Japan_Now: Japanese Entertainment News Community

L'Arc's Trubute Album Out May 15, 2012 (15-5-12)

Mon, 14 May 2012 15:33:17 GMT

L'Arc-en-Ciel Starting May 15, songs from the L'Arc-en-Ciel tribute album will start playing on FM stations all across Japan. Some of the artists/songs that you can watch out for are
ZEBRAHEAD/READY STEADY GO (FM North Wave & FM Air-G), BOYZ II MEN/snow drop (TOKYO FM), and Orianthi /NEO UNIVERSE (J-WAVE). Keep your ears wide open!
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20120514-00000008-natalien-musi
ラルクトリビュート収録曲、全国FM局で続々解禁（ナタリー） - Y!ニュース
headlines.yahoo.co.jp

Source: http://m.facebook.com/pages/LArc-en-Ciel/139185632806476?id=139185632806476&refsrc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2FLArc-en-Ciel%2F139185632806476&_rdr

Posted via m.livejournal.com.

Arashi tops Nikkei’s ‘Talent Power Ranking’

Sat, 12 May 2012 08:12:06 GMT

Which celebrities are drawing the most attention and have the highest name value? The answers were revealed through the June issue of information magazine ‘Nikkei Entertainment!‘.

This ‘Talent Power Ranking’ is held every quarter by Nikkei Entertainment and was created by ARCHITECT Co., Ltd.. They take a survey and examine people’s “degree of recognition” and “degree of interest” out of 1,196’s talents. From the survey, they calculate each talent’s “talent power score” and a wide range of celebrities can be on this ranking including actor/actress, comedians, musicians, athletes, announcers and more.

The winner for the latest ranking is none other than Arashi. The group moved up one spot from their second place finish last year. The individual members also ranked in the top 50, Sakurai Sho is #15, Aiba Masaki is #28, Ohno Satoshi is #30, Ninomiya Kazunari is #31 and Matsumoto Jun is #41.

Southern All Stars raised up their ranking to claim second place even though they’re on hiatus. The magazine analyzed that it’s mainly because of the constructive activities of Kuwata Keisuke for supporting the victims of the Tohoku earthquake. He had produced a charity songs and held concerts in Miyagi, and such activities raised the profile of Southern All Stars.

Matsushima Nanako ranked in third place. It seems that her roles in NTV’s hit drama ‘Kaseifu no Mita‘ and Fuji TV’s Getsu9 drama ‘Lucky Seven‘ was good enough to give her the third spot.

Check out the top 30 ranking below.

[Talent Power Ranking 2012]

Period for examination : February 15th – 29th of 2012

Ranking / (Previous Ranking) : Talent Name / Power score(pt.) / Degree of recognition (%)*1

01 / (06) : Arashi / 50.3 / 91.2%
02 / (02) : Southern All Stars / 49.3 / 88.4%
03 / (14) : Matsushima Nanako / 48.1 / 91.5%
04 / (09) : Kitano Takeshi / 47.5 / 94.3%
05 / (04) : Ayase Haruka / 47.3 / 88.6%
06 / (01) : Fukuyama Masaharu / 46.9 / 94.5%
07 / (13) : Abe Hiroshi / 45.7 / 90.4%
08 / (05) : Akashiya Sanma / 44.6 / 96.6%
09 / (11) : SMAP / 44.2 / 96.2%
10 / (03) : Ichiro Suzuki / 44.1 / 96.0%
11 / (29) : Taka and Toshi / 43.9 / 91.6%
12 / (22) : Asada Mao / 43.8 / 92.5%
13 / (18) : Mukai Osamu / 43.6 / 88.3%
14 / (17) : Cream Stew / 43.4 / 92.6%
15 / (07) : Sakurai Sho(Arashi) / 42.9 / 91.1%
16 / (19) : Amami Yuki / 42.5 / 84.9%
17 / (48) : Ueda Shinya / 41.6 / 91.8%
18 / (12) : Becky / 41.3 / 95.9%
19 / (94) : Darubisshu Yuu / 41.2 / 91.5%
19 / (29) : Okamura Takashi (NINETY-NINE) / 41.2 / 90.0%
19 / (22) : Bakusho Mondai /41.2 / 91.8%
22 / (16) : Down Town / 40.8 / 95.3%
22 / (26) : Tamori / 40.8 / 98.1%
24 / (20) : Tokoro George / 40.6 / 96.5%
25 / (24) : Matsumoto Hitoshi(Down Town) / 40.5 / 95.0%
26 / (21) : Kuwata Keisuke / 40.2 / 86.8%
27 / (32) : Ikegami Akira / 40.0 / 87.5%
28 / (10) : Aiba Masaki(Arashi) / 39.8 / 84.6%
29 / (34) : Nakama Yukie / 39.7 / 90.4%
30 / (08) : Ohno Satoshi(Arashi) / 39.5 / 86.8%

*1 Degree of recognition = People know both their name and how they look

SOURCE: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/05/arashi-tops-nikkeis-talent-power-ranking/

More cast members announced for upcoming movie “Aku no Kyoten”

Fri, 11 May 2012 03:05:58 GMT

As previously reported, Kishi Yusuke’s novel “Aku no Kyoten” will be getting a live-action movie adaptation starring Ito Hideaki. Since the announcement, more cast members have been revealed.

“Aku no Kyoten” is a suspenseful novel that depicts cruel murder cases that happen at a school, committed by a high school teacher, “Hasumi Seiji” (played by Ito). It will be directed by Miike Takashi, and other added cast members include Yamada Takayuki, Nikaido Fumi, Sometani Shota, and Hayashi Kento.

