Pretty Face (プリティフェイス, Puriti Feisu?) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Japanese author Yasuhiro Kano revolving around a high school boy attempting to impersonate a girl. A common theme in the series is the loving relationships the characters share for each other, whether they be between siblings, friends, or lovers. It was first serialized in Jump Comic's Weekly Shōnen Jump by Shueisha between May 2002 and June 2003, finally coming to an end at chapter fifty-two. Viz Media has acquired the rights to release an English translation of the series; Viz released the first volume on August 7, 2007.

Suzuka (涼風, Suzuka?) is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Kouji Seo. The series is a character-driven romance story that uses the athletics of track and field as a subplot. The story primarily follows the life of the teenager Yamato Akitsuki, who moved to Tokyo to change himself, and his main love interest Suzuka Asahina, a talented and highly scouted high jumper who lives in Yamato's aunt's dormitory and attends his new high school.

School Rumble (スクールランブル, Sukūru Ramburu?) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Jin Kobayashi and serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine.[1] The final chapter was released on July 23, 2008, and the 283 chapters were collected in 22 bound volumes by Kodansha. The sequel, School Rumble Z, is now published in the monthly Shonen Magazine Special as well, but the first two chapters (as of late October) have been short, one chapter stories.

A 26-episode anime adaptation was broadcast on TV Tokyo between October 2004 and April 2005. In December 2005, an OVA was released, containing two special episodes, and a second season titled School Rumble - Second Term was broadcast in 2006 between April and September.[2] The next OVA, titled School Rumble 3rd Semester and containing two episodes will be bundled[3] with volumes 21 and 22 of the School Rumble manga, the first of which released on July 17, 2008. Sony PlayStation games were produced in July 2005 and July 2006.

The manga is published in English by Del Rey Manga. Unlike other Del Rey releases, the manga uses the original Japanese naming order (family name followed by the given name) to preserve the puns in the manga.

Strawberry 100% (いちご100%, Ichigo 100%?) is a 167-chapter manga by Mizuki Kawashita that was serialized in the Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine from 2002 volume 12 to 2005 volume 35, and collected in 19 tankōbon volumes between August 2002 and December 2005. The manga has been adapted into an audio drama, light novel, game, and anime. The manga was licensed by Viz Media with the first volume released in July 2007.

Hatsukoi Limited (初恋限定。, Hatsukoi Rimiteddo?, lit. First Love Limited) is a Japanese shōnen romantic comedy manga by Mizuki Kawashita. It was serialized by Shueisha in the manga magazine Weekly Shonen Jump from October 2007 to May 2008 and collected in four bound volumes. Adaptations as an anime and a series of drama CDs were announced in September 2008, and are currently in production. The series depicts vignettes in the love lives of eight girls in middle school and high school.

Yui (born March 26, 1987 in Fukuoka, Japan) is a Japanese singer-songwriter and actress. She is currently signed to Sony Music Records Japan and attached to the talent agency Stardust Promotion.

My Short Stories (2008–Present)

Yui's latest compilation album, My Short Stories,released 12 November 2008, again charted #1 on Oricon, featuring the B-Sides from all her past singles (Feel My Soul to Summer Song), along with new song "I'll Be".

Yui is only the second female artiste whose B-side compilation album topped the charts, after Seiko Matsuda's "Touch Me" in 1984. The last compilation album that reached #1 was Mr. Children's B-Side, on 21 May 2007. Due to the success of "My Short Stories", sales of her first album From Me to You rose again. In her 29 August 2008 "Yui Diary" blog entry, Yui mentioned that she will take a break for a while from all public appearances after this new album to re- energize herself. With this break, she will be able to fully concentrate on next year's song production.

YOUNHA

Younha (Korean Hangul: 고윤하; hanja: 高潤荷; Go Yoon-ha, Japanese Katakana: ユンナ, Yunna) born April 29, 1988[1] in Seoul, Korea, is a K-Pop and J-Pop South Korean singer.

Younha made her debut as an artist at the young age of sixteen. Nicknamed the "Oricon comet" for her success in Japan, she has released eight singles and two albums there with varying degrees of success. Several of her songs have been featured in anime/dramas.

Younha is signed to Epic Records, owned by Sony Music Japan. In South Korea, she is signed to Lion Media and Stam Entertainment.

Born in South Korea to music-loving parents, Younha began to play the piano at the age of 4.[3] She developed an interest in Japanese Drama and began to teach herself Japanese. What began as an interest in Japanese dramas developed into an interest in Japanese music. With the recommendation of an older student in her school's broadcasting club, she began listening to artists such as Hikaru Utada and Misia and acquired a taste for Japanese music. Younha began to dream about becoming a singer alongside her favorite artists.

