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Japanese boy band SMAP announces official disbanding planned for the end of...
SMAP, one of Japan’s most famous pop boy band groups, have announced they will disband at the end of this year. Japan awoke to the sad news today that SMAP, one of the most popular boy bands for the...
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Japanese cosplayers steal hearts as Love Live! plus-size idol unit Debu Raibu!
Meet the group that cosplayers and fans are falling in love with. Nearly all the thousands of wide-eyed, mini-skirted 2-D anime characters that exist in Japan have one thing in common: idealised,...
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Robot-performed Love Live! idol show in Akihabara sums up Japan in one...
Robots? Check. Anime? Check. Creepy but still cute? Oh definitely check. When many people think of Japan, things like anime, Akihabara, all-girl idol groups, and of course, robots come to mind. So what...
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Japanese idol fan arrested on suspicion of stealing massive amount of razor...
Tokyo police say teen stole over 100 boxes of razors, and not so that he’d be freshly shaven for his beloved idol singers. Being an enthusiastic idol singer fan is not, by any means, a cheap hobby....
View ArticleWe get exclusive look at new Utano⭐︎Princesama Shining Live game, fall in...
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! “Utano☆Princesama Shining Live” is...
View ArticleJapan’s most beautiful idol singer faces, with AKB48 barely cracking the top...
One idol group dominates the poll by taking all five top slots. In Japanese, idol singers are simply called aidoru, the corrupted pronunciation of the English “idol.” There’s no need to verbally...
View ArticleThese dozens of beautiful Japanese idol singers aren’t just CG, they were...
Kyoto-based technology company created a neural network that’s an idol otaku, then set if free to daydream of its perfect idols. Kyoto’s DataGrid has released a video that makes it look like the...
View ArticleGoat added as official member to Japanese idol group
An idol’s got to do what an idol’s goat to do. Japanese idol groups come in all shapes and sizes, like the group who “fell from heaven” or the Okinawan idol group whose average age was 84 years old. It...
View ArticleJapanese idol’s attempt at taking a “cute” photo backfires in terrifying way
Hilarity then ensues as she tries to prove her mortal state of living. 17-year-old Meiri Asahina (@meiri_asahina) is much like dozens of other Japanese idols in that she enjoys singing, dancing, and...
View ArticleWe take on Japan’s latest crazy anime pose: The two-person peace sign【Photos】
The part about being a bishonen idol is entirely optional. IDOLiSH7, nicknamed i7, is a multimedia franchise which started as a mobile game and has since evolved to encompass a 2018 anime series,...
View ArticleAsahi combines beer, cherry blossoms, and Nogizaka46 idols in touching new...
Now we’re tempted to cheer “Maiyan!” at all the parties. It would be hard to find a better companion to a good party full of close friends than a refreshing can of beer. Though different folks prefer...
View ArticleOur team of five reporters try to turn themselves into Japanese heartthrob...
The desire to achieve cultural icon status drove our team to undergo hair and clothing makeovers for hefty transformations. How were the end results? Takuya Kimura, nicknamed Kimutaku, is a legendary...
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Idol otaku arrested for bomb threat after his idol T-shirt gets burned
He did the one thing you shouldn’t do if you don’t want your idol merch to go up in smoke. When putting out your trash in Japan, you always have to be conscious of what you’re putting out on burnable...
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How many otaku penlights do you need to survive a blackout in Japan?
Light up the darkness with a little love from your idol. In Japan, “penlights” are glowsticks commonly used by otaku, who take them along to live performances, where they wave them about in the...
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The Sailor Moon theme song is based on another song about drinking a lot of...
Forget fighting evil, the original is about drinking and dancing by moonlight instead. There aren’t many anime theme songs more instantly recognizable than Sailor Moon’s. Those first 10 notes are...
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Dedicate your savings to your oshi of choice with this new buildable...
Pay homage to your favorite character or idol (“oshi”) while building your bank. Hot on the heels of the “Altar for Enshrining Oshi” oshi kamidana, novelty goods maker Dreams is now offering an oshi...
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Former AKB48 idol who had to shave her head announces marriage to YouTube star
The idol singer formerly shamed for being in a relationship is now happily married! Life isn’t easy for idol singers, and in Minami Minegishi’s case, the road was a hard one. The 29-year-old celebrity...
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Celebrate your oshi’s birthday in style with this fully customisable cake
The cake comes in 24 different colours and a whole load of possibilities! Our resident oshikatsu expert Ninoude Punico knows that the most important day in any self respecting superfan’s calendar is...
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Our reporter illustrates their first experience attending a fan photo event...
Taking a photo with a big celebrity crush results in high anxiety but also boosts something else unexpectedly for our writer. It was the very first time for our Japanese-language reporter Udonko to...
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What is “Hiroshima skipping” and why does it have many music and idol fans in...
The phenomenon has been picking up buzz online in recent months among disgruntled residents, though there may be hope on the horizon. Scoring concert tickets has become a bit of a challenge in Japan,...
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