Yamada will be playing “Shibahara Tetsuro”, Hasumi’s co-worker and a physical education teacher who sexually harasses his student. Yamada revealed the reason why he accepted the offer, saying, “I was attracted by the story and the role after reading the script, but I also wanted to be involved in Miike-san’s work.” “I would like to learn things I don’t know yet from Miike-san, Ito-san, and other seniors, and regain my fresh sense from Kento, Fumi-chan, and others,” he added.

Meanwhile, Nikaido, Sometani, and Hayashi will all be playing students who are targeted by Hasumi. Nikaido’s role is “Katagiri Reika”, who has good intuition and suspects Hasumi, while Sometani plays “Hayami Keisuke”, the mastermind of group cheating during exams who cares for Reika. Hayashi will play ”Maejima Masahiko”, a homosexual student who is in a close relationship with a teacher.

“Aku no Kyoten” will release on November 10th.

TOKYOHIVE

Biglobe Poll: Most Popular Spring Anime

Fri, 11 May 2012 03:04:01 GMT

The Japanese Internet service provider BIGLOBE posted the results on Monday of a survey on the most popular spring anime series. This is not an official BIGLOBE survey, but a survey conducted by a user named "u67" under BIGLOBE's Anime Ranking Maker system.

Among the 11,698 self-selected responses from users of BIGLOBE's Anime One portal site, these were the top 36 choices:

Rank Title Votes
1 Hyouka 944
2 Fate/Zero 2 930
3 Accel World 873
4 Sankarea 855
5 Nyarko-san: Another Crawling Chaos 840
6 Kids on the Slope (Sakamichi no Apollon) 803
7 Saki Achiga-hen episode of side-A 770
8 Space Brothers 643
9 Is This a Zombie? of the Dead 584
10 Kuroko no Basuke 422

11 Jormungand 414
12 Kimi to Boku. 2 294
13 Polar Bear's Café 290
14 tsuritama 276
15 Acchi Kocchi 266
16 Dusk Maiden of Amnesia 259
17 Medaka Box 252
18 Natsu-iro Kiseki 219
19 Shining Hearts -Shiawase no Pan- 195
20 Hiiro no Kakera 177
21 EUREKA SEVEN AO 176
22 Mysterious Girlfriend X 172
23 Zetman 136
24 Queen's Blade: Rebellion 112
25 Upotte!! 105
26 Phi Brain: Kami no Puzzle 2nd season 104
27 AKB0048 103
28 Saint Seiya Omega 77
29 Pretty Rhythm Dear My Future 66
29 Himitsu Kessha Taka no Tsume Neo (new series) 66
31 Cardfight!! Vanguard: Asia Circuit Hen 53
31 Transformers Prime 53
33 Yurumates 3D 47
33 Kuromajyo-san ga Tōru!! 47
35 Arashi no Yoru ni: Himitsu no Tomodachi 45
36 Gon 30

ANIME NEWS NETWORK

X JAPAN WINS THE “BEST INTERNATIONAL BAND” AWARD AT THE GOLDEN GODS AWARDS

Fri, 11 May 2012 03:00:52 GMT

X Japan took home the award for Best International Band Wednesday
night at the Golden Gods Awards, becoming the first Asian band to ever be nominated
for a Golden Gods Award.

The band beat out internationally acclaimed Rammstein (Germany), Lacuna Coil (Italy),
Sepultura (Brazil), Behemoth (Poland), and Meshuggah (Sweden).

“Thank you Revolver. Thank you so much for recognizing us,” said Yoshiki, leader of X
Japan, who was present at the ceremony to accept the award.

“Some people might have heard of us, we're from Japan. Well, our band name is X Japan.

We toured North America in 2010, and did our first world tour last year. Now we are
finishing our first worldwide debut album. And we are planning on doing another world
tour soon. And to our beloved fans: Thank you so much for your support, we are going to
keep on rocking. And we fucking love you.”

Held at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles, the fourth annual Golden Gods awards
handed out 11 awards Wednesday night. Other winners included Avenged Sevenfold,
Slash, Korn, and Evanescence. The Black Carpet and Show was broadcasted on X Box
Live and will be aired again this year on VH1.

The show coincided with the opening of the Grammy Museum’s new exhibit, Golden
Gods: The History of Heavy Metal, which will run through February 2013.

http://nipponproject.com/en/new.php?id=973

Recap: DAIGO on Tensai Terebi-kun (20120404)

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:34:38 GMT

A summary of the rather interesting interview. The questions were written by the kids from the show, but the interviewer was Degawa Tetsuro. Some of the questions may seem rather blunt, but only because they were written by kids.

Host: Where did "Wish!" come from?
DAIGO: When I greet my senpai's I usually say, "Wis!" It just naturally became, "Wish!"
Host: A pun?
DAIGO: Not really... it just became like that, naturally, like the way humans progress.

Host: Why do you speak so gaudily?
DAIGO: It's really not gaudy to me. When I first said, "S'right," in a variety show, people laughed. I didn't really get what was so funny, but they laughed anyway. It's not really something I consciously do.

Host: What were you like as a child?
DAIGO: As a child... which age? Childhood is kinda long.
Host: Gradeschool?
DAIGO: Pretty lively and naughty. Also had a sensitive nose. I kept a plastic bag where I put the sheets of tissue paper I blew my nose into. I was also in gradeschool when my grandpa became prime minister.

Host: By the way, how was your grandfather like?
DAIGO: He was fond of me. Something like, "Come here, come here" all the time. We played judo and sumo, so for me back then he was a grandpa that I really loved.
Host: Wow, a prime minister who did sumo.
DAIGO: Well normally, a grandpa lets his grandson win, right? But he played to win. He was the type who hates to lose.

