Inuyasha is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday from November 1996 to June 2008, with its chapters collected in 56 tankōbon volumes. The series begins with Kagome Higurashi, a fifteen-year-old middle school girl from modern-day Tokyo who is transported to the Sengoku period after falling into a well in her family shrine, where she meets the half-dog demon, half-human Inuyasha. After the sacred Shikon Jewel re-emerges from deep inside Kagome's body, she inadvertently shatters it into dozens of fragments that scatter across Japan. Inuyasha and Kagome set to recover the Jewel's fragments, and through their quest they are joined by the lecherous monk Miroku, the demon slayer Sango, and the fox demon Shippō. Together, they journey to restore the Shikon Jewel before it falls into the hands of the evil half-demon Naraku.
Namie Amuro is a retired Japanese singer. She rose to prominence as a teen idol, and transitioned into a leading pop artist due to her versatility across music styles and visual presentation. Due to her career reinventions and longevity, she is known as an icon across Japan and Asia. She has been referred to as the "Queen of Japanese Pop", and her influence domestically has drawn equivalent comparisons to artists such as Janet Jackson and Madonna in Western pop culture.
"Shinjitsu no Uta" (真実の詩) is the fourteenth single by Do As Infinity, released in 2002. It was used as the fifth ending to the anime InuYasha.
The discography of Namie Amuro contains 12 studio albums, 7 compilation albums, 47 singles, 10 live albums, 14 video albums and 102 music videos. Amuro has also collaborated with Verbal of M-Flo and Ryōsuke Imai for her Suite Chic project.
The discography of the Japanese girl group Morning Musume consists of sixteen studio albums, five compilation albums, and seventy singles. Ever since its establishment in 1997, the group has experienced frequent line-up changes, and currently consists of twelve members: Mizuki Fukumura (leader), Erina Ikuta (sub-leader), Ayumi Ishida (sub-leader), Sakura Oda, Miki Nonaka, Maria Makino, Akane Haga, Reina Yokoyama, Rio Kitagawa, Homare Okamura, Mei Yamazaki and Rio Sakurai. The group was formed by Sharam Q vocalist Tsunku, who serves as their lyricist, composer, and producer.
The discography of Japanese R&B singer Misia consists of nine studio albums, three compilation albums, one extended play (EP), one live album, six remix albums, twenty-six singles, twelve promotional singles, eighteen video albums and thirty-seven music videos. In 1997, Misia signed a recording contract with BMG Japan and joined the then up-and-coming talent agency, Rhythmedia. Under the sub-label Arista Japan, Misia released her first single, "Tsutsumikomu Yō ni..." in February 1998, followed by "Hi no Ataru Basho" in May. In June, her debut album, Mother Father Brother Sister, opened at number three on the Oricon chart. The album peaked at number one three weeks later and stayed in the top five for eleven consecutive weeks. Mother Father Brother Sister was certified double million and won a Japan Record Award for Best Album, as well as a Japan Gold Disc Award for Pop Album of the Year. In 2000, Misia's second studio album, Love Is the Message, debuted at number one and was certified double million. It won a Japan Record Award for Best Album and a Japan Gold Disc Award for Pop Album of the Year. The album spawned three top ten hits: "Believe," "Wasurenai Hibi" and "Sweetness." Misia's first remix album, Misia Remix 2000 Little Tokyo, was released three months later and shot to number one. It sold over 800,000 copies and is the second best-selling remix album of all time in Japan.
The solo discography of Japanese musician Yui consists of five studio albums, three compilation albums, twenty-one singles and five video albums. These were released on independent label Leaflet Records in 2004, followed by Sony Music Entertainment Japan sub-label Gr8! Records in 2005, Sony Records between 2005 and 2006, Sony sub-label Studioseven Recordings between 2007 and 2010, before returning to Gr8! Records in 2010.
The Japanese anime television series Inuyasha: The Final Act is a direct sequel to the Inuyasha anime series and is based on the last twenty-one volumes of the Inuyasha manga series by Rumiko Takahashi, continuing where the first adaptation left off. The series follows the half dog-demon, half human named Inuyasha, the fifteen-year-old junior high school student Kagome Higurashi and their close companions Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kirara as they search for the last fragments of the Sacred Jewel of Four Souls and approach their final battle with Naraku. Viz Media licensed the series as InuYasha: The Final Act. The original staff and cast from the first Inuyasha anime adaptation were brought back together for the new series. The series premiered first on Nippon TV on October 4, 2009, and concluded first on Yomiuri TV on March 30, 2010, due to Nippon finishing its initial series broadcast days behind Yomiuri due to a 1-week broadcast suspension on January 3, 2010.
