AKB48 and Johnny's Join Forces for [Shiritsu Baka Rare Koukou] Drama

A new drama titled [Shiritsu Baka Rare Koukou] is set to start airing every week from April 14th on Nihon TV. The drama's cast is an ensemble of Team 4, Kenkyusei and Johnny's Junior members!

This isn't the first time an AKB48 member will be starring next to a Johnny's member but it is the first time that a whole lot of members from both sides starring together. The drama is written by Akimoto Yasushi as well and the plot line revolves around two schools merging together: one of them a yankee school (Johnny's) and the AKB member's school which is sort of a "Bishoujo Oujou-sama school."



The cast of the drama till now is confirmed to comprise of:

AKB48
Shimazaki Haruka
Shimada Haruka
Oba Mina
Nakamura Mariko
Nagao Mariya
Kobayashi Marina

Johnny's Jr
Morimoto Shintaro
Matsumura Hokuto
Kyomoto Taiga
Tanaka Juri
Jesse Lewis
Kochi Yugo


The school has three rules which are quite funny in my opinion. The rules are:

1. Love Relationship Prohibited
2. Exchange of phone numbers and email prohibited
3. Sleep Early, Wake Up Early

This is indeed very exciting because a collaboration with Japan's two most top idol groups is huge deal.  I'm also glad this time its not the top members, but the lower members of AKB getting the drama for themselves. I know, I'm already very excited about this.

Watanabe Mayu [Synchro Tokimeki] 1st Day Sales

Watanabe Mayu's debut single [Synchro Tokimeki] released yesterday, just barely breaking the 50k mark.

It was a tough fight between her and Johnny's Yamashita Tomohisa, but the Mayuwotas managed to ger her in the lead for now. The exact sales is 50,145, close to what Itano Tomomi sold on her first day for her single Fui ni.

I was actually expecting more than that, maybe rivaling Tomochin's Dear J 1st day sales of 86k. After all  it's Mayuyu's pictures that sell the highest in Yahoo Auctions. Nevertheless it is a good start, almost managing to outsell Warota's Kibou Sanmyaku's 55k 1st day.

So if we use the sales trend of Fui ni and Kibou Sanmyaku, we can approximate that the first week sales will be around 90k. But will it be enough to ward Yamapi off?

Side note: Why does Oricon do that for the covers? It's not like they don't have the covers on their database http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/478717/products/music/951909/1/

NMB48 Announces 3 New Stages

On February 29th, 2012, NMB48 has announced three new stages starting in spring.

First of all, Team N will get its first original stage, and it's 3rd overall. It will start on May 12th. Nothing else has been announced yet.

Second, Team M will also get its first stage. Scheduled to start May 5th, NMB48's newest team will perform [Idol no Yoake], formerly performed by Team B as their 4th Stage from 2009 to 2010.

In additon NMB48's 3rd Generation will make their theater debut on April 29 with [Aitakatta], Team A's 2nd Stage, which also has been done by Team B and Team KII.

All this is happening right during the NMB48 Osaka Juuban Shoubu Live Tour, which runs from April 19 to May 31st.


I am really excited about this new announcements. especially about Team N finally getting an original stage. Also, it is great that they picked B4 for Team M, because this stage hasn't been redone yet (except for AKB48 Kenkyusei) and I really like it. In contrast to that, the 3rd Generation members will get to do A2, one of the most rehashed stages. At least it is an easy stage to learn for the new girls.


Now NMB48 only needs LODs for us overseas fans to enjoy the new stages. April and May will certainly be a busy month.

Nakagawa Haruka to Undergo Surgery for Vocal Cord Nodules

Bad news. In a blog entry earlier today, Nakagawa Haruka wrote that she has vocal cord nodules and would have to undergo surgery to remove it.

Previous cases of vocal chord nodules in AKB48 are Oshima Yuko in 2009 and Itano Tomomi in 2011. Both of them went for surgery and made a full recovery.

