Oshi no Ko’s opening theme song, “Idol” by YOASOBI, continues to perform phenomenally. Earlier this month it reached the top spot in the Billboard Global chart, and now it’s nabbed the top spot on Apple’s Music Top 100: Global chart. This shows that anime, as …Read more »
We all know the game whack-a-mole, but now there’s a new game called whack-an-otaku. It debuted at the TIF Gakuen Spring School Festival at the Belle Époque fashion school. The festival is associated with the Tokyo Idol Festival concert series, and the idols involved there …Read more »
In an occurrence that recalled similar incidents involving idol groups and disgruntled fans in the recent past, a man was arrested June 24 after igniting a flare and carrying a knife into a event for group Keyakizaka46. The 24-year-old man reportedly told officials he “wanted …Read more »
How much money do hardcore fans of Japanese idol music like AKB48 and Momoiro Clover Z pour into their hobby per year? A market research firm called Yano Research attempted to find out, but the results have left some idol otaku scratching their heads. Yano’s …Read more »
Yasushi Akimoto, the creator of Japan’s best-selling idol phenomenon AKB48 and its various sub-groups, is at it again. This time, he’s producing a “2D + 3D” anime project and recruiting some serious industry talent to help out. The idol unit, which is described as a …Read more »
You may recall the various incidents that have plagued the Japanese idol scene in recent years, like when two members of supergroup AKB48 were attacked by a saw-wielding fan at a handshake event in 2014, or when indie idol Mayu Tomita was stabbed in May. …Read more »
Mayu Tomita, an idol singer, was stabbed repeatedly at a fan event Saturday by a man who had reportedly been stalking her for months. She is in critical condition and has yet to regain consciousness. The suspect, Tomohiro Iwazaki, was arrested and admitted to stabbing …Read more »
Manga artist Minetaro Mochizuki, best known in the west for his post-apocalyptic 90s manga Dragon Head , is out with a one-shot manga today called Flashers , which is about exactly what it sounds like. And to give readers a little extra incentive to grab …Read more »
Yesterday, Japanese TV station NHK announced starting next year, they will be showing reruns of Love Live! , the popular series about idols who team up to prevent their school from shutting down. That and a weird conflux of other otaku-related topics, prompted a wave …Read more »
The girls can do it too, y’all. And by “do it,” we mean, “have an idol project to follow.” Bandai Namco announced today they’re launching a new project ala Aikatsu! and Love Live! , but this one’s for the ladies. It’s called Dream Festival , …Read more »
You’re going to want to see this. Nissin, the makers of Cup Noodle, have been killing it lately with awesome viral videos promoting their instant ramen. Last time around idol Kanna Hashimoto pulled off some crazy Cup Noodle-related stunts, and this time, and this time …Read more »
Bakkakkoii is a portmanteau of baka (stupid) and kakkoii (cool), and that pretty much describes exactly this recent commercial for Nissin Cup Noodle. The commercial stars Kanna Hashimoto, a member of idol group Rev. from DVL who recently appeared in the live-action Assassination Classroom film …Read more »
Anime causes laziness? Tell that to the Love Live! fans who tracked down the film’s real-life locations less than a day after the premiere of the trailer. Love Live! The School Idol Movie apparently takes place in New York City, but even that didn’t stop …Read more »
A small fraction of AKB48 and its sister groups. It has spawned. “It” is, of course, the unstoppable idol group juggernaut that is AKB48 and its spinoff groups, which spans Japan from sea to shining sea (not to mention Shanghai and Jakarta) and employs literally …Read more »
A significant percentage of Japan’s population are self-proclaimed otaku, according to a report by the Yano Research Institute . The research firm polled 10,080 men and women aged 15-69, 23% of whom said they consider themselves otaku. In a bit of bad news for the …Read more »
Danica Davidson
Matt Schley