Host: What kind of life did you live before you debuted?
DAIGO: I started being active in music when I was 19. I did part-time jobs while pursuing music.
Host: And what kind of jobs were those?
DAIGO: Shop assistant at a karaoke box and a supermarket.
Host: Your family was rich but you still did part-time jobs?
DAIGO: I didn't really do part-time jobs that long. I had to rely on my parents.　To be honest, up until my late twenties, I was still leeching off my parents
Host: Really?!
DAIGO: Yeah, I pretty much leeched off 'til the last minute.

Host: What is rock for you?
DAIGO: "The path I trod." Well, grandpa's maxim was also, "The path I trod." In my case, the path I trod is rock... that's what I think.
Host: Rip-off?
DAIGO: A rip-off? Oh, you mean, I copied my grandpa's words? It's more like I inherited them. (Laughs)

Host: What made you start pursuing rock?
DAIGO: When I was 15, I got to listen to BOØWY's "MARIONETTE" and I thought it was really cool. For the 15 year old me, they were pretty cool... no questions asked. They made such an impact on me. Even now I still find them cool. They're forever charismatic for me.

Host: Why did you keep silent about being Takeshita Noboru's grandson back when you first debuted?
DAIGO: When I was 19, I thought of walking on my own feet. And while doing just that, Himuro Kyōsuke-san wrote my debut song for me.
Host: Really? Is that because you're the former PM's grandson?
DAIGO: Exactly what you'd think, right? But I hated that. Actually, a cameraman introduced me to Himuro-san, and after meeting him, he told me that he wanted to help me out. It was only after I kept saying "Granpa this grandpa that" on variety shows that Himur0-san found out.
Host: Wow! You should say this on TV more.
DAIGO: I'd really love to, but there aren't many chances for me to say that... If you think about it, aren't rock and politics on opposite sides? Originally, at least.
Host: So you had that dilemma?
DAIGO: I came to a point where not being able to continue music was much more difficult than the dilemma I had, so I thought it's about time I went full power with grandpa's name.
Host: Well I guess as a rocker you'd want to hide that. But exposing that was actually brave.
DAIGO: Yeah, it was like an armor that I kept protecting myself with. But when I took that off, it felt like a burden was taken off me and I started flying.
Host: You're actually earnest, aren't you?

Translation: ミ☆Calcifer (The Blue Hearth)

X JAPAN, the first Asian group nominated for Golden Gods

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:09:19 GMT

It was announced that X JAPAN has been nominated as Best International Group awards at Golden Gods 2012 , becoming the first Asian group nominated in the history of the awards Golden Gods ( Golden Gods ).

Awards Golden Gods were created in 2009 by Revolver , the number one magazine in the world of hard rock and heavy metal. Each year the show has performances and appearances by the biggest stars in the world of rock and metal , including Ozzy Osbourne , Metallica and more. They are considered the spectacle of awards that hard-rock and heavy metal largest in America and is broadcast on channel VH1 Classic each year.

The recording period has ended and during the show next Wednesday April 11 the winners will be known.

Original Text in Spanish l Source l Yoshiki's Twitter

AKB48′s Maeda Atsuko to graduate from the group

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 02:07:24 GMT

On Sunday, the final day of AKB48’s series of three concerts at Saitama Super Arena, member Maeda Atsuko (20) unexpectedly announced that she plans to graduate from the group. Although the date of her graduation has not been announced, it is expected that she will leave after AKB48′s first concert at Tokyo Dome (the date for that concert has also not been announced).

Maeda has been with the group since it formed in 2005, and to many she has been the “face” of the group for a long time. She was voted #1 by fans in AKB48′s “senbatsu” elections in 2009 and 2011, and she ranked 2nd behind Oshima Yuko in 2010.

Also known by the nickname “Acchan,” she has appeared in several television dramas and movies, including “Moshi Koukou Yakyuu no Joshi Manager ga Drucker no Management wo Yondara” (“Moshidora”), “Hanazakari no Kimitachi e ~ Ikemen Paradise,” and “Q10.” In June 2011, she made her solo CD debut with the single “Flower,” reaching #1 on the weekly sales charts.

More details about her graduation and future plans will be announced at a later date.

----

Maeda stated while crying, “I took the audition to enter AKB48 when I was 14 years old, which was a big decision in my life. Now, please let me make my second big decision. I am graduating from AKB48.”

source: TOKYOGRAPH, TOKYOHIVE(QUOTE)

Akanishi Tour Canceled Due to Marriage/Baby Drama

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 05:53:03 GMT

Singer Jin Akanishi was supposed to make a grand return to Japan with seven arena shows following his five city North American tour, but those plans have all been canceled by his talent agency as punishment for his recent marriage/baby situation we previously reported on.

Remember this?

Akanishi and actress Meisa Kuroki (currently three months pregnant) handed in their marriage registration February 2nd. The pair did this without briefing their agencies, however, and Johnny and Associates (who also reps SMAP, Arashi, Sexy Zone, etc.) did not take kindly to this slight.

In fact, not only are the calling a full stop on his upcoming tour, but they are making him personally cover any related penalty fees. Tickets hadn't gone on sale yet for the April-May shows, but there is still the matter of the arena reservations, the cancellation fees of which could be pretty costly.

EDIT: more articles (somewhat same info)
http://www.tokyograph.com/news/johnnys-jimusho-to-make-akanishi-jin-responsible-for-costs-of-canceled-tour/
http://you-and-jin.livejournal.com/392553.html
http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/03/akanishi-jins-japan-tour-canceled-as-penalty-for-recent-marriage/

source: Crunchyroll

Can DAIGO name 7 American presidents in 60 secs?

