On September 22nd, idol pop duo, Vanilla Beans, will release their first best album, “VaniBest“, as they have just finished the recording and artwork.
The best album will contain fun songs from the beginning of Rena and Rika’s career, such as “U ♡ Me” and “a little crying,” but there will be alternative recorded versions with newer member Risa on them, so even older fans have something new. They will also include covers on the album, notably Pizzcato Five classic “Tokyo wa Yoru no Shichiji“, and Jack 10’s ending theme …

Today, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan decided to expand their PlayStation Store to sell 3-D music videos.
The 3-D music videos are available on the Playstation 3, and are the first ones available in Japan. As of today, there are four videos available: Genki Rocket’s “make.believe,” Ikimonogakkari’s “Arigatou,” UVERworld’s “GOLD,” and MISIA feat. M2J+Francis Jocky’s “Maware Maware.” MISIA’s video cost 700 yen (about 8 USD) to download, and all the other videos cost 730 yen (about 8.50 USD). All sales are done with unlimited views available after purchase.
Genki Rocket’s …

Riko Miyagi’s popular manga series "Mei-chan no Shitsuji" is going to be adapted as a stage musical next year, performed by the all-female Takarazuka Revue. Yuzuru Kurenai, the current otokoyaku of the Star Troupe, will play the lead role.
Akiko Kodama will write the script and direct. The musical’s working title at the moment is "Mei-chan no Shitsuji -Watakushi no Inochi ni Kaete Omamori Itashimasu-." More details about the story and cast will be announced in future issues of Shueisha’s magazine Margaret, in which the manga is serialized.
The original manga tells …

A stage musical version of Isao Takahata and Studio Ghibli’s Only Yesterday (Omohide Poro Poro) film will run in Tokyo’s Ginga Gekijō theater from April 16 to 29, 2011. It is the first stage play adaptation of any Studio Ghibli work.
The 1991 film follows a 27-year-old Tokyo office lady named Taeko as she takes a sabbatical to visit her brother-in-law’s hometown in the countryside. The journey invokes nostalgic memories of her childhood and leads her to reconsider her path in life. The film was Takahata’s second Ghibli work after Grave …

Hikaru Utada (27) has announced that she will release a new singles collection this fall, before taking an indefinite break from music at the start of next year. The singer, who started her career more than 15 years ago, explained that she has neglected part of her personal growth, so she felt that it was necessary to take a break.
Utada began singing under the name Cubic U in her early teens, and she released her debut album “Precious” in 1998, when she was 15 years old. Reflecting on her career …

The popular anime series "K-On!!" had its new opening and ending theme songs released as singles this week. Respectively titled "Utauyo!! MIRACLE" and "NO, Thank You!," the two songs were also released as chaku-uta downloads, and Recochoku’s daily ranking for August 4 (announced on August 5) shows that they have taken the #1 and #2 spots.
This is the first time ever that an anime character band has held the top 2 spots on Recochoku’s daily "chaku-uta full" ranking. In addition, "K-On!!"-related downloads took the top 4 spots on the "chakushin …

Jin Akanishi (26) has written a comment on the official Johnny’s mobile site, his first since the news of his expected removal from KAT-TUN. In his message, Akanishi formally announced that he is going solo.

The seven members of Berryz Koubou will star in a stage production titled “San Oku En Shoujo,” though they will take turns playing the story’s lead character. The play is described as a love story bridging the past and the present, using the infamous “300 million yen robbery” as its motif.
A promotional flyer for the play was displayed during a press event on Wednesday. The flyer resembles a “wanted suspect” notice and includes a photo of a girl’s face, which is actually a composite using different facial features from each …

Rock band UVERworld announced that they will perform their first concert at the Tokyo Dome later this year. Vocalist TAKUYA∞ broke the news during the band’s concert at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium on Sunday, which was the closing show of their tour that started in April.
Last month, UVERworld’s website started displaying a mysterious countdown to November 27, and some fans feared that it was hinting at the band’s breakup. However, it is now known that November 27 is the date of their Tokyo Dome concert.
UVERworld formed ten years ago and …

Three AKB48 members – Yuki Kashiwagi (18), Aki Takajo (18), and Asuka Kuramochi (20) – are forming a new unit called French Kiss. Their debut single, titled “Zutto Mae Kara,” will be released this fall through record label Avex.
“Zutto Mae Kara” will be used as the new ending theme of the ongoing “Major” anime series, beginning with the July 3 episode. That same day, the song will begin digital distribution through various music sites.