Thu, June 12, 2008 (11:14am EDT)
At the end of last month, Oricon polled 1,000 people to find out which music artists they consider to be their ideal father.
Southern All Stars member Keisuke Kuwata was the most popular choice, ranked highest by both men and women. Masaharu Fukuyama was #2, followed by George Tokoro, Kazutoshi Sakurai (Mr.Children), and Koshi Inaba (B'z).
Kazumasa Oda led the bottom half of the top 10. Fumiya Fujii was #7, and Eikichi Yazawa tied with L'Arc~en~Ciel's hyde for #8. Masatoshi Nakamura rounded out the list at #10.
Southern All Stars member Keisuke Kuwata was the most popular choice, ranked highest by both men and women. Masaharu Fukuyama was #2, followed by George Tokoro, Kazutoshi Sakurai (Mr.Children), and Koshi Inaba (B'z).
Kazumasa Oda led the bottom half of the top 10. Fumiya Fujii was #7, and Eikichi Yazawa tied with L'Arc~en~Ciel's hyde for #8. Masatoshi Nakamura rounded out the list at #10.
Thu, June 12, 2008 (11:02am EDT)
35-year-old comedian Osamu Wakai is getting married soon. His fiancee is a 28-year-old working for a department store. He and the woman met three years ago at a party organized by fellow comedian Wolf (of Gokuaku Rengo).
Wakai is best known for his costumed impersonations of "Gundam" character Amuro Ray. He was originally planning to get married on July 7, but in honor of the Gundam model RX-78, the date has been pushed back a day to July 8.
Even Wakai's proposal was Gundam-themed. Just before going on stage for a performance last month, he presented her with a ring in a similar fashion to the character Sleggar Law. In the anime series, Sleggar gives the ring he inherited from his mother to the woman he loves right before he leaves on his final sortie.
Wakai is best known for his costumed impersonations of "Gundam" character Amuro Ray. He was originally planning to get married on July 7, but in honor of the Gundam model RX-78, the date has been pushed back a day to July 8.
Even Wakai's proposal was Gundam-themed. Just before going on stage for a performance last month, he presented her with a ring in a similar fashion to the character Sleggar Law. In the anime series, Sleggar gives the ring he inherited from his mother to the woman he loves right before he leaves on his final sortie.
Thu, June 12, 2008 (2:17am EDT)
On Wednesday, popular actress Yui Aragaki celebrated her 20th birthday. Close to midnight, she posted on her official blog to announce that she is putting an end to the site.
She said that this is like a "graduation" to mark the end of her teenage years. She thanked her many fans for the tremendous support that pushed her blog to the top of the Ameblo popularity rankings. In fact, when the site opened last November, it had been planned as a limited-time project lasting only until New Year's Day. But with fans leaving thousands of comments on every post, the blog was kept open for several more months.
Aragaki's journal on her official mobile site will still be updated weekly as usual.
She said that this is like a "graduation" to mark the end of her teenage years. She thanked her many fans for the tremendous support that pushed her blog to the top of the Ameblo popularity rankings. In fact, when the site opened last November, it had been planned as a limited-time project lasting only until New Year's Day. But with fans leaving thousands of comments on every post, the blog was kept open for several more months.
Aragaki's journal on her official mobile site will still be updated weekly as usual.
Thu, June 12, 2008 (1:57am EDT)
The collaborative unit Fukumimi has been chosen to provide the theme song for TV Asahi's broadcasts of this year's summer Koshien tournament. The song, titled "Natsu wa Korekara da!," is being released on July 16 on the "DANCE BABY DANCE" single.
This year marks the 90th instance of the summer baseball tournament, and it also happens to be the 10th anniversary of Fukumimi, which consists of artists signed with Office Augusta. Led by Suga Shikao, Masayoshi Yamazaki, and Kyoko, the group has grown to a total of 16 individuals, including Chitose Hajime, COIL, Sukima Switch, Yuko Araki, Motohiro Hata, Tomoyuki Nagasawa, and MICRON'STUFF.
"Natsu wa Korekara da!" will be used in all of TV Asahi's Koshien-related programming, including the coverage of the tournament itself.
This year marks the 90th instance of the summer baseball tournament, and it also happens to be the 10th anniversary of Fukumimi, which consists of artists signed with Office Augusta. Led by Suga Shikao, Masayoshi Yamazaki, and Kyoko, the group has grown to a total of 16 individuals, including Chitose Hajime, COIL, Sukima Switch, Yuko Araki, Motohiro Hata, Tomoyuki Nagasawa, and MICRON'STUFF.
"Natsu wa Korekara da!" will be used in all of TV Asahi's Koshien-related programming, including the coverage of the tournament itself.
Thu, June 12, 2008 (1:36am EDT)
After news of Haruo Mizuno's death made headlines on Tuesday, it was learned on Wednesday that another movie director passed away this week due to liver failure. Kan Mukai, whose real name was Hiroki Mukai, died on the night of June 9 after battling liver cancer for the past two years. He was 70 years old.
Mukai debuted in 1962 with "Futari no Shonen." One of his better known works is the 1997 film "Going West: Nishi e," which got a follow-up in 1999 titled "Furusato."
Mukai debuted in 1962 with "Futari no Shonen." One of his better known works is the 1997 film "Going West: Nishi e," which got a follow-up in 1999 titled "Furusato."
Thu, June 12, 2008 (1:21am EDT)
X Japan vocalist TOSHI held an urgent press conference on Wednesday to announce his new band, called TOSHI with T-EARTH. The news came only days after the revelation that Yoshiki has suffered from a slipped disc, resulting in a likely postponement of X Japan's scheduled overseas concerts.
TOSHI has labeled the band as an "eco hard rock" group. He commented that after performing at the "hide memorial summit" last month with many younger artists, he became motivated to start a new rock project. "I may not be able to scream in 3 or 4 years, so I felt I should do this while I still have the strength." He also mentioned that he wants to collaborate with younger musicians.
So far, TOSHI has gathered two guitarists - former Phantasmagoria member JUN and current Charlotte member TOYA. TOSHI will reveal the group's drummer, bassist, and keyboardist in the future. Musician MASAYA is acting as producer.
The band plans to start a tour on August 12 at Zepp Nagoya. The tour includes two Zepp Tokyo performances scheduled for September 3-4. TOSHI also said that he has already received offers to play overseas, though nothing has been made official yet.
TOSHI has labeled the band as an "eco hard rock" group. He commented that after performing at the "hide memorial summit" last month with many younger artists, he became motivated to start a new rock project. "I may not be able to scream in 3 or 4 years, so I felt I should do this while I still have the strength." He also mentioned that he wants to collaborate with younger musicians.
So far, TOSHI has gathered two guitarists - former Phantasmagoria member JUN and current Charlotte member TOYA. TOSHI will reveal the group's drummer, bassist, and keyboardist in the future. Musician MASAYA is acting as producer.
The band plans to start a tour on August 12 at Zepp Nagoya. The tour includes two Zepp Tokyo performances scheduled for September 3-4. TOSHI also said that he has already received offers to play overseas, though nothing has been made official yet.
