NEWS will be releasing their NEWS Concert Tour Pacific 2007-2008 - The First Tokyo Dome Concert DVD on August 13th. The limited edition will come with a 36 page booklet.

There’s not much news out on it (it’s not up on the official Johnny’s Entertainment site yet), but CDJapan states that it will have their first Tokyo Dome performance, Tokyo Dome MC, backstage documentary shots from the whole tour, and documentary shots from their 2007 Taipei concert as well.

The tracklist is

Disc1:
OVERTURE
weeeek
BEACH ANGEL
裸足のシンデレラボーイ (Hadashi no Cinderella Boy)
希望～Yell～ (Kibou~Yell~)
Stand Up
Change the World
ゴメンネ ジュリエット (Gomen ne Juliet)
愛のマタドール (Ai no Matador)
Member Call by a DANCE SONG
SHOCK ME vs Devil or Angel
PRIVATE HEARTS
なんとかなるさ (Nantoka Narusa)
HAPPY MUSIC
DREAMS
星をめざして (Hoshi wo Mezashite)
Fiesta
NANDE×2 DAME
サヤエンドウ (Sayaendou)
NEWSニッポン (NEWS NIppon)
永遠色の恋 (Towairo no Koi)
真冬のナガレボシ (Mafuyu no Nageroboshi)
SNOW EXPRESS
キッス～帰り道のラブソング～ (Kiss~Kaerimichi no Love Song~)
抱いてセニョリータ (Daite Senorita)
青春アミーゴ(Seishun Amigo)
ズッコケ男道 (Zukkoke Otokomichi)
チラリズム(Chirarizumu)
愛なんて(Ai Nante)
君想フ夜 (Kimi Omou Yoru)
code
VIBRATION
紅く燃ゆる太陽 (Akaku Moyuru Taiyo)
きらめきの彼方へ (Kirameki no Kanata e)
チェリッシュ (Cherish)

Disc 2
TEPPEN
weeeek
希望～Yell～ (Kibou~Yell~)
太陽のナミダ (Taiyou no Namida)
夢の数だけ愛が生まれる (Yume no Kazu Dake Ai ga Umareru)

番外編
■MC @ TOKYO DOME／■NEWS CONCERT TOUR pacific 2007 2008 DOCUMENTARY／■NEWS 1st CONCERT 2007 IN TAIPEI DOCUMENTARY ｢NEWS CONCERT TOUR pacific 2007 2008 -THE FIRST TOKYO DOME CONCERT-／NEWS｣

You’re thinking, “why is this such a big deal, it’s just another release.” This is a big deal for NEWS fans, okay, or at least for me. NEWS gets pretty gypped as a group - after almost five years since their debut, they’ve had only ten singles, two albums, and two DVDs - just 14 releases total in five years. Only in 2007 did they have their first Tokyo Dome concert, after groups that debuted long after them had - and only because there was so much demand for them in the area that they had to squeeze in more dates. And for those of us unable to attend the Dome, we finally have it on DVD.

I’m glad to finally be able to see the things I’ve heard fan reports and saw fancams of on a nice DVD. Tego singing Ai Nante, hearing Vibration, seeing the team dance battle, seeing the famed gallons and gallons of water they used in the concert - I’m excited!

The Limited and Normal editions differ only by cover and case, and since you get a 36 page booklet as opposed to a 12 page, I’d say go for the limited while you could if you’re going for one; hey, nice photos are always a welcome extra, right? I’ll add all the buying links I can find as they should start getting in the next day or two:

CDJapan: Limited / Normal
Yesasia: Limited / Normal

I can’t wait! (:

Back for another season of dramas Here’s my take, but the official synopsis are over at tokyograph. My top picks for the season would have to be Maou, Cat Street, and - is anyone surprised - Code Blue!

Ando Natsu

Meaning: Another cooking drama, this time with donuts and pastries.
Verdict: All depends on how funny they can make it. No big names that I’m interested in, particularly.

Taiyo to Umi no Kyoshitsu

Meaning: ANOTHER school drama. This time with snooty prep school kids instead of gangstas though.
Verdict: I’ve had enough of the GTO/Yankumi wannabees. Also, the name translates to “Sun and Ocean’s Classroom” - so what are they going to do, show students the way of life by almost drowning them?

