LUNA SEA is back! World Tour Reboot to kick off in Germany on November 27th and will perform in Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Tokyo

Many fans of the rock band Luna Sea have been wondering when they would return.  We have speculated that they would return back in 2007 and we even bugged SUGIZO about it but it didn’t seem as if all the other members were on board.

But the band is back and will be on a world tour which is titled “20th Anniversary World Tour Reboot -to the New Moon-”.

Concert dates are as follows:

November 27 – Bochum, Germany at Ruhrcongress

December 4, 2010 – Los Angeles, USA at Hollywood Palladium

December 11, 2010 – Hong Kong, Asia World Expo

December 18 – Taiwan, Taiwan Trade Center

December 23-24 – Tokyo, Tokyo Dome

Tags: J-ROCK, Japanese Entertainment News, Jun "J" Onose, Kiyonobu "Inoran" Inoue, Luna Sea, Ryuichi Kawamura, Shinya Yamada, Yasuhiro "Sugizo" Sugihara

 

VIZ CINEMA ANNOUNCES A CLIMACTIC SUMMER ROSTER WITH SEPTEMBER FILM SCREENINGS

VIZ Cinema, the nation’s only movie theatre dedicated to Japanese film, has announced an intriguing new line-up of films and premiere events set to take place at the venue throughout the month of September.

New films for September include the third installment of the Bay Area Filmmakers Series, which presents the romantic comedy, The People I’ve Slept With, directed by Quentin Lee.

A highly anticipated screening of Death Note and Death Note II: the Last name, based on the popular manga/anime series, is next, and will also mark the release of the films in a new Blu-ray collection from VIZ Pictures.

A special screening of Satoshi Kon’s anime masterpiece Paprika is also scheduled to remember the pioneering director who recent passed away.

Marking the anniversary of 9/11, VIZ Cinema presents the 9/11 Truth Film Festival which presents several documentaries that explore the tragic events from several new points of view and trace the global impact of the World Trade Center attacks in 2001.

And finally, NEW PEOPLE gets ready to celebrate the 2010 J-Pop Summit Festival with a series of pop culture cinematic events leading up to the premiere of the raucous death metal comedy Detroit Metal City on September 18th.

Tags: Bay Area Filmmakers Series, Death Note, Quentin Lee, Satoshi Kon, Viz Cinema

 

Rika Ishikawa of HANGRY & ANGRY to appear at NYAF

Rika Ishikawa, who portrays “Angry” in the h. NAOTO-based Japanese pop duo Hangry & Angry, will make a special appearance at NYAF on Saturday October 9. At the event, Ishikawa will attend the fashion show and a panel discussion with Hangry & Angry character designer Gashicon about the Hangry & Angry clothing line.

New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology will include h,NAOTO and “Hangry & Angry” in the “Japan Fashion Now” event running from September 17, 2010 through January 8, 2011, which will feature a Hangry & Angry window display on New York’s famous 7th Avenue.

Information:
New York Anime Festival (NYAF)

http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/en/NYAF/Guests/

FIT “Japan Fashion Now”

http://www.fitnyc.edu/8726.asp

Tags: Hangry & Anry, Japanese Entertainment News, Rika Ishikawa

 

Southern All Stars vocalist Kuwata Keisuke released from hospital

Southern All Stars vocalist Kuwata Keisuke has been released from the hospital after undergoing surgery for his esophagus cancer.

On July 28th, his management company Amuse Inc. issued a statement that Kuwata had an early stage of esophagus cancer and that his nationwide tour would be canceled.

Kuwata’s voice is not expected to change due to the surgery and he hopes to resume recording his album that he had to put on hold.

Tags: Japanese Entertainment News, Kuwata Keisuke, Southern All Stars

 

Maki Oguro will temporarily suspend music career to treat her uterine ailments

Maki Oguro’s music career is temporarily suspended as she will be undergoing uterine treatment. Oguro posted on her website that she has undergone several in vitro fertilization treatments because pregnancy can prevent fibroids from worsening. She also mentioned that her job has caused miscarriages.

Oguro said she wanted to come public because, “I wanted to cheer up women who suffer alone from similar illnesses.”

Oguro is expected to return in 2012 for her 20th Anniversary.

