-
TV: ‘Gokusen 3’ in April 2008
Yankumi, played brilliantly by actress Yukie Nakama, will be returning to the classroom in April 2008 with its third installment. The popular J-drama (pulled in a whopping 32.5% viewership) airs on the Nippon Terebi network which is celebrating its 55th anniversary and hopes to make it big with “Gokusen 3”, returning three years after season…
-
Yui, please be my girlfriend
According to an Oricon survey, ‘Koibito ni shitai hito’ (the person you want as your boy/girlfriend), uber-popular actress Yui Aragaki (Gakky) took the top spot in the ranking which also featured fellow Uchinanchu Yukie Nakama (#4) and Aya Ueto (#6). It’s no surprise to see her rank at the top because she’s definitely cute and…
-
Yu Yamada cast as Nodame’s rival – Tokyograph
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…
-
Film: J-pop singer Beni Arashiro to make her big screen debut in 2008
With an upcoming single called “BIG BANG” picked as the theme song for TBS’ live American Football broadcast in March of next year, J-pop singer Beni Arashiro will be making her big screen debut in the movie “Bura Bura Ban Ban” based on a manga of the same name. The movie is set to begin…
-
Film: Garage Sale’s Gori to star in upcoming Kiriya film
Gori (or Gorie) of the comedic duo Garage Sale has been cast in director Katsuaki Kiriya’s (“Casshern”) upcoming film “Goemon.” The film, about a legendary 16th century ninja named Goemon Ishikawa, is set to be released in 2009. Gori will be playing the role of ninja Sasuke Sarutobi. (Via Twitch.)
-
Blogs worth subscribing to from Vision Factory’s artists
Vision Factory, which manages artists like J-hip-pop queen Namie Amuro, has a listing of blogs (Namie is unfortunately not on the list) up on their site. The great thing is that a few of these blogs contain video clips (so they’re closer to vlogs). Below are a few of my faves: hiro (ex-SPEED) – ‘Constanze…
-
On Gakky’s 20th birthday – karii (cheers)!
A recent entry titled “Ichio” (いちお) on Yui Aragaki’s (Gakky) blog mentions that the actress will turn ’20’ (the legal drinking age in Japan) in seven months (June 11th to be exact) and she already has a special Ryukyu glass (pictured above and comes via her blog) that she wants to drink awamori from. Oh,…
-
Music: Respect Record to release Seijin Noborikawa original album in January 2008
Respect Record has been the record label most associated with original album releases (as opposed to compilations or reissues of an artist’s earlier recordings) of artists from Okinawa that’s readily available outside of Okinawa on say iTunes or from my personal favorite online stores like CDJapan. The label’s release of Seijin Noborikawa’s fantastic “Spiritual Unity”…
-
Music: FUZZY Quartet Row, J-rock
Always on the lookout for new music from Okinawa, bounce.com has a write-up on an upcoming band called FUZZY Quartet Row (or ‘FQR’) who are signed to the HIGHWAVE — the same label of popular rock band MONGOL800. A single of FQR’s, “Mahiru no Hoshizora”, is being streamed on the band’s MySpace page. FQR have…
-
Community: Congratulations to Kenton Odo, June Nakama and Calvin Nakama
There’s a nice story by Steve Murray on Midweek.com (‘SHAMISEN’) on the accomplishments of three musicians from Hawaii who are “the first foreigners to earn a master’s certificate in the Okinawan shamisen.” Definitely worth a read. All three musicians will be performing in Hawaii on Tuesday, November 27 as part of the 14th annual TOBE!…
Karakui 