2 comments

#music: Who is Nobuyukii Tsujii? Why, he's the young man in the photo above -- a gifted 21 year old pianist who is completely blind. According to a report from Time (via News On Japan), Tsujii has been p...

8 comments

#music: People are capable of doing lots of scary things, to be sure, but for me one of the worst is the type who will hack into your email or read all your text messages in your cell phone. One crazed f...

2 comments

#music: Vis-kei band that isn't really a vis-kei band anymore Dir en Grey is set to play two gigs in LA this weekend. November 20th and 22nd will see them bringing their nu-metal rock sound to the House ...

22 comments

#Video games: This is probably old news to you by now, but it seems that British pop star Leona Lewis has been drafted into singing the theme song for Final Fantasy XIII's international release.The song is tit...

3 comments

#podcast: Back again with lucky show number 113! It's another one of them there radioator Japan cast pods.This week, lots of cool new news and music from the likes of Utada Hikaru, HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR, A...

2 comments

#music: We've been reporting on the line-up changes to the band HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR for some time now. Well, we will now get the chance to see those changes manifest when the band hits the stage at Sak...

9 comments

#music: I'll be up front in saying this: Boom Boom Satellites is one of my favorite bands. With that out of the way, let me just say that they have really covered alot of ground in their musical career. ...

2 comments

#music: I know some of you probably don't follow the American rock scene very closely, let alone the Japanese one, but for those of you who follow both, like me, you'll love this. Slash's first single, &...

0 comments

#podcast: Here it is! The new episode of Japanator Radio! Just a little late. Nothing to panic over. Jeez!This week, some UVERworld, some Ali Project, some Bloodthirsty Butchers and Quinka With A Yawn in t...

1 comments

#music: New music from Utada Hikaru is always good news if you're a huge fan of  her work like me. And it looks like that might be something we can look forward to soon. According to the updated sit...

3 comments

#videos: I've talked about my musical predilections over at Destructoid, but the band that really kicked off my love affair with music was Bon Jovi. These Jersey rockers still hold a special place in my h...

15 comments

#music: ...as not only being a mortal man, but one likely to be a bit older than most would expect. But then again, who could blame anyone for thinking that Gackt, a shimmering slab of enigmatic man-meat...

4 comments

#music: Joe Hisaishi has been a busy guy recently, but given his range of work and frequency, it's nice to see someone admired by so many being given official recognition. The Japanese government announc...

5 comments

#videos: I happen to adore these guys. I'm not sure why I love them so much, but it probably has something to do with the fact that everything they release sounds immaculately produced. It's very hard to ...

1 comments

#Rumors: Apparently several Japanese tabloids have been running rumors that the record-breaking j-pop act had planned on splitting up in order to become full-time dentists. When I heard tha...

5 comments

#videos: I have to admit, I never thought I'd see her like this, especially after her role as a nun in the live-action One-Pound Gospel drama that aired the other year. I suppose I sho...

1 comments

#podcast: Welcome back from your left-over candy hangover. I hope it was worth it. Oh look, we are still handing out free Japanator Radios, and you don't even need to be dressed up to get one! Aren't we ni...

2 comments

#videos: Occasionally I'll throw up a PV by a Japanese artist, either because I want to showcase a new release, or just because I love the song. In this case however, we're taking a look at one of the lat...

5 comments

#Video games: You know, I'm all for J-boy bands (coughArashicough), but all-girl band AKB48 just has a lot of members. I mean, I'd complain, but they are all cute girls so I don't think anyone would listen to ...

10 comments

#music: What do you get when you cross a last name and Twitter with a zillion mindless moe-humping drones? In the words of genius musician Susumu Hirasawa, "a nightmare."See, there's some anime...

4 comments

#Video games: Regardless of your opinion of AKB48's music *cough*ITSUCKS*cough*, you have to admit the girls that make up the group are quite cute. Of course, such cuteness has huge marketing power, and the la...

13 comments

#music: An 18-month sentence seems like quite a bit for possessing 0.008 grams of an illegal substance, but the prosecution didn't want to let up. After former idol Noriko Sakai plead guilty to taking an...

1 comments

#music: Congratulations to Glay for having won a recent suit against their former management company. The band had signed to Unlimited Group in 1998, having experienced a sudden boost in popularity. Due ...

3 comments

#podcast: Bleh!In case you didn't notice, the best holiday of the year is coming up this Saturday. Halloween! I mean they named holidays "holiday" because of Halloween. More like halloday, am I r...

10 comments

#music: Listening to "Asu e no Kizuna," the opening theme to the Valkyria Chronicles anime, you could be excused for thinking it's you typical high quality anime song. It's got all the strings,...

7 comments

#music: After hearing about Miyavi's six recently announced US tour dates I was kind of excited -- I thought maybe if they did well, we could see more Japanese bands come here to perform. However, Tokyog...

