Hello, America! Are you enjoying the special otaku holiday season? Today I have a special message from popular model/actress turned singer Risa Yoshiki from Japan. Risa Yoshiki loves anime and manga, just as much as you Otaku USA readers! She appears in the latest super …Read more »
You Kikkawa (aka Yuu Kikkawa) is the latest solo artist to come out of Hello! Project, the J-pop organization responsible for Morning Musume, Berryz Kobo, C-ute and assorted spin-off groups and solo singers. She had auditioned for Morning Musume’s 8 th Generation back in 2007 …Read more »
Documentary of AKB48 kicks off in a bright, sunny restaurant, where a small fraction of the pop idol collective sits enjoying a meal and some friendly, scattered chit-chat. The scenario promises an intimate portrait of the day-to-day lives of the girls who comprise teams A, …Read more »
By now you've either gotten the Vocaloid bug bad, or at least know someone who's been bitten by its ear-worming fangs. Japanese pop group Ryo (Supercell) is helping contribute to its ever-increasing spread across North America thanks to the release of their EP, Sekiranun Graffiti …Read more »
The 2011 J-Pop Summit Festival will be held in San Francisco's Japantown this Saturday and Sunday, August 27 and 28. Along with a variety of interactive activities, panels, DJ dance parties and live performances is the appearance of Vocaloid creative team ZANEEDS . The group …Read more »
Know ye mortals: there is darkness, and there is light, and somewhere in-between, you’ll find KIRIA… Behold! A singer-songwriter whose new album “Noir Diadem” is set for worldwide release on Amazon and iTunes on May 1 st , 2011. KIRIA personally wrote and composed the …Read more »
The good news: Japan is starting to get back on its feet following a triple helping of disaster: a devastating earthquake, a tsunami that has killed thousands and displaced millions, and a nuclear crisis of nightmarish proportions. But the road to recovery is going to …Read more »
At 21 years of age, the popular performer known as May’n has already led an incredible singing career that others can only dream of, and in the process created an international fan following in the underground music and anime scenes. Long before otaku came to …Read more »
Alright, it's not quite as simple as it sounds in the headline, but that doesn't change the news itself. Pop group Do As Infinity will be streaming part of their concert at Tokyo's Shinagawa Stellar Ball for free on the website Nico Nico Douga on …Read more »
2010 was a great year for music fans of some lesser known players in the Japanese music scene. While the pop stars continued to churn out the hits, lurking just below the surface were some astounding new releases from industry veterans and newcomers alike. Here’s …Read more »
It's a rite of passage. After ten years, it's more or less mandatory that a band release a best-of compilation. The electronica duo Boom Boom Satellites has taken that one step further and released two ten-year compilations. 19972007 (reviewed in the October issue of Otaku …Read more »
You may not know it, but there is a hidden world hiding just underneath the crust of planet Video Game Music. This underworld is inhabited solely by people playing their own interpretations of the music that lives on the overworld, but using only a single …Read more »
To some this may seem a trivial matter, but this moment will no doubt go down in history for regular obsessors of super-sized idol group AKB48. The sixty-three girl squad now has an official YouTube channel, and truly the cup runneth o'er with content. Below …Read more »
Fans of pop twosome Hangry & Angry will be at least partially pleased to know that one half of the duo will be making an appearance at this year's New York Anime Festival on October 9. Rika Ishikawa—the Angry to Hitomi Yoshizawa's Hangry—is scheduled to …Read more »
It's entirely excusable if some of you out there are scratching your heads and asking "who?" when it comes to mention of Japanese pop rock outfit The Brilliant Green. After all, it's been a whopping eight years since their last album, which, factoring in Internet …Read more »
Yunmao Ayakawa
Brian Camp
Joseph Luster
Patrick Macias
Darius Washington
Zac Bentz