HY: the band has named after the members’ home town, Higashi Yakena. The band was formed in 2000. First it was more like an extension of a high school band.

They started performing at streets in Chatan. As their performance goes, they had become Increasingly popuolar.

In September 2001, HY had released their first album called “Departure”. Although it was an Okinawa area limited edition album, all the copies were sold out instantly. They had held their first headliner show at Ginowan Sea Side Park in Okinawa. More than 2000 people had beat a path to the place. And it gave a big inpact on the Japanese music scene.

Nation wide debut of an attractive band from Okinawa was a big news in the music scene when they had released their first album nation wide in 2002. On July, same year they went to France; to perform in the music festival in Paris. Then they came back to Japan and performed in numbers of festivals in Japan. Later that year, HY went around Japan for their first tour. They prove the audiences that they have the true ability to perform as a “live band”. They had also performed in Budokan with LINKIN PARK.That success made the band’s ambition for future to be “successful, not only in Japan”. They had made a record in 2003, when they released their 2nd album “Street Story” The album became No.1 in the chart for 4 straight weeks. No independent lable band had ever achieve that in the music history in Japan. Next year, they had released their 3rd album “TRUNK”. It again became the No.1 in the first week. (It is another record for the indie band) In April 12, 2006, they had released their 4th album “Confidence” it again became a record for the band; it was No.1 in the first two weeks. Tickets became constantly sold out in their live shows. In 2004, they had toured in every single prefecture’s live houses in Japan. In 2006, they had toured in every single prefecture’s hall in Japan. Numbers of audiences had summed up to 88,000 people. Of course, the tickets were all sold out instantly.

December 2006, tickets were sold out instantly again for the Big venues tour “KUMAKARA AMAE”(meaning: from here to the future in Okinawa dialect) which held at the BUDOKAN, and Osaka Jo Hall. The big halls looked like small live houses because of the power and enthusiasm that audiences and the band showed. The band showed future visions to the fans that came to show： go on tour in the overseas！

In 2007, HY went to North America tour in 8 cities in the US and Canada. Even though　it was their first oversea tour, a couple of places were sold out show.

In 2008, the band had come up with the new concept. It is described in a word “HeartY”. It means that they want to save something for the next generation. And save the nature. So they named their 5th album “HeartY” From May 2008, the band went to the hall tour of 32 shows around Japan called “HY PACHINAI ×32 BAMMICASUNDOH TOUR ‘08” And after the tour, they went to their first arena tour (6 shows in 5 places), which was started from September. (And again, of course…all the shows were sold out) The theme word “HeartY” became a big and eternal thing for the band, more than their achievements in number.

In 2009, HY celebrates 10th anniversary. The band had already announced their third “every single prefecture live tour”. The total numbers of shows will be more than 120!! “Just wanna see you fans out there” it is the true feeling of the band members and the feeling will push them to step to their longest tour of their carreer,which will start at the street of Chatan, Okinawa in September 22nd. Looking for HeartY. It is the biggining of the HY’s new “Street Story”…

High and Mighty Color (ハイ・アンド・マイティ・カラー, Hai ando Maiti Karā?) is a Japanese rock band signed to Sony Music Entertainment Japan.

Members

Yūsuke (born January 25, 1985)- vocals

Kazuto (born September 18, 1984)- lead guitar

Meg (born November 15, 1984)– rhythm guitar

Mackaz (born July 15, 1984)– bass

Sassy (born August 23, 1984)– drums

Former Member

Mākii (2004-2008) – vocals

ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION

Asian Kung-Fu Generation (アジアン・カンフー・ジェネレーション, Ajian Kanfū Jenerēshon?) is a Japanese rock band formed in Yokohama, Japan in 1996. For nearly its entire career, the band has consisted of vocalist Masafumi Gotō, guitarist Kensuke Kita, bassist Takahiro Yamada, and drummer Kiyoshi Ijichi. The band's musical style has been heavily influenced by seminal indie, punk, and alternative rock acts. As a result, their songs maintain a balance of various elements of the genres, most typically ranging from fast-paced and hard-edged to rhythmic and emotional. Despite the indie nature of their music, the band has enjoyed widespread commercial success in addition to critical acclaim and their songs have come to be been used for memorable opening themes of highly popular anime series.

Maki Horikita (堀北 真希, Horikita Maki?, born October 6, 1988, in Kiyose, Tokyo) is a Japanese actress. Maki Horikita started her acting career in 2003 as a U-15 idol and has since starred in a number of Japanese television dramas, TV and magazine ads, and films.