4 comments

#Video games: The Taiko Drum Master series has a new Wii game coming, called Taiko no Tatsujin Dodon to 2 Dai Me. Sticks and all it'll cost 7,980 yen when released on November 19th. Why am I talking yen? Well,...

1 comments

#music: A whole bunch of singers of anime theme songs joined hands (well, probably not hands) and pulled a mini "We Are The World" by covering John Lennon's "Imagine" for charity. The...

14 comments

#music: Polysics, the Japanese new-wave rock band that speaks in a mystical space language and runs around on stage in matching jumpsuits, have a new album out (but you already knew that.) Of course that...

5 comments

#podcast: Yes. On time this week and with loads of great new music, it's another Japanator Radio!This week, new music from Electric Eel Shock, People in the Box and MEG, as well as the always indispensable...

5 comments

#videos: I know many of you have heard this song before, though I doubt most of you have heard this version. I was fortunate enough to stumble upon it while I was looking for the promotional videos f...

13 comments

#Rant: Welcome to the UK, where our world view has not changed since 1995. Or maybe 1985.At least that's the feeling you might get upon reading a recent post in the tritely titled "Turning Japanese...

7 comments

#videos:  Okay, I know that Japan loves to watch homemade videos of people dancing to music. I don't personally get it, but you know, I get it. What I do not get is how fourteen year old Beckii Cruel...

2 comments

#music: detroit7, Japan's blues-tinged hard rockin' band, is back once again with an all new EP. The five track Black & White is a non-stop bludgeon that will get your groove bone shakin'. Front woma...

3 comments

#music: From the it's-never-too-soon department comes news that Japan's Dazzle Vision will be performing at Sakura-Con 2010.Dazzle Vision is a hard rockin', poppy, screamy quartet. Fronted by the super c...

4 comments

#podcast: Delay be damned! Here, finally, is your new episode of Japanator Radio! Huzzah!This week, lots of new goodies from the likes of School Food Punishment, Scandal and Shoko Nakagawa, as well as a lo...

7 comments

#music: In this day and age, selling records is becoming more and more difficult. Between the economy, and digital distribution--both legal and illegal--album sales have really taken a hit. So, what...

1 comments

#videos: I've been seeing Dohzi-T show up in videos over the past few years, but I never really gave him much thought. He always strike me as a Japanese P-Diddy--an opportunist who'd find his way into oth...

4 comments

#music: It's another year and time for another album from Polysics, a band that's been releasing a new album every year since their first release in 1999 (not to mention a constant stream of singles, EPs...

4 comments

#podcast: Hello friends! Here is another glorious Japanator Radio for you to roll up into your life! This week, new music from sgt.., 9mm Parabellum Bullet and Vamps, as well as a look at the always fun go...

3 comments

#new york anime festival: Yui Makino, the acting-prodigy-turned-voice-acting-musician graced us at NYAF this past Saturday with a little concert. Japanator got intimate with her performance front and center. Read on ...

2 comments

#review: The members of sgt. fall into a lineup a bit more like that of a jazz quintet than a traditional rock band. Drummer Hitoshi Ono and bassist Kouji Akashi form the band's solid backbone, proving th...

12 comments

#videos: Well, it almost seems like it any way. The PV for supercell's latest single, "Kimi no shiranai monogatari," is a glimpse into Japanese high school life. Of course, it's an all too ...

2 comments

#music: Tetsuya Komuro, having been convicted of copyright fraud, recently decided to write an auto-biography. The book, entitled Tsumi to Ongaku (Sin and Music), details his life after th...

18 comments

#Promoted Stories: [Hey, look! We can finally put authors properly on the front page! And so, papasan breaks in this trend with his story about one of those ultra-catchy con songs that looks like it'll be around fo...

9 comments

#podcast: Hi there! What? Oh sure. I see. You're only here to pick up the new Japanator Radio, aren't you? Well fine! Here! Take it! I don't even want it any more!!!This week, some music from Plasticzooms,...

1 comments

#Otaku Goods: Photo cards, books, towels, phone straps, fans, t-shirts and 244 more kinds of things! If it can be made, it can be made with a cute young girl's face on it! And it can all be yours! To have!That...

2 comments

#vocaloid: Fresh off trips to Japan to play at the huge Sumner Sonic festival, as well as WaterAid, Oregon native Becca is ready to bring her pop-rock sound back to American shores. In addition to her live ...

12 comments

#Video games: At first I was a bit reluctant to post this, seeing how our big sister typically handles the majority of the coverage related to games, but I'll just come out and say it--Chrono Trigger...

12 comments

#videos: Okay, this is getting a bit ridiculous. I've been trying not to talk about Noriko Sakai for the last several weeks but I really can't help the fact that she's pretty much dominated the headlines ...

1 comments

#TV and Film: A few months back, I talked about Arashi's recent 10 year anniversary "best of" album. With the actual anniversary of their debut album coming up, the idol group is set to storm the air...

