TVQX to do Tomehane theme!

TVXQ has been chosen to provide the theme song for the upcoming drama series "Tomehane! Suzuri Koukou Shodoubu." This will be their first one for a Japanese drama on NHK.

The song will be a rhythmic pop tune titled "BREAK OUT!" It is planned for release as a single this winter. The "Tomehane!" drama series was first announced in June. Adapted from a manga by Katsutoshi Kawai, the story follows a young high school girl named Yuki Mochizuki (Aki Asakura), a top judo athlete who winds up in her school's calligraphy club. The was pretty good for those who want to check it out.

NHK will air "Tomehane!" on Thursday nights at 8:00pm, starting on January 7.

I can't wait to hear the song and see the drama so anxious! Read More......

Drama grand prix 2009!

The results are in for the Summer 2009 Drama grand prix see if your favorite drama won!

And the winners are!....

Best Drama:

1. Buzzer Beat - 4755
2. Orthros no Inu - 2731
3. Ninkyo Helper - 2436
4. Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji - 769
5. Tenchijin - 346

Best Actor:

1. Tomohisa Yamashita (Buzzer Beat) - 4991
2. Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (Ninkyo Helper) - 2530
3. Hideaki Takizawa (Orthros no Inu) - 2170
4. Yosuke Eguchi (Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji) - 734
5. Satoshi Tsumabuki (Tenchijin) - 468

Best Actress:

1. Keiko Kitagawa (Buzzer Beat) - 5028
2. Nanako Matsushima (Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji) - 3186
3. Mikako Tabe (Tsubasa) - 885
4. Yasuko Sawaguchi (Kasouken no Onna) - 787
5. Kyoko Fukada (Karei Naru Spy) - 691

Best Supporting Actor:

1. Ryo Nishikido (Orthros no Inu) - 2940
2. Junpei Mizobata (Buzzer Beat) - 2105
3. Seishiro Kato (Ninkyo Helper) - 1564
4. Hideaki Ito (Buzzer Beat) - 995
5. Yusuke Santamaria (Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji) - 516

Best Supporting Actress:

1. Shihori Kanjiya (Buzzer Beat) - 2501
2. Saki Aibu (Buzzer Beat) - 2174
3. Meisa Kuroki (Ninkyo Helper) - 1920
4. Asami Mizukawa (Orthros no Inu) - 1474
5. Yui Natsukawa (Ninkyo Helper) - 608

I really enjoyed the acting in Buzzer Beat but I don't know if I would say its the best drama of the season. To me everything was so predictable maybe its because I watch so much anime. Kedo Buzzer Beat omedetou gozaimasu!(Congratulations to Buzzer Beat!)
Source:tokyograph

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Ever wanted to watch Japanese TV Live?

Now you can!

There's a cute little program called KeyHoleTV, where you can watch real-time + live Japanese TV. Even better news, it's for free! I know there are many of us who like to watch anime, but watching and hearing real live Japanese people speak the language the way they actually do is a much better way of learning. If not for learning, then KeyHoleTV is good for just entertainment.

I've downloaded it and watch some dramas and anime from time to time. I think it's a really good program for being free. The audio and video is definitely not high quality, but it's decent enough to watch. Also major channels like TBS, TV Tokyo, TV Asahi, and Fuji TV are hosted. There are also some smaller channels and user broadcasts.

If you're interested in it, you can download here. If not, you can just browse the website if you find something interesting.


Happy Watching!~

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Eita Nagayama and Kaela Kimura ~ Love

Japanese actor Eita Kagayama (26) and Kaela Kimura (24) are currently dating. Their relationship was revealed in the latest issue of Josei Seven, which included pictures of the pair together. The couple confirmed the news via their agency.

Lucky girl!
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Asaka Seto, Yoshihiko Inohara having a baby!

Actress Asaka Seto (32),and her husband V6 member Yoshihiko Inohara (33) are expecting their first child. Seto is said to be four and a half months pregnant, with an expected delivery date in March 2010.

Seto finished filming for her drama "Tonari no Shibafu" at the end of last month. She still has some light work scheduled, including a commercial appearance, but after that she will be on maternity leave. You probably remember Asaka Seto as Naomi Misora the ex-FBI agent who tries to avenge the death of her fiance by bringing Kira to justice (Death Note the movie).

Inohara and Seto have been married since September 2007. They first met in 1995 when they worked together on the drama series "Owaranai Natsu." They dated for a while but broke up, then met again five years later in 2004 and got back together.