Shibatora

Meaning: A total fail cop will bumble around, solving crimes but making you wonder what Japan’s justice force is coming to.
Verdict: The synopsis sounds stupid, but Koike Teppei looks so cute in that cop outfit.

Monster Parent

Meaning: Lawyer vs. scary psycho parents of students.
Verdict: They’re either going to spew law at me or GTO-style parenting. Yawn. Hiraoka Yuta is pretty to look at though.

Gakko ja Oshierarenai!

Meaning: Fukada Kyoko will teach students how to find life through shakin’ their thangs.
Verdict: Pass. Unless you like looking at Fukada Kyoko, which a lot of people do.

Gonzo: Densetsu no Keiji

Meaning: Angsty detectives
Verdict: Maybe. These either go really well or really off, depending on how they pull it off.

Seigi no Mikata

Meaning: Yamada Yu is going to bully Shida Mirai. Endlessly.
Verdict: This actually looks pretty funny; and my sadistic side is always up for some bullying.

Cat Street

Meaning: People with issues join together and form. Romance ensues. (This drama won’t start until August.)
Verdict: I know nothing about Cat Street except that the manga is by the same person who did Hana Yori Dango. And I adore Hana Yori Dango; okay, I’m in.

Sono Otoko, Fuku-Shocho 2

Meaning: The same detective drama as season 1, except it’s season 2.
Verdict: Even the tokyograph syopsis says its an “ordinary detective drama.” Ordinary.

Yottsu no Uso

Meaning: A bunch of women get together and reveal their dirty secrets.
Verdict: I’m too young for these middle age crisis dramas, unless they tell me they killed a load of men in their youth or something.

Code Blue

Meaning: Yamapi, Aragaki Yui, Toda Erika, and others will be helidocs, flying in ur skies, savin’ ur lives.
Verdict: YES. YES. YES. Say it with me now. YESSSSSSSSSS.

Lotta de 6 San-oku Ni-senman en Ateta Otoko

Meaning: A poor dude wins a 320 million yen in the lotto.
Verdict: He will inevitably have problems with having so much money. Bull. If I had that much money my life would be sweet, even if I have to pay for a therapist with a few million out of that 320.

Maou

Meaning: Ohno Satoshi and Toma Ikuta will be sternfaced people dealing with crime. Or something.
Verdict: …well I like Arashi, so I Like Ohno. And I like Toma. So I’ll be watching this even if they don’t pull off the mystery part well - which they actually seem like they will.

Dageki Tenshi Ruri

Meaning: SuperOfficeLady, fighting crime!
Verdict: LOL.

Kagero no Tsuji 2

Meaning: Some drama about ancient Japanese people.
Verdict: Historical NHK dramas never were my thing; 95% chance it’s not your thing either.

Walkin’ Butterfly

Meaning: A beautiful, tall girl needs to get over being beautiful and tall to model.
Verdict: Wow, life is sooooooo hard for her. Unless she’s some 12 foot tall chewbaca, there’ll be no compassion coming from me. Maybe next season we’ll have some singer being too insecure by having too good a voice, or some athlete being insecure because she’s born too athletic.

Koizora

Meaning: The heartwrenching movie now dragged out into MULTIPLE hours.
Verdict: Nothing will beat the movie, but I love the plot, so I’ll probably get suckered into this. Again.

Yasuko to Kenji

Meaning: Love rectangles with former gang members, you know.
Verdict: TOKIO’s Matsuoka will be a shoujo-writing gangster. It’s just weird enough to get me at least a little interested in what otherwise would seem rather boring.

33 Pun Tantei

Meaning: Domoto Tsuyoshi will be a bad detective incorrectly solving crimes for 33 minutes. (This won’t air until August.)
Verdict: This can be either really stupid or really funny; either way, it doesn’t matter for me because I love Dots.

Tomorrow

Meaning: A doctor and a nurse have issues and try to rebuild a hospital.
Verdict: Go watch Code Blue.

Here is Greenwood

Meaning: The shoujo manga manga in live action form, with pretty boys galore.
Verdict: This is on TokyoMX meaning it’s going to be kinda cheap and loltastic but, you know, this is for you just incase you liked the manga/like looking at unknown pretty boys, since there’s no other big ~ikemen paradise~ show this season.

