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Idols (Page 14)

Japanese discount store’s line of Love Live! anime merch all costs less than five bucks

Casey Baseel
Jan 8, 2016
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Even the thriftiest otaku can spare 300 yen for his best girl, right?

Japan
(100 yen shops • 3 Coins • anime • Idols • love live • otaku)

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s “little sister” Hamada Bamyu Bamyu is kinda cute and kinda gorilla【Video】

Joan Coello
Dec 29, 2015

Are you a fan of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu? Then perhaps you’ll like her new “little sister” Hamada Bamyu Bamyu, Japan’s latest quirky pop sensation.

Japan
(comedians • Downtown • Hamada Bamyu Bamyu • Idols • J-Pop • Kyary Pamyu Pamyu • music)

The 10 best anime about idols, as chosen by the Internet masses

KK Miller
Dec 26, 2015

With gigantic casts of characters who are groomed to become fan favorites, what’s not to love? Did your favorite idol anime make the list?

Internet
(anime • Idols • J-Pop • list • ranking)

Ease your Christmas loneliness with idol singer Santa cosplay 【Photos】

Casey Baseel
Dec 25, 2015

J-pop vocalists dress up as Miss Claus.

Japan
(AKB48 • Christmas • cosplay • cute girls • Idols • J-Pop • Sants)

J.J. Abrams reveals that he wanted an AKB48 idol in the cast for Star Trek

Casey Baseel
Dec 21, 2015

The famed Hollywood director was ready to set his phaser to “idol.”

Japan, USA
(AKB48 • Idols • J-Pop • J.J. Abrams • movies • Star Trek • Star Wars)

What do North Korean idol singers sound like? Like this 【Videos】

Casey Baseel
Dec 15, 2015

“We’ll exert ourselves with the Labor Party!” sounds so much more appealing when it’s being sung by young women in high heels and followed by a guitar solo.

North Korea
(idol singers • Idols • music • pop music • video)

Justin Bieber kisses two of Japan’s most popular idols, breaks the hearts and minds of their fans

Casey Baseel
Dec 7, 2015

Two pecks on the cheek, far, far more angry idol otaku.

Canada, Internet, Japan
(AKB48 • Idols • J-Pop • Justin Bieber • Kiss)

Interactive bikini-clad Japanese idol video: Perfect for those who like to watch, those who don’t

Casey Baseel
Nov 27, 2015

Ogle to your heart’s content or stare embarrassedly at the floor — it’s up to you!

Japan
(beautiful women • Idols • Momona Kito • video • Yua Mikami)

McDonald’s offering massive 48-McNuggest bucket in Japan, but true idol fans need to eat 1,200

Casey Baseel
Nov 24, 2015

Because why stop at 40 pieces when you could order 48, or just keep going into quadruple digits to really support your favorite Japanese idol singer?

Japan
(crazy • huge food • Idols • J-Pop • McDonald's • McNuggets • NGT48)

Love Live!’s popularity continues to soar, anime appears in Qatar Airways in-flight entertainment

Casey Baseel
Nov 6, 2015

Following their conquest of Japan, the high school idols of hit anime Love Live! have their eyes set on the rest of the world, with an international release for their first theatrical feature. But even that might not be a big enough stage for the animated vocalists. They’re now on their way to taking over the skies as well, since you can now watch Love Live! anime on selected flights on, of all carriers, Qatar Airways.

C Asia, Japan
(airplanes • anime • Idols • love live • Middle East • otaku • Qatar Airways)

Anime voice actress arrested for suspected cocaine possession, has name scrubbed from series cast

Casey Baseel
Oct 28, 2015

When it comes to celebrities and drug-use, Japan doesn’t have the same forgiving attitude that many other societies do. Last year, for example, when pop singer Aska was arrested on drug charges, the Studio Ghibli-animated video for the vocalist’s song “On Your Mark” was removed from an upcoming boxed set of Hayao Miyazaki animation.

Now there’s been another intersection of anime, music, and illegal narcotics, as idol singer and voice actress Ai Takabe has been arrested for drug possession, and the anime she most recently performed in has been pulled from online streaming as producers scrub her name from the cast.

Japan
(anime • crime • Drugs • Idols • Kill Me Baby • scandal)

KBG84, Japan’s oldest idol group, have released their first major label single and it’s amazing

Preston Phro
Oct 22, 2015

We first discovered KBG84, Japan’s elderly idol unit, earlier this year and were impressed with their energy, particularly their live performances. The group has had a few months to get their name out there, and they even released a music video for their song “Come On and Dance Kohamajima” in July. But it wasn’t until this month that they released their first single, available now for your listening pleasure!

Japan
(Idols • KBG84 • music • Okinawa)

Three tricky ways the Japanese entertainment industry keeps idol singers from dating

Casey Baseel
Oct 20, 2015

It’s widely known in Japan that idol singers are often contractually prohibited from engaging in romantic relationships. The reasoning goes that if word gets out that an idol singer has a boyfriend, her fans will feel betrayed that she isn’t solely devoted to her role as a musician and entertainer, and thus stop buying her CDs (there’s also the unspoken implication that openly dating someone will destroy the fantasies of individual fans that would like to date the singer themselves).

A signed contract isn’t always enough to keep young love and hormones in check, though. And when you consider that idols are almost always attractive, outgoing young women, it seems like it should be only a matter of time until they find a guy they fancy out of their swarms of would-be suitors. That’s why in addition to legal pledges not to date, the Japanese entertainment industry has a number of sneaky tactics up its sleeve to prevent its idols from falling in love or going on a single date.

