The desire to achieve cultural icon status drove our team to undergo hair and clothing makeovers for hefty transformations. How were the end results?
idol
Kyoto-based technology company created a neural network that’s an idol otaku, then set if free to daydream of its perfect idols.
The newest title in the Utano☆Princesama mobile game series is the first to be released globally, and we got the chance to take an exclusive sneak peek at the game!
Tokyo police say teen stole over 100 boxes of razors, and not so that he’d be freshly shaven for his beloved idol singers.
SMAP, one of Japan’s most famous pop boy band groups, have announced they will disband at the end of this year.
These Japanese idol fans at the 2016 Tokyo Idol Festival show us that, when it comes to being first to the front of the stage, all etiquette is thrown out the window.
Up-and-coming idol Shina Pikarin is making a bloody splash among teens in Japan with her occasional death-metal vocals and up-tempo pop beats.
The robot revolution is coming, and when it arrives, they’ll have an awful lot to be mad about, like making them dance for our amusement. But that’s still a long way off as far as we can tell, so we might as well get as much enjoyment out of our synthetic minions as possible now!
DMM is one of Japan’s most well-known technology companies, and considering everything they do, it’s easy to see why. From steaming video services to retail to friggin’ robots, they have a lot of thumbs in a lot of pies. But the pie that’s sure to infuriate our future roboverlords the most is probably DMM’s new Premaid AI—robot idols that will do dance whatever dance you want on the tabletop of your choosing.
Nearly two years ago, a single photograph of a young wannabe idol appeared online. It ignited a fire amongst idol otaku so large that it reached the mainstream press in Japan in the same day. The pictured girl, one Kanna Hashimoto, was soon after crowned “beyond angelic” and dubbed a “once in a millennium” idol for her natural looks and youthful energy.
Since then, there have been many challengers to Kanna’s title, like the “once in 4,000 years idol” whatserface, and the “once in 2000 years” idol…um you know, the one with the hair. They’re probably all nice girls and I wish them well in their careers, but seriously they had no place stepping up to Hashimoto’s star quality.
Having already appeared in commercials for SoftBank and Cup Noodle, Kanna is now hawking Lip Baby brand coloring lip balms. Although not as big a brand as the others, these commercials have woken up Japanese netizens and reminded them who the real once in a millennium idol is.
Beauty queen and “too cute to be true” Japanese model Ami Takeuchi released her first idol DVD on May 17 at a handshake and photo event for fans. Takeuchi’s DVD is not only the model’s first – it’s also being touted as the first ever idol DVD by a “new half” – the Japanese term for a trans female.
And at the launch event, Takeuchi spoke of the need for change, and her hope that Japanese society can become a place where it is easier for trans people to come out.
Remember Twintail Association Japan, the pro-cute organisation dedicated to all things adorable and pigtail-related? Last year they launched the idol group drop, a four-piece girl group who add “pigtail-wearing” to the usual idol skill-set trinity of singing, dancing, and smiling for the camera.
And one group member in particular has been attracting attention online for her doe-eyed smile and pigtail-wearing skills. Hikari Takiguchi has even been called a “once-in-2000-years idol”! (We’re going to assume that sounds a bit snappier in Japanese than it does in English).
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