The NTV drama series "Gokusen 3" premiered on Saturday, and viewership numbers released by Video Research Ltd. showed that it kicked off the season at 26.4% in the Kanto region. This is only slightly lower than the 26.5% start of "Gokusen 2," which went on to average 27.8% over its entire run.

Meanwhile, the TBS series "ROOKIES," which also deals with a teacher working with delinquent students but involves baseball as well, started out with only 12.2% ratings. The show premiered the same day as "Gokusen" but aired an hour earlier.

gloomybear introduces two more artists featured in the Oricon Sound Blowin' event: TUT-1026 (article here) and CHERRYBLOSSOM (article here).

Variety reports that media firm USEN has announced the impending closure of its subsidiary Gaga Communications, which handles film production and distribution.

USEN said that Gaga's profitability is unsustainable, and the company will apparently devote more resources instead to the Internet media site GyaO.

Gaga recently distributed "The Golden Compass" and "Earth," while its lineup for this year includes "Rambo 4," "Journey to the Center of the Earth," and next weekend's "Shaolin Girl" (co-distributed with Toho). The studio's produced films include "Backdancers!" and "Hatsukoi."

The 2nd annual "Good Teeth and Eating Habits Awards," established by a dental association last year, were presented on Saturday. This year, 17-year-old actress Saki Fukuda and 16-year-old pro golfer Ryo Ishikawa were given the honors.

Last year's winners were Aya Ueto and Bae Yong Joon.

33-year-old NTV announcer Takashi Suzuki got married on Friday. He met his wife about 4 years ago through a mutual friend. She currently works as a cabin attendant for a foreign-owned airline.

Suzuki is expected to make an announcement on Monday's broadcast of "NEWS ZERO."

"Kamogawa Horumo," a best-seller by author Manabu Makime, is being turned into a movie. Last summer, Makime earned a Naoki Prize nomination for his "Shikaotoko Aoniyoshi," which was adapted as a television drama last season.

Makime debuted as an author in 2006 with "Kamogawa Horumo." The story, set in Kyoto, is a supernatural coming-of-age comedy about a group of college students who play a game known as "Horumo," in which they compete using their ability to manipulate shikigami (a type of spirit), which are referred to as "oni."

Takayuki Yamada stars as a new Kyoto University student named Akira Abe. (The name is a reference to the historical figure Abe no Seimei, who was said to be adept at controlling shikigami.) He becomes instantly attracted to another student (Sei Ashina), and ends up involved in a mysterious club.

Yamada's character is apparently similar to his role as an "otaku" in "Densha Otoko." Some of the comedic highlights include his "transformation poses" and his use of "oni-go" slang.

Katsuhide Motoki is directing. Other cast members revealed so far are Takuya Ishida as Yamada's rival Mitsuru Ashiya (a reference to Abe no Seimei's opponent Ashiya Douman), Gaku Hamada, and Yoshiyoshi Arakawa.

Filming started early this month. Shochiku plans to distribute the movie in 2009.