The surgery date for Harugon has not been announced.
There is also the recovery length to consider, typically it will take about 2 weeks to a month, during which they should not speak at all.


http://blog.oricon.co.jp/watarirouka/archive/9270/0
Translated by emptystring

I have something to tell everyone!
My throat has not been feeling well and I was recommended surgery, and I've decided now to have the surgery.
I have nodules on my vocal chords and they make it harder for me to speak.
The doctor said the operation is very safe.
I am slightly scared but I want to get better and sing, dance with everyone!
I will be taking some time off but I'll be back soon.
So please wait for me.
Nakagawa Haruka

Take care of your voices girls ;___; 
Vocal cord surgery is a safe process at least according to wikipedia, so there isn't anything to worry about with regards to the surgery. But not speaking for a month will be tough considering her line of work.
Get well soon Harugon! May you have a speedy recovery.

JR Liggett Tea Tree and Hemp Oil Bar Shampoo Review

(This picture is of the bar cut up into sample sizes to give out to friends to try)

How... do you use this new Blogger??? I've been away for nine months and I feel like switching to Dynamic views broke my blog. :( This new blogger is slightly reminiscent of the new Gmail which I haven't converted to (yet). Hah. Anyway! Here to do a quick post on a bar shampoo, JR Liggett's Tea Tree and Hemp Oil Bar Shampoo.
The majority of the reviews I read online raved to no end about this product. I could only find one blog where the user ended up tossing the product due to the fact that it smelled like vomit whenever she blew dry her hair. Interesting. I decided to give it a try anyway. Here's my quick trial which only spanned three days (lol):
DAY 1:

It’s been a weird past few months for my head and back. I’ve gone through phases of scalp eczema/dandruff/itchiness (whatever you want to call it) and bacne (which I’ve only had once before when I used Tresemme for the first time). I’m tired of pretending it’s something I can deal with. 

I decided to do a run to Whole Foods the other day and grab some Giovanni shampoo and conditioner. It’s worked for me before when I was getting itchy scalp from Dove/whatever I was using at the time and bacne and grease-head from Tresemme. I’m not going to blame this on SLS or other chemicals cause I haven’t researched this enough. All I know is that those brands aren’t working for me as they used to and there needs to be a change.

Ooooh, Whole Foods was having a Giovanni product sale. Two products for $10. Shoot, I almost bought three sets but I ended up grabbing some Nature’s Gate Jojoba shampoo and conditioner cause it smelled so much like SO’s bar soap, which I lurve. Damn you fragrance. You get to me. Anyway, I then stumble upon a small bar of bar shampoo. Oh my gosh. It’s the JR Liggett Tea Tree and Hemp Oil bar shampoo I’ve been wanting to try FOREVER. I just never had the chance because no natural stores I’ve gone into stocked it and I didn’t want to pay online shipping for just one test bar. Yay, thanks Whole Foods!

So here’s to Day 1 of JR Liggett Bar Shampoo:

- APPLICATION: It applies to my hair really easily. I just wet my hair all the way, run water over the bar, and then run the bar all over my head and hair. While I am massaging the soap into my hair, I notice that my hair feels sooooftttt and the suds form really well.

- SMELL: The smell is NOT as tea tree-y as I had expected. More… hempy maybe. Not that I really remember what hemp smells like (have used a hemp hand lotion before).

- RINSE: Upon rinsing my hair, oh my god. My hair SOUNDS squeeky. It FEELS squeeky/rubbery. That sound that you get when you’re wearing rubber gloves and they make that noise… I can’t explain. I was trying to get my fingers through my hair so I could scrub my scalp clean but I’m not sure if I was able to do that. It was just so stuck together, haha. So at this point, my hair definitely isn’t soft anymore as it was when sudsing up.

- COMB: Combing time. I knew this wasn’t going to be a pretty sight hahaha. I was SO tempted to run over and grab some detangler (It’s a 10) and spray it all over. Resist! I resisted. Got through combing. At times you could see my head being pulled backward hah. Combed out a lot of hair but that’s normal no matter what I’m using on my head. My hair is drying as we speak and it doesn’t look toooo bad but we’ll see how tomorrow goes. 

Morning of Day 3:

You know those shampoo commercials where they say ”Do you have hair like THIS?” and show a girl who has the craziest Medusa-like hair they can find and then BAM. “WELL (X BRAND) CAN FIX THIS!” Actually now this sounds like an infomercial but you get the point.

That’s what I’ve looked like waking up for the past two mornings. Eesh. It used to be that my hair was only frizzy immediately after showering and while drying. Then it’d settle down a bit and look decent. With this new JR Liggett’s bar shampoo, my hair looks craaazy lol. Surprisingly, it’s not TOO weighed down.