Childhood

Maki Horikita was born the eldest of three girls on October 6, 1988 in Kiyose, Tokyo, Japan. She had been boyish during her childhood days. In middle school, she enjoyed playing basketball and baseball with her friends on holidays. as well as the captain of a basketball team. When she had been in junior high school, she preferred playing Dragon Ball Z with the boys than playing dolls with the girls. This was because with the girls, she couldn’t play the role of a princess the way she wanted to in the princess make-believe game.

When she attended as a guest on KAT-TUN's variety show, Cartoon KAT-TUN, she stated that she loved imitating her mother when she was younger.

Education

During junior high school, Maki served as the vice-president of their student council and the vice-captain of the basketball club. She was also described as the “Boss of 3-C” in a number of various writings, in recognition of her status as the class leader. As she became more active in the entertainment industry though, she put her club and council activities on hold. Being unable to meet her many commitments and after much deliberation, she finally withdrew from her school activities, concentrating only on her studies and her career.

After completing her senior high school education, she passed the entrance examination for Chuo University. Maki had been asked if she would pursue Law, as Chuo University was famous for it's Law School, but it has remained uncertain whether she will study Law.

Base Ball Bear (ベースボールベアー, Base Ball Bear?) is a Japanese rock band from Tokyo that formally began in 2002, although the members assembled in the autumn of 2001. The band, which was initially named Planet, was formed for a one-time performance at a high school culture festival, but they decided to continue playing due to how well they were received at the festival and how much fun they were having. Base Ball Bear made its major debut in early 2006 with EMI Music Japan. Their style influences include Japanese indie rock bands Number Girl and Supercar, and British rock bands such as Oasis. The band has been noted for the "nostalgic" feel of band leader Yūsuke Koide's lyrics, often about teenage life and memories. They are also known for their contributions to the soundtrack of the movie Linda Linda Linda (in which female bassist Shiori Sekine had a leading role) and performing the themes to the anime series Toshokan Sensō and Ōkiku Furikabutte.

The band's former name, Planet, most likely came from a Supercar song of the same name. Their current name also derives partially from a song name. Koide thought of Japanese singer Chocolat's song "Base Ball and Elvis Presley", and suggested the name "Base Ball". Guitarist Yuasa thought it would be better if they added one more word to it, and the rest of the band agreed. They eventually settled on the word "bear".

AAA or Triple A (トリプル・エー), is a Japanese pop band signed to the label Avex Trax which debuted in September 2005. The group originally consisted of five young men and three young women who had all acted in commercials and had been dancers for other Japanese stars, such as Ayumi Hamasaki and Ami Suzuki. According to statements released by avex records, Yukari Goto has officially resigned from being a member of the group due to health reasons, reducing the number of members to seven.

AAA was originally planned to be a 6 member group. At first, members included Takahiro Nishijima, Naoya Urata, Shuta Sueyoshi, Shinjiro Atae, Mitsuhiro Hidaka and Misako Uno as the only girl. Avex later decided to add two more girls; Chiaki Ito and Yukari Goto. As songs like BLOOD on FIRE and Friday Party were previously prepared for 6 members, the two girls are only heard in the refrain.

Nami Tamaki (玉置成実, Tamaki Nami ?, born June 1, 1988) is a Japanese pop singer, known for her young age and her powerful dancing. Her career took off when she was selected out of 5,000 in a Sony Music Japan Audition in 2003, singing and dancing to Destiny's Child's "Survivor". She has various commercial tie-ins with the Japanese anime and games industry, and has also performed in a stage musical and a movie. Her musical influences include American singers such as Britney Spears, Madonna, and Janet Jackson.

Nami auditioned for Sony Music Japan in 2001 when she was fourteen years old. The audition took place between 2001-2002 when she performed cover songs of Destiny Child hit "Survivor" and CORE OF SOUL "FULL MOON PRAYER." She was selected out of 1,000 applicants and would soon start her career in 2003 with her debut single Believe. Her first U.S. concert performance was opening for T.M.Revolution at the Pacific Media Expo 2004.

She graduated from high school in March 2007; her first Best (Greatest Hits) Album was released on November 29, 2006 to mark the event, and she started acting and stage performances in full speed after her graduation. The first event after her graduation was her first concert tour: Nami Tamaki Best Concert “My Graduation” on the 11th, 17th, 23rd and 31st of March 2007 at various places in Japan.