Tags: Japanese Entertainment News, Maki Oguro

 

Satoshi Kon has passed away

The twitterverse has been going wild with reports that anime director Satoshi Kon (“Paranoia Agent, “Perfect Blue”, “Millenium Actress”, “Paprika”, “Tokyo Godfather”) has passed away.

We have seen a comment from Masami Yuuki but we are still awaiting official news that the director did indeed pass away.  Gainax’s Takeda Yasuhiro has also posted a comment on Twitter in regards to Satoshi Kon’s death and has confirmed Satoshi Kon of dying of cancer.

We will continue to update this page as we receive news throughout the day.

Tags: celebrity news, Japanese Entertainment News, Satoshi Kon, 今敏

 

Yu Sakai makes US Debut! Live EP set to be released in Japan and the US!! His first solo tour begins in September!

Equipped with a uniquely translucent and “tear-inducing silky” voice, combined with a wide range of musical influences including soul, R & B, jazz, gospel, and rock which guide his pop music, Yu Sakai has been known for his masterful sound production since his debut.

In October 2009, his debut single Story historically set the most records on FM power play, and his second single Manazashi Daydream was featured as the opening theme of the final episode of the hit TV animation series “Nodame Cantabile”. Additionally, his new single Train was the theme song of the film “Permanent Nobara,” featuring Kanno Miho’s first role in 8 years, and his highly anticipated first album Yes!!, released in June was welcomed with huge sales.

Yu Sakai’s May performance in the Apple Store Ginza launched “Live from Tokyo,” which will be exclusively released on the Japan/US iTunes stores as an EP! “Live from Tokyo” is part of iTunes’s original music series where live sessions are recorded at the Apple stores in London, New York, Tokyo, Montreal Sydney, Munich and various cities and Yu Sakai was also nominated to be featured in the highly regarded “iTunes Japan Sound of 2010”.

Yu Sakai collaborates with the iTunes Store that supports the work of countless talents. At 20, Yu Sakai decided to become a musician and at 22, he moved to LA and taught himself the piano. His sense of rhythm and groove deviates from his Japanese roots, and his first digital release in the US mirrors the catchphrase of his album, “this pop music is a worldwide standard!!” The live EP features performances of his original hit songs Ushimitsubito and Train and his very popular covers of Sade’s Kiss of Life and Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On.

On September 9th, Yu Sakai will launch his solo tour “Yu Sakai Tour 2010 Yes!!” in Nagoya. With a dynamic live show, it would be a shame to miss him and his “tear-inducing silky voice” and his unique sense of rhythm and groove.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

-Release Information-

Artist: Yu Sakai
Title: Live from Tokyo
Label: Sony Independent Network (SIN)
Release Date: August 31, 2010 (Digital Release)

Tags: Japanese Entertainment News, Live from Tokyo, Sony Independent Network (SIN), Yu Sakai

 

Estrella Lin reveals the dark side of the Korean entertainment industry

Taiwan singer Estrella Lin recently wrote a book exposing her experience working in the Korean entertainment industry.

According to the publication Chosun:

In the book, Lin details how she was asked to provide sexual services and subjected to inhumane treatment. She was also asked to change her year of birth from 1980 to 1985 as she was considered too old.

Lin wrote that any popular singers in Korea, regardless of gender, are pimped for sexual services but claimed that despite being frequently asked to sleep with investors, she stubbornly refused.

Korean actress Jang Ja-yeon who took her life in 2009, wrote in a seven-page suicide letter of the dark side of the Korean entertainment industry.  Jang Ja-yeon wrote that her agent had regularly beaten her and forced her to have sex with a string of VIPs, including directors, media executives and CEOs and with many entertainers in Korea having taken their lives, more and more news of the dark side of the Korean entertainment industry is being exposed.

Tags: Estrella Lin, Korean Entertainment News

 

Japanese Rock-Electronic duo BOOM BOOM SATELLITES to release album and announce US Tour

Genre bending Japanese Rock-Electronic duo BOOM BOOM SATELLITES to release best-of album OVER AND OVER – Digital/Disc On Demand: Sept. 14th, In-stores: Oct. 19th, 2010 on Sony Independent Network (SIN) and announce upcoming US tour dates.

Thoroughly re-mastered and re-mixed by the members themselves, OVER AND OVER allows listeners to appreciate it as a completely new album rather than a simple compilation of pre-existing tracks, 6 of which were never before available in America. Featuring 17 tracks that span over 6 Albums and 3 EPs, OVER AND OVER is the duo’s first US released best-of album.

