Beckii Cruel, a 14-year-old British who rose to internet fame in Japan dancing to J-pop and anime songs in her videos, is forming a girls group Beckii Cruel feat. Cruel Angels and set to release their debut Japanese CD in February.
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Japanese town of Washimiya estimates that the Lucky Star anime has brought over one billion yen (~ US$11 million) into the local economy after the town’s main shrine, the Washinomiya Shrine, was featured in the popular anime in 2007.
The full economic impact of Lucky Star cannot be determined for certain; but the sales of related goods alone have been pegged at 70 million yen.
Visitors during the New Year’s holidays (Japanese would traditionally visit a shrine) increased from 90,000 in 2007 to 450,000 in 2010; that’s plenty of tourism money for a small town with less than 40,000 of population. LUCKY star indeed.
[via Animenewsnetwork][image by Hideki][Jp]
Interesting (or absolutely bizarre depends on how you see it) video of how some Japanese otaku celebrated their New Year’s Eve at a maid cafe and idol stage in Tokyo’s Akihabara… [video via Japanprobe]
Japanese star Yui Aragaki on (presumably) July 2009 issue of T Magazine…
Japanese-Taiwanese heartthrob Takeshi Kaneshiro – one of Asia’s best looking hunks imo – is the cover boy for December issue of Chinese GQ magazine…
Japanese pop culture icon Hello Kitty celebrates her 35th birthday in 2009. And Sanrio has released a video of its design history over the years for the character that charmed the world with its overloaded cuteness…
Tokyo Girls Collection (TGC) is one of the world’s largest fashion festival, held twice annually in Japan since 2005, and is opened to public with affordable price.
The event showcases real cloths, street fashion and casual brands. The show is streamed live on mobile and internet; people can buy their favourite products on the spot or almost real time online.
Below are some videos from the 2009 Autumn-Winter show on September 5; fashion, girls, or music, it seems fun whichever you preferred…
Korean pop star BoA is taking a break from her American activities to release a Japanese single, Bump Bump, featuring Verbal from M-flo. Music video, and some black & white promotional pics further below…