Sashihara Rino debuts with HKT48 and joins Team H

Sashihara Rino made her debut as a member of HKT48 during the 5th July theatre performance of [Te wo Tsunaginagara]. Sasshi's transfer to HKT48 was announced just three weeks ago, on ANN radio. Sashihara performed during all the team songs, and took part in the unit song [Glory Days]. A large number of flower wreaths were laid out in support for her by fans outside the HKT theatre entrance.

At the end of the performance, it was announced that Sasshi would be joining Team H. This move makes Team H the only 17 member team. Her profile now appears in the Team H section of the official website, and still remains on the AKB48 official website as well. Her final performance with Team A was set to be 20th June, but this was delayed as the date clashed with Matsubara Natsumi's birthday show. A new date for her final performance with Team A has yet to be announced.

In other Sashihara Rino news, she will be a regular on the variety shows Tamariba starting on 11th July on TNC, and Asadesu KBC starting on 12th July.

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Janken Tournament 2012 SKE48 Preliminary Round Result

The SKE48 preliminary round of the janken tournament to decide the senbatsu members for AKB48's 29th single has now taken place. The lucky winners are:

Team S:
Nakanishi Yuka
Hiramatsu Kanako

Team KII:
Sato Seira
Sato Meiko

Team E:
Kobayashi Ami
Ueno Kasumi
Kimoto Kanon
Tagaki Yumana

Despite being pictured with the winners, Matsui Jurina did not participate in this preliminary round as she will be participating in the event as a member of AKB48. The final janken tournament to determine the single senbatsu will take place on September 18th at the Budokan.

Full results are below, with winners of each battle in bold. There were 8 groups as there were 8 places up for grabs. Some members got a bye into the second round, this was decided by lucky draw. (You could call round 1 a kind of preliminary round)

Group A:
Round 1:
Kinoshita Yukiko vs Ishida Anna
Nakanishi Yuka vs Akaeda Ririna
Round 2:
Ishida Anna vs Mukaida Manatsu
Nakanishi Yuka vs Kato Tomoko
Round 3:
Mukaida Manatsu vs Nakanishi Yuka

Group B:
Round 1:
Yakata Miki vs Kobayashi Ami
Goto Risako vs Hara Minami
Round 2:
Kobayashi Ami vs Shibata Aya
Hara Minami vs Yagami Kumi
Round 3:
Kobayashi Ami vs Yagami Kumi

Group C:
Round 1:
Kato Rumi vs Hiramatsu Kanako
Round 2:
Hiramatsu Kanako vs Ogiso Shiori
Isohara Kyoka vs Takada Shiori
Round 3:
Hiramatsu Kanako vs Takada Shiori

Group D:
Round 1:
Suda Akari vs Deguchi Aki
Round 2:
Suda Akari vs Matsumoto Rina
Ueno Kasumi vs Hata Shawako
Round 3:
Matsumoto Rina vs Ueno Kasumi

Group E:
Round 1:
Kimoto Kanon vs Furukawa Airin
Round 2:
Kimoto Kanon vs Takayanagi Akane
Hirata Rikako vs Kaneko Shiori
Round 3:
Kimoto Kanon vs Hirata Rikako

Group F:
Round 1:
Kizaki Yuria vs Sakai Mei
Round 2:
Sakai Mei vs Sato Seira
Saito Makiko vs Umemoto Madoka
Round 3:
Sato Seira vs Umemoto Madoka

Group G:
Round 1:
Yamashita Yukapi vs Kuwabara Mizuki
Round 2:
Kuwabara Mizuki vs Tsuzuku Rika
Takagi Yumana vs Oya Masana
Round 3:
Takagi Yumana vs Kuwabara Mizuki

Group H:
Round 1:
Sato Mieko vs Yamada Reika
Round 2:
Sato Meiko vs Abiru Riho
Takeuchi Mai vs Matsui Rena
Round 3:
Sato Meiko vs Matsui Rena

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Janken Tournament 2012 HKT48 Preliminary Round Result

The final preliminary rounds of the janken tournament to decide the senbatsu members for AKB48's 29th single have taken place. These were the HKT48 round, preceeded by the HKT48 kenkyuusei round.

