J-pop princess Koda Kumi (26) is finally going to show fans outside Japan what she’s made of. The Avex label announced yesterday that she will perform two concerts in Taipei on October 3-4. Koda has been one of Japan’s best selling artists of the last few years and has a growing fan base across East Asia. Though she made her international debut with a U.S. release as long ago as 2000, and has made appearances there and in Korea, the Taipei shows will be her first overseas concerts. She finished a Japan tour, with a show that cost about ¥80 million, in mid-June. Her latest single, “3 Splash,” has sold over 150,000 CDs and more than 300,000 downloads since it was released Wednesday.
Live-Action Blood the Last Vampire’s 1st 5 Minutes Posted,
The Yahoo! Japan website’s Movies section is streaming the first five minutes and 27 seconds from Chris Nahon’s live-action film adaptation of the Blood: The Last Vampire anime film. Director Hiroyuki Kitakubo (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Roujin Z) and Production I.G animated the original film. In the new film, South Korea’s Jeon Ji-hyun (under her English name, Gianna Jun) plays Saya, a sword-wielding girl hunting down supernatural creatures. Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell films, Mobile Police Patlabor) conceived the original anime’s story with screenwriter Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Eden of The East). Chris Chow adapted the story for East Wing Holdings Corp. and SAJ’s live-action version.
Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group acquired all North American rights to the new film, and Samuel Goldwyn Films will release the film in American theaters this summer. The live-action film will open in Japan on Friday (under the title Last Blood), in the United Kingdom on June 12, and then in France on June 17. It will also open in Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea and other countries in June.
Manga Entertainment released the original Blood: The Last Vampire anime film in North America, while Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is releasing the Blood+ television anime series. Viz Media published the graphic novel sequel to the first movie, and Dark Horse Comics is publishing the different Blood+ manga and text novel.
KATTUN qualifies for GUINESS!!
On Friday, popular boy band KAT-TUN completed their record-setting run of eight consecutive days of concerts at the Tokyo Dome. With a full house of about 55,000 fans at each show, a total of roughly 440,000 people attended the concerts.
Last year, KAT-TUN performed four consecutive days at the Dome. At the time, it tied for the record with British rocker Sting, who also did a four-day stretch there in 1988. However, KAT-TUN’s recent concerts have now doubled that record.
Their management agency, Johnny’s Jimusho, is hoping to have this achievement officially recognized as a Guinness World Record under “most consecutive concerts at a venue with a capacity of 50,000.” It appears that someone affiliated with Guinness happened to be at the Tokyo Dome, so the agency has requested verification of the record.
With the success of these concerts, KAT-TUN has scheduled many more to extend their tour. They had originally planned for these 8 shows to be followed by 3 at Osaka Dome on May 29-31 and 2 more at Tokyo Dome on June 14-15. They have now added 17 more shows in 6 other cities, starting in July.
Yamapi & Keiko in new summer drama
Monday at 9. Fuji TV. Starts July 2009.
Tentative title : Buzzer Beat ～ Gakeppuchi no Hero ～
Yamashita Tomohisa : Honest, straightforward guy who works for a basketball club. In basketball, work and love, when it comes down to the crunch, turns out to be a timid guy. Falls in love with Keiko.
Keiko Kitagawa : A cheerful, positive and headstrong girl.
Ito Hideaki : Coach of Yamapi’s basketball team and later a love rival.
Aibu Saki : Yamapi’s girlfriend.
Mizobata Junpei : Yamapi’s colleague.
Other cast members : Kaneko Nobuaki, Maya Miki, Nagai Masaru, Kanjiya Shiori.
Comment from Yamapi:
“It’s about basketball and a love story. I want to make a cheerful and enjoyable drama that would make people who watch it feel like doing their best the next day too.”
credits to: unleashthegeek + meoinkie2@AF
Avex cancels concerts by top artists over swine flu
With fears rising in Japan about the outbreak of the H1N1 influenza virus, Avex has become the latest company to take major precautionary action. It announced on Tuesday that a total of six concerts by pop stars Ayumi Hamasaki, Ai Otsuka, and Kumi Koda have been canceled in the Kansai region.
