Mon, March 30, 2009 (3:02am EDT)
Imaru, the 19-year-old daughter of divorced talento Sanma Akashiya (53) and actress Shinobu Otake (51), will soon be entering show business under the name IMALU. On April 6, she will begin serving as a radio personality on FM Yokohama, then will make her modeling debut in the magazine Zipper on April 23.
At a height of 150cm, IMALU is one of the magazine's shortest models ever. However, Zipper has a history of using fashionable music artists as models, and IMALU ultimately has her sights set on entering the music world.
IMALU took hip-hop dance lessons during her elementary school days. She studied abroad for high school in Canada, where she became influenced by various types of music. She returned to Japan after graduating last June, and in October she began voice training. Starting next month, she will be officially signed with Otake's personal management agency.
At a height of 150cm, IMALU is one of the magazine's shortest models ever. However, Zipper has a history of using fashionable music artists as models, and IMALU ultimately has her sights set on entering the music world.
IMALU took hip-hop dance lessons during her elementary school days. She studied abroad for high school in Canada, where she became influenced by various types of music. She returned to Japan after graduating last June, and in October she began voice training. Starting next month, she will be officially signed with Otake's personal management agency.
Mon, March 30, 2009 (3:01am EDT)
Rock band FAKE? has scheduled their first U.S. performance. They have been announced as a musical guest of this year's AnimeNEXT convention, which is being held in New Jersey on June 12-14.
FAKE? was initially formed by Ken Lloyd (Oblivion Dust) and INORAN (Luna Sea) in 2002, but INORAN left the group in 2005. The band now consists of Lloyd and several support members.
FAKE? was initially formed by Ken Lloyd (Oblivion Dust) and INORAN (Luna Sea) in 2002, but INORAN left the group in 2005. The band now consists of Lloyd and several support members.
Mon, March 30, 2009 (3:00am EDT)
Actress Nanami Sakuraba (16) will be playing the lead in NHK's upcoming drama series "Futatsu no Spica." The show is based on Ko Yaginuma's manga of the same name, also known in English as "Twin Spica." The comic was previously turned into an anime series in 2003, but this will be its first live-action treatment.
The sci-fi series is set in the near future at a space academy, where a group of youngsters are training to become astronauts. Sakuraba plays Asumi Kamogawa, a student whose father is a rocket engineer (Masahiro Takashima). Her mother died due to a injury caused by a fallen rocket, but despite that and her father's objections, she chose to pursue the path of an astronaut.
The show is being produced with the help of JAXA, Japan's national aerospace agency. NHK will broadcast the series on Thursday nights at 8:00pm, starting on June 11. Sakuraba's supporting cast includes Yuichi Nakamura, Shunsuke Daito, Rika Adachi, and Yuko Takayama.
The sci-fi series is set in the near future at a space academy, where a group of youngsters are training to become astronauts. Sakuraba plays Asumi Kamogawa, a student whose father is a rocket engineer (Masahiro Takashima). Her mother died due to a injury caused by a fallen rocket, but despite that and her father's objections, she chose to pursue the path of an astronaut.
The show is being produced with the help of JAXA, Japan's national aerospace agency. NHK will broadcast the series on Thursday nights at 8:00pm, starting on June 11. Sakuraba's supporting cast includes Yuichi Nakamura, Shunsuke Daito, Rika Adachi, and Yuko Takayama.
