FMA chracter visuals are out! A new teaser trailer and images were unveiled during the fan event of the upcoming Fullmetal Alchemist live action film held last July 12 in Tokyo.

We get a better look at Yamada Ryosuke dressed in Edward Elric’s famed red cloak and his brother Alphonse in his fantastic CGI form. Character images are also unveiled for Tsubasa Honda as Winry Rockbell, as well as the Eastern Headquarters’ military characters such as Dean Fujioka as Roy Mustang, Ryuta Sato as Captain Maes Hughes and Misako Renbutsu as Riza Hawkeye.

Visuals are also out for the “Homunculi”, who make up the antagonistic side force of FMA with Yasuko Matsuyuki as Lust, Kanata Hongo as Envy and Shinji Uchiyama as Gluttony.

Catch the third teaser trailer and more below! An english subtitled version is also released. Fullmetal Alchemist live action will open December 1 in Japan.

After 3 years Koda Kumi is finally releasing a brand new summer single!

Titled “LIT”, the song is apparently going to have a 60s vibe to it, which might have something to do with this being Koda’s 60th physical single overall. LIT is a limited edition single and will not be sold at the standard music stores such as HMV, TOWER RECORDS, and Amazon.jp. Fans will only be able to purchase LIT at live venues for Koda’s current tour “LIVE TOUR 2017 ~W FACE~”, and via avex trax’s official online shop mu-mo. Koda’s last physical single release was 2014’s HOTEL.

Only one version of LIT will be available for purchase, a CD+DVD in a deluxe packaging. The single jacket will be in the size of 12 inch vinyl sleeve. Besides the title track the CD will contain the instrumental for LIT, while the DVD contains a LIT “making film”. This single serves as the first part of a series of limited edition single releases. Koda will release another limited edition single in October, and one more in December.

LIT will air for the very first time on Thursday July 13th on the radio show NACK 5 “monaka” and will be released on August 2nd, 2017. The cover of LIT can be seen below the jump!

This year’s edition of TBS’s annual mid-year music show, Ongaku no Hi, will air on July 15 at 2 PM JST and end at 5 AM JST the following day. The first through fourth sets of performers have already been announced, and now sets five through eight have been revealed.

The fifth set includes the likes of AKB48, CHEMISTRY, and Ken Naoko. Kaname Kawataba of CHEMISTRY will perform songs by The Chanels and Rats & Stars along with Daichi Miura and Suzuki Masayuki. During Ken Naoko’s performance, Umezawa Tomio will appear dressed as a woman.

The sixth sets consists of Nagabuchi Tsuyoshi. This will be the first time he has performed on TBS since he was on The Best Ten in 1988. In addition to singing songs of of his new album “BLACK TRAIN”, Nagabuchi will also perform his signature song “Tonbo.”

The seventh set includes the likes of AI & Naomi Watanabe, [Alexandros], and Miura Yutaro. AI and Naomi will perform “Kira Kira feat. Kanna”, the theme song of Naomi’s drama “Kanna-san!”, for the first time on TV. Yutaro will perform a cover of one of his mother’s (Momoe Yamaguchi) songs. An interview with his father, Miura Tomokazu, will be conducted before he is introduced.

The eighth set features acts such as Thelma Aoyama, Hello! Project, and KICK THE CAN CREW. This show will feature the first TV performance of Morning Musume. ’17 since Country Girls member Morito Chisaki joined the group. Hello! Project will also form a special 29-member unit just for Ongaku no Hi, featuring members of Morning Musume. ’17, ANGERME, Kobushi Factory, and Tsubaki Factory.

Check out all four sets of performers below!

Today, the American edition of Vogue uploaded a video featuring Naomi Watanabe. The clip is a step by step tutorial showing how Naomi does her makeup before performing on stage. She goes from bareface, zits and all, to full on glamazon. Not only does she name the products that she uses, she also explains why she choses to wear them on stage. Besides being a makeup tutorial, this video is also a comedy routine, with Naomi displaying her unique sense of humor. Check it out below!

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.

Nihon Monitor has released their celebrity ranking for the most CM deals of 2017 thus far. Last year, Arashi member Aiba Masaki came in first place for the third year in a row, tying with professional tennis player Kei Nishikori. Actress Yo Yoshida came in first place for the female category. The full ranking for last year can be seen here.

It looks like this might be Aiba’s 4th year in a row with the CM King title! A few of Aiba’s high profile CM deals include Mercedes Benz, Japan Airlines, and Kirin Beer. Also coming in first place is Kei Nishikori. The tennis player made history by becoming the only male Japanese tennis player ever to be ranked within the top 10 in singles competition. Naturally, this milestone caused Kei to become a sensation in the Japanese sports world. Kei has appeared in CMs for Land Rover, Jaguar, Japan Airlines, and UNIQLO.

For the female category actress Suzu Hirose came in fist place. At only 19 years old Suzu is poised to become Japan’s next top actress, last year she came in 2nd place working with 12 companies. This year she has already surpassed that by working with 14. Some of the companies Suzu has appeared in CMs for include Shiseido, Square Enix, Softbank Mobile, and Universal Studios Japan.

The full ranking can be seen below.

This week, Arashi topped the Hot 100 chart with their new single “Tsunagu.”

Kanjani8 topped the Hot Albums chart their new album “Jam.”

According to entertainment website Cyzo Woman, another remake is in the works for Yoko Kamio‘s hugely successful shojo manga series Hana Yori Dango (Boys Over Flowers).

Since beginning it’s original run in 1992, the series has been adapted into multiple formats. The first came in 1993 and 1994 when it was released as a series of audio dramas starring former SMAP member Takuya Kimura. In 1995 it was given the live-action treatment with a film starring Yuki Uchida, an anime series was released the following year in 1996. In 2005 the manga series was adapted into a hugely successful live-action drama series starring Mao Inoue, Jun Matsumoto, & Shun Oguri.

The series even saw large success overseas especially in Asia, where the story has been adapted multiple times into television dramas and films. The most notable being Taiwan’s Meteor Garden (2001) and South Korea’s Boys Over Flowers (2009).