Fri, June 13, 2008 (11:02am EDT)
Thursday's episode of the Fuji TV drama series "Last Friends" registered a 20.7% audience rating, placing it not far behind this season's leader, "Gokusen 3." Boasting a cast of popular young stars, "Last Friends" has steadily been gaining steam since the 13.9% ratings of its premiere episode in April.
Despite its heavy themes such as domestic violence and sexual identity issues, the show has proven to be very successful, and is one of the few series this season to show a trend of improvement in the ratings. It is now less than a point behind "Gokusen," which has fallen about five percentage points since its strong 26.4% start. "Last Friends" also surpassed this week's episode of "CHANGE," which has scored less than 20% for two consecutive weeks despite starring the super-popular Takuya Kimura.
Despite its heavy themes such as domestic violence and sexual identity issues, the show has proven to be very successful, and is one of the few series this season to show a trend of improvement in the ratings. It is now less than a point behind "Gokusen," which has fallen about five percentage points since its strong 26.4% start. "Last Friends" also surpassed this week's episode of "CHANGE," which has scored less than 20% for two consecutive weeks despite starring the super-popular Takuya Kimura.
Fri, June 13, 2008 (2:32am EDT)
In September, '80s pop icon Cyndi Lauper is returning to Japan for her first Nippon Budokan concert in 12 years. As part of the promotional efforts behind Lauper's revival, Sony is releasing a tribute album titled "We Love Cyndi" on July 23.
10 tracks have been lined up for the album, ranging from Puffy doing Lauper's major-label debut "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" to Chara and Hanaregumi teaming up for "Time After Time." The other participating artists are Tommy february6, Sowelu, DOUBLE, Nana Kitade, BECCA, BENNIE K, Asako Toki, and Chitose Hajime.
10 tracks have been lined up for the album, ranging from Puffy doing Lauper's major-label debut "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" to Chara and Hanaregumi teaming up for "Time After Time." The other participating artists are Tommy february6, Sowelu, DOUBLE, Nana Kitade, BECCA, BENNIE K, Asako Toki, and Chitose Hajime.
Fri, June 13, 2008 (1:54am EDT)
The life of late lyricist Yu Aku, known for writing many of Japan's biggest hits of the past few decades, is being turned into a television drama special on NTV. The "Yu Aku Monogatari" will be aired on the night of August 1, the first anniversary of Aku's death.
The drama will cover the songwriter's entire life, from his birth on Awaji Island in 1937 to his death from ureter cancer last year, though the central focus will be the music audition show "Star Tanjou!" from the '70s, which Aku was involved with as a planner and judge. The show was a key part of the "golden age" of music idols, as it served as the starting point for artists like Masako Mori and Pink Lady.
Seiichi Tanabe is starring as Aku, while "Death Note" director Shusuke Kaneko is handling the project.
The drama will cover the songwriter's entire life, from his birth on Awaji Island in 1937 to his death from ureter cancer last year, though the central focus will be the music audition show "Star Tanjou!" from the '70s, which Aku was involved with as a planner and judge. The show was a key part of the "golden age" of music idols, as it served as the starting point for artists like Masako Mori and Pink Lady.
Seiichi Tanabe is starring as Aku, while "Death Note" director Shusuke Kaneko is handling the project.
Fri, June 13, 2008 (1:32am EDT)
Mamoru Oshii's latest animated film, "The Sky Crawlers," now has an official theme song in the form of "Konya mo Hoshi ni Dakarete," a new ballad by young singer Ayaka.
The song was initially planned to be used as an image song that would appear in the movie's trailer, but after listening to the finished work, Oshii felt it matched the film so well that he decided to use it during the ending credits as the theme song. The director is known for avoiding the use of existing music in his works, but he made a rare exception this time, even going as far as redoing the credits to better incorporate the song.
