Natsume Mito recently released a music video for a new song titled “Odekake Summer.” The song was written and produced by Yasutaka Nakata, but there is currently no word on when it will be released. It serves as the campaign song for the Pocket Muhi, Muhi’s miniature insect repellent. To go along with the product, the video features Natsume fending off a swarm of mosquitos. Check out the video after the jump!
Previously, we reported to you 14 the Nominees of the annual Kodansha Manga Award. Yesterday, right on schedule, the giant publishing company announced its winners. This year, three manga titles nabbed the prestigious award across three categories: Best Shonen Manga, Best Shojo Manga, and Best General Manga. Check out the list of nominations and the winner for each respective category (on bold) after the jump!
This week’s show featured talk segments: Kaneko Nobuaki x Shomura Satoyasu ([Alexandros]), Rachel Platten, XOX. and Rekishi x Anthony.
This week’s guest was Kikkawa Koji.
Kikkawa Koji x Kanjani8 – KISS ni Utarete Nemuritai
Kikkawa Koji – Wild Lips
On May 16, it has been revealed that Anne gave birth to twin girls. Her agency made the announcement on the same day via fax, and everyone is reportedly in good health.
In the announcement signed by both Anne and her husband Masahiro Higashide, they commented, “The other day, our two twin girls were born safely. They were delivered a little earlier than expected, but both mother and children are in good health. As parents we hope to not behave embarrassingly and to instead raise respectable children, but we also believe there are many points that we may not notice or know.”
The twins’ date of birth and weights were not revealed.
Anne and Higashide co-starred in NHK drama “Gochisosan”, which aired from September 2013 to March 2014. They played an on-screen couple which evolved into an off-screen relationship, and they registered for marriage on New Year’s Day last year. On October 4 the same year, they held a traditional ceremony at Atago Shrine in Minato-ku, Tokyo.
On Mother’s Day, New York City held its 10th annual Japan Day. Akiko Yano, who is currently celebrating her 40th anniversary, headlined the festival. I sat down with her for The Japan Times after her performance to discuss several topics, including her career, the music industry, and its treatment of women. I’ve really wanted to interview a female artist for a while, and who better than one who has been in the industry for 40 years?
Yano first started touring the world, as a support member for Yellow Magic Orchestra, the band of her future husband Ryuichi Sakamoto. This era was a boom time for the Japanese economy and Yano thinks that the economy and the music industry are linked. “The music industry goes along with the economy,” she says. “Once the bubble popped, the music industry followed. People are not really interested in Japan now, but in China and other rising economies. However, there are still many venues to connect to Japanese culture.”
Japan Day is one such venue, but another are anime conventions. Yano isn’t really a fan of them because they tend to promote an image of Japan that isn’t representative of the many artists that are currently working there. “The anime and cartoonish things are mainstream now, I’m not really pleased about that. There are so many more serious, different things.” During this part, I brought up acts that are frequently promoted overseas, such as BABYMETAL and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, who fall into the narrative she spoke of. I then mentioned “more serious and different” acts who aren’t promoted as much overseas, such as Shiina Ringo and Sakanaction, and she agreed.
This month for The Japan Times, I had to review Perfume’s new album “COSMIC EXPLORER.” It was the #2 album of April, but since the #1 album, Oda Kazumasa’s “Ano Hi Ano Toki”, was a best album, Perfume’s album was done instead. I didn’t really have high expectations going into this album due to the general lameness of the singles this era. This era’s singles were just disappointment after disappointment. I’m not a fan of how Perfume’s sound has lost its quirkiness in favor of a more generic, more Western EDM sound. There are some hints of the old Perfume, on tracks such as “Next Stage with YOU” and “Hold Your Hand”, but by and large, this album is a chop.
We’re back with this week’s edition of Oricon Flashback. This is where we look back on what topped Oricon this week 5, 10, 15, and 20 years ago. Think of it as a way to reminisce and learn about the past of Japanese music.