Meet Julie Watai, the next-gen otaku artist

Julie Watai is not just a photographer. She is an artist, DJ, music producer and model whose aesthetics could be described as "hi-tech kawaii".

She mashes up Shibuya and Akihabara culture with her original world-view and creates what she calls "techno scape photos".

Her two photo books, SAMURAI GIRLS, HARDWARE GIRLS and her mook (magazine-book) HARDWARE GIRLS MAGAZINE showcase her talent as a photographer, electrical engineer and model.

Kato Miliyah Releases PV for “Piece of Cake -Ai wo Sakebou-“

On September 2, Kato Miliyah will release her new single, “Piece of Cake -Ai wo Sakebou-.” It is a collaboration with Mineta Kazunobu of Ging Nang BOYZ. “Piece of Cake -Ai wo Sakebou-” serves as the theme song for the movie “Piece of Cake”, starring Tabe Mikako and Ayano Go.

Miliyah has now released the music video for the 70s-tinged track. The music video is colorful, yet moody. There is a contrast between Miliyah’s soft vocals and Kazunobu’s harsher vocals. Check it out after the jump!

Soundscan Charts for the Week of 8/3 – 8/9

On the single side, Kanjani8 topped the chart with “Maemuki Scream!”, with its CD+DVD Limited Press Edition selling 121,803 copies. The 3 editions of this single took the top 3 spots on the chart. Between its 3 editions, “Maemuki Scream!” sold 297,205 copies, making it the best selling single this week.

On the album side, DREAMS COME TRUE retook the top spot with “DREAMS COME TRUE THE BEST! Watashi no Dorikamu“, with its 1 3CD edition selling 29,407 copies. This made it the best selling album for the fourth non-consecutive week.

Have Kiko Mizuhara and G-Dragon broken up?

Today, model and actress Kiko Mizuhara updated her Instagram account with a picture of Sarah Jessica Parker and the caption "Single and fabulous, exclamation point." which led to break-up rumors about her unconfirmed relationship with BIGBANG member G-Dragon.

The two of them have been spotted together many times, sometimes being very intimate with one another, but have denied being more than just friends multiple times.

With this Instagram statement, rumors about their relationship resurfaced and questions like "Did you and GD break up" or "Do you love GD?" make up almost half of the comment section.

Check out Kiko’s bold statement after the jump!

Kanjani8 and DREAMS COME TRUE top the Weekly Oricon Charts! 8/3-8/9

The Oricon physical music sales charts for the week of 8/3-8/9 have been released!

On this week’s single chart, Kanjani8’s high-tempo festival dance anthem “Maemuki Scream!” has been met with just as much enthusiasm and vigor, toppling the competition with 282,644 sales in its first week.

Blocking Ayumi Hamasaki’s latest effort by a couple thousand units short from attaining the number one position, DREAMS COME TRUE show their chart longevity with their latest best album DREAMS COME TRUE THE BEST! Watashi no Dorikamu, rising to the top over a month after its initial release with an additional 32,301 units sold.

Check out the top 10 of both lists below!

SEKAI NO OWARI Tops the Digital Singles Charts for the Week of 8/5 – 8/11

SEKAI NO OWARI topped both Recochoku and iTunes this week with their new single “ANTI-HERO.”

#1 Song Review: Weeks of 7/8 – 7/14 and 7/15 – 7/21

Hello Arama Japan readers and welcome to this week’s installment of #1 Song Review! Last week saw B’z beat out Sexy Zone and Hoshino Gen to take the top spot. This week we are doing something a bit different. We have 2 new contenders this week. Since one of the songs swept Oricon, Recochoku, and iTunes, we are combining it with the following week since that act would be part of that week’s post anyway. Find out what various staff members thought of the songs that topped the physical and digital charts this week and share your thoughts on them too!

Live Action “Orange” movie releases poster and first teaser

As previously reported, Takano Ichigo’s romance manga Orange, is being turned into a live-action film.  Tsuchiya Tao and Yamazaki Kento are playing the main leads. The Sci-fi love story follows Naho (Tsuchiya), a 16 year old high school student who begins to fall in love with Takeru (Yamazaki), a new transfer student.

Her infatuation is predicted by an enigmatic letter that she receives the morning before they meet. The letter claims to have been written by herself, ten years in the future. It advises her to behave differently in the past, so that Naho’s 26 year old self won’t have to grapple with so many regrets.

“Orange” has released its poster which also confirms the movie’s opening date on December 12, 2015. The poster depicts the protagonist Takamiya Naho (Tsuchiya Tao) in both her present 16-year old and future 26-year old self.

The text on the poster reads:

In the spring of my second year of high school, I got a letter. The sender was was my future self.
The letter from ten years in the future will change my timid “present.”

The film’s first teaser was also released. Check out the details below.