The discography of the voice actress and J-pop singer Nana Mizuki consists of 13 studio albums, 3 compilation albums, 42 singles, 24 video releases, over 60 official music videos, and over 100 other appearances. The first release with Mizuki as a singer was the "Girl's Age" image song single in 1998 for the fictional character Chisato Kadokura from the NOëL video game series. Mizuki would not release her debut single "Omoi" until 2000, which was followed by two more singles and her debut album Supersonic Girl in 2001. Supersonic Girl was Mizuki's first release to chart on the Japanese Oricon albums chart, peaking at No. 60. Mizuki released one album a year for the next three years, starting with Magic Attraction (2002), followed by Dream Skipper (2003), and Alive & Kicking (2004). "Innocent Starter" (2004), one of two singles from Alive & Kicking, was her first single to reach the top 10 Oricon singles chart, peaking at No. 9.
"Diamond/Over the Clouds" is a double A-side released by Chinese singer Alan. It was released in three different versions: a CD+DVD edition, a CD only edition, and a limited CD only edition. The ringtone is distributed since Jan 12, 2010, and CD is released from avex trax at Feb 3, 2010.
Eight is the eighth studio album by Japanese band Do As Infinity, released on January 19, 2011. Of the twelve music tracks on the album, four were previously released on three of Do As Infinity's singles. Two different editions of the album were released: a regular CD version and a CD+DVD limited edition. The DVD contained music videos for three songs and a short documentary.
Checkmate! is a collaboration album by Japanese singer Namie Amuro, featuring a collection of her collaborations with other musicians released between 2003 and 2011, as well as four new collaborations. The album was released on April 27, 2011, about one month after its original release date, due to 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
The discography of Japanese musical act Superfly consists of seven studio albums, four compilation albums, three extended plays, five video albums and thirty-four singles. Superfly began as a duo in 2003 by vocalist Shiho Ochi and guitarist Koichi Tabo; signing with Warner Music Japan in 2007. Tabo left the band in 2007 just before the release of their single "I Spy I Spy", finding it difficult to work as both the act's songwriter and guitarist. However, Tabo remained attached to Superfly, composing and producing songs for the unit until Superfly's single "Ai o Karada ni Fukikonde" (2014) and Superfly's fifth studio album White (2015), where Ochi collaborated with a range of songwriters instead.
"Change the World" is a song by Japanese boy band V6. It was released on October 25, 2000 through Avex Trax, as the band's seventeenth single. The song was used as the first opening theme for the anime series InuYasha. The single peaked at number 3 on the Oricon singles chart and stayed on the chart for thirteen weeks. An English version of the song was covered by Inuyasha's voice actor in the Italian dub of the series, Massimiliano Alto, and it was used as the opening theme song when InuYasha aired in Italy.
The discography of Hey! Say! JUMP features nine studio albums, twenty-eight singles and forty-one music videos, all released through J Storm. The group activities started when the temporary five-member group Hey! Say! 7 were put together to provide the theme song for the anime Lovely Complex. The original members were Yuya Takaki, Daiki Arioka, Ryosuke Yamada, Yuto Nakajima, Yuri Chinen. The five Hey! Say! 7 members were later joined by another four idols, Kota Yabu, Kei Inoo, Hikaru Yaotome and Keito Okamoto, thus creating the group Hey! Say! JUMP, the agency's largest group in history. The group made their CD debut through "Ultra Music Power" which topped the Oricon singles chart. Hey! Say! JUMP released their first full length studio album, JUMP No. 1 on July 7, 2010.
The discography of Japanese actress and singer-songwriter Takako Matsu includes ten studio, three compilation, two live, seven video albums, twenty-one singles, and twenty music videos. Born into a family of actors, Matsu made her debut as a stage performer before her roles in TV dramas and films. That year she released her first single, "Ashita, Haru ga Kitara", which peaked at number 8 on the Oricon Singles Chart and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for shipments of 400,000 copies. Matsu's debut album, Sora no Kagami, peaked at number 4 on the Oricon Albums Chart. Selling over 300,000 copies, it earned a platinum certification from the RIAJ and Matsu was named Best New Artist of the Year at the 12th Japan Gold Disc Awards.
The discography of Japanese pop duo Dreams Come True consists of 20 studio albums, 6 compilation albums, 17 video albums, and numerous singles. The band was formed in 1988 by Miwa Yoshida, Masato Nakamura, and Takahiro Nishikawa as Cha-Cha & Audrey's Project, which was later changed to Dreams Come True. The first single "Anata ni Aitakute" did not chart, but their eponymous debut album sold over a million copies in Japan and was certified Million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). The follow-up albums also performed well on the charts, with the 1989 release Love Goes On... lingering on the Oricon Albums Chart for four years. The group's fifth studio album The Swinging Star (1992) was at one point, the best-selling album in Japan, shifting over 3.7 million copies in the country.
The discography of Japanese musician, LiSA includes 6 studio albums, 2 compilation albums, 3 extended plays, 19 singles, and 5 video albums. LiSA debuted in 2010 as a part of Girls Dead Monster, a musical group featured in the anime Angel Beats!, an anime featuring a high school rock band. LiSA recorded music as the singing voice for the character Yui, and released her first single as a part of the group, "Thousand Enemies", in May 2010 through Key Sounds Label. In June 2010, Girls Dead Monster released Keep the Beats!, an album entirely composed of songs sung by LiSA. The album was commercially successful; certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.
