The biggest CD purchase I've made in three years

A couple of months ago CD Japan had a pretty awesome sale where if you spent more than 5000 yen (can't remember the exact number) at their online store, you got free shipping (in order to celebrate their new shipping method - FedEx International Express). Now that may not sound like much, but most websites that offer free shipping ships it by the slowest method possible. I'm talking about shipping, that when shipped, takes so long to get to your...

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Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game second week sales

They sold 4,799 copies for their second week, bringing Onna's total to 47,204. It is now officially their highest selling single since the awesomeness that was Nanchatte Renai. If they have a couple more strong weeks, they can outsell Naichau Kamo and Shougani Yume Oibi...

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C-ute 2011 Fanclub Tour in Hawaii scheduled

The fanclub news section of the official Hello! Project website has updated information about the newly announced C-ute fanclub tour in Hawaii that will take place on March 23, 2011. This also likely means a C-ute Alo-Hello 2 will soon follow. If there is a Dance de Bakoon! bikini ver. then I can die a happy m...

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Chisato solo single available on iTunes

Yesterday a cover of the Matsuura Aya song, Love Namida Iro, by C-ute member Okai Chisato went on sale at the online iTunes store for $0.99. Love Namida Iro is not my favorite Ayaya song so I wasn't jumping for joy like some fans, but I went ahead and bought it anyway to encourage more of this for the future (plus, it was only a dollar). If they let Chisato release a solo version of a C-ute song then I'll be more excited. Actually I'd much rather have solo mp3 versions of their singles instead of solo close ups (as seen on Event Vs). Or even better:...

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C-ute 2010 Cutie Circuit Concert Review

Just in case you didn't know, C-ute does this Cutie Circuit thing at least once a year on the same date: September 10th. The Japanese title is more or less the same every year, "℃-ute Cutie Circuit 2010～9月10日は℃-uteの日～", which translates to "C-ute Cutie Circuit September 10th, 2010 is C-ute's Day." C-ute's day indeed. They have held their yearly Cutie Circuit every year since 2007 on September 10th. It's become an annual tradition, just like the DJ Maimai, MC Chissa, and MC Kappa skit that I eagerly anticipate. Yesterday night, I was able to watch...

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Today is awesome news day

It's been a while since I did a news roundup post, but so many great things have been announced lately (especially today). Former C-ute member Kanna opens a Twitter account I'm not a fan of Twitter at all (my long blog posts and the rules of Twitter do not agree with each other), but with so many people that I care about opening Twitter accounts, I may just have to give in one day. Kanna's message in her first tweet is clear: "i am kanna!!! ^^follow...

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Recommended J-Drama: At Home Dad

I'd like to take a quick break from all of the Hello! Project blog posts and talk about another aspect of Japanese culture that I love - dramas. Every once in a while I'll talk about some really great Japanese dramas that I have watched over the years. I'll start out with one that I am currently finishing up called At Home Dad (アットホーム・ダッド). (There are minor spoilers in this review, but everything I mention you'll find out in the first twenty minutes...

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Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game weekly Oricon ranking

Morning Musume's 44th single, Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game, received a weekly ranking of #6 and sold a total of 42,405 copies. It's a little off from my predicated sales, but it is still a solid number, especially for one week. Sales aren't as high as I had hoped, but Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game is Morning Musume's highest selling first week since Shougani Yume Oibito and sold higher in its first week than nine of their last thirteen singles (that's four years worth of singles). This single is definitely a success in my opinion and we haven't...

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A 3rd Morning Musume album preview

This one is more of a group song than the other two previews that we've heard. It actually sounds like.. dare I say it, an AKB type song. It's hard to explain. It just feels like a big group song. Anyway it's definitely my least favorite of the bunch, but it's ok...

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Airi to star in a new drama

Suzuki Airi along with another idol, Taketomi Seika, will star in a new drama that is set to release in April 2011. Airi's character investigates a mystery behind a cellphone dating sim. Taketomi plays the role of a mysterious murder from the dating sim game. Airi and Seika Since I am a Japanese drama addict, I will definitely be checking this out as soon as I can. Japanese article confirming the news: http://www.sanspo.com/geino/news/101122/gnj1011220504009-n1.htm Translation:...

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Random C-ute picspam

Just for you, Melisa. Burnt corn is the best corn Yurina is so nice to take her daughter out bowlin...

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One more Fantasy preview

I probably should have waited until today to make that Morning Musume album post, but oh well. Another song preview aired on a radio station yesterday. It's called Fantasy ga Hajimaru. So far I'm really loving this album. I almost never buy albums (due to price), but these two previews make me want to change that trend. Also this is completely random, but I love Sayu's radio voi...

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Morning Musume's 11th Album song preview

A preview of one of the songs on Morning Musume's upcoming album, titled Itoshiku Kurushii Kono Yoru Ni, was uploaded a couple of days ago. After listening to it two times, I can safely say that I like it. Really love the intro. Living up to this album's name, it totally sounds like it would fit in some fantasy anime or video game. Listen for yourself if you haven't heard it yet...

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Get your virtual date on with Berryz Koubou

As expected, Berryz Koubou's second Alo-Hello hit Japanese stores today (or rather yesterday). Their first trip to Hawaii contained some of my favorite moments in Hello! Project history, so naturally I had high hopes for their second trip. Could they create another masterpiece? The DVD actually starts off really, really well. Captain staring out into the Hawaiian sunset The DVD begins as Captain rides a hotel elevator up to the 20th floor. She...

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Morning Musume debuts at #5

The daily rankings are just as I guessed, except for the most important one. Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game debuted one spot lower than I had hoped -- at #5 instead of #4. As expected, they will be in a fight for #4 with AAA the whole week. There are no estimated sales yet, but #3, Kobukuro, sold 24,000. It's really impossible to guess what Morning Musume sold at this point except that it was less than 24,000 on the first day (which they weren't...

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Eri, Junjun, and Linlin's graduation concert to be aired live in 3D

UFA has been on a 3D trip this year, having the first live 3D broadcast in Japan (and even earning an award for it) as well as the various movies featuring H!P members in 3D, but in December they will be taking it to a new level. Kamei Eri, Junjun, and Linlin's final concert as Morning Musume members will be aired live on Japanese television... in 3D! Sounds pretty cool. Also, it will air again January 1st in normal 2D for those without a 3D TV. This means that we should be able to see the graduation concert a lot early than whenever the DVD...

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Blog redesigned

As you can see, I changed the complete look and feel of this blog to make it a bit brighter and all around more attractive.  What do you think? Does it look better than before? Before  Aft...

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C-ute's newest indies single

If you haven't heard, C-ute has a new musical called Akuma de Kyuuto na Seishun Grafitti that ended October 22nd. I'm not a big fan of musicals or plays, even ones that involve Hello! Project members, but the theme song for this musical (also called Akuma de Kyuuto na Seishun Grafitti) caught my attention. It is essentially C-ute's 5th indies single (or 6th if you count the Rakuten Eagles cheer song). Considering I have all of C-ute's other indies...

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