Joe Odagiri Faked a "Kumi Koda"

Uh Oh! Looks like someone is in trouble. A die hard Korean fan got an autograph from Joe while he was in a restaurant after attending the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea but, something is noticeably wrong with it.

He signed "Koda Kumi" as his autograph (see picture)! This has caused stir among netizens and the media. He's been harshly criticised for "belittle-ing" the fan.

However, he released an official statement recently, to apologise to the fan and for offending the Koreans.

AKB48 Announces New Single!

AKB48 will be releasing a new single that will not only come in three versions but in four! The single's name is yet to be released, however the single itself will be available for purchase on February 15th.

So what's up with the various versions? Well, the regular versions are type A and B which both includes a CD+DVD. Now for the limited editions, both of these editions includes CD+DVD as well as a ticket to a hand shaking event and they're extremely limited. In fact, on cdjapan both the A and B version of the limited edition has already been pre-ordered so much that they've been sold out.

Former Digimon Hero to Return to 'Digimon Xros Wars'

The February issue of V Jump magazine will be announcing this Saturday that a major Digimon character will be returning to the series in Digimon Xros Wars: Toki o Kakeru Shōnen Hunter-tachi beginning January 8th.

Taichi Yagami (or Tai in the English version), will be the returning character and will appear as a new and powerful foe. Previously Monthly Newtype had revealed that the anime will be bringing some of the characters from the various seasons as Digimon Hunters.

AKB48 Sub-Unit DiVA Announces New Members

AKB48's sub-unit DiVA originally started out with 4 members: Akimoto Sayaka, Umeda Ayaka, Masuda Yuka, and Miyazawa Sae. Today, the group has grown to include 6 more members.

The 6 new members of DiVA are Yuina Inoue, Satoko Kasuya, Ramu Fukuno, Yuuki Futami, Atsuko Furukawa and Ayaka Yamagami.

After announcing their placement in the sub-unit, the new members all expressed their excitement to be part of DiVA and promised to do their best with the new group.

Check out a video announcing the members below:

【緊急告知】追加メンバー決定！！

夏に行った「ダンス＆ヴォーカルユニット『DiVA』追加メンバーオーディション」から約4ヶ月、12月20日のAKB48紅白対抗歌合戦に...

NYT's Manga Best Seller W/E.10/12/11

1. Naruto - Vol.53
2. Bleach - Vol.37
3. One Piece - Vol.59
4. Bakuman - Vol.8
5. Blue Exorcist - Vol.5
6. Ouran High School Host Club - Vol.17
7. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Vol.2
8. Black Jack - Vol.17
9. Dawn of the Arcana - Vol.1
10. Shugo Chara-Chan! - Vol.1

AKB48's Watanabe Mayu To Release Solo Debut Single In 2012

AKB48's Watanabe Mayu will be following in Maeda Atsuko, Itano Tomomi and Iwasa Misaki's footsteps and will start a solo career.

The singer will be releasing her first solo single, "Synchro Tokieki", on February 29th, 2012.

The song will be used as the theme song for an upcoming TV Tokyo drama that Watanabe will be starring in.

Oricon Reveals 2011 Year End Singles Chart, AKB48 Dominates

After a recording breaking year on the Oricon charts, AKB48 dominates them once again. The hugely popular girl group has taken the top 5 spots on the 2011 Oricon Single Year End chart. Every single from them this year has sold over 1,000,000 copies.

Prior to this year, the artists with the most 1,000,000+ selling singles in a single year were B'z and Mr. Children who had 4 million-selling singles in 1995. Pink Lady in 1978, Hikaru GENJI in 1988 and Arashi in 2009 all held the top 3 spots on the Oricon year end singles chart before, but no musical act has ever held the top 5 spots before.

Check out the top 50 singles of 2011 below:

1. "Flying Get" – AKB48 (1,587,229)
2. “Everyday, Kachuusha” – AKB48 (1,586,840)
3. “Kaze wa Fuiteiru” – AKB48 (1,418,888)
4. “Ue Kara Mariko” – AKB48 (1,198,864)
5. “Sakura no Ki ni Narou” – AKB48 (1,079,460)
6. “Lotus” – Arashi (625,935)
7. “Meikyu Love Song” – Arashi (614,131)
8. “Maru-Maru-Mori -Mori” – Kaoru to Tomoki, Tama ni Mook. (498,920)
9. “Pareo wa Emerald” – SKE48 (466,037)
10. “Everybody Go” – Kis-My-Ft2 (441,680)
11. “Okie Dokie” – SKE48 (434,307)
12. “Let’s try again” – Team Amuse!! (312,666)
13. “Oh My God!” – NMB48 (309,846)
14. “Rising Sun/Itsuka Kitto…” – EXILE/EXILE ATSUSHI (305,001)
15. “OVER” – Hey! Say! JUMP (297,781)
16. “Why?(Keep Your Head Down)” – Tohoshinki (285,051)
17. “Banzai Venus” – SKE48 (274,973)
18. “Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shoujo” – NMB48 (263,187)
19. “T.W.L/Yellow Pansy Street” – Kanjani8 (257,932)
20. “Kazoku ni Narou Yo/fighting pose” – Fukuyama Masaharu (255,572)
21. “Magic Power” – Hey! Say! JUMP (254,171)
22. “Shuumatsu Not yet” – Not yet (246,129)
23. “Eternal” – Akanishi Jin (241,630)
24. “Zero” – BUMP OF CHICKEN (238,656)
25. “GO GO Summer!” – KARA (230,082)
26. “Jet Coaster Lover” – KARA (225,175)
27. “Dear J” – Itano Tomomi (216,781)
28. “Don’t Wanna Lie” – B’z (216,239)
29. “Let me cry” – Jang Geun Suk (215,714)
30. “Sexy Zone” – Sexy Zone (211,908)
31. “ULTIMATE WHEELS” – KAT-TUN (210,749)
32. “BIRTH” – KAT-TUN (209,871)
33. “Flower” – Maeda Atsuko (209,781)
34. “Naminori Kakigoori” – Not yet (205,645)
35. “Pera Pera Perao” – Not yet (196,660)
36. “My Home” – Kanjani8 (190,942)
37. “Greatest The Hits 2011~2011″ Maximum the Hormone (189,659)
38. “‘Arigatou’~Sekai no Doko ni Itemo~” Hey! Say! JUMP (188,555)
39. “Tsubasa Ni Koi” - Kanjani8 (186,571)
40. “365 Nichi Kazoku” – Kanjani8 (185,395)
41. “Superstar” – Tohoshinki (184,317)
42. “Ano Ko to Nogiku to Watashibune” – Hikawa Kiyoshi (183,300)
43. “RUN FOR YOU” – KAT-TUN (179,296)
44. “Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi yo” – B’z (177,180)
45. “WHITE” – KAT-TUN (174,332)
46. “MR.TAXI/Run Devil Run” – Shoujo Jidai (172,205)
47. “Time” – KinKi Kids (171,068)
48. “Yume Tamago” – NYC (151,056)
49. “Saisho no Mail” – French Kiss (145,163)
50. “Anata e/Ooo Baby” – EXILE/EXILE ATSUSHI (142,927)