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Moumoon – It’s Our Time in Paris

Music video for It’s Our Time by Japanese pop duo Moumoon, released in June 2015. Found this song after blogging about them a couple of months ago.

They shot the MV in Paris when the band held their first solo concert (sold out) in the French capital in May 2015. The song is OK, love the video though… it looks like a beautiful travelogue.

Feels like visiting Europe again after watching this. It has been over a decade since my last trip to the continent. Always thought I would be there again much sooner.

By the way, half of the group name moumoon comes from a French word. “Mou” means soft in French, hence their name can be interpreted as soft moon in English =)

Aiku Maikawa x Taiwan Festa

Taiwan Festa [Jp] is a Taiwanese culture event which will be held at Yoyogi Park in Tokyo on July 29-30. The festival will feature food stalls, souvenir booths, as well as performances by both Japanese and Taiwanese artists.

Aiku Maikawa

Model and photographer Aiku Maikawa is endorsing the event for consecutive years. She is a second generation Taiwanese-Japanese. Her parents are Taiwanese who settled in Japan, while she’s born in Tokyo and holds a Japanese citizenship.

Japanese model Aiku Maikawa Taiwan Festa 2017

[Read more…] about Aiku Maikawa x Taiwan Festa

Moumoon, Shooting Star, Assassination Classroom

Japanese MV for Hello, Shooting Star by pop duo moumoon, released in February 2015. It’s an ending song for popular anime series Assassination Classroom.

I was a fan of moumoon’s Sunshine Girl in 2010. Haven’t heard much from the band since then, but they are probably doing well in their home country. Many Japanese commercials, movies and TV shows have used their songs over the years.

[Read more…] about Moumoon, Shooting Star, Assassination Classroom

Haruo Nakajima – The man in Godzilla suit

Short English documentary about Haruo Nakajima, the man who portrayed Godzilla in the first 12 movies of the popular Japanese media franchise.

The costume was made of concrete in the first Godzilla film in 1954, that alone deserves respect LoL. Check the rest about his early career from the video.

Nakajima also played other giant creatures in various movies and in the Ultraman TV series. Hence, in some ways he’s the real king of monsters in Japan.

He retired from his suit acting roles in 1972. Fans still remember him fondly, and many people credited him as the greatest suit actor of all time.

Rest in peace

[Update] The legend passed away in August 2017, aged 88.

“In the end, the Godzilla I played remains on the film forever. It remains in people’s memory, and for that I feel really grateful.” ~ Haruo Nakajima

The final issue of Japanese AneCan Magazine

Japanese model Moe Oshikiri is the cover girl for the last issue (December 2016) of AneCan Magazine. The fashion magazine will suspend its publication after running for a decade because of business reasons. Poor sales, to put it boldly.

Oshikiri was also the cover girl for the first issue of AneCan in 2007. So it’s fitting that she’s the one who brings down the curtain on the magazine.

AneCan Magazine December 2016 final issue Moe Oshikiri

AneCan targeted women in mid to late twenties who have “graduated” from reading CanCam, its sister magazine for younger women and college students.

The challenge

CanCam is still running after 35 years though (first published in November 1981.) It’s an amazing feat but the future looks grim for fashion magazines worldwide, with the shift of interest and competition from internet publications etc.

To survive, the magazines have to build a strong branding with solid online presence and to venture globally. The later is something the Japanese media have fallen behind in the past decade, it’s so difficult for non-Japanese to reach their contents.

Ryuhei Matsuda x GQ Japan

Japanese actor Ryuhei Matsuda on the cover of GQ Magazine, November 2016 issue [Jp].

Ryuhei Matsuda Japanese GQ Magazine

The 33-year-old started acting at young age and made his breakthrough when he was 15. He played a wide range of roles since, including some award-winning acts in recent years.

He remains pretty low profile though, and most of the films he starred in are not the type that appeal to global audiences. That probably explains why he’s not that famous outside of Japan.

His wife is actress-model Rina Ohta. The couple has a daughter born 2009.

Ryuhei’s younger brother, Shota, is also an actor.

Kaede Japanese CanCam Magazine

Love this August 2016 cover image of Japanese CanCam Magazine [Jp], featuring model-dancer Kaede who oozes plenty of brightness and youthful charm.

Egirls Kaede Japanese CanCam Magazine

Kaede is a member of pop group E-girls and an exclusive model for CanCam, a popular fashion magazine targeting university students and novice office ladies.