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Eimi Naruse
is a Japanese singer, songwriter and voice actress who is currently a member of Dempagumi.inc. Born in Kōriyama, she switched from having interests in manga to music as a teenager, and moved to Akihabara where she worked at a maid café before joining Dempagumi.inc. In addition to her work with the idol group, she has done some solo activities, including appearing in the TV drama ''OL desu ga, Kyabajō Hajimemashita'' and voicing the lead character of ''Star Twinkle PreCure'', Hikaru Hoshina/Cure Star. Biography Early life Eimi Naruse was born in Kōriyama, a city in Fukushima Prefecture, as the elder of the two daughters in a family.IDOL AND READ, p.66 The first memory of her life, as Naruse later described, was "cutting out paper with yellow scissors, making stars, and lining them up", and notes that yellow being her idol color was a coincidence. Due to the influence of her mother, who drew them as a hobby, she has been interested in manga from an early age. From kinderga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japan Expo
Japan Expo is a convention on Japanese popular culture - the largest of its kind in the world - taking place in Paris, France, although it has branched out into a partnership festival - Kultima - and expanded to include some European and US pop culture as well. It is held yearly at the beginning of July for four days (usually from Thursday to Sunday) in the Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center (the second-largest convention center in France). The attendance has increased steadily over the years, with 2,400 visitors welcomed in the first edition in 1999 and more than 252,510 for the 2019 edition. Like the Olympic Games and many other mass gatherings, the 2020 edition was canceled because of the global COVID‑19 pandemic. History The first exposition took place in 1999 at the ISC Paris Business School and welcomed 2,400 visitors, a number which has grown steadily. In 2002, Japan Expo was hosted at the Center of New Industries and Technologies (CNIT) in La Défense, Paris. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hiroko Shimabukuro
, best known mononymously as Hiro, is a Japanese singer. She debuted as a member of the popular girl group Speed in 1996. In 1998, Hiro released her first solo song, "Mitsumete Itai", as a B-side to Speed's single "All My True Love". She made her official solo debut in 1999 with the single "As Time Goes By", which sold 800,000 copies in Japan. Charting and sales Her first album, ''Brilliant'' charted in Japan at number 4 for five weeks, selling 400,000 copies. Her second album, ''Naked and True'', reached number 1, and she released a best singles album that charted in the top 10. In August 2004, Hiro released an all-English jazz album under the name of ''Coco d'Or''. Her single "Hikari no naka de" was featured on the soundtrack to the movie ''Devilman''. A year later, she released another song, "Clover", tied to anime ''Black Jack'', selling 20,000 copies. Her two CDs released in 2006 sold considerably less, "Hero" selling 7,000 copies and "Itsuka Futari de" 9,000. Performan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mandarake
is a Japanese retail corporation that operates a chain of used good stores. Founded as a used bookstore specializing in manga in 1980, Mandarake incorporated in 1987 and presently operates 11 retail locations and one fulfillment center. The company focuses on the purchase and sale of a wide range of collectables and ''otaku''-related goods, including anime- and manga-related items, DVDs, CDs, toys, figurines, trading cards, video games, cosplay items, animation cels, and ''dōjinshi'' (self-published works). Overview History Mandarake was established by manga artist . A member of the Garo Trio (ガロ三羽烏) along with and , Furukawa and the group became known in the 1970s for their work in the alternative manga magazine ''Garo''. Initially established as a used manga store, Mandarake opened its first location at a seven-square meter storefront in the Nakano Broadway shopping complex in Nakano, Tokyo in 1980. Furukawa developed a public profile and promoted Mandarake t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Online Game
An online game is a video game that is either partially or primarily played through the Internet or any other computer network available. Online games are ubiquitous on modern gaming platforms, including PC game, PCs, Console game, consoles and mobile game, mobile devices, and span many video game genre, genres, including first-person shooters, Strategy video game, strategy games, and massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG). In 2019, revenue in the online games segment reached $16.9 billion, with $4.2 billion generated by China and $3.5 billion in the United States. Since 2010s, a common trend among online games has been operating them as games as a service, using monetization schemes such as loot boxes and battle passes as purchasable items atop Free-to-play, freely-offered games. Unlike purchased retail games, online games have the problem of not being permanently playable, as they require special Game server, servers in order to function. The de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hikikomori
, also known as acute social withdrawal, is total withdrawal from society and seeking extreme degrees of social isolation and confinement. ''Hikikomori'' refers to both the phenomenon in general and the recluses themselves. ''Hikikomori'' have been described as loners or "modern-day hermits". Estimates suggest that half a million Japanese youths have become social recluses, as well as more than half a million middle-aged individuals. Definition The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare defines ''hikikomori'' as a condition in which the affected individuals refuse to leave their parents' house, do not work or go to school and isolate themselves away from society and family in a single room for a period exceeding six months. The psychiatrist Tamaki Saitō defines ''hikikomori'' as "a state that has become a problem by the late twenties, that involves cooping oneself up in one's own home and not participating in society for six months or longer, but that does not see ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big-i
