Welcome to J!-ENT. A website covering Japanese and Asian entertainment pop culture. We have been around since 1993 (the old 2400-28.8k baud modem nt2099 BBS old school years) and over a decade later, still going strong. We want to thank you for your ongoing support. New Release Wednesday:    The #1 album of the day goes to EXILE for "ENTERTAINENT BEST" and the #1 CD single of the day goes to Hey! Say! JUMP for "YOUR SEED". The #1 Indies Single of the day goes to VAMPS for "LOVE ADDICT". The #1 selling music DVD of the day goes to RIP SLYME for "FUNFAIR TOUR FINAL at BUDOKAN". For Oricon Weekly Chart ratings: Single | Album NINKI Poll: Predictions for CD singles and Album sales DON'T MISS A BEAT! Get the latest Japanese and Asian entertainment and pop culture news from J!-ENT via RSS. CLICK HERE! Hamasaki Ayumi's "A COMPLETE" Photo courtesy of Sankei Sports. Celebrating Hamasaki Ayumi's 10th Anniversary, avex trax will release "A COMPLETE", an album that will contain all 43 Hamasaki Ayumi CD singles. The planned release is on September 10th. RECENT NEWS [MANGA] Manga coming to the Nintendo Wii 1 days ago-24 Jul 2008 11:59:pm New York Times recently had a report on digital comics coming to the Wii in Japan. According to the article, “Four of Japan’s biggest comic book or ‘manga’ publishers are coming together to bring digital versions of their magazines to Nintendo’s Wii console.” “The companies, Kadokawa, Kodansha, Shueisha and Shogakukan, have formed a joint venture with a [...] Read More / Discuss It... [J-ENT] Actress Nakama Yukie introduces “Panasonic Beauty” 1 days ago-24 Jul 2008 7:57:pm Japantoday.com reported, “Actress Yukie Nakama, 28, and ex-Yakult Swallows manager Atsuya Furuta, 42, teamed up this week to promote Panasonic’s new beauty appliance brand “Panasonic Beauty.” The two will appear new TV commercials from autumn. Asked about the essence of beauty, Nakama said, “The first impression stemming from grooming and appearance is important. But internal [...] Read More / Discuss It... [HK] Hong Kong man convicted for uploading Edison Chen photos 1 days ago-24 Jul 2008 7:56:pm CRIEnglish.com reported, “A Hong Kong man has become the first person to be convicted of uploading nude photos on to the Internet .” “Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts sentenced Kwok Chun-wai to two months in prison with two years of probation, according to Sina.com.” “Kwok, 24, was found uploading about 140 explicit photos of actor and singer Edison [...] Read More / Discuss It... [DORAMA] Yonekura Ryoko excited about playing a murderer in upcoming drama 1 days ago-24 Jul 2008 7:54:pm Japantoday.com reported, “Actress Ryoko Yonekura, 32, is relishing the chance to play a bad girl. She will appear in the special drama “Koori no Hana” to mark the 50th anniversary of TV Asahi. Yonekura will play the role of a criminal who plans a perfect murder. The drama is based on a mystery novel by [...] Read More / Discuss It... Super Robot Wars Original Generation: Divine Wars Vol. 4 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review) 1 days ago-24 Jul 2008 7:07:pm “The latest volume of ‘Super Robot Wars Original Generation: Divine Wars’ features the crew of the Hagwane and the Hagwane itself as it leaves towards its mission to destroy the Divne Crusader base. This time, this volume focuses on character development of other characters and still managing to continue the mecha battles that makes [...] Read More / Discuss It... Tohoshinki - Doushite Kimi wo Suki ni Natte Shimattandarou? (a J!-ENT World Groove CD Single Review) 1 days ago-24 Jul 2008 5:40:pm “Each time I hear a ballad from Tohoshinki, I’m always struck by the lyrics and the vocals. Their latest ballad ‘Doushite Kimi wo Suki ni Natte Shimattandarou?’ is another song that has captured my attention like their past ballads and have listened to a jillion times. It’s that awesome!” BAND: Tohoshinki CD SINGLE: Doushite Kimi [...] Read More / Discuss It... [ORICON] Top 10 Albums (Daily Charts) - EXILE takes the #1 spot (7.23.08) 1 days ago-24 Jul 2008 12:20:pm Which group or artist took the #1 spot on new release Wednesday on the Oricon album Daily Chart? NOTE: EXILE takes the #1 spot and GReeeeN continuing to be strong for many weeks in the Oricon top 10.  Good showing for anime and video game related albums with “NARUTO” at #2, “Gundam 00″ drama CD at [...] Read More / Discuss It... [ORICON] Oricon Top 10 CD Singles (Daily Chart): Hey! Say! JUMP takes the #1 position (7.23.08) 1 days ago-24 Jul 2008 12:14:pm Which artist or group came #1 on the Oricon Daily Chart on new release Wednesday? NOTE: Johnny’s Jimusho group Hey! Say! JUMP takes the #1 spot, Miyazaki/Ghibli CD single “Ponyo on the Cliff” at #3, Hayashibara Megumi returns to the Oricon charts with her hit song from “Slayers Revolution”.  Last week’s #1 Tohoshinki drops to #18. Hey! [...] Read More / Discuss It... [YouTube] Old School Music Video of the Day - Faye Wong “Eyes on Me” 1 days ago-24 Jul 2008 11:25:am I know that I’m going against the major fan base especially those who love “Final Fantasy VII” but I enjoyed “Final Fantasy VIII” much more and I loved the ending theme by Faye Wong. Hard to believe the game and song is almost ten years old but nevertheless, I pick this as the music video [...] Read More / Discuss It... [OTAKON] The Underneath, Marbell, Daizy Stripper to invade Otakon 2008! 1 days ago-24 Jul 2008 8:15:am JROCKers The Underneath, Marbell and Daizy Stripper are coming all the way from Japan to invade the 15th annual Otakon 2008, August 8th, 9th and 10th in Baltimore, Maryland. The Underneath, fresh off their heels from their North American tour with the Rockstar Taste of Chaos and meeting up again with fellow tour mates for a [...] Read More / Discuss It... [More News]