Here's a view of my hair, in a ponytail, from the top. I guess you can't see much from this angle but it sure is FRIZZ-MANIA when it's not tied up and flattened.

Thoughts from Day 3:

1. Hair down: my hair is SO much frizzier than normal.

2. In a ponytail, it looks nicer than one I can usually put together. Maybe because the hair is so gunky-ish that it just sticks to my head.

3. My hair moves with ONE body. It’s like ONE animal. You sway to the right. IT sways to the right in one clump. Talk about sexy.

4. It FEELS gross. Running my hands through my hair feels like I’m getting all this crap on my hands and I always itch to wash my hands after so I just don’t even touch my hair anymore.

5. My newly cut bangs (from four days ago) are sitting really nicely across my forehead! Yay. One positive haha.

I refuse to leave my hair down when I leave for work right now. It would just look like I’m all frazzled out from something bad just having occurred in my personal life. And it’d probably attract more attention than me which is not what you want when you’re trying to get a point across during a meeting lol.

We’ll see. I’m uuuuber tempted to switch back to non-bar shampoo and conditioner right now. Oh yeah, I have ONLY been using this bar shampoo. No conditioner cause seriously, there is enough gunk in my hair right now from this soap. I don’t need to add extra conditioner. Here’s to hopefully a few more days… I feel the temptation. Hah.

Midway Through Day 3:

Okay. That’s it. I’m throwing in the towel. Waving the white flag. Just a pat of my head with one hand and I’m running to the bathroom to wash my hands because I can’t even WIPE the stuff off on my hands. lol! Gross. My scalp is tingly warm. That makes me wonder if I’m about to explode in seborrheic dermatitis. My head is starting to ever so slightly smell. I mean if it’s only halfway through the day and my head already stinks, imagine what it’s going to be like when I go to dinner with others, hug, and they’re OOH WHEE WHAT STINKS. "Me..." So my interim solution to cutting down on plastic is to cut own hair so that it's shorter and I use less shampoo and conditioner overall. Tada. Perhaps I’ll give this another go when I’m pregnant, at home, and can walk around with grease ball, frizz, and stinky head all day long. Till then, back to liquid shampoo. Phew. I don’t have to dread going home to soap up  my head with bar shampoo and tire out my arm muscles combing out my hair and ripping out a ton too. 
I'm sorry JR Liggett. I know my test trial only last 2.5 days but I really couldn't do it. It's not bouncy soft like reviewers are saying their hair is. It's REALLY hard to comb my hair.
Conclusion: It's not for me. :(

Shinoda Mariko and Matsui Rena are Chukyou Racecourse Ambassadors

It was announced today that Matsui Rena will be cutting the ribbon at the Grand Opening ceremony of the Chukyo Racecourse on March 3rd, 2012.

Official Website: http://chukyo-keiba.com/
Official YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/ChukyoKeibaCom

The Chukyo Racecourse was closed in 2010 for an extensive  two year renovation that cost over 17.3 billion yen. With the renovations comes a new grass turf, the longest in Western Japan at 1,705 meters, and new grandstand named Pegasus. The mascot character of the newly reborn Chukyo Racecourse is also called "Pegastar". The new stand is also eco-friendly, equipped with solar panels.

Mariko and Rena was appointed as the Official Ambassadors of the Chukyo Racecourse back in December 2011, when the reopening date was announced. They have also starred in 2 CMs. However, there was no mention of Mariko attending the Official Opening.








I could be wrong but I think this is the first time any 48 member was part of the ribbon-cutting ceremony for something this big. Wow good job Rena. It's unfortunate though that Mariko couldn't join her. Such a busy schedule she has. 


Anyway I would like to see more collaborations like this between the various 48 groups. Where they both are equal, and it's not "AKB48" that includes SKE48. 


Rena is extremely entertaining in those two commercials, the final "IKE!I IKE! IKE! IKE! IKE!" part in the 2nd CM especially. I certainly was not expecting that and it caught me so off guard that I couldn't stop laughing for 10 mins. 

AKB48 Will Co-Host New TBS Music Program

AKB48 will co-host a new music program alongside SMAP's Nakai Masahiro and actress Esumi Makiko starting April 2012.