Eto Sayaka won the preliminary Kenkyuusei round, where four others took part, advancing to the main tournament. There were three groups, with three winners to proceed to the main AKB48 single tournament in the Nippon Budokan held on September 18th. The lucky winners were:

Team H
Moriyasu Madoka
Nakanishi Chiyori

Kenkyuusei:
Eto Sayaka

Congratulations to the three winners!

The full results of the main HKT48 tournament are below:

Kenkyuusei Preliminaries
Round 1
Fukagawa Maiko vs Imada Mina
Round 2
Imada Mina vs Abe Kyoka
Nakanishi Ayaka vs Eto Sayaka
Round 3
Imada Mina vs Eto Sayaka

Group A
Round 1
Matsuoka Natsumi vs Ueki Nao
Motomura Aoi vs Miyawaki Sakura
Round 2
Ueki Nao vs Moriyasu Madoka
Miyawaki Sakura vs Kodama Haruka
Round 3
Moriyasu Madoka vs Miyawaki Sakura

Group B
Round 1
Taniguchi Airi vs Eto Sayaka
Tanaka Natsumi vs Murashige Anna
Round 2
Eto Sayaka vs Sugamoto Yuko
Tanaka Natsumi vs Komori Yui
Round 3
Eto Sayaka vs Komori Yui

Group C
Round 1
Anai Chihiro vs Sashihara Rino
Shimono Yuki vs Kumazawa Serina
Round 2
Anai Chihiro vs Wakatabe Haruka
Kumazawa Serina vs Nakanishi Chiyori
Round 3
Anai Chihiro vs Nakanishi Chiyori

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Nogizaka46 3rd Single to be titled [Hashire! Bicycle]

At the Nogizaka46 handshake event at the Makuhari Messe, it was announced that their 3rd single will be titled [Hashire! Bicycle]. The single will be released on 22nd August in three CD+DVD Types and a regular CD-only edition. The single was performed live at the event for the first time.

The single title reminds me too much of Team 4's first song [Hashire! Penguin] but the outfits look nice. Looking forward to hearing it.

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Janken Tournament 2012 AKB48 and SKE48 Kenkyuusei Preliminary Round Result

The preliminary rounds of the janken tournament to decide the senbatsu members for AKB48's 29th single continue, with the AKB48 and SKE48 Kenkyuusei rounds taking place.

12th generation member Saeed Yokota Erena won the AKB48 kenkyuusei tournament, advancing into the final. The six recent promotees to AKB48, whilst still not a member of any team, advance straight into the final.

Winning the SKE48 kenkyuusei tournament was Saito Makiko who now advances into the full SKE48 preliminary tournament where eight members will proceed to the final.

Congratulations to Saeed and Makiko! The janken single is a great opportunity for members who don't normally get exposure in singles to make it to senbatsu, so is a big chance for Kenkyuusei. It will be interesting to see how far they proceed in the next round.

The full results are below, with winners names in bold. Some members had passes straight into round 2, these members were picked by a random draw.

AKB48:

Round 1:

Mitsumune Kaoru vs Umeta Ayano

Amemiya Maika vs Oshima Ryoka

Mutou Tomu vs Kitazawa Saki

Mogi Shinobu vs Moriyama Sakura

Takashima Yurina vs Sasaki Yukari

Round 2:
Mitsumune Kaoru vs Murayama Yuiri
Amemiya Maika vs Kita Shiori
Kitazawa Saki vs Watanabe Nene
Iwatate Saho vs Okada Ayaka
Moriyama Sakura vs Saeed Yokota Erena
Hirata Rina vs Shinozaki Ayana
Sasaki Yukari vs Hasegawa Haruna
Aigasa Moe vs Omori Miyuu

Round 3:
Murayama Yuiri vs Kita Shiori
Watanabe Nene vs Iwatate Saho
Saeed Yokota Erena vs Shinozaki Ayana
Hasegawa Haruna vs Omori Miyuu

Round 4:
Murayama Yuiri vs Watanabe Nene
Saeed Yokota Erena vs Omori Miyuu

Round 5:
Murayama Yuiri vs Saeed Yokota Erena

SKE48:

Round 1:
Miyamae Ami vs Ichino Narumi
Futamura Haruka vs Furuhata Nao
Kito Momona vs Hioki Miki
Iwanaga Tsugumi vs Inuzuka Asana
Ego Yuna vs Owaki Arisa

