NarutoSD features 9th Naruto movie "Road To Ninja"

Episode 17 of "NarutoSD: Rock Lee no Seishun Full-Power Ninden" (24 July 2012, Tuesday) is simply awesome! Although Naruto has no screen time except for the last scene, it's still packed with action, melodrama, humour, love, horror... with performances by Rock and the rest of his pals, just to promote upcoming "Naruto Movie: Road To Ninja" which shows in theater from 28 July 2012 in Japan.

The 1st segment is titled "The new Naruto Movie Premiere!".

Lee and Tenten grab the latest issue of Jump to get the scoop on the new Naruto movie! But the moment they get it, a bright light blinds them, and when it fades, everyone's personality is totally different!

2nd segment is "Please go see the new Naruto Movie!"

The new Naruto movie is almost here, and Tsunade is worried it's lacking something to make it must-see. Tenten overhears the Hokage and works with Lee and Neji to figure out what's missing. Experience Lee's action sequence, Hinata the stalker; Neji's Hina-crush, Oro and Kabu's man-love, Kiba's moe-moe...

Watch episode 17 here!

Naruto Movie Information:
Naruto the Movie: Road to Ninja (劇場版 NARUTO-ナルト- ロード・トゥ・ニンジャ Gekijōban Naruto: Rōdo tu Ninja) is the ninth overall Naruto film and sixth Naruto Shippūden film. It will be released in theaters in Japan on July 28, 2012. Series creator Masashi Kishimoto has supervised the movie. The film is set in an alternate timeline or "sequel" of the Naruto universe in which Naruto never lost his parents and many characters have different personalities. The band Asian Kung-Fu Generation performs the film's theme song "Sore de wa, Mata Ashita" (lit. "Well Then, See You Tomorrow").

Sixteen years ago, a mysterious masked ninja unleashed a powerful creature known as the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox on the Hidden Leaf Village Konoha, killing many people. In response, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze and his wife Kushina Uzumaki, the Demon Fox's living prison or Jinchūriki, manage to seal the creature inside their newborn son Naruto Uzumaki. With the Tailed Beast sealed, things continued as normal. However, in the present day, peace ended when a group of ninja called the Akatsuki attack Konoha under the guidance of Tobi, the mysterious masked man behind Nine-Tailed Fox's rampage years ago who intends on executing his plan to rule the world by shrouding it in illusions.

Anime Information:
"NarutoSD: Rock Lee no Seishun Full-Power Ninden" (aka NARUTO Spin-Off: Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals) is a spin-off anime of "Naruto" adapted from a spin-off manga by Kenji Taira that follows Rock Lee's training and youthful life in comical misadventures.

Review: 华丽的挑战 / 華麗的挑戰 / Extravagant Challenge / Skip-Beat! / スキップ・ビート! / Sukippu Bīto!

最近我异常地迷上了一部台湾偶像剧。所谓异常，意思是，一向不屑台湾偶像剧的我一如反常，竟然会看，甚至于迷恋! 到底是哪部剧集虏获了我的芳心呢？那就是。。。（鼓声~）

答案：华丽的挑战 / 華麗的挑戰 / Extravagant Challenge / Skip-Beat! / スキップ・ビート! / Sukippu Bīto!

话说，有一天，我闷得发荒，就查阅了一下 www.mysoju.com 网站，看有什么可看的连续剧。Skip-Beat! 这英文名立即吸引了我的目光。查看之下才知道这原来是一部改编自日本同名畅销漫画的台湾偶像剧。但特别的是两位男主角都是 Super Junior 成员，Choi Si Won 始源和 Lee Dong Hae 李东海。只有女主角 Ivy Chen 陈意涵和 Bianca Bai 白歆惠才是台湾艺人。我想，既然是改编自日本著名漫画，剧情一定不会go wrong吧。