So aside from the ones I’m very enthusiastic about, the rest seems rather mediocre for a summer season - but who knows! In my opinion summer season always has the most dramas that turn out to be surprisingly engaging, so once everythig airs I might find a new second-favorite - after Code Blue, of course. (FUJI TV should give me a pat on the back for all the Code Blue love I’m giving, seriously. :))

I’ve never done a survey on here before, so to start, Celestia’s Bikkuri Survey.

1. You have found a magical J-pop genie who will grant you one J-pop related wish (so no wishing for a million dollars or world peace or anything like that). It can be virtually anything as long as it’s directly related to J-pop, and don’t worry, because this is the nice sort of genie, not the kind who will try to find a loop-hole and screw up your wish. So, what do you wish for???
Quite honestly? That I become a top-selling J-pop idol whose popularity spans the world! I’d like to have Utada’s musicality, Stephanie’s voice, and Otsuka Ai’s artistry.

2. Is there any J-pop artist or group who seriously pisses you off? If yes, who, and why? Probably Koda Kumi. I think her ero-kawaii stint just never sat well with me, and despite having liked some of her songs I think her music is monotonous now. It’s one of those uncontrollable feelings - she has a good personality and a good voice, I guess, but every time I see her strut onto stage wearing almost nothing singing a song that sounds like four of her others I fast forward.

3. Who do you think is the sexiest Japanese singer out there?
Yamapi. Okay, that was really biased - without my bias, it’d probably be Akanishi Jin from KAT-TUN. He’s kind of a slut (read: Lovejuice.)

4. How about the cutest?
Perfume, as a trio. Their image and their music and their personalities are all adorable.

5. Best personality?
Otsuka Ai - she seems funny and witty and quirky but is also emotional and intelligent.

6. If given the opportunity, would you rather date person 3, person 4, or person 5?
Given as 4 and 5 are four girls, I’d go with 3. Wait, but person 3 is both Yamapi and Jin - well, I’d just take both of them.

7. You work for a Japanese music magazine, and you have the opportunity to interview your favorite artist or group. What are a couple of the questions you want to ask them?
I’d interview NEWS and ask them the truth about how they felt about their group, if Johnny doesn’t blacklist me. And if I’m not allowed to, I’ll just ask them standard interviewing question - hey, at least then I could meet them.

8. What’s the best (J-pop) song to listen to when you are really sad?
“Pocket”  by Otsuka Ai

9. When you’re really happy?
“weeeek” by NEWS, and right now, “One Love” by Arashi

10. Do you often sing along to your favorite songs?
Yes, when I’m alone - usually in the car, or in the shower. Usually I don’t know the lyrics so I hum or make up my own words along with it.

11. How about dance?
Yep, I’m terribly guilty of trying to fake along some Perfume dance moves.

12. Artistic integrity question!! If someone offered to pay you for blogging, but they were allowed to censor some of your opinions or veto some of your blogging ideas, would you do it?
Yes. I like money. And really, if you write professionally as a career, your own opinions usually are censored, so I don’t see how being paid for blogging would be a lack of integrity in any way.

Rising actress Kuroki Meisa is the CM girl for Sportio cell phones, and is also debuting as a singer by releasing her debut song “Like This” for the CM. The song and video are only available on digital download.

Kuroki Meisa is drop dead gorgeous, but she’s always struck me as being just a mediocre actress. Meisa fans, don’t flame me yet - I don’t follow her extensively, but from what I’ve seen of her acting and promotional work, she seems like the pretty girl with little presence.  Her expressions often look the same, and she always seems kind of aloof and too cool to be relatable.

But a musical career really uses her cool aloofness and displays it as its best. “Like This” is a hot R&B dance song; though its hard to judge through the song how well Meisa can actually sing, it does suit her with the cool sound it has. Mostly, I’m really liking the composition - from the opening the song and Meisa are aggressive and slick.

Check out her Sportio ad - I think it’s even more fierce than the PV.

I’m always have mixed feelings on actresses and models going into singing - even though they often put out catchy songs, they just can’t sing. (Read: Leah Dizon’s terrible live singing.) Whether Meisa can sing and dance her worth is still up in the air, but at the very least she’s got an extremely catchy, extremely well produced debut song.