Absorbing both electronic and rock elements, Tokyo’s BOOM BOOM SATELLITES created a completely new and unknown sound; a sound that NME stated was “like The Prodigy fighting Underworld with bloody big sticks.” This sound not only established them as an exciting new band, but also boosted their profile as one of the most distinguished music producers in Japan.

The brain child of Bassist/programmer Masayuki Nakano and guitarist/vocalist Michiyuki Kawashima, BOOM BOOM SATELLITES have been combining distortion-drenched rock and punk guitars, with electronic dance music and heavy jazz elements to constantly evolve and refine their innovative sound over the last decade.

In support of OVER AND OVER, Boom Boom Satellites will be launching their OVER AND OVER US Tour in October 2010. Tour stops will include: Oct. 6th – Philadelphia, Oct. 8th – Albany, Oct. 12th – Delaware, Oct. 13 – DC, Oct. 14th Baltimore, Oct. 16th Connecticut, Oct. 17th – Boston, Oct. 19th – New England, Oct. 21st – NY/CMJ, Oct. 25th – LA, Oct. 27th – San Francisco, Oct. 29th – Portland, Oct. 30th – Seattle, more dates TBA. This will come off the heels of their Japan 2010 Tour which featured them on the main stage of the legendary Fuji Rock Festival, alongside Massive Attack and Atoms For Peace, and above Vampire Weekend and Donavan Frankenreiter. Their bombastic three-piece live show featuring female drummer Yoko Fukuda is not to be missed.

It’s not only music fans who are captivated with their mind blowing live performances, their music has also caught the attention of prominent anime film creators and Hollywood motion picture producers. A number of tracks from the group’s album, Full of Elevating Pleasures, contributed to the soundtrack of the CGI anime film Appleseed. “Easy Action” was included on the soundtrack of the mammoth anime film Vexille. Their tracks “Scatterin’ Monkey” and “4 A Moment of Silence” from their first album Out Loud, were featured in the film The Dark Knight and “Shut Up And Explode” became the opening theme song for the PlayStation Store exclusive and later television anime series Xam’d: Lost Memories.

Artist: BOOM BOOM SATELLITES
Title: OVER AND OVER
Genre: Rock/Electronic
Label: Sony Independent Network (SIN)
Release Date: Digital – Sept.14th, In-Stores – Oct. 19th, 2010
Marketing: Press, Online, Radio Promotion, and National Tour

OVER AND OVER track listing with accompanying pedigree

1) Kick It Out (from the Japan release ON)*
2) What Goes Round Comes Around (from Exposed)
3) Looking Glass (from Japan release Umbra)*
4) Pill (ON)*
5) Morning After (Exposed)
6) Light My Fire (from Japan release Photon)*
7) Let It All Come Down (Full Of Elevating Pleasures)
40-Forty (Photon)*
9) GIRL (ON)*
10) Moment I Count (Elevating)
11) On The Painted Desert (Out Loud)
12) Intergalactic (Exposed)
13) Soliloquy (Umbra)*
14) Panacea (Umbra)*
15) Stride (Elevating)
16) Easy Action (Exposed)
17) Shut Up And Explode (Exposed)

* Never Released before in America

Watch the video for “Kick It Out”:

For a downloadable MP3 of “Kick It Out” for posting, please contact us.

For Album Streams, Full Bio, and Press Photos please visit The BOOM BOOM SATELLITES Online Press Kit:
http://www.bbs-net.com/testbbs/press/
ID: bbsTmp Pass: bbsTmp

To connect with BBS, updates, videos and more: http://www.facebook.com/boomboomsatellites

Tags: BOOM BOOM SATELLITES, Japanese Entertainment News, Japanese music, ongaku

 

VIZ CINEMA CELEBRATES AKIRA KUROSAWA SAMURAI CLASSICS IN SPECIAL AUGUST FILM SERIES

Bay Area Theatre Presents A Rare Opportunity To Screen 6 Of The Visionary Director’s Most Iconic Films

San Francisco, CA, August 11, 2010 – VIZ Cinema and NEW PEOPLE are proud to present Kurosawa On Sword Battles – Samurai Saga Volume 2, a new film series opening on August 20^th marking the centennial birth of Japan’s most beloved film director – Akira Kurosawa – and celebrating nearly half a century of big screen samurai action and drama. General Admission Tickets: $10:00; No discounts apply.

