Welcome to J!-ENT. A website covering Japanese and Asian entertainment pop culture. We have been around since 1993 (the old 2400-28.8k baud modem nt2099 BBS old school years) and over a decade later, still going strong. We want to thank you for your ongoing support. New Release Wednesday:    The #1 album of the day goes to TUBE for "PARADISO" and the #1 CD single of the day goes to Tohoshinki for "Doshite Kimi wo Suki ni Natte Shimattan Daro?". The #1 Indies Single of the day goes to VAMPS for "LOVE ADDICT". The #1 selling music DVD of the day goes to Shiina Ringo for "Watashi no Hatsuden". For Oricon Weekly Chart ratings: Single | Album NINKI Poll: Predictions for CD singles and Album sales DON'T MISS A BEAT! Get the latest Japanese and Asian entertainment and pop culture news from J!-ENT via RSS. CLICK HERE! Ebi-Chan makes an appearance at MODE MIX MAQuillage Photo courtesy of Sankei Sports. Model/actress Ebihara Yuri (28) aka "Ebi-Chan" attended a Shiseido Co., Ltd. event for MODE MIX MAQuillage in Taipei City, the first overseas fashion show for the company. RECENT NEWS [CHINA] Jackie Chan donates Olympic themed costume for wax display 0 days ago-23 Jul 2008 9:31:am CRIEnglish.com reported, “Hong Kong Kung Fu superstar Jackie Chan donated an Olympic-themed costume designed by himself for his wax statue in the wax museum Madame Tussauds Hong Kong.” “The gift was made to show his support for the upcoming Olympics Games, Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao Daily News reported on Wednesday.” More on this article Tags: Jackie Chan Read More / Discuss It... [TAIWAN] Lee-Hom Wang shows his love for Spider-Man and Batman to create “Music Man” 0 days ago-23 Jul 2008 9:30:am CRIEnglish.com reported, “Inspired by his favorite childhood heroes Batman and Spiderman, Taiwan-based singer and songwriter Lee-Hom Wang wants his upcoming concerts to give him an opportunity to become “Music-Man.” “Wang announced the theme for his concerts, due to be held on September 19 and 20 at the Taipei Arena, in a press conference on Tuesday.” “Strong visual [...] Read More / Discuss It... [HK] Hamasaki Ayumi visits Hong Kong 0 days ago-23 Jul 2008 9:28:am CRIEnglish.com reported, “Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki was welcomed by delirious fans when she arrived in Hong Kong for a new project on Monday.” “More than 20 security guards were summoned to the airport to hold fans at bay, Tungstar reported.” More on this article Tags: Ayumi Hamasaki, Hamasaki Ayumi Read More / Discuss It... [JAPAN] Harry Potter fans rush to bookstores for the final book 0 days ago-23 Jul 2008 9:27:am Mainichi Daily News reported, “A throng of Harry Potter fans flocked to book stores on early Wednesday, eagerly awaiting the release of the Japanese translation of J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series.” “About 1.8 million first editions of the new book that is divided [...] Read More / Discuss It... [J-ENT] KinKi Kids kicks off summer tour 1 days ago-22 Jul 2008 6:42:pm Japantoday.com reported, “Pop duo Kinki Kids started their nationwide summer tour in Tokyo Dome this week. The duo will hold 27 concerts at 13 venues nationwide until Nov 23. Monday night’s concert was their first summer gig in eight years, a spokesman for the organizer said.” More on this article Tags: KinKi Kids Read More / Discuss It... [YouTube] Fan-made Video of the Day: Plamoo’s “What is this? 9″ 1 days ago-22 Jul 2008 6:26:pm Here is another still-motion video by Plamoo! Always awesome to watch! DISCLAIMER: youtube videos are courtesy of youtube.com and are on J!-ENT servers Tags: plamoo Read More / Discuss It... [YouTube] Rhythm Tengoku Gold for the Nintendo DS CM’s 1 days ago-22 Jul 2008 5:01:pm Rhythm Tengoku Gold comes out for the Nintendo DS in Japan on July 31st. The game will be coming out in the US. Here are commercials from the game currently airing in Japan. DISCLAIMER: youtube.com videos are courtesy of youtube and are not on J!-ENT servers Tags: Rhythm Tengoku Gold Read More / Discuss It... [JapanFiles.com] July 21, 2008 - Ten Years Techno! JapanFiles.com welcomes HIMAWARI this week. 1 days ago-22 Jul 2008 11:06:am 10 year techno veterans HIMAWARI debut on JapanFiles.com this week with their two CDs “Mineral” (2001) and “Pomposo” (2005). Formed in 1998 in New York City (and currently now based in Tokyo), HIMAWARI is Takeshi Ichikawa and Lena. They originally met at a Ryuichi Sakamoto event in the city and quickly realized they shared a [...] Read More / Discuss It... [J-ENT] Ebi-chan attends fashion show in Taiwan 1 days ago-22 Jul 2008 8:44:am Japantoday.com reported, “Model Yuri Ebihara, 28, popularly known as “Ebi-chan,” attended a fashion show held by cosmetic maker Shiseido to promote its Maquillage brand in Taipei on Monday. Ebihara, who is well known in Taiwan for her Maquillage TV commercials, said, “I know my image in Taiwan is ‘kawaii’ (cute), but I would like many [...] Read More / Discuss It... [J-ENT] a-nation will begin on August 8th 2 days ago-21 Jul 2008 10:21:pm Japantoday.com reported, “Music label Avex’s annual summer open-air live concert “a-nation” will be held in five cities from Aug 8. According to the organizers, the event will kick off in Aichi Prefecture and tour Miyazaki, Ishikawa, Osaka, Aichi and Tokyo. In the Miyazaki event, Gov Hideo Higashikokubaru will attend as a special guest.” More on this [...] Read More / Discuss It... [More News]

So, you want to watch the latest Japanese drama, variety show, music show, etc.? One way is through the local Japanese video stores near you.

