Rena Nounen makes her first publicized appearance after changing her stage name to Non. She was at the event to promote the anime, “Kono Sekai no Katasumi Ni” (In This Corner of the World). Non voiced the heroine of the film, marking her first ever voice acting performance.

The anime film is based on the popular manga by Fumiyo Kono. It is the second time the material has been adapted. A live-action TV special, featuring Keiko Kitagawa, aired back in 2011. Set during World War II, Suzu is young girl who recently married and now lives with her new family. The story follows her life through the events that occur in Hiroshima and Kure City.

Nintendo has recently been foraying into the world of mobile games; releasing Miitomo and pop culture phenomenon Pokemon Go. On September 7th the home of Mario had announced everyone’s favorite plumber will be getting his own mobile game. Super Mario Run will be released for Apple and Android devices December 2016. By the initial looks of things, the game seems to be your typical side scrolling adventure run. Even though it’s a mobile game, the graphics are fantastic. Unfortunately there is some bad news. Continue on to see Super Mario Run and learn more about what will happen to other Nintendo properties.

Idol group BiSH has been quite busy this year and they don’t seem to be taking a break. Ahead of their 1st major debut album, they’ve dropped the PV to the third track ‘Orchestra‘. Taking place at a high school, we see the birth and progression of friendship between two classmates. But could it be more than a friendship? Backed by an orchestra (which is very appropriate given the title of the song) BiSH sing their hearts out in this very powerful song. Both imagery and matched are very well matched to convey the emotion of the two school girls. Continue on to watch ‘Orchestra‘.

The Maebashi District Public Prosecutors Office in Gunma Prefecture said it has dismissed a case against Yuta Takahata (22) who was arrested after being accused of raping an employee of a hotel where he was staying in Maebashi on August 23, a crime of which he later admitted to.

Takahata reportedly settled the case with the victim, which led prosecutors to drop the case against this up-and-coming actor in a high-profile case that led to his mother, veteran actress Atsuko Takahata (61), to tearfully apologize to the public.

Singer DAOKO has just released the MV for “Moshimo Bokura ga Game no Shuyaku de”, one of the A-Sides of her new Triple A-Side Single “Moshimo Bokura ga GAME no Shuyakude / DAISUKI with TeddyLoid / BANG!” which is releasing next Wednesday, September 14th. On the MV, DAOKO makes her way herself into several videogame settings while singing and dancing to the song tunes, which has been produced by Hideya Kojima from ORESAMA, who also produced her first major Double A-Side Single “ShibuyaK / Samishii Kamisama”. Check this retro MV just after the jump!

Quite a lot of AKB48 members these past couple of days have been dyeing their hair black much to the confusion of fans.

After members Kojima Mako, Oshima Ryoka, Kizaki Yuria suddenly dyed their hair to their natural shade, and more declaring their intent to do so as well, a rumor has going around that a “black hair rule” was starting to be enforced on September 8th.

Last month popular rock band BUMP OF CHICKEN released their latest digital single “aria”, which managed to reach #1 on iTunes during its first week on sale.  Now the group have published the song’s music video, accompanied by a special string-backed version of the track, to their official Youtube channel.

The video was filmed at FujiTV’s “Odaiba Minna no YUME-TAIRIKU 2016” exhibition by ultra-technologist group teamLab and featured a performance by the band amidst a veritable field of LED lights.  This special setup allowed for the use of a sundry of visual effects, such as mirroring and over-illumination, that make for a unique and eye-catching viewing experience.

Please read on below for a look at the PV for “aria”, and expect further updates on BUMP OF CHICKEN’s upcoming theme for anime “Sangatsu no Lion” in the near future.

With CUTIE HONEY -TEARS- coming to theaters soon (10.1!) we can expect to see more promotions for the movie as the date approaches. One of these the treats we’ve been given recently is the short PV for the movie’s theme song ‘Believe‘; written and sung by the movie’s leading lady Mariya Nishiuchi. The video is quite simple, with Mariya sitting atop a spire overlooking a city at sunrise while playing the guitar. Movie clips are sprinkled in the PV, while Mariya sings an inspiring ballad. Come take a look at the PV and find out more information.