Currently the title of the music program has not been revealed. What is known is that it's a 1hour show and it will air on TBS every Tuesday, at 21:00. Each episode will have around 3-4 artists.

Nakai Masahiro and Esumi Makiko will both be present on all episodes, however the AKB48 member(s) will be swapped every episode.

This is TBS's Golden Time first music program in two years since "The Music Hour" ended in 2010. TBS also hosts the music shows CDTV (24:58) and Coming Soon! (11:50), which is also hosted by Nakai Masahiro.


Wow this is great news. AKB48 hosting a music show. I'm just amazed. And it's Golden Time too!
Currently only Takamina has experience MCing for a music show, Kinki Kids' Shin Domoto Kyoudai where she is a regular. But the member's variety program skills should work here too. 

NMB48 [Osaka Juuban Shoubu] Live Tour Locations Announced

NMB48 has announced the 10 locations for their [Osaka Juuban Shoubu] Live Tour in Osaka on April and May 2012. The 10 locations are spread out around the various cities in Osaka.

Announcement: http://nmb48-staff.laff.jp/blog/2012/02/nmb48-10-5cdd.html

Osaka Juuban Shoubu
大阪十番勝負
NMB48

Locations
April 19: Kashiwara Riviere Hall (1175 seats)
April 24: Suita May Theater (1397 seats)
April 25: Sakai City Hall (1395 seats)
May 2: Osaka ORIX Theater (2400 seats)
May 3: Osaka ORIX Theater (2400 seats)
May 16: Takatsuki Modern Theater (1564 seats)
May 27: Kaizuka Cosmos Theater (1224 seats)
May 29: Kishiwada Nakari Hall (1552 seats)
May 30: Yao Prism Hall (1440 seats)
May 31: NHK Osaka Hall (1417 seats)

(credit to rinatin of Everyday48 for romanization)


Only Team N will be participating in the tour though. The total number of seats in all the theaters combined is 15,964, and tickets are priced at 4,800yen. More details will be announced soon.

The tour is held to thank all the local (osaka) fans that supported NMB48, helping then achieve the record of three consecutive top spots in the Oricon Charts since their debut. Currently, tickets to NMB48's theater shows are very difficult to win, so this is also a good chance for the locals to finally catch a glimpse of an NMB48 performance.


I wonder why only Team N? I guess Team M will stay at the NMB48 Theater and hold down the fort... but why can they just alternate between the two Teams?


PREVIOUS

NMB48 announces Live Tour in Osaka Prefecture

Sato Sumire, Nito Moeno Double Casted for [Peter Pan] Musical

Sato Sumire and Nito Moeno are double casted in a broadway musical of "Peter Pan", playing the role of the heroine Wendy.

The musical will start on July 20th, 2012 at the Tokyo International Forum. Also on July 31st, it will be the 1,500th time shown since it first premiered 32 years ago on 1981. "It's an honor to perform on an anniversary. It's a musical that both adults and children will enjoy. I will do my best to perform." Nito commented

In the original casting, Wendy was played by actress Kosaka Miyuki, then followed Hiki Rie, Onyanko Club member Nitta Eri, Onishi Yuka, and Kanda Sayaka just to name a few. In more recent years, it was played by Yoshimoto Miyoko in 2001, Iwasaki Hiromi in 2005, Mabuchi Erika in 2008.

The role of Wendy is usually given to experienced actresses, and only twice was it played by a teenager. Imamura Masami was 19 years old when she first played Wendy in 1998. Moeno will be 20 years old on July 22nd, and Sumire still 18. "I'm happy that I get to wear Wendy's cute clothes. I've been acting in musicals since elementary school. Though i'm feeling nervous about it now, I'll show you a Wendy who can only be acted out by me." she said.


Peter Pan
ピーターパン
Cast (Only 48 related members shown)

AKB48: Nito Moeno, Sato Sumire
Performance period: July 20 to August 1st
Venue: Tokyo International Forum


I'm happy to see both Moeno and Suuchan given such a prestigious role in a big musical. Ogipro is doing a good job. But I wonder if they can pull it off? I haven't seen seen either of them act except in AKB48 dramas (Majisuka Gakuen, Sakura Kara no Tegami). Anyway I have confidence in their acting skills. Otherwise they wouldn't have been chosen right?


