Teen Arrested for Stabbing Teacher With Pen for Confiscating Manga

Police in Gamagōri, Aichi arrested a 14-year-old middle school boy on suspicion of stabbing a teacher with a ballpoint pen during class. The suspect allegedly stabbed a 30-year-old female teacher over 10 times in both of her shoulders around 12:30 p.m. on October 1. The teacher sustained minor injuries that lasted about a week.

The teacher had warned the suspect about reading manga in class and had then confiscated the manga when the suspect continued reading. According to reports, the student said "Give it back!" and in a fury, stabbed her with a pen from her desk. The teacher filed a report on October 2 and has yet to return to teaching the class.

Source: Sports Nippon, ANN

New Madoka Magica Android Game Stars Kyōko, Sayaka With Baseball Bat

The ANIMATE store chain's production company Frontier Works released the third Madoka Magica "third-person shooter," Puella Magi Madoka Magica TPS Featuring Sayaka Miki & Sakura Kyōko, on Yahoo! Japan's market for Android apps on Tuesday. As in the previous Madoka Magica TPS games, the player assumes the role of magical girls to clear stages. This time, Sayaka and Kyōko are the stars with voice actresses Eri Kitamura and Ai Nonaka reprising their respective roles with some exclusive voice samples.

The game begins with Sayaka before she becomes a magical girl, so she is armed only with her baseball bat to bash enemies. Stage 2 has Sayaka after her magical girl transformation, with a saber. After that, the game switches player characters to Kyōko, who begins with a three-section staff (sansetsukon) before upgrading.

Players can pick up items to restore their health and purify their Soul Gem, which they can tap to perform magic. The game has three difficulty levels, and as the player defeats each stage boss, images from notable anime scenes will be unlocked in the game's gallery page.

The game costs 630 yen (about US$8).

Source: 4Gamer via Siliconera, ANN

Magi Manga Print Circulation Doubles in 4 Months After Anime Announcement

The number of volumes of Shinobu Ohtaka's Magi manga in circulation has more than doubled in the nearly four months since the anime adaptation of the series was officially announced on June 24.

Before the anime adaptation was announced, approximately 3 million copies of the first 12 volumes of the manga had been printed. As of October 10, approximately 6.5 million copies of the first 14 volumes are now in print. Before the anime was announced, 250,000 copies of the first volume had been printed, but now the number has doubled to more than 500,000 copies.

The 15th compiled volume in the series will ship in November. Ohtaka has been serializing the manga in Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine since 2009. The story re-imagines tales from the classic story One Thousand and One Nights (also known as Arabian Nights).

Crunchyroll and Hulu are streaming the television anime adaptation in various countries outside of Japan as it airs, and Aniplex of America announced last weekend that it has licensed the series for release on home video.

Source: ANN

Hello Kitty Pork Buns Sold in Japan's Circle K Sunkus Convenience Stores

The Circle K Sunkus convenience store chain in Japan began selling pork buns inspired by Sanrio's Hello Kitty character on Tuesday.

The "Hello Kittyman" buns, filled with pork, onion, and a soy sauce seasoning, cost 150 yen (US$1.90) each. Circle K Sunkus will offer 1.5 million buns in its 6,235 stores across Japan during the campaign. The convenience store chain will offer another pork bun inspired by a different Sanrio character starting on November 6. The paper used to wrap the pork buns contains one of four Hello Kitty-related trivia questions, such as: "When is Hello Kitty's birthday?"

Those who send a message to the convenience store between October 9 through November 19 will be entered into a lottery to win one of 25 Hello Kitty Nikuman cushions.

The Gigazine news website has posted more high-resolution images of the outside and inside of the pork buns.

The convenience store chain FamilyMart previously unveiled Slime meat buns inspired by the Dragon Quest role-playing game series last September. The same chain sold more than 600,000 Hatsune Miku "Mikuman" meat buns in August-September. LAWSON convenience stores in Tokyo's Kantō area also began offering "Manma Nikuman" buns inspired by the Amagami SS+ television anime series in January. Additionally, the official Gundam Cafés in Tokyo began selling "Haro Man" pork buns earlier this month.

[Via Gigazine] Source: ANN

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s “Moshi Moshi Harajuku” wins ‘Music Jacket Award 2012′

It’s been revealed that Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s debut mini-album, “Moshi Moshi Harajuku“, has received the grand prize for ‘Music Jacket Award 2012‘. This year’s winners were chosen from music CDs released between April of 2011 and March of 2012.

The cover for “Moshi Moshi Harajuku” was done by Steve Nakamura, and it shows Kyary’s unique style with a Kuchisake-onna-style (a woman with her mouth torn to her ears) paint make-up. On winning the award, Kyary expressed, “I’m very happy that my debut work received such an honored award!! When I make jacket covers, I not only make them cute, but I also think about making them fun and strange.”

