Sat, September 27, 2008 (8:27pm EDT)
The collaboration between DJ OZMA and comedy duo Tunnels that was announced last month has now been revealed. The trio are "producing" a female unit called Yajima Biyoshitsu, which will actually be the three of them in costume.
The group is supposedly made up of a family from Nevada, consisting of a 36-year-old former nude dancer named Margaret Yajima (played by DJ OZMA) and her two daughters, the 17-year-old Naomi and the 11-year-old Strawberry (played by Tunnels). Their debut song, "Nihon no Mikata - Nevada Kara Kimashita," is being released by Avex on October 29.
The song has been given a tie-in with a new Lotte commercial starring Masami Nagasawa, which started airing on Friday. But the tune had debuted on TV the day before, and the song reportedly saw 14,000 chaku-uta downloads in the hour after its premiere, taking the #1 spot on the Recochoku daily charts.
The group is supposedly made up of a family from Nevada, consisting of a 36-year-old former nude dancer named Margaret Yajima (played by DJ OZMA) and her two daughters, the 17-year-old Naomi and the 11-year-old Strawberry (played by Tunnels). Their debut song, "Nihon no Mikata - Nevada Kara Kimashita," is being released by Avex on October 29.
The song has been given a tie-in with a new Lotte commercial starring Masami Nagasawa, which started airing on Friday. But the tune had debuted on TV the day before, and the song reportedly saw 14,000 chaku-uta downloads in the hour after its premiere, taking the #1 spot on the Recochoku daily charts.
Sat, September 27, 2008 (4:06pm EDT)
23-year-old gravure idol Minako Komukai has been dropped by her agency RIP. On Wednesday, the company issued a statement on its website announcing that they had terminated her exclusive contract.
Komukai debuted in 2000 at the age of 15, and has since been active in gravure, television, and film. But according to her agency, Komukai has frequently had physical and emotional problems, and there have been periods of time where the agency has been unable to contact her. Although the idol has shown signs of wanting to continue work, RIP felt it could no longer support her.
It is not yet clear what Komukai's plans for the future are.
Komukai debuted in 2000 at the age of 15, and has since been active in gravure, television, and film. But according to her agency, Komukai has frequently had physical and emotional problems, and there have been periods of time where the agency has been unable to contact her. Although the idol has shown signs of wanting to continue work, RIP felt it could no longer support her.
It is not yet clear what Komukai's plans for the future are.
Sat, September 27, 2008 (3:48pm EDT)
Akira Kurosawa's famous film "Seven Samurai" is being adapted to the stage for the first time. The lead roles, originally played by Takashi Shimura and Toshiro Mifune, have been given to actor Masaya Kato and talento Masaki Sumitani, who is better known as Razor Ramon HG.
The play, titled "SAMURAI7," will actually be based on the recent anime remake "Samurai 7," which places the story in a semi-futuristic setting.
The rest of the seven titular samurai include Masataka Nakagauchi and Hijiri Shinotani (both known for their Tenimyu roles), Ryuji Sainei, playwright Tsuyoshi Kida, and seiyu Hiroki Takahashi. 15-year-old Erina Mizuno has been cast as the heroine, while Ginnojo Yamazaki plays the villain.
The production will be directed by Shunichi Okamura, who was in charge of the stage version of "Azumi" and the Avex musical "Kokoro no Kakera." Performances are scheduled for November 14-24 at the Shinjuku Koma Stadium, which is closing at the end of this year.
The play, titled "SAMURAI7," will actually be based on the recent anime remake "Samurai 7," which places the story in a semi-futuristic setting.
The rest of the seven titular samurai include Masataka Nakagauchi and Hijiri Shinotani (both known for their Tenimyu roles), Ryuji Sainei, playwright Tsuyoshi Kida, and seiyu Hiroki Takahashi. 15-year-old Erina Mizuno has been cast as the heroine, while Ginnojo Yamazaki plays the villain.
The production will be directed by Shunichi Okamura, who was in charge of the stage version of "Azumi" and the Avex musical "Kokoro no Kakera." Performances are scheduled for November 14-24 at the Shinjuku Koma Stadium, which is closing at the end of this year.
