Hotaru no Hikari 2 interviews - NG Queen, getting the name of the drama wrong!

There's been a lack of interesting news, so at the moment I'm just translating some articles I find. These two are on Hotaru no Hikari 2. :D

"Hotaru no Hikari 2" is set to be the champion for this year's summer rankings. Since the show is airing in Taiwan as well , here some excerpts from an interview with the lead actors of the show, Ayase Hauka, Naohito Fujiki and Osamu Mukai.

When told that the show was doing well in Taiwan, Ayase Haruka exclaimed, "What will happen if everyone thinks that Japan is made out of himono onna!" She spoke of cast member Itaya Yuka going to Taiwan to promote the drama, "How lucky! We want to go to Taiwan to eat xiao long bao (dumplings) too! As the Taiwanese and Japanese names of the show are different, the absent-minded Ayase asked, "Isn't the Taiwanese name 'Himono onna in China'?", causing everyone to burst out in peals of laughter. After being corrected by a staff on the site, she blushingly apologised.

Osamu Mukai, who is very good in cooking, made fun of the himono onna Ayase acts as in the drama (Ameimiya Hotaru), saying that the character is too exaggerated. He pointed out "Look at her trackpants, the area at the knee is all worn out and she continues to wear them!" (yule)

"Hotaru no Hikari 2" is going to have some Taiwanese flavour! It is currently being broadcast in both Japan and Taiwan. According to the staff behing the drama, there will be something related to Taiwan in the 9th episode of the drama. Taiwanese viewers are all hoping that there will be a filming in Taiwan if there is a third series.

The three co-stars Ayase Haruka, Fujiki Naohito and Osamu Mukai have become good friends during the filming of this drama, and Fujiki and Osamu talked about how Ayase is an NG queen, complaining that she often laughs when filming. Though she was busy denying this, Osamu told her, "Do you know how many times you NG in one day? Someimes even I don't know what I can do to save you.". (yule)

Ueda Tatsuya's toe broken from concert mishap

It was earlier reported that KAT-TUN member Ueda Tatsuya had disjointed his left big toe during their live concert in Taiwan on Friday. However, it seems that it is more serious than originally reported, as two parts of his toe are actually broken.

KAT-TUN held the final day of their “KAT-TUN LIVE TOUR 2010 PART2 : WORLD BIG TOUR” at Taiwan Arena yesterday, and Ueda showed up on stage with his broken toe, exactly as he had promised to earlier.

He said to audience of 13,000, “I’m sorry for making you worried, but I will try to give you a good performance, as much as I can.”

Tatsuya also a solo concert “MOUSE PIECE unting with FIVE TATSUYA UEDA LIVE 2010” in Hiroshima today (August 29th), and he will perform, even with his injury. (tokyohive)

Poor guy, I think he should take a rest instead of performing three days in a row!

Ueda Tatsuya injured during KAT-TUN concert in Taipei

On Friday, KAT-TUN's Ueda Tatsuya (26) was injured during their concert at the Taipei Arena. He dislocated his left big toe and had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance, but the other members successfully finished off the performance. In addition, it was learned that same day that the group has big concert plans for next year.

Ueda's injury occurred near the end of the concert. After finishing his solo of "RABBIT OR WOLF," he jumped down from a 3-meter-tall stage, but failed to land on target. He was able to make it backstage on his own, where he collapsed. He was transported to a nearby hospital by an ambulance on standby.

Bandmate Kamenashi Kazuya (24) promised the 13,000 fans that Ueda will be back for Saturday's (today's!) concert. Johnny's Entertainment has also said that since Ueda wants to perform today, he will do so, even though his injury might affect his performance. It has already been confirmed that Ueda returned to the group's lodging after he received medical treatment at the hospital. Johnny's Entertainment has also stated that he will perform a solo concert in Hiroshima on Sunday as planned.

Next year marks the 5th anniversary of KAT-TUN's CD debut. To celebrate, they are currently in the planning stages of two concert tours. One will take place between spring and summer and consist of five shows within Japan. Instead of typical venues such as domes, they are reportedly aiming to perform at industrial complexes.

The second tour is scheduled for fall 2011, and it will be an overseas tour taking them to Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, China, and Hawaii. (Tokyograph)
 
Ugh, poor Uepi! It sounds so painful... But hopefully it's not anything too serious!

"Hotaru no Hikari 2" to be broadcast in Taiwan soon

It has been announced that popular drama “Hotaru no Hikari 2“, starring Ayase Haruka, will also be broadcasted in Taiwan starting on August 14th.
It is extremely rare that a Japanese drama be broadcasted in a foreign country when it’s still on air in Japan. According to the Taiwanese broadcasting company, the previous season of “Hotaru no Hikari” was in the best 3 of more than 60 dramas broadcasted in Taiwan during 2008.
Before the release in Taiwan, one of the cast members, Itaya Yuka, visited Taiwan and held promotions there. (tokyohive)

SMAP to perform at China, and possibly some other Asian countries

SMAP has announced at their Sapporo Dome concert that they will be going to Shanghai after all. They have scheduled concerts at Shanghai Stadium on October 9 and 10, which will be their first overseas performances.