So the Oricon half year charts are finally out. Out of the top 100 singles, the Johnny’s releases are:

2. KAT-TUN - DON’T U EVER STOP - 433,168
3. KAT-TUN - LIPS - 421,902
5. Arashi - Step and Go - 374,449
7. NEWS - Taiyou no Namida - 291,447
10. NEWS - SUMMER TIME - 251,056
11. Kanjani8 - Wahaha - 228,563
13. Hey! Say! JUMP - Dreams come true - 220,072
16. SMAP - Dangan Fighter - 173,586
18. SMAP - Sonomama / White Message - 158,837
20. V6 - way of life - 143,599
22. Maizu Tsukasa (Domoto Koichi) - No more - 127,905
32. 244 ENDLI-x - Kurikaesu Haru - 94,044
33. V6 - Chou - 89,871
49. Tackey & Tsubasa - Koi Uta/PROGRESS - 68,973
54. MATCHY with QUESTION? - Mezamero Yasei - 59,035
59. KAT-TUN - Keep the Faith -55,580
66. 20th Century (V6) - Ore ja Nakya, Kimi ja Nakya - 50,011
67. Hey!Say! JUMP - Ultra Music Power - 49,732
82. NEWS - weeeek - 42,405

19 entries on the top 100; 20% of the charts, and 44% of the top 25. Very nice. I think everything released this year is on the list, not surprisingly. More un-surprises? KAT-TUN is still the best selling JE group, Arashi is doing very well, as is NEWS, Kanjani8 is a little behind, SMAP is still loved, Japanese love little children aka Hey!Say!JUMP, Koichi sells more than Tsuyoshi despite having more mediocre music, and a bunch of Tackey and Tsubasa’s fans have jumped ship. You know, same old same old. A lot of last year’s releases have done extremely well.

As for the top ten though, it looks like KAT-TUN and Arashi will be the only ones on it for sure; NEWS’ “Taiyou no Namida” might make the cut. Their “Summer Time” will, inevitably, get pushed off the top ten by GReeeeN’s “Kiseki” though. As for the top spot, if JE wants a top yearly hit it’d have to put out something really good, because I don’t see “DON’T U EVER STOP” getting enough sales to beat out “Soba ni Iru ne.”

Overall, JE sales still aren’t as great as they were two years ago - remember the great year of Seishun Amigo, Real Face, and Daite Senorita being a power trio at the top of the charts? But JE still has the Japanese fangirls (and the fangirls’ money) wrapped around its well manicured in a manly way finger. And I am glad to have contributed to their pot of gold :Dv.

Perfume’s next single “Love the World” will be released on July 9th.

I’ve never heard, but I always assumed that “Love the World” was an eco-friendly themed song, since they appeared on NHK’s Save the World and because the song wants you to love the world?

See it on dailymotion (new window)

Anyways, I really like the song; I’m sure a few more listens will tip me over to loving it - wait, I’ve crossed it. I love “Love the World.” Despite being upbeat and catchy, it’s able to sound laid back and soft - there’s a catchy beat, but it’s not as strong and imposing. Something about the song also strikes me as being 80s influenced.

As for the visual portion though, I’m torn. I’ll be positive first: I like the dance, especially the sassy leg routine at the beginning. The black and white works really well for the girls’ faces. The special effects in the video actually pretty cool and not really gimmicky or cheesy. The single covers are both very nice. Also, I like the slow-mo parts - they add a nice flavor.

However, I’m not feeling the grayscale. I think the concept is good, but there’s so much going on in the video that it all looks messy. The costumes are pretty flowy this time around - to get the nice slow-mo parts, I guess, and they look nice - but during the video it often just looks like frumpy patches of white or gray. And sometimes there’s just too much gray everywhere, like in the scenes with the sky in the background. It’s a matter of personal preference, but I would’ve preferred if they’d added in some color accents or cut down on the visual effects.

But of course, nothing will stop me looping the video days on end until the single comes out.

I’ve yet to get started on looking through the summer 2008 dramas, but this one’s really caught my eye. Maybe it’s because I love Yamapi to death, maybe because I adore Gakki, maybe because I really like Erika, or maybe because I just have some perverse fetish for scrubs and helicopters - I am so, so ready for Code Blue.

Code Blue is a Fuji summer drama airing Thursdays at 10pm starting on July 3rd. It’s tagline is “ドクターヘリ緊急救命” - Doctor Heli Kinkyuu Kyumei, or Doctor Heli Emergency Rescue. So yes, this is a medical drama about helicopter doctors. The drama is written by Hayashi Hiroshi, the screenwriter of the well-received Iryu - Team Medical Dragon so it looks very promising.