The semi-grand prize went to Perfume’s “Spice” and MAN WITH A MISSION’s self-titled album “MAN WITH A MISSION“. The special award went to Nanba Shiho’s “Mizuiro Generation“.

Source & Image: natalie, Tokyohive

Hatsune Miku-Colored Blue Yakisoba Noodles Sold in Japan

The cosplay café "Koakuma no En Little BSD" (Little Devil's Feast Little BSD) revealed a new item this weekend: blue-colored Hatsune Miku yakisoba (fried noodles) with long onions. The café began selling a limited number of the noodle meals at the Moe1 Grand Prix exhibition on Saturday at the Bellesalle Akihabara hall. The noodles sold for 700 yen (about US$9) each, and only 30 meals were available for purchase on the first day.

The noodles were only sold on Saturday and Sunday, and were used as a promotional item for the cosplay café. (Each set came with a 50%-off coupon.) The noodle meal will not be sold at the café itself.

The Akiba Blog has posted more photographs of the noodles in higher resolution.

Source: Akiba Blog, ANN

Gackt 白露-HAKURO- [Download Sample]

I recently posted about Gackt's latest single Hakuro.

Get a free sample to Gackt's new single here.

SEAMO×SPYAIR collaboration single: “ROCK THIS WAY”

SEAMO is collaborated with SPYAIR and they released a new single titled “ROCK THIS WAY”.

Their collaboration was planned after SEAMO participated in a live event hosted by SPYAIR back in August, and this rock tune is said to be a message song to send a yell to those who face themselves and keep chasing after their dreams.

Get a sample of this song here.

SPYAIR’s ENZEL☆ to leave the band

It’s been revealed that SPYAIR’s ENZEL☆ (DJ) will be leaving the band after their Nippon Budokan concert on December 18th.

ENZEL☆’s withdrawal was decided after a number of discussions with the members. He explained, “Leaving everything up to the members, when I seriously thought about my future, I came to a conclusion that it would be difficult for me to continue as a member of the band.”

Meanwhile, the members also commented, “We respect ENZEL☆’s decision, and we want to see him off in the best way possible. This is why we chose Nippon Budokan, our biggest challenge thus far, as the last stage for the 5-member SPYAIR.”

SPYAIR formed back in 2005 in Aichi, and made their major debut with the single, “LAIR“, in August of 2010. ENZEL☆ joined the band in 2009, and is known among fans as the mood-maker.

Source & Image: natalie, tokyohive

UVERWORLD to provide theme song for anime film, ‘Ao no Exorcist’

It’s been revealed that UVERWORLD will be providing the theme song for the upcoming anime film, ‘Ao no Exorcist‘ (December 28th release).

‘Ao no Exorcist’ is a popular manga by Kato Kazue that’s been serialized in ‘Jump Square‘ since 2009. UVERWORLD has provided the opening theme song for the TV anime series’ 1st season which started airing in April of 2011.

The title and release date of the theme song haven’t been revealed at this time because it’s still under production. TAKUYA∞ commented, “UVERWORLD is made up of members that we gathered in our hometown, so we’re old friends from before forming the band. There’s a link between ‘Ao no Exorcist’ and how we move forward with irreplaceable friends. We are currently producing a song that will find its way in the movie’s story.”

Source & Image: natalie, tokyohive

SuG to withdraw from PS Company and go on hiatus in December

Visual kei band SuG will be going on hiatus after their one-man live on December 29th. The band will also be removed from their agency PS COMPANY.

Through his official blog, Takeru (Vo) explained, “The reason is very simple. To continue our activities in this situation, we will be betraying everyone who has been involved with us as well as our history. ‘We are here now because we aren’t ashamed of the past’, we feel that’s the only way for us to shine. In order for us to challenge ourselves to things that we feel is cool from the bottom of our hearts, we decided to halt our activities.”

Regarding their withdrawal from PS COMPANY, he revealed, “It’s not that we had a disagreement, neither were we dismissed. I just feel that our directions started to shift little by little. If we hadn’t met PS COMPANY, we wouldn’t be here now. That is why we decided not to avoid this vague relationship, and faced the result of withdrawal.”

SuG will kick off their nationwide tour, ‘SuG TOUR 2012: sweeToxic‘, on October 10th. They will go into hiatus after their one-man live, ‘SuG Oneman Show 2012: This is O‘, on December 29th at Yoyogi National Gymnasium.

Source: natalie, tokyohive

Kuroko's Basketball Character Song CD Sells 24,886 at #3

According to the Oricon Singles charts for October 8, the "Kuroko no Basuke Character Song Duet Series Vol. 3" single released on September 26 sold 24,886 copies in five days to rank at #3 for the week's CD single sales.