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 12:23:38 GMT

From last Monday's Tore. Since DAIGO is grandson to former PM Takeshita, he was given the challenge of naming 7 American presidents in 60 secs or less, or before he gets mummified. He was able to throw in a joke in the midst of panic, saying, "Wait, Miyazawa-san is Japanese, right?

Higher res here. Can't seem to embed it for some reason.

PS. Ultraman Saga starts showing tomorrow! If you're in Japan, you can watch the movie at these theaters.　Project D34 also closes on Sunday, so if you wanna greet DAIGO, "Happy Birthday," please join!

Tinypic

yasu's thoughts and feelings about 『2012』

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 17:14:26 GMT

Acid Black Cherry 3rd Album [2012]

The album theme this time is, “to live”.

Well then, why is it [2012]?

This album is made up of stories with these 3 keywords as the axle,

[Present time]
[Prophecy of the Mayan Calendar]
[Doomsday clock]

First is [Present time]---

This of course, refers to this year being 2012.

Next is [Prophecy of the Mayan Calendar]---

It's been said that “the world will end” along with the end of the calendar used by the Mayan civilization which will be ending on 2012 December 22nd.

Then lastly is [Doomsday clock]---

The [Doomsday clock] changes according to world affairs.

In January this year, that needle of the [Doomsday clock] advanced by 1 minute, the news was spread around of it being pointed at “5 more minutes” until the end of the world.

So here once again, I want to formally convey the theme of this album again.

The theme of the album this time is, “to live”.

If the whole album titled [2012] is a metaphor of “the world that’s ending”, then the tracks it contain within it, are stories of “people who live in that world”.

All respective protagonists have dire ordeals befall them, and are desperately struggling through the hardships.

Such state will, perhaps be seen as uncool.

Perhaps it’ll be seen as very pitiful.

But, none of the protagonists who show up in the lyrics gave up on living.

Precisely because they didn’t give up on living, they desperately struggle to search with all their might, for their own “meaning to live”.

Then, one day, they will find out there is light beyond that point.

This album is by no means, something that sang of “the end of the world”.

Even when given an ordeal to the extent equal to the end of the world, “don’t give up on living”.

This very thing is the biggest message of [2012].

I’m happy if you can feel it even if just a little.

The doomsday clock which pointed to the remaining 5 minutes.

2+0+1+2 = 5.

I want to change this “5” into a “5” of hope, so there are 5 prayers included within the stories.

3 prayers of the young girl,
1 prayer of an angel
Prayers around the world as 1

I wish that the thoughts, and prayers, of all those people will become one someday.

It’s tough to live.

“But hey…by being alive, the future will surely change”

This has been the unchanging belief that Acid Black Cherry continues to sing of since the very beginning. Things that can only be done now.

Things that can’t be done unless it’s now.

Things that can be done because you’re living the present.

The meaning of the title [2012], lies there.

Someday, in the far off future when the current “year of 2012” will become the past, when you listen to [2012] again, I think it’d be good if there will be a scene where you will be recounting “2012 was such a year, huh” with a smile. After all, the world continued on without ending at that time, because everyone living with a smile in that future, is the very evidence [of that].

An album filled with such message from yasu.

We wholeheartedly want this [2012] to reach everyone.

Believe in the future where you exist--.

~TEAM ABC

Source

The artworks for the story telling in this album's booklet are beautiful, just like this album overall.

Acid Black Cherry reveals the PV for the 0th single, Kimi ga Iru Kara

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 12:42:58 GMT

Source

Related article regarding this single can be found here.

Kimura Takuya’s driver’s license suspended for speeding

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 09:43:41 GMT

by ustaron March 15, 2012 at 5:48 am

On March 14th, it was revealed that SMAP member Kimura Takuya was caught speeding twice in the past 6 months. Because of these two violations, his driver’s license has been suspended.

Johnny’s Entertainment confirmed this news after it was reported in the March 15th issue of weekly tabloid magazine, “Shukan Bushun“. According to the agency, Kimura was caught driving 20 km/h (12mph) over the posted speed limit in Chiba last September and in Tokyo earlier this year. He has paid the fines for both violations.

Regarding Kimura’s actions, Johnny’s Entertainment commented, “Kimura himself deeply regrets that he has done something shameful as an adult. He expresses his deepest apologies.”

Source

DAIGO gives chocolates to Daian girls for White Day.

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 13:43:49 GMT

March 12 -- talento Ando Seiko publishes a blog entry entitled, "☆DAIGOさんから★" (From DAIGO-san). In it, she talks about the shooting of BS FUJI TV show Cunning no Daian★Kichijitsu held on the previous day, and a box of chocolates she received from DAIGO. Below is a translation of a part of her entry:

Yesterday, I was writing my post-shoot thoughts for the home page like always when

DAIGO-san came to my dressing room!!

He said, "Senya~ for White Day,"

And gave me a cute box of chocolates.

The packaging's super duper cute!

So I thought, and when I opened the lid

Cute chocolates!

So cute I feel like it's a waste to eat them!

I gladly received them.

DAIGO gave out chocolates to all the Daian girls.

That consideration for others makes him such a fine guy!

The rest of her entry can be found here.

DAIGO hosts the show Cunning no Daian★Kichijitsu along with Cunning Takeyama and Yasu Megumi. It airs on BS Fuji every Monday, from 12-12:30 p.m, with repeat broadcasts on Sunday, 9 a.m. and Monday, 4 a.m.

----

I pass by a Godiva shop on my way home everyday and actually, I've been eying their White Day displays. The box of chocolates DAIGO gave out costs around ￥3,990 each.