Cases of swine flu were recently confirmed in Osaka and Kobe, and the number has risen to almost 200 people. Thousands of schools in the Osaka and Hyogo prefectures have closed for the week in an effort to slow the spread. Due to the heightened concern, major music artists are calling off shows that have been scheduled for those areas.
Earlier this week, Johnny’s Jimusho announced the cancellation of four Osaka performances on May 23-24 by the Kansai Johnny’s Jr. group. However, Avex’s move on Tuesday was the biggest so far, with the total attendance of those six shows anticipated to be roughly 48,000 people. Hamasaki was scheduled to perform at Osaka-jo Hall on May 20-21 followed by Otsuka on May 23-24, while Koda was to perform at Kobe’s World Hall on May 23-24.
Initially, Avex had planned to hold the concerts, requiring fans to disinfect their hands upon entry and equipping the facilities with mouthwash and masks. However, the company ultimately decided that it would be unable to adequately make the venues safe for so many people.
Avex is currently looking into the possibility of setting new dates for the concerts.
> Survey: who would you want as your teacher?
An internet survey taken among first-year junior high school students asked them to rank celebrities by the statement, “That person would be nice to have as a teacher.” 500 boys and girls participated in the survey, conducted by the company Superweb.
For the female rankings, actress Haruka Ayase came in first, while Arashi’s Sho Sakurai topped the rankings for the male category. Professional baseball player Ichiro was first in the athlete category.
Ayase recently played the role of a junior high school teacher in the hit movie “Oppai Volleyball.” She barely beat out actress Yukie Nakama, who starred as a teacher in the drama series “Gokusen.”
In the men’s category, Shinsuke Shimada placed second while Ryuta Sato of “ROOKIES” ranked third. Swimmer Kosuke Kitajima came in second behind Ichiro in the athlete rankings.
The survey also included a politician category, led by Hideo Higashikokubaru. He was followed by Barack Obama and Junichiro Koizumi.
[Download]Super Junior: It’s You (Repackage Album)
Also, you can download the other tracks, previously released on the first edition of the album, “SORRY, SORRY”, here. 320kbps too, yay! *squizzes* I guess the links are still alive. *hides*
Super Junior:
It’s You (Repackage Album)
Release Date: 2009.05.15
Genre: Pop, Dance
Rating: 9.0/10
KAT-TUN – Break the Records -by you & for you- [Full Album Preview]
KAT-TUN new Album is out! Love them ..love this album again! DON’T U EVER STOP full MV is so cool! The song is so cool! love it so much….They are so hot! Seriously this is a great album!
Continuing on their impressive Oricon streak, KAT-TUN introduce their latest full-length album. It features all their most recent No. 1 singles including Don’t U Ever Stop, the album version of White X’mas, One Drop, and their brand new hit Rescue. With world-class musicians and songwriters on board to ensure a high-quality release, the new album features 15 tracks including solo songs from each member.
Album: Break the Records -by you & for you-
Release Date: 29th April 2009
Language: Japanese
Ratings for Sakurai Sho’s New Drama
Ratings for Sakurai Sho’s New Drama
Beats Fellow Arashi Member Matsumoto Jun
Source : Mingpao
Translated: sparkles_n15 @ http://asianfanatics.net
With the spring drama season underway, the highest rating from last week’s broadcast goes to ‘Boss’, starring Amami Yuki with 18% viewership. Ratings have also been released for four other dramas, but the overall viewership is lower than ‘Boss’. Arashi member Sakurai Sho stars in NTV’s ‘The Quiz Show’. Sakurai’s character is the host of a game show who reveals secrets from the contestants’ past. The ratings were at 14%, which beats fellow Arashi member Matsumoto Jun, who is starring in TBS’s ‘Smile’. A tanned Matsujun plays a half-Japanese, half-Filipino character alongside a mute girl played by Aragaki Yui. Ratings were only at 11.7%.
With his return to the small screen, ‘Tokyo Tower’ actor Odagiri Joe is paired with Nagasawa Masami as brother and sister in ‘Boku no Imoto’. Ratings were at 12.2%, which barely edged out ‘Smile’. TV Asahi’s ‘Meitantei no Okite’, an adaptation of Higashino Keigo’s novel and starring Matsuda Shota and Kashii Yu had ratings of 10.8%. Although Kashii Yu is up against her husband Odagiri Joe in separate dramas, both have only reached average ratings so far.