Round 2:
Ichino Narumi vs Saito Makiko
Furuhata Nao vs Niidoi Sayaka
Hioki Miki vs Suga Nanako
Ogino Risa vs Yamada Mizuho
Inuzuka Asana vs Matsumura Kaori
Fujimoto Mitsuki vs Kobayashi Emiri
Owaki Arisa vs Honoka Mizuno
Iguchi Shiori vs Uchiyama Mikoto

Round 3:
Saito Makiko vs Furuhata Nao
Suga Nanako vs Ogino Risa
Inuzuka Asana vs Kobayashi Emiri
Iguchi Shiori vs Honoka Mizuno

Round 3:
Saito Makiko vs Ogino Risa
Kobayashi Emiri vs Iguchi Shiori

Round 4:
Saito Makiko vs Kobayashi Emiri

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Watanabe Mayu 2nd Single [Otona Jelly Beans] Tracklisting

The tracklisting for Watanabe Mayu's second solo single [Otona Jelly Beans] has been announced. The DVD tracklistings are still unknown. [Otona Jelly Beans] will be released in four editions on July 25th.

The Type B exclusive track [Twin Tail wa Mou Shinai] refers to Mayuyu losing her trademark twin ponytails in favour of a more mature image. The Type C exclusive track [Zannen Shoujo] is a solo version of Mayu's unit song from Team B's 4th stage.


Watanabe Mayu 2nd Single
Otona Jelly Beans
大人ジェリービーンズ
25 July 2012

Type A 1,600yen	[CD] 01. Otona Jelly Beans 02. Saisho no Jack 03. Itsu Demo Soba ni Ite Ageru 04. Otona Jelly Beans (off vocal.) 05. Saisho no Jack (off vocal.) 06. Itsu Demo Soba ni Ite Ageru (off vocal.) [DVD] 01. Otona Jelly Beans PV TBA
Type B 1,600yen	[CD] 01. Otona Jelly Beans 02. Saisho no Jack 03. Twin Tail wa Mou Shinai 04. Otona Jelly Beans (off vocal.) 05. Saisho no Jack (off vocal.) 06. Twin Tail wa Mou Shinai (off vocal.) [DVD] 01. Otona Jelly Beans PV TBA
Type C 1,600yen	[CD] 01. Otona Jelly Beans 02. Saisho no Jack 03. Zannen Shoujo 04. Otona Jelly Beans (off vocal.) 05. Saisho no Jack (off vocal.) 06. Zannen Shoujo (off vocal.) [DVD] 01. Otona Jelly Beans PV TBA
Regular 1,200yen	[CD] 01. Otona Jelly Beans 02. Saisho no Jack 03. Koyubi no Hohoemi 04. Otona Jelly Beans (off vocal.) 05. Saisho no Jack (off vocal.) 06. Koyubi no Hohoemi (off vocal.)

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NO NAME 1st Single [Kibou ni Tsuite] Covers + Tracklist

The tracklist and covers for AKB48's sub unit NO NAME's debut single [Kibou ni Tsuite] is out. The sub unit is formed by the seiyuu member's of AKB0048 anime. The single contains the opening song [Kibou ni Tsuite] and ending song [Yume wa Nandomo Umarekawaru] along with a new song [Niji no Ressha].

The single comes out in two type A and B. The CD track listing is the same, only the DVD content differs. Type A cover has the one with actual girls on as well the PV of member version. Type B cover has the anime cover as well as the PV of anime version.

NO NAME 1st Single
Kibou ni Tsuite
希望について
01 August 2012

Type A 1,600yen with DVD 1,000yen without DVD	[CD] 01. Kibou ni Tsuite 02. Yume wa Nandomo Umarekawaru 03. Niji no Ressha 04. Kibou ni Tsuite off vocal. 05. Yume wa Nandomo Umarekawaru off vocal. 06. Niji no Ressha off vocal. [DVD] 01. Kibou ni Tsuite PV [Member Version] 02. Members off shot clips
Type B 1,600yen with DVD 1,000yen without DVD	[CD] 01. Kibou ni Tsuite 02. Yume wa Nandomo Umarekawaru 03. Niji no Ressha 04. Kibou ni Tsuite off vocal. 05. Yume wa Nandomo Umarekawaru off vocal. 06. Niji no Ressha off vocal. [DVD] 01. Kibou ni Tsuite PV [Anime Version] 02. Kibou ni Tsuite [Motion Making Video]

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Masuda Yuka as Dorothy in new Wizard of Oz musical

On July 2nd, Masuda Yuka of AKB48 was cast to play Dorothy in Miyamoto Amon's version of "The Wizard of Oz", which starts on September 28th, 2012.