Screening times and more details are available at: www.vizcinema.com.

Seven Samurai, August 20^th – 22^nd

(Directed by Akira Kurosawa, 1954, 207min, 35mm, Japanese with English Subtitles)

One of the most beloved films of all time, Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai tells the story of a sixteenth-century village whose desperate inhabitants hire the eponymous warriors to protect them from invading bandits. This three-hour ride, featuring legendary actors Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura, seamlessly weaves philosophy, entertainment, delicate human emotions and relentless action into a rich, evocative, and unforgettable tale of courage and hope.

Rashamon, August 21^st – 25^th

(Directed by Akira Kurosawa, 1950, 88min, 35mm, Japanese with English Subtitles)

Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, Rashomon is perhaps the finest film ever to explore the philosophy of justice. Through an ingenious use of camera and flashbacks, Kurosawa reveals the complexities of human nature as four people recount different versions of the story of a man’s murder and the rape of his wife. Toshiro Mifune gives another commanding performance in the eloquent masterwork that revolutionized film language and introduced Japanese cinema to the world.

Yojimbo, August 23^rd – August 28^th and also August 31^st

(Directed by Akira Kurosawa, 1961, 110min, 35mm, Japanese with English Subtitles)

The incomparable Toshiro Mifune stars in Kurosawa’s visually stunning and darkly comic Yojimbo. To rid a terror-stricken village of corruption, wily masterless samurai Sanjuro turns a range war between two evil clans to his own advantage. Remade twice, by Sergio Leone and Walter Hill, this exhilarating genre-twister remains one of the most influential and entertaining films of all time.

Sanjuro, August 25^th – August 30^th

(Directed by Akira Kurosawa, 1962, 96min, 35mm, Japanese with English Subtitles)

Toshiro Mifune again swaggers and snarls to brilliant comic effect in Kurosawa’s tightly paced, beautifully composed drama. In this companion piece to Yojimbo, jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan’s betrayer, and in the process turns their image of a “proper” samurai on its ear. Less brazen in tone than its predecessor but equally entertaining, this classic character’s return is a masterpiece in its own right.

Throne of Blood, August 28^h – September 2^nd

(Directed by Akira Kurosawa, 1957, 109min, 35mm, Japanese with English Subtitles)

One of the most celebrated screen adaptations of Shakespeare into film, Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood reimagines Macbeth in feudal Japan. Starring the director’s longtime collaborator Toshiro Mifune and the legendary Isuzu Yamada as his ruthless wife, the film tells of a valiant warrior’s savage rise to power and his ignominious fall. With Throne of Blood, Kurosawa fused one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies with the formal elements of Japanese Noh theater to make a Macbeth that is all his own – a classic tale of ambition and duplicity set against a ghostly landscape of fog and inescapable doom.

The Hidden Fortress, August 28^h – September 2^nd

(Directed by Akira Kurosawa, 1958, 139min, 35mm, Japanese with English Subtitles)

A general and a princess must dodge enemy clans while smuggling the royal treasure out of hostile territory with two bumbling, conniving peasants at their sides; it’s a spirited adventure that only Akira Kurosawa could create. Acknowledged as a primary influence on George Lucas’sStar Wars, The Hidden Fortress delivers Kurosawa’s inimitably deft blend of wry humor, breathtaking action and humanist compassion on an epic scale. The Criterion Collection is proud to present this landmark motion picture in a stunning, newly restored Tohoscope edition.

VIZ Cinema is the nation’s only movie theatre devoted to Japanese film and anime. The 143-seat subterranean theatre is located in the basement of the NEW PEOPLE building and features plush seating, digital as well as 35mm projection, and a THX^®-certified sound system.

NEW PEOPLE offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan and is the creative vision of the J-Pop Center Project and VIZ Pictures, a distributor and producer of Japanese live action film. Located at 1746 Post Street, the 20,000 square foot structure features a striking 3-floor transparent glass façade that frames a fun and exotic new environment to engage the imagination into the 21^st Century. A dedicated web site is also now available at: www.NewPeopleWorld.com.

Tags: Akira Kurosawa, Cinema related, Viz Cinema

 

Next Page »