一开始的印象是，女主角好夸张，但挺可爱的。演得够放。但导演方面，节奏有点怪。但随着剧情的演进，以及男主角始源和东海的出现，剧情越来越精彩和有意思。我也逐渐看到女主角陈意涵的演技实力。她把“宮囍”的角色（漫画中的 Kyoko Mogami  / 最上 キョーコ / Mogami Kyōko）演得活灵活现，杀气中带点傻气，纯真中充满邪恶的念头乱窜，有着非常矛盾和复杂的内心。她在戏中，有各种不同的诠释，时而感性、时而疯狂、时而邪恶、时而纯真、时而凶巴巴、时而甜蜜蜜。想不到拥有玉女外形的她竟然能诠释地这么放，这么好。她开始变成我的偶像了呢。我还为了看她看了她的成名之作《痞子英雄》（Black & White）。没错，我不是因为赵又廷或是仔仔，而是为了陈意涵才看这部戏的。:) 但这部所谓的年度大剧不怎么样，竟然还能摘下年度最佳剧情，还真是匪夷所思。

再来是 Super Junior or Super Junior M 的成员：崔始源和李东海。我从未看过东海演的戏。这回算是头一遭。东海真是越来越帅了! 他演坏男孩，也算当之无愧吧! 而始源，我看过他和蔡琳在《Oh! My Lady 愛你喲》（오! 마이레이디）韩剧中的演技：平凡。但在《华丽的挑战》中，不知道是不是因为与意涵之间的化学作用的催化下，他显得特别有魅力，导致我忍不住继续看完没看完的《Oh! My Lady》。嘿嘿~

我目前已看到第 13集了，正心痒痒地等着看第 14 集! 这集精彩啦，敦贺莲和宮囍私下彩排美月与嘉月之间的对手戏时，环抱了宮囍，还问她：“你接过吻吗？” 宮囍说没有，他就问她：“要我教你吗？” 噢，太浪漫了! 他们有真的吻吗？我迫不及待看这一集啊!

如果你也被我说得心痒痒的话，想看这部戏有多好看，想知道女主角和两位SJM成员之间的三角恋如何发展，可到以下网站观看哦! 粉丝可点击这里查阅官方网站。

http://www.viki.com/channels/162-extravagant-challenge（但只有中文字幕）

他们每个星期天更新一集。They update 1 episode every Sunday or Monday.

http://www.mysoju.com/taiwanese-drama/skipbeat/（附带英文字幕, with English subtitles）

他们每个星期二更新一集。They update 1 episode every Tuesday.

以下是《华丽的挑战》四位男女主角于 2012 年 2 月 1 日上《佼個朋友吧》（華麗的挑戰特輯）的视频/影片（分 3 段）。Below are 3 parts of a video featuring the 4 main actors and actresses of "Skip Beat!" on a Taiwanese variety show "Let's Be Friends" on 1st February 2012.

Cool and Cute Japanese Apps!

Of course, the Apps Store is the best part. Everyday I’m searching for applications that’ll hopefully blow my mind, whether it’s useful tools or wacky games I can play on the toilet.

The one thing I’ve found is that the U.S.-born apps outnumber the Japanese ones. That’s because not as many people in Japan have an iPhone. Unlike here, Apple has tough competition in Japan. So when it comes to making apps, they’re not necessarily made for the iPhone. But that just makes me want to seek out those few cool Japanese apps even more!

Here are some of the more interesting ones:

Amamiya Momo ($2.99)

Meet Momo, a girl dressed in a cat outfit who lives inside your iPhone. You can poke her cheek, pat her head and even lift her skirt. Momo comes with 200 pre-programmed behavior patterns, so depending on how you treat her she can turn from happy to angry very quickly. Apparently, her mood changes depending on the time of day, so watch out!



iBBQLite (free trial)

The object of this game is to cook meat on the grill and hand it to customers. If it’s overcooked they’ll say in Japanese, “Ugh, this is awful!” If it’s undercooked, they’ll say, “What the heck is this!” So be sure to grill it just right. It’s a simple game but oh so addicting. Blow into iPhone’s microphone to fire up the grill.

WARNING: This game will make you extremely hungry!



Harlequin novels (free trial)

There’s now a handful of romance-filled manga series at the disposal of your fingertips. Just do a keyword search for “harlequin” and out comes English-translated stories of love and heartbreak. The first chapter is free, but once they grab your attention you’ll have to pay to read the rest.

