T-ara reveals that they cried after seeing their “Roly-Poly” outfits

T-ara’s unique outfits for “Roly-Poly” have been attracting a ton of attention lately for being fun and on-point with their retro theme. Interestingly enough, the girls confessed that they had cried when they first heard of their wardrobe concept for the song.The members said, “We were so embarrassed of the outfits – even more so than the gloves we wore for ‘Bo Peep Bo Peep‘. They looked like they were picked by our moms right from a flea market. Shirts with wide collars, baggy disco pants, colorful button ups, and even a handkerchief to wrap around your neck.” The wardrobe concept was introduced around the time when the girls saw other girl groups like SNSD and KARA get dressed up in pretty, ‘girl group-like’ clothes. When they refused to...

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AKB48’s Oshima Yuko, Kojima Haruna, and Shinoda Mariko’s CM revealed!

AKB48’s Oshima Yuko, Kojima Haruna, and Shinoda Mariko’s new CM for acne medicine, “Hythiol-B” has now been unveiled!This 15-second CM features their own song for “Hythiol-B” and a unique hand motion to display their dislike for acne. Check it out below!source : tokyohive...

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Morning Musume’s Mitsui Aika + Sayashi Riho to withdraw from summer tour

According to an announcement on Hello! Project’s official website, Morning Musume members Mitsui Aika and Sayashi Riho will be withdrawing from their current concert tour, “Hello! Project 2011 SUMMER“.Because of her previous ankle fracture, Mitsui is being advised by a doctor to rest for approximately eight weeks. Sayashi is currently at home for sciatica (pain, numbness or weakness in the leg caused by the injury/compression of the sciatic nerve), and will not return for about six weeks. Mitsui developed a stress fracture in her ankle last May while on tour with Morning Musume, but decided to continue working while treating her ankle. Although the idol sat for many of her performances, it appears as if the condition was not entirely healed,...

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V6 reveals PV preview for “Sexy.Honey.Bunny!”

V6 has just revealed a PV preview for their latest song, “Sexy.Honey.Bunny!“!“Sexy.Honey.Bunny!” is one of two songs from of their upcoming double A-side single, “Sexy.Honey.Bunny!/Takara no Ishi“.It’s said that the choreography in this PV was made for fans especially so they could learn the moves to later bust out at karaoke and at concerts. The clip also features V6 celebrating the wrap-up of their video shoot. Check out the PV teaser below!source: tokyohive...

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Artist lineup for VAMPS’ ‘HALLOWEEN PARTY 2011′ revealed!

It’s been announced that rock band VAMPS will be holding their Halloween event, ‘HALLOWEEN PARTY 2011‘, once again this year!The ‘HALLOWEEN PARTY’ attracts a lot of attention thanks to the performers’ unique costumes and gorgeous stage sets. This year, the event will be held at Chiba Makuhari Messe on October 21st and 22nd, and at Kobe World Memorial Hall on October 29th and 30th. Tickets will be available to the public through Play Guide starting September 24th, however, fans of VAMPS’ fan club, “VAMPADDICT“, will have the chance to pre-order tickets starting August 4th.-October 21st (Fri) – Chiba Makuhari Messe International Convention Complex 9~11 HallArtists: VAMPS/Acid Black Cherry/BREAKERZOctober 22nd (Sat) – Chiba Makuhari Messe International...

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Visual Kei band BLOOD to perform at ‘Dot.con’ in Canada

Japanese visual kei/gothic band BLOOD has announced that they’ll be performing at anime convention, Dotcon, in Toronto, Canada. They will be performing live on November 12th, and they even left a short video message. In the video message, each of the members introduce themselves (except Dora) and expressed their gratitude and hope for their fans to come up to Canada. Impressively, they all spoke in English.Check out the 45-second video below!source: tokyohive...

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AKB48 to open an official store in Harajuku!

On July 27th, AKB48 members Maeda Ami, Iwasa Misaki, and Oota Aika attended a press conference to commemorate the grand opening of their first official streetside shop, “AKB48 OFFICIAL SHOP HARAJUKU“.This store will be located on the famous Harajuku shopping street, Takeshita Dori; for the time being, customers can only enter by making an appointment. Oota excitedly stated, “I’m happy because it makes me feel like an idol,” while Maeda mused, “I want to be a salesperson for a day.” The concept of the shop is “After school in high school“. It will feature over 150 variety of items from original goods to snacks, even an original gelato. The interior is designed like a classroom, with a blackboard that’s covered by the members’ doodles. Iwasa,...

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“My Neighbor Totoro” DVD manages to stay on Oricon rankings for 500 weeks!

