Today marks the official graduation of AKB48 member Haruna Koijima. Haruna’s graduation was announced back in June 2016, but her graduation concert didn’t take place until February 2017. Her graduation ceremony took place today on her 29th birthday at AKB’s theatre.
Haruna participated in the first AKB48 audition taking place in July 2005, successfully passing the audition. Later on in the year she was assigned to “Team A”.
Haruna quickly established herself as one of the most popular member of AKB48 thanks to her sweet personality and model-like looks. In 2008 she was selected to be a member of the successful sub-group No Sleeves, alongside Minami Takahashi and Minami Minegishi. During the very first Senbatsu election she was apart of the prestigious “Kami 7”, a name for the group of girls who receive the most fan-votes. As of Haruna’s graduation Team B member Mayu Wantanabe is the only original Kami 7 member that remains in the group.
THE RAMPAGE from EXILE TRIBE is the latest group from LDH, today marks the release of their 2nd single “FRONTIERS”. The groups beginning go back to 2014, where 3 separate auditions were held to find members for the new group. 16 members were eventually selected in total, and after training for 3 years they made their official debut in January 2017 with the single “LIGHTING”. The single was a success, finishing at #2 on the Oricon weekly chart.
In “FRONTIERS” the group follows the current LDH trend of very high energy dance music. The intense choreography is a natural highlight with all the members dancing perfectly in sync. For those who are just getting into the group, the MV for one of the b-sides “13 SAVAGE” will come in handy as it labels the name of each member individually throughout the video.
Additionally the single will include another b-side titled Knocking Knocking, the standard CD only will exclusively have an English version of their debut single “LIGHTING”. Both videos for “FRONTIERS” and “13 SAVAGE” will be included on the DVD edition of the single, and a live performance of “LIGHTING” where they served as guests at EXILE THE SECOND’s concert tour “WILD WILD WARRIORS”
Watch the MVs for “FRONTIERS” and “13 SAVAGE” below.
It’s been revealed that Tarento Anri Sakaguchi has been arrested for the attempted extortion of her “male friend”. As it turns out the “male friend” is actually a host in his 30s living in the Tokyo Shinjuku Ward, who Anri was rumored to be involved romantically with. Anri was harassing and threatening him through SNS for around 30,000 yen, the male host eventually contacted police leading to her arrest. The Metropolitan Police Department hasn’t released anymore details regarding the arrest thus far.
Anri is the eldest daughter of actress Ryoko Sakaguchi, who passed away in 2013 due to colon cancer. Anri officially got her start in the entertainment industry in 2008. The following year in 2009 she started to become a regular on variety shows, leading her to become a regular on many popular programs such as “Quiz! Hexagon II” and “London Hearts”. Things started to turn dark for Anri within the past few years.
Tabloids started to report that Anri was heavily struggling to pay her debts, brought on by her addiction to visiting host clubs. After resigning from her agency “Avilla” she started to do soft AV films and photobooks.
(via Oricon and NOJ)
Earlier this year we reported that alternative rock band androp would be releasing a new single titled “Prism” on May 10th. In support of this release, the group have now made the short version of the music video for its lead track available on their Youtube channel.
This PV sees shots of the band’s performance of this refreshing mid-tempo number intermixed with images of their silhouettes, which are displayed on miniature acrylic plates. As an additional bonus, you can also find the original version of B-side track “BGM” on Spotify.
Read on below to find the short PV for “Prism”, and look forward to the single’s full release in May.
Akai Koen announced a few months ago that they will release new singles in February, April, and June of this year. “Yamiyo ni Chochin” was February’s single, and this month’s single is titled “Koi to Uso.” It’s set for release on the 19th.
“Koi to Uso” is a bittersweet love song that deals with a girl’s painful love affair. It also serves as the April ending theme for the TBS information variety show “Osama no Brunch.”
The single’s B-side, “Super Happy Song”, is the opening theme for the BS Japan drama “Wakakozake Season3”
Find out more on Akai Koen’s new single below!
This week’s guests were Kayama Yuzo, Takeshima Hiroshi, Nagayama Yoko, Natsukawa Rimi, Hikawa Kiyoshi, Fukada Kohei, Matsubara Takeshi , Yuzu, Mori Konomi, “Les Miserables” cast, Flash Kaneko, and MUSIC CONCERTO.
After 17 years Ayumi Hamasaki’s “Deji Deji Diary” will come to an end in the popular fashion magazine “ViVi”. Ayumi originally started the partnership with ViVi in 2000 where her “Deji Deji Diary” segments quickly became one of the most popular sections of the magazine. Featuring numerous cute polaroids, the section would usually include an in-depth look at the outfits of what she wore, behind the scenes pictures from concerts/photoshoots, and pictures from her personal travels.
The 200th and final Deji Deji Diary was published in the May 2017 ViVi issue, while the partnership is ending ViVi is sending Ayumi off with the A-list treatment. She is the covergirl for the June 2017 issue, a limited edition version featuring a massive 16 page spread will be released. A special clearfile will be included, as well as an entry ticket to be included in a lottery. The grand prize is a polaroid and ViVi June 2017 issue (both the regular and limited) all signed by Ayumi herself. The magazine will go on sale April 22nd, 2017.
The magazine cover, preview pictures from the photoshoot, and Ayumi’s final Deji Deji Diary can all be seen below.
Let’s talk about dramas! Spring Jdramas 2017 has just started. Were you able to start on some series? What’s on your to-watch list? Give us your first impressions of the dramas this season!