In 2008 Nami released her 4th Studio Album entitled "Don't Stay". The album contained songs from her singles Brightdown, Cross Season and Winter Ballades as well as some new tracks. The album did not chart or sell as well as her previous albums. Nami held a special live tour "Anniversary Live 5" Which took place in Tokyo and Osaka. Her 6th Concert Don't Stay~GO!!~ Has just finished and fans are all waiting for a confirmed release of a concert DVD.

ikimono-gakari (いきものがかり?) is a Japanese rock band. They record on Sony Music Japan's EPIC Records label.The band was formed in Kanagawa Prefecture in February 1999 by Hotaka Yamashita and Yoshiki Mizuno, and was later joined by lead vocalist Kiyoe Yoshioka in December the same year.

Hotaka Yamashita (山下 穂尊, Yamashita Hotaka?, born August 27, 1982) is from Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture. He is a graduate of Atsugi High School and the Faculty of Social Sciences, Hosei University. He plays the guitar and harmonica, and has written lyrics and melodies to some of the band's songs. His nicknames are Hotchi and Yama-chan.

Yoshiki Mizuno (水野 良樹, Mizuno Yoshiki?, born December 17, 1982) is from Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture. He is a graduate of Atsugi High School and the Faculty of Social Sciences, Hitotsubashi University. He is the leader of the band, and plays the guitar and vocals. He has also written lyrics and melodies to some of the band's songs. His nickname is Yotchan.

Kiyoe Yoshioka (吉岡 聖恵, Yoshioka Kiyoe?, born February 29, 1984) is from Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture. Her parents are farmers. She is a graduate of Ebina High School and the Showa Academia Musicae Junior College. She is the band's lead vocalist, and has written lyrics to some of the band's songs. Her older brother was a classmate of both Hotaka and Yoshiki at high school. Her nicknames are Yosshie, Kiyoe-chan and Kiyorasu (by Shouko Nakagawa). She joined the band in high school when she suddenly saw Yamashita and Mizuno singing in front of the train station. She used to belong to a children theatrical company.

Scandal (stylized SCANDAL) is a Japanese pop group. Proclaiming themselves as "The Most Powerful Japanese Girlie Pop Rock", they are composed of four high school girls from Osaka, Japan: Haruna Ono, Tomomi Ogawa, Mami Sasazaki, and Rina Suzuki. Scandal is very energetic, mostly due to the fact that Ono, the eldest and leader of the band, shares lead vocals with the other three members, in order to not have a focus on one girl in particular and to give each time in the limelight.

The four girls came together as music-loving high school friends to form Scandal, and decided to write and play their own songs while juggling their regular school lives. As time went on, the group started to get offers from clubs and music halls around Osaka and Kyoto.

Eventually, more than one hundred fans began to consistently attend every single live performance Scandal performed on Tokyo's streets, and the band began to take widespread public notice throughout Japan. In August 2007, Scandal seized the opportunity to participate in a special event at Shibuya Club Asia, a highly recognized and respected club in Shibuya. It was during this time that record label Tower Records first asked the four girls if they would like to have their music recorded with them. Several months later, the girls had worked out a flexible independent agreement with Tower, and SCANDAL started to become more mainstream.

Aya Hirano (平野 綾 ,Hirano Aya?, born October 8, 1987) from Aichi Prefecture, Japan, is a seiyū and J-pop singer who has had roles in several anime, visual novels, and TV commercials in Japan. She is contracted to Space Craft Produce, a branch of Space Craft Group for her seiyū career.For her singing career, she is signed under Lantis.Her blood type is O.

Career

Aya spent a few of her very early years of life in America before returning to Japan. In 1998, she joined the Tokyo Child Theatrical Group division of the Space Craft Group company. Eventually, she began to appear in commercials and got her first role as a seiyū in Tenshi no Shippo. From 2002-2003 she was a member of the short-lived girl band "SpringS."

After graduating from high school, she began seriously pursuing her seiyū and solo singing career. Her big break came in 2006, when she was cast as the voice of Haruhi Suzumiya, the title character of the anime series The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. The show's public success has greatly enhanced her popularity and career in Japan. Her CD single Bōken Desho Desho? containing the opening song of the show sold out in Japan the very day it was released. This success was followed by her voicing two lead characters in anime based on popular manga (Reira in Nana and Misa in Death Note). Her popularity was confirmed at the first Seiyū Awards, where she won "Best Newcomer (female)", for her role as Haruhi Suzumiya; the same role also won her a nomination as "Best Main Character (female)". At the same awards, she was also nominated for "Best Supporting Character (female)", and earned two nominations for "Best Single" (One of which is a solo, Bōken Desho Desho?; the other was a group nomination for the single Hare Hare Yukai). In 2008, she won the "Best Main Character (female)" award at the second Seiyu Awards.

She performed at the "Animelo Summer Live" concerts between 2006 and 2008, as well as the Suzumiya Haruhi no Gekisō concert on March 18, 2007.