The DVD for Studio Ghibli’s masterpiece, “Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro)” has managed to stay on the Oricon DVD Ranking chart for 500 weeks!This DVD was released back on September 28th, 2001, and has stayed on the rankings for exactly nine years and ten months as of August 1st.This is the first DVD that’s managed to rank for 500 weeks ever since Oricon began its DVD chart in April of 1999. “Tonari no Totoro” has sold over 1,084,000 copies in total, and although it’s only 9th place in the ‘Oricon Generation DVD Sales’ ranking, the DVD is known to sell twice as much during summer vacation, so that figure is expected to boost with this summer’s sales.Other Studio Ghibli works in the TOP 100 DVD rankings are “Karigurashi no Arrietty (Arrietty)”...

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Kalafina to release special book in celebration of their 3rd album

In commemoration of their upcoming third album “After Eden“, chamber pop trio Kalafina is preparing a special treat for their fans!A currently untitled “Kalafina book” will be released at a later date, containing pictures of all three members, exclusive interviews, coverage of their spring tour, and commentary by the group’s producer Kajiura Yuki on all their songs. Additionally, the sixth volume of “Lis Ani” – which was released on July 25th – contains a live report from their performance at the American anime convention, Anime Expo 2011.source: tokyohive...

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AKB48 attends product launch event for “AKB48 x Hello Kitty”

On July 26th, AKB48 members Sashihara Rino, Kitahara Rie, Minegishi Minami, Kasai Tomomi, and Takajou Aki attended a product launch event for “AKB48 x Hello Kitty” at Sanrio Puroland.As tokyohive reported earlier, AKB48 collaborated with Hello Kitty for a brand new line of products called, “AKB48 x Hello Kitty”. The new series was designed after AKB48’s stage costumes, and comes in three different versions: A, K, and B. While holding the collaboration goods in her hands, Kitahara excitedly commented, “I’m happy to be able to collaborate with Kitty-chan, who is loved by people all around the world. For us, this is a step forward to the world. We want to become cute like Kitty-chan.” “I’m running out of the word cute. Kitty-chan is a ’senpai’...

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S/mileage to hold mini-event at Pony Canyon

It’s been announced that idol group S/mileage will be holding a mini-event on July 24th at Pony Canyon in Toranomon.This mini-event will occur three times during the day: 3:00 PM, 5:00 PM, and 7:00 PM, at the event space on the first floor of the Pony Canyon building. On the day of the event, a participation ticket will be distributed randomly to fans who pre-ordered S/mileage’s 6th single, “Uchouten LOVE“, at the entrance of the building. Fans will be guided in 30 minutes before the event, according to the reference number on the participation ticket. Once a fixed number of participation tickets run out, a participation ticket for a handshake event will be distributed.As the release date of “Uchouten LOVE” draws near, this mini-event will...

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NMB48’s Yamamoto Sayaka in ‘Big Comic Spirits’

Yamamoto Sayaka, the leader of NMB48 and a member of the AKB48 ‘Under Girls‘, has graced the cover of this week’s Big Comic Spirits magazine.The beautiful 18-year-old girl from Osaka is the only member of NMB48 who made it into the top 40 at this year’s general election. Not only can she sing, but she also possesses charming beauty, and is a sweet girl to boot! Check out her cute smiles and sweet charms in her pictorial below:source: tokyohive...

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MAA releases full PV for “OKay”

On July 21st, singer MAA released the full PV for “OKay”, along with her 3rd single of the same name. The track is currently being used as the ending theme to NTV’s “Happy Music”. The dream-like themes of the PV are a wonderful compliment to the pop-rock single. You can purchase MAA’s single for 800 yen (~$10 USD) and check out her coupling tracks “F.B” and “Tomorrow @ Your Kingdom – THE LOWBROWS remix –” at her official website.source: tokyohive...

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Matsumoto Jun to star as a boxer in new play, “Aa, Koya”

On July 20th, it was announced that Arashi’s Matsumoto Jun (27) will star in Ninagawa Yukio’s production play, “Aa, Koya” at the Saitama Art Theater from October 29th to November 6th.This is Matsumoto’s first play in five years – his last production was done back in 2006 for Ninagawa’s “Byakuya no Onna Kishi (Warukyure)”. Commenting on how the two were collaborating again, Matsumoto said, “Last time, Mr. Ninagawa showed me many things I would have not seen otherwise. So I am excited to see what kind of new world he will show me this time.” In this upcoming work, Matsumoto will play a young man who walks through his period of adolescence through boxing. Actor Koide Keisuke (27) will play his rival.This play will also be staged at Tokyo’s Aoyama...

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Perfume appears at “Cars 2″ Japanese premiere in yukatas....