"The Sky Crawlers" is also unusual for Oshii due to its choice of voice cast. He normally uses professional seiyus, but in April it was revealed that Rinko Kikuchi, Ryo Kase, Chiaki Kuriyama, and Shosuke Tanihara are lending their voices to the film.
"Konya mo Hoshi ni Dakarete" is the final track on Ayaka's sophomore album, "Sing to the Sky," which goes on sale June 25. "The Sky Crawlers" will hit theaters more than a month later on August 2.
The song was initially planned to be used as an image song that would appear in the movie's trailer, but after listening to the finished work, Oshii felt it matched the film so well that he decided to use it during the ending credits as the theme song. The director is known for avoiding the use of existing music in his works, but he made a rare exception this time, even going as far as redoing the credits to better incorporate the song.
"The Sky Crawlers" is also unusual for Oshii due to its choice of voice cast. He normally uses professional seiyus, but in April it was revealed that Rinko Kikuchi, Ryo Kase, Chiaki Kuriyama, and Shosuke Tanihara are lending their voices to the film.
"Konya mo Hoshi ni Dakarete" is the final track on Ayaka's sophomore album, "Sing to the Sky," which goes on sale June 25. "The Sky Crawlers" will hit theaters more than a month later on August 2.
Fri, June 13, 2008 (1:14am EDT)
SHAZNA guitarist AOI just became a father. His wife, actress Akira Morimoto, gave birth to their first daughter last Friday.
The couple began dating in 2006 and had a shotgun wedding this past January.
The couple began dating in 2006 and had a shotgun wedding this past January.
Fri, June 13, 2008 (1:08am EDT)
Actor and singer Kurodo Maki is recording a new song with the help of his father and his son, bringing together three generations of the Maki family. The song, named "30 Nen Mae no Ore," will be included on Kurodo's first major-label album "WHITE BOOK," which Pony Canyon is releasing on July 16.
Kurodo's dad is actor and folk singer Mike Maki, who sang the original version of the song around 20 years ago. The remake is a hip-hop version released under Kurodo's artist name, AKTION. The song will also feature Lil Prophet, an alias for Kurodo's 14-year-old son Noah.
The three men are planning to perform together at outdoor music festivals this summer.
Kurodo's dad is actor and folk singer Mike Maki, who sang the original version of the song around 20 years ago. The remake is a hip-hop version released under Kurodo's artist name, AKTION. The song will also feature Lil Prophet, an alias for Kurodo's 14-year-old son Noah.
The three men are planning to perform together at outdoor music festivals this summer.
Fri, June 13, 2008 (12:46am EDT)
Major talent agency Stardust Promotion is taking a serious next step into the film production business. The company will be handling everything from production to distribution for their new work, a movie called "Yomei" done by television director Jiro Shono. Yasuko Matsuyuki and Kippei Shiina are set to star.
Matsuyuki plays a female doctor who has been married for 10 years to Shiina. She finally conceives a child, but immediately afterwards she learns that her breast cancer has relapsed, forcing her to make a decision between her unborn child and medical treatment for her illness.
Stardust's film production division, Stardust Pictures, is taking on the additional role of distributor for the film. In the past, the division has helped create several big hits, such as "Ima, Ai ni Yukimasu" and "Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu," which were both distributed by Toho.
"Yomei" isn't scheduled for release until next spring, but Stardust Pictures already started promoting it at the film market during Cannes last month. They reported that they have already received international distribution offers from several countries.
Matsuyuki plays a female doctor who has been married for 10 years to Shiina. She finally conceives a child, but immediately afterwards she learns that her breast cancer has relapsed, forcing her to make a decision between her unborn child and medical treatment for her illness.
Stardust's film production division, Stardust Pictures, is taking on the additional role of distributor for the film. In the past, the division has helped create several big hits, such as "Ima, Ai ni Yukimasu" and "Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu," which were both distributed by Toho.
"Yomei" isn't scheduled for release until next spring, but Stardust Pictures already started promoting it at the film market during Cannes last month. They reported that they have already received international distribution offers from several countries.