The announcement came at the end of audition on July 2nd, and she was chosen from a total of 186 members.

She swore to "give her best shot", after Miyamoto told her the rehearsals will not be easy.

The play is about the adventure of Dorothy, who was whisked to the Land of Oz by a cyclone, and the friends she met in the strange land.  It was first performed on Broadway in 1974, and was made into a movie in 1978 with Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow.

Miyamoto had the idea that he wanted to pick someone from AKB and related group to play Dorothy.  186 members signed up for the audition, which started in April.  6 members, including Umeda Ayaka (AKB48 Team K) and Yamamoto Sayaka (NMB48 Team N), made it to the final audition.

Masuda cried when Miyamoto called her name.  He commented, "I was deeply moved by your singing.  Your majestic view of the world was conveyed by your song."  She is also an active member of DiVA, one of the various sister groups of AKB48.  She won the role with her voice, which is also very highly rated among members of the AKB group.

Her determination to win the role was also exceptional.  To her this was an "audition of a lifetime", and she cut her hair one week before the audition to look like a 14-year-old.  She also studied the DVD of the original musical.

Rehearsal will start in August.  AKB's vocal diva will now try to become a diva of the musicals.

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Yokoyama Yui to Host Solo TV Show About Kyoto

Team K's Yokoyama Yui will present a new TV show entitled [Yokoyama Yui ga Hannari Meguru Kyoto - Bi no Neiro]. It will air once a month on Kansai TV starting on 18 July, and also on BS Fuji starting 18 August.

In this monthly one-hour show, Yui, who hails from Kyoto, will introduce the region's traditional culture, performing arts, and customs handed down from ancient times. On the first episode, she walked the streets of the Nishijin, visiting the famous Nishijin Textile Center and dressed up in the traditional Nishijin dress. Nishijin is a part of Kyoto which is famous for it's Nishijin fabric.



Yokoyama Yui ga Hannari Meguru Kyoto - Bi no Neiro
横山由依がはんなりめぐる 京都・美の音色
Official Website: http://www.ktv.jp/neiro/index.html
TV Network: Kansai TV, BS Fuji
Schedule: Monthly, 3rd Wednesday of every month
Broadcast times:

  Kansai TV: 02:33 (starts 18 July)
  BS Fuji: 13:00 (starts 18 August)

Host: Yokoyama Yui

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Kojima Haruna Will Star in TV Drama [Megutan tte Mahou Tsukaeru no?]

Starting 7th July 2012, Kojima Haruna has been casted in the drama [Megutan tte Mahou Tsukaeru no?], airing on NTV every Saturday at 1:35AM. Haruna will star in the leading role of "Meg the witch" in her first lead drama role in four years.

Scripted by Fukuda Yuichi, the plot line of the drama revolves around Meg, a half-human half-magician who has always done poorly in magic school. She is sent to human world to practice in the human community, but if humans find out she is a witch, she cannot return back.

The reason for the late time slot is because Kojiharu will be flashing her panties during the show to erase memories of people who have seen her use magic.

Other cast members include Muroshi Yoshi, Iketani Nobue, Otoo Takuma (TEAM NACS) and Nakamura Tomoya.


Megutan tte Mahou Tsukaeru no?
メグたんって魔法つかえるの?
Could Megutan use magic?
Official website: http://www.ntv.co.jp/megutan/

TV Network: NTV
Air Time: Saturday 01:35
Broadcast starts: 7th July 2012
Main Cast: Kojima Haruna

This is kojiharu's first lead role since Mendol back in 2008. The plotline seems really interesting, but I'm worried that the panty flashing could erupt into something bad. Nevertheless I hope this drama does well despite it's late time slot.

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