Disney/Pixar’s computer-animated film “Cars 2” held its Japanese premiere at Tokyo’s Differ ARIAKE on July 20th, and technopop unit Perfume made an appearance in gorgeous yukatas! Perfume’s song “Polyrhythm” was used in the movie’s soundtrack, and because of that, the girls were invited not just to this premiere, but to the world premiere in L.A. as well. Member A-chan commented cheerfully, “We wonder if its okay to be here, standing in our yukatas. We are happy to experience a lot of new things.”Kashiyuka said, “It’s an honor to have “Polyrhythm” used in the movie.” She continued, “Just as the message of the movie says, ‘It’s important to be yourself’, we, Perfume, always talk to each other about how to bring out individuality.”Nocchi is known...

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Hey! Say! JUMP’s Yamada Ryosuke, Chinen Yuri talk about Nadeshiko Japan at press conference for “The Smurfs”

On July 19th, Hey! Say! JUMP’s Yamada Ryosuke and Chinen Yuri attended a press conference for the upcoming 3D animated movie, “The Smurfs”, which they both voice acted for in the Japanese dubbed version.Commenting on the huge FIFA Women’s World Cup victory by the national Japanese women’s soccer team, Nadeshiko Japan, Chinen said, “Since the Smurfs and [Nadeshiko Japan] are both blue, I want to continue to stir up Japan with this momentum.” Yamada continued, “I believe if we combine everyone’s strength together, we can do anything. I want to convey that through this movie.” Regarding their aspirations, Chinen revealed, “I want to learn English with the intention to become international.” He added, “I want to sing with Justin Bieber.” Yamada...

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Kanjani8 to appear together in a special drama!

The members of Kanjani8 have acted in individual dramas, but now the entire group will star together in the upcoming Nihon Television special drama, “Ikiteru Dake de Nankurunai sa“!Member Murakami Shingo will play the lead part, and he’ll be joined by actress Tanaka Rena as his wife. The “life story” is based on Tamamoto Eisaku’s novel of the same name, and revolves around the main character as he struggles to fight through his multiple incurable diseases. Nishikido Ryo, who starred in the 2009 special drama “Niini no Koto Wasurenaide“, commented, “It’s been a long time since we’ve co-starred together, and the standard Japanese was difficult.” Murakami also had a few grievances about the dialect used in the drama, which posed an interesting...

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Buono! reveals track list for new mini-album, “partenza”!

Buono! has just updated their Hello! Project official webpage with the track list for their upcoming mini-album, “partenza“!The mini-album will feature two songs that the girls have released in the past, “Natsu DAKARA!” and “Zassou no Uta“. It will also feature the song, “FrankincenseΨ“, which was originally performed by Hello! Project’s SI*NA. “partenza” will be released on August 10th.Check out the full track list below! Buono! partenza1. partenza~Let’s go!!!~2. Zassou no Uta3. FrankincenseΨ4. My alright sky5. Natsu DAKARA!6. Kia Ora Gracias Arigatou7. JUICY HE@RT8. 1/3 no Junjou na Kanjousource: tokyohive...

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GyaO to air “Ouran High School Host Club” SP drama

Kawaguchi Haruna’s first starring drama, “Ouran High School Host Club”, broadcasted a special video via video hosting site, ‘GyaO‘, on July 15th (JST) at midnight. The special broadcast featured an open talk session with the eight main actors from the drama, and was incorporated into a special footage segment titled, “Episode Zero”. The manga of the same name by Hatori Bisco is a popular series that sold approximately 12 million copies in total. The drama is set at a wealthy high school – Ouran High School -, and focuses on Fujioka Haruhi (Kawaguchi) who attends the academy as scholarship student. However, she accidentally knocks over an antique vase and becomes a ‘male host’ to pay off her debt. Other cast members include Yamamoto Yusuke,...

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Trailer revealed for new Doraemon movie!

Recently, a trailer for the new Doraemon movie , a popular Japanese animation series, was revealed through their official site. Titled, “Doraemon Nobita to Kiseki no Shima: Animal Adventure“, the movie will hit theaters on March 2012, and will celebrate the 100th year before Doraemon’s birth (September 3, 2112). Check out the movie trailer below!source: tokyohive...

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Tokyo Jihen to release video clip collection, “CS Channel”

Tokyo Jihen have just announced that they will be releasing a new video clip collection this September!“CS Channel” will be released in both DVD and Blu-ray formats on September 21st, and contains videos like “Noudouteki Sanpunkan“, “Kachiikusa“, “Sora ga Natte Iru“, “Atarashii Bunmei Kaika” and more. The release will also include a previously unreleased track titled “Handsome Sugite” and “Tengoku e Youkoso ~Tokyo Bay Ver.~“.Check out the track list for the collection below! Track List 01. Noudouteki Sanpunkan02. Kachiikusa03. Sora ga Natte Iru04. Atarashii Bunmei Kaika05. Onna no Ko wa Daredemo06. Handsome Sugite- end roll -07. Tengoku e Youkoso ~Tokyo Bay Ver.~source: tokyohive...