The pictures are of Seto's Character from Death note.

source:tokyograph

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Juri Ueno and the Five Bags

Actress Juri Ueno recently promoted a series of five TV dramas she stars in where the plotline revolves around a bag. "I have great enthusiasm for these dramas as I became involved in this project at an early stage..even before shooting began," Ueno told a recent promotional event in Tokyo for the drama series named "Ueno Juri to Itsutsu no Kaban." (Ueno Juri and the Five Bags) The series will be released this Wednesday, September 9th.

PS: Believe it or not, the bag she's holding in the picture is 200million Yen. Shocked? So was I.

Ueno said the director and scriptwriters gave free rein to their imagination in writing stories based on Ueno Juri and bags. She said the stories show just what a wide range of different situations the directors could come up with just from her name and bags. "That stimulated me very much," Ueno said. She will be playing 5 different roles in 5 episodes, directed by 5 different directors, but all of them focus on the theme of bags.

Here's Ueno at the promotional event showing off some of the bags:

You're probably thinking..a drama about a bag? I watched the trailer, and I have to say, this is much more interesting than I thought it would be. It's a very original and unique drama, which only Ueno could pull off. Plus, I love handbags! Which girl doesn't?

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Johnny's idols in min-project!

Several Johnny's Jimusho idols will participate in a television mini-drama project on Fuji TV. Titled "0 Goushitsu no Kyaku," the show will consist of six stories, each lasting for a month. The weekly episodes will be 15 minutes long.

The drama is set in a city hotel called Point, where there is a strange "Room 0" that can reveal one's "grade" as a human being. Various guests with different circumstances visit the room, hoping to determine their own worth.

The first story stars Arashi's Satoshi Ohno as a salaryman who visits the room with a kyabakura hostess, only to discover that she gets a higher grade than he does.

In the second story, Kanjani8's Ryuhei Maruyama and Shota Yasuda play a comedy duo. Although they get along well, they can't find success together, so they visit the room to measure themselves.

The rest of the stories will be led by Shigeaki Kato (NEWS), Shingo Murakami (Kanjani8), Keiichiro Koyama (NEWS), and Shigeru Joshima (TOKIO), in that order. Yu Yokoyama (Kanjani8) will appear throughout the entire series as the storyteller.

The project will start with Ohno's story on October 23. Fuji TV will air the show late on Friday nights, at 1:05am which is 12:05pm eastern time.
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Ryo Nishikido, Tomohisa may have H1N1!?!?

Ryo Nishikido

Popular idols Ryo Nishikido (24) and Tomohisa Yamashita (24) have reportedly been infected with influenza A, according to a fax sent out by their management on Tuesday. It is said that there is a possibility that they have the H1N1 strain.

Tomohisa Yamashita

Nishikido was diagnosed with the flu on Monday, and Yamashita was diagnosed the following day. Their doctor has instructed them to take a break from work and remain confined to their homes until they recover.

Nishikido currently appears in the TBS drama series "Orthros no Inu." The seventh episode is scheduled to air on Friday, September 4, but some of Nishikido's scenes have still not yet been filmed. As a result, there may be changes to this week's broadcast, and future episodes will depend on his recovery.

UPDATE: Fuji TV has also stated that some of Yamashita's scenes are not yet done for the next episode of "Buzzer Beat."

Some Buzzer Beat for those who have no idea who these people are.

Watch Buzzer Beat #01(HQ-digital) in Drama  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
I Plan on doing a review on this drama sometime soon once I watch a little more.

Orthros no Inu

Watch Orthros no inu #06(HQ-digital) in Drama  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
I haven't watched a single episode of this drama so I have no idea whats going on here. It looks like something I would like (judging form the first 5 min) so I think ill check it out.
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Mao Inoue's "Darling is a Foreigner"

Actress Mao Inoue (22), famous for her role as Makino Tsukushi in "Hana Yori Dango," and actor Jonathan Sherr (35), will play husband and wife in the upcoming movie version of the popular comic book series "My Darling is a Foreigner."

The comic book series was written by Saori Oguri. It tells the tales of her life with American husband Tony Laszlo, as they encounter and overcome cultural differences and barriers. The series was very popular, selling over 2 million copies and snippets have been shown inside JR trains in Tokyo since 2007, entertaining many passengers.














Filming for the movie has already begun and Inoue commented on the nice atmostphere of the set and wanted it to continue that way. "Ive never has a foreign boyfriend, but quite a few of my friends and relatives have, so they tell me it's likely I will have one too! I imagine it would be fun being in an international relationship, and the small things of everyday life would be interesting."

Inoue also commented on Sheer's good looks, saying "When I first met him, I thought 'Wow! He's cool!'"

Sherr said he couldn't believe he was chosen for the part. "I wondered if it was OK for me to star beside such a beautiful woman." "My Darling is a Foreigner" will open in cinemas next spring.

