Fri, July 13, 2007 (8:24pm EDT)
July 15 marks the anniversary of the launch of the Famicom in Japan, a date known as "Famicom Day" to many gamers. With this in mind, research firm Oricon conducted a survey of 1,000 people, asking them which Famicom game or series they found memorable.
The leading answer was the "Super Mario Bros." series, unsurprisingly. #2 was the "Dragon Quest" series, which was the first RPG for many people. #3 was Technos' "Kunio-kun" franchise, better known to those outside of Japan as the family of games encompassing "Renegade," "Super Dodge Ball," and "River City Ransom."
The next six spots in the ranking were also taken by various series: "Family Stadium" ("RBI Baseball"), "Final Fantasy," "Donkey Kong," "Bomberman," "Ice Climber" (a non-series), and the "Kirby" games.
Tied for tenth were the "Momotaro Dentetsu" series, the "Mega Man" series, "Tetris," "Excitebike," and Takeshi Kitano's infamous "Takeshi no Chousenjou" ("Takeshi's Challenge").
The leading answer was the "Super Mario Bros." series, unsurprisingly. #2 was the "Dragon Quest" series, which was the first RPG for many people. #3 was Technos' "Kunio-kun" franchise, better known to those outside of Japan as the family of games encompassing "Renegade," "Super Dodge Ball," and "River City Ransom."
The next six spots in the ranking were also taken by various series: "Family Stadium" ("RBI Baseball"), "Final Fantasy," "Donkey Kong," "Bomberman," "Ice Climber" (a non-series), and the "Kirby" games.
Tied for tenth were the "Momotaro Dentetsu" series, the "Mega Man" series, "Tetris," "Excitebike," and Takeshi Kitano's infamous "Takeshi no Chousenjou" ("Takeshi's Challenge").
Fri, July 13, 2007 (7:57pm EDT)
V6's Go Morita will star in a theater production early next year, organized by the troupe Gekidan Shinkansen. The play is part of director Hidenori Inoue's "Inoue Kabuki" series.
"Inoue Kabuki: Go Izo" is based on the life of Okada Izo, a famous assassin from the Bakumatsu period (late Edo period). Izo will be played by Morita. This is his first lead theater role since he last worked with Inoue in "AraJinn" in 2005.
The cast includes Erika Toda (in her first theater role), Seiichi Tanabe, and Tokuma Nishioka. In January, the work will be performed at the Aoyama Theatre in Tokyo. It will move to the Theater BRAVA! in Osaka the following month.
"Inoue Kabuki: Go Izo" is based on the life of Okada Izo, a famous assassin from the Bakumatsu period (late Edo period). Izo will be played by Morita. This is his first lead theater role since he last worked with Inoue in "AraJinn" in 2005.
The cast includes Erika Toda (in her first theater role), Seiichi Tanabe, and Tokuma Nishioka. In January, the work will be performed at the Aoyama Theatre in Tokyo. It will move to the Theater BRAVA! in Osaka the following month.
Fri, July 13, 2007 (6:30pm EDT)
Shogo Ota, a renowned playwright and director in the world of silent theater, died of lung cancer on Friday. He was 67.
Between 1970 and 1988, Ota was in charge of the troupe Tenkei Gekijo, known for their performances of entirely silent works such as "Mizu no Eki" ("The Water Station") and "Komachi Fuden" ("The Tale of Komachi Told by the Wind"). After the troupe broke up, he served as an art director and as a professor.
Between 1970 and 1988, Ota was in charge of the troupe Tenkei Gekijo, known for their performances of entirely silent works such as "Mizu no Eki" ("The Water Station") and "Komachi Fuden" ("The Tale of Komachi Told by the Wind"). After the troupe broke up, he served as an art director and as a professor.
Fri, July 13, 2007 (6:12pm EDT)
On Friday, actor Ebizo Ichikawa XI injured his right foot, forcing him to take a break from work for the time being.
Ichikawa has been in Osaka for a series of kabuki performances that started on July 2. On the 13th, he was bathing after a show when he slipped. A glass door was broken, and a fragment pierced the sole of his right foot. He was quickly taken to a hospital, where he received 15 stitches. He is currently under medical care, but it is said he has difficulty walking. It is not yet known how long it will take him to recover.
Due to the injury, Ichikawa has been replaced in his three plays, which run until the 26th. His stand-ins are Ainosuke Kataoka VI, Shinsha Bando, and Nizaemon Kataoka XV.
Ichikawa has been in Osaka for a series of kabuki performances that started on July 2. On the 13th, he was bathing after a show when he slipped. A glass door was broken, and a fragment pierced the sole of his right foot. He was quickly taken to a hospital, where he received 15 stitches. He is currently under medical care, but it is said he has difficulty walking. It is not yet known how long it will take him to recover.
Due to the injury, Ichikawa has been replaced in his three plays, which run until the 26th. His stand-ins are Ainosuke Kataoka VI, Shinsha Bando, and Nizaemon Kataoka XV.
Fri, July 13, 2007 (5:53pm EDT)
Talento Yoko Hashizume, currently a member of the Suns Entertainment futsal team carezza, has joined as a trainee in the female pro wrestling group Pro-Wrestling SUN. The announcement was made on Thursday at the Shin-Kiba 1st Ring.
Hashizume says that it has been her dream to become a wrestler. She will be the first talento from Suns Entertainment to be active in the sport.
Hashizume says that it has been her dream to become a wrestler. She will be the first talento from Suns Entertainment to be active in the sport.
Fri, July 13, 2007 (4:11pm EDT)
On Friday, pop star Ayumi Hamasaki revealed on her members-only website that she and Tomoya Nagase (of TOKIO) have broken up.