7 comments

#podcast: OK, I'm not going to lie to you. I'm burned out and have been looking at this screen for far too long this weekend. Here's the damn show!This week, new music from FLOPPY and Art-School, as well a...

9 comments

#Utada Hikaru: [CruelAngel shares with us her first time with J-Pop. It was a strange and mystifying affair, one that left her pondering the meaning of it all until his switch was flipped and he became a J-Pop'...

2 comments

#review: Now, I'm no video games journalastic historianist, but I seem to remember that the very first Katamari Damacy game was something of a slow burn. In my own circle, it was the very definition of a ...

2 comments

#videos:  My love of j-drama has led me to also become an Arashi fan, and while I realize they are the Japanese equivalent of the Backstreet Boys and I am officially less cool because I like them, I ...

10 comments

#TV and Film: [Rewarp tackled our Monthly Musing topic with a J-drama, joining Colette in the ranks of understanding their transformative power. Now, enjoy the story and the overbearing need to watch the show ...

6 comments

#music: Vamps just finished off their first world tour with a final performance at Hawaii's Pearl Harbor. For a stage, they used the USS Missouri, a battleship turned museum. The ship itself played host ...

3 comments

#review: FLOPPY is a chiptune/8-bit/electro project from Sharaku Kobayashi of Metronome and Hiromu Toda of Shinjuku Gewalt. Since 2004, they've been producing some of the best and craziest chip-fueled ele...

2 comments

#music: It's easily one of my top daydreams to see one of the Japanese bands I adore here in the US. Luckily, sometimes we do get that opportunity (after all, I saw Mell and she rocked my world at Otakon...

10 comments

#Video games: Square Enix recently announced the singer and theme song for Final Fantasy XIII the other week. Her name is Sayuri Suguwara, and while she's not the lovely cosplayer I used in...

5 comments

#TV and Film: A lot of interesting music comes out of Japan, in case you haven't noticed already. But how does it get made? Well, Jean Snow pointed out a new documentary called Live From Tokyo, which takes a l...

2 comments

#podcast: Like a stinky camper shambling out of the woods and taking a nice hot shower, it's time for another reinvigorating episode of Japanator Radio! This week, we take a listen to some new Onmyouza and...

49 comments

#otaku debate: I hope everyone has enjoyed their Labor Day weekend. I've been away from the site for a bit, so I've been catching up on all the great community blogs. You have no idea how pleased I am to finall...

5 comments

#podcast: Ooohhh yeah, four day weekends do not help with meeting deadlines or living up to expectations. I am late. But still better than never!This week, new music from Capsule, NICO Touches the Walls an...

4 comments

#weird news: I really don't like Jero. We heard about him all the time when I went to Kansai Gaidai, from the teachers, local media and everyone else. Many of us students developed an irrational hate for the ...

0 comments

#new york anime festival: It a brand new month, which means it's time for a brand new calendar of live music events happening around the world (but really mostly in America.)Obviously we all know about the fun that's comi...

13 comments

#videos: Here's what I know about Flipboitamidles: His name is damn hard to type, and he makes awesome mash-ups. That's it, but that's all you really need to know, I think. His work speaks for itself.He (...

1 comments

#videos: Nobuo Uematsu, the man most of us know as the man behind the Final Fantasy music, continues to celebrate his 50th year on the planet with his second solo single release under the project name NOB...

9 comments

#podcast: OK, now that we have all the sappy 100th show love-fest crap out of the way, we can get back to the regularily scheduled mix of new and old music. Finally! Man, let me tell you, playing music you...

7 comments

#TV and Film:  I dig Japanese boy bands, and I'm not afraid to admit it. So when I heard that NTV's 24 Hour Television event was going to be hosted by NewS, I was definitely interested to watch it (it's c...

7 comments

#music: [Star photographer and Japanator's resident pretty boy Ace0fClub5 took to the streets of LA to report on the Japan Girls Nite concert. You'll be sure to enjoy the writeup and photos. -- DMV]The t...

15 comments

#videos: [NSFW language]Now that Ponyo's been released to the world at large, its childish playfulness and wide-eye innocence is ripe for parody. And oh boy, does this video deliver.Set to the music of Sa...

0 comments

#music: On August 29th in Japan, Arashi kicked off their 5X10 Anniversary tour at Tokyo's Kokuritsu Kyogijo (through the 30th at that location) with a bit of a bang. As you can see in the video above, th...

4 comments

#new york anime festival: I think there must be some kind of plot to get me out of my house. I thought I ended my con season with San Diego back in July, but now it seems NYAF is making it their mission in life ...

3 comments

#music: Last July, we reported that Yoshiki would be undergoing some emergency surgery on his spine. Well, it appears that the surgery was successful enough. He was seen last Sunday, sporting a neck...