BRZFan

UPDATE 2: Strong quake shakes northern Japan

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 11:40:44 GMT

TOKYO (AP) –A strong earthquake shook northern Japan on Wednesday evening, causing small tidal changes on its Pacific coastline but no damage or injury was reported.

Several towns issued evacuation orders or advisories to residents nearest the coast. A swelling of 20 centimeters (8 inches) was observed in the port of Hachinohe in Aomori, northern Japan, about one hour after the quake struck the region. Smaller changes were also reported in several locations on Hokkaido island and Aomori prefecture.

The agency lifted all tsunami advisories about an hour and half later.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the tremor was 6.8 magnitude. An aftershock of magnitude 5.9 struck followed about two hours later.

The town of Otsuchi in Iwate prefecture, where more than 800 died in last year's tsunami, issued an evacuation order to all households along the coast as a precaution, said prefectural disaster management official Shinichi Motoyama. No damage or injury was reported from the quake so far, he said.

Iwate was heavily damaged by last year's earthquake and tsunami. Thousands of aftershocks have shaken the region since then, nearly all of them of minor or moderate strength.

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 left some 19,000 people dead or missing.

Japan marked the first anniversary of the disasters on Sunday, as the country still struggles to rebuild.

Wednesday's tremor was centered about 146 miles (235 kilometers) south of Kushiro, Japan, on Hokkaido island. It was a relatively shallow 6 miles (10 kilometers) below the sea surface.

The quake was not felt in Tokyo, and there was no threat of a Pacific-wide tsunami.

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-03-14/Japan-earthquake-tsunami/53522162/1

Posted via LiveJournal app for Android.

Jang Geun AKI vs. Bae Yong DAIGO?! BREAKERZ' GO! GO! Valentine (Tokyo) Concert Report

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 07:41:52 GMT

GO! GO! Valentine was a series of fan club concerts held in February at the following locations: Fukuoka, Sapporo, Nagoya, Tokyo and Osaka. The Tokyo concert was held in Feb. 8, at the Stellar Ball in Shinagawa.

If you ask me what the difference between a regular BREAKERZ concert and an FC one is, the simple answer is that the latter has more MC. Like any other band/artist, BREAKERZ show fan club members, in DAIGO's words, "the BREAKERZ that we don't usually get to see," and for the concert I attended, that meant a set list including a lot of their pre-debut (and pre-BREAKERZ )songs topped with a bunch of humorous skits.

The first surprise the band had in store for the fans was the costumes they came out it. Much like last year's concert series, they used different costume themes for each venue. For Tokyo, they dressed up as policemen, with SHINPEI as a rookie officer and AKIHIDE as assistant inspector, both under DAIGO's command. SHINPEI entered aiming his pistol at the audience, AKIHIDE with a march and a salute, and DAIGO announcing that they've come to maintain the peace of Shinagawa, and that they'd arrest anyone who would fail to enjoy the excitement.

They started the concert with EMILY with a lot of DAIGO's moaning. (Yay!) This was followed by Kamisori -- a personal favorite. After these two, they paused for MC, and resuming their policemen set-up DAIGO asked the audience if they wanted to be arrested. When the audience replied positively, DAIGO joked, "Really? Are you sure? Can you do my laundry? Prepare a hot bath for me? Change my socks?" Hmm, maybe you need a maid, DAIGO, not a prisoner.

The next set of songs included Kimi no Koe ga Kikoeru, Let ecstasy be ours, FAKE LOVE, and JOKER. DAIGO said the they included their older material in the set list because one of the post-concert questionnaires they got said that the person who answered it didn't know their older songs very much. "Oi, chanto kiite yo, minna" (Hey, you guys should listen to them) he said, laughing.

They played ORION and Day Soldier afterwards. They thought well to serve us with AKIHIDE-flavored songs before they went to the next part, which mostly elicited laughter: BREAKERZ Radio.

As the band exited the stage, the lights dimmed, and a recording of DAIGO as "DJ D" played. DJ D introduced the segment as "BREAKERZ Radio" wherein he announced their "favorite songs ranking". No. 6 was Kyari Pamyu Pamyu's Tsukema Tsukeru. No song was played but DJ D made a tongue twister of the name.

No. 5 was introduced as a "miraculous collaboration". DJ D's background music faded out, and suddenly Jang Geun Suk's "Let Me Cry" played. Out came AKIHIDE in an all-white suit (Hikari costume) lip-synching to the chorus of the song. When the song stopped, he copied Jang Geun Suk's, "Japanese women? I hate them. Kidding!" He did a surprisingly good impression, speaking in Japanese with a Korean accent and JGS' manner of delivering a line seriously and breaking out into a huge smile afterwards. When he got to the part about "Japanese fans being unagi" Winter Sonata's theme played and out came DAIGO in Bae Yong Joon costume. Bae Yong DAIGO argued that Japanese women are kazoku (family) and not unagi and that a newbie like JGS wouldn't really know (These unagi and kazoku references are from Jang Geun Suk and Bae Yong Joon's previous press conferences/media appearances). The skit ended with them making up and "singing" to Winter Sonata's theme arm in arm. I say "singing" because they didn't really know the lyrics and were muttering gibberish.

No. 4 featured SHINPEI, who did a heated performance of Tomoyasu Hotei's BATTLE WITHOUT HONOR OR HUMANITY, from then movie Kill Bill. The audience broke into applause and hoots as he played the last note, and shouts of cheer filled the hall.

