She might have been losing some ground with the public of late if those Senbatsu Election results are anything to go by, but you'd be a fool to count the achingly cute Tomomi Itano out just yet, especially when she's capable of producing material as pleasing to the eyes and ears as her new single 'Fui ni', released this week.
The song, available in Japanese retail outlets from the 13th, is the second physical single release from the 8th-placed AKB48 starlet, following last year's quite well-received 'Dear J'.
Cleverly (or should that be cynically?) coupling a pounding, ...
It might seem more than a tad cruel to publicly name and shame the least popular members of your group while vaulting others onto a pedestal to flaunt at the head of your column (at least until the next election rolls around).
Then again, with 48 members to keep track of, the marketing team over at AKB headquarters are probably grateful for any help at all in that department - hate to put a dud on the next single cover, after all. Thus, we have the results of the 3rd Senbatsu Election to mull over.
The divine Atsuko Maeda has, somewhat predictably, nabbed the top spot in this year's ...
Underage fans of overlarge idol groups rejoice - the long-standing ban on under-18s attending SDN48's theatre performances has been lifted at last, granting you access to the AKB girls' older, edgier counterparts in (almost) all their raunchy glory.
SDN, the brainchild of AKB48 producer Yasushi Akimoto, was conceived as an "adult idol" group, differentiated from AKB through sexier attire and their focus as a "Saturday Night"-style act (hence the name) aimed at a more mature audience. Having made their major label debut on Universal Music in November of last year with the single ...
Japan's lingering global reputation for being the spiritual home of all things tacky, wacky and weird may be largely undeserved, but the Japanese don't exactly help themselves when they choose the most bizarre things to obsess over and popularise (Pachinko? 1950s-style greaser dance groups? Ganguro girls? Stitch?!). Mediocre 2006 Disney-Pixar effort Cars is one such curiousity (its popularity in Japan strikingly disproportionate to, well, its popularity everywhere else) and, with a sequel set for release this summer, the folks behind the movie (albeit unwittingly) have rewarded the Japanese ...
Appearing to promote the new AKB48 offshoot band Not Yet, Yuko Oshima sat down with the super plastic Kano Sisters, Kyoko and Mika. Livedoor reports that Oshima had actually been wanting to meet the sisters for a long time and got her chance during a very intimate interview section on the music show Hey! Hey! Hey!.
Not one to mince her words, Oshima dove right in saying she had been a big fan of the sisters and had a few requests very reasonable requests.
"I want to put my hand in your cleavage!"
"I want you to put my face in your cleavage!"
"Kiss me!"
The truth is that our adorable ...
Creator and marketing mad scientist behind AKB48, Akimoto Yasushi, was quoted as saying, "The least popular members are holding us back and we need to get rid of them." due to the less than stellar turn out for Oku Manami's graduation announcement event.
Of course you know Atsuko Maeda, Tomomi Itano and Yuko Ohshima. He's not talking about them. He's talking about the huge chorus of unknowns behind them who do little more than create a cheerleader effect that gets so many otaku hearts fluttering.
Upon hearing this news, quite a few of the "unpopular members" as they are referred ...
As Tomomi Itano, of AKB48 fame, embarks on her solo career, she took some time to promote her new single with a live performance.
After performing a few songs, Tomomi took a break to reveal a special prize. Seeing as the event took place just before Valentine's day, she would give one lucky fan a batch of her very own hand made chocolates. Let's back up just a second. In Japan, couples and lovers don't exchange gifts on Valentine's Day. Ladies give the man of their choice some sweets, usually chocolate. Guys reciprocate with sweets of their own, but not until White Day (March ...
Nostalgia is a powerful tool and Yahoo reports that super popular idol group Morning Musume is calling back all of our favorite graduates to form a Dream Team to battle the young whipper snappers from groups like AKB48.
Dream Morning Musume's roster includes Nakazawa Yuko, Iida Kaori, Abe Natsumi, Yasuda Kei, Yaguchi Mari, Ishikawa Rika, Yoshizawa Hitomi, Ogawa Makoto, Fujimoto Miki and Kusumi Koharu. Tsuji Nozomi, another former member, was slated to join but after the birth of her second child she's taking some child care leave. While the currently active Morning Musume has an ...
I used to think that many Japanese pop stars just didn't compare with idols. Sure, they can sing and dance (kind of), but they lack the tits and ass that make idols so great to look at...
But girl band Perfume has proved me wrong. Their new single Voice certainly has a sexy cover! Check out the legs on these three gals!
[Pics via ...
For all those European fans of Morning Musume (モーニング娘), the moment you have all been waiting for has finally arrived!
The ever-changing all-girl idol pop group will be appearing at the Japan Expo 2010 in Paris, France this July.
[Image via Yeinjee.com. All right, I know it's a bit old -- there are now only eight girls, of course!]
It's never been a secret how many otaku and anime fans there are in Le Republic, so it didn't surprise us that Momusu choose it as their launch pad into Europe. The Expo is expected to attract 180,000 fans!
It's not their first foray ...