Click here for Japanese video stores that
carry Japanese entertainment in the US.

The following TV ratings are from Video Research Ltd. There are usual ratings focusing on the Kanto (Tokyo) area and the Kansai (Osaka) area and a good representation of what the audiences throughout the country are watching. The top 10 are broken down into several categories. They are:

NEWS, EDUCATION/CULTURE, MUSIC, DORAMA, ANIME, MOVIE, SPORTS & VARIETY

The ratings are updated every week around Tuesday (US).

For Japanese entertainment TV site access ratings on the Web, check out WADAIN.

Please e-mail us with any concert information of upcoming Japanese and Asian performances in North America.

2008:

August 8-10: JAM Project at Otakon, Baltimore, Maryland

AUGUST 12-16: GLAY performs at the Fillmore in San Francisco and House of Blues in Los Angeles

Welcome to our interview and articles section of J!-ENT. Where we interview Japanese and Asian/Asian American entertainers and professionals. We have a large list of interviews and features, so if you are looking for a previous interview or article that was featured on J!-ENT? Please click here (1993-2003) or click here (2004-Present).

The following entertainment interviews are PDF's. To view a PDF, please download Adobe Reader (or Acrobat Reader) by clicking on the logo on the right.

	J!-ENT SPECIAL FEATURE ARTICLE & INTERVIEW: An Cafe by Wynne Ip. Photography by Nergene Arquelada. CLICK HERE!
	J!-ENT SPECIAL FEATURE INTERVIEW with HALCALI by Dennis A. Amith. CLICK HERE!
	J!-ENT SPECIAL PICTORIAL: TOKYO NIGHT 2008 feat. ZEEBRA and more! by Nergene Arquelada! CLICK HERE!
	J!-ENT SPECIAL 500-PAGE FAN BOOKLET & INTERVIEW with TOHOSHINKI by Dennis A. Amith! CLICK HERE!
	J!-ENT SPECIAL "TASTE OF CHAOS" FEATURE & INTERVIEW: MUCC, D'espairsRay and the Underneath by Wynne Ip & Nergene Arquelada. CLICK HERE!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INTERVIEWS

Disclaimer: Our blog reviews are pretty much done off the cuff... blogged at home, cafe, traveling on the road and just posted on the site. A little bit more of the hook type of review than what we do on our PDF reviews.

MUSIC:

	7/1/08: J!-ENT short "World Groove" blog album review for "TRIPLANE - Kokoro Haretara". Click here
	6/25/08: J!-ENT "World Groove" blog album review for "BoA - THE FACE". CLICK HERE
	6/20/08: J!-ENT classic "World Groove" blog album review for "MODERN TOKYO CONNECTION VOL. 1". CLICK HERE
	6/12/08: J!-ENT "World Groove" blog album review for "SOFFet - NEW STANDARD". CLICK HERE
	6/12/08: J!-ENT "World Groove" blog CD album review for "Momoi Halko - Sunday early Morning". CLICK HERE

MORE MUSIC REVIEWS (WORLD GROOVE)

VIDEO GAMES:

Disclaimer: For video game reviews, please bare in mind that they may contain spoilers. We try to avoid them as best as we can.

	7/13/08: J!-ENT first glance review for the Marvelous Entertainment/ATLUS DS video game "LUMINOUS ARC". Click here
	6/14/08: J! -ENT review of theNintendo DS game "SUPER DODGEBALL BRAWLERS". Click here
	5/21/08: J!-ENT first glance review of Nintendo Wii accessory and game "WII FIT". Click here

MORE J!-ENT VIDEO GAME REVIEWS

m-create: JAPAN VIDEO GAME SALES CHARTS , Oricon Video Games Sales Charts

DVD:

Disclaimer: For film and reviews, please bare in mind that they may contain spoilers. We try to avoid them as best as we can.

	7/10/08: J!-ENT DVD review for Bandai Visual's "SUPER ROBOT WARS ORIGINAL GENERATION: DIVINE WARS VOL. 2". Click here
	7/14/08: J!-ENT DVD review for Funimation's "VEXILLE". Click here
	7/13/08: J!-ENTDVD review for Bandai Entertainment's "Z-MIND". Click here
	7/8/08: J!-ENT Blu-ray and DVD review for Bandai Visual's "ROYAL SPACE FORCE - The Wings of Honnemaise". Click here
	7/4/08: J!-ENT DVD review for Geneon's "SUBMARINE 707R". Click here
	6/30/08: J!-ENT DVD review for Bandai Visual's "HARUKA ~Beyond the Stream of Time~" - A Teal of the Eight Guardians - vol. 4" Click here

MORE ANIME REVIEWS

MORE ASIAN DVD REVIEWS

ORICON JAPAN MUSIC DVD CHARTS | ORICON DVD CHARTS

POP CULTURE RELATED BOOK REVIEWS:

	7/21/08: J!-ENT Book Review for "J-Rock Groupies". Click here.
	6/29/08: J!-ENT Book Review for "JAPAN BAR GIRLS BARE ALL". Click here.
	6/2/08: J!-ENT Book Review for "The Japanese Tattoo Design Handbook Vol. 1". Click here.

MORE BOOK REVIEWS