The is a skyscraper located in Kōriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north .... Construction of the 133-metre, 24-storey skyscraper was finished in 2001. External links * {{Japan-struct-stub Buildings and structures completed in 2001 Kōriyama Skyscrapers in Japan Buildings and structures in Fukushima Prefecture 2001 establishments in Japan Glass architecture ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tower Records
Tower Records is an international retail franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Records filed for bankruptcy and liquidation. Tower Records was purchased by a separate entity and was not affected by the retail store closings. On November 13, 2020, Tower Records announced that it had returned as an online retailer with plans to open future physical locations. History Inception, expansion, and description In 1960, Russell Solomon opened the first Tower Records store on Broadway, in Sacramento, California. He named it after his father's drugstore, which shared a building and name with the Tower Theatre, where Solomon first started selling records. The first stand-alone Tower Records store was located at 2514 Watt Ave in Arden Arcade, a suburb of Sacramento. By 1976, Solomon had opened Tower Books, Posters, and Plants at 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Live House
A live house (ライブハウス) is a Japanese live music club – a music venue featuring live music. The term is a Japanese coinage ( wasei eigo) and is mainly used in East Asia. It most frequently refers to smaller venues, which may double as bars, especially featuring rock, jazz, blues, and folk music. History Live houses emerged in the early 1970s as part of the booming indie scene. At the beginning, they were kind of rock pubs, where dinner was accompanied by live music. By the end of the decade, chairs were removed and they adopted the format known today. The live house scene got a boost from the phenomena called Tokyo Rockers, a punk rock movement that started in 1978 by the opening of S-Ken studio venue. In the 80s, the Japanese rock scene experienced the so-called band-boom stage, where amateur, indie artists, debuting at small live houses, were picked up by large record labels. The live houses were reduced to a stepping-stone to further one's career and the establi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Visual Kei
is a movement among Japanese musicians that is characterized by the use of varying levels of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics, similar to Western glam rock. Some Western sources consider visual kei a music genre, with its sound usually related to glam rock, punk rock and heavy metal. However, visual kei acts play various genres, including those considered by some as unrelated to rock such as electronic, pop, etc. Other sources, including members of the movement themselves, state that it is not a music genre and that the freedom of expression, fashion, and participation in the related subculture is what exemplifies the use of the term. Etymology The term "visual kei" was derived from one of X Japan's slogans, "Psychedelic Violence Crime of Visual Shock", seen on the cover of their second studio album '' Blue Blood'' (1989). This derivation is credited as being coined by Seiichi Hoshiko, the fou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dōjin
In Japan, is a group of people who share an interest, activity, or hobby. The word is sometimes translated into English as "clique", "fandom", "coterie", "society", or "circle" (as in "sewing circle"). Self-published creative works produced by these groups are also called ''doujin'', including manga, magazines, novels, music ( ''doujin'' music), anime, and video games ( ''doujin'' soft). Print ''doujin'' works are collectively called ''doujinshi''. ''Doujin'' works are typically amateur and derivative in nature, though some professional artists participate in ''doujin'' culture as a way to publish material outside the regular publishing industry. Annual research by the research agency Media Create indicated that of the US$1.65 billion of the otaku industry in 2007, ''doujin'' sales made up 48% (US$792 million). Literary societies Literary circles first appeared in the Meiji period when groups of like-minded ''waka'' writers, poets and novelists met and published l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rockin'On Japan
''Rockin'On Japan'', often stylized in all caps, is a monthly magazine that covers the Japanese music scene and various cultural events in Japan, such as art venues and culinary expos. History The magazine was founded in 1972, and focused on providing news that was thoroughly sourced and fact-checked, while also providing content without censorship and on original news stories. This requirement involved only conducting one on one interviews without doing generalized press interviews and announcements. The magazine later, in 1986, split into versions that served Japan domestically, re-titled to ''Rockin'On Japan'', and that covered international music content, titled ''Rockin'On''. The current owner of the magazine is Yoichi Shibuya, who oversaw the expansions of the magazine and the creation of official music festivals sponsored by the magazine itself. Festivals and production The main festival created by the magazine is named ''Rock in Japan Festival'' and sets itself apart by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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