So, you want to watch the latest Japanese drama, variety show, music show, etc.? One way is through the local Japanese video stores near you.

Click here for Japanese video stores that
carry Japanese entertainment in the US.

The following TV ratings are from Video Research Ltd. There are usual ratings focusing on the Kanto (Tokyo) area and the Kansai (Osaka) area and a good representation of what the audiences throughout the country are watching. The top 10 are broken down into several categories. They are:

NEWS, EDUCATION/CULTURE, MUSIC, DORAMA, ANIME, MOVIE, SPORTS & VARIETY

The ratings are updated every week around Tuesday (US).

For Japanese entertainment TV site access ratings on the Web, check out WADAIN.

Please e-mail us with any concert information of upcoming Japanese and Asian performances in North America.

2008:

August 8-10: JAM Project, THE UNDERNEATH and more at Otakon, Baltimore, Maryland

AUGUST 12-16: GLAY performs at the Fillmore in San Francisco and House of Blues in Los Angeles

Welcome to our interview and articles section of J!-ENT. Where we interview Japanese and Asian/Asian American entertainers and professionals. We have a large list of interviews and features, so if you are looking for a previous interview or article that was featured on J!-ENT? Please click here (1993-2003) or click here (2004-Present).

The following entertainment interviews are PDF's. To view a PDF, please download Adobe Reader (or Acrobat Reader) by clicking on the logo on the right.

