It’s almost time for Season 3 of the popular medical series “Code Blue”! The 5 main cast members Yamashita Tomohisa, Aragaki Yui, Toda Erika, Asari Yosuke and Higa Manami are back. The new season comes after 7 years since the 2nd season and the story follows this lapse as well. Code Blue Season 3 starts airing July at Fuji TV’s getsu drama slot (Mon, 9pm).

• Aizawa Kousaku (Yamashita Tomohisa) left the lifesaving center of Shoyo University Hokubu Hospital, devoting himself as a brain surgeon aiming high to perform operations everyday.
• Shiraishi Megumi (Aragaki Yui), due to the insufficient aide in the Shohoku lifesaving center now, is struggling as the leader of the flight doctor staff.
• Hiyama Mihoko (Toda Erika) left Shohoku Hospital and is now an obstetrician and gynecologist in a perinatal care center.
• Saejima Haruka (Higa Manami) even now continues to be an ace flight nurse.
• Fujikawa Kazuo (Asari Yousuke), together with Shiraishi supports Shohoku lifesaving, has become a lifesaving doctor with specialization on orthopedic surgery.

Hello, Arama! Japan readers and welcome to this week’s installment of #1 Song Review! Last week saw BUMP OF CHICKEN defeat V6 and Mai Kuraki. Mai is back this week, facing off against two newcomers. 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!

This is 2 weeks worth of update. Check out the latest numbers in ratings below!

More cast members have been announced for the live-action film version of “Kids on the Slope”

Seems like the industry is just begging for Dean Fujioka to work with them, roughly a week ago it was announced that Dean would be starring in another major film with with TOKIO’s Tomoya Nagase. In “Kids on the Slope” Dean will be playing one of the main characters “Junichi Katsuragi”. Fans who are into Dean’s musical abilities will be getting the best of both words, in the film Junichi loves to perform Jazz whether it be by singing, or jamming on the trumpet.

Dean originally started to practice trumpet in August 2016, he honed his “jazz” vocals with the standard “But Not For Me” by Chet Baker and by visiting Jazz bars.  Dean became a big fan of Chet after all the practicing, admiring his ability to masterfully play the trumpet while also having an incredible singing voice. “But Not For Me” is performed by Junichi in episode 4 of the anime.

We previously reported that pop-rock band Mr.Children would be providing the theme song for the upcoming film adaptation of novel “Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai”.  The band have now confirmed that they will be releasing this new track, titled “himawari”, as a physical single on July 26th, just two days before the movie arrives at Japanese theaters.  The lead song will feature string arrangements provided by Gen Ittetsu, known for his work with Ayumi Hamasaki and Do As Infinity, and has been described as a tune with a powerful, driving energy to it.

The single will also include a coupling track, as well as the audio from four live performances; three from Mr.Children’s recently concluded “Hikari no Atelier” Hall Tour, and one from their joint show with ONE OK ROCK at Yokohama Arena.  Furthermore, “himawari” will be issued in two versions, with the Limited Edition to come packaged with a DVD containing both a 20+ minute documentary chronicling the creation of the A-side, and a special live performance of their first single “Kimi ga Ita Natsu” from their 25th Anniversary concert on May 10th.

Read on below to find both the cover and track list for Mr.Children’s latest single.

Music can be peaceful, bitter, playful, aggressive—but most of all it can be loud and hard on the ears. It’s not uncommon for professional musicians to lose their hearing and it’s easy to see why: it’s in their job description to be exposed to loud noise that leave the ears ringing.

Think about the best concert you ever attended. The music was immersing, and on the way back home you couldn’t manage to get that ringing out of your ears. Now imagine the stress a performance can put on the musicians themselves, wailing their hearts away while standing next to huge speakers blaring for hours at a time. Now imagine that multiple times a week for months on end during a nation-wide tour over many years.

Sometimes, artists sacrifice their own hearing to bless yours. Here is a non-exhaustive list of Japanese artists that have had hearing damage.

Japan’s hottest young actors Masaki Suda and Suzu Hirose attended a press conference for their upcoming film “Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?”

The animated film is a remake of a television film of the same name originally released in 1993. The original plot takes place during an average summer day, a group of sixth grade boys are arguing whether or not fireworks are round or flat when viewed at a certain angle. They decide to go on a journey to answer the burning question. Additionally, one of their classmates is deeply troubled by the separation of her parents, so she decides to run away with one of the boys.

On May 24, Shinsei Kamattechan will release their new single, “Yugure no Tori / Hikari no Kotoba.” This single will be released on Pony Canyon instead of the band’s label, Warner Music Japan. The reason for this is because “Yugure no Tori” is the ending theme for “Attack on Titan Season 2” and “Attack on Titan” is the property of Pony Canyon. The creator of “Attack on Titan”, Isayama Hajime, is a big fan of the band and really wanted them involved in his series. He also drew the members of Shinsei Kamattechan for the single’s cover.

The single’s second A-side, “Hikari no Kotoba”, serves as the May ending theme for AbemaTV’s AbemaPrime.

Shinsei Kamattechan recently released the music videos for both A-sides of their new single. Check them out below, along with more information on the new single!