten "buzzwords of the year."
Shun Oguri was second in the rankings, followed by Yu Darvish, Ryo Ishikawa, and Toma Ikuta.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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news: artistes
EXILE album ships 1 million in less than a week
Sat, December 15, 2007 (10:52pm EST)
EXILE and several other Rhythm Zone artists performed at a live event in Tokyo on Saturday. During the show, EXILE announced that their latest album has shipped one million copies.
"EXILE LOVE" went on sale on the 12th and has already sold hundreds of thousands of copies.
The group has two previous albums that became million-sellers: "EXILE ENTERTAINMENT" in 2003 and a best album in 2005.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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news: artistes
Perfume to visit fan's house
Sun, December 16, 2007 (12:25am EST)
Electropop idol group Perfume has announced a special promotion for their upcoming single, "Baby cruising Love / Macaroni," which is being released on January 16. The trio will visit the home of one lucky fan, who will have a chance to talk with them and take pictures. According to one of the people involved, this may be the first time a Japanese artist has done such a promotion.
The single will have a first press of 100,000 copies, and each of those will contain a ticket that makes the buyer eligible for the promotion, as long as he or she lives anywhere in Japan. The event is scheduled to happen in the spring.
Like their previous single "Polyrhythm," the first press of "Baby cruising Love" will include 50 copies signed by the group. This time, however, an additional 150 copies will be signed by an individual member (50 copies each), and the fans who receive one of those will be entered in a drawing for a second promotion. The winner will get to go backstage at their February 12 concert at Shibuya AX.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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news: movie
Rossum, Tamura, Park join "Dragonball" cast
Sun, December 16, 2007 (1:29pm EST)
Three more cast members in the live-action "Dragonball" film were announced recently. The most notable name is actress Emmy Rossum, though it is not clear which character she is playing. Rossum is known for her lead roles in "The Phantom of the Opera" and "The Day After Tomorrow."
"Heroes" actress Eriko Tamura is joining the cast as Mai, along with Joon Park as Yamcha. Park was a member of the now-defunct Korean group g.o.d.
Rossum, Tamura, and Park are joining a cast that already includes Justin Chatwin, James Marsters, and Jamie Chung.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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news: artiste
Rock legend Yazawa Eikichi (58) reached a new milestone in his long career on Sunday when he became the first musician to perform at the hallowed Nippon Bukodan for the 100th time. He was joined on stage by members of the Doobie Brothers, long-time friends who came to Japan just for the occasion. He first played the central Tokyo venue in August, 1977 and in recent years it has become an established practice to perform there in December. Yesterday he wore the same black shirt and white suit fashion that he had in the 70s and he kicked of the show with the same song, "C'mon Baby". He thanked fans, musicians, crew and his own muscles for supporting him over four decades and gave the 10,000-strong audience a performance of two and half hours. In 1966, the Beatles were the first ever band to play the Budokan and it was their influence that led Yazawa to become a musician. He will extend his record run at the Budokan with two more shows this week.
Source: www.nt2099.com/J-ENT |
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news: artiste
Singer Hamasaki Ayumi (29) had to overcome mechanical problems at a "secret live" performance yesterday. She was at the Ikspiari shopping mall in the Tokyo Disney Resort filming a performance for her now annual NTV Christmas special. Just one song into the set, there were technical problems but rather than leave the gathered audience of 2,500 people waiting in the cold, Ayu went back on stage and did an acappella version of her hit "Seasons".
Source: www.japan-zone.com |
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news: idols
 
Johnny's Jimusho have teamed veteran singer Kondo Masahiko (42) with young Johnny's Jr. unit Question? Described as a rock band, Matchy With Question? have recorded "Mezasero! Yasei" as the ending theme for January's new series of the popular anime "Naruto Shippuuden". It's the first anime song for Kondo, who marks 28 years as a singer on Wednesday. The new band are set to appear in his scheduled Budokan show next February 14.
Source: www.japan-zone.com |
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news: artiste
[JAPAN] The 2 sides of Miyuki Nakajima take to the stage
In a recent article by Nishida Hiroshi, Nishida writes about singer Nakajima Miyuki.
Nishida wrote, 揜eleasing two very different albums within a year of each other, Miyuki Nakajima is taking the tracks on the road for a national tour that will hit Tokyo this weekend. |
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news: band
LiN CLOVER to separate indefinitely in 2008
Mon, December 17, 2007 (3:41am EST)
Rock band LiN CLOVER has announced on their official website that they will be separating indefinitely. The band has been together for five years, and they will finish off their run with two live shows in Japan in January.
The group performed in the U.S. three times this year.
According to their website, the three members "will move on to new paths."
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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news: dorama SP/artistes
Shokotan & Mao Inoue song revealed
Mon, December 17, 2007 (4:14am EST)
 
At the end of last month, it was revealed that Shoko Nakagawa and Mao Inoue recorded a song together for use in the "Anmitsu Hime" drama special in January. It has been revealed that the collaboration will be used as the show's theme song, and is actually a new version of the Princess Princess single, "Diamonds."
Other cast members from the drama special participated in the song as well, including Toshiro Yanagiba, Mari Natsuki, Shigeru Izumiya, Masaki Kyomoto, Yumi Shirakawa, and Morisanchu.
