Tag Archives: Japan
Video

BE:FIRST is Topping the Charts and They’re Not Ready to Say nor Sing, “Bye-Good-Bye.”

22 Nov

BE:FIRSTSince releasing their debut album, ‘BE:1’ in August this year, Japanese group BE:FIRST, has been nothing short of unstoppable. Signed to renowned Japanese rapper and artist, SKY-HI’s management company and label, BMSG, this band is a seven member dance and vocal group who has continuously swept up No.1 spots on various music charts, and music videos receiving over millions of views., This time, the group has reached another successful milestone. Just one year after their debut, their official YouTube channel reached over 300 million total views earlier this week.

All the music videos on BE:FIRST’s YouTube channel thus far have received tremendous numbers of views. Their pre-debut single ‘Shining One’ surpassed 32 million views as of 14 November 2022. Their second single, ‘Bye-Good-Bye’ is about to hit 30 million views any day. Besides the music videos, dance performance and dance practice videos, in addition to live performance videos, are popular among fans. Their music videos can be found on YouTube and their latest is as follows:

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NAQT VANE is VANE with their Second Debut Single

4 Nov

NAQT VANE

Led by producer/composer Hiroyuki Sawano, who has provided music for movies, anime, TV shows and artists, the new team music project NAQT VANE released their second digital single, ‘VANE’, on November 2, 2022.

The song shares the same concept as NAQT VANE themselves: Creating an uplifting tailwind to encourage those who have a challenger spirit. Vocalist Harukaze’s strong yet gentle voice offers unflinching support, with an inspiring message for those of us who are trying hard to live our best life. In Japan, ‘VANE’ has been selected as the theme song for the historic Women’s Ekiden long-distance road relay, which is celebrating its 37th year.

Based on the concept that “the song that paves the way will never die”, the music video shows an ever-flowing stream of images referencing elements of “place” such as cities, commuter towns and countryside regions, along with symbols of “time” such as morning, noon and night. While the video to NAQT VANE’s debut single ‘Break Free’ used CG to portray a rich graphical world, this time vocalist Harukaze’s performance is front and center, and not to be missed. As if directly referencing the lyric “It’s raining outside, touching my raw nerve”, the video was shot outdoors in the pouring rain, and Harukaze’s deeply emotional side and artistic nature, which had remained veiled until now, have finally been revealed

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The Iké Boys and Saving the Day, Namely the Hell that was Y2K

7 Oct

The Iké BoysShout! Factory
Coming to Digital and VOD Oct 11th

The Iké Boys is more than just a hero’s journey about two guys from Oklahoma who want to escape from the ho-hum. It also takes a peek back in time, when Japanese pop culture became part of the western media fixture in the 90s, and recognises what is great. We’re allowed to believe in miracles, and get to be a power ranger! The best part of this movie is that it includes vintage style anime and sentai action in its presentation.

In the case of Shawn Gunderson (Quinn Lord) and Vikram ‘Vik’ Kapoor (Ronak Gandhi), they’re not so ordinary in the sense that they’ve been branded losers in high school. That is, all they have is their anime fantasies to keep them happy. The latter dislikes the label and wants to be part of the crowd. He’s trying to do more with his life, but when Miki (Christina Higa) arrives, that one step forward (he’s crushing hard on her) ends up being two steps back as things go terribly wrong for them.

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Video

NAQT VANE’s Breezy Debut! “Break Free” Music Video in Japan and American Release

19 Sep

NAQT VANEOn September 1st, Attack on Titan and Kingdom composer Hiroyuki Sawano launched a new music project, titled NAQT VANE, with vocalist Harukaze! Their debut single ‘Break Free’ is now out and the music video is nothing short of breathless.

In addition to the digital single, there’s a music video (see below) to view, and it’s produced for everyone living in the era of the wind. The press release describes it as, “A flexible world of freedom and diversity with a lifestyle unbound by material things. NAQT VANE began activities with the intention of “breathing a new wind into each story and finding a place of our own”. The team consists of vocalist Harukaze, who has built a following on TikTok and YouTube, along with overall production by Hiroyuki Sawano and artwork by Classic 6.”

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SEGA’s Radiant Silvergun Stalled, but Will Rail On Soon on the Nintendo Switch

15 Sep

Radiant Silvergun

One of the best SEGA Saturn games of yesteryears was Radiant Silvergun, and it’s been updated for the Nintendo Switch! Fans of this Japanese shooter also have a chance to try this game out at the 2022 Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall Happinet Booth: Hall 3-N03 this weekend, when the event is open to the public.

This update is currently available in certain territories, and it should re-emerge in the North American eStore when a few nagging bugs get squashed. That is, Nintendolife reported this release was pulled hours after for undisclosed reasons, and they suspect it was due to sync issues. (Sept 21 update: turns out the problem was with the game rating, and it’s back at the eShop).

Once issues are resolved, players can start blasting away in this shoot ’em up. Players start with three primary weapons–a forward blaster, homing missiles and a spreader–and can upgrade them they have to face waves of different enemies. Advancing isn’t easy, as each foe has its own unique strategy, and players have to adapt.

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