Emi Wakui is a Japanese actress. She has won three Japanese Academy Awards: the 1994 Best Actress award for her performance in Rainbow Bridge , and the 1992 awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Newcomer for her performance as Seiko Kawashima in My Sons.
Takeru Satoh is a Japanese actor. He is best known for his leading role as Ryotaro Nogami in the Kamen Rider Den-O franchise, and as Himura Kenshin in the live-action Rurouni Kenshin film and its sequels.
Radwimps is a Japanese rock band who debuted independently in 2003 and signed with Toshiba EMI in 2005. The band's name, Radwimps, was formed from two English slang terms, "rad" and "wimp". According to the band, the coined word had several meanings, including "excellent weakling" and "superlative coward".
Haru Kuroki is a Japanese actress. She won the Silver Bear for Best Actress for her performance in the film The Little House.
Nana Komatsu is a Japanese actress and model. She is best known for her roles in The World of Kanako, Destruction Babies, Drowning Love, The Black Devil and the White Prince, My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday, After the Rain, Farewell Song, Threads: Our Tapestry of Love and Sakura. She made her Hollywood debut role in the film Silence.
Hana Sugisaki is a Japanese actress who was previously signed to Stardust Promotion. Her former stage name was Hana Kajiura.
Riho Yoshioka is a Japanese actress. She first attracted attention after landing a role in a television series, Here Comes Asa on NHK in 2016. She received the Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year in 2018.
Sunao Katabuchi is a Japanese animation director, screenwriter, and storyboard artist. He is director of Contrail Co. Ltd. He has been a part-time lecturer at Nihon University College of Art since 2006, and a Project Professor at the college of Art of at the same university since 2018. He has also served as a part-time lecturer at the Graduate School of Tokyo University of the Arts since 2013. He is married to a fellow director of anime Chie Uratani.
Official Hige Dandism, commonly abbreviated Higedan (ヒゲダン), is a pop rock band formed in Shimane, Japan in 2012.
Yoasobi is a Japanese pop duo formed in 2019. It consists of musician and record producer Ayase and singer-songwriter Lilas Ikuta, under the moniker Ikura. With the slogan "novel into music", the duo originally released songs based on selected short stories posted on Monogatary.com, a social media website for creative writing operated by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Sources later also come from various media like stories written by professional authors, books, letters, plays, etc.
"Yoru ni Kakeru" is the debut single by Japanese duo Yoasobi from their debut EP, The Book (2021). It was released on December 15, 2019, by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The song was based on Mayo Hoshino's short story, An Invitation from Thanatos, which was published on the creative writing social media Monogatary.com, and won the Sony Music Award, and the Grand Prize from Monocon 2019.
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End is a Japanese manga series written by Kanehito Yamada and illustrated by Tsukasa Abe. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday since April 2020, with its chapters collected in 13 tankōbon volumes as of April 2024. The series is licensed for English release in North America by Viz Media and in Southeast Asia by Shogakukan Asia. An anime television series adaptation produced by Madhouse aired its first 28-episode season from September 2023 to March 2024. A second season has been announced.
Oshi no Ko is a Japanese manga series written by Aka Akasaka and illustrated by Mengo Yokoyari. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Young Jump from April 2020 to November 2024, with its chapters collected in 15 tankōbon volumes as of July 2024. It has been licensed for release in North America by Yen Press and is simultaneously published by Shueisha on their Manga Plus platform. It follows a doctor and his recently deceased patient who were reborn as twins to a famous Japanese pop idol and navigate the highs and lows of the country's entertainment industry as they grow up together through their lives.
"Kaibutsu" is a song by Japanese duo Yoasobi from their second EP, The Book 2 (2021). It was released as a single through Sony Music Entertainment Japan on January 6, 2021, the same date as the duo's debut EP, The Book. As an opening theme for the second season of the anime television series Beastars, "Kaibutsu" is about a carnivore trying to coexist with herbivores in a cruel world, based on Jibun no Mune ni Jibun no Mimi o Oshi Atete, written by the anime's writer Paru Itagaki.
Midnight Swan is a 2020 Japanese drama film directed by Eiji Uchida, who also wrote the screenplay. It received nine nominations at the 44th Japan Academy Film Prize, including Director of the Year and Screenplay of the Year, winning for Picture of the Year, Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, and Newcomer of the Year.
Da Vinci is a monthly magazine about books published by Kadokawa Corporation, launched in 1994 by Recruit Co. The first publisher was Yoshio Kimura, the editor-in-chief was Yasuhiro Nagazono, and the art director was Toshiaki Ichikawa.
"Mixed Nuts" is a song recorded by Japanese band Official Hige Dandism, released digitally on April 15, 2022, through Irori Records label. The song was featured as the opening theme song for the anime Spy × Family. It peaked at number one on the Japan Hot 100 and number 61 on the Billboard Global 200. The Mixed Nuts EP was released on June 22, 2022.
"Idol" is a song by Japanese duo Yoasobi from their third EP, The Book 3 (2023). It was released as a single on April 12, 2023, by Sony Music Entertainment Japan, serving as the opening theme of the 2023 Japanese anime series Oshi no Ko. Written by Ayase and based on Aka Akasaka's short story 45510, "Idol" is a combination of Japanese idol-styled pop, hip hop, rock, and video game music, and depicts the two-faced nature of a star in the Japanese idol industry. The lyrics delineate multiple different perspectives on the anime's central character, the idol Ai Hoshino, namely those of her fans, her fellow groupmates, and her own self. It additionally features shouts by B-boy group Real Akiba Boyz and gospel-like background vocals.
