Wed, August 20, 2008 (10:48am EDT)
JaME USA has word that visual-kei band Versailles is looking to change its name. As the band has increased their activity in the U.S., they have come into conflict with an American artist who has already registered a trademark for the name Versailles.
According to the report, the band is soliciting suggestions from their fans. However, they commented that they can't throw away their name so easily, so they plan to combine "Versailles" with one of the suggested words. Submissions are being accepted until the end of the month.
According to the report, the band is soliciting suggestions from their fans. However, they commented that they can't throw away their name so easily, so they plan to combine "Versailles" with one of the suggested words. Submissions are being accepted until the end of the month.
Wed, August 20, 2008 (2:54am EDT)
On Tuesday, distributor Toho announced that Hayao Miyazaki's "Gake no Ue no Ponyo" has raked in over 10 billion yen at the box office in the month since its release. More than 8.4 million people have watched the film in theaters.
The last Japanese film to gross 10 billion yen was the 2004 animated feature "Howl's Moving Castle," also directed by Miyazaki. "Ponyo" took only 31 days to so, compared to 33 for "Howl," suggesting that it may eventually surpass the 19.6 billion yen gross of the latter. However, it didn't quite meet the pace of "Spirited Away," which reached 10 billion in 25 days and went on to make 30.4 billion.
According to Oricon's DVD rankings for the week, the success of "Ponyo" has revived interest in older Studio Ghibli works. "My Neighbor Totoro," originally released in 2001, jumped from #22 last week to #8 on the overall DVD rankings, its first top 10 appearance in close to 7 years. Other titles saw similar leaps:
The last Japanese film to gross 10 billion yen was the 2004 animated feature "Howl's Moving Castle," also directed by Miyazaki. "Ponyo" took only 31 days to so, compared to 33 for "Howl," suggesting that it may eventually surpass the 19.6 billion yen gross of the latter. However, it didn't quite meet the pace of "Spirited Away," which reached 10 billion in 25 days and went on to make 30.4 billion.
According to Oricon's DVD rankings for the week, the success of "Ponyo" has revived interest in older Studio Ghibli works. "My Neighbor Totoro," originally released in 2001, jumped from #22 last week to #8 on the overall DVD rankings, its first top 10 appearance in close to 7 years. Other titles saw similar leaps:
- "Laputa: Castle in the Sky" (#58 -> #31)
- "Kiki's Delivery Service" (#65 -> #35)
- "Princess Mononoke" (#77 -> #44)
- "Spirited Away" (#84 -> #45)
- "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" (#90 -> #58)
- "Porco Rosso" (#109 -> #83)
Wed, August 20, 2008 (2:30am EDT)
Namie Amuro has firmly re-established herself as one of the top pop queens, achieving her third consecutive week at #1 on the album charts. Her "BEST FICTION" collection debuted with the highest opening sales so far this year, and with another 153,000 copies sold this past week, the album has become her 5th million-seller. Her last album to reach that mark was "181920" in 1998. This also gives Amuro the distinction of being the only artist to have a million-seller during her teens, 20s, and 30s.
Hideaki Tokunaga's "SINGLES BEST" entered the charts at #2 with 87,000 in sales. CRAZY KEN BAND picked up the #5 spot with their latest, "ZERO," while a B-side collection by SID ranked #10.
On the singles side of the charts, there was no surprise that SMAP's "Kono Toki, Kitto Yume Janai" claimed the #1 seat, selling 90,000 copies. This is their 10th consecutive chart-topper, and their 21st overall. It also marks their 43rd top ten appearance (all of their singles have been in the top ten), which ties them again with Southern All Stars for the all-time record. Southern All Stars enjoyed their lead for only a week, while they saw their newest single, "I AM YOUR SINGER," bumped down to #2.
A few other new singles made their way into the Top 10 this week. Rock band FLOW found their "WORLD END" at #4. Spontania's new song came up at #7, followed by Nana Tanimura at #8 and Garnet Crow at #10.
Hideaki Tokunaga's "SINGLES BEST" entered the charts at #2 with 87,000 in sales. CRAZY KEN BAND picked up the #5 spot with their latest, "ZERO," while a B-side collection by SID ranked #10.
On the singles side of the charts, there was no surprise that SMAP's "Kono Toki, Kitto Yume Janai" claimed the #1 seat, selling 90,000 copies. This is their 10th consecutive chart-topper, and their 21st overall. It also marks their 43rd top ten appearance (all of their singles have been in the top ten), which ties them again with Southern All Stars for the all-time record. Southern All Stars enjoyed their lead for only a week, while they saw their newest single, "I AM YOUR SINGER," bumped down to #2.
A few other new singles made their way into the Top 10 this week. Rock band FLOW found their "WORLD END" at #4. Spontania's new song came up at #7, followed by Nana Tanimura at #8 and Garnet Crow at #10.
Wed, August 20, 2008 (2:06am EDT)
Actress and model Hiroko Hatano (32) will soon be the wife of soccer star Keita Suzuki (27), a midfielder for the Urawa Red Diamonds and a member of the national team. According to a source close to the couple, the pair plan to formally register their marriage within the next few days.
The two were reportedly introduced through a friend about a year ago, and they quickly started going out. They have been spotted together before at an interior design shop, and Hatano has frequently been seen attending Suzuki's soccer matches.
This will be the second marriage for Hatano, who got hitched to actor Takashi Kashiwabara in June 2004. She retired from show business shortly after that, but she chose to make a comeback following their divorce two years later.