Japan
(COK • Idols • J-Pop • music • romance)

Japanese idol unit plans concert for men only, draws complaints from women’s organization

Casey Baseel
Oct 14, 2015

The city of Dazaifu, located in Fukuoka Prefecture, has a couple of nice cultural sites, such as the Tenmangu Shinto shrine and Komyozenji Buddhist temple. It’s pretty short on modern, youth-oriented attractions, though, so many of the city’s younger residents were probably thrilled when they heard that Momoiro Clover Z, one of Japan’s most popular idol units, would be holding a concert in their relatively sleepy town.

Many of them were less thrilled, though, when it was announced that the concert would be held only for male fans, a decision that’s drawn complaints from a local women’s group.

Japan
(concert • controversy • Idols • J-Pop • Momoiro Clover Z • music)

Looking for some new Japanese music? Virtual boy band Eight of Triangle is about to blow up

KK Miller
Oct 12, 2015

One of the oddest and yet most popular idols in Japan is the Vocaloid, Hatsune Miku. She sings, she dances, and fans think of her more as a living, breathing person than the virtual reality project that she is. She makes a ton of money from her live concerts and merchandise and her only real competition is her other female Vocaloid friends.

But perhaps that is about to change, as a new duo of virtual reality idols hit the Internet today, launching their careers with a preview of their upcoming single along with their sultry computer-generated good looks. Introducing Kazuto and Ray from the group Eight of Triangle!

Japan
(Eight of Triangle • Idols • J-Pop • music • vocaloids)

Government’s Cool Japan Project to fund AKB48 sister group in Philippines

Master Blaster
Oct 5, 2015

It’s been recently announced that AKB Group, the idol conglomerate responsible for AKB48, NMB48, SKE48, HKT48, NGT48, JKT48, and SNH48, will be adding another serial number to the roster in the form of MNL48, which is planned to operate out of Manila in the Philippines.

This new group will be formed through a project by the publicly funded Cool Japan initiative which, contrary to what Gackt may think, appears to be doing something tangible with all their funding after all. In fact, this is especially tangible as yet another source of revenue for Yasushi Akimoto, the head of AKB Group who also just happens to be the chairman of the Cool Japan Council.

Japan
(AKB48 • cool japan • Idols • Manila • MNL48 • Philippines • Yasushi Akimoto)

Idol ordered to pay management company 650,000 yen after going to hotel with male fan

Casey Baseel
Sep 21, 2015

Idol singers exist in an extremely specialized, and often contradictory, corner of the already specialized Japanese pop music industry. Successful idols are expected to walk the fine line between having a polished, attractive appearance and an approachable, unassuming aura. Even more ironic is that while their songs’ lyrics are often focused on love and devotion, it’s practically unheard of for an active idol to openly be in a romantic relationship.

Every now and again, though, word gets out that an idol secretly has a boyfriend, or had an illicit liaison with a guy. The revelation is usually followed by a solemn apology to fans, and often the offending member being removed from the group. But this time the story of an idol’s amorous activities coming to light has something we’ve never heard about before: a court-ordered fine equivalent to several thousand dollars for breach of contract.

Japan
(crime • culture • Idols • J-Pop • law • music • relationships)

Japanese arcade has floor pads so fans can kneel before, leave offerings to their anime crushes

Casey Baseel
Aug 4, 2015

Even among otaku, those with a fondness for anime series Love Live! are known for being particularly obsessive. As a matter of fact, it wouldn’t be much of an exaggeration to say that the Love Livers, as the franchise’s fans are known, worship the show’s central characters.

And if that’s the case, one arcade figured, why not give fans a place where they can kneel down and make offerings to their anime idols?

Japan
(anime • crazy • funny • Idols • love live • otaku)

New music video by LADYBABY here to rock your world (in more ways than one) 【Video】

Jamie Koide
Jul 7, 2015

Few could have imagined that a bearded man dressed in a girl’s school uniform would prove to be big a hit. Even fewer perhaps would have guessed that putting said individual in a J-pop group alongside a couple of Japanese teens would be something people would actually want to watch, but watch they do, and LADYBABY is currently taking Japan by storm.

In the music video for their first upcoming single release, “Tokyo Manju”, Japan’s most curious trio takes to the streets of Tokyo to show you all the wonderful things we love about Japanese culture.

When Gackt said the Cool Japan campaign needed a revamp, I don’t think this is quite what he had in mind…

Japan
(funny • Idols • J-Pop • Kawaii • Ladybeard • LADYMETAL • music videos • video • wtf)

What makes “Love Live!” so mega popular? We asked one passionate super fan

Krista Rogers
Jun 11, 2015

If you’re into anime and you haven’t been living under a rock for the past two years, you should have at least heard of the unstoppable, indomitable multimedia force known as Love Live! School Idol Project, which first aired in early 2013. The show took off and captured the hearts of Japanese and foreign viewers alike seemingly in the blink of an eye.

In fact, fans of the series are known for being so incredibly dedicated to the teenage troupe that we wanted to find out firsthand what attracted them to the series. Consequently, we had our Japanese reporter ask one enthusiastic fan, whom we’ll call Mr. K, for his personal opinion. What do you think he had to say about the draw of the series?