The drama is supposed to publicize emergency doctors, but let’s be honest - we’re not watching the drama to learn. The cast list is on dramawiki, but the five mains are Higa Manami, Asari Yosuke Toda Erika, Aragaki Yui, and Yamashita Tomohisa. Yamapi will be a sullen but talented doctor in training with a dark past; Gakki will be the unconfident doctor in training; Erika will be the fiery, competitive doctor in training; Asari Yosuke will be the doctor in training that is overshadowed by the other three (you know it’s going to happen); and Higa Manami will be the nurse that oversees the trainees.

(character chart, credits to kenzokenzo at LJ)

The press conference, subbed:

Yeah, does those sneak preview scenes look amazing or what?

This drama has everything that I like: my favorite guy in the world, two of my favorite female actresses, playing roles in a drama that’s actually probably going to be dramatic, with real life related events - I’m up for it.

And if you’re still not convinced - how about some eye candy?

Now, can you still not be excited? I can’t wait to see everyone (especially Yamapi and his fluffy doc-fro) in action - cruising over Japan and saving some lives!

“Kaze Fukeba Koi,” chatmonchy’s next single, will be released June 25th. The title song was used in CMs for Seabreeze products from Shiseido.

They use some interesting syncopation in the song that makes it sound different. I am actually not that fond of this song - most of the tune sounds forgettable, while the chorus, although catchy, sounds monotone and grating. The best part would probably be the last repetition of the chorus, because it’s at the part that the tune really works well, but unfortunately it’s only that one part. But the music is very inventive - the beat and instrumentation are very fresh - which makes the song interesting, despite not being the catchiest number the band has had.

Still, since I am a fan, I do enjoy how the band is experimenting with their sound. I like how they used a live for their PV, keeping to their rock roots. And since this song was used in a fairly major commercial, hopefully it does well.

Just as an extra, here’s the CM that the song was used in. It’s actually how I first heard this song - because who can resist Horikita Maki in a CM this cute?

Following her successful “I LOVED YESTERDAY” album, YUI’s next single “SUMMER SONG” is going to be released July 2nd.

As shown in the PV, “SUMMER SONG” is a summer sequel to “Laugh Away.” The song is, like “Laugh Away”, lighthearted, but is much more cheerful as opposed to wistful. She uses her high notes differently in this song, enough to make a distinct impact, but it is still the kind of laid-back YUI song we all know - acoustic guitar paired with a midtempo beat and her clear vocals.

This single is a first for YUI in many ways. She is wearing a dress. She is wearing high heels! And most surprisingly, her single is happy and she looks and sounds happy. I, for one, am glad we’re finally seeing this girl sing while smiling instead of looking eternally devastated; maybe she won’t be the poster child for Japanese emo after all (although I do like her slightly wistful songs the best).

At the end of the single there’s a small preview for the acoustic version of “Laugh Away” that will be on the single. I guess there won’t be a “Namidairo” acoustic version - making it, like her “TOKYO” single, one of the few that don’t have an acoustic version on the following single - but it makes sense, because it’s acoustic enough already. The other song on the single is called “Oh My God” - no previews yet, but that’s definitely a song I’m curious about.

I’m digging the song - it’s a catchy song that’s distinctly YUI, but it still sounds different from her other songs. I’m looking forward to live performances of this - we’ll see YUI perform happily, finally.

alan’s third single, “Natsukashi Mirai ~longing future~” will be released July 2nd. It was used as the theme to NHK’s Save the Future theme song.

The song is, yes, another beautiful power ballad from alan, but it’s a bit more upbeat than her previous singles. Like her debut, the song uses her unique Tibetan vocals at parts, and, yes, features the erhu! The song was produced by famed produce Sakamoto Ryuichi (the guy who did “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence”, you know?).

The PV is gorgeous this time and looks like it has a higher budget than her first two PVs - not that those weren’t pretty decent for an avex artist already! I also really like the covers this time. Hopefully, the quality treatment of this single along with the tie-in with NHK will make this single more successful.

The single features two b-sides. One is a new original song called “Seed of Green,” a ballad that is keeping up with the save the environment theme of this single. The other is a choir version of “Natsukashi Mirai ~longing future~.” The choir version doesn’t seem to feature alan’s vocals, but it’s a nice twist on the song.