Category Archives: Japan

YankeeOtaku.com will report directly from Sakura-Con

Posted on April 20, 2011 by yankeeotaku

Berryz Kobo on Japanese TV, charming and disarming, and executing a great “live” perf of “Shining Power.” With iPad in hand, YankeeOtaku.com is more than well-equipped to report all that is relevant at Sakura-Con 2011 Seattle. The party starts Friday, … Continue reading →

Posted in Airlines, AKB48, Anime, Berryz Kobo, C-ute, Hello! Project Eggs, Idols, J-pop, Japan, K-pop, Morning Musume, Music, NMB48, Puffy AmiYumi, S/mileage, SCANDAL, SKE48, Taiwan48, Travel, USA48, Yen | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

Sakura-Con 2011 releases fabulous Berryz Kobo schedule

Posted on April 13, 2011 by yankeeotaku

Berryz Kobo’s fall 2010 concert. I saw this one twice Dec. 12 in Nagano. They will likely reprise some of this next week at Sakura-Con in Seattle. Sakura-Con of Seattle, Wash., has done it right! Berryz Kobo will be staying … Continue reading →

Posted in Airlines, AKB48, Anime, Berryz Kobo, C-ute, Hello! Project Eggs, Idols, Japan, K-pop, Morning Musume, Music, NMB48, Puffy AmiYumi, S/mileage, SCANDAL, SKE48, Taiwan48, Travel, USA48, Yen | Comments Off

°C-ute, fall 2010: Murderous, relentless, fabulous, gorgeous

Posted on April 12, 2011 by yankeeotaku

Second song of °C-ute’s otherworldly fall 2010 concert tour is “Disco Queen,” made famous in 1997 by Hagiwara and Saki N. and taken to another level this time around. The solo dances just rock, kick unholy ass, whatever you want … Continue reading →

Posted in Airlines, AKB48, Anime, Berryz Kobo, C-ute, Hello! Project Eggs, Idols, J-pop, Japan, K-pop, Morning Musume, Music, NMB48, Puffy AmiYumi, S/mileage, SCANDAL, SKE48, Taiwan48, Travel, tsunami, USA48, Yen | Comments Off

AKB48′s Tomomi stuns colleagues with sultry ‘Dear J’

Posted on April 5, 2011 by yankeeotaku

Wow. Tomomi outdoes herself in “Dear J,” but the backdancers are even more amazing. Note that Tomomi’s fellow AKB48 members appear to be in a state of shock as they see one of their own wade into the dangerous waters … Continue reading →

Posted in Airlines, AKB48, Anime, Berryz Kobo, C-ute, earthquake, Hello! Project Eggs, Idols, J-pop, Japan, K-pop, Morning Musume, Music, NMB48, Puffy AmiYumi, S/mileage, SCANDAL, SKE48, Taiwan48, Travel, tsunami, USA48, Yen | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

Sakura-Con, Berryz Kobo and navigating the seas of history

Posted on April 2, 2011 by yankeeotaku

“Special Generation,” 2005: It was nothing but up from here for Sakura-Con-bound Berryz Kobo. Three short weeks from now, April 22-24, Berryz Kobo crosses the Pacific and makes history at Sakura-Con in Seattle, one of the most significant anime conventions … Continue reading →

Posted in Airlines, AKB48, Anime, Berryz Kobo, C-ute, earthquake, Hello! Project Eggs, Idols, J-pop, Japan, K-pop, Morning Musume, Music, NMB48, Puffy AmiYumi, S/mileage, SCANDAL, SKE48, Taiwan48, Travel, tsunami, USA48, Yen | Comments Off

Morning Musume single with 4 new members is . . . different

Posted on March 28, 2011 by yankeeotaku

Hmm. Tsunku needs to go after hard rock, leather, heavy metal — anything but this. The four new girls, though, have enormous potential. Bad timing, too, that this comes out right as Japan is consumed by the earthquake and tsunami. … Continue reading →

Posted in Airlines, AKB48, Anime, Berryz Kobo, C-ute, earthquake, Hello! Project Eggs, Idols, J-pop, Japan, K-pop, Morning Musume, Music, NMB48, Puffy AmiYumi, S/mileage, SCANDAL, SKE48, Taiwan48, Travel, tsunami, USA48, Yen | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

NMB48 off to a killer start in concerts, on TV in Osaka

Posted on March 26, 2011 by yankeeotaku

NMB48′s obligatory rendition of AKB48 anthem “Aitikatta” is followed by wonderfully disarming intros. Lede member Sakaya Yamamoto is an absolutely chiseled star already. NMB48 is off and running in Osaka, and my only question: When is the first DVD coming … Continue reading →

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Prayers to all in wake of Japan’s great earthquake of 2011

Posted on March 11, 2011 by yankeeotaku

Friday’s earthquake and tsunami, courtesy Japanese TV. God, are you there? The video footage reminded me of some computer-generated animation, of an anime gone wild. Water, water, everywhere, with trucks and mud and floating fires and God knows what else … Continue reading →

Posted in Airlines, AKB48, Anime, Berryz Kobo, C-ute, Hello! Project Eggs, Idols, J-pop, Japan, K-pop, Morning Musume, Music, NMB48, Puffy AmiYumi, S/mileage, SCANDAL, SKE48, Taiwan48, Travel, USA48, Yen | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

AKB48, SKE48, NMB48, Taiwan48 — USA48?

Posted on March 5, 2011 by yankeeotaku

Jurina Matsui, in blue, in “Two Roses,” October 2010. Oh, Lord! This is an open invitation to Yasushi Akimoto, who is fundamentally changing the Asian — and soon-to-be-Western — music landscape with his AKB48 concept which started only five short … Continue reading →

Posted in Airlines, AKB48, Anime, Berryz Kobo, C-ute, Hello! Project Eggs, Idols, J-pop, Japan, K-pop, Morning Musume, Music, NMB48, Puffy AmiYumi, S/mileage, SCANDAL, SKE48, Taiwan48, Travel, USA48, Yen | Comments Off

Kanon murderous for Morning Musume even in practice!

Posted on March 3, 2011 by yankeeotaku

Kanon, farthest to the left in most of this line footage, is already showing why she could be the best Morning Musume member ever! Holy, moly! I’ve never seen a more stunning look this early in the game, in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Airlines, AKB48, Anime, Berryz Kobo, C-ute, Hello! Project Eggs, Idols, J-pop, Japan, K-pop, Morning Musume, Music, Puffy AmiYumi, S/mileage, SCANDAL, SKE48, Travel, Uncategorized, Yen | Tagged , , , | Comments Off