Traveling to Hawaii is about to become a bit easier thanks to a new plane, “Flying Honu” will be offering travel between Tokyo and Hawaii beginning in 2019. To celebrate the release actress Haruka Ayase has been appointed to promote the project.
The plane will be under the operation of All Nippon Airways (ANA). A cute turtle design was selected, which is reflected in the name of the craft. “Honu” is a Hawaiian term of endearment used towards sea turtles, reflecting the love and respect they have for the animal. There’s folklore that anyone who is lucky enough to catch a glimpse of one will be blessed with good fortune.
Daichi Miura has released the animated MV for his 24th single “Blizzard“. It will be the theme for the upcoming Dragon Ball film “Dragon Ball Super: Broly“, and was uploaded today on YouTube.
Dragon Ball Super: Broly is the 20th film in the Dragon Ball series, but it’s only the third film to be personally supervised by the series’ creator Akira Toriyama.
At 7 PM JST on November 28, Best Artist 2018 will air. There will be peformances by Arashi, Hoshino Gen, Keyakizaka46, King & Prince, Perfume, DA PUMP, and Hey! Say! PUMP, and more.
There is a live stream of the show and Arama! Japan will be hosting a chat on Discord so that readers can chat with each other during the show! Links to the show and the chat are after the jump!
The Heisei era opened with the death of Osamu Tezuka, the god of manga. His work was the basis for something that was previously unimaginable: the globalization of manga and anime. During the Heisei era, manga and anime exploded overseas, titles such as “Akira”, “Dragon Ball”, “Pokemon”, and “Spirited Away” at the forefront. This rise mostly happened due to the increasing appeal of Japanese creativity overseas, fan demand, and technological growth which made these products easier to access outside of Japan. Some companies were a bit hesitant to go international due to the domestic success, but others intended to go international from jump.
At the same time, otaku culture blossomed. The term was introduced in 1983 by writer Akio Nakamori to describe “socially inept manga and anime-obsessed nerdy types who were known to address each other in absurdly polite terms.” It wasn’t until 1989, the first year of the Heisei era, that the term reached the mainstream, when Tsutomu Miyazaki was arrested and sentenced to death for killing and mutilating four young girls and sexually molesting their corpses. Due to the loaded nature of the word, “otaku” took on a bad connotation in society. The Heisei era was spent nuetralizing the word. During this time, Akihabara became the hub of otaku culture, which led to perceptions of otaku changing, as well as the creation of the idol boom spearheaded by AKB48. Otaku culture also caught on overseas with fans of manga and anime.
Rocker Anna Tsuchiya gave birth to a healthy baby girl last week on November 18th!
Today on her official Instagam account Tsuchiya unveiled her new daughters face for the very first time, along with her name. Taking a page from her western peers, Tsuchiya picked the unique name of Rainbow Wave.
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and Mariya Takeuchi are two totally different artists, but both have made names for themselves internationally via the internet. Kyary broke out on the scene in 2011 when her music video for the song “Pon Pon Pon” went viral. A veteran of the Japanese music industry, Mariya went viral in 2017 with her 1984 song “Plastic Love”, leading some to call it the “best pop song in the world.” Patrick St. Michel of The Japan Times sat down with both ladies recently.
Kyary’s interview focuses on where her career is in 2018. Earlier this decade, she was on the road to being the new Queen of JPop. Now, she can’t even get her new album into the Oricon top 10. A figure that was once everywhere in Japanese pop culture is now being openly mocked in the press. So what happened? Why has Japan checked out on Kyary, while her international fanbase hasn’t?
This week’s guests were Nishino Kana, SUPER BEAVER, and edda.
Nishino Kana – Darling
SUPER BEAVER – Yokan
edda – Loop
On December 5 and 12, Fuji TV will hold this year’s edition of its annual year end music special, FNS Kayousai. Both nights will be hosted by Watabe Ken, Chisato Moritaka, and Kato Ayako, with each show running from 7 PM JST – 11:38 PM JST.
The first night will be held at Hiten hall in Tokyo’s Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa. Performers this night will include names such as Arashi, Yuzu, DA PUMP, Koda Kumi, and Nana Mizuki. During this show, Arashi and Yuzu will collaborate. They will sing Arashi’s “Natsu Hayate”, which Yuzu’s Kitagawa Yujin wrote and composed.
The second night will be held at Fuji TV’s broadcast center in Odaiba, Tokyo. Performers this night include Ai Otsuka, KAT-TUN, King & Prince, V6, and Morning Musume. ’18.
Check out the full lists for both nights below!