The single features songs and a mini drama from characters Shintarō Midorima (voiced by Daisuke Ono) and Kazunari Takao (voiced by Tatsuhisa Suzuki). This is the first character song single for the series that has ranked in the top three on Oricon's chart.

Shueisha released the 19th volume of Tadatoshi Fujimaki's original Kuroko no Basuke sports manga last month. Production I.G's television anime adaptation of the series ended on September 22 and the series will receive an original video anime included with the eighth Blu-ray Disc/DVD volume of the television anime series in February.

Crunchyroll streamed the television anime into several countries as it aired in Japan.

Sources: Listen, Oricon, ANN

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Sings New Crayon Shin-chan Theme

Model/singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu announced on Saturday that she is singing the new theme song for the Crayon Shin-chan television anime. The announcement came during the TV Asahi Dream Festival 2012 event at Tokyo's Yoyogi National Gymnasium. This is her first anime theme song.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is a self-described huge Crayon Shin-chan fan who has all of the original manga volumes and catches the anime films as they come out. As Kyary Pamyu Pamyu appeared onstage at Saturday's event, Crayon Shin-chan's title character Shinosuke (or rather, a costumed performer) made a surprise entrance to express his excitement over the news.

Music producer and DJ Yasutaka Nakata (One Piece Film Z, Five Numbers!) wrote and scored the new "Kimi ni 100 Percent" song, and Shinosuke is contributing by shouting during the song's interludes. The song will begin airing in the anime on October 19.

The Mainichi Shimbun paper's Mantan Web posted more photographs from the announcement.

Source: Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web, ANN

Hello Kitty, My Melody Transformed Into US$2,500 Sofas

Sanrio announced a line of mascot-inspired sofas on Friday. The company is offering three designs including their most popular character, Hello Kitty, as well as My Melody and Purin.

Hello Kitty and My Melody both retail for 198,000 yen (about US$2,520) with an additional charge of 3,150 yen (US$40) for shipping, while Purin is priced at 178,500 yen (US$2,270). Each piece of furniture is individually handmade by artisans in the Shizuoka prefecture.

More pics here.

GACKT reveals the PV for ‘Hakuro’

Gackt has released the music video for Hakuro. “Hakuro” is GACKT’s 42nd single and it was written as the ending theme to the drama, ‘Sengoku BASARA -MOONLIGHT PARTY-‘.
Check out the PV below!

 

Japan Passes Jail-for-Downloaders Anti-Piracy Law

Japan’s legislature has approved a bill revising the nation’s copyright law to add criminal penalties for downloading copyrighted material or backing up content from a DVD. The penalties will come into effect in October.

The Upper House of the Japanese Diet approved the bill by a vote of 221-12, less than a week after the measure cleared the lower house with almost no opposition. Violators risk up to two years in prison or fines up to two million yen (about $25,000).

Opponents of the bill worry it will lead to unnecessary prosecutions because of the way it is written. To face charges, a person must be aware that the material is illegal to download.

“We shouldn’t risk making the general public — including youths — the subject of criminal investigations,” said Upper House member Yuko Mori, as quoted in the Japan Times.

Japanese attorney Toshimitsu Dan told IT Media that even watching a YouTube video could be grounds for arrest “if the viewer is aware that downloading [such material] is illegal.”

Unauthorized uploading and downloading of copyrighted material such as music, movies and video games have been illegal in Japan for years, but until now only uploaders were subject to criminal penalties: up to 10 years in prison or fines as much as 10 million yen ($125,000), according to the Times.

Source.

Offical Japan Government Website.

PSotD - Start it right away

Title: Start it right away

Artist: Hyadain
Year: 2012

Notes: First ending song from the anime Kuroko no Basuke.
>I'll give anyone a choc chip cookie if they can sing they chorus part.

DDL: here

PSotD - Catal Rhythm

Title: Catal Rhythm

Artist: OLDCODEX
Year: 2012

Notes: Second ending song from the anime Kuroko no Basuke.

DDL: here

Daily Lives of High School Boys Manga Abruptly Ends

Manga creator Yasunobu Yamauchi released the final chapter of the Daily Lives of High School Boys (Danshi Kōkōsei no Nichijō ) series on Square Enix's Gangan Online website on Thursday. There was no previous sign that the manga would end this week. Square Enix will publish the manga's seventh volume this December.

The gag comedy manga follows the humorous yet "realistic" everyday life of Tadakuni, Hidenori, Yoshitake, and other students at a boys' high school. In the final chapter, the three main characters have a light and comedic talk about the masked hero that saved Hidenori from bullies when he was a child. The ending of the chapter reveals the truth behind the hero.

Source: ANN

PSotD - Knocking on the mind

Title: Knocking on the mind

Artist: Hijirikawa Masato (Suzumura Kenichi)
Year: 2011

Notes: Character song from the anime Uta no Prince sama.

DDL: here