Wed, October 1, 2008 (2:22am EDT)
Veteran actor Sonny Chiba (now known as JJ Sonny Chiba) has just been given a guest professorship in the film studies department of the Kyoto University of Art and Design, it was announced on Tuesday. His appointment begins on Wednesday and is scheduled to last for a year and a half.
Chiba will reportedly be in charge of a film acting course, which is said to include lessons on sword fights.
Chiba will reportedly be in charge of a film acting course, which is said to include lessons on sword fights.
Wed, October 1, 2008 (2:10am EDT)
Popular trio Remioromen will be handling the theme song for the animated movie "Gekijoban MAJOR: Yujo no Winning Shot," the first film based on the long-running baseball manga "MAJOR."
The tune, titled "Tsubasa," is their first song for an anime. There are no plans for a single, but it will be the lead track on their fourth album, "Kaze no Kuroma," which goes on sale October 29.
The movie is being released by Toho on December 13.
The tune, titled "Tsubasa," is their first song for an anime. There are no plans for a single, but it will be the lead track on their fourth album, "Kaze no Kuroma," which goes on sale October 29.
The movie is being released by Toho on December 13.
Wed, October 1, 2008 (1:44am EDT)
Last week, SMAP released their latest album "super.modern.artistic.performance," and as expected, it topped the charts at 214,000 in sales. This finally pushed their career album sales past the 10 million mark, becoming only the second vocal group to achieve that feat, after CHAGE and ASKA did it in 1993.
DOHZI-T sold 63,000 copies of his new album to land at #3. A soundtrack for the anime series "D.Gray-man" made #5, while rock band Plastic Tree found their way into the #9 spot.
"The Birthday ~Ti Amo~," a new song by EXILE, came in at #1 on the singles chart, moving more than 171,000 copies. Ayaka and Kobukuro sold nearly half that amount with their second collaborative single, while Morning Musume's cover of "Pepper Keibu" ranked in at #3.
The other new top ten releases were BREAKERZ (#6), Miliyah Kato (#9), and seiyu Shin-ichiro Miki (#10).
DOHZI-T sold 63,000 copies of his new album to land at #3. A soundtrack for the anime series "D.Gray-man" made #5, while rock band Plastic Tree found their way into the #9 spot.
"The Birthday ~Ti Amo~," a new song by EXILE, came in at #1 on the singles chart, moving more than 171,000 copies. Ayaka and Kobukuro sold nearly half that amount with their second collaborative single, while Morning Musume's cover of "Pepper Keibu" ranked in at #3.
The other new top ten releases were BREAKERZ (#6), Miliyah Kato (#9), and seiyu Shin-ichiro Miki (#10).
Wed, October 1, 2008 (1:23am EDT)
Talento Mika Mifune is set to make her singing debut, teaming up with the band led by her husband George Takahashi. The collaboration, known as Mika Mifune & THE TRA★BRYU, will release a song called "Birthday Party" on November 5.
Mifune and Takahashi's 3-year-old daughter is said to also be participating in the song, which has been chosen as the theme of the anime movie "Yes! PreCure 5 GoGo!" that opens on November 8.
Mifune and Takahashi's 3-year-old daughter is said to also be participating in the song, which has been chosen as the theme of the anime movie "Yes! PreCure 5 GoGo!" that opens on November 8.
Wed, October 1, 2008 (12:45am EDT)
Pop-punk band Shonen Knife has announced the addition of a new member, along with a new album. Joining the current duo of Naoko and Etsuko is guitarist Ritsuko, also known as Marilyn of the group Denki Candy. Since 2006, she has served as a support bassist for Shonen Knife.
With the addition of Ritsuko, Shonen Knife is officially a trio again. Atsuko, the sister of Naoko and one of the group's founding members, left the band in 2006 after getting married and moving to Los Angeles, but she participated in their U.S. tour last year.
On November 7, the band is releasing a 10-track album titled "Supergroup." One of the songs is a cover of "Jet," originally by the Paul McCartney-led group Wings. Shonen Knife has also scheduled an appearance on NHK's "MUSIC JAPAN" the night before the album goes on sale.
With the addition of Ritsuko, Shonen Knife is officially a trio again. Atsuko, the sister of Naoko and one of the group's founding members, left the band in 2006 after getting married and moving to Los Angeles, but she participated in their U.S. tour last year.
On November 7, the band is releasing a 10-track album titled "Supergroup." One of the songs is a cover of "Jet," originally by the Paul McCartney-led group Wings. Shonen Knife has also scheduled an appearance on NHK's "MUSIC JAPAN" the night before the album goes on sale.