I really love Inoue as an actress! No clue who Jonathan Sherr is but he's definitely a good looking guy. I can't wait to see this movie..sounds interesting.
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New Info Noriko Sakai

New information has been released in the ongoing Noriko Sakai investigation. Some of the details from the past few days suggest that Sakai may have intentionally tried to hide or destroy evidence regarding her drug use before she turned herself in earlier this month.

A sample of Sakai's hair was recently sent for drug analysis. Police confirmed that it tested positive, though the results were still weak. It was also revealed that before her arrest, Sakai had her hair cut reducing the ability of the analysis to accurately determine her drug history. In addition, Sakai dyed her hair, which could have weakened the results by making the drugs more difficult to detect. Sakai has stated that she only began using the drugs last summer, but her husband Yuichi Takaso has said that they started about four years ago.

Police are also still looking for her missing cell phone, which Sakai claims she threw away because it was damaged and unusable. It is believed that the data on her phone, if recovered, will help identify the sources of the drugs.

Meanwhile, Takaso's latest testimony says that the last time he and Sakai used the drugs together was ten days before his arrest on August 3. They and their son had taken a trip to Amami Oshima in the Kagoshima prefecture between July 20 and 30 to observe the solar eclipse. According to Takaso, he had taken some drugs and straws along during the trip.

Takaso has already been formally indicted for drug possession, and is now facing a second charge after the discovery of additional drugs (97 milligrams) at a house in Chiba that belonged to him. It is still not clear whether Sakai will be indicted for the 8 milligrams found in her home, but police may be able to charge her with joint possession of the drugs found at the Chiba house.
source:tokyograph,japantoday
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How much do you like Aragaki Yui?

Aragaki, a native Okinawan, is a Japanese model, actress, singer, and occasional radio show host of Ryukyuan ancestry. Her beauty, smile, personality and fashion sense has gained her a lot of popularity. She is also considered a natural beauty.

She made her debut in 2001 as a model for the junior fashion magazine "nicola", then she was featured on variety shows and comercials such as Glico's Pocky. She has also been in many dramas and movies. My favorites were movie - "Koizora" (Sky of Love)and drama - "Papa to Musume no Nanokakan" (Seven Days of a Daddy and Daughter).

Here's one of Yui's Pocky CM. So Cute!~



She has also won multiple awards, such as five newcomer awards and others for her role in three movies - Waruboro, Tokyo Serendipity, and Koizora (starring Haruma Muira!). Her greatest win yet was the prestigious Golden Arrow Awards in March '08. She won the film prize for acting in three different roles in a year.

She also made a singing debut in 2007, singing the theme song for Tokyo Serendipity, which was included in her 1st album, Sora. Then in 2008, she released 2 singles, 'Make My Day" and "Akai Ito."

Now, she is doing a period movie called "Ballad" with SMAP member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi where she plays a feudal princess. She also hosts "GIRLS' ROCKS!" segment of the radio show "SCHOOL OF ROCKS!" with U-20 idols Horikita Maki, Chiaki Kuriyama, Nana Eikura, Erika Toda, and Riko Narumi.

Recently, Oricon conducted a small survey of 350 high school girls in Japan, asking them young actresses have most caught their attention. Now the results have been published, and the 20-year-old Aragaki Yui came 2nd after Yuriko Yoshitaka.

Here are the rest of the survey results:
1. Yuriko Yoshitaka
2. Aragaki Yui
3. Maki Horikita!
4. Erika Toda
5. Umika Kawashima
6. Haruka Ayase
7. Kie Kitano
8. Mikako Tabe
9. Nana Eikura
10. Kaho

Who is your favorite young actress?


Source - Aragako-yui@blogspot; Wikipedia
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Ryoko Shinohara returns!

Actress Ryoko Shinohara (36) is making her return to television acting with a drama special titled "Hataraku Gon!" This will be her first drama in two and a half years.
Drama Preview Inside!

In "Hataraku Gon," Shinohara stars as Yoshiko Gondawara, a TV news reporter with a reputation for doing tear-jerking interviews. Left by her husband, she was forced to raise her two sons by herself. When she gets assigned to cover a case involving a single mother whose son disappears, she faces a conflict between her personal life and work.

The other cast members include Karina, Jun Fubuki, Yuta Hiraoka, Shintaro Morimoto, Naho Toda, and Ikki Sawamura. The drama will air on NTV this coming fall.

Shinohara's last drama was the popular series "Haken no Hinkaku" in 2007. Later that year, she became pregnant, and in May 2008 she gave birth to her first child.

Check out a cilp from here upcoming drama!

