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SPEED’s Imai has new movie role – Tokyograph
Eriko Imai, of the recently reunited group SPEED, has been given her first film appearance since five years ago. The movie is ‘Yuzuriha ~Kimi mo Mata Tsugi no Kimi e~,’ directed by Kentaro Hayase. The picture is a 60th-anniversary project of the Japanese Federation of the Deaf. Imai recently revealed that her 3-year-old son Raimu…
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Charts: Amuro #1 for third straight week – Tokyograph
Namie Amuro has firmly re-established herself as one of the top pop queens, achieving her third consecutive week at #1 on the album charts. Her ‘BEST FICTION’ collection debuted with the highest opening sales so far this year, and with another 153,000 copies sold this past week, the album has become her 5th million-seller. Her…
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Airi Taira to be Kanna in “20th Century Boys”
Director Yukihiko Tsutsumi’s ’20th Century Boys’ movie trilogy has officially revealed its heroine. Toho announced on Sunday that the role of Kanna, the niece of the protagonist Kenji (Toshiaki Karasawa), will be played by 23-year-old actress Airi Taira, who was selected by audition from a pool of around 3,000 hopefuls. Although Kanna’s part in the…
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Ueto joins Akanishi on “Speed Racer” – Tokyograph
Aya Ueto has been chosen as the female lead in the Japanese dub of the ‘Speed Racer’ movie. She will provide the voice for Speed’s girlfriend Trixie, who is played by Christina Ricci. Jin Akanishi has already been revealed as the voice of Emile Hirsch’s Speed. The Japanese version will hit theaters on July 5.…
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Animated “Kitaro” movie gets 6 regional versions – Tokyograph
The animated movie ‘Gegege no Kitaro: Nihon Bakuretsu!!’ (directed by Go Koga) will mark a first in Japanese film history. It is getting a total of 6 different versions, each catering to a specific region in Japan. One of the changes between versions is the character of Neko Musume, who will have a different appearance…
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Gackt’s Hollywood debut – Tokyograph
Musician Gackt will act in his first Hollywood film. The movie, titled ‘Bunraku,’ is an action film written and directed by Guy Moshe, starring Josh Hartnett and Demi Moore. The film is named after a type of traditional Japanese puppet theater, but the universe it is set in also draws inspiration from origami, video games,…
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Chitose Hajime sings “Climber’s High” image song – Tokyograph
Chitose Hajime’s next single ‘Hotaruboshi’ will be the image song for Masato Harada’s movie ‘Climber’s High,’ which is based on Hideo Yokoyama’s novel about the crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123. ‘Hotaruboshi’ was written, composed, and arranged by Sukima Switch’s Shintaro Tokita. The single will be released on July 2, three days before ‘Climber’s High’…
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Desktop: Gori in “Utatama”
Here’s a desktop for your Mac/PC of Gori’s new film, “Utatama,” which opens in theaters nationwide in Japan on April 5, 2008. “Utatama” also stars Kaho as a chorus student who doubts the “coolness” of it after being told that she looks like a salmon when she sings (you’ll have to check out the trailer…
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Comedian Yoshio Kojima to make film debut – oppappii!
Popular comedian Yoshio Kojima (Kumejima, Okinawa) will be making his film debut in the SF love/comedy flick “Kami-sama no Pazuru (Puzzle)” which will hit theaters in Japan on June 7, 2008. The film will be directed by Takashi Miike and stars Hayato Ichihara (“Check It Out Yo!!“) and Mitsuki Tanimura. Not sure where Kojima’s going…
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Yui Aragaki leads ouendan in next film – Tokyograph
Rising actress Yui Aragaki, who recently picked up several film awards, has been cast in her next project. She will star in Kensaku Watanabe’s ‘Fure Fure Shojo,’ which is scheduled to open this September. Aragaki plays Momoko, a high school bookworm who longs for the type of romance found in the novels she reads. One…
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