When it was announced that Takuya Kimura and Kazunari Ninomiya would be starring in a film together, both Johnny’s fans and the general public were reveling in the news. While waiting for the film to be released, it seems that fans of the two main stars have started to clash. The argument seems to center around which actor truly is the “main star” of the film.

An entertainment official revealed that Kimura and Nino have been getting along very well on the set, but while this is going on it seems that the “battle” between their two groups of fans are only getting more intense. Since the 90s and early 00s Kimura has established himself not only as one of the top actors in Johnny’s, but one of the top actors in the entertainment industry as a whole. Some of Kimura’s fans argue that why should the movie have two main stars when Kimura has a much more impressive acting resume.

Meanwhile, Nino fans countered back saying that early in his acting acting career Nino established himself as a Hollywood actor with the successful film “Letters from Iwo Jima” taking him to the next level, and has had continued success both critically and commercially. They argue it’s painfully obvious who should be the “leader” in this film. 

Actor Junpei Mizobata is the new model for a set of alluring Kose ESPRIQUE ads where he is transformed into a woman!

The special ads were created as a collaboration with Instagram. In the web CM we see a fresh faced Junpei posing for the camera, shortly after “ESPRIQUE’s Gel Liquid Eyeliner” is applied and the transformation is complete. The new eyeliner promises to transform any eyeline into a beautiful one, it’s a rich gel color eyeliner with brush-type pen that draws clear lines right to the outer eye. The three colors that are currently available to purchase are black, brown, and pearl brown.

Junpei commented that even though these products are geared toward women, he had a lot of fun participating in the CM. While posing for the pictures Junpei went into full character, even though you can’t see them in the pictures he was wearing women’s shoes. He even had on women’s underwear under the dress!  He was shocked when he saw himself in the mirror for the first time, and couldn’t believe how cute he looked. Junpei further commented saying that even though it must take a lot of work to do this every morning, the way it makes their users feel beautiful is a very good thing.

The web CM and pictures from the photoshoot can be seen below the jump.

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.

Suiyoubi no Campanella is taking their show on the road again, this time to Los Angeles! On October 28 and 29, the group will perform at Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival 2017. This music festival was created by Tyler, The Creator and has been held annually since 2012. The festival is a way for Tyler and his Odd Future crew to express gratitude to their fans. All of the acts who perform at Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival are personally selected by Tyler. This year’s lineup includes Lana Del Rey, Migos, Solange, A$AP Rocky, and Willow & Jaden Smith. Suiyoubi no Campanella is the first Japanese act to perform at this event. Check out the poster with the full lineup for Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival 2017 below!

A very unique marketing technique is being used to promote the upcoming film “Okuda Tamio ni Naritai Boy to Deau Otoko Subete Kuruwaseru Garu” starring Kiko Mizuhara and Satoshi Tsumabuki.

A fictitious lifestyle magazine called “MALET” that appears in the film will actually be released in real life at the end of August. In the film Satoshi’s character “Yuji Koroki” works as an editor for the magazine.

The contemporary magazine focuses on fashion, culture, and various cuisines. In real life the magazine will be released as a mook,which is a cross between a magazine and a book. The formatting and content resembles a magazine, but unlike magazines mooks are designed to stay on the shelves longer unlike their weekly/monthly counterparts. The cover model selected for “MALET” is a very regal looking kitty.

A brand new trailer has been released for the upcoming film “Hibana: Spark” starring Masaki Suda and Kenta Kiritani. 

The film is based off of the novel “Hibana” written by Naoki Matayoshi. Published in March 2015, it was an instant success winning the famed “153rd Akutagawa Award”.  Last year the film was adapted into a Netflix drama series which starred Kento Hayashi and  Kazuki Namioka.

Masaki Suda plays the role of “Tokunaga”, a rookie comedian who is very unpopular. While attempting to increase his popularity Tokunaga crosses paths with “Kamiya” (Kenta Kiritani) who is a senior comedian. Kamiya’s style of comedy is quite racy, not afraid to liberally use foul language. However, he undeniably has very strong comedic timing and has crafted his humor well. Tokunaga is drawn to this and asks Kamiya to become his mentor. Kamiya accepts the offer, and regularly coaches Tokunaga while the two drink.

Slowly but surly Tokunaga starts to gain popularity as a duo with his partner Obayashi (Masaki Miura). While Tokunaga begins to raise, Kamiya falters and has to come to terms with many of his own personal issues. He falls into dept and then suddenly disappears.

“Hibana: Spark” will hit Japanese theaters nationwide on November 23rd. Watch the trailer below!

Singer DAOKO has shared two brand new MVs for her third single “Uchiage Hanabi“. For the title track DAOKO collaborated Kenshi Yonezu, who is perhaps best known under his previous moniker “Hachi”. Under the name “Hachi”, Kenshi made a name for himself as a vocaloid producer.

“Uchiage Hanabi” will serve as the theme song for the animated film “Uchiage Hanabi, Shita kara Miru ka? Yoko Kara Miru ka?“. The MV mainly consists of footage from the film, with one version of the MV uploaded completely consisting of footage from the film. In the live-action version of the MV DAOKO is seen wearing a beautiful white yukata adorned with sky blue patterns. She belts out in front of a giant projector screen displaying various impressive firework displays

The single will be released in two versions, fans who obtain a first press copy of either the CD only or CD+DVD edition will receive early booking privileges for DAOKO’s upcoming one-man live tour starting in November. “Uchiage Hanabi” is released today on August 16th, while “Uchiage Hanabi, Shita kara Miru ka? Yoko Kara Miru ka?” hits theaters on August 18th.

Both MVs for “Uchiage Hanabi” can be found below the jump!

Elegant connoisseurs Kano Sisters have been selected to appear in the new CM for Comic Toranoana. Founded in 1996, Comic Toranoana has 15 locations all over Japan. It’s a dojin store which specializes in selling manga related goods, along with amateur self-published works which include manga, novels, fan guides, art collections, music, anime and video games.

Over the years the majority of Kano Sisters “fanbase” mainly consisted of older women, attaining much success publishing various beauty and exercise books/DVDs. However, they have strangely started to get a rather large following within the Otaku community. Over the weekend the sisters attended Comiket, an iconic dojinshi fair which promotes a very DIY approach to selling your own self-published works.

It was met with a bit of controversy when the following day the sisters attended a press conference for the CM. Some netizens accused the sisters of attending Comiket solely to promote their upcoming CM, which clashes with the “grassroots” culture of the fair. The duo responded on their blog where they swiftly dismissed the allegations. Furthermore other netizens pointed out that they had already previously attended the last Comiket event held in December 2016, showing a natural interest in the fair.