Fuji TV will broadcast "Anmitsu Hime" on January 6 at 7:00pm.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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news: dorama
New Fuji TV drama series made of 9 stories
Mon, December 17, 2007 (3:34pm EST)
Fuji TV has announced the next drama series in its recently-created Saturday night time slot. Titled "Lost Time Life," the show will consist of 9 stories, each starring a different actor or actress.
The title is taken from the Japanese term for stoppage time in soccer. In each episode, the lead character will be in a situation where he or she is about to die. Time suddenly stops and a mysterious group of referees appears, who grants the protagonist extra time based on the time wasted during that person's life. The story will explore the ways that each of the characters decides to spend that extra time.
The stars of the episodes are Eita, Keiichiro Koyama (of NEWS), Tomochika, Juri Ueno, Atsushi Ito, Naoki Tanaka (of Cocorico), Takako Tokiwa, Yoko Maki, and Yo Oizumi. Yoichi Nukumizu will serve as a key character who appears in all 9 episodes.
The series is planned, supervised, and written by director Masaya Kakehi. Fuji TV's Kumiko Nakajima is serving as a producer.
"Lost Time Life" will air on Saturdays at 11:10pm, starting on February 2.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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news: dorama
TBS to create new drama time slot
Mon, December 17, 2007 (4:59pm EST)
TBS has announced that its Saturday 8:00pm programming block will turn into a drama time slot starting in April.
That time slot is best known for variety shows such as "8 Ji da yo! Zenin Shugo," which garnered ratings as high as 50% during its run from 1969 to 1985. In recent years, however, ratings have been highly disappointing. The most recent case was the Minomonta-hosted "Captain Domino," which only lasted three months.
According to the network, there are plans to have viewers involved in the planning and casting process for the new dramas that will air in that time slot. Viewers will apparently be able to provide suggestions via the network's website, though it is not clear how much influence it will have.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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news: movie
"Tokumei Kakarichou" gets a movie
Mon, December 17, 2007 (4:01am EST)
The popular "Tokumei Kakarichou Tadano Hitoshi" drama franchise will have a movie next December, it was announced on Sunday. In addition, another special episode will air on TV Asahi at the start of 2008.
Originally based on a popular manga by Kimio Yanagisawa, the drama has already gone through three seasons, in 2003, 2005, and 2007. The show has consistently received strong ratings for its late-night Friday time slot.
Shochiku will be distributing the film. Katsunori Takahashi will reprise his starring role as the salaryman Hitoshi Tadano, along with series regulars Masaru Nagai, Atsuko Sakurai, Rieko Miura, and Yuri Ebihara. Filming is set to begin in the spring.
The television series will have its fourth special episode around the end of January, and it is said to feature a dangerous action scene.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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news: taiga dorama
NHK's taiga (historical drama) series "Fuurinkazan" finished its year-long run on Sunday with a disappointing audience rating. According to the firm Video Research, the series had an average rating for the year of 18.7%, peaking at 22.9% for the fifth episode back in early February. Sunday's climactic episode only managed 18%. The numbers are in line with NHK's audience trend of the last few years - 2005's "Koumyo ga Tsuji" managed 20.9%, while last year's "Yo#sune" dropped to 19.5%. The decline is ascribed to factors such as a lack of interest among young viewers, despite the leading roles in both series being played by top young stars (Nakama Yukie in 2005 and Takizawa Hideaki in 2006). Fuurinkazan starred relatively minor stage actor Uchino Masaaki (39) as medieval warrior Yamamoto Kansuke, but also featured popular rock star Gackt in the major role of warlord Uesugi Kenshin (1530-78). The title of the series is an expression that translates as "as fast as the wind, as quiet as the forest, as daring as fire, and immovable as the mountain".
Source: www.japan-zone.com |
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news: music show
A classic late-night music show of the late 1980s is to make a one-night comeback. Talento Aihara Yuu (40), one of the original presenters of TBS's late-night show "IkaTen", returned from her home in New York, to record the special with Miyake Yuuji (56). The special will air on December 30. With the full title of "Miyake Yuuji no Ikasu Bando Tengoku", the show featured a contest between 10 amateur bands every week, with the winner being named "IkaTen King". Any band that won for five weeks running was promised a major-label contract. The show launched the careers of such bands as Flying Kids, Begin, Tama, and Blankey Jet City. IkaTen aired from early 1989 but despite its popularity it ran only until the end of 1990. During that time, two program staff were arrested for marijuana possession and there were claims of major labels trying to sign up bands behind the scenes.
Source: www.japan-zone.com |
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news: artiste
Sawajiri causes traffic accident, none injured
Tue, December 18, 2007 (2:42am EST)
Actress Erika Sawajiri caused a traffic accident in Tokyo on Monday. Fortunately, no one suffered any injuries.
Sawajiri was driving in the Meguro ward of Tokyo at around 9:00pm on December 17. She was making a right turn at an intersection, and her car came in contact with a motorcycle making a left turn from the opposite direction.
The driver, a man in his twenties, was not injured. The police are treating the incident as a traffic accident resulting in property damage.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
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Post time 19-12-2007 07:05 PM
