The Last: Naruto the Movie opened last weekend via 266 screens and emerged no. 1 at the box office. It sold 396,280 tickets and earned 515,331,800 yen (about US$4.27 million). It is 55% higher than the weekend record of the 9th film Road to Ninja released in July 2012, also the highest opening in the anime franchise. The movie is expected to eventually top 2 billion yen (about US$16 million), a record for the franchise.

The Last -Naruto the Movie- is part of the larger “Naruto Shin Jidai Kaimaku Project” (Naruto’s New Era Opening Project) marking the 15th anniversary of the original manga. New announcements were made regarding a new Naruto Film and new Naruto Epilogues.

Today iTunes Japan has published their list of yearly selections, wherein which the service’s staff name what they felt the best releases were for the year.  This year’s Best Artist and Best New Artist awards went to bands BUMP OF CHICKEN and Gesu no Kiwami Otome. respectively, with Best Album going to Yonezu Kenshi’s “YANKEE” and Best Song awarded to Pharrell Williams’ “Happy (from “Despicable Me 2″)”.

In addition, the service also revealed its yearly Top 20 sales lists for both songs and albums, allowing people to see what the most popular purchases were over the past 12 months.  This year the “Frozen Soundtrack” dominated the Albums category, while Matsu Takako’s version of the Frozen’s theme song “Let It Go ~Ari no Mama de~” ruled the Songs chart, none able to surpass the movie’s media dominance.

You’ll find the full list of selections and the bestseller charts right after the jump, so please stay with us if you’re curious about either.

Hello AramaJapan readers and welcome to this week’s installment of #1 Song Review! Last week, Leo Ieiri beat Sexy Zone to come out on top. This week though, we have 2 new acts battling it out in addition to a returnee from previous weeks! 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!

In recent weeks, after non-indictments rulings of two high-profile cases involving white police officers killing unarmed black Americans, many protests and demonstrations ensued around the world. These are the deaths of Mike Brown in Ferguson and Eric Garner in New York, by white police officers.

And on Saturday, 6th of December, many took the streets. The event was organised by the African-American Youth Travel Program (AAYT), situated in Japan. It  quickly gained traction among foreigners and natives alike in Japan.  Even J-urban singer, Aisha joined and aided in the demonstration, and can be seena at the forefront carrying the banner. She has always been vocal about the treatment of black Americans so it was not surprise that she would also back this event. Before the group started their march, Aisha sang the song, Amazing Grace.

Recently, it was reported by Japanese tabloids that Kyary Pamyu Pamyu would be announcing her retirement at the Kouhaku Uta Gassen, and subsequently announcing her marriage to boyfriend, Fukase from SEKAI NO OWARI. Outraged by the reporting of such false information, Kyary made some statements of her own on Twitter.

Idol group Pla2me reveal MV for their 2nd single UNIT which planned to be released on 1/6. The MV depicts their struggle, walking slowly uphill with one hand and leg chained to each other. UNIT is written by BiS main music producer Kenta Matsukuma, any BiS fans will enjoy this song as it will remind them a lot to Saki’s previous group.

Pla2me or Puranime, are Izukoneko’s Mari Mizuta and ex BiS member Saki Kamiya, taking unorthodox idol route with their mix of electronic and rock music making them one of the most interesting new groups. Check UNIT music video below.

Hello AramaJapan readers, and welcome to yet another installment of our album reviews.  This time, we’ll be switching gears and looking at a male soloist who has more than distinguished himself in his field of music.  If you like folk, pop, or any mixture of the two, be sure to join us as we dig into Moriyama Naotaro‘s latest full-length album “Ougon no Kokoro” (“Heart of Gold”) and see if it’s worth your time.

Today at the AKB Theater in Akihabara, captain of AKB48’s Team A and the General Manager of AKB48 Group Takahashi Minami has announced her graduation for one year from now.

The date has been set for December 8, 2015 on AKB48’s 10th anniversary.

Additionally, with Takahashi as the current General Director for AKB48, she has appointed Yui Yokoyama, captain of AKB48’s Team K, to take her place once she has graduated.