The two were reportedly introduced through a friend about a year ago, and they quickly started going out. They have been spotted together before at an interior design shop, and Hatano has frequently been seen attending Suzuki's soccer matches.
This will be the second marriage for Hatano, who got hitched to actor Takashi Kashiwabara in June 2004. She retired from show business shortly after that, but she chose to make a comeback following their divorce two years later.
Wed, August 20, 2008 (1:45am EDT)
Rising teen actor Haruma Miura will take on his first starring role in a television drama series. This fall, TBS is airing an action/suspense series called "Bloody Monday," loosely based on a manga by Ryo Ryumon.
Miura plays a genius hacker facing off against a terrorist organization. Michiko Kichise is the female lead as one of the terrorists. Takeru Sato and Hisashi Yoshizawa have also been cast in the series. The show will be getting tie-ins with tech companies Microsoft and Yahoo! Japan.
"Bloody Monday" has been lined up for the 7:56pm time slot on Saturday nights, starting on October 11.
Miura plays a genius hacker facing off against a terrorist organization. Michiko Kichise is the female lead as one of the terrorists. Takeru Sato and Hisashi Yoshizawa have also been cast in the series. The show will be getting tie-ins with tech companies Microsoft and Yahoo! Japan.
"Bloody Monday" has been lined up for the 7:56pm time slot on Saturday nights, starting on October 11.
Wed, August 20, 2008 (1:32am EDT)
The 4-member girl group SPEED will soon be reuniting again. They will officially resume activity with an appearance on NTV's charity telethon "24 Hour Television" at the end of this month.
The group debuted in 1996 but broke up in 2000, at the height of their popularity, in order to pursue solo careers. They had two short-lived reunions in 2001 and in 2003. However, this time is said to be a complete return, with plans extending beyond 2009.
The decision to reunite started with this year's "24 Hour Television." SPEED previously hosted the program back in 1999, when they first met a young girl named Yui Nojiri who was battling spinal muscular atrophy. Last year, Nojiri reached her 20th birthday, and NTV producers decided to bring her and SPEED back for this year's show.
After learning about the idea, SPEED member Eriko Imai revealed that her own 3-year-old son is having hearing problems. Motivated to reach her son through song and to provide inspiration for other young children, she asked the other SPEED members to join her.
For "24 Hour Television," the group is scheduled to perform a 25-minute set at the Nippon Budokan on the afternoon of August 31. They plan to stay together for the time being, aiming to keep SPEED alive for at least 2009.
The group debuted in 1996 but broke up in 2000, at the height of their popularity, in order to pursue solo careers. They had two short-lived reunions in 2001 and in 2003. However, this time is said to be a complete return, with plans extending beyond 2009.
The decision to reunite started with this year's "24 Hour Television." SPEED previously hosted the program back in 1999, when they first met a young girl named Yui Nojiri who was battling spinal muscular atrophy. Last year, Nojiri reached her 20th birthday, and NTV producers decided to bring her and SPEED back for this year's show.
After learning about the idea, SPEED member Eriko Imai revealed that her own 3-year-old son is having hearing problems. Motivated to reach her son through song and to provide inspiration for other young children, she asked the other SPEED members to join her.
For "24 Hour Television," the group is scheduled to perform a 25-minute set at the Nippon Budokan on the afternoon of August 31. They plan to stay together for the time being, aiming to keep SPEED alive for at least 2009.
Wed, August 20, 2008 (1:01am EDT)
Popular actress Maki Horikita has picked up her next lead drama role. She will star in the tentatively-titled "Innocent Love," scheduled to air in Fuji TV's flagship Monday night time slot this fall. As the title suggests, the show will be a romance story.
The script is an original work written by Taeko Asano, whose most recent hit was "Last Friends" this past spring. Like that show, "Innocent Love" will focus on the lives of modern youths. The shows also share a director (Yusuke Kato) and a producer (Toshiyuki Nakano).
The story centers around the tragic heroine Kanon Akiyama (Horikita). As a child, she lost both her parents to a murderer, and her older brother was arrested as the prime suspect. Shunned by her town as the sister of a killer, she heads to Tokyo and picks up a job as a housecleaner. There, she has a fateful encounter with a man, but the road to romance is fraught with difficulty.
This will be Horikita's first time starring in Fuji TV's key time slot. Last year, her popularity skyrocketed due to a starring role in "Hanazakari no Kimitachi e." Currently, she appears in the NHK taiga drama "Atsuhime." That series doesn't finish filming until the end of September, so she will briefly be shooting simultaneously for "Atsuhime" and "Innocent Love."
"Innocent Love" will premiere in October.
The script is an original work written by Taeko Asano, whose most recent hit was "Last Friends" this past spring. Like that show, "Innocent Love" will focus on the lives of modern youths. The shows also share a director (Yusuke Kato) and a producer (Toshiyuki Nakano).
The story centers around the tragic heroine Kanon Akiyama (Horikita). As a child, she lost both her parents to a murderer, and her older brother was arrested as the prime suspect. Shunned by her town as the sister of a killer, she heads to Tokyo and picks up a job as a housecleaner. There, she has a fateful encounter with a man, but the road to romance is fraught with difficulty.
This will be Horikita's first time starring in Fuji TV's key time slot. Last year, her popularity skyrocketed due to a starring role in "Hanazakari no Kimitachi e." Currently, she appears in the NHK taiga drama "Atsuhime." That series doesn't finish filming until the end of September, so she will briefly be shooting simultaneously for "Atsuhime" and "Innocent Love."
"Innocent Love" will premiere in October.