Aya Hirano was a guest at Anime Expo 2007, along with other cast members from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Minori Chihara and Yuko Goto.[4] In 2007, she continues to enjoy great success in her career, landing the role of Konata Izumi in the anime version of Lucky Star and launching three separate single albums back-to-back monthly at year's end.

Hearts Grow is a Japanese band from Motobu, Okinawa. Their first single Grow!! was released independently (in limited quantities) on 19 April 2006. Hearts Grow made their major label debut on 18 October 2006, with the release of their first single Road. Their second single Yura Yura (ユラユラ, Yura Yura?) was released in Japan on 6 December 2006. They are known for performing the ninth opening of Naruto and Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z’s fourth ending.

Members:

[haruna] Vocal 1986.10.27 origin.

[chiaki] Keyboards & Vocal 1986.10.23 Origin.

[natsumi] Guitar 1986.05.24 origin.

[Thin tallow]Guitar 1987.02.15 origin.

[yuusuke] Bass 1988.02.17 origin.

[yuuya] Drums 1987.01.26 origin.

Little by Little is a Japanese rock band, consisting of vocalist Hideco and "melody maker of superfine quality" Tetsuhiko. Little by Little's record label is Sony Music Entertainment Japan and is attached to Stardust Promotion. They are mostly known for their contributions to anime, including Kanashimi o Yasashisa ni ("悲しみをやさしさに"), the opening theme for the third season of Naruto, "Love & Peace", the second opening theme to Superior Defender Gundam Force, "Hummingbird", a closing theme of Yakitate!! Japan, and "Kimi Monogatari" ("キミモノガタリ"), the third closing theme of Naruto: Shippūden.

Hideco (ヒデコ, Hideko?, Real name: Eiko Satō (佐藤 英子 Satō Eiko)), vocals.

Tetsuhiko (テツヒコ, Tetsuhiko?, Real name: Testuhiko Suzuki (鈴木 哲彦 Suzuki Testuhiko), born July 31, 1968), composition.

Satomi Ishihara (石原 さとみ ,Ishihara Satomi?) is a Japanese actress and radio variety show host.

Popular all over Asia, but mostly in Japan, she has gained recognition for her acting talents. At the moment, she is considered one of the hottest idols on the scene and is in high demand. She has acted in Japanese television dramas since 2003. She also has appeared in various commercials, has released photobooks, DVD photo collections and calendars.

Haruka Ayase (綾瀬 はるか ,Ayase Haruka?), born in Hiroshima Prefecture, on March 24, 1985, is a Japanese actress.

In 1999, she successfully passed the Horipro Talent Scout Caravan audition. She first achieved widespread recognition for her starring roles in the short film Justice; in 2004 she rose to stardom as Aki in the TV series Crying Out Love, In the Center of the World.

On March 24, 2006 she released her first single, titled "Period" (ピリオド ,Periodo?), the lyrics of which were written by Kaori Mochida from Every Little Thing and Takeshi Kobayashi. Kobayashi also composed and arranged the music, as well as producing the single.

She has also released two photo books: Birth in 2001 and Heroine in 2004.

Mao Inoue (井上 真央 ,Inoue Mao?, born January 9, 1987 in Yokohama) is a Japanese actress. She was a popular U-15 idol from 1999; she was well known for her role as Imai Akane in the drama Kids War. Before that, she had had parts in several other dramas from the age of five, but it wasn't until the debut of Kids War in 1999 that Japanese audiences took notice of Inoue. In 2005, she was cast as the star of Hana Yori Dango on TBS. Inoue played Makino Tsukushi in the live-action adaptation of the manga and anime, a lower middle-class girl who is trying to survive unnoticed in an elite high school full of playboys and rich snobs. A sequel to the 2005 drama, Hana Yori Dango 2, was aired in the winter 2007 season.

At 19, Inoue was enrolled in Meiji University, studying theater and literature, with her second major being Japanese. In 2006 she co-starred in the movie Check It Out, Yo! with Ichihara Hayato, Hiraoka Yuta, and Emoto Tasuku. The film was in theaters April 22nd, 2006. Inoue also co-starred in the summer 2007 drama First Kiss with "Check It Out, Yo!" co-star Hiraoka.

After the success of the two Hana Yori Dango dramas, a film was announced in August 2007, just months after the end of the 2007 sequel. It will be Inoue's first starring role in a movie, which is to be called Hana Yori Dango Final. Hana Yori Dango Final was a successful movie, opening in Beijing on June 28, 2008 in China to packed crowds and is expected to gross a staggering 10 billion yen.