Side note: Suuchan looks kinda fierce in that above picture.

Nogizaka46 Appointed as "Sukapa-! J-League 2012 Official Supporter"

On February 28th, 2012, Nogizaka46 has been appointed as the Sukapa-! J-League 2012 Official Supporter!. There will be a CM, titled [Ketsui], starting March 3rd.

At the Sukapa-! x J-League press conference, Nogizaka46 members dressed up with original soccer-uniform-styled costumes and appeared as surprise guests. Sukapa, officially known as SkyPerfecTV, is a satellite TV service in Japan.

Hidari mune no Yuuki, one of the songs in Nogizaka46's debut single, was used as the Sukapa-! J-League 2012 official cheer song, and it will be used in TV programmes and CM.

Regarding being appointed the official supporter, Ikoma Rina said, "I feel really honoured to be appointed as the official supporter. From here on, Nogizaka46 shall become one and support the teams together with the other fans and supporters. And I hope we will be able to heat up the atmosphere as well".

She also added "Nadeshiko Japan received a lot of attention from everyone in Japan. I hope they will work hard to achieve a gold medal during the London Olympics".


Miyazawa Seira, whose father used to be a professional soccer player, said, "When I told my father about this news, he was shocked and said, 'Really!? I'm so jealous that you get this chance.' I shall work hard for my father's share as well and hope to liven up the atmosphere together with the supporters in the stadium".

Sato Amina, Katayama Haruka to Perform with Kinomi Nana

Kinomi Nana, a famous Japanese singer, is holding a concert to celebrate her 50th year in the industry. The concert will take place at the Le theatre Ginza by PARCO from May 29th to June 2nd.

http://www.duncan.co.jp/web/stage/nana-50th/index.html

The two Atelier Duncan agency girls Sato Amina and Katayama Haruka will also be part of the cast for the concert. Furthermore, it was announced that Nakagawa Haruka and Urano Kazumi will appear as special guests on the May 29th opening day show.

Kinomi Nana 50 years anniversary concert
木の実ナナ50周年記念コンサート

CAST
(Only AKB48 members shown here)
Katayama Haruka (AKB48), Sato Amina (AKB48)
SCHEDULE
May 29: starts 19:00
May 30: starts 14:00, 19:00
May 31: starts 19:00
June 01: starts 14:00
June 02: starts 14:00
*Doors open 30 mins before concert starts
SPECIAL GUEST (May 29th only)
Hirao Masaaki, Emoto Takenori, Nakagawa Haruka (AKB48), Urano Kazumi, Kondo Masaomi
VENUE
Le theatre Ginza by PARCO
PRICE
8500yen

Oak Sokunkanha Super Singer In Cambodia

Kol Davy Khmer Sexy Girl

Hin Chan Niroth MC At Beyon TV

Kong Chan Sreymom Khmer Beautiful Girl

Thorn Leakhana Khmer Super Star

Akimoto Sayaka Completes Tokyo Marathon 2012

 

Akimoto Sayaka has successfully completed the Tokyo Marathon for the 2nd time in a row, finishing at 5h34m13s this year.

Her timing at last year's Tokyo Marathon 2011 was 6h53h53s, reducing 1 hour from her run time this year. She has also achieved her goal of completing the marathon under 6 hours.

Awaiting at the finish line was Sayaka's mother. When asked what kind of daughter Sayaka is, she replied "an excellent daughter, and someone I can be proud of". Sayaka also commented  "I'm glad that I managed to finish the marathon, I hate losing just like mom" with a relieved expression on her face

Sayaka ran this year's marathon for the charity organisation "Charity to Connect Lives" which was chosen by her mother, who also donated the 100,000yen needed for her to take part in the race as a charity runner.

Oak Sokunkanha Cambodia Super Singer

Chhuon Sreymao Khmer Cute Star

Kong Socheat Super Khmer MC

Sokun Nisa Won Khmer Star Reward

Chhet Sovanpanha

Thorn Leakhana Won Khmer Star Reward

Youk Therotha Khmer Singer

Saray Sackana Khmer Super Model

Pich Solika Khmer Singer

Chhorn Sovannareach Khmer Singer

Sok Pisey Khmer Singer