I can't wait to see her new series. Ryoko is a great actress and enjoyable to watch.
source:tokyograph
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Yukie Nakama gives up the tracksuit for good

Actress Yukie Nakama (29) attended an even this week for "Gokusen: THE MOVIE," which is currently showing in theaters (in Japan). It will be the last time she wore the trademark red-with-stripe tracksuit that her character, Yumiki Yamaguchi, is famous for.

I don't really like the tracksuit or the pony-tails she wears in the drama, haha, it doesn't do her justice at all, but I guess that's the point.

The PR event thats she went to in Shiodome, titled "GO! SHIODOME Jamboree Wasshoi! 2009," attracted about 1,600 people. Aqua Timez was also there. They performed a rendition of Gokusens' movie theme song "Plumeria - Hana Uta" (flower song..i think) with Nakama. Vocalist Futoshi (29) was excited when he saw her, he said, "It's the first time I've seen Kumiko in the flesh."

The plot of Gokusen: THE MOVIE follows basically the same plot as the TV series, Gokusen 1, 2 and 3. There's also a return of many of the characters from previous seasons like Oguri Shun, Kamenashi Kazuya, Takaki Yuya, Haruma Muira, Waki Tomohiro(Kuma) and many others. I was sad to see Matsumoto Jun didn't return though.

Here is the movie trailer:



According to box office numbers, the movie seems to be doing well. About 2.33 million people have gone to see it and its taking in about 2.7 billion yen. Wow, thats a a lot. It seems to be doing better than just well. I'm happy to see that they're having this much success for the ending show.
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MTS drama - Kekkon Dekai Otoko

"Kekkon Dekinai Otoko", also known as "The Man Who Can't Get Married" is a 2006 Japanese drama showed on Fuji TV.

Shinsuke Kuwano(Abe Hiroshi)is a 40-yr old succesful architect who likes living alone, loves his bachelor life and vowed to never get married. He doesn't like people but can design amazing homes for them.

He has a routine of making a delicious dinner and then relaxing to loud classical music in his favorite chair while pretending to be a conductor. One night, he plays the music so loud that his next door neighbor, Michiru Tamara(Kuninaka Ryoko), knocks on the door to complain. However, when she finds him, he is on the floor in pain suffering from a terrible stomach ache. Luckily she is nice enough to take him to the hospital. He is treated by the lovely Dr. Natsumi Hayasake(Natsukawa Yui). He is rude to her but she is determined to treat him.

Afterwards, Michiru and Natsumi become a part of Kuwano's life, whether he likes it or not. They make friends with Kuwano's colleagues Eiji(Tsukamoto Takashi)and Maya Sawazaki(Takashima Reiko). They all love to talk about how strange Kuwano is and how he loves to live alone. Would anyone ever want to marry him?

You can watch the first episode of this drama here. Enjoy the show!

KekkonDekinai01.1 1/4


KekkonDekinai01.2 2/4


KekkonDekinai01.3 3/4


KekkonDekinai01.4 4/4

Videos are not hosted by us. You can watch the rest of this drama at mysoju

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MTS First Drama

Just late night drama searching, like I usually do, and I stumbled upon Hana Kimi (Taiwanese

version).

I remember my first time watching this drama in Summer '07. It was the first Asian drama I'd ever seen..on dial-up (a very painful experience>_<) but it was worth it and I've loved Asian dramas ever since then. Hana Kimi stars Ella Chen, from girl group S.H.E, and very hot Wu Chun, from boy band Farenheit. I really recommend watching this drama. It's very cute and funny, for those who love melodramatic acting.

Youtube wont allow me to post the entire episode, but here's a sample.



There is also a Japanese version of this drama for those who are interested, staring very talented actors such as Horikita Maki, Ikuta Toma, Oguri Shun, Mizushima Hiro, Yamapi and many others.

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Erika Sawajiri's comeback..ever??

Erika Sawajiri has been facing a lot of scrutiny from the Japanese media since last years' incidents. One including her big PR disaster last year (responding "betsu ni," meaning nothing special when asked about her role in a new movie "Closed Note") and acting in a very rude and unprofessional way..gaining her the name "Erika-sama" for her uptight attitude. Also, her very surprising marriage to 44 yr old Takashiro Tsuyoshi in January.

There are rumors that she will be making her comeback this year as the lead female (Mori Yuki) in a live action "Space Battleship Yamato" film directed by Ishiguro Noboru, but it hasn't been confirmed yet because she doesn't seem to want to return to Japan from travelling with her husband. Personally, I don't know much about Erika, except that she has a lot of talent. She's a great actress and singer. I'm really rooting for her comeback..hopefully. Erika, Ganbatte!
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