The latest issue of weekly magazine Friday revealed that popular AV idol Sora Aoi is living together with big funnyman Jiro Hachimitsu, one half of the manzai duo Tokyo Dynamite. Their respective management agencies have confirmed the relationship.

Masahiro Matsuoka of pop group TOKIO will star in a Fuji TV special drama in January. The drama is titled "Shin Oishinbo," and is a revival of the "Oishinbo" drama series that ran from 1995 to 1999, which itself was based on a manga by Tetsu Kariya. Renowned actor Ken Matsudaira and talento Yuka will also appear in the drama. The episode airs on January 20 at 9:00pm.

Online registration for Anime Expo 2007 is now available. This time, AX will be held at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, CA. Until December 31, a 4-day pass costs $45. Shorter passes are currently available as well: $50 for a 2-day pass (except Sunday/Monday which is $40), $25 for a Friday or Sunday pass, $30 for a Saturday pass, and $20 for a Monday pass. Register at the Anime Expo website.

The Right Stuf has a promotional "12+ Days of Christmas" sale running which offers one item a day at a heavily discounted price, for twelve days. The sale started on December 4, but all deals are available until midnight on December 24. The twelfth item, revealed today, is the Samurai Champloo DVD Box Set for only $79.99 (a 60% savings off the standard retail price). See the full list of deals at The Right Stuf website.

Earlier this week, Broccoli confirmed that it has acquired the licenses to three manga titles: Murder Princess, Coyote Ragtime Show, and Hakoiri Devil Princess.