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We’re Back!
Now that the Okinawan Festival is done, there’s a lot to catch up on. First off is trying out a new theme for the blog!
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Two New Nendoroids from Okinawa Anime to be Released
We believe this is a first. The popular hobby series Nendoroid always has a lot of upcoming releases and fans of the series and of anime may have felt snubbed that only Miyazawa Fuuka (from the anime Aquatope on White Sand) was released instead of the Okinawan character Misakino Kukuru. So in Quarter 3 they…
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Parsha cluB to Release New Eisaa Collection Album
Longtime readers of Karakui/Riccin know that we’re BIG fans of Parsha cluB. We view the band as a bridge between Rinken Band and BEGIN, and also as a link to new music created by Yonaha Toru and others. So it’s with great pleasure that we see a new 30th anniversary album from them of eisaa…
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Nakasone Hajime’s Amazing 2023
One of the nicest and humblest humans we’ve met, Nakasone Hajime is having an amazing 2023 and it’s much deserved. He recently announced his marriage and now he has a new album “En” that will be released on June 3rd. Can you believe that it’s already been 7 years since his previous album “Ten” was…
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Alicia Ang’s “Echoes from an Island”
A book about Okinawa? We’re all in! Alicia Ang’s “Echoes from an Island” is the author’s self-published book debut featuring poems and short stories with Okinawa as its theme. The book’s introduction mentions that Alicia was working on a YA (young adult) historical fantasy with the protagonist starting off as a refugee in Okinawa —…
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Seven Oops New Single “Yoake” Has a Full Music Video
“Yoake” (released 3/13) is the 3-piece Okinawa pop rock band Seven Oops‘s 14th single and their first release in 3 years! The song is amazing and we’ve had it on repeat since its release. The topping on the cake is that the band recently released a full music video for “Yoake” that has us feeling…
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HoRookies “Dawn” to be the Main Theme Song for the Film “Yō izuru”
Okinawa pop rock band HoRookies announced on Instagram that their single “Dawn” will be the main theme song for the film “Yō izuru (Sunrise)”. The film will have its world premiere in the upcoming 15th Okinawa International Movie Festival on April 15th. We’re looking forward to listening to the new songs and hopefully we’ll be…
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The Session from Toki no Suisaiga (YouTube)
Toki no Suisaiga is one of those special programs that I wish were translated into more languages. It has such amazing episodes. For their The Session series (it’s preceded by two full seasons), it features collaborations between traditional performing arts musicians with modern artists/musicians. In episode #14 (pictured above), we see the Luchu Kuuchoo performed…
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Brandon Ufugusuku Ing’s New Single “Miji”
Brandon is out with a new single “Miji”! This song was written not only as a response to the water crisis situation at Kapūkakī, also known as Red Hill on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, but also to the situation in Okinawa. There too, the drinking water is being poisoned by the US military. The…
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New Okinawa Cellular CM Features Matsuda Ruka
Okinawa Cellular and model/actress Matsuda Ruka are back together with a new CM for their au Pay service! As you know, we were big fans of their previous CM collaboration that featured one of our favorite songs of 2022, “Alive” by Anly. This time it’s a cute commercial with their deer mascot and Ruka sings…
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