LadioTouch (free)

Now you can listen to Japanese radio! Up until now it’s been pretty limited to anime songs, but the range of genres have slowly widened. With this app I can now listen to one of Tokyo’s most popular stations, J-Wave, along with hundreds of other internet radio stations. Unfortunately, the listing is mostly in Japanese.

So what’s your favorite iPhone application? Let me know!

Source: Japanizmo Staff Blog

Download Cool Japan Music on Your iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad

Download the free app Cool Japan Music by Cool Japan Music, Inc.

"It’s a must have app for Japan mania and music lovers covering hipster alternatives, club music, hip hop and R&B/soul, as well as J-pop, J-rock, Anime Songs, Game OSTs and more! Stay tuned for their international album releases, video, twitter, facebook, news update, and artist blogs. As our roster expands, it will become a special artist app library and music central for the Cool Japan movement!"



It is an "Artist portal app to introduce hot new talent and brand new music from Japan.", "providing comprehensive and reliable content distribution for the Japanese right holders. It includes back-end royalty administration support from Japan, as well as major mobile/online music store placement in the US.
CoolJapanMsuic also supports powerful iPhone Apps with Facebook and Twitter integrations as well as other key features.


Price: Free

Category: Music

Released: 11 November 2010

Version: 1.0

1.0 (iOS 4.0 Tested)

5.2 MB

Language: English

Developer: Cool Japan Music, Inc.

© Cool Japan Music, Inc.

Rated 4+

Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later.
Download this FREE app here!

Source:  iTunes

Nakai Masahiro Returns as Chef in "Aji Ichi Monme" Special

The popular drama series "Aji Ichi Monme" (Japanese: 味いちもんめ; English: "A Pinch of Seasoning") is returning to television for another special episode, 12 years after the last one.

SMAP's Masahiro Nakai (Japanese: 中居正弘; born in 1972) will reprise his role as a chef striving to become a master. Based on an award-winning cooking manga (received the 1999 Shogakukan Manga Award for seinen manga) written by Zenta Abe and illustrated by Yoshimi Kurata, the drama was Nakai's first lead role in a television series. It aired on TV Asahi (朝日テレビ) in 1995, then was followed by a second series in 1996. Two special episodes were broadcast in 1997 and 1998.

Several cast members are returning with Nakai, including Nenji Kobayashi, Kirin Kiki, Takashi Naitou, Kumiko Okae, Yoko Nogiwa, and Shingo Yanagisawa. In addition, new faces such as Yuusuke Yamamoto and Shihori Kanjiya will be making guest appearances.

The special is expected to air next spring on TV Asahi.

Nakai has proven his acting talent in two well-received dramas "Shiro Kage" (Chinese:《白影》) and Suna no Utsuwa (Chinese:《砂之器》) but "Konkatsu!" (Japanese: 婚カツ！;Chinese: 《结婚万岁！》) fell to lowest ratings ever for "Getsu 9" drama .



由 SMAP 成员中居正广主演的朝日电视台特别剧《厨艺小天王》，近日正式在东京东大泉的东映东京摄影所内杀青。

该剧是中居第一次主演的日剧，从95年开始拍过两次连续剧、两次特别剧。这次是该系列久违12年的复活，中居又再次扮成白衣厨师登场：“穿上这身衣服就深刻觉得自己年纪大了，身体也变壮了。不过22、3岁时候任性精神的感觉也找回来了，所以穿起厨师衣服感觉也很不错。我也会努力练习使用猜到的。”

这次的故事以老牌料理店的食品伪装问题开始，中居扮演的厨师“伊桥悟”也已经从打杂的伙计变为有责任有地位的大厨，年龄设定和他一样都是38岁。中居苦笑着说：“我们也都是未婚呢，大概我们之间连性格都很相似吧。”他宣传该剧：“这部剧在我今年的年表里一定是加粗字体的作品。热血又充满昭和气息的剧情，希望年轻人也能看看。”

(责任编辑：狐狸雨)（来源：搜狐娱乐)