Hamasaki and Nagase have been one of the most talked-about couples since they first began dating about six years ago. Reports of a breakup have surfaced before, but new rumors earlier this year said that they were going to marry. Now, Hamasaki has personally confirmed their split, but she made no mention of the cause of the breakup.
Johnny's Jimusho has also verified the news.
Hamasaki and Nagase have been one of the most talked-about couples since they first began dating about six years ago. Reports of a breakup have surfaced before, but new rumors earlier this year said that they were going to marry. Now, Hamasaki has personally confirmed their split, but she made no mention of the cause of the breakup.
Johnny's Jimusho has also verified the news.
Fri, July 13, 2007 (5:55am EDT)
Otaku idol Shoko Nakagawa is already active in areas such as television, music, and blogging, but now she will finally achieve her childhood dream of becoming a mangaka.
New artists usually start out with a tanpatsu, but Nakagawa is diving right in with a six-part series. Her debut comic seems to be titled "Noushi no Koi" (脳子の恋). It will run in the quarterly magazine "hon-nin," which is supervised by Suzuki Matsuo and published by Ohta Publishing. The comic starts in the next issue, on sale September 8.
Amidst her busy schedule as a talento, Nakagawa spent about a month and a half drawing the 24 pages of the first installment. Despite the hard work, she hopes to continue drawing manga in the future.
New artists usually start out with a tanpatsu, but Nakagawa is diving right in with a six-part series. Her debut comic seems to be titled "Noushi no Koi" (脳子の恋). It will run in the quarterly magazine "hon-nin," which is supervised by Suzuki Matsuo and published by Ohta Publishing. The comic starts in the next issue, on sale September 8.
Amidst her busy schedule as a talento, Nakagawa spent about a month and a half drawing the 24 pages of the first installment. Despite the hard work, she hopes to continue drawing manga in the future.
Fri, July 13, 2007 (5:08am EDT)
Distributor Toho announced on Thursday that advance ticket sales for the tenth "Pokemon" movie, "Dialga VS Palkia VS Darkrai," are expected to break 2 million before the film officially opens this weekend.
The success has clearly been linked to the promotional video game tie-ins. Advance ticket holders this year will be able to obtain the rare Deoxys character. In addition, the character Darkrai will be distributed wirelessly to gamers in all theaters screening the movie.
The success has clearly been linked to the promotional video game tie-ins. Advance ticket holders this year will be able to obtain the rare Deoxys character. In addition, the character Darkrai will be distributed wirelessly to gamers in all theaters screening the movie.
Fri, July 13, 2007 (4:20am EDT)
Up-and-coming comedy twins The Touch will take on their first voice-acting roles in the "Yes! Precure 5" movie, which opens on November 10. They will play the parts of Migirin and Hidarin, inhabitants of the Kagami no Kuni, where the story takes place.
Fri, July 13, 2007 (4:00am EDT)
Hiromasa Suchi of comedy duo Vickies has become a father. He revealed the news during a live broadcast of Yomiuri TV's "Narutomo!"
According to Suchi, he found out about the birth at the airport after arriving from an overseas shoot. He went straight to the hospital, where his newborn daughter was waiting for him. Suchi and his wife named the girl Emiho.
According to Suchi, he found out about the birth at the airport after arriving from an overseas shoot. He went straight to the hospital, where his newborn daughter was waiting for him. Suchi and his wife named the girl Emiho.
Fri, July 13, 2007 (3:48am EDT)
'80s pop idol Iyo Matsumoto is making her "return" as a solo singer after 17 years. She will sing a special version of "Boku no Hana," the central theme of the new horror flick "Densen Uta," which opens on August 18.
The movie is inspired by the legend of the Hungarian song, "Gloomy Sunday," that supposedly led hundreds of listeners to commit suicide. Author Yasushi Akimoto took the idea and developed it into the story for "Densen Uta." Masato Harada directed the film, which stars Ryuhei Matsuda, Yuko Oshima (of AKB48), and Yusuke Iseya.
Matsumoto's voice appears in the movie as that of Yayoi Yara, a singer who tried to sell her recording of the song ten years earlier but suffered a mysterious death. At the moment, Matsumoto's version of the song is not yet scheduled for a CD release - that will be decided after seeing "whether the song is really cursed or not."
However, "Boku no Hana" is also the movie's theme song, performed by an unknown singer using the alias Michiko Goi (rumors on the internet say that the singer is AKB48's Michiru Hoshino). That version will go on sale days after the movie's release.
To further promote the song (and movie), distributor Shochiku is working with karaoke company JOYSOUND to let users choose from the two versions of the song, with one of them designed to provide a scary experience in mid-song.
The movie is inspired by the legend of the Hungarian song, "Gloomy Sunday," that supposedly led hundreds of listeners to commit suicide. Author Yasushi Akimoto took the idea and developed it into the story for "Densen Uta." Masato Harada directed the film, which stars Ryuhei Matsuda, Yuko Oshima (of AKB48), and Yusuke Iseya.
Matsumoto's voice appears in the movie as that of Yayoi Yara, a singer who tried to sell her recording of the song ten years earlier but suffered a mysterious death. At the moment, Matsumoto's version of the song is not yet scheduled for a CD release - that will be decided after seeing "whether the song is really cursed or not."
However, "Boku no Hana" is also the movie's theme song, performed by an unknown singer using the alias Michiko Goi (rumors on the internet say that the singer is AKB48's Michiru Hoshino). That version will go on sale days after the movie's release.
To further promote the song (and movie), distributor Shochiku is working with karaoke company JOYSOUND to let users choose from the two versions of the song, with one of them designed to provide a scary experience in mid-song.