SMAP was originally expected to perform at the Shanghai World Expo on June 13, but the event was cancelled by the Expo organizers due to poor planning and concerns about safety. At the time of the cancellation, SMAP apologized to their fans but indicated that they hoped to have another opportunity to perform in China. Because the Shanghai World Expo concert was canceled just a week before the event, SMAP had already begun rehearsals, including practicing greetings in Chinese.

However, the Shanghai Stadium concerts were not scheduled to make up for the canceled show. It is reported that SMAP was originally planning the concerts at the same time that preparations for the World Expo were under way.

Shanghai Stadium is one of the largest stadiums in China, with a maximum seating capacity of about 80,000 people. It appears that SMAP is planning to have only about 40,000 fans at each concert, for a total of 80,000 over the two days.

In addition to the concerts in China, SMAP is considering holding shows in other Asian countries such as Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. (Tokyograph)
 
Come to Singapore!!! (even though I haven't listened to any of their songs!

Kitagawa and Lin Chi-ling are good friends?

Kitagawa Keiko made a new blog entry on July 11th. Keiko visited Taiwan, because her new movie “Matataki” was showing at the “Taipei Film festival.”
She wrote that she met Lin Chi-ling who Keiko co-stared with in drama “Moon Lovers“. Keiko said on her blog entry, “Chi-ling visited my hotel today, even though she must be very busy. She gave me flowers, introduced me to a good Taiwanese massage place. In return for Chi-ling’s kindness, I promised her that I will guide her when she comes to Japan next time. We also exchanged letters. It’s very unmodern to exchange letters, not using emails, but I was happy and moved by her thoughtfulness. I am happy to be friends with her!”
Although the Taiwanese media reported that Keiko and Lin were on bad terms, it seems like they are good friends! (Tokyohive)

Formspring!~

If you can live any place in the world where would it be and why?
Hmmm.... What a tough question! I've always wanted to live in an Asian city where the weather is cool and dry and I could have a bit of snow each year, since Singapore is so hot and humid and the only thing I reallyREALLY dislike about Singapore is the weather.

I think Tokyo or Taiwan would be on the top of my list. Taiwan would be nice since I can speak and read Chinese, and the environment there is rather similar to Japan. I like to think of Taiwan as a country of Chinese people who live like Japanese. And it's big, so if I get sick of the main city in Taipei I can go on a short vacation to the less popiulated areas. Tokyo... My obsession with all things Japanese definitely influences me a lot, but sometimes I think somewhere like Yokohama would be better for me. But overall, Japan is so expensive! (though I'm assuming that cost isn't a factor) When I went to Japan some time ago, I was at Sendai for a while and I really liked it because it was really quiet, but I think I'd get bored after a few months.

So, my answer is probably somewhere in Japan (not sure exactly where!) Hahaha I think that just by reading my blog, you'd be able to guess where I want to stay!


I LOVE ARASHI!!!!!!!!!! I JUST RAN INTO YOUR BLOG TODAY. Where do you hear all these news? Amazing gossip! Im never good at keeping up with the gossip but I would love to learn from you! xD
Hi there! I LOVE ARASHI TOO IT FEELS SO GOOD TO HEAR FROM OTHER ARASHI LOVERS! :DD

Thanks for your lovely compliments! =(>0.0<)= I usually get all this news and gossip from a few different sources, but most of the official-ish comes from http://tokyograph.com. For more gossipy Johnny's Entertainent news, I usually go to http://entameblog.seesaa.net. It's in Japanese though!
You can see the the link for the source at the end of each article, just click on it and it'll direct you to the exact webpage that I got the news from. Like that, it's easier, to find the sources that you're most interested in! Have fun!

Ask me a question here, or just use the widget in the sidebar!

Lin Chi-Ling to take acting classes after dismal performance in "Moon Lovers"

Taiwanese model-actress Lin Chiling expressed her disappointment over the dismal ratings of her Japanese drama serial "Moon Lovers" and revealed that she hopes to take some acting classes next year, reported Chinese media.
Speaking to reporters while attending the high-profile Royal Ascot horse races in the UK, Lin was evasive and said, "Could we not talk about the ratings (of "Moon Lovers")? Frankly, I am a little depressed at the moment."
"I want to take this chance to take in as much air as I can. This can be considered a short break!" Lin added.
"Moon Lovers", despite starring Japanese superstar Kimura Takuya and other well-known actresses like Kitagawa Keiko and Shinohara Ryoko, managing only 13.4% in ratings. Its average ratings also lost out to other J-dramas this season.
The drama's producer, Fuji RV, was reportedly so disappointed that it intends to cut short the show's run to eight episodes instead of the usual ten for a drama in the 9pm time slot, with its finale scheduled to air on July 5 in Japan.
Many netizens had blamed the drama's poor ratings on a bad script and Lin's acting. Despite this setback, Lin said she "will improve in the areas I am weak in and satisfy everyone".
The 35-year-old went on to reveal that she hopes to make time for acting classes at the beginning of next year. (CNA)

The viewership ratings for "Moon Lovers" has been decreasing steadily, as shown below:

Episode 01: 22.4%

Episode 02: 19.2%
Episode 03: 15.6%
Episode 04: 15.5%
Episode 05: 17.4%
Episode 06: 13.4%

Average: 17.3%, and the ratings look set to drop further.