DJ D then introduced no.3, which welcomed AKIHIDE back to the stage. It's funny how AKIHIDE has the opposite effect on people. Once he entered, the people hushed into silence, as if wanting to savor every word he spoke and every note he played. He started by saying that a guitar can produce a lot of sounds. First, he said that a guitar can sound like a drum, and he started tapping his guitar as if it were a cajon drum. Then, he made it sound like a keyboard. Finally, he played an acoustic rendition of NEVER LAND's Kage Fumi, singing and playing guitar at the same time over a backing track of percussion and keyboard.

It was as if time stood still when he played. I've wanted to hear him sing and play a NEVER LAND song for so long I couldn't help but be captured by the moment. I'll say this though. The Akihide we hear in the recorded version of Kage Fumi is a boy who sings about the light and darkness of one's coming of age. The AKIHIDE I heard and saw during that performance was a grown man who spoke of a story he once was. Needless to say, it was a magical moment, and the audience was so entranced that his last note echoed before building an applause that broke the silence.

When DJ D announced no.2, the support members came back to the stage with DAIGO, who had an acoustic guitar strapped on. They played DAIGO☆STARDUST's DAISY. Finally, the band's latest single Miss Mystery was introduced as BREAKERZ Radio's no. 1, and with that, all members came back to the stage to play the song.

They paused for MC after that. DAIGO told the audience that backstage they were scurrying here and there, running around half naked as they tried to put together their costumes together. He then teased us, asking if we wanted to see that too. Most of the audience said yes; the lady behind me shouted, "I wanna see Shinpii's [half-naked body]!!" After asking us several times and getting the same answer, DAIGO said, "Like we'd do that. Maybe next time."

The band then played Mr. Yes Man, WAKE UP MY SOUL, Shakunetsu, and DESTROY CRASHER, wrapping up the set of songs before the encore.

The lights dimmed as the band exited the stage and the audience began shouting for an encore. When the members came back, they asked us to do the "member call". DAIGO explained this member call was born from the FC concerts, and per tradition they had to do it again. Simply explained, the member call is a sort of member intro, with both members and audience participating. They fashioned theirs after female pop idol groups. (Think Perfume, AKB48, etc.)

First was SHINPEI's:

SHINPEI: Sanji no oyatsu wa? (trans. A 3 o'clock snack)
Audience: Kaki-P! (Persimmon-P!)
SHINPEI: Itsudemo sumairu? (Always smiling)
Audience: Happy!
SHINPEI: Macho-na ore wa? (I'm so macho)
Audience: Shinpii!

Then came AKIHIDE's, which he did reluctantly. Yasu once said that AKIHIDE feels uncomfortable being called "AKI-sama", but lets it slide anyway because it's a BREAKERZ thing.

AKIHIDE: Aishiteru. (trans. I love you.)
Audience: AKI-sama!
AKIHIDE: Kisu shitai. (I wanna kiss you.)
Audience: AKI-sama!
AKIHIDE: Sawatte. (Touch me.)
Audience: AKI-sama!
AKIHIDE: Maji dakara. (C'mon now.)
Audience: AKI-sama!

So went his A-KI-SA-MA intro. Finally, DAIGO's turn came, which was the err, simplest of all.

Dai-ichi! ( trans. No.1)
Dai-ni! (No.2)
Dai-san! (No.3)
Dai-yon! (No.4)
Dai-GO! (No.5)
Wish!

It was too simple that it gave a "That's it?!" feeling afterwards. DAIGO made up for it by impersonating a typical female pop idol, saying in a young girl's voice, "I'm just a newbie, but I'll work hard." It was only after that that the audience laughed.

Really. It makes one think that had DAIGO been female, he'd have probably been an idol. You only need to watch his music guestings to catch him singing along to female pop songs. In fact, he was singing along to Matsuda Seiko in his last HEY! HEY! HEY! appearance.

After the member call, DAIGO also talked about Makoto's (support drummer) birthday and told us that no one on the stage is in his 20s anymore. He also said that he noticed the male members of the FC have increased. At this, a guy from AKI's side of the audience shouted with vigor, "AKIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!" We all laughed. I was on AKIHIDE's side of the audience the last time, and I think it's the same guy who stood behind me. He's very enthusiastic when it comes to shouting AKIHIDE's name.

DAIGO then asked us the female audience to raise their hands, and said that all of us were princesses on that night, signaling the start of the next song, CRYSTAL NIGHT. (Personally, I refer to this song as the Sleazy Cinderella number, given the lyrics). The choreography for the song was based on Para Para, and we all danced to it.

"B.R.Z Ashita e no Kakyou" followed, supposedly the last song but since we asked for more, they played NEXT LEVEL, ending the concert in heat.

BREAKERZ' next concerts are schedule on April 8 and May 11, DAIGO and SHINPEI's birthdays respectively. If you want to send them your birthday messages, you can try joining this. For guidelines on joining the fan club, you can check the official website, or apply directly using a Loppi machine.

Report: The Blue Hearth
Pictures: DAIGO's blog, SHINPEI's blog

Rurouni Kenshin trailer (English subtitles)

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 05:40:00 GMT

There are also versions in French, Spanish, and Chinese.

Digest Video 03 for BREAKERZ LIVE 2011 DVD

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 04:06:47 GMT

Subtitle says, "Don't miss the chance to see the members' 'real faces' featured only in this DVD". (Added quotations. Just because.)

Source: BREAKERZ LIVE DVD 2011 Special Website

D-BOYS members to star in drama series “D×TOWN”

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 03:28:20 GMT

6 members of acting troupe D-BOYS (and its affiliated unit D2) will star in a new TV Tokyo drama series called “D×TOWN,” it has been announced. The series will consist of 6 stories, each starring a different member and each directed by a veteran or up-and-coming movie director. Each of the stories is scheduled to last one month long, so TV Tokyo will broadcast the show from the start of April until the end of September.

The stories will each have the same theme of a “town.” The first, titled “Spiders Now,” will be a youthful tale set in Kokura in Kitakyushu. Igarashi Shunji will play a member of an amateur band called Spiders From Earth. Aoyama Shinji (“Eureka,” “Sad Vacation”) will direct.

The second, titled “Taiyou wa Matte Kurenai,” will be set in Yokosuka, starring Suzuki Hiroki. Maeda Koji (“Konzen Tokkyuu”) will direct.

TV Tokyo will air the drama series in a late night Friday time slot, beginning April 6. The story details known at this time are listed below.

Spiders Now (April)
Setting: Kokura, Kitakyushu
Starring Igarashi Shunji, directed by Aoyama Shinji
Cast: NOMA, Adachi Osamu (D-BOYS), Shibukawa Kiyohiko, Mitsuishi Ken, Saito Yoichiro
Taiyou wa Matte Kurenai (May)
Setting: Yokosuka
Starring Suzuki Hiroki, directed by Maeda Jiro
Cast: Hamano Kenta, Uno Shohei, Takanashi Rin, Sato Hiroko, Shirota Yu, Kishii Yukino
Title TBA (June)
Setting: TBA
Starring Yamada Yuki, directed by Tsukikawa Sho
Title TBA (July)
Setting: Minatomirai, Yokohama
Starring Seto Koji, directed by Shiota Akihiko
Kokonone (August)
Setting: TBA
Starring Endo Yuya, directed by Mishima Yukiko
Konseki ya (September)
Setting: Koganecho, Yokohama
Starring Yanagishita Tomo, directed by Sasabe Kiyoshi

Source: Tokyograph

Acid Black Cherry's 『2012』 teaser!

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:17:19 GMT

Tracklist:
01) ~until~
02) Fallin' Angel
03) in the Mirror
04) ピストル (Pisutoru, Pistol)
05) 少女の祈りIII ~『2012』ver.~ (Shoujo no Inori III, A Girl's Prayer III)
06) Re:birth
07) 指輪物語 (Yubiwa Monogatari, Tale of The Ring)
08) CRISIS
09) ~the day~
10) その日が来るまで (Sono Hi ga Kuru Made, Until The Day Comes)
11) so…Good night.
12) doomsday clock
13) 蝶 (Chou, Butterfly)
14) イエス (Iesu, Yes)
15) シャングリラ (Shangurira, Shangri-La)
16) ~comes~

As mentioned earlier, the album details and pre-order links can be found here.

Source

Consulate-General of Japan to vist LA; Yoshiki of X Japan to give speach

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 02:19:40 GMT

To convey our heartfelt gratitude for the support we received after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, the Consulate-General of Japan in Los Angeles and Japan Business Association of Southern California will hold a public appreciation event -- "Japan. Endless Discovery." -- on March 10, 2012.

Come and find "your Japan" by visiting booths featuring Japanese cutting edge technology, delicious and healthy food, charming characters, traditional culture, and trending fashion and pop culture. Meet and take a photo with Hello Kitty!

Date: Saturday, March 10, 2012

Time:: 12:00 - 20:00

Place: The Grove in L.A. 189 The Grove Drive Los Angeles, CA 90036

Source: http://www.la.us.emb-japan.go.jp/EventsPictures/310event2.JPG

Posted via LiveJournal app for Android.

Charming Ultra D and Muscle Party! BREAKERZ announce more details for their upcoming birthday concer

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 11:07:05 GMT

Title: SPRING PARTY 2012 DAIGO's Birthday ～Transform!! Charming Ultra D～
Date: 2012.4.8 (Sun)
Venue: TOKYO DOME CITY HALL
Open 17:15/Start 18:00
General Sale of Tickets: 2012.3.24 (Sat)
Price: Arena (Standing)/ Balcony (Reserved Seating) ￥5,250　(tax in) ※Drink not included/No admission for children under school age
Price:　All-standing ￥5,250　(tax in) ※Drink not included/No admission for children under school age

Ticket Outlets:
・Ticket Pia (P Code: 163-199)　Phone: 0570-02-9999　PC：http://t.pia.jp/
Mobile: http://mc.pia.jp/t/
・Lawson Ticket (L Code: 53684)　Phone: 0570-084-005　PC&Mobile：http://l-tike.com/
・E-plus: PC&Mobile：http://eplus.jp
For inquiries related to the concert, contact Kyōdō Information at 06-7732-8888.

【SPRING PARTY 2012 DAIGO's Birthday～Transform!! Charming Ultra D～】HP Reservation
■Application Period
2012.3.8 (Thur) 12:00 ～ 2012.3.12 (Sun) 13:00

■Results
2012.3.12(Sun) Nighttime　※Information will be sent through e-mail.
※If you do not receive any e-mail from us after the release, please check the results on the page, "Change of address/See results" (address indicated below).

■Application Procedure
・Applications will be accepted through DISK GARAGE's internet ticket sales site, "GET TICKET."
・New users must register an account at GET TICKET (free).
・For more details, please check the website.

■To apply 【PC・Mobile】
http://www.getticket.jp/g?t=ek7p8iz
※Applications may only be carried out through the above link. The home pages of DISK GARAGE and GET TICKET do not receive applications.

■Change of address/See results
＜PC＞　http://www.getticket.jp/touroku/confirm.html
＜Mobile＞http://k.getticket.jp/cs/u01.php

【For ticket inquiries】
DISK GARAGE　050-5533-0888(Weekdays12:00-19:00)
※BREAKERZ' official website and/or the fan club staff will not be able to entertain ticket inquiries.

Title: MUSCLE PARTY 2012 SHINPEI's Birthday ～Let's Go! May Muscle Party!～
Date: 2012.5.11 (Fri)
Venue: Osaka umeda AKASO
Start18:15/Open19:00
General Sale of Tickets: 2012.4.14 (Sat)
Price: All-standing ￥5,250　(tax in) ※Drink not included/No admission for children under school age
Ticket Outlets：
・Ticket Pia (P Code:163-199)　Phone：0570-02-9999　PC：http://t.pia.jp/
Mobile：http://mc.pia.jp/t/
・Lawson Ticket (L Code: 53684）　Phone：0570-084-005　PC&Mobile：http://l-tike.com/
・CN Playguide　No.: 0570-08-9999　PC&Mobile：http://www.cnplayguide.com/
・E-plus PC&Mobile：http://eplus.jp
For inquiries related to the concert, contact Kyōdō Information at 06-7732-8888.

※The birthday concerts are not limited to FC members.
※Direct mails were sent on Feb 17 (Fri) to FC members whose memberships are valid until 2012.01.31.
→The ticket reservation period for FC members has elapsed.

Source: BREAKERZ HP
Translation: BRZFan

For DAIGO's birthday project, see this. SHINPEI's will start in April. For BRZFan's past projects, see this. AKI's is my personal favorite. ;P

Title and concert details for BREAKERZ’ 5th anniversary concert, revealed.

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 10:02:11 GMT

Title: BREAKERZ 5th Anniversary Concert “WISH 4U”
Date: 2012.7.27 (Fri)
Venue: Nippon Budōkan
Open17:30/Start 18:30
General Sale of Tickets: 2012.7.7 (Sat)
Price: Reserved Seating ￥6,300(tax in)※Paid admission for children ages 5 and up; Children ages 4 and below may obtain free admission, provided they will sit on their guardian's lap (admission fee will be charged otherwise)
Ticket Outlets:
・Ticket Pia(P Code：163-814)　Phone：0570-02-9999　PC：http://t.pia.jp/
Mobile：http://mc.pia.jp/t/
・Lawson Ticket(L Code：70978)　Phone：0570-084-003　PC&Mobile：http://l-tike.com/
・E-plus：PC&Mobile：http://eplus.jp
For inquiries about the concert: DISK GARAGE Phone：050-5533-0888

Source: BREAKERZ HP
Translation: BRZFan

I've already bought a ticket for this, drop me a line if you're going too and you wanna meet up. :)

CARDFIGHT!! Vanguard gets live action tanpatsu drama; DAIGO to play the lead role

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 13:39:47 GMT

Currently with ongoing anime and manga adaptations, Bushiroad's popular trading card game, CARDFIGHT!! Vanguard, is to get a live action drama adaptation this May. This was announced during the event CARDFIGHT!! Vanguard Special Conference 3 - Limit Break - held today, March 6. It was also announced during the event that the card game's image character, DAIGO, is to play the lead role.

The live action drama will air this May 3 (Thursday/Holiday) on TV Tokyo, from 8:30 to 10 a.m., a total of 90 minutes. DAIGO will be joined by a cast consisting of Sōma Shinta, Uchiyama Haruki, Mimori Suzuko, Nagasawa Nao, Namioka Kazuki, and Kanayama Kazuhiko. The drama is to be directed by Motoki Takahashi.

DAIGO tweeted right after the conference, and the keywords DAIGO and CARDFIGHT!! Vanguard Live Action trended on Twipple afterwards. Fans expressed their expectations and doubts, anticipating the upcoming drama.

Source: Narinari, DAIGO's blog
Translation: BRZFan
Related: Wanna make DAIGO's 34th special? ;)

TOKIO’s Yamaguchi Tatsuya is determined to rebuild the ‘DASH Village’ in Fukushima

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 01:16:54 GMT

On the NTV show called ‘The! Tetsuwan! DASH!!‘, the members of TOKIO were once able to personally experience an unspoiled lifestyle at the so-called ‘DASH Village’ in Namie, Fukushima. It has actually been one year now, since the village had to be shutdown due to the Great Tohoku Earthquake, but there is one member who is really determined to open it again someday, Yamaguchi Tatsuya.

Yamaguchi was filming in Namie when the Great Tohoku Earthquake hit Japan and heavily damaged the town one year ago. Moreover the town is too close to the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant and had to get evacuated due to the radiation threat.

The producers of the show had no hope of ever being able to return to the DASH Village in Namie, but Yamaguchi couldn’t just watch and decided to move on his own. One of his first experiments included the decontamination of the sunflowers.

In February 2012, Yamaguchi also traveled to Ukraine and Belarus in order to collect data on the Chernobyl disaster.
One thing he was impressed with the most was the large-scale migration of all the farmers in the area. “Japanese people would never be able to just abandon the land they’ve been working on for who knows how many decades,” he said.

Furthermore he was amazed about how much the locals know about radioactive materials thanks to radiation and agricultural training. “I think we have to study more about it in Japan, because it’s very important to know everything about your enemy. After all we can’t just abandon Fukushima.”

With the help of the show, it shouldn’t be a problem to collect enough money to rebuild and to decontaminate the whole village, but there is another problem that makes Yamaguchi very anxious. Everything is going to become meaningless if the people from the village don’t want to return together with them. “Whenever I feel this way, I recall my dream of wanting to be able to take a nap on the veranda of the DASH Village again someday.”

On March 11th, the show is going to talk about this matter with a live broadcast from Kawamata, Fukushima (district west of Namie). Yamaguchi will also share his impressions from Chernobyl.

sourcE: TOKYOHIVE