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On July 16th, several members from idol group SKE48 attended an opening event for Fuji-Q Highland’s new roller coaster ride, ‘Takabisha‘.The members who attended are Ono Haruka, Mukaida Manatsu, Ueno Kasumi, Kaneko Shiori, Kimoto Kanon, Nakamura Yuka, Matsui Jurina, and Ishida Anna.When the event MC asked, “Is anybody afraid of roller coasters?,” Matsui and Kimoto raised their hands. “I hate when the roller coaster drops; it feels like my heart is going to jump out,” said Kimoto. Matsui also stated, “I hate when it climbs vigorously, and my legs float.” Ono, who says she loves roller coasters, commented, “Jurina looked gloomy since yesterday, and I enjoyed watching her.” The other members also showed joyful expressions on being able to ride...

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AKB48’s Shinoda Mariko to appear in NHK “Salaryman NEO” movie!

Today, it was announced that AKB48’s Shinoda Mariko will appear in the NHK movie, “Salaryman NEO Gekijouban (warai)” (“Salaryman NEO Movie (lol)”), based on a NHK’s unique comedy show.This movie, which stars Koike Teppei and Namase Katsuhisa, has changed its title since our previous article, but it’ll still give the same atmosphere and outlook as the original TV series. The film focuses on ‘Shinjo‘ (Koike), a new employee at NEO Beer, and his eccentric cast of co-workers, such as an unreasonable section manager named ‘Nakanishi‘ (Namase) and ‘Kawakami‘ (Sawamura Ikki), a businessman who hasn’t been able to land a single sale in five years. The overall story is said to regale the life of a miserable and odd salaryman. Shinoda will play a charismatic...

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OKAMOTO’S announce their new album during online press conference

On July 15th, rock band OKAMOTO’S held at their first online press conference, ‘OKAMOTO’S Yokubou wo Happyou!!!!’, during which they announced their new album, “Yokubou” (“Desires”), scheduled to be released on September 7th.The four members also formally announced that the song “Yokubou o Sakebe!!!!” will become a single, and is scheduled to drop on August 3rd. The song is currently being used as a ending theme song for popular anime series, ‘Naruto Shippuden‘. “Yokubou o Sakebe!!!!” and “Ai no Theme” were aired during the online event, and were revealed to be part of 14 tracks in OKAMOTO’S’ upcoming full album. OKAMOTO’S also sang a capella and did various monomane (imitations) as a part of their fans’ requests through Twitter. Furthermore,...

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Dream Morning Musume member Kusumi Koharu turns 19!

Dream Morning Musume member Kusumi Koharu has turned 19-years-old!Kusumi Koharu explained that she was at rehearsal until late last night for TBS’s “Ongaku no Hi”, which Dream Morning Musume will be participating in July 16th.However, during that time she became 19-years-old. “I turned 19 before I knew it… Princess Nacchi (Abe Natsumi) congratulated me too”. Next year, Kusumi will become a full-fledged adult. “This year will be my last as a teenager <3 :D,” the idol wrote.Happy birthday Kusumi Koharu!source: tokyohive...

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AKB48’s Itano Tomomi performs “Fui ni” on Coming Soon!!

AKB48 member Itano Tomomi arrived on the July 11th episode of “Coming Soon!!” to perform her newest song, “Fui ni“!Check out her lovely performance below the jump! itfncs by juniorsweetsource: tokyohive...

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Ikimonogakari performs “Warattetainda” on Hey! Hey !Hey!

Pop band Ikimonogakari performed their comeback single “Warattetainda” on “Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ“!This marks the band’s first TV show performance since they went on hiatus last year, so make sure to check out their live beneath the cut! source: tokyohive...

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Which actor would you want as your younger brother?

Recently, the upcoming movie “Uchuu Kyoudai” has been receiving a lot of attention. In the movie, Oguri Shun plays the older brother and Okada Masaki plays the ‘ikemen’ younger brother. In light of this, internet portal “goo” asked its users who they would want as their younger brother. Take a look at who made it into the ranking, and let us know who you would’ve voted for!-1. Sato Takeru (5527)2. Aiba Masaki (4283)3. Ninomiya Kazunari (2944)4. Koike Teppei (2861)5. Mizobata Junpei (2745)6. Miura Haruma (2575)7. Kamiki Ryunosuke (2502)8. Okada Masaki (2142)9. Yamashita Tomohisa (1987)10. Ikuta Toma (1857)11. Tegoshi Yuya (1506)12. Nakamura Aoi (990)13. Wentz Eiji (852)14. Nakayama Yuma (676)source :tokyohive...

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