Kumi Koda returned to work this past weekend with the start of her new tour, and now her next single has been announced. The song, "Moon Crying," will be used as the theme song for the drama series "Puzzle," which stars Satomi Ishihara as a mystery-solving teacher. "Moon Crying" will first be heard during the drama's premiere episode this Friday.

Recording for the single took place last month. The single is scheduled to go on sale in June, and the coupling song will feature Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas.

Leiji Matsumoto, the creator of "Captain Harlock," says that he did not give his consent to the planned Korean adaptation that was announced last week.

Korea's Eight Peaks had reportedly signed an agreement with Japan's Genome Entertainment to work on a live-action version of "Harlock." Matsumoto says he was aware of their announcement, but he had not received any formal notice, nor had he approved the project.

Ayumi Hamasaki's "Mirrorcle World" took the #1 spot on the weekly singles chart, selling close to 146,000 copies. This is her 10th consecutive year with a chart-topper, making her the first female artist to reach that milestone (B'z holds the overall record with 18 years).

The male trio Shuchishin came close to beating Hamasaki with their self-titled single, selling only about 5,000 fewer copies. Meanwhile, the posthumous ZARD release "Tsubasa wo Hirogete" ranked 3rd. This counts as ZARD's 42nd single to make the Top 10, which currently ties her with SMAP and Southern All Stars for the record.

On the albums chart, YUI took the top spot with her third album, "I Loved Yesterday," achieving about 285,000 in sales.

Hideaki Tokunaga had the only other new releases in the top 10 on both charts. His "VOCALIST" box set ranked 7th among the albums, while his single "Dakishimete Ageru / Hanataba" ranked 6th.

In a recent survey, Oricon asked a thousand people to name which 20-year-old celebrity they think will have a breakthrough year in 2008. Choices were limited to people turning 20 between April 2 of this year and April 1 of next year.

Actress Yui Aragaki, who already experienced a significant career boost last year, was the #1 answer. Maki Horikita was #2, followed by Erika Toda. Rakuten Eagles pitcher Masahiro Tanaka ranked 4th.

The rest of the top ten were Meisa Kuroki, Mikako Tabe, table tennis star Ai Fukuhara, baseball pitcher Yuki Saito, Miliyah Kato, and Akiyoshi Nakao.

Rock band GOING UNDER GROUND is putting out a full collection of their singles next month. "Complete Single Collection 1998-2008" is a two-disc set containing all 26 of their indie-era and major-label releases, including their newest song "My Treasure," which is being used as the ending theme for TV Asahi's late-night show "Adrena! Garage." The first press edition also includes an acoustic version of "Hatsukoi."

The collection goes on sale May 21.

British actor Gary Oldman has been officially added to the cast of "Rain Fall," an action/suspense movie based on a series of novels by Barry Eisler. It was first revealed by Variety last month that Oldman was in negotiations for the role.

The film stars Kippei Shiina as the protagonist John Rain, a half-Japanese, half-American assassin who once was part of the U.S. military. Now forced to protect a woman from being killed by the CIA, he faces off against one of the organization's agents (played by Oldman).

Max Mannix is writing and directing. Filming starts in Japan later this month, with the movie scheduled for release during Golden Week of 2009.

Fuji TV's detective drama "Furuhata Ninzaburo" is making its "return" as a drama special. Titled "Furuhata Chugakusei," the special features the titular hero as a junior high student, played by Hey! Say! JUMP's Ryosuke Yamada.

The original drama starred Masakazu Tamura and ran for three seasons, during 1994, 1996, and 1999. It had three special "Final" episodes in 2006.

Koki Mitani, who scripted the series, is back as the screenwriter. The story will have the young Furuhata, a 3rd-year junior high student, transferred to a school in the countryside due to family circumstances. He doesn't fit in at first, but he eventually gains a reputation as a detective and opens his own detective agency. One day, he hears about the town's legend of buried treasure, and he immediately begins unraveling the mystery.

Shooting starts later this month, but the broadcast date has not yet been announced.

"Akai Ito," one of the best-selling books of last year, is being adapted into a drama series and a film. Like "Koizora," it started out as a mobile phone novel and quickly gained in popularity, pushing it into the top 20 of Tohan's 2007 rankings. So far, the 5 volumes of the story have sold 1.8 million copies.

Written by an author known as Mei, the story revolves around two middle schoolers, Mei and Atsushi, who together face various obstacles, such as drugs, rape, and suicide.

The adaptation project is a collaboration between Fuji TV and Shochiku. While previous works that have been translated to film and television have either been separate adaptations (a la "Densha Otoko" or "Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu") or drama series leading into a film, "Akai Ito" will be trying out a new model.

The cast and staff will be exactly the same for both works, and the stories will be strongly linked. In fact, the movie will open in theaters while the drama is still airing. The drama serves both as the start and end of the story, with the movie falling in the middle of the timeline.

Casting is under way. The project will be helmed by Fuji TV's Shosuke Murakami, and Okinawan band HY is providing the common theme song. The drama will start its broadcast next winter.

The main voice cast for Mamoru Oshii's "The Sky Crawlers" was made public on Tuesday. The director has always used professional voice actors for the lead parts in his works, but this time he has appointed two major movie stars as the protagonists.

The story revolves around the lives of young children who battle as fighter pilots. Rinko Kikuchi will voice the female commander Kusanagi, while Ryo Kase plays her subordinate Kannami. Other cast members include Shosuke Tanihara and Chiaki Kuriyama.

"The Sky Crawlers" is slated to open on August 2.

Rock musician Gene Simmons (of KISS fame) has been confirmed to have a cameo appearance in the live-action "Detroit Metal City" movie, which Toho plans to release this summer. Simmons revealed the news on his website last week.

KISS's song "Detroit Rock City" provided inspiration for the original manga, authored by Kiminori Wakasugi.

Anime Expo 2008 has announced its second musical guest: pop duo Jyukai. Their credits include theme songs for "Fate/stay night," "Buso Renkin," and the live-action film "Shin Onna Tachiguishi Retsuden."

This year's convention takes place at the Los Angeles Convention Center on July 3-6.