	J!-ENT SPECIAL FEATURE ARTICLE & INTERVIEW: An Cafe by Wynne Ip. Photography by Nergene Arquelada. CLICK HERE!
	J!-ENT SPECIAL FEATURE INTERVIEW with HALCALI by Dennis A. Amith. CLICK HERE!
	J!-ENT SPECIAL PICTORIAL: TOKYO NIGHT 2008 feat. ZEEBRA and more! by Nergene Arquelada! CLICK HERE!
	J!-ENT SPECIAL 500-PAGE FAN BOOKLET & INTERVIEW with TOHOSHINKI by Dennis A. Amith! CLICK HERE!
	J!-ENT SPECIAL "TASTE OF CHAOS" FEATURE & INTERVIEW: MUCC, D'espairsRay and the Underneath by Wynne Ip & Nergene Arquelada. CLICK HERE!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INTERVIEWS

Disclaimer: Our blog reviews are pretty much done off the cuff... blogged at home, cafe, traveling on the road and just posted on the site. A little bit more of the hook type of review than what we do on our PDF reviews.

MUSIC:

	7/24/08: J!-ENT "World Groove" blog CD album review for Tohoshinki - "Doushite Kimi wo Suki ni Natte Shimattandarou?". CLICK HERE
	7/1/08: J!-ENT short "World Groove" blog album review for "TRIPLANE - Kokoro Haretara". Click here
	6/25/08: J!-ENT "World Groove" blog album review for "BoA - THE FACE". CLICK HERE
	6/20/08: J!-ENT classic "World Groove" blog album review for "MODERN TOKYO CONNECTION VOL. 1". CLICK HERE
	6/12/08: J!-ENT "World Groove" blog album review for "SOFFet - NEW STANDARD". CLICK HERE

MORE MUSIC REVIEWS (WORLD GROOVE)

VIDEO GAMES:

Disclaimer: For video game reviews, please bare in mind that they may contain spoilers. We try to avoid them as best as we can.

	7/24/08: Looking for song translations for "Daigasso Band Brothers DX", we have been constantly updating our list of song translations. Click here
	7/13/08: J!-ENT first glance review for the Marvelous Entertainment/ATLUS DS video game "LUMINOUS ARC". Click here
	6/14/08: J! -ENT review of theNintendo DS game "SUPER DODGEBALL BRAWLERS". Click here

MORE J!-ENT VIDEO GAME REVIEWS

m-create: JAPAN VIDEO GAME SALES CHARTS , Oricon Video Games Sales Charts

DVD:

Disclaimer: For film and reviews, please bare in mind that they may contain spoilers. We try to avoid them as best as we can.

	7/24/08: J!-ENT DVD review for Geneon's "SUPER ROBOT WARS ORIGINAL GENERATION: DIVINE WARS VOL. 4". Click here
	7/17/08: J!-ENT DVD review for Bandai Visual's "SUPER ROBOT WARS ORIGINAL GENERATION: DIVINE WARS VOL. 3" Click here
	7/10/08: J!-ENT DVD review for Bandai Visual's "SUPER ROBOT WARS ORIGINAL GENERATION: DIVINE WARS VOL. 2". Click here
	7/14/08: J!-ENT DVD review for Funimation's "VEXILLE". Click here
	7/13/08: J!-ENTDVD review for Bandai Entertainment's "Z-MIND". Click here
	7/8/08: J!-ENT Blu-ray and DVD review for Bandai Visual's "ROYAL SPACE FORCE - The Wings of Honnemaise". Click here

MORE ANIME REVIEWS

MORE ASIAN DVD REVIEWS

ORICON JAPAN MUSIC DVD CHARTS | ORICON DVD CHARTS

POP CULTURE RELATED BOOK REVIEWS:

	7/21/08: J!-ENT Book Review for "J-Rock Groupies". Click here.
	6/29/08: J!-ENT Book Review for "JAPAN BAR GIRLS BARE ALL". Click here.
	6/2/08: J!-ENT Book Review for "The Japanese Tattoo Design Handbook Vol. 1". Click here.

MORE BOOK REVIEWS