Sun, October 19, 2008 (12:26pm EDT)
Last week, Nikkan Sports announced the results of its summer survey for the Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix. A total of 24,757 votes were collected between September 25 and October 4. The big winner this time was the TBS series "Maou," winning in all four categories that it was nominated for.
The show received about 12,600 votes for Best Drama, handily beating "Code Blue" by close to 5,000 votes. At #3 was "33-pun Tantei," far behind at only 1,300 votes, followed by "Atsuhime" and "Shibatora" with less than 800 votes apiece.
Satoshi Ohno beat Tomohisa Yamashita in the Best Actor category by roughly 2,500 votes. "Maou" co-star Toma Ikuta also made the list at #3.
For Best Supporting Actor, Kei Tanaka edged out the competition, and the top 5 were all either from "Maou" or "Code Blue." Ryoko Kobayashi gave "Maou" its fourth award as Best Supporting Actress, while the rest of the votes were split among the three female leads from "Code Blue" and Mikako Tabe.
The only category that "Maou" didn't win was the Best Actress award, due to its lack of a starring female role. Aoi Miyazaki received about 8,200 votes for her role in "Atsuhime," with young star Mirai Shida ("Seigi no Mikata") trailing by 3,500 votes to land in second.
The complete results are available in the forums.
The show received about 12,600 votes for Best Drama, handily beating "Code Blue" by close to 5,000 votes. At #3 was "33-pun Tantei," far behind at only 1,300 votes, followed by "Atsuhime" and "Shibatora" with less than 800 votes apiece.
Satoshi Ohno beat Tomohisa Yamashita in the Best Actor category by roughly 2,500 votes. "Maou" co-star Toma Ikuta also made the list at #3.
For Best Supporting Actor, Kei Tanaka edged out the competition, and the top 5 were all either from "Maou" or "Code Blue." Ryoko Kobayashi gave "Maou" its fourth award as Best Supporting Actress, while the rest of the votes were split among the three female leads from "Code Blue" and Mikako Tabe.
The only category that "Maou" didn't win was the Best Actress award, due to its lack of a starring female role. Aoi Miyazaki received about 8,200 votes for her role in "Atsuhime," with young star Mirai Shida ("Seigi no Mikata") trailing by 3,500 votes to land in second.
The complete results are available in the forums.
Sun, October 19, 2008 (5:04am EDT)
Hello! Project has announced that all of the members of its Elder Club will be graduating on March 31, 2009. The graduates include Morning Musume OG, Melon Kinenbi, Ongaku Gatas, and several soloists such as Mai Satoda and Aya Matsuura.
According to Tsunku's comments, the decision was made in order to have the members move on to new stages in their career, though specific plans have not yet been revealed. The graduates will make their final stage appearances as Elder Club at the Yokohama Arena on January 31 and February 1.
According to Tsunku's comments, the decision was made in order to have the members move on to new stages in their career, though specific plans have not yet been revealed. The graduates will make their final stage appearances as Elder Club at the Yokohama Arena on January 31 and February 1.
Sun, October 19, 2008 (4:45am EDT)
21-year-old actress Saeko is leaving her management agency Topcoat and is transferring to the private management of her husband, the Nippon Ham Fighters pitcher Yu Darvish. The discussions between Saeko and her agency are wrapping up, and the move is expected to happen next month.
Saeko has been signed with Topcoat since 2001, though she didn't gain recognition until 2003 when she became part of the Nittelegenic unit and began appearing on "Gakkou e Ikou!" Sources say that Saeko's departure is the result of the actress wanting to take a break from her entertainment career for the time being. She and Darvish just married last November, and they had their first child in March.
While Saeko focuses on raising the child, she plans to also launch a fashion accessory brand.
Saeko has been signed with Topcoat since 2001, though she didn't gain recognition until 2003 when she became part of the Nittelegenic unit and began appearing on "Gakkou e Ikou!" Sources say that Saeko's departure is the result of the actress wanting to take a break from her entertainment career for the time being. She and Darvish just married last November, and they had their first child in March.
While Saeko focuses on raising the child